managing not to

[warmfeelings]

Aelise keeps Harley in her room, and allows visits - mostly Corona, sometimes Tima - but doesn't let him run around being obnoxious to anyone. Chelsa avoids him. Corona is home, after all, and he's just as warm and isn't horrible to her. And now she can invite more friends in. There's that girl she rotated out to make room for Tima, still alive, in Wales - there's that pleasantly sparky boy she met on her trip to Egypt - Chelsa is able to content herself with the situation.

Comments

[pythbox]

"I love you," he says helplessly. "But it's like - like she cut off all my feelings and now they're just growing back."

[floofcoaster]

"Can you tell me how to help you?" murmurs Zeus, tucking his face in where Harley's neck and shoulder meet. "I'll do anything to help you."

[pythbox]

"Just... be you," he says. "You're good at that, right?" He laughs shakily.

[floofcoaster]

"I can be me," agrees Zeus. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

[pythbox]

"I love you too," Harley says hoarsely. He curls up close and hugs Zeus some more.

[floofcoaster]

Hugs. Silent teary hugs.

[her_imperial_radiance]

[Mama would like to speak to you at your earliest convenience,] says Elspeth to Harley.

[pythbox]

[If my earliest convenience can be cuddling Zeus, it's whenever,] he says.

[her_imperial_radiance]

[Yes, you can bring him.]

[pythbox]

"Elsie's mom wants to talk to me about the thing," Harley murmurs, "and I wanna snuggle you, will you come?"

[floofcoaster]

"Yeah," says Zeus hoarsely, and he arranges himself to be carrying Harley, close and snuggly-like. "I'll go wherever you go if you want me."

[pythbox]

[Then yeah, sure,] he says to Elsie, cuddling up in Zeus's arms.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth pops into Harley's room, and then brings them all to the Safesun throne room.

[luminous_regnant]

"Hello, Harley," says Bella.

[pythbox]

"Hi," he sniffles.

[luminous_regnant]

"Please tell me everything that happened."

[pythbox]

"I was falling asleep and I fell out of bed and the next thing I knew I was staring at an alt of Chelsea," he says. "I didn't realize it really was until she said her name - it's Chelsa - and then she, she made me love her—"

He bites his lip and presses his face against Zeus's shoulder, hugging him tight.

[floofcoaster]

Zeus squeezes him, and kisses his forehead.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth puts her hand on Harley's knee.

[pythbox]

He takes a deep breath.

"And there was an empress, named Aelise, she's an alt of Elsie's grandma. And Chelsa had a bunch of pets, one of them was a Joker called Corona. I asked him to kill me but I just torched. Aelise got curious, she came and asked me if I'd mind if she killed me some more - they've got superpowers there, they call them Gifts - that place is so fucked up, it's a fucking empire of dead babies and mind control, I hate it - "

And he bursts into tears again, and hugs Zeus even tighter, and

vanishes.

[floofcoaster]

Zeus screams.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth sends him back to sleep immediately.

[floofcoaster]

Zeus collapses on the floor.

[luminous_regnant]

"...I think we can tentatively conclude that he was dreaming," says Bella. "Someone let him back into Aurum - someone has been getting doors to Milliways from Aurum and I didn't know - Alice, keep an eye out for that, I want it prioritized over everything else you've been doing lately - and now he's woken up. I don't think there's - anything we can do, except continue to look for doors."

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth nods once, slowly, and picks up Zeus to put him back into the bed he only recently vacated.