Rilon had thought he’d get a good night’s sleep.

Someone had decided otherwise.

“Good morning!”

Before he knew it, his mattress, his steady ground, was tilting.

Then he was on the floor. With his mattress atop him.

Before he could move the mattress away from him, a heavy weight slammed on top of it, throwing him and pinning him to the ground.

“Asiah, you ass.” He managed to free at least his face from under the mattress. “I’m going to kill you when I get the chance.”

“Which you’ll never get. I’m untouchable today.” He shifted, and fell back. “I will make sure of it.”

“Oh… birthday.” For the past four years, this was what he’d done. It started out as a thing to cheer him up out of his grief upon losing the guard, but soon it had become a thing just to deliberately piss Rilon off. “It’s November 9th. How could I forget?” He ended sarcastically.

“Finally twenty-three.”

“Isn’t any less of an excuse to not act like a child.” Rilon groaned. “Now get off before you break something.”

“Fine… fine.” Asiah rolled onto what was the bed frame of Rilon’s bed. A moment later, and audible “Ow!” came from him.

Rilon laughed at this, lifting himself and the mattress until they were both fully standing. “Get off before I squish you.”

“Alright, alright.” Asiah rolled off of the bed onto the floor, followed by another, “Ow!”

You’re such a child.

Rilon flipped the mattress back onto the bed, to which there it sat until Asiah stood and reluctantly fixed it.

“Now, if you want to leave my room alive, you fix my bed while I get dressed.” Rilon fixed his younger brother with such a cold glare that it made him flinch.

He pushed past Asiah as he went to rifle through his dresser for day clothes.

“Let me guess, same thing as yesterday?” Asiah had the blanket in a bundle, covering his face. “Can’t you wear something other than just black?”

Rilon held his outfit close to him, like it was the most precious thing to him. He scowled, but said nothing. This was the only thing he really felt comfortable in, despite his nightgown, which was a crimson as blood. Dark colors had been his thing, so why did Asiah have to worry about his dress sense, when he had his own to worry about?

He shook off the thought, heading to the bathroom.

As soon as he shut the door, it was as if all the exhaustion of his lifetime had come back to haunt him. He slid back against the door with a loud yawn, dropping the clothes to the floor.

Tired?

“Good morning.” Rilon muttered. “What did you do last night?”

What’s it to you?

“Edward.” Rilon lowered his tone, cold. “What did you do?”

Eh, went to the penthouse. Maybe I climbed on that lightning rod at the very top. That was fun. Hyde’s words suggested exhilaration, but the way his tone feel flat suggested it had left him as exhausted as Rilon currently felt.

The thought of being at the very top of the Tower made Rilon shudder.

One thousand floors. Two miles high. One wrong move, and we would have both been dead, Edward.

Oh, I know. I considered that.

Again, Rilon shuddered. He got to his feet, picking up the clothes, then set them on the sink off to the side.

He’d long figured out that his alter was everything he wasn’t, and especially one of those traits was fearless. It was as if he had no fears, if not very little.

Unfortunately, another trait among his no fears was that he wasn’t exactly moral, either. Although these little deeds Rilon wouldn't normally consider evil — mainly such as poking fun and playing little pranks at passersby in the lobby — they did, in fact, get very annoying after a while, especially as they were pretty repetitive.

“I can’t keep myself here for long, I hope you know.” Rilon stood before the mirror, staring hard at his reflection. “Please, just… leave me alone for a day.”

I can’t make any promises.

Luckily, he was left alone as he changed.

He left the room, surprised at what his gaze met next.

His bed was made, of course — or, it had been. Asiah was passed out in a tangle of blankets, as though that small task alone had been enough of a trigger to knock him out. It couldn’t have been that anyway… Rilon knew his brother’s recent reputation for staying up later than he promised. Last night had been simply one of those nights again.

It would be in his best interest just to leave him alone, although a reminder later would more than likely suffice.

Sighing, Rilon left his bedroom, into the main room of his apartment. The first decision he made was to head out onto the balcony. The sun had already risen, but fresh air would be enough to calm him.

He shut the glass door and locked it, locking him outside. He filled his lungs with the cold autumn air. Instantly, it calmed him, relaxed him, and very nearly knocked him over.

To steady himself, Rilon grabbed tight onto the railing, staring out toward the mountains, before drawing his gaze up to the sky, where the sun set, nearly halfway through the sky. Almost noon, it told him. Understandable that he slept in, with Hyde’s little antics the night before.

He felt a sense of euphoria overcome him there, and, for the first time, he relished the silence in his mind. Hyde had left him alone, which he could understand — he’d dealt with too much as of late.

However, he figured that it wouldn’t be long until Lear came to check on them both.

He flinched at that name.

He’d managed to use excuses to avoid him for the most part, but there were still some things that he couldn’t avoid.

For instance, today.

Nausea overcame him, making him sink to the floor of the balcony. For once, he thought that he was going to be happy, not trapped in a Tower with someone he had virtually feared in the earliest part of his life, and currently now… He wished that he could leave.

It wasn’t that easy.

“I failed.”

It wasn’t he that spoke, but the groggy voice of his brother.

“You okay?”

Rilon sighed, staring up at his brother, feeling hopeless. Yet, he forced a lie through his teeth, nodding with a pained, “Yes.”

Asiah came to sit down next to him, echoing Rilon’s sigh. “Listen, you don’t have to go with me today… unless I can convince Lear to give you some time to yourself.”

I feel that it is going to be hard.

He’s trying to redeem himself again. Hyde muttered, not amused.

Rilon ignored him, nodding again. He watched for Asiah’s reaction, to which he found that there was none, or that he had hidden it quite well. He got to his feet and strode to the door, leaving his brother still sitting on the balcony. “Or, I can convince him myself.”

“I-” Asiah began to stammer, getting to his own feet. “But…” He couldn’t seem to find the words. “I know… You hate him. He’s hard on you, Rilon. You’ve been stressed.”

“Oh, he’s more than hard on me.” Rilon added under his breath as he unlocked the door.

As he accomplished his deed, he stepped inside and immediately went to his desk. There, he found his journal, discarded, forgotten. It had been waiting for him there, abandoned. The last date that he had written was over six years ago, nearly faded.

Rilon picked up his journal, dusting it off with a brief wave of his hand. Although he felt no compulsion to write in it, he picked up a discarded pen from his desk, hovering it over the page. His hand began to shake; he felt more of a compulsion to throw it across the room more than anything.

“November 9th, 2663,

I’m just getting this bad feeling. Like the thoughts in my head are turning against me. Just this… odd feeling of premonition. I should be happy for my brother today, but it’s like… I can’t.

This should be a normal thing. Anxiety is a normal thing for me. It’s my entire life, to say the least. Why don’t I feel… normal?

Any attempts in calming myself in recent minutes (such as writing too, mind you) have proved to be a fruitless effort.

I guess… I’ll try.

I guess I should stop before I worry myself more.

-13:08. Rilon Emrys Arlett.”

“I feel like you’re lying to me, Rilon.”

Rilon quickly shut the journal, throwing it and the pen upon his desk. His hands were still shaking with barely contained anxiety.

“I’m fine. Just excited.” He lied, nearly spitting through his teeth. Rilon hid his hands behind his back and smiled, although to his brother, he felt it looked more like a grimace. “It’s your birthday, why would I not be?”

Almost instantly, Asiah searched the look on his face and frowned. “I’m going to make your bed. Second attempt. If Lear comes, slap him for me.”

“Gladly,” Rilon snarled almost inaudibly through gritted teeth.

Luckily, in the short time that passed, nobody appeared at his door but a guard, who had been looking for Asiah.

As his brother entered back into the main room, he slapped his hands together and smiled directly at Rilon. “Okay, that is done, bed is made. Have you calmed down, Ri?”

Rilon nodded, which still, unfortunately, was still a lie. “There was someone looking for you. An Amil Karim? He’s the Vice President isn’t he?”

A brief look of horror crossed his brother’s face. “Oh him? Did he say why he needed me?”

Rilon shrugged, shaking his head and pulled a face. “Just go.”

Asiah nodded quickly, racing to the door. He slammed the door shut, and was followed by hurried footsteps and a panicked, “AMIL!”

Friend, I suppose? Hyde spoke up, as if noticing that Asiah had left.

“If he is, I’ve never met him.” Again, Rilon shrugged, picking the journal up from his desk. He read over the last entry, and the foreboding returned to his mind, sending his heart to his throat. “But then again, I trust it’s a professional relationship.”

Maybe. Hyde didn’t seem so sure.

Rilon set the journal back on the desk and shut it. He pushed the feeling to the back of his throat and turned to the door. “Oh,” he muttered, attempting to calm himself. “Is my brother not allowed to have friends now, Edward?”

Hyde didn't reply; Rilon could picture him glowering at him.

Then he did speak.

You don't have any.

“I-” Called out, Rilon opened his mouth to protest. He hadn't been able to make any in his early life, with the language barrier between him and his peers, but after what had happened with his mother, he had found it much harder to bond with anyone outside his family. Hyde wasn't wrong about that.

Something wrong, Arlett?

Rilon snorted; finally, he did come up with a reply.

“Fuck off, Hyde.”

After a while, Rilon found himself pacing in his bedroom, stuck in a dissociative trance. He was only broken by a knock on the bedroom door.

Abruptly, he stopped his pacing, heading over to his bed. As he fell upon it, he called, “Come in.”

“Listen, I...”

Immediately, he recognized the voice.

Lear.

“You come here to redeem yourself?” Rilon crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “Like every time before, it's not going to happen.

“Ri...”

“Don't try it.” Rilon turned his back on Lear. He opened his mouth to say more, but went against it. He figured that his threat alone was enough to silence him. “Don't even try it. I've remembered everything.”

Lear sighed, his breath shuddering. He sounded… guilty. Rilon never saw that in him — usually it was the emotionally strong Presidential figure that his father ought to be… unless… that was a façade as well.

Just the very thought of the lies made Rilon sick.

“I'm not going out. You're going to have to drag my dead body out if you really want me out there.”

If it comes to that. Hyde added. I would rather it be his than yours, though.

Lear, still regaining his composure from the sound of the stuttering in his voice, didn't even bother to protest. Rilon smiles at the fact that he had stripped Lear down to what he truly was: a weak old man who couldn't even keep a secret as it had been.

Finally, Rilon shifted in the bed so that he could see his father.

The man had his head buried in his hands, muttering what could only have been insults to himself.

Under normal circumstances, Rilon would have gotten to see what was wrong.

These weren't normal circumstances.

Rilon felt strangely happy about it.

“I'll… I'll go fetch Asiah.” Lear still had his head in his hands as he disappeared.

Rilon sat up in bed, feeling relief wash over him. His father had left, but not for good. It was bad to wish that he would leave for good, but Rilon felt no ill will in wishing it, felt no guilt.

He smiled, watching the door with caution in case Lear changed his mind. He waited for several minutes, nearly irritated that his father had not shut the door.

Lear's karma... Hyde muttered. I won't complain and neither should you.

“I have a right to complain. I'm in a mood.”

No excuse.

Then Hyde changed the subject.

I know what happened. His motive.

Rilon tell back on the bed once more. He wasn't surprised that Hyde had discovered something new. His alter couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He had to go digging around some time.

“Oh yeah,” Rilon kept staring at the door from where he lay on the bed. He was too tired to care what Hyde had to say, but at the same time, he was interested. “What's that?”

You look like his brother, Rilon. He took it out on you because he blamed himself, but didn't want it to show.

“Blamed himself for what? What happened to his brother that was bad enough he had to blame me?” Rilon had an excuse for forgetting that — he had been too young to remember.

He got up to shut the door when Hyde didn't reply, only for him to reply when he had locked it.

An accident.

It wasn't a surprise to Rilon, but it struck him as though it had. His life was an accident magnet, wasn't it? His uncle, his mother, himself. Who would be next? His brother? His father?

He was only protecting him. The sorrow only rose in Hyde's voice, along with the vagueness of his replies. Over and over, he repeated his response, growing more and more distressed. He nearly sounded like Rilon, if it hadn't been for the tone of his voice.

“Hyde,” Rilon resisted the urge to bang his head against the door. “I need you to stop. Tell me what's going on.”

They meant to kill you.