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It hadn't been long since Zam joined Eclipse Federation , it had been only a couple of days since Subz dramatically presented the mega base. The moment was still ever so fresh in his head , only meaning that he still had yet to grow used to having teammates again , being in that castle for so long really messed him up (not mentioning the constant paranoia that Mapicc had oh so generously gifted him every single day).
During those days he would try to fall asleep , only to feel extremely aware of his surroundings and thoughts , never being able to escape them . Zam wishes he could leave everything in the past , the cold and hard walls of his so-called castle turned prison no longer surrounded him , they had been replaced by lava enveloped dark stone(sometimes he mistakes them for gray) , warmth never seeming to dissipate.
Back to his failed sleeping attempt , for a long time he thought he would just simply fall asleep sooner or later , of course the sweet release of the harmless void never came— leaving Zam feeling restless and frustrated the next morning .
Even as the soft blankets and pillows enveloped Zam , carefully guiding him to peaceful slumber, he just couldn’t get lost in the oblivion no matter how many goats(he misses the days that Walter would sleep by the side of his bed , more like a dog than a goat) he counted. His eyes were shut— that's for sure , but he could still make out the bedroom , the little night desk right off to the side of his bed that was a little bit shorter , so even if he rolled off his head won't fall on the ground , the beautiful engravings in the walls that have been patterned all across the base(How long did Subz spend on these?) , the huge closet that had more than enough space for his clothing even after changing his entire wardrobe for Eclipse , no— for Subz and Vitalasy , for them , his teammates , his friends(? Mixed signals oh how much of a headache can you be).
The small clock on the other side of the room ticked and tocked in the background , serving as a good enough distraction from most of his thoughts.But even with all of this Zam couldn’t lose his consciousness— so it had to be one of those nights.
Some nights , no matter what , Zam wouldn’t fall asleep fully—his thoughts would be constantly running through random topics until he would be awoken , either by a teammate or his brain finally deciding to restore its full control over his body. It was some form of sleep paralysis as he’d been told , although unlucky for him he didn't have any way to prevent these nights( well he actually did but he would rather die than ask anyone to cuddle with him , even if they were his teammates , irrational fear or whatnot he wasn’t going to act like he was a 5 year old who just got a nightmare )
.
Click
What?
Clack
The fuck.
Someone was in his bedroom— at fuck-o-clock. In the Eclipse Federation base. This was definitely absolutely not okay.
Zam wished he could wake himself up , stand up and prepare to fight back— but as always his body wouldn’t respond to any signal he tried to give it. He was going to get killed— he was going to get killed right in his bed and he can’t even fight back. He didn't have any access to any weapons as per Subz’ rules ‘No armor or weapons in the bedrooms’ (if lived through this he was going to ask nicely for Subz to lift that rule)
It had felt like an entire minute(not like he could slow down his internal panic enough to count the tics and tocs to actually calculate) and nothing had happened , he could definitely hear the other person’s breathing , although they were most likely standing completely still— almost like trying to make sure to not wake him. The possibilities of who it might be kept his brain busy— Mapicc? Roshambo?Parrot? No , no , Parrot is too much of a coward to do something like this— also , wouldn't he have heard Roshambo’s overly complicated outfit(who even wears 7 layers in summertime , well Ro does but still. He’s a freak.)? Mapicc always had his armour on , so this was definitely too quiet for him— Oh fuck , please not Spoke , anyone but that maniac.
With some disturbingly quiet footsteps approaching his bed , Zam wished the deaths would be quick and painless , or maybe slow would be better for the chance of Vitalasy or Subz noticing and saving him? Why would they even save him if he was getting spawn-killed? It would be a waste a huge waste he was a huge waste of resources and—
The intruder sat on the bed , their back turned to Zam and something soft was on his stomach , they were almost sitting on his arm and the angle the mattress was going at it was definitely starting to feel uncomfortable.
Wait.
The soft thing laying over his torso was a tail a very fluffy one at that , so the only person who could’ve came into his bedroom was- Vitalasy
What could Vitalasy want out of Zam at this time and place? There was no way that Vitalasy would know that Zam was half-awake(well , it was more like fully awake but resting but not quite? Oh how he needed to see a doctor and psychologist sooner or later, preferably soon) right now— they hadn’t even been teamed for that long! So many questions , but maybe it’s best to just not tell Vitalasy later that day that he knew he paid him a visit. Vitalasy’s figure became clearer in Zam’s vision , he was sitting slightly hunched and he was looking directly at his face , although his back still faced Zam’s body
Vitalasy opened his mouth for a second before closing it and shaking his head , clearly trying to figure out how to say something. This better not be weird .
“Hi Sunshine— wait no , I shouldn’t call you that , or well not yet until you say it's okay. Yeah , that matters, it matters , right yeah.”
His voice was barely audible , his hands started to fidget with the edge of Zam’s blanket until he took in breath and turned around slightly to grab Zam’s arm— OOO-KAY! The nickname , and now Vitalasy was holding Zam’s hand! Wow! He really needed to take that ‘Am I Gay’ quiz tomorrow , otherwise he would just assume he’s constipated right now by how his stomach just did a triple backflip due to the sudden contact.
With the sudden contact , his brain finally decided to go into sleep mode. Just great . Vi was still saying something— barely audible on its own , but now with Zam’s sleep-ridden brain it was getting muffled to the nether and back.
Vitalasy’s voice was so comforting , even if he could barely hear it. Softness and warmth always followed Vi— unless you were on the other side of his blade , then you see how those sharp teeth actually work against prey.
The next morning Zam felt a bit better than usual , he definitely felt the absence of anyone in his room but he could spend a few more minutes laying in bed thinking. What did Vitalasy want to say? Maybe he should ask— maybe not— would it make him look weird?Could he make up an excuse on why he was awake?Vitalasy was so quiet , there was no way for him to wake up when he came in—
The questions made his head spin. Zam couldn’t really waste too much time overthinking now before he started beating himself mentally for not getting up and being productive. He slowly sat up and shifted his body to put his feet on the ground , and the more he moved , the more and more exhausted he felt. It was normal for him.
Everything was normal , everything was fine. Whatever Vitalasy wanted to say to him while he was asleep was completely none of his business. He was not going to be nosey this time. (Maybe— hopefully— yeah no this is going to take a LOT of willpower. )
Slowly making his way through the labyrinth that Subz has created in their base , Zam made his way to the kitchen , ever since he joined Eclipse they had told him that they had some ‘team bonding rules’ yeah that makes sense .
Every morning , afternoon and night they would all eat together, Zam still had a lot of time before he would get used to eating at least 3 times a day— during his time in the castle he barely got time to eat once a day without paranoia making him throw up , he never wants to relieve those weeks ever again. He really appreciates Subz and Vitalasy for their efforts.
Dragging his eyes up from the blackstone floors , Zam saw Vitalasy and Subz in the kitchen , talking , joking , flirting— some days he felt like a ghost , a stranger , just watching them. They've known each other for so long and they just… accepted him. It felt bitter-sweet.
Subz noticed him first , shooting a quick “G’morning” , his voice send some small shivers down Zam’s spine , and not a second later Vitalasy turned his head to look at Zam , smiling , maybe if Zam looked closer at their expressions… maybe then he could see how soft they looked at him , how much they trusted him , how much they loved him— But it was too early for that , sooner or later the feeling of safety would settle in.
Zam raised his head a bit more , and continued making his way towards his teammates. What was he going to ask Vitalasy about again?