Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce | Adora & Seth
Seth’s breath caught in his throat as he nuzzled in, desperate to be close to her. The only one he knew he could hug without feeling ashamed was Brody, but Brody couldn’t offer this kind of comfort. He didn’t necessarily suspect he wanted it from his brother either. He inhaled, the breath audibly shaky and he didn’t know how to respond. It was obvious that he wasn’t, but it would be rude to let her question just hang. However, he didn’t want to say no. Because then that would raise more questions, ones that he didn’t want to answer. He knew lying was no use, but it might be better than not.
He pulled back a moment, just to see his face and blinked, unsure if he was trying to see clearer or if he was blinking away the extra moisture that had formed, threatening that if he didn’t man up, tears. He nodded, his lips quirking to the side in an attempted smile. It didn’t work because it disappeared the instant it flashed and it never reached his eyes, but he knew the attempt would fail. At least he’d managed the smile this time.
Seth brushes his own hair out of his eyes, then laid back again, this time nuzzling into the nape of her neck, but less urgent; less like he needed the comfort this instant and more like he wanted this comfort. His grip around her waist didn’t tighten, but didn’t relax in the least bit. He pressed a soft, small kiss to her neck, then closed his eyes. He felt a little safer, or maybe just a little more comfortable. He wasn’t sure why because in that moment he was cuddling with a dead girl, but in hindsight, it was still just Adora.
Adora couldn’t quite muster up the valour to ask the recurrent questions which were now involuntarily floating about her mind and clouding up her judgement. What exactly had happened in Briarcliff? What had happened to Seth? Why was he so sad? All of the curiosity surrounding the past weeks that he had been away still circled in the wiry-haired girl’s mind as she studied each of his gestures, a habit she had picked up recently after sitting and covertly observing the patients in their day-to-day routines around the asylum.
She forced her tinted lips to curl into a small, uneasy smile at his response. She hated the way the light had drained from his eyes but she still maintained that Seth was undoubtedly there. He was inside somewhere, deep down, hidden and repressed beneath battle scars. A brief, barely there sigh fell from between the girl’s parted lips and once again she shifted her weight to turn and face him. She didn’t flinch nor did she even react when he held her closer, pressing the small kiss to the skin of her neck. She didn’t know how to respond.
As she studied the male, her fingers pulled up from her sides and inched closer to his face, moving to curl one stray strand of his dark hair away from his eyes. She parted her lips once again to speak yet no words found her lips and quickly her mouth closed again. She strained the jumble of words from her mind, knowing that he probably didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that had truly upset him – she thought of something new. “Do you want me to knock next time? I’m presuming there will be a next time because I want there to be one. I like spending time with you.”
Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce | Adora & Seth
Seth’s eyes closed for a split’s second blink and when they opened again, there was someone on the bed, such an opposite feeling as to what he had just felt. His eyes widened slightly, as much as this sleep deprivation would allow and swallowed, parting his lips and taking a much needed breath after it. The reaction was hardly noticeable, however, as the most noticeable was a slight shift in his position. His lips pursed together and he nodded a few times, his voice flat as he attempted a joke, “Probably. I may actually stab you one of these times.” He didn’t manage a smile and when he didn’t, his eyes cast downward, glancing at the bed she laid on.
How long had she been there? he wondered. Did she see him give up? Did she see him bury his face into his broken fingers in frustration? Did she watch him tear himself apart and quietly curse his own head for not being able to measure up? Had she heard his music? It occurred to him that only Tails and Brody had and only just now how nervous he would be if she had heard it, or if anyone had. His eyes flicked back up, resting on her again and he subconsciously began to push himself closer to the edge of the bed, though there was hardly an inch to move and cover. He could tell, just by looking at her, that she had seen. His brow furrowed, allowing the sadness to ring through his face and eyes instead of the comfortably numb version of him he had created. He felt like he could trust her. Maybe that wasn’t the best judgement he’d ever given in to, but it didn’t seem like the worst either.
He looked down as he thought, away from her, but keeping the tips of her blonde locks in sight and her, for the most part. It didn’t take nearly as much thinking as he wanted it to, to stand and walk over to the bed meant to be vacant. He crawled over her, finding a somewhat comfortable position to lay behind her and his arms curled around her waist, bringing her in close to him. He didn’t know if it was right, or if she’d even want it. Maybe, because he had found a seemingly permanent position of comfort to nuzzle his face into her neck, he couldn’t see what might have been a confused, repulsed look. One that questioned where he got off holding her or finding the comfort in her that didn’t belong to him or that wasn’t deserving of him. But he had no regrets, only pulling her skin closer to his own. It was just a touch that he needed, one that he wanted to allow himself. He would beat himself up for it later, no matter what he did now, but at least this way he might have a few moments of comfort.
Adora remained in silence for the few passing moments it took for Seth to acknowledge her presence; when he did, it was almost as if the actuality of the circumstances had dawned on her, causing a bout of instantaneous discomfort. A weak cherry hue gradually pushed its way to the surface of her porcelain cheeks and she bashfully turned on the bed to conceal the change of colour in her face, regardless of her embarrassment, an instinctive smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as she heard Seth speak and she opened her mouth to respond in her soft English accent, “I’m hurt. I suppose I’ll learn my lesson if that ever comes around, won’t I?” With a timid smile, she shifted once again on the flesh of mattress and turned to face Seth.
For a brief second her attention shifted and she thought back to what she had just seen. The prospect of Seth being so internally damaged it caused him to fight with himself both physically and mentally sincerely scared the young ghost. For some unidentified reason she felt compelled to try and help the dark haired man before her; she almost felt compelled to make a feeble attempt at untwining the mental suffering he had undergone whilst at Briarcliff. Adora knew the prospect of her helping him in any way was doomed to failure from the first thought for she had never truly had any impact on anyone in her life. Why would that be different now she was dead? A concise, contemptible sigh fell beneath the veil of her breath and as if the elastic of attention had been snapped back, she focused on the empty-eyed man once again.
The blonde’s eyes widened as she noticed Seth slip from the bed and approach her. At first her expression mirrored once of perplexity yet it slowly transitioned into a picture of contentment when she realised what he was doing. The feel of his arms snaking around her tiny waist comforted her in the strangest way. As if the movements were subconscious, her fingertips stirred to trace patterns against the skin of his forearm and she arched her head to the side a few inches to allow a generous space for his face to rest. She wasn’t entirely sure why Seth felt the need to embrace her, but she positively was not complaining, in fact, she was glad he had found the nerve to approach her. “Are you okay?” Was all the girl could manage even if she was fully aware he wasn’t, in fact, she felt somewhat stupid for asking but she needed to break the silence. She needed to at least make the strongest effort to be his friend – she wanted to be his friend.
Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce | Adora & Seth
Seth’s lips pursed together as his eyes closed and he strummed again, despite that said strums, without a pick, had scathed and scratched the tips of his fingers, the other fingers close to bleeding with how much he had been playing. Nothing else could distract him from the memories except self-discipline, except teaching himself how to keep going at something, the perseverance despite that he felt like his fingers were going to fall off on both hands. However, nothing was coming out right now because his fingers were too far damaged to hold down the string and form a cord, the others too pained to strum anything that beckoned another strum after it. With a shaky breath and shaking hands, he pulled it out of grasp and let it rest on the dresser, then stared down at his hands. He spread them out in front of him, biting his tongue so he would learn to deal with the pain the same way he had at Briarcliff. It was nothing compared to what he had felt before.
With a sharp inhale, Seth laid down, staring up at the ceiling in thought that couldn’t be categorised. None of his thoughts were whirring in a sense to make sense, only attacking. And he couldn’t close his eyes. If he wasn’t exhausted, ready to sleep, then closing his eyes meant he didn’t sleep, but still gave way to the memories of the previous asylum. Then they kept him up and he didn’t sleep anyway. Seth exhaled the breath he had been subconsciously holding in, turning on his side as he did and he stared at the empty bed in front of him. It was the loneliest way to go about anything, he knew it, by pushing everyone away, but it was the best way. Keep the bed across from him and his own bed empty save for his own body. It wasn’t as if he deserved anyone to keep him company at that moment anyway.
Adora’s cerulean orbs flickered from one decomposing surface to another as she wandered aimlessly through the corridors of Broken Asylum. She had grown accustomed to the forlorn ways of her afterlife, and in the process, she had been deprived of nearly everyone she cared for. At first she thought the prospect of losing friends was something she could merely come to terms with; perhaps the prospect of an perpetuity unaccompanied wasn’t all so intimidating. The petite blonde learned quickly that she was undoubtedly mistaken. After weeks of practice, Adora had finally got to grips with her powers, although they were exceptionally inadequate compared to that of a demon or an angel, she found that she could take advantage of these all the same. The young ghost particularly liked the sneak up on people and she often put the trick of invisibility to use when she was jaded.
Over the past week, Adora had found herself unexplainably drawn towards Seth, Brody’s twin brother. Although this attraction was unexplained and in all probability a dense pronouncement to follow up on her part, the flaxen haired female, without will, found herself constantly eager to be around he male, even if that meant artlessly inviting herself into his room. Minutes had passed since Adora made her way through the thick concoction of the cement walls, her eyes were fixated on the bleeding fingertips of the boy she had so hastily grown to value. Though Adora knew that Seth was troubled since his abrupt visit to Briarcliff, she had never experienced the pain that the journey had caused him psychically first hand – she almost felt guilty for spying. Without a word, Adora slipped back onto the thick sponge of spare bed mattress and cranked her head in Seth’s direction, she lay still for a moment, as if her being there, although invisible, may help him in some perverse sense of reality. Adora quickly came to notice the flaws in her theory, and so, with a reluctant sigh made herself known to the dark haired male who was ostensibly lost in thought. “I should stop creeping up on you, shouldn’t I?”
Well, shit.
You totally don’t.
Okay, does your stomach growl when you don’t eat? Does it taste like heaven when you haven’t eaten in two days? I also just realised what I wanted - spaghetti. I fell in love with spaghetti just now in my head. You wouldn’t understand anyway. [smirks]
I was alive once and I still remember what it was like, I just don’t have to deal with making time to eat set meals… And foods I don’t like. Spaghetti is a food you can easily fall in love with so I don’t blame you. 
Well, shit.
Well, hang on. You don’t even eat anymore. You don’t understand the love.
Hey, I understand the love just fine, thank you very much! 
Well, shit.
Well, hang on. You don’t even eat anymore. You don’t understand the love.
Hey, don’t tell me what I do and don’t understand! The love was there once.
Well, shit.
Okay, then you wait and I’ll find something to eat until then.
Well, no, just in the fridge and the freezer. There’s nothing that looks really very good in there, honestly. I just don’t know what I want, I think. I’m hoping I’ll see it and fall in love.
Okay, well, I’ve got to get use to being patient sometime soon. 
Right, because that’s how it happens! You see it and just fall in love. Maybe you should check in the cupboards…
Well, shit.
Well… I kinda want cheesecake. But I’m pretty sure there’s none of that here and I only sort of know how to make and it takes like three years. And I might die of starvation by then, so not cheesecake. Um… Anything you want?
I could totally wait three years for the cheesecake and I could let you know when it’s done. Uh, not really… Have you already looked in all of the cupboards? 
Well, shit.
That’s so weird. Well, do you want food? Because I do and we could make something.
Sure, why not? Is there anything you want specifically? I mean, there isn’t a whole lot in this kitchen. 
Well, shit.
I’m pretty glad I don’t want to stab you, too.
Yeah, and stuff. So, that’s cool. And, um… yeah. So do you eat?
That’s cool then. 
Well, I do if it’s good food because it’s not exactly a requirement anymore. I haven’t eaten in a while actually.
