( ephemera drops his head, pressed close. he can feel the strangely lulling rise and fall of his chest through his rig, cool steel bleeding into the thin material of felix's t-shirt. the chill is barely noticeable next to the warmth of ephemera's mouth so close.

he stays. he lets the moment settle, his hand in ephemera's hair, foreheads slanted together like they're telling secrets. )

Yeah, that's pretty fucked up. ( insane, again. ) Locus tried to make sense of me. He had this whole thing with wanting to understand how people worked. Drove me fucking crazy, especially on Chorus when he got all puppy dog-eyed and fixated on that stupid motherfucking Freelancer. But I don't think he ever really got it.

( felix never gave him the chance. maybe he would've left sooner if he had. maybe he would've stayed, if he knew how felix felt. maybe that would've been worse. felix's love was an ugly, ruinous thing. it destroyed him. it would've destroyed locus, too. )