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it wasn't everyday noctyx got to venture out into the city together. the five of them had little to no knowledge when it came to the past they'd traveled to, so whenever their schedules all aligned, it had become customary for them to travel around together and explore this new time that had suddenly become their home.
"we didn't have places like this where i come from." fulgur noted, walking in time with the rest of the noctyx crew. the cyborg stuck out like a store thumb, despite uki and yugo's attempts to dress him up casually.
it was sonny's decision to have them explore the countryside. really, they were only here at yugo and alban's excitement over potentially seeing horses. it wasn't an extravagant outing by any means, but the five of them were together. that was enough for them to have fun.
before they actually reached the countryside, they had to stay overnight in a hostel. the village was nothing compared to the cities they usually toured around, but there was something rather homely about it, and the loud, yet warm atmosphere they were surrounded by.
well, at least alban thought so.
"mm. i wanna go to the fruit stalls again before we leave." uki hummed, a pleased smile spreading across his face. he clasped onto yugo's hand, stopping the DJ from wandering off out of pure curiosity, whilst he held a bag of fruits clasped in his other hand.
the countryside really wasn't like anything that they'd seen before. it amused alban greatly to watch yugo and sonny point out stalls and performances they saw on the streets, grinning at their sights like children at a festival. for alban, this was just his old normal.
"those poor fruit stall people...i think we traumatized them. you'd think we'd never seen a fucking melon before, with the way you guys were acting."
"the melon was purple, fuu-chan. purple." yugo pointed out, his eyes practically sparkling as he locked eyes with fulgur. "there's no way you've seen those before, right?"
"maybe i have. i'm a man of mystery, yugo."
uki snorted, "he hasn't. you were just as excited as the others, babe."
alban always thought it was pretty cute when fulgur blushed...in a weird dad's just received a #1 dad mug and he's really emotional about it sort of way. he wouldn't ever say it out loud since it was a little cringe, but judging by the way uki had let his bags fall to his forearm, using his now free hand to pinch lovingly at fulgur's cheeks, alban considered his feelings well accounted for.
"what about you, alban?"
alban directed his attention to sonny. the blonde walked alongside him, his rucksack on his back full of souvenirs to gift the others when they got back. he'd been just as fascinated with their sights too, a spring in the taller man's step as they continued to walk.
"hmm, me?"
"yeah, you. you came from a place like this, right?" sonny asked, curiosity brimming in his lavender eyes, "what are your thoughts on the purple melon debate?"
"debate?! that's what we're calling it now, huh?" sonny simply nodded. fulgur sounded exasperated behind them, but alban only chuckled. "for the record, we didn't have that kinda stuff back home. we had a lotta stalls like this though...a fuck ton of people visiting them too."
"really? geez...i think i'd suffocate in such a crowded place. this is way too many people."
yugo patted sonny on the shoulder, reassuring him that he would be fine since all of his kyoudai were with him, pulling uki to his side in the process. alban shot uki a sympathetic smile, knowing just how wild it was to keep up with their trio - fulgur had affectionately nicknamed them the kids.
“the past really is a wild place, hm.” fulgur had slipped to alban’s side, “i’m so used to spending my time with demons, dragons…the undead. it’s always rather nice to see normal people living their lives every now and then.”
“you sound old saying that, fuu-chan.” the cyborg lifted his hand to alban’s forehead, flicking the phantom thief with no hesitation. the brunette let out a whine, muttering about 'dad being mad again.'
“i’m not old, alban.”
“isn’t fuu-chan actually the youngest between us all? he’s ageless and all that.” the amount of times they had had this argument was uncountable at this point. sonny clearly had no issue reopening that can of worms despite that, eyeing fulgur curiously. “you talk like an old man but you’re actually the baby of our group, i think.”
“fuu-chan baby confirmed?!” alban turned to fulgur, tapping his arm relentlessly. “hey, come take my place in nijibabies? please, fuu-chan? you love me, right~?”
fulgur swatted his arm away, his cheeks tinted a slight red as he glanced away from the rest of the group.
“we are not having this conversation in public…but no. you are staying in nijibabies. sonny, no bringing the age argument up on this trip again, and yugo, please stop pulling on uki’s arm. you’ll pull it off if you keep doing that.”
“he’s definitely my baby, at least.” uki hummed, smiling as yugo chose to swing his hand happily in the psychic’s own hand instead. a little victory to some, yet a massive one for uki and his arm. the cyborg simply sighed in resignation. “now hurry up. i want get back and drop this shit off at our hostel room already.”
alban and sonny both gave the psychic a mock-salute. surely their hostel couldn’t have been too far now. the village was small enough that it was almost impossible for the five of them to get lost in.
the five of them got to moving, engaging in idle chat here and there as they did so. alban listened intently to their conversations, inserting his own opinions and jokes whenever he could. he’d usually find himself leading their conversations, but the phantom thief couldn’t help but get distracted by their surroundings every so often. this village just felt so familiar to him - alban was in awe.
these were just like the streets he found himself running around as a kid. alban was one of the ‘village children’, playing around with the other kids who had found themselves orphaned and left alone. they’d play tricks on wealthy travellers, get scolded by the village elders, help each other ‘borrow’ food from village stalls…the memories brought a chuckle out of alban.
those were memories he was able to put out of his mind for the most part when he was with noctyx. their little family must’ve looked incredibly weird to most; they were all dressed in mismatched clothing to try and ‘fit in’ with the countryside, their outfits hardly suiting any of them at all. still, alban had never loved a group of people more than them. they were his little mismatched family, and one that he had found happiness in. they were his home, more than his village had ever been.
he walked with a spring in his step too, before coming to an abrupt stop. they hadn’t reached their hostel yet, but the rest of noctyx stopped with him too. they were all staring at the same thing.
“mhm? what’s going on over there?” yugo asked, tilting his head in confusion at the sight before them. his grip on uki’s hand tightened.
they had managed to stumble across a scuffle outside of their hostel. a large crowd had gathered, drawing the five of them closer as they moved in to observe. ]
“-right, it was them! they stole my produce right under my nose!”
“i-i’m telling you, we just need this to survive! we’ll pay it back later!” a hiss, before a pained shout of, “let go of us!”
the scene in front of them wasn’t too difficult to discern. the man they had originally heard shouting was one of the stall vendors they had visited before; he’d greeted them with a welcoming smile earlier, yet there was no trace of that friendliness now. he stood with his fists balled up, staring daggers into the other person who they had heard shouting.
the other person was a boy who couldn’t have been that much younger than them. he was dressed in much scruffier clothing in comparison to all of the other village people who had gathered around.
it was also clear to see that he wasn’t alone.
the boy was accompanied by another boy his age, the both of them in equally as dirty clothing as each other. it was also apparent that they were both in trouble, their arms being restrained by two older men. the size difference between the two boys and the men holding them back was so apparent: it was the sort of sight that would make any outsider wince.
“and you’re certain it was these thieves you saw taking from your stall, sir?” one of the men asked. he received a firm nod from the stall owner, an aggressive finger being pointed at both young men.
“yes, i’m certain! dirty scum…i should’ve called the cops the moment i saw you freaks approaching my precious stall!”
the five of them could only watch on as the two boys defended themselves, with the argument between them and the stall owner becoming increasingly more hostile. the other onlookers hadn’t interfered either, however the difference between the villagers and the rest of noctyx immediately became clear. the crowd simply glared wordlessly at the two restrained boys, spite and judgment apparent in their cold gaze.
“...this is fucked up.” sonny whispered, frowning uncomfortably. the rest of them felt the same, wordlessly agreeing with the blonde.
for alban, this was simply another reminder of the world that he’d left behind. a small part of him wanted to let out a bitter laugh; he was once in the same spot as those boys, wasn’t he? it was years ago, yet alban still remembered it so vividly.
he wanted to step in and help. alban knew his members well enough that it was a given they wished to do the same too.
those thoughts were quickly dashed as the scene escalated. one of the boys had attempted to break free, and in mere seconds, he was pushed violently to the ground by the man who had been restraining him originally. the crowd didn’t move, even as the boy cried out in pain, his friend immediately shrieking out in fear.
the boys were eventually let free, though the damage had already been done. noctyx, alongside the crowd, watched the boys disappear back into the crowded streets.
all but one member of noctyx, that is.
“well,” fulgur spoke, his voice as brazen as usual, “people fucking suck.”
the cyborg spoke clearly, yet alban didn’t catch onto fulgur’s words at all. the cyborg’s words sounded foreign in his ears; he stood directly beside the phantom thief, but fulgur’s voice sounded miles away.
when the others began responding to fulgur too, talking about what they’d just witnessed, it became clear to alban that he couldn’t hear them either. their voices all faded out, bordering on quiet murmurs that alban couldn’t even begin to latch onto. despite himself, he nodded along mindlessly.
in reality, alban couldn’t pull his gaze away from the dispersing crowd.
the scene they had just witnessed replayed in his mind over, and over again, even as everyone involved left. the phantom thief simply stared, transfixed, his heart rate quickly rising.
his head was spinning. noctyx, the crowds of people walking past them, the stall owner, they were all talking at the same time. his gaze darted between everyone until his sight grew blurry. he wanted them all to shut up. he needed them all to shut up. he couldn't hear him over their voices. he couldn't see him.
how was he,
how was he supposed to protect him from getting beaten up before his eyes?
what was alban supposed to do when he couldn't move at all?
alban let out a gasp, tears rolling down his cheeks and dropping to the floor. had it always been this hard to move? had it always been this hard to breathe? god. he was going to be sick.
“-alban?”
alban took a step back, turning to the side before throwing up unceremoniously on the ground.
“oh shit.” uki was the first to react, alarm evident in his voice. “yugo, baby, hold these.” the psychic pushed his bags into yugo’s arms, wasting no time in rushing over to the now dry-heaving phantom thief’s side. he crouched on the floor, wary of how alban had sunk to his knees, before placing his hands onto alban’s shoulders.
“don’t touch him, please-” alban gasped out, his body shaking as his eyes welled up with tears. uki’s touch was so gentle, so full of concern, but alban couldn’t feel it. to him, it wasn’t uki’s hands that were on him. he shuddered as he wretched again, crumbling to the ground in front of his beloved kyoudai.
he was a teenager again, caught out for stealing food from one of the local stalls. alban was just a kid who wanted so desperately to survive, but none of the adults around here understood. the only one that did was his best friend, his beloved childhood friend who had been through everything with him, his friend who had been caught too-
his friend who was on the floor, being beaten senselessly as punishment for stealing.
“leave him, get your fucking hands off him, i, i-” he coughed, a lump forming in his throat as he struggled to get his pleas out. he had to save him. alban had seen so much death in his life already, he was the one person that alban couldn’t afford to leave him like this. “j-just punish me instead, hurt me, i’ll do anything i swear.” alban could only sob silently as he watched his friend’s body turn lifeless before his eyes.
“-alban, baby.” uki called out to him. the hands clasping onto his shoulders had moved to his cheeks, forcing alban to meet uki’s eyes as gently as the psychic could manage. alban blinked uncertainly, immediately coming face-to-face with uki’s worried, yet serious expression. “it’s just me, uki. can you breathe for me?”
forming coherent thoughts seemed impossible for the phantom thief in his current state. he shook his head, his body shaking as he cried out desperately.
"p, please-" he sobbed out, unable to discern where he was or what exactly was happening, "please don't, i'll, i-i'll do anything, please-"
"i won't do anything you don't want me to, i swear. you're safe, alban."
"i'm dying-"
“you aren't dying, baby. i won't let you die.” uki reassured him, his voice level as he spoke. “but i need you to breathe. breathe with me, alban.” he shifted closer to alban, leaving the brunette enough room to breathe, but close enough that alban could, at the very least, sense uki's presence.
"i-" he choked, devolving into a coughing fit again before gasping out, "i can't breathe-"
"you can. copy me, alban. watch me, yeah?"
uki's voice was so gentle, so rational despite everything. alban wanted to listen to him (because uki was his beloved kyoudai who he knew, he trusted just as easily as he lived everyday) but fuck, he felt as if he'd choke and collapse at any moment. uki didn't let go of him, remaining patient as he instructed alban to follow his breathing.
"uki." fulgur. the cyborg's voice was as clear as day, even to alban in his distressed state. "do you need us to do anything?"
"cover us. he doesn't need strangers watching him." uki responded, swiftly turning his attention back to the phantom thief.
alban didn't want to die like this.
(but he had to be dying because he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe)
“it hurts-”
“i know, baby. i know.” uki wiped the tears away from alban’s cheeks, not commenting on how the brunette’s bi-colored eyes only filled up more. “can you copy what i’m doing, alban? in and out, just like that. i’ve got you.”
uki had always been one of the more responsible members of noctyx, hadn’t he? the psychic was usually the one who balanced out the chaos that alban, yugo and sonny brought onto their missions. he had such a powerful way with words, and a calming presence that alban had always appreciated. alban felt safe with uki. the more he watched him, trying his hardest to mirror uki’s breathing, the more that fact dawned on alban.
“that’s it. you’re doing so well.” alban nodded weakly, letting out a wet sniffle in the process. “i’m here, we’re here. in and out alban.”
uki was here. there was so much going on in the phantom thief’s mind that he didn’t have the energy to look up, but uki had reassured him that everyone was here. that must have meant all of noctyx, right? they hadn’t left him to die. they had stayed by him, waiting patiently for alban this entire time. his kyoudai had done all that…just for him.
he choked on a breath. alban let out another sniffle. “i, i’m sorry, uki. e-everyone.”
“you have nothing to apologize for. you’ve done nothing wrong, baby.” alban could think of a whole list of things he’d done wrong. despite that, uki’s tone was as firm as it was kind. there was no room left for argument, for any self-loathing that the brunette wanted to protest with.
and so, he continued to breathe with uki.
even though it hurt like hell. even though he felt as if his lungs were going to collapse. even though it felt as if his entire world was falling apart again and everything was slipping out of his control.
alban took a deep breath in, and out.
(rinse and repeat.)
“-isn’t good for him. shouldn’t we…?” alban blinked. he could hear again. alban kept his eyes on uki, but he recognised that voice as belonging to sonny. he could vaguely pinpoint the poorly veiled worry in the VSF officer’s voice, and the slight waver in his tone as he spoke.
uki thought about whatever sonny had said for a moment, pondering it with a serious expression. he locked eyes with alban, studying the brunette’s disposition.
“alban, baby?” uki’s hands dropped back down to alban’s shoulders, slipping to the phantom thief’s back. he rubbed alban’s back, his hands moving in gentle, circular motions - his touch was so calming, alban felt protected. “are you okay to move?”
move…uki wanted him to get up and move? would that mean uki would have to stop touching him?
noticing the shift in alban’s expression, uki shot him a comforting smile. “we won’t if you don’t want to. sonny was asking if you’d like to head into our hostel room instead of staying out here.”
alban thought about it for a moment, before giving a curt nod. he didn’t want to stay out here any longer. it was all too much for the phantom thief.
uki held onto alban’s trembling hands, mindful of avoiding the vomit on the floor as he helped maneuver the brunette onto his feet. how long had he been on the floor for? alban couldn’t recall. he had been immobile for long enough that he was unsteady on his feet, he quickly realized.
“woah there.” uki wrapped an arm around his waist before alban stumbled back to the ground. alban mumbled out an apology, his previous panic beginning to shift into frustration at himself.
“are you okay?” it felt like ages since he had heard yugo’s voice. the DJ appeared in front of him, wearing a frown that didn’t suit his usually upbeat features at all. he stood cautiously, gaze flickering between alban and uki. “don’t apologize. we can help, yeah?”
“alban.” fulgur was next to speak after silently assessing the situation. “i’ll carry you on my back. how about that? you don’t need to walk, and i get a bit of a work out in there too.” the cyborg cracked a joke with relative ease, smiling as he saw the tension in alban's body ease a little.
of course, alban didn’t want to accept the help that easily. in any other situation the phantom thief kept telling himself. he had no issues with accepting help except for now of all times. stealing a glance at sonny, the blonde looked equally as concerned as the rest of noctyx. alban could see how genuinely worried his kyoudai were about him, and how much they only wanted to help him move to a place that would be more comfortable for him.
…and yet.
he bit his cheek. he’d caused them a lot of trouble already, hadn’t he? freaking out like that, in the middle of the street no less. he wouldn’t be surprised if everyone who passed by and saw him had thought ill of him. he must’ve looked pretty pathetic.
“you aren’t pathetic, alban. none of us are thinking that about you…i doubt any of us could think that about you to begin with, ever.” and with a step forward, fulgur gently took hold of one of alban’s hands.despite his hands being metal, fulgur’s hands were just as warm, just as comforting as uki’s had been. “our hostel is only over there, see? look past yugo and…there it is. would you be alright with me carrying you up there on my back?” alban hadn't realised that he spoken out loud. fulgur didn’t attempt to push it. if alban had said no, insisted on walking up there himself even though he might’ve looked like more of a fool than he already did-
(fulgur had told him they didn’t think he was pathetic. he trusted them not to think like that about him, didn’t he? this was noctyx, after all...right?)
fulgur would easily take no for an answer if that's what alban wanted.
“...okay.” is the answer alban settled on, his voice still raspy. fulgur paid it no mind, simply happy to hear alban’s voice again.
the cyborg turned around, leaving himself open for alban to attempt to maneuver himself onto his back. even though the phantom thief felt beyond defeated, he was thankful that fulgur’s strength never failed to impress. he hoisted alban up, his arms slotting comfortably beneath alban’s legs as the brunette held onto fulgur’s shoulders.
“you look more and more like a father everyday, fuu-chan.”
as alban pressed his face into fulgur’s shoulder, nestling in the crook of the cyborg’s neck, fulgur let out a light-hearted chuckle. “hey, behave. now…let’s get inside, guys.” fulgur’s words were met with a chorus of agreement before they finally started to move.
fulgur held alban close to him, his grip never waning even as they all stepped inside. alban didn’t look up, even as uki introduced their group to the hostel receptionist, getting their room keys without any issues.
it was only when they made their way to their room that alban dared to open his eyes. fulgur lowered him down onto one of the beds as carefully as he could manage, seating the phantom thief on the edge of the sheets.
“jesus, it’s warm in here.” uki was first to break the silence, throwing his jacket off with a relieved sigh. he’d taken back his bags from yugo, thanking the DJ as he placed them down out of sight, and out of mind.
yugo responded to uki’s comment with a smile, “it's better inside than outside now at least.” he made his way to the bed alban was sat on, sitting beside the phantom thief. the DJ carried a carefree disposition about him, even as he turned to face alban, a casual “hey, how are you doing?” being what he settled to ask.
glancing upwards, everyone in the room was looking at alban: yugo sat beside him, fulgur stood by the bed, with uki and sonny both standing by the door, slowly making their way closer, but not enough to crowd alban. the crowd outside was too much for him, but inside here surrounded by noctyx (his family), alban could breathe easier.
he took in a deep breath, before talking.
“i…i think i feel better now.” alban tried a smile, noting how the rest of the noctyx members’ visibly relaxed. “it’s like, i still feel weird but i know i’m not dying anymore…could’ve fooled me though.”
“mm, panic attacks are frustrating like that.” fulgur agreed. uki had moved over to join alban's side, his hand now intertwined with sonny’s. they all seemed relieved, albeit concerned still. “is this your first ever one?” alban shook his head.
“i haven't had one like that in years.” he confirmed quietly. alban was met with understanding expressions all-around. he’d left most of the more…heavy memories of his past life behind. he knew it was the same for the rest of noctyx too - as much as they tried to bury those terrible memories, those scars never truly faded.
yugo took alban’s hand in his; the DJ’s thumb caressed alban’s knuckles comfortingly.
“it looked scary.” yugo spoke up. the phantom thief averted his gaze downwards, his eyes fixated on the floor.
“...i’m sorry. about all of this, i mean.”
uki shushed him with a kind smile. the psychic had originally intended to give alban some space to breathe, but he chose to sit on alban’s other side, guiding sonny down with him. “don’t apologize. there’s nothing for you to apologize to us about, baby.”
“but i…you guys had to see me like that. we were supposed to be having a nice getaway together.” the more he spoke, the more upset alban could feel himself getting. he clasped onto yugo’s hand tighter, blinking away tears as he mumbled out, “i ruined today for you guys…so i’m sorry.”
“no, no. you haven’t ruined anything for us alban.” fulgur reassured him, his words being met with noises of agreement from the rest of noctyx. “you saw something that triggered you, and you had a panic attack. that’s a normal reaction to have. it’s not something any of us could ever blame you for.”
“mhm. i think…we were just worried about you.” sonny piped up, not wanting to stay silent as alban’s expression began to crumble in front of them. alban couldn’t even begin to imagine sonny ever thinking of him as a burden. he didn’t want to think that any of noctyx could think that way about him.
he brought his free arm up to his face, his sleeve rubbing away the tears that threatened to spill over. yugo had moved closer, the DJ borderline snuggling into alban’s side. he appreciated the warmth.
“alban, baby?” he let out a noise of acknowledgement, prompting uki to continue. “fufu-chan is right, you know. you didn’t ruin today for us at all. come, is there anything you want us to do for you right now that can help?” uki’s voice was so gentle. he knew the psychic was being truthful, but that didn’t help to ease the heaviness in alban’s chest.
“...well, i, for one, had a good day today.” as if sensing alban’s unease, fulgur spoke up. the cyborg tipped his head back, chuckling to himself as he continued. “i got to see you all enjoying yourselves, and i got to carry alban on my back today. i get to see you guys make complete asses of yourselves tomorrow when we visit the animals too.”
“...total dad answer.”
“fuu-chan came up with something old man-like again, huh.” yugo grinned. fulgur let out a groan, mock-frustrated at being ganged up on by sonny and yugo.
“fine! if you’re gonna be like that, then what about you, sonny?” he directed attention to the blonde man. sonny seemed to be caught off-guard, the VSF officer slightly flustered at being the center of attention. alban had always thought it to be rather cute that someone so powerful and confident in his police officer skills was actually the shyest out of their group.
“i mean…i had fun walking around. i’ve never had the chance to walk around a village outside of minecraft so i saw a lot of new things today.”
“that includes the melons, sonny.”
“that absolutely includes the melons.” sonny agreed with yugo, his eyes wide as he turned his attention back to fulgur. “they were purple, fuu-chan. you can’t tell me that isn’t insane.”
fulgur groaned, the sight bringing a small smile to alban’s face. “you’re not gonna break me on this one, guys. the melons were purple. it’s just a different color.”
“they were uki’s color.” sonny pouted. uki seemed pleased to hear it, a proud “thank you for thinking of me, sonnyshine” falling from his lips. he reached over to ruffle sonny’s hair, the VSF officer letting out an embarrassed laugh. fulgur put his arms up in resignation, allowing uki to have the final word on their little ‘argument.’ not a day went by in which the cyborg wasn’t whipped.
alban watched as uki announced that he would be starting on making them lunch, desperately itching to use the fruits they had bought at the market together.
“fufu-chan, come help.”
“be right there, uki!” fulgur called back. he turned back to alban, locking eyes with the phantom thief as he gave him a reassuring smile. his gray eyes bored into alban, his tone softer than it had been before as he lowered his voice to say, “i meant what i said, yeah? you didn’t ruin anything for us today, alban. uki and i will be over there, so just say the word and we’ll come back over.”
there was something about the way fulgur smiled at him that alban couldn’t help but smile back too. fulgur had never failed to make him, or any of the noctyx members, feel welcomed or cared about.
alban watched him walk over to uki, the pair of them immediately launching into preparation mode.
"alban?" alban turned his attention to his kyoudais that were still on the bed with him - sonny and yugo. their expressions were so warm, so welcoming - alban felt as if he could cry. it was sonny who had spoken first, the blonde having been the least vocal throughout alban’s ordeal. “hey. it’s good to see you smiling again.”
alban hadn’t even realized he was smiling. that had just been his natural reaction to seeing yugo and sonny by his side.
“well, you’ve always said you like my smile, right?” he chuckled. sonny nodded immediately, with yugo hitting him lightly in the arm and calling him a “sussy simp, man.” in a quieter tone, alban added a quick, “thank you, by the way. both of you.”
“why’re you thanking us for?”
“you both shielded me with fulgur, even if you guys didn’t really…know what was going on as much.” sonny and yugo simply blinked at alban, prompting him to also mention what sonny had done alone as well. “i heard you asking uki to bring us inside as well, sonny.”
sonny smiled, albeit shyly. he could hardly believe that the VSF officer had once been so cold and standoffish when they first met, finding it difficult to truly empathize with his kyoudai after his job had forced him to build up walls.
(alban supposed that had been the case for all of them. their boss had really known what they were doing when putting them into a group together.)
“anything to help you, my ototou.” he lifted up his hand to alban’s head, gently patting his messy brown hair. sonny’s touch was just another reminder to alban that he was finally safe in this timeline with noctyx. he clasped onto yugo’s hand tighter, prompting the DJ to move in closer to him.
“i hope you know,” yugo started, humming to himself, “the friend you were talking about before? they would be very proud of you now.”
alban found himself actively trying not to tear up at yugo’s words.
he’d told noctyx about his friend before. they knew the details of their lives together and his friend’s tragic passing vaguely. not a day went by when he didn’t cross alban’s mind. the pain that came from thinking about him and all of the time they had that had been cut so short was now a dull sting, one that alban had found slightly easier to manage.
of course, there were times like today when those memories did resurface. alban had, admittedly, worked to hide happenings like that from his kyoudai, for he was used to simply dealing with it alone.
(hiding it hadn’t always worked either. he recalled the night in which he’d unconsciously attacked fulgur after a terrible nightmare, his friend’s name spilling from his lips as he bared his claws, screeching out “victor rias-!”
fulgur had been kind enough to not bring it up again. not until alban was ready.)
“...yeah. i like to think he would be.”
yugo’s smile was bright, even as alban pulled his arm gently to bring the pair of them closer to sonny, leaning into the VSF officer’s shoulder. sonny had no issue wrapping his arm around alban’s frame, his broad arms insanely comfortable to the phantom thief.
“aha, are you tired, alban?”
“mhm, yeah. physically and emotionally, that’s for sure.” sonny and yugo understood. their smiles were sympathetic, understanding in a way that wasn’t pitiful in the least. they had been there too. alban wasn’t alone.
“wanna nap together? there’s enough space for all three of us if we squish up together!” yugo pointed to the bed they were sat on. it was a double bed, but the noctyx members were practically pros at huddling up together during missions and the like. fitting three men under the covers of a double bed was mere children’s play.
sonny gave yugo a pointed stare, his gaze flickering back and forth between the DJ and the fellow kyoudai on lunch duty.
“what about lunch? we can’t sleep through a meal…that’s blasphemy, dude.”
“uki can wake us up, right?” yugo countered with a grin, tugging on lightly on sonny’s sleeve. sonny seemed to think about it for a moment before resigning with a shrug, mumbling something about getting to nap with his ototou. alban smiled, knowing the both of them were tired just like him, but were acting under making sure he was okay, first and foremost.
“let’s nap together then. can…can i still be in the middle though?”
“of course. anything for you, koneko-chan.”
sonny and yugo wasted no time getting the pillows in order, before pulling alban to lie down on the bed with them. the phantom thief laid in between his kyoudai, their warmth encompassing him as he let his eyes flutter shut. the second his head hit the bed, it was as if all his exhaustion from the day’s events hit him all at once, reminding him of how good a nap would be.
“would you look at that. our boys are sleeping.” as alban began to drift to sleep, he could hear fulgur and uki’s voices in the distance. he could never mistake the fondness in their tones.
“i know…when i’m done cutting this melon, i’m taking photos of this. i need this memory immortalized, fufuchan.” fulgur snorted, chiding uki lightheartedly. even though their voices seemed far away, alban knew they were closeby.
sonny brushed alban’s hair out of his face, whispering a quiet “sleep well, alban”, mirrored immediately by yugo nuzzling up to his side, the DJ’s face pressed against alban’s shirt.
despite all of the trauma that he’d withstood, the beloved person that he’d lost, alban could safely say that he wasn’t alone anymore. he was in safe hands with noctyx, his beloved kyoudai.
someday, the time would come for him to tell them everything. the truth behind his friend’s death, the difficulties he faced growing up impoverished and alone, all the unpleasant things he had to do just to survive…
but for now, alban wanted to cherish the warmth that his members had chosen to surround him with. he loved these men with every fiber of his being; they were his home, in the present and future. with a smile, he drifted off to sleep, sandwiched between sonny and yugo.
(he hoped victor was looking down on him, smiling at how happiness had found its way back to alban. he wasn’t going to let it go again.)