A sharp, grating blare shattered the quiet, dragging me from the depths of sleep. I groaned, shifting as the weight of exhaustion pressed against me, my body reluctant to move. Vivi let out a muffled curse beneath me, fumbling blindly toward their bedside table. With a sharp smack, the alarm cut off, plunging us back into silence.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

I breathed in slowly, my head still tucked against Vivi’s shoulder, their arm loosely slung over my waist. Their scent was familiar—comforting in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to acknowledge in too long. They felt warm beneath me, solid, steady, the slow rise and fall of their chest grounding. “Wish I could go back to sleep,” I muttered, my voice thick with lingering exhaustion.

Vivi huffed out a sleepy chuckle. “Yeah, well. I warned you, dumbass. Two hours and then you had to face the music.”

I sighed, shifting slightly but still not quite ready to pull away. My limbs felt heavy, my body slow to wake. “Been a while since we slept like this, huh?”

Vivi was quiet for a beat. Then they hummed, their fingers absentmindedly tracing a slow, lazy pattern against my back. “Yeah,” they murmured. “Miss it sometimes.”

“Me too,” I admitted softly.

Memories curled around the edges of my mind, half-formed but vivid enough to taste—nights curled up in the shadows of alleyways, pressed together for warmth when the cold bit too deep; the thin, stiff cots of the orphanage, where we’d sneak into each other’s bunk whenever nightmares clawed at the edges of sleep. Even later, during those rough early days at Crimson Reverie, we’d end up in the same bed more often than not, sharing the quiet before another grueling day.

"Feels different now," Vivi mused, their voice quieter. "Not bad. Just… different."

I hummed in agreement, my fingers brushing against their ribs absentmindedly. "Guess we don’t get to be dumb kids anymore."

"Speak for yourself," Vivi snorted. "I'm still a dumbass. You, though? You’re the responsible adult now, leading by example and all that."

I scoffed. "Yeah, real shining role model I am."

"Mm. To Jin, you are."

That made me pause. My arms tightened around them slightly. "Jin deserves more than me."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, she’s got you. And she loves you." Vivi exhaled softly. "So, whatever else you think, that has to count for something."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "And what about you?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

They were quiet for a moment. Then, their grip tightened briefly before they finally sighed. "You already know the answer to that." Silence settled again, thick and full of things neither of us had the energy to put into words. We stayed tangled together, clinging to something that had always been there—something constant, no matter what changed around us.

Then, abruptly, Vivi stiffened. I felt it immediately. Their whole body tensed, their breath catching for half a second. I frowned, lifting my head slightly. "What?"

Vivi didn’t answer. Instead, they shifted, tilting their head just enough to glance down at their own chest. Their nose wrinkled.

I saw it at the same time they did. A damp patch of moisture right on their shirt collar.

"Raku," Vivi said flatly.

I blinked, still hazy with sleep. "Huh?"

They lifted a hand and pointed at the evidence. "You drooled on me." I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

Vivi groaned, shoving me off with a sharp push. “I literally told you not to do that.”

"Hey, I was unconscious," I shot back, raising a hand in mock surrender. "Not my fault."

Vivi wiped at their skin with an expression of pure suffering. “Gross.”

“Oh, come on, you've been covered in worse thi—”

“I swear to every god and demon, if I smell like you right now—” Vivi cut me off, lifting their arm and sniffing cautiously. Their expression soured instantly. “Oh. Oh no.”

A laugh bubbled up in my throat, unbidden. “What?”

Vivi turned to glare at me. “You reeked of sweat after that assessment. And now I reek of you.”

I snorted. “Oh, no. Whatever will you do?”

“I am going to shower,” they declared, shoving the blanket off themselves and swinging their legs over the side of the cot. “And you? You are getting a change of clothes before you come anywhere near me.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I don’t smell that bad.”

Vivi turned slowly, their expression deadpan. "You smell like you died, came back, and then died again. Stay right here. I’m getting you something from your quarters."

I sighed dramatically. "You’re so mean to me."

"And yet," they muttered as they grabbed their boots, "you keep coming back."

I let myself sink back onto the cot as Vivi stomped out, muttering about my general existence under their breath. Despite the teasing, the warmth of the last two hours lingered in the small cot.

They’d be back soon. Then, a shower. Then, the briefing.

But for now, I let myself enjoy the last few moments of stillness.

----------------------------------------

The shower was already running by the time Vivi and I stepped inside the tiled stall, steam curling in thick tendrils around us. The scent of cheap, industrial-strength soap mixed with the lingering humidity, clinging to my skin as the water cascaded down my back. I let out a long breath, rolling my shoulders as the heat began to soak into sore muscles.

Vivi stood beside me, already scrubbing at their skin with brisk efficiency, their movements methodical and almost military in their precision. It wasn’t the first time we’d done this. Hell, we’d been bathing together since before we had access to actual showers. Back in the orphanage, it had been cold buckets of water. Later, on the streets, it was stolen moments in public baths or rainwater collected in whatever containers we could find. This was just another in a long line of shared routines, neither of us thinking twice about the familiarity of it.

I ran my hands down my arms, fingers brushing over the new runes Vivi had etched into my skin just hours ago. The fresh carvings glowed faintly, still settling into my body, and where the petrification had cracked my skin earlier, the fissures were healing, slow but steady. I traced one of the fresh lines, watching the way it pulsed with unnatural energy beneath the water’s spray. The reminder settled heavy in my chest. “We’re such freaks of nature,” I muttered absently, my voice low but carrying over the sound of rushing water.

Vivi glanced at me, still scrubbing at their arms. “Well, yeah,” they said like it was obvious. “But what brought that on this time?”

I exhaled slowly, staring at my arm as the water ran over it. “I mean, think about it,” I said. “I shouldn’t exist. My father was a true gargoyle—beings that don’t reproduce. Quite literally unable to under any circumstances. My mother was a wytch, and she shared a body with a devil that tried to possess her and failed—my other mom. The only reason I’m even standing here is because those three—who should’ve never been able to work together—cast a ritual that ended up making… this.” I gestured vaguely to myself. “Part gargoyle, part wytch, part devil. And my own body is constantly trying to reject itself.”

Vivi’s scrubbing slowed slightly, their sharp green eyes flicking toward me with something unreadable behind them. “Raku.”

I shook my head, letting my fingers drag down my arm again. “It’s not just that, though. I was born with a body that naturally repels magic—gargoyle trait. Being an antimage is pretty damn cool, even. But I’ve also got wytchblood running through my veins, which means my magic is constantly trying to seep out, and my body’s constantly trying to purge it. My flesh petrifies itself, my runes burn, and I need to carve new magic into myself just to stop the old from ripping me apart.” I let out a humorless laugh. “What kind of existence is that?”

Vivi set their soap aside and turned to face me fully, water running in rivulets down their dark skin. “An existence that’s been kicking the universe's behind despite said universe trying to tell you otherwise.”

I snorted, shaking my head. “That’s not the point.”

“Maybe not, but it’s still true.” Vivi stepped closer, their hand reaching out to nudge at my arm—not quite touching the runes, just hovering close. “You’ve got a weird body, sure. But you’re not a freak, Rak’. You’re you. And you’ve never let any of this stop you.”

Exhaling heavily, I let my shoulders sag slightly. “Still doesn’t make it any less messed up.”

“No,” Vivi admitted, then suddenly grinned. “But at least you have the funniest origin story, if you ignore the village getting burned down and the orphanage and the experiments and the homelessness.”

I groaned immediately. “Vivi—”

They waggled their eyebrows, undeterred. “C’mon, it’s my favorite ‘why you exist’ theory. Some rich bastard got lonely and commissioned a gargoyle with genitals, and two women in one body got the hots for him.”

I slapped my hand over my face. “Why are you like this?”

“It makes way more sense than ‘gargoyle and wytch fell in love and summoned a devil just to make a baby,’” they continued, grinning. “I mean, be honest, which one sounds more plausible?”

“You’re an absolute menace,” I grumbled, dropping my hand. "Plus we literally know the former of those theories is true, you ass."

Vivi gasped dramatically. “How dare you? I’m only speaking the truth.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the small smirk tugging at my lips. “The worst part is, I know you’ve said this to other people.”

“Oh, I absolutely have.”

“Vivs.”

“What? People should know the real story.”

I let out a long-suffering sigh, stepping closer and flicking water at them. “You’re insufferable.”

“And yet,” they said smugly, tilting their chin up. “You love me anyway.”

I grumbled something unintelligible but didn’t argue. Instead, I grabbed the shampoo bottle and started scrubbing at my hair, ignoring Vivi’s victorious expression. They, of course, didn’t let up. “You know, I bet I could write a fake dossier and get people to believe it.”

“Good gods below what did I do to deserve you,” I muttered, scrubbing harder.

“Like, imagine—‘Born of hubris and questionable decisions, Operative Raku was the result of an eccentric noble’s wish to ride something rock-hard and their creation instead—’” I threw a handful of sudsy water at their face. Vivi spluttered, blinking through the soap. “Rude.”

“You deserved that.”

“You’re just mad because I’m right.”

I groaned and turned my back to them, but they just laughed, and a moment later, I felt their fingers in my hair, helping work out the suds. We finished rinsing off in silence, the earlier heaviness in my chest easing slightly. Maybe I was a freak of nature. Maybe I never should’ve existed. But the fact remained that I did exist—and I had people like Vivi who weren’t going to let me forget that.

After we shut off the water, we toweled off and stepped out into the humid air of the barracks bathroom. Vivi grabbed the clean set of clothes they’d brought from my quarters, tossing them at me before shaking out their own. “C’mon,” they hurried, running a towel through their damp hair. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

I sighed, running a hand through my own dripping locks. “Yeah, alright.”

After dressing, we left their quarters behind, making our way toward the mess hall to load up before our briefing.