#i gave it a cursory edit and fixed some stuff and probably messed up others

[moonlight-at-dawn]

I'm just gonna post this one here straight up. It'll make it to AO3 eventually, but it's short so hey.

Shionne freaks out when a bug lands on her, and Alphen is Suffering.

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Water lapped gently against the wall of the basin as Alphen soaked his sore muscles. He reveled in the sensations, both the fatigue of a good day’s work, and the heat of the water working to relax him. There was no point in using up magical energy on a healing when a nice bath would often do the trick. His head lolled back over the edge and he breathed in deep the steam coming up from around him. He hummed in contentment, eyes gently closed, arms out to either side to hook elbows on the basin to keep him from sinking down.

A piercing scream broke the peaceful moment.

“Shionne!” he gasped, leaping out of the tub and slipping on tiled floor, barely keeping his balance. He grabbed his sword from where it hung on the bedroom wall and barrelled out to the kitchen where the scream had come from. “Shionne, what is it!?”

She had her gun out, and he looked to where the barrel was pointed, seeing… Nothing? It was aimed very deliberately at the ground, but he wasn’t sure he saw the threat. “Sh-Shionne…?” he gasped, asking again, hoping for some kind of answer.

When she looked up from her rifle, her eyes were wide and teary, and she let the gun disappear back into its astral pocket. “Alphen…!” she cried out in a voice that reminded him of painful moments. Her hand wiped subconsciously at her arm, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “It, it landed on me, Alphen…!”

“It…?”

“A bug! A big, hideous bug! Some kind of beetle! It was so big, and heavy, and it landed right on me! I thought my heart was going to explode! I swatted at it, but it got away! I never thought I’d miss the thorns, but I never had to deal with bugs like that before!”

She sounded so distraught, crying, and he stood there, soaking wet and naked, dripping bathwater on the kitchen floor, sword in hand. He didn’t know what to do or to say.

Did he hug her? No, that would get her wet, and she’d be angry.

Did he laugh? No, absolutely not, that would get him shot.

What was the right answer?

“I’m… sorry?” he tendered, bewildered.

“Find it and kill it!”

“Can, can I just, put it outside where it belongs, if I find it?”

“Fine, just so long as it’s gone!”

“Alright. But, uh, Shionne?”

“What!?”

“Can I… get dressed first?”

She looked up from her hands that covered her face and took in the sight of him like that. A tear still rolling down her cheek, she suddenly burst into laughter, covering her face again. “I’m sorry, Alphen! I didn’t realize, I didn’t mean to scare you like that…! Go, go finish up your bath, and maybe we’ll be lucky and that damn thing will have left on its own by the time you get back.”

He sighed with relief and nodded, grinning at her. “Thanks. I’ll try not to take too long.”

“And I’ll try not to scream and shoot at any more insects. At least, ones that aren’t zeugles.”