I’ve always thought Delirium must have a special relationship with people who play with mathematics.
For hannahrorlove:
Trillian wakes up with a small, soft hand on her breast. The hand is attached to a girl shaped creature with obnoxious purple hair, and Trillian struggles to remember what planet she was last on and how many drinks she’d had there.
The girl sees that Trillian’s awake and grins at her, a quirk of blue stained lips and strange, almost luminescent eyes. “74,128 to one against,” she says.
74,128 to one against and falling, chirps the shipboard computer.
“And falling, falling all the time.”
“What’s that?” Trillian asks groggily.
The girl leans closer. “The probability you’re still in London, really,” she whispers into Trillian’s hair. “And you never, ever dream that you’re crazy, but sometimes you wake up.”
For rosaleendhu:
Delirium is a broken toy that someone tried to fix with glue and candy floss. Her eyes sing the blues and the greens and her mouth tastes like bubblegum kisses.
River, River, River, River, sing Delirium’s eyes. Rivers always flow to the centre, so how many bites does it take, lalala.
There is no centre, say River’s toes as they curl and slide up against Del’s ankle. We’re all caught in a holographic, fractal patterned maze that passes infinitely close to the answer but never close enough.
I like my secret better. Do you want to sing it with me? ask Delirium’s fingertips against River’s thigh. It goes like lalalala.
River puts her hand over Del’s and guides it under her skirt. Their fingertips are rough against her public mound, and River sucks harder on Delirium’s tongue.
Lalalalala.
“River, do you want to... Oh.”
River pulls her mouth away from Delirium’s and turns to the entranceway where Simon is. Bits of his mind are bogging at her like an imaginary frog on a too tight string, but he looks at her like he always does - his eyes jumping over Delirium and seeing only River.
River waves a hand at him. “Privacy, please.”
“Right,” he says. “Sorry,” and he shuts the door and goes away.