Chapter Text
Ego Corrosions sucked; that's one thing that everyone agrees on.
The mirror dungeon almost became a bust. Rodya hadn't been happy with her performance as she kept missing her attacks, one enemy after another.
Dante stated that it was fine, that her performance hadn't changed, and that it was still as great as ever. The manager's nervous chimes made her believe that the manager was just trying to cheer her up. It didn't work, though she still appreciated the effort.
At one point, they encountered the Fairy Gentleman yet again. The abnormality kept dodging and dodging her attacks as usual, her axe barely scraping off its gelatin at every swing.
Soon, her patience finally reached its limit. The wind whirls around her. Frost seeps into her skin. With her axe in hand, she lunged.
She doesn't remember much; all she remembered was the feeling of cold.
The good thing was that the damage she dealt wasn't too great to her team, instead finally landing a solid hit on the huge bastard, which was a big win. The bad thing was that she could still feel the cold winds biting her even after consumed by her the corrosion.
Whirling frost had veiled her body, encasing her form in something sinister. Ice shards protruding on every inch of her skin. Her mind losing the last grasp of control.
Finally, the expedition was finished. The sinners burst into relief. Some loudly complained about their injuries, some sat down to rest, and some boasted about their kills.
She smiled, joked as usual, and complained about the fight as well. But she still felt cold as ever.
—
The sinners collected themselves to gather around and walk back to Mephistopheles. Rodya tailed farthest behind the group to hide her discomfort.
Her body shivers. She feels cold. The phantom scars of the corrosion hadn't left her.
She decides to wrap her arms around her body—not too tight to make herself look awkward but enough to get a little bit of heat.
She continues to shiver. Cursing that she still feels cold, she wraps her arms around her even more tightly.
Not realizing she had been falling behind the group, a voice calls out.
"Bud, you alright there?"
Her eyes snapped directly in front, She looks to see Gregor, a cigarette in his mouth, his head turned to her, concerned.
"Oh, sorry Greg~! I must've dozed off." She jests.
Gregor hums. His walk becomes slower until he was next to Rodya, deciding to fall behind as well. Both of them walked a few paces from the group, distanced enough so that nobody could eavesdrop.
"You.. uh.. okay? " He asks hesitantly.
"Hmm? Of course Im fine~!" She continues to jest. "Why'd you ask?"
"Well, you're hugging yourself to death there." He points at her arms tightly wrapping around her torso. "..Doesn't seem to be the definition of fine to me."
She waves a hand at Gregor, "Oh, I was just cold, that's all." She dismisses.
"Hm," He hums, then takes a drag of his cigarette.
The conversation sizzles down to silence. They continue to walk side to side, inches from one another. Rodya cant help but think how she feels weirdly relieved that Gregor's with her. Sure, they had been talking more often than lately, but that doesn't really make you feel relieved when you're with them during a struggle, right?
Her mind drifts to another. Did he purposefully put himself here because he noticed? She isn't stupid, and Gregor isn't dumb either. Out of everyone in the bus, he's most likely the one who'd show concern for others. Albeit putting on some kind of false apathetic facade first before finally giving in to his concerns-
"Was this because of the corrosion?" Gregor blurts out.
Yep. There it is, someone prying into her problems. It didn't take a genius to realize that, but was it really that obvious? She blinks, and Gregor visibility gulps. Her face must've contorted into something distasteful.
"Ah— I didn't mean to pry or anything..." He shyly turns away from her. "Im sorry if the questions too personal.." He stammers, rubbing his neck awkwardly while still facing her away. "I'm not good with this stuff, really. I just wanted to know if you need someone to talk to, that's all."
She was about to smile, put on a silly facade and tell him it was alright and just move on, just forget about what happened, and deal with the pain alone. But.. he wasn't wrong with that statement. It was true that she wanted someone to talk to, or, hell, someone just to be by her side, as of now.
His presence made her feel warm. a feeling in her stomach bubbling up that she couldn't ignore.
Without thinking, she wraps her arm around Gregor's. He tenses up as he snaps his head to look at her. Realizing she's just holding onto his arm for comfort, he quickly gains his composure, to her dismay. Darn. She can't help but smile when she notices his cheeks becoming faintly pink.
"Just stay with me for a bit, hm?"
Gregor simply stares at her in confusion, his mouth partly open to ask something before sighing then giving her an awkward smile. It was out of practice, but Rodya was sure it was the most genuine smile he ever has.
"If it makes you feel any better, then alright."
They both continued to walk in silence, her arm wrapped around his. She feels warmer now. Maybe it's fine to be vulnerable once in a while.
Before she could realize it, the frost had completely melted away.