KH - The Mechanic Chapter 1

[besinfection]

Title: The MechanicCategory: Kingdom Hearts
Character: Sora
Genre: Action/Adventure/Alternate Reality/Fantasy/General/Sci-Fi/Slash/Romance
Rating: K / G - Eventual MA+ / NC-17
Chapters: 1/A LOT
Disclaimer: I, Besieged Infection, do not own the rights to the video game Kingdom Hearts by Square Enix and Disney, nor do I promote (or discourage) smoking.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All rights to characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.
WARNINGS: Fantasy violence, heterosexual relationships, and homosexual relationships.


…
Dirt. It slipped between slender fingers, soft and earthy, leaving in their wake brown streaks across small palms. A boy, no older than fourteen with hair that stood from his head in spikes, made his way through a long tunnel. Despite low light the boy did not stumble. In fact, he seemed familiar with the area, his feet stepping carefully over the sandy floor. Coming out of the tunnel, he found himself in a circular stone room.

It was an old place; much older than any other he'd been to. Lit by two holes in the ceiling, it allowed the blue of the sky to peek through. The rocks were smooth, a majority of them easily dwarfing those who walked through. The shape and look of the room implied that water had once run through, eroding the stone and shaping the walls. And yet, not all of it was natural. Cave drawings riddled the rocks. Childish things, made from stone on stone. But more mysteriously, a wooden door stood on the far side, impressed into the the wall itself. The boy spared it a glance, but turned aside to look for something else. Before long he found what he was looking for- a small cluster of mushrooms beside the roots of a great, twisted tree. These he snatched up and placed in a small bag at his waist before pausing.

Among others, there were two cave drawings just above where the mushrooms sat; drawings of a boy and a girl. He let his hand settle over the rock before pulling away. Snatching a stone from the ground he began to work below it, adding to the image. Eventually he pulled back, revealing that the boy was feeding the girl a Paopu fruit. He stared the image for a soft scraping sound from behind caused him to turn.

“Wh- who's there?” His voice was panicked as he took in the figure before the door. It was a person, though his body seemed deformed under their heavy brown clothes, which obscured every part of them. There were no holes for hands or feet, and the shadow of a drawn hood his their face. But what was strangest of all was that the man seemed not to make contact with the ground, the lowest portion of his clothes, and his body, hovering a good inch above the cave floor.

“I've come to see the door to this world,” the stranger announced, their voice noticeably masculine.

“Huh?” The question came out as a prepubescent squeak, but went unnoticed.

“This world has been connected.”

“Wh- what are you talking about?” the boy questioned, backing up just the slightest amount from the figure.

“Tied to the darkness,” the stranger continued, “soon to be completely eclipsed.

The boy attempted to hide his fear, covering it instead with a mask of offense. “Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this.” He paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. “Huh? Wh- where did you come from?”

“You do not yet know what lies beyond the door.” His voice was an intimidating bass, gravelly and imposing.

Connecting the dots, the boy threw his hand to the side. “So, you're from another world!”

A small silence. “There is so very much to learn. You understand so little.”

“Oh yeah?” the boy loudly commented, rising to the taunt. “Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out there and learn what's out there!”

“A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”

Glancing to the side, the brunet found his eyes drawn to the wooden door. His gaze hadn't wandered for more than a second, but when he looked back the man was gone.

…
Awaking slowly, a young man reached up to rub the last of his dream from his eyes.

“Sora, you lazy bum,” a young woman jovially announced from his bedside. “I knew I'd find you snoozing down here.”

“Kairi,” he groaned, throwing aside his blankets to right himself on his bed. His long brown hair hung around his face in spikes, trailing down his back and pooling on the sheets. Reaching for a hair tie on the bedside table, he quickly pulled it back into a tight pony-tail. “What time is it?”

“25h,” she replied, unconsciously reaching up to play with her own shock of red hair after seeing him pay attention to his. Realizing what she was doing, she dropped her hand to her stomach. There it played with one of the many buttons of her uniform, which was pressed to perfection. A small cloth satchel rest against her hip. “You really shouldn't be sleeping this late. What if you throw off your sleep schedule?”

Scoffing, the male rolled his eyes. They were a shock of bright blue to match hers. “I need all the sleep I can get. Tomorrow is the first stage of darkness evaluation week.”

“Yeah, yeah. A test of doom, six days of slaughter, one day of horror, and one day of rest.” Reaching into her satchel, she withdrew two squashed packs of cigarettes. “Here- a souvenir from Traverse Town. You owe me.”

Snatching the packs from where they fell on the floor, the brunet immediately began to beat one against his palm. “You are a lifesaver,” he announced.

She shrugged. “I remembered you saying you were out yesterday so I decided to do you a favor.” Holding out her hand, she looked him straight in the eye. “That'll be twenty-five munny.”

Sora, in an attempt not to smile too broadly, shrugged as he reached under his mattress for his wallet. Retrieving it, he handed over the amount with a grin. “You drive a hard bargain, but I really don't have a choice.”

“Good,” she replied, taking the cash in hand and shoving it into her satchel, only to retrieve five more packs of cigarettes. “Because twenty-five covers seven packs, easy. Civilian stuff is so cheap it's ridiculous.” Tossing the cartons straight into the boy's lap, she took a seat beside him. “You don't honestly think that I would rip you off, do you?”

Grinning for all he was worth, the brunet carefully stored six of the packs between the wall and the mattress before engulfing the girl in a hug. “You are officially my best friend.”

She scoffed. “Right- try telling that to Riku.”

“Riku's not here right now.”

“Then I'll just have to do,” she replied smugly, returning the hug for all she was worth.

“How was your trip?” he asked, pulling away from the embrace with a small, jealous smile. “Eventful?” Standing, and being sure to avoid bumping his head against the empty top bunk of his bed, he tugged at the regulation underwear that spanned his entire torso, making his way to the steel locker on the far-side of the room.

“Kinda boring, actually,” the redhead admitted, fiddling with her blazer's top button as he slipped his shirt on. “It was nice not having to wear this stiff uniform, though.”

“You mean it was nice not having to wear clothes designed to counteract gravity.”

“Hey, even I like to look nice every once in a while. Wear a dress, a nice coat- frilly underwear.” Heaving a sigh, she leaned back, slipping her hands between the bars of the bed frame and the upper mattress and pulling herself into midair. “So how was your time here? I hope you didn't sleep the day away. Did you remember to check in with the lab?”

His grin suddenly went stupid as he turned to look at her, buttoning his shit. “Yeah. Ienzo was there, too.”

“I take it he didn't chew you out this time.”

“He does not chew me out.”

“No, he just scolds you within an inch of tears.”

“We are changing subjects.”

“Right. How was your Phys. Ed. 2 exam?”

“You have just lost best friend status.”

Dropping to the bed, Kairi groaned, reaching into a separate section of her bag to retrieve yet another carton of cigarettes. She began to beat it against her palm as she spoke. “I take it things were entertaining.”

“Entertaining?” the young man questioned. “I guess I would define tripping over the starting pad and face-planting into the jumping blocks as 'entertaining.' Same goes for losing my Keyblade in the middle of a perry and forgetting I could call it to me. Oh- and should I mention the tire-runs? Because those were a riot.”

“You failed, then.”

“Yup. Remedial Swordsmanship, starting next week.”

“So you've got an hour a day in the Sim room. Big whoop. I can monitor those with you, if you want. Get some homework done. That way no one has to know.”

“Two hours.”

She started, staring at him as he buttoned up the last of his jacket and slid the belt around his waist. “They double-blocked you? But this is the busiest semester you've ever had! You don't even have any free days!” Gaping like a fish, she tried not to yell. “How could they double-block you?”

“Like this, apparently. And don't lie and say I don't need it, because I do.” Shrugging, Sora tried to keep a straight face as he turned to face his companion. “We're in the middle of a war, Kairi. And one day I'm going to have to fight in it. Just as you will, and just as Riku is. And frankly, as far as the Phys. Ed. Examiner is concerned, I'm a Keyblade wielder who sucks at swords play. A liability to the front lines. A dropout.”

“Sora, don't talk like that. You're being trained to be a Base Mechanic, not a Keyblade Wielder.”

“Then why do I have the Keyblade?”

“It's like Aqua said; the guy who gave Riku his power apparently gave it to you.”

“That's the thing- he didn't give the power to me!” Feeling as if he could do nothing else, Sora lashed out, his steel-toed boot colliding with the the locker with a resounding 'clang.' “She just assumed that. He gave the power to Riku, but I wasn't even there when it happened! I just woke up last month and it was there. Explain that!”

Kairi stared down at her pack of cigarettes as her hands stilled, suddenly at a loss. “I had no idea,” she admitted, tearing a corner open and retrieving a single cigarette. Settling down beside her, Sora snatched up the carton he'd abandoned packing and did the same. Making a fist, he flicked his thumb out, which at the end of glowed a small sphere of fire. He offered it to the redhead, who lit her cigarette without question before he did the same, inhaling deeply and fighting the urge to walk out of the room without explanation.

“I've been having these weird thoughts lately,” he admitted after a long while. “Like is any of this for real or not?”

“Well, if it isn't,” she began, voice muffled until her fingers took hold of her cigarette, “that would certainly explain why you have a Keyblade.” Taking another deep drag, she held her breath for a bit before letting it out. “You should tell Aqua. The truth, this time, not beat around the bush for half an hour like before.”

“The Headmistress? No way. The last thing I need is to get dragged into an Apprenticeship with her and some 'Mark of Mastery' test.”

“Sora.” Kairi tested the name on her tongue, almost hesitant to continue. “If no one gave you the power that means you were chosen by the Keyblade. That's a big deal.”

He shrugged. “Big deal or not, that isn't going to help me pass Physical Education or Battle Strategy.” Reaching beneath the mattress, he retrieved a small closed ashtray, which he flipped open and tapped the tip of his cigarette against. Kairi did the same before setting the filter between her teeth.

Throwing her arms up to grab at the bed frame, the redhead mumbled, “Okay, I give up. What happened in Battle Strategy?”

“I confused 'infantry' with 'platoon.'”

Kairi allowed her cigarette to hang crookedly at the admission. “You have Vossler, right? How are you alive?”

“Ronsenburg was sitting in,” Sora supplied. “According to the posted scores I missed failure by two points.”

She whistled at this. “Lucky break. Thank goodness for Ronsenburg and his sexiness.”

“Kairi, he's over forty.” Fighting the blush from his cheeks, Sora fixed the young woman with a strange look. “You're nineteen.”

“Hey, he's still eye candy. I can't stare at him for six hours a week and not feel obligated to admit that.” They were quiet for a long time after this, partaking in a silence that went from warm and bubbly to sour and lonesome. “When do you think Riku's going to come back?”

“Who knows?” Sora replied. “Aren't outings only supposed to last four weeks? It's been what- eleven?”

“Twelve weeks, one day,” the woman corrected. “How much is that in regular time?”

Blowing out a breath, the brunet began connecting the dots in his head. “Twelve weeks, one day? And we've passed a Semester since then, so that's ninety-eight Maunder days.” He went quiet for a moment before answering. “That's just over four months, regular time. 122 and one half days- 123 on the dot including the change hours from his 13h departure.”

“Careful- your Mathematics 2 is showing,” she joked. “Riku is going to kill you when he comes back, you know that?”

“I don't care. All I'm worried about right now is whether they're going to pull me from the labs.”

“Well, since you only failed Phys. Ed. I don't think you have to worry. That class is more about ability than homework. There's a good chance you won't be pulled, as long as you don't miraculously find a way to fail the Darkness tests,” she assured him. “If you like I can put in a good word with Aqua for you. Keep you in the labs.”

“You don't need to do that. I can figure out some extra credit or something,” he announced quietly. “What I'm having trouble making sense of is how you have such direct contact with Aqua.”

“She teaches Mastery in the World and Heartless Theory, remember?” She took another drag on her cigarette, settling back into a sitting position beside him. “You can keep a secret, right?”

Furrowing his eyebrows together, Sora fixed her with a look. “Yeah. What's up?”

“See, last week after class Aqua asked if I would be her little spy among the students. Not a spy in the sense that I tell her what they're doing wrong, but rather what's bothering them. If they received a letter from home that mentioned Heartless or if they're having schedule problems. Usually it's just things like, 'I want to get into this class, and I know I can do it,' so if I think they're good enough to handle the class I tell them, 'I'll put in a good word for you.' Then I tell her what's going on and poof! Students are happier.” Playing with her cigarette's filter with her tongue, she tried not to appear too nervous. “You know as well as I do that she's hard to approach about anything.

“Even her smile is intimidating. Every time I walk up I feel like I'm wasting her time. And I know that's not how it is, but it still bugs me. I don't know- maybe it's because she's the Grand Master and I haven't even achieved an Apprenticeship yet. Maybe it's 'cause if I slip up now I might miss my chance. Maybe I... just...”

“I think you should stop doubting yourself and do as your told,” Sora suggested as she went quiet, tapping his cigarette against the ash tray and holding it out for her to do the same. “That's generally what teachers look for here. She's no exception. Ignoring the request- now that can cost you.”

She smiled before tapping her ashes into the small tray. “Thanks, Sora.”

“No problem. Anything else bugging you?”

“Well...” Worrying her lip, she frowned, then passed her cigarette from her right hand to her left. “Yeah, actually. I keep thinking that she was talking to me when she said it.”

Sora shrugged. “Teachers are like that. Anything else?”

Another smile touching at her lips, Kairi shook her head. “Nah- what about you? Anything else on your mind?”

He was quiet for a few seconds before answering. “Yeah, actually. I had a really weird dream.”

“Really? What was it about?”

“Well, I was fourteen again, walking down a dirt tunnel. Before long I was in this cave, and there were a bunch of drawings on the walls and on rocks. I grabbed something from near a wall, and when I turned around there was this guy in this brown whole-body cloak-thing, and he was talking to me in front of this wooden door.” He turned his gaze to the floor, attempting to remember. “I don't remember what he said, but I'm pretty sure I was on the Islands.”

“Why? You recognize the cave?”

“No- I've never seen it in my life.”

…
The first of Maunder's three suns had risen after four short hours of nightfall, and Sora was once again faced with the fact that it was the second of two testing weeks. He stood in line, dreading the results though he knew one failure wouldn't be the end of the world- it would just result in a warning. “Don't sweat it,” a blond man beside him in line commented, seeing that his nerves were getting to him. “The only way to fail these things is to half-turn into a Heartless inside the machine.”

“Really?” Sora inquired, curious. “Wait- how do you know?”

“Oh- it's not from personal experience or anything. It's just that I've been graduated for about seven or eight years, now,” he replied. “I'm an on-call Magic specialist. The name's Myde.” Offering his hand, Myde gave the younger man a warm grin.

Unable to resist, the brunet smiled back, taking the offered hand and shaking. “Sora,” he replied, trying not to let all his relief show on his face. “Mechanics Major.”

“It's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” They lingered in silence for a bit as the line moved forward two places. “So,” Sora began, turning back to face his companion. “What's it like to be graduated?”

Mydge grinned. “It's like being a student, mostly, since I can still enroll for classes. And I do, so I stay in the dorms. But unlike students I can take off whenever I want. As long as I give notice and I'm back within a week I'm free as a bird.” His grin grew, almost as if the split his face in two. “And like most fifth years and up I only have to take this test on the first day.” They eased further up the line. “So what about you? Third year or fourth?”

Hiding a wince, the brunet replied, “Second, actually. I got started late.”

Without warning, the blond stared him down with blue-green eyes, startling the younger man. “Wait- are you Sora Sora? Like, Cid's little protege Sora?”

“Cid's little protege?” he questioned, scoffing. “I guess that's- wait, he talks about me?”

“When he's not complaining about us 'numb skull, short-stick pack of retarded chickens with our heads cut off' he doesn't shut up about you.” Reaching into his pocket for a scrap of paper, he rolled it up, stuck it in his mouth, and smoothed his hair back with one hand before adopting a bad accent. “'Sora built a hand-held gravity generator from a microwave and a hair dryer yesterday, and the rest of ya'll are still figuring out which way to tighten a bolt! If ya'll don't pull yourselves up by y'er bootstraps I'm gonna hav'ta do it for ya with some bare copper wire and a car battery!'” he imitated, wagging his finger at empty air.

Unable to restrain himself, Sora giggled. “He doesn't actually say stuff like that, does he?”

“Depends. Did you really build a gravity generator from a microwave and a hair dryer three days ago?”

“Not exactly. I've been working on it since the beginning of last semester.”

“Then yes, he does say things like that.”

It was then that Sora realized they were at the front of the line, but his apprehension had seemingly evaporated and he was left with only the image of Myde imitating Cid with a terrible accent and a paper cigarette. “Hey, Vossler,” he greeted the man working the front of the line. He was tall with tan skin, brown hair and eyes, and a heavy jaw.

“Sora,” the man grumpily acknowledged when the younger man stepped up to the pod. It was the shape of an egg, but nearly five feet tall with a window to peer out of, and was bright silver. Inside was a seat, just barely worn in by years of scant use. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” he replied, stepping into the machine and settling into the chair as Vossler closed the door behind him. He relaxed as the machine whirred to life around him, the sides flashing all different sorts of colors before settling into alternating waves of blue and orange. After about thirty seconds, though, the light show ceased, and a red light began to go off above his head. Shocked by the deviation, Sora stiffened when the door opened and Vossler stared him down, holding a sheet out for him to take.

“Congratulations, Sora. You just failed the easiest test in the entire school. Don't worry about coming to class the rest of the week.” It was still hot from the printer when he took it with a mortified blush- his schedule, but with two new additions: Remedial Swordsmanship and Remedial Light.

When he was halfway back to the dorms, someone called out to him. “Sora, could you come here for a moment?” Surprised, he turned. There stood the Headmistress, Aqua, in all her suited glory. “I'd like to speak with you.”

Thirty seconds later he sat in her office, staring her down like a deer in headlights as she grinned at him sweetly, offering for him to take a candy from the jar on her desk. When he declined, she got right to the point. “I'm worried, Sora. I know you are capable of more than this.”

Biting back a retort, the brunet shrugged. “Maybe the machine malfunctioned.” This earned him a humored grin, which made him brighten just that much. Aqua was the kind of person that you wanted to please.

“That is a possibility,” she replied. “Though I'm thinking this has something to do with Riku. You're worried about him, aren't you?” He shrugged, not quite sure how to respond. “Do you think that might be why the machine read that your darkness was out of hand?”

Sora shrugged again. “Maybe.”

Her smile returned, and suddenly he felt a lot lighter. “Friendship is a powerful thing,” he began. “It can bring you up when you're at your weakest, or it can drag you through the mud. But you must always be sure that you don't lose yourself for it.” She motioned that he could leave, and he stood with a relieved grin and a small bow before turning and making his way to the door. He paused, though, as she offhandedly remarked, “If you want to change your schedule please think about whether you need the changes first. If you still want to change it, come to me on the fourth day of this week and then make your request. Until then, take some time to yourself, okay? You've may been put on probation, but that's no reason to worry. You are Cid's little protege, after all. Please keep in mind that even failing your darkness tests will not keep you out of the mechanics rooms for more than a day.”

“I will, Headmistress Aqua,” he quietly responded. And with a quick, “Have a good day,” he left. As he walked away, the brunet began to wonder if one could die of embarrassment.

…
“Interesting.”

“Dr. Even, if I may be frank, how the hell is failing my Darkness test and being put on probation interesting?” Instead of heading back to his room and holing up for the rest of the week in his depression, Sora had opted to spend his time in the labs. He had been assigned as an on-call mechanic. One of six. However, there was only one scientist in that Semester, and it was Dr. Even, who seemed to have a preference for the boy.

“You bear none of the usual signs of your light being consumed,” the blond man drawled, leaning far too close to Sora for comfort. He saw in too much detail the older man's piercing green eyes, sunken cheeks, and pale skin. The boy edged backwards, careful not to bump into anything. The room was a six meter wide cube, and while many other labs had large quantities of delicate machinery of all sorts this particular one only had one large glass chamber in the center with tubes running from it to several boxes built against the walls. Personally, Sora thought it looked like a giant octopus wearing gloves with buttons on them. “Your hair follicles have not degraded, nor has your skin become taught against your skull. Though, admittedly, those are long-term effects that only begin to show after about thirty years of darkness exposure. Nevertheless, it is interesting.”

Sora huffed. “Well, you can puzzle it over on your own. I'm gonna get to work on this wiring.”

A sharp laugh followed this, and the blond stared openly at his superior like he was crazy. “Work, work, work- you are Cid's little protege.”

Feeling the need to throw something, the brunet tore his glove off and chucked it at the floor. “I give up! How long has that nickname been circulating?”

“Three days,” a man commented from the corner, slate hair obscuring his face from view. “I must admit I expected you to pick up on it a bit sooner.”

Dr. Even frowned. “Now, now, Ienzo, there's no need to be insulting the boy. Partaking in gossip is a destructive pass-time.”

“He should at least know what's being said against him,” he replied, turning to face them, clipboard in hand and lab coat swaying with the movement. A single blue eye stared at the both of them, the other hidden behind the fringe of his hair. Unable to stop himself, Sora's gaze trailed along the man's jawbone; a perfect line from his ear to his chin, interrupted only by an almost nonexistent dusting of grayish-blue stubble. His nose was small, if nondescript. Below that sat a mouth that seemed to be permanently bent to the floor, with a fuller lower lip than upper, and a pink so pale that it could barely be told apart from his skin's pallor.

“No one can be everywhere.” The scientist's quiet musing brought Sora from his observations, and the brunet turned back to his work, only to have to stop when his rat-tail sneaked over his shoulder to hang near his hands. Stripping his other glove off, he reached back to undo it, tying it instead into a bun before replacing his gloves and returning his attention to the wires.

He tried not to let his attention wander from his work, but this proved to be a difficult task when the slate-haired Apprentice came his way. “So, Protege, how do you expect we approach this insulation problem?” Sora tried not to choke too noticeably when Ienzo handed him the clipboard, disbelieving that for an instant the man would want his opinion. Shooting to his feet, he took the clipboard in hand. There was a good deal of scribbling on the sides of the page that he ignored. He couldn't read cursive, after all. Looking instead at the diagrams and what numbers he could see, he shrugged.

“Whatever you've got in there is going to tear through that piping as soon as the shielding is gone, or if anyone so much as pokes them. What I personally recommend is replacing it altogether with stainless steel reinforcements, but you'll probably reply-”

Taking his cue, Ienzo finished for him. “Impossible. We can't risk a spill.”

“Right, so you might just want to rig a fireproof cloth-rig over it and weld some new piping directly over it.”

Looking up at the brunet with the trace of a smile, Ienzo appeared blissfully unaware of how much Sora wanted to lean over and kiss him. “Can you weld?”

“Yeah, I can.” Standing so close to the slate-haired man, Sora set to work imprinting the man's height and eye color into his memory, making absolutely sure that he would never forget it. Along with this he filed away the smell of the man's shampoo, as they had both leaned over the clipboard at one point and the man was an entire head shorter than him.

Passing back the clipboard, he restrained a girlish squeak when their fingers brushed on the underside. Then, in his usual curt manor, Ienzo nodded. “I'll speak with Dr. Even about this.”

“I heard you both loud and clear, thank you,” the man in question announced from one of the octopus' gloves. “Right now we don't have the funding for a mass re-make, but we will at our new lab.”

“New lab?” Sora questioned. “You're moving? When?”

“As soon as we can arrange an off-shore mechanic. Which, I may add, is much more difficult than I thought it would be,” the blond replied, oblivious as to how the words sent the mechanic's heart into his stomach.

Feeling as if it were his last chance, Sora asked, “So what are you guys working on?”

Dr. Even sighed. “I've told you time and time again, Sora- I can't tell you without Aqua's clearance.”

“Top secret. Right. Gotcha.” He allowed a suitable amount of time to pass before following up. “So, there's no chance you're building re-designed uniforms?” This startled a laugh from the man. “Hey, someone had to blow that shit right out of the water!”

“I thought you weren't aware of rumors,” Ienzo commented, returning to his corner.

“It's hard to be when you've been hearing the same rumor for a year and a half.”

“No, we are not redesigning uniforms,” Even announced, reaching beneath his lab coat to pluck at his disdainfully. “Although, now that you mention it, we might have to. The only people who look good in this have blue hair.” He glared pointedly at Ienzo.

Surprisingly, the slate-haired man rose to the challenge. “It was designed for Aqua, may I remind you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the scientist murmured, returning to his work. Then, under his breath so only Sora could hear it, he whispered, “Smurf.”

“What's wrong with you?” Ienzo asked when the brunet choked on his own saliva and broke into a series of coughs.

“Nothing,” he managed after a bit, allowing the coughing, and the laughter it hid, to fade. “It's nothing.”

...

Questions? I have answers! If it isn't listed below, just ask in a comment.

What is 25h?

Love,
Besieged Infection