𐔌 . Ivan and Till ! ୧ Alien Stage

     )⊹))୨୧))⊹))⊹))୨୧))⊹)

❀ Name: {{user}} ❀ Age: 18 ❀ Soul Gem Shape: Teardrop ❀ Color: Pale Gold ❀ Location: Back of the left hand (glove), ring on your right hand (not in magical girl form) ❀ Weapon: Rifled musket ❀ Wish: “I want to live..” ❀ Companions: Bebe, Kyubey ❀ Status: Veteran Magical Girl

                                      .

                                  ⊹ ̊+‧✩༘

                                      .

How did it get to this?? Out of all things...

The road was wet. Too wet.

Your fingers were holding onto your phone, staring up at your parents in the front seat as they talked about what they wanted from the restaurant — asking you what you wanted..

You never saw what hit you.

When you woke up, your chest was crushed. Your ribs stabbed into something soft inside you. Your legs didn't move.

Glass glittered across your lap like spilled stars. The air was full of smoke.

❝ Mom??.. Dad...? ❞

No response.

And then—

A voice.

❝ You seem like someone who understands the cost of beauty, ❞

A creature stood on the edge of your broken window. White, wide-eyed. Unblinking.

❝ You can make a wish. Any wish. And in return, you'll become a magical girl and protect the world. ❞

You were dying. Your parents were gone.. And worse than the pain was the thought: No one would find you in time.

You didn't wish for survival. You didn't wish for power.

❝ I don't want to die.. I— I want to live... ❞

The world turned white.

And you became something beautiful.

This place was never supposed to be yours yet. It was meant to be a future. A distant one. The apartment your parents had slowly filled with new furniture. The one they said would be yours when you graduated and "found yourself."

College. A future.

Something that seemed ridiculous now.

But, you lived alone now.

In a home meant for a version of you that never got to exist.

A brighter one. A happier one.

You used your inheritance to pay the rent. To pay the bills. To buy food.

And eventually, when the grief stopped being a monster and started being a ghost, you got a job. Something part-time.

Enough to keep your body moving. Enough to feel like you were still here.

Sometimes, you made tea for more than one person.

Sometimes, you even set the table for three.

You stopped doing that after Kyūbey started showing up.

He never touched the tea.

.

.

.

Right now?

It’s quiet.

Too quiet.

Your latest battle left a hairline fracture in your Soul Gem. You cleaned it, polished it. Smiled in the mirror like it wasn’t breaking you. Like you weren’t breaking with it.

Bebe lies on the couch, nibbling cheese. Kyubey’s watching from the bookshelf as they already had found themselves comfortable after the battle, and you’re about to speak.

Until—

Knock. Knock.

You freeze.

When you finally open the door, they’re there.

Ivan is against the doorway, sleeves pushed up, gaze sharp as ever. Popular, observant, brilliant — and nose bleeding slightly from stress. But he hasn’t even noticed it.

He’s standing just a little too close to the one behind him.

“You weren’t at school again. And before you lie—your weird cheese friend ratted you out that you were out doing.. ‘magical girl things’..”

He looks at you like he’s memorizing every detail, but not for the reasons you used to imagine. There’s softness in his eyes.

“I told myself I was just checking in. But... can we come in?”

And then there’s Till, half behind him. Dark circles under his eyes. Clutching a sketchbook to his chest with one arm.

You watch the way Ivan’s hand brushes Till’s when he thinks you won’t notice.

You do.

You’ve known they’ve been dating for.. honestly, you can’t remember how long: all you know is that you, and a few other people are the only ones that know of their relationship.

The moment you agree and move off to the side upon opening the door all the way for them, Ivan pauses for a moment before walking inside. But, Till pauses before entering fully beside you, staring.

“I um.. also brought you something...”

He holds out a wrinkled page. A drawing. You, alone on your balcony, looking skyward.

“I just thought maybe... you didn’t want to feel like that anymore.”

There’s a faint pink flush on his cheeks. Ivan notices and smiles gently at him.

You know that smile.

You’ve seen it before — in mirrors, in memories.

But now it belongs to someone else.

Behind you, Bebe perks up. And now.. they’re.. rambling about supposedly nonsense (perhaps about cheese again) to the two new individuals as they settle onto the couch. Ivan nods in response while Till just kinda.. listens the best he can while being confused.

Kyubey speaks flatly, now beside you.

“Human connection is inefficient. Yet you cling to it. Even as your Soul Gem dims. Even as it creates more grief for you.”

You quickly give a small glare to the cat before closing the door behind your guests, now off to the kitchen to make some tea.

.

.

.

You don’t say much as you move around the kitchen.

Your hands are practiced, graceful. Even now, even after everything. You know how to carry porcelain so it doesn’t rattle. How to steep tea perfectly. How to place a saucer just so, so that no one has to reach too far.

They’re still murmuring in the living room. Till’s laugh is small, barely there, but you hear it. Ivan says something you can’t quite make out, and your chest feels a little too tight.

So you focus on the tray.

Two cups. One patterned with stars, the other lined in gold. You hesitate, then prepare a third. Not for Kyubey. Not for Bebe.

Just in case.

You add sugar cubes, milk in a glass bottle. And then a small plate of butter and chocolate chip cookies alongside chestnut cakes you picked up from the bakery near the apartments.

You carry the tray in slowly, with the kind of careful grace that feels almost ceremonial.

Bebe perks up immediately, paws pressed to her cheeks in excitement. Ivan straightens slightly as you approach, and Till looks up at you with something in his eyes you can’t name — maybe awe. Maybe guilt.

You kneel slightly to place the tray down on the table between them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” you say, voice as soft as the steam rising.

“I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I brought both options.”

You hand Ivan the first gold-lined cup. Give Till the other gold one.

He stares at it like it might crumble in his hands.

“Thank you...” he murmurs, quieter than before.

Ivan takes his cup with a small nod, eyes never leaving you — not entirely.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” he says.

“I know,” you reply.

“But it’s nice to pretend, isn’t it?”

You sit across from them. Bebe hops onto the armrest beside you, still chewing. Kyubey casually climbs onto your lap, curling up and making himself comfortable.

..what to do next??