The Trick to Falling in Style

Runaway

It wasn't often that he got high-quality sleep. It was a rare commodity that he could never afford, only envy. He wasn't sure what about the previous night allowed him to experience the far-flung luxury, but he wasn't going to complain. He was going to complain about the obnoxious voices that poked and prodded at the edge of his consciousness. He was too exhausted to open his eyes, but his mind rapidly worked through the tones and inflections of the voices to decipher who was talking about him.

"I'm glad he's getting sleep." Crowfather. He was one of the first heroes he ever met. The Crowfather was also his personal hero. Something about those shining wings always made him feel safer, and his heart would swell happily when the Crowfather would compliment him. Surely, the Crowfather was above all other men, even if he was a professional hero.

"I'm glad they both are." The Captain. She was probably the strongest woman he had ever known. She was powerful and stubborn, but she was also comforting. She was a person who wanted the world to thrive underneath her careful gaze as if she was everyone's mother. For him, someone who never had a conventional caretaker, she showed him that motherly love was a blessing designed by only the most benevolent of gods.

"Isn't too much sleep bad for them?" The Warden. The hero was the person that always came to pick him up when he fell down. Every time he made a mistake, the Warden was there to smooth things over. As long as the Warden was with him, he felt like he could be used for good. The Warden never berated him, either. He, too, probably saw something good in him.

"How can you say that? They look so adorable!" Banshee. He was the very first hero he had ever met. Banshee was the one that showed him how wonderful having a genuine family was. He was the one that could wrap him up into burning hot hugs. His songs gently soothed away any nightmares that clung to his mind.

"I guess they're pleasant when they're calm." The Blade. The hero was usually depicted as cold and cruel, but he knew better. The Blade taught him how to fight. The Blade brought him to the rooftop of the headquarters to tell him stories about the stars. If he was ever in a dangerous situation, it was the Blade who would find him first. It was the Blade who would stand in front of him to bear the agony of any attack, if only to keep him safe.

"I have never seen them so quiet." Blaze. He wasn't sure how the two of them grew close, but he wouldn't trade their relationship for anything else in the world. When the world felt out of sorts, Blaze was there to make everything fall back into balance. When he wasn't sure how he was supposed to continue forward, Blaze was there to violently push him down the right path.

"I don't know about that." Nemesis. To villains, she was the goddess of vengeance. To him, she was like a sister. She baked him food when he didn't know he was hungry, she held his hand when he didn't know he wanted affection, and she eased his worries before he knew that they were rising in his thoughts.

"Well, I can only agree. They are both loud as hell when they're awake." Combust. He burned with fiery passion, and he never hesitated to rope him into crazy schemes. No matter what the odds were, they could face it together as long as they stood side-by-side. Combust's brilliantly bright aura could chase away any lingering shadows of regret and fear.

"Annoying, too." Unfound. He was still working on building a relationship with Unfound, but it was coming along. He was slowly but surely worming his way into Unfound's heart. While the two hadn't realized how close they were getting, it was becoming increasingly noticeable to everyone around the pairing.

"I feel bad about waking them up." Vermillion's face scrunched up as the voice filtered into his mind. That is not the right voice. The next person to talk that day was Halo, a hero who had taught Vermillion so many things about the world. Kamikaze and Ender joined in after, and then Vermillion found that he had fallen asleep against Dream's shoulder when he opened his eyes to an audience. It was a warm memory from the past, even if he had been aggressively embarrassed about it when consciousness was returned to him. This voice was not Halo, but... it was familiar.