-Gassy-

ZE IS ALIVE!!

I narrow my eyes at the text message in confusion but glance back up at my computer screen glowing with the report I'm writing. I need to call a few people too, there's bound to be some people still awake right now I can talk to and pull some strings with, right? Sighing in exhaustion I pick up my phone again in defeat, failing to do my actual work and going to see what the hell Elaine's up to. Who could have told her? I haven't told Alice yet, at least I don't think have unless it somehow slipped when I was talking to her... no if that was true I would have clearly remembered her freaking out on me. Other people who know Elaine are... well I guess her and Chilled talk every so often when he visits. Whatever, I'll just ask her how she knows instead of just wondering like an idiot. I keep forgetting asking her is actually a thing. After the text sends I hear a knock on my door and I quickly put the phone down and glance up to the door that opens. I raise an eyebrow to the blur that enters calmly and sigh when I realize it's Chilled, returning from the failed Ze hunt.

"What are you doing back? Weren't you here on a Hidden mission?" I lecture and he laughs in my face, clearly not giving a shit about keeping his stance as a spy. I sigh but the memory of him sitting beside Nanners come back to memory and I feel worried about him after the explosion I heard after Ze said those... things. "How are you doing? If what Ze said is still bothering stop thinking about it. Ze says some stupid shit sometimes he doesn't actually mean."

"No, no, it's fine. I had a talk with him," Chilled says suddenly raising my attention and I quickly look at the blur. "Yeah I found him a bit away from the base walls, he was injured but don't worry I led him somewhere he could be safe. Anywho, we talked about it and it's because if he hadn't escaped when he did the Hidden traitor on base would force me to take him back or kill me. He and I both knew I ain't fucking listening to that so he escaped before, and to do that he needed the reaction between the sudden stress and anxiety which would quicken the pace of the creation of Hidden cells in his system," Chilled explains the entire thing and I listen to every word of his but frown in confusion.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Shouldn't you be telling this to Diction? I'm surprised you aren't keeping secrets either. Do you by chance now who the Hidden traitor is?"

"Sorry, didn't ask. Why not tell you? You'd definitely be more interested in hearing this shit. Ohh I feel woozy," Chilled suddenly says and I frown in confusion but understand as the blur in front of me suddenly slowly comes into sight. He took the visibility solution, he must have while he didn't have to be a Hidden anymore now that he's officially exposed. Seeing Chilled come into view I feel a bit unsettled by seeing him visible again, his facial hair grown out more and seems older.

"Holy shit it's been a while since I've seen you visible," I comment and Chilled nods, looking at his own hand curiously. "Anyways, you should hurry and tell Diction. He'll have more to do with that information than I can," I order and he rolls his eyes and gets up from his chair. It's been a while since I've seen that cocky look he always wears and that annoyingly always devious look to him that makes me feel like he's up to something. Always up to something, him and Ze. Sighing I glance over at my monitor but pick up my phone before starting any actual work but before I can open anything in the phone I shut it off and stuff it in my pocket. Quickly typing up a few reports on every action Ze has made while he was here I feel my spirit dying slowly as I think about the fact it may be ages before I see him again... again. What if the Hidden capture him again and do... something to him again. Closing my eyes I try to focus but my thoughts are all over the place form Chilled's words to my own thoughts. Deciding to get out of my office I get up from my desk and leave the room, sighing in reef now that I'm out of that tiny place.

Walking down the hall feeling tired I stumble across the lab and enter it for the heck of it, just to see the clean room again. When I enter I notice a small light course from the hinges of the side door leading to the room with all of the chemicals. Curious, I inch closer to the door and very carefully open the door slightly and pull it open as quietly as I can. Peeking inside I'm shocked to find Ohm inside looking through the chemicals seeming to have a mission in mind. What the hell is he doing here? He isn't even supposed to be on base, the only people that are supposed to be here are Diction, me, and Nanners... and Chilled I guess. Suddenly he glances in my direction and I immediately hide behind the door. I hear his steps coming closer to me and the door in front of me shuts once again and I'm left outside of the room. Ohm is... could he be... well, he is among the top suspects to being the Hidden on base but I find it hard to believe he had the ability to intimidate Ze. But... I guess you never expect it. Deciding to let this go through I retreat from the lab, feeling a bit bothered by having witnessed a possible traitorous action.

"Gassy? How're the reports coming along?" I hear Diction calling out to me and I groan just thinking about it causing him to roll his eyes. "Jesus, just get them done. If you get them done early you may be able to go home momentarily."

"And get two hours of sleep? No, I'be done it before and it fucking sucks. I think I can get them done tonight though, if I manage to focus," I mutter and Diction looks to me seeming disturbed but shrugs and continues back to his office. I stare after him as he walks off and return to my office as well. When I return to my office I find my phone lit up and when I look at the surface I'm shocked to find Elaine has sent me several messages in the time I was gone. Slowly picking up the phone I unlock it and at reading her texts I feel my heart freeze.

He came to visit!!!

Are you sure you can't come home?? :(

Haha he fell asleep on the couch

Alice left but Ze is here anyways!

He woke up and now we're watching videos you should come home :(

Ze is... the safe place Chilled sent him is... my house? Immediately I set the phone down and click through my computer looking through the reports I need to finish. Diction is right, if I finish these really fast I may be able to get home. It'll be really late but I think I can still manage to catch Ze before he leaves. Elaine must have told him I wouldn't be coming home tonight, if I bet on that I can still get there before he leaves. Now completely focused I type away at the reports while keeping a constant eye on my phone. After a certain point Elaine stops texting meaning she must have fallen asleep, which makes sense considering it's really fucking late and she has school tomorrow. As I'm finishing up on my last report I suddenly realize that Ze must... he must remember Elaine. If she seems to be texting happily about things they're doing together he couldn't be doing that with someone he doesn't remember. I've always had this feeling he remembers more than he lets on but I never actually thought about what to think if he actually remembers a majority of what has happened.

"Hey Gassy-... Holy shut are you done? I thought you'd be here the entire night at the rate you were first going at," Diction comments as he enters my office just as I slip into my coat. "And I thought you didn't want to go home? Did Elaine change your mind?"

"Yeah, something like that. What is it, do you need help with something?" I ask, a bit disappointed that this may mean having to stall going back home but but I secretly feel relieved when he shakes his head.

"Well, no, I guess not. If you're leaving I can deal with it on my own. We have more work tomorrow though, and we'll be having to go to conferences and such and try to explain why we shouldn't get fired for failing to give up vital information. Just get prepared for that, bring your suit tomorrow," Diction orders and I nod, taking my keys and phone off my desk and glance around the area feeling a bit nervous about leaving. He'll still be there... right? Elaine hasn't texted me since she was talking about talking to Ze, but that means that he was there pretty damn late so he has to still be there, right? Unless he snuck out since she fell asleep... damn I need to get home fast. "Why such a hurry? Is Elaine throwing a secret party?"

"Something like that," I say again and Diction raises an eyebrow surprised by this and I just shrug, following him outside my office and I stop to lock the door. "I'll talk to you about it tomorrow after I confirm it when I go home. I need to hurry," I mutter and Diction rolls his eyes as I quickly step away from him and walk down the hall in the quickest pace I can without running.

"You can oversleep," Diction suddenly shouts out after me causing me to turn around to him surprised. "The first conference tomorrow isn't till noon so go ahead and oversleep if you need it. I'll work over the paperwork and make sure you got everything down before it starts so just come in around 11. Good night," Diction calls out and I smile happily, glad I made best friends with the captain. I wave with a grateful smile still maintaining my fast pace down the hall.

"Thank you, Diction! 'Night!" I shout out in return before hurrying down the halls. The ride out of the base is a blur, all I can remember is panicking and definitely passing the speed limit just hurrying to get home. When I park in the usual parking spot I hurry out of the car probably forgetting to lock the car but I don't want to go back to check. Hurrying up the steps I fumble with the keys in my hand nearly dropping the keys several times but when I get it I open the door quickly and roughly and look around frantically as if expecting him to appear at any moment. Shutting the door behind me I hurry up the stairs and towards my room where he may be spending the night but when I enter the dark room the sheets are a bit moved but it's completely empty. I feel my heart begin to drop but I keep hope and hurry out of my room and into the next, Elaine's. Maybe they're sleeping together for some reason. When I look in their bed it's completely empty and I feel nerves go through me completely.

He couldn't have left. That fucker did not leave right before I got home. Without thinking much I open the closet door and throw up the sheets as if he'd be hiding somewhere. After thoroughly interrogating the room I check the third bedroom that is completely empty and shut the door to that room too and lean on the door in defeat. Sinking down to the floor I shut my eyes with the worst feeling in my chest knowing I must have just barely missed him.... Fuck! Are you kidding me? I slam my fist onto the wall beside me in anger and glare at the ground in irritation from just completely missing the little fucked. Taking deep breaths I try to calm myself down from my such excited hope from earlier. Suddenly I barely realize something. Elaine is missing. Quickly scrambling back up to my feet I hurry down the stairs nearly falling and tumbling but when I rush to the living room... there they are.

Elaine and Ze are sitting on the ground with an iPad a few feet ahead of them, both leaning on each other and completely knocked out from staying up to late. Sighing in relief I sink to the ground again behind the couch and lean my forehead onto the back of the couch relieved after seeing his face. He's still here. He's still here. I can talk to him, I can wake him up and tell him to stay here for as long as he wants to. He doesn't even have to join IRIS again, just knowing he's here and waiting for me to com shone everyday would be enough for me. But at the same time it's the same thing as with the base, I just want him in one place so I can always know where he is and have my same ownership over him. Rubbing my forehead I get up from the floor and look to the two so peacefully sleeping seeming happier than ever with each other. I guess... well they were pretty close. Hell, I understand where Ze's coming from. Elaine is a sweet girl that really sticks onto you. Despite how adorable they both look sleeping together like that... they're going to get sick just here out in the cold.

Approaching very carefully and closely I reach out towards them and suddenly Elaine is the one to twitch and slowly open her eyes. Shocked by her sudden awareness I retreat my hand as she blinks several times before processing it's me and immediately brightens up. She opens her mouth to surely say something loud but I quickly shush her by covering her mouth with my hand and point towards Ze she looks to and nods, covering her own mouth with her hands and I just chuckle and roll my eyes at her for being silly. I reach out towards Ze now who still seems completely knocked out and slowly peel him off of Elaine. It makes sense, today was a huge day for him, he must be both emotionally and physically exhausted. I know I am. Gently picking him up he suddenly murmurs and cuddles into my chest causing me to tense up and heat up a bit. How can someone be so adorable in their sleep? Elaine follows me up the stairs as I struggle to keep Ze in my grasp when he keeps moving in my arms and continually cuddling towards me. When I reach the hallway I suddenly hesitate between the three doors.

I... should be putting him in the extra room but my bed is so much more comfortable and if he likes to cuddle so much right now then.... Elaine steps around me with a big yawn and heads over to the door to her room and glances over at me with this mischievous expression that makes me feel even more embarrassed. She mouths the words 'Good Luck!' before fleeing to her room before she can see the extremely embarrassed expression on my face. Sighing I glance over to the door to my room. What the hell does it matter, it's not like he'll know. I'll probably wake up before him like always anyways, I should just let him sleep comfortably and blissfully oblivious to his situation. Opening the door to my room I carefully slide Ze onto the bed and immediately after leaving my hold he shivers and grasps onto the sheets and pulls them around him. I sigh as I watch h before retreating to close the door and climb into the bed with him carefully. Immediately after entering the bed he navigates towards me and digs his head into my chest again. I roll my eyes and wrap my arms around him, enjoying the heat source he is becoming. I'm... really comfortable right now.

-Ze-

Do I have to wake up? Groaning I rub my eyes and stretch my arms above my head and my legs down to the edge of the bed before sighing and sinking in deeper to the bed and keep my eyes closed. I don't want to leave. Not this bed, not this house, not Elaine. I really don't want to leave. Sighing I open my eyes staring at the blank ceiling and glance to my side finding a mountain of sheets I must have moved around in my sleep. Maybe I'll pretend to be asleep for a bit longer. I wonder if Elaine is still here, she might have already left for school. How early is school anyways? Maybe I should have asked her before watching YouTube videos with her all night and falling asleep there. That's right, that's where we fell asleep. How did I get in this comfy bed? Elaine must have dragged me here or something, if she gained miraculous strength in the time I was gone. Rolling over and looking towards the clock on the bedside table I find it is actually really fucking early. I have plenty of time to sleep more... but then again if I sleep now I probably wouldn't wake up before noon.

Just a tiny bit more, I won't sleep, I'll just lay here. I like these sheets, they smell nicely. They smell like... well, I guess they smell like Gassy. This must be his bed, but since he didn't come home last night I must have gotten the comfy bed all to myself. Smiling in victory I hug the sheets tightly and curl up in the bed. I'm like a little teen with a huge crush on this guy and spending my first night at his house but I don't mind. This may be the last time I can ever smell this smell again. Suddenly realizing this I turn around and glance around. Maybe... he won't notice if some clothes are missing, will he? No, no stop Ze you're becoming really fucking creepy. I should just get up before I decide to just live in his bed forever. Pushing myself up I rub my eyes and yawn, instantly regretting making the decision to get up. Groaning I slide my legs off the side and look on the ground, neatly clean of any clothing articles surprisingly. I expected Gassy to be messier than this, I'm pretty sure he was messier before. Did I ever see his base room? It was always him coming into my room since I had the whole room to myself after all.

"Ze? Are you awake?" I hear Elaine's voice on the other side of the door and I quickly snap out of it and hurry to the door. Opening it I find her smiling gently wearing some casual clothes, a lot more casual than I remember her always wearing. She used to wear lots of dresses and such, clothes that were "proper" for a woman, but now she's wearing black jeans and a nice white shirt. "Oh good, I made some breakfast. I have to go to school now, but be sure to eat, alright? ...Will you be here when I get back from school?" I feel my chest hurt a bit at the question I honestly don't know the answer to. I'm still torn apart between staying here and leaving, it feels like the vacation I've needed for a while. What the hell, I doubt Gassy will get here anytime soon with all of the work he's bound to have. P

"Yeah, I'll leave at night so we can have some more time together. Have a good day at school," I say and she smiles happily before dashing off. Before leaving my sight she turns back around.

"Oh yeah, go ahead and use Gassy's shower, and his clothes. I'm sure he won't mind," she calls out before dashing down the stairs. A shower? I guess I could use one, after running through the woods yesterday. Or maybe that's just an excuse to steal some of Gassy's clothes. I shrug to myself and return to the room and search through the closet for the smallest clothes he has that would almost fit me and hurry to the shower. It feels nice to just relax here without anything to worry about... besides leaving I guess. Chilled sent me to the right place though, this does feel like a safe place to be and Elaine hasn't once told me I should return to IRIS. She's too kind and thoughtful I suppose, although she usually speaks her mind she doesn't like forcing people to do things they don't want to. It's because she's not pushy enough she probably missed plenty of opportunities with Alice. Speaking of Alice, I promised I'd visit her later and she'll give me a cell phone. I'll stop by there then leave town for good. That's the plan for today, but for now I should just relax. After leaving the shower I go downstairs and immediately I'm hit with the nice smell of coffee. Quickly hurrying to the coffee pot I pour myself a cup of coffee when suddenly I feel a touch on my shoulder nearly scaring me to death. I jump and almost spill the coffee all over my hands and turn towards the source and once again nearly drop the cup.

"Hey Ze, I saw you decided to stay over last night," Gassy mentions, leaning over me and grabbing another coffee mug beside me and pours a cup of coffee as well. I watch him silently as he's acting as if everything is completely normal and I didn't just run away from him yesterday or IRIS at all. "You could have warned me first, you know. Not that I mind, the opposite actually, I enjoy your company and I'd let you stay over anytime."

"Was it Elaine?" I ask bitterly. That's what I forgot, I told Alice to not tell him but somehow I completely forgot Elaine also had the abilities to tell him all about my stay. Another damn careless mistake, to follow along with my trend. I'm suspecting by now my damn careless actions are just my subconscious telling me what to do and "following my heart" when I know it's not the best choice. Gassy glances over to me guiltily and I just sigh in defeat and look down, swirling around the coffee in my hands. "Just so you know, I didn't know this was your place when Chilled told me to come here."

"But you didn't leave when you found out," Gassy mentions and I frown, unable to deny the warmth and kindness of this apartment drew me in and I just couldn't bring myself to leave. He laughs from beside me and pats my head causing me to flinch and glance over to him. "It's fine, you can stay as long as you'd like."

"But can I leave when I'd like?" I tease, affecting him more than I intended. He freezes, the cup of coffee in his hand getting colder as he abandons if. I meant it in teasing nature, I didn't expect him to actually be affected by it to this extent. Looking away from him I stare at the contents of my coffee cup and take a sip before placing it on the counter and turning away from it and toward the cooked food getting colder on the stove. "I was only kidding. I'm leaving tonight," I explain as I lick my lips looking at the contents of the pans including pancakes and hash browns along with a few fruit by the side.

"What if I'm not kidding," Gassy suddenly says and I blink, shocked when I feel his arms suddenly surrounding me with his hands leaning on the stove in front of me. "When I'm saying that I don't want you to leave when you'd like? Would you run away from me? Would you run away from me when I tell you that I don't want to let you go? Would you hate me if I try to keep you trapped here?" I shiver as I feel his warm breath on my neck that would already be hedging up from his cheesy words.

"No, but I'd tell you you're being way too possessive and acting like a maniac," I answer simply, expecting him to get upset or even kiss me like he loves to do but instead he chuckles.

"Understandable," he mutters before pulling away from me and turning away from me and back to the coffee maker. I glance back at him in surprise, having expected anything other than that. Gassy... really confuses me.