On the other side of the house, after finishing cleaning up the kitchen, Lumina headed to her room, letting her hair down already, her long sunset hair tumbling down like a waterfall. She closed the door behind her and walked into her and Mina's closet. She grabbed her pajamas and then heard another door open. She got through the closet before opening Mina's door and sighing.
"Mina, you should at least change before you crash, remember how many times you've just fallen asleep?" Lumina said, sitting on the bed next to her and carefully avoiding her hair.
"I will, it's just...been exhausting recently. I'm worried about everyone. The guards are getting closer, Lumina. How is that even happening? We were being so careful, and yet they're still finding us," She sighed, and Lumina stroked her hair.
"I don't think there's too much we can do about that. All we can do is hope for the best at this point and start getting prepared to leave. We're lucky this place worked for as long as it did anyways, but it's about time we move on for safety reasons, no?" Lumina asked gently and Mina nodded.
"I guess you're right. But you know, I can't help but worry about the memory issue. Whatever the fuck that is," Mina said softly, leaning into Lumina's hand. Lumina hummed softly before getting up and holding her hand out to her.
"I know. It's even trickier since the headaches and chest pains are related to it and every time we try to talk more in detail about it, well, we see what happens. I'm not...forgetting things anymore, which is a relief. But...I'm seeing things, like memories but I don't ever remember them happening. Some of them don't even seem possible," Lumina said softly.
Mina paused for a moment. She thought about it, and lurched up, "I do remember! You're right, I hadn't even realized but I remember what exactly happened to Emilio. And then with some of these dreams that I've been having…They're getting more and more realistic. It feels like I'm remembering something that never happened."
"But at least it's better than forgetting, right?" Lumina asked
Mina smiled and took her hand, "Yeah, it is better. Come on, let's not...Think too much on it," She said as she pulled on Lumina's arm.
They quickly changed and then Lumina sat on the ground in front of Mina, who sat on her bed and began to fishtail braid her hair. Lumina could feel Mina's nimble fingers quickly moving her hair, not too tightly that it would hurt. Her fingers sometimes touched the hair of her neck, and went down her back, as Mina tried to braid all the way down.
She quickly tied off Lumina's hair and switched places with her. Lumina reached down and held Mina's silky hair, and began to French braid it. Mina sighed and leaned back, she had always loved it when someone, especially Lumina, played with her hair. The taller woman finally finished and got up, reaching her hand out for Mina, who took it with no hesitation, not letting go.
They walked out, peering into Owen and Fenix's room, the two were asleep by the bottom of Fenix's bed while the flat-screen in their room was still showing the menu of some videogame, "Seriously, you two? So much for going to bed," Lumina shook her head as she walked over and turned off the TV. When she turned back, she saw that Mina had picked up Owen, moving him to the bed. Lumina followed suit, putting one hand under his back and the other under his knees to lift him.
As soon as the two boys were placed next to each other on the bed, Owen curled up against Fenix's side, his head tucked under the older boy's chin, against his chest. Still asleep, Fenix wrapped an arm around Owen protectively.
Mina turned to Lumina, holding back her giggles, "Really, I don't know why they bother trying to sleep in separate beds, they always somehow end up in the same bed anyway," The other woman quickly pulled her out of the room. Before they left, though, Lumina whispered a quiet "good night" into the room and closed the door. Mina leaned her head against her shoulder, laughing quietly.
"What? What is it?"
"I was just thinking that the kids are right, you really are like a mom," Mina joked quietly.
Lumina snorted, "Okay, and who exactly are you to be saying that? Last I recall, the person yelling at them for leaving their socks around the base wasn't me," Mina pouted at that and the older woman couldn't help but feel so very fond of her, "Don't give me that look, you look adorable when you pout," Lumina exclaimed, turning away. Mina turned red.
Dear God, she has to stop saying stuff like that, my heart can't take it. Sometimes, I think that maybe it's just a mild crush or something, and then she says some shit like this and I feel like I'm fourteen again, and being absolutely head over heels in love with her, Mina couldn't push away the butterflies in her stomach no matter how hard she tried.
They turned into Risále's room to find her fast asleep, and they noticed she was shivering. Mina didn't say anything, simply heading towards the linen closet in the room and reaching up for a blanket. She frowned as she was unable to reach them until she felt a warmth behind her, "Here, let me help," Lumina said softly, and Mina shivered a little as she could hear the other woman's right against her ear.
Lumina grabbed the blanket and Mina turned to face her. The taller woman looked at her, an unreadable emotion in her eyes as they simply stood in the dark room, the dim glow of the night lamp bathing them in a soft light. Mina cleared her throat softly, "The blanket?" She asked and Lumina seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in.
"Sorry, yeah, I just spaced out for a second," She said, putting the folded-up blanket in Mina's hands. She looked up at Lumina for a moment, as if considering to say something before letting out a soft sigh and deciding against it.
Mina moved over to cover Risále with the blanket, "Good night, Risále," She whispered softly, and the girl hummed softly in her sleep, turning slightly but smiling lightly as she heard Mina's voice.
Eventually, the two of them left and finally went to Leon's room to find the boy still awake. Lumina knocked on the door lightly before stepping inside, quickly followed by Mina. "Hey, you alright?" She asked.
Leon turned to her, "Yeah, I was just thinking...It's about what Mina said. I feel it, too. It's strange. I…I want to tell you what I know but I…I can't. I just—Until I'm sure, I don't want to say anything. Besides, from what I can tell, trying to talk about it too much…" He said quietly. Lumina sat on one side of him, Mina on the other.
"The chest contractions, yeah," Lumina said softly, "We know. It's alright, Leon. When you feel like you're ready, we're always here. We're all going to get through this, okay? Whatever the hell it is we're seeing, we'll get through it."
"And since we don't seem to be forgetting things anymore, I think we'll be alright for now, at least," Mina added.
There was a heavy sadness in Leon's eyes, "Thank you...Both of you…" Lumina reached over and hugged him first as Mina stroked his head, "Not just for this, just for everything in general. I don't say it often enough but if you guys hadn't taken me in after I ran away from Sector 3, I never would have known that Chaewon was even alive…"
Mina looked at him sadly, "I just wish we could help you now."
Leon shook his head, "I know it must hurt you guys as well, especially Xander and Kaedan. I mean, Xander was best friends with them even when I was a child. I think we all want to find them."
At this, Lumina pulled away, furrowing her eyebrows, "I thought Xander didn't meet you back then?"
"What?" Leon asked, looking surprised, "Did he say that? That's not true, I'd met him before coming here. I actually remember meeting him when I was nine or so…" He trailed off. As he thought about it, Leon wasn't quite sure if he was remembering that correctly, "...Either way, Elliot, Chaewon, and Xander were best friends since they were in grade school. I'm sure he had to have met me once before, even if I was too young to remember it. I mean, I am nine years younger than him."
"...Logically, that makes sense," Mina murmured," Do you think it has to do with…"
"Probably," Lumina said softly, "I think you should probably talk to Xander about it. Not now, though. You…You're not looking so good. I think you should get some rest. Have you been sleeping properly recently?"
Leon sighed, "I've been trying but…The nightmares are bad. Half of the time, I wake up in the middle of the night anyway."
"...You as well?" Lumina asked.
"Huh? What do you mean? Is there someone else…" Leon asked quietly, looking at the women.
Lumina sighed, "...Xander's been having nightmares as well. Really bad ones as well, he won't talk much about them but Kaedan said Xander hasn't been sleeping well recently."
"...Fuck," Leon muttered to himself, looking down, "There's just so much happening…I don't even know where to begin. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?"
Mina seemed to notice growing distress in Leon's eyes and she gently grabbed him by the shoulders, "Hey, Leon, look at me. Take a deep breath," She said, looking him in the eyes, "Whatever is going on, we'll figure it out, alright? Whatever you need from us. But right now, I think you need some sleep, alright? We can talk more about this in the morning."
Leon seemed to calm down with each breath he took. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, he nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I…Maybe getting some rest will help," He laid back down against the mattress.
"And if you can't sleep, you can find one of us, whether it be me, Minnie, Xander, or Kaedan. You know we'd do anything for you," Lumina added.
"I know," Leon said softly, his eyes getting heavy, "I think that's what makes it harder. If I could tell you everything…It would only hurt you when you realize that no one can do anything about this except me."
Mina and Lumina looked at each other, before Mina looked back down, "Leon, Leon what do you mean by that—"
To their surprise, though, Leon had already fallen asleep. Mina looked troubled, but Lumina simply shook her head, "Let him rest. There's always tomorrow morning. He's been through a lot. He's going through a lot."
The younger woman sighed and nodded before leaning forward and kissing Leon's forehead, "Good night, Leon," She whispered, "And I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm sorry we're not able to do more for you right now."
They closed the door softly, still feeling slightly unsettled by the conversation. Both of them headed to the movie room and saw Xander and Kaedan cuddled up on the couch. Kaedan was sitting on Xander's lap, beginning to doze off when Lumina and Mina sat down on the ground in front of the two.
"The kids are all asleep," Mina whispered. Xander simply nodded, and gently moved Kaedan so that he could be more comfortable, "...Leon's not doing so well."
"...I'm worried about him," Kaedan admitted softly, nuzzling into Xander's neck a bit, "Leon's good at keeping things quiet. It's why we don't know anything about what happened to him between when Chaewon and him got separated and when you guys found him. If his mask is slipping…I wish it was because he was more comfortable around us but I think that's more than we can ask for. Whatever he has to handle on his own, it's bad."
Xander hummed, "And he can't tell us, either. He apologized to me earlier as well. When I asked him what for, he said that I'd find out soon enough. Taking a wild guess, I think the reason he can't talk about it is the same reason we can't talk about all the weird things happening recently."
Lumina nodded, "I think that's what it is. He knows what's happening, or he has some idea. He just can't tell us. And honestly, if it means that he has to go through that pain just to tell us, I'd rather not know. Or find out myself, at least."
"I think we can all agree on that," Kaedan nodded, "At this point, it seems like all we can do is wait."
"I hate that," Xander muttered, "He's hurting and we can't do anything to help him. This fucking sucks."
Lumina let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, of course, you'd feel that way, Mister Savior Complex."
"Hey, I'm at least better than I was five years ago."
The four of them watched movies for a while, Mina soon fell asleep on Lumina's shoulder, which then led to Lumina moving so that Mina could put her head on her lap. Kaedan was the next to fall asleep, his head against Xander's collarbone. After the movie ended, Lumina yawned and rested her head against the couch.
"G'Night, Guocheng ge…" She yawned. She felt Xander pat her head gently.
"Good night, A'Li," Xander said softly as Lumina fell asleep. He smiled softly and shifted Kaedan so the man was sprawled across his lap. Kaedan shifted, his eyes opening blearily for a moment. He gripped Xander's shirt, pulling himself up and tucking his face into the crook of Xander's neck, pressing his lips there lightly.
He hummed quietly, "Good night, Alex."
"Good night, darling," Xander murmured, as sleep took over him as well. And all was quiet.