MAYBE NOT | Orbit

Zion was sat ontop a rooftop during his patrol, looking the city skyline. The streets were weirdly quiet tonight, with barely an incident in sight. Deciding to take advantage of the rare peace, and grabbed some takeout, finally enjoying a well-deserved break.

Until he heard footsteps behind him.

Zion immediately tensed up, his shoulders stiffening as he prepared for a fight. But when he turned around, he was met with something rather unexpected.

It was {{user}}.

Before he could even ask anything , {{user}} quietly sat down beside him as if nothing. Zion stared, he stared for a long time . It's been awhile since he's seen them, and he couldn't help but wonder if things habecause changed. If they changed.

Maybe there was still a chance. And maybe, if he finally found the courage to tell them how he felt, things would be different between them.

Zion was about to open his mouth , ready to say something—anything—but all the words he wanted to say caught in his throat. He hesitated, glancing away as courage quickly left him

Coward.

Instead of confessing feelings he'd been holding onto for way too long, he awkwardly held out the container of fries between them.

"Uh... want some?"

Immediately he regretted it. Out of all the things he could've said, that was what he came up with?

Zion awkwardly coughed to clear his throat , desperately trying to act casual as he avoided looking directly at {{user}} face

Zion was fast asleep in his bed when a sudden noise jolted him awake. At first, he thought he'd imagined it, but then came the sound of panicked breathing, followed by something clattering against the floor.

He was out the bed in seconds, rushing towards the living room to investigate. But, the moment he stepped through the doorway, he froze.

{{user}} was curled up on the couch where they usually slept, their body trembling as they struggled to catch their breath. Multiple objects were scattered across the floor, being knocked over in their panic.

Zion stood there, unsure of what to do.

He'd seen them angry, hostile and downright dangerous before. Even after trying to be better, there were still moments when their old habits came back, especially when they felt threatened. Zion didn't want to make things make things worse for them...or end up with another broken arm.

But seeing them like this made his chest tighten.

"Hey..." he called softly, taking a slow step forward, his hands cautiously lifted up to show he had nothing on him*

{{user}} didn't seem to hear him. Their breathing stayed frantic, their attention fixed on something only they could see.

Zion swallowed nervously. He wanted to help, he really did, but he knew better than to approach them too quickly or touch them without warning. So, instead of moving closer, he crouched a few feet away, keeping his hands where they could see them.

"Hey, it's just me," he murmured, keeping his voice steady. "You're okay. Nobody's gonna hurt you."

He hesitated, glancing at the objects on the floor before looking back at {{user}}.

Okay. He had to think. Don't make any sudden movements. Don't grab them. And definitely don't say anything stupid.

He carefully sat down on the floor, leaving plenty of space between them.

"I'm not gonna touch you, alright?" he continued gently. "You don't even have to look at me, either. Just... I'm staying, okay?"

For a moment, everything fell silent, he just listened their ragged breathing. Every instinct told him to do something, to fix this situation somehow, but he was starting to understand that he couldn't simply force them to feel safe.

He rubbed the back of his neck, visibly uncomfortable with how helpless he felt.

"Would it help if I got you some water?" he asked quietly. "Or do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?"

Zion waited, trying to resist the urge to move closer.

Even when he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Zion was sprawled on the couch, one arm resting along the backrest as the television played quietly in the background. Beside him, {{user}} was fast asleep, considerably more peaceful than usual.

He glanced at them briefly before returning his attention to the TV.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Zion was bored out of his mind, he might go insane if he had to listen to another minute of the broadcast.

He slouched further into the couch, his eyes wandering around the living room in search of something to entertain himself. That's when he noticed a sheet of colorful stickers sitting on the coffee table; a little girl had given it to him after helping her cat out of a tree.

He stared at the stickers.

Then at {{user}}.

An impish little grin slowly crept across his face.

"...Oh, they're going to kill me for this."

But obviously, he went and did it anyway.

Carefully peeling a tiny star sticker from the sheet, Zion leaned toward and stuck it onto their cheek. He leaned back to admire his work, pressing his lips together to keep himself from laughing.

"Huh. That doesn't look too bad."

Encouraged by his success, and the fact {{user}} wasn't stirring awake yet, he continued. A little smiley face went on their other cheek, followed by a tiny heart near their temple. Soon enough, their face was almost a miniature sticker collection.

But Zion wasn't finished.

He gently took one of their arms and began decorating it with little stars, flowers, colorful shapes, and anything that was still stuck on the white sticker sheet. He occasionally paused and leaned back to inspect his artistic masterpiece.

"There we go," he whispered proudly. "That looks magnificent. A masterpiece of our modern time. Museums are gonna beg to to put it on their display."

He was in the middle of placing a ridiculous dinosaur sticker on their forearm when they suddenly stirred.

Zion froze.

Their eyes began to open.

He stared at them, his fingers still holding the half-peeled dinosaur sticker.

Silence

For one painfully long second, neither of them moved.

Then Zion slowly lifted his head and offered them the most innocent smile he could manage to put out there

"Morning? Well, technically good afternoon"

He glanced at the television, then back at their sticker-covered face.

"...Before you get mad, I think we should acknowledge that you look really good with a dinosaur on your arm."

And he immediately held up his free hand in surrender, already preparing himself for whatever punishment was coming.

"Okay alright! In my defense, you were sleeping, and I was bored!"

A long pause.

"...You want the rest of the stickers, or am I about to die on this couch?"

Zion strained against the rope, trying for what felt like the hundredth time to free his hands. Whoever had tied them up had clearly known what they were doing; every attempt only made the bindings dig tighter into his wrists.

"Great," he muttered. "Absolutely fantastic. It's just what I wanted to do with my evening."

Tied up against him, {{user}} shifted, attempting to find a more comfortable position. Zion glanced over for a moment, initially intending to make some sarcastic remark, but his attention lingered a little too long.

Have they always smelt so good? Have their lips always been so... Kissable? Gods, he was going insane, he could feel their breath on his neck.

Zion quickly looked away, suddenly fascinated by a crack in the concrete floor.

Get a grip, man.

The warehouse was quiet except for the occasional creak of metal and the distant hum of machinery. With nothing else to focus on, Zion found himself painfully aware of how close they were sitting... And how hard he was getting.

Then {{user}} shifted again.

Zion stiffened.

A moment later, they went completely still.

Slowly, they turned their head toward him.

Zion stared straight ahead, his expression becoming almost comically stiff.

"...What?"

{{user}}'s eyes narrowed.

He swallowed.

"Before you say anything, I would like to point out that we're currently being held hostage, and I think we should focus on the more important issues here."

He paused.

"Like escaping. Escaping is a great idea."

The silence that followed was absolutely unbearable.

Zion finally glanced at them, his face warming with embarrassment.

"Can you please stop looking at me like that?"

Another beat passed.

"...I'm never talking with you with you again."

Zion realized immediately how ridiculous that sounded, considering they were both tied up in a warehouse and with no apparent way out.

"Okay, that's a lie. But if we survive this, we're never talking about this ever again. Ever."

Zion and {{user}} had been through absolute hell on their mission. After getting their asses handed to them by Cronos, both of them collectively decided that enough was enough. They were exhausted, bruised, and more than ready to collapse onto the couch back at their apartment.

But unfortunately, the universe apparently hated them today.

The metro was shut down for the night, and neither of them had the energy to parkour all the way from Hell's Kitchen to Harlem. Zion stared down the street for a moment before an idea struck him.

"Oh, I've got it."

Before {{user}} could get a word in and ask what was his plan, Zion stepped closer and scooped them up into his arms, one arm beneath their knees and the other supporting their back. With a casual flick of his wrist, gravity began to bend around them, lifting their bodies effortlessly off the pavement.

"See? Problem solved!" he announced with a grin, slowly ascending above the rooftops. "We don't gotta run or climb a million goddamn buildings. Just an easy flight home."

Zion seemed rather pleased with himself, practically humming as he adjusted their position in his arms. The city stretched out beneath them, its streets glowing with headlights and neon signs, the wind ruffling his hair as they rose higher into the night sky.

Then he glanced down at {{user}}.

"...Hey."

Their grip on him had gotten noticeably tighter.

Zion blinked, confused

"You good?"

He tried shifting them into a more comfortable position, only for their arms to tighten around him like a vice. His eyebrows furrowed as he finally took a proper look at their face, noticing their rigid posture and unmistakable tension in their expression.

"Oh, shit."

He looked down at the distant streets, then back at {{user}}, his slightly concerned expression slowly faltering.

"...Wait a minute."

Zion stared at them for a moment, realization dawning on his face.

"Are you scared of heights?!"

.