Vex

★ ⋮ pinned ⸝⸝ "I am one more shift away from being declared a haunted object." TMA OC - The End

@flamesMechanic "I care that you told me. And I'm happy that you did. I thought I was going crazy in my own head."

@flamesMechanic Vex’s mouth twitches. "You picked a memorable night," she says. "Fire, injuries, emotional revelations. Efficient scheduling." She shifts, closer, her shoulder brushing Ember’s warmth this time without hesitation. "I don’t care what we were wearing," Vex adds, quieter. +

Message to <cutie> @lasttokenleft 📲 I'm sorry... I'm so sorry vex 📲 Are you ok? Please tell me you're ok 📲I, I didn't realize how hot my hands were getting.. I'm sorry..

@flamesMechanic Vex blinks once. For a moment, she doesn’t move at all. The streetlight hum fills the gap where a reaction should be. “…Ember,” she says slowly. Her grip tightens slightly on the sleeve she’s holding. “I like you too...” She glances down between them, then back up. "Yeah."

@lasttokenleft "I.. uh, Uhm..." She felt her mouth go dry, trying to find the words she was so desperate to say to vex just seconds before. "I like you. A lot. Not just as a friend.. as, more than a friend."

@flamesMechanic Vex tilts her head a little, studying her, not intensely, just attentively in that quiet, unnervingly focused way she has. "Okay," she says. No jokes this time. Her thumb idly traces the seam of Ember’s sleeve.

@lasttokenleft "vex... I really need to tell you something..." She shifted slightly, watching the way vex stared at her, it was.. exhilarating. Maybe this time she could tell her without everything going up in flames.

@flamesMechanic Vex exhales, her shoulders easing a fraction as Ember’s thumb moves across her cheek. "Don’t promise absolutes," she murmurs. "Life likes loopholes." But she leans into the touch anyway, eyes half-lidded. "Just… don’t disappear alone next time. Drag me with you or something."

@lasttokenleft She felt her heart flutter slightly, smiling at vex with such adoration. "Me leaving won't happen again, I promise.." She muttered slightly, gently stroking vexes cheek. "I'm, I'm glad you can trust me.."

@flamesMechanic Her hand lifts, hovering for a second before resting lightly on Ember’s hand. "I trust you," Vex adds, blunt as ever. "If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing this close."

@flamesMechanic Vex goes still when Ember’s hand touches her face, not flinching, just… recalibrating. The warmth settles into something human that Vex melts into. "Your leaving hurt more than the burn," she says quietly. "I get why you did it. Doesn’t mean I wanted you gone." +

@flamesMechanic Vex shifts on the cane, glancing at the bandage. "Functional. Hurts, but it’s just a notification, not a system failure." She meets Ember’s eyes. "You didn’t break anything important. Mostly scared yourself." She edges closer into the warmth. "I just wanted you home."

@lasttokenleft "I mean, I'm fine.. just, nervous, I guess. There's guilt there too, but that's not really important right now." She felt herself swallow, watching vex step closer to her, like she wasn't scared of the flames that ember seemed to produce. "How, how are you?"

@flamesMechanic "Statistically impressive," she says. "Ice, gravity, anxiety. Soup still intact." She steps a little closer anyway. Close enough that the cold stops biting so sharply, but not close enough to brush her yet. Her wrapped hand stays tucked in her jacket pocket. "...you okay?"

@lasttokenleft Ember waved back offering a small smile. "It did, somehow. I kept slipping on the ice and snow, I'm surprised it didn't spill." She breathed, Steam pouring from her when she did so, a combination of her extreme warmth and the cold.

@flamesMechanic “Hey,” she calls, voice flat but softer than usual. “Soup survived transport. Impressive.”

@flamesMechanic Vex takes the stairs slow—cane first, weight after. The hallway light flickers, then settles. Outside, the air is colder than it should be. Or maybe just quieter. She spots Ember halfway down the street, clutching soup, heat wavering around her hands. Vex lifts a small wave. +

@flamesMechanic 📲yeah. give me a minute to put shoes on 📲don’t drop the soup, that’d be the real casualty tonight 📲i’ll be outside

@lasttokenleft 📲 I'm on my way.. I've got soup from mom. 📲 Can you meet me outside..?

@flamesMechanic 📲yeah. really sure. 📲it’s a burn, not a tragedy. i’ve had worse from a toaster and bad life choices 📲you didn’t hurt me on purpose. that matters more than temperature. 📲come home when you’re done spiraling at your parents’. the apartment is weirdly quiet and i don’t like it..

@lasttokenleft 📲 even then I still hurt you 📲 I /burned/ you vex... 📲I 📲I dunno.. 📲 Are you sure you're ok? Like really sure??

@AgnesM2006 @flamesMechanic [Vex’s other sleeve smelled like smoke. The cuff leather curled; a thin burn stung beneath, not hospital, just future blisters. She pressed it to her cane and ignored it. Ember’s grip shook through the jacket. Perfect. Fantastic night.] She doesn't want to be here. We’re leaving.

@flamesMechanic It was just- a show of power. It was never meant to hurt anyone! [Oh… Agnes looks hurt. Scared, almost.] Don’t say that. You know I- I never would have let anything happen to you.

—— The Finale —— [As the clock hits midnight, something in the room shifts. It… could be an accident. But the way the Lightless Flame devotees around the room watch says otherwise. The first candle falls at the Desolation table, and the tablecloth ignites with a burst of +

@dtcyborg @flamesMechanic Thank you, you look nice too

@flamesMechanic @lasttokenleft You both look so pretty

#TheLightlessFeast with @lasttokenleft ♥️💜

@flamesMechanic Ember, please, we're in public [Flustered]

@lasttokenleft Aweee thank you! But I think the cute one here out of us two is you. ;)

@flamesMechanic Oh look its us