"You know what would totally be fun?" Lucius asked one random night. Well, not entirely random. It was just a few days before he and his friends were planning on taking a trip to Velvet Vice for a few nights of fun.

Things had been hard lately. Frankly, even that descriptor felt like a massive understatement. Angels had been dropping like flies, and Blue had become cold. Scarily distant, and Lucius had seen enough of that kind of behavior in his lifetime to come to some nasty conclusions. 

Blue was trying to make a clean break. Destroy all of the bridges he'd built with all of them so he could set them on fire and not have to worry about feeling the flames. 

It was only Gior's voice that broke him abruptly out of his thoughts. Deep and slow as if he was trying to seduce someone every single time he spoke. Lucius really didn't think he needed the extra effort, but Gior had always insisted it wasn't on purpose. "I don't even know if I want the answer to that question, coming from you."

Lucius laughed, walking over to where he sat, sewing something together on the couch. He leaned into its back, throwing a hand over his shoulder. 

"Nah, you'll like this one," he said. "You might be the only one who will, actually."

Gior's hands paused at that. He turned to regard Lucius over his shoulder with a raised brow. "Really?"

"Really," Lucius said with an enthusiastic nod. "What if— when we go out to the Vice this week— what if we dressed up?"

Gior seemed to puzzle over that. "Dressed up?"

"Hell yeah. You can do my makeup and find me a pretty dress—"

"Dress?" Gior fully tossed his project to the side and spun around on his couch so his knees were digging into the cushions. He looked thoughtful and as close to excited as Lucius had ever seen him, which was not very. It was still something, though, for a face as perfectly still as his. "You want to... crossdress, you mean? Drag, basically?"

"Why not?"

"Why would you?"

Lucius's lips twisted at that. "Damn. I thought you of all people would be cool about it—"

"I am. I'm just making sure you're not making some stupid straight boy joke."

"Is anyone we know straight—"

"Fine," Gior said and stood. He grabbed him by the wrist and practically dragged him from the couch. Straight towards the front door. "Yes. Let's go shopping."

"Wait, wait, wait," he said. Gior huffed a sigh, but he did stop. The dirty look he was giving him hardly mattered. Even if he knew his next words were going to intensify it. "Let's bring Corbin."

Gior stared. Lucius stared back.

"Are you never ashamed of how much you crave his attention?"

The question was so sudden and blunt it physically made Lucius jerk. His brows furrowed as he gave a quiet, deceptively nervous laugh. "No, because I don't. We're just close, you know?"

"He tried to kill you. Multiple times."

"He's had a rough life! He never meant it, and that was years ago."

"He's been pissy for weeks."

That... was true. It was a big part of the reason Lucius had suggested to his friends that they get away for a bit. It was also why he wanted Corbin around now. He didn't know if he was going to go along with it— either thing, that was— but he hoped. And every traitorous part of his brain screamed that he could convince him.

"What, suddenly you hate him?" Lucius asked, voiced as a joke even though he was deathly serious. He needed to know. He knew Corbin had been on a lot of people's bad sides lately. Knew that included some of their friends, but he'd been hoping none of them were truly holding anything against him.

If Lucius could forgive the worst of his behavior as its greatest sufferer, he didn't know why everyone else couldn't, too.

"Of course not," Gior said quietly. It took everything in Lucius to not heave a sigh of relief. "He's just... You can't just... let him get away with everything, you know? You love him, we all know that, but that doesn't give him a pass to just... abuse that."

"He doesn't."

Gior's lips tightened, flagrantly unimpressed. "Right."

"We've talked about it," Lucius said instead. "He's trying."

"Alright," Gior shrugged. "Just don't let him bring you down with him. You go get Corbin and I'll get Elena."

"Hell yeah," Lucius said with a smile. He bumped him on the arm with a fist. "Meet you back here in thirty minutes."

"I won't be holding my breath."

Lucius let himself in with the key the Jethelmonts had willingly given him, not wanting to get caught up with anyone but the person he had come to see. He'd considered climbing in through the window as he had a few times in the past, but whether or not Corbin would be okay with it would be a coin toss. He was already feeling bad enough— it didn't feel right to test his anger. Luckily, Corbin's room was on the first floor and close enough to the front door. Even luckier, his bedroom door was left mercifully unlocked.

He slipped through, eyeing the outline of a familiar body snuggled beneath the blankets, not even his head poking out. He shut the door slowly, carefully, behind him. 

His room was a state. Not as bad as he knew it could rarely get, but nothing like the pristine thing it was on the average day. There wasn't anything shocking about that. It'd been like this every day he'd visited him this past week.

Still, he couldn't help but hopefully await the day he'd show up and everything would be normal again. Like cleaning up after the most devastating storm. Putting the world back upright as if it'd never been tilted over.

Lucius moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Corbin still hadn't reacted to his presence. He might have been asleep or else pretending to be. Lucius was willing to bet on the latter.

"Corby," Lucius whispered, pushing the covers back a bit. He slowly settled a hand against his nape so he didn't startle him. Corbin made a small indecipherable sound at that, shifting and further burying his face in his pillow. "How long have you been in bed?"

The words were muffled but still clear as day. "Get out."

"Come with me," he whispered, squeezing against his muscles there. He could feel the tension beneath the press of his palm. "Please."

"What are you begging for?"

"Your company. I've missed you."

Finally, Corbin allowed him just the barest glimpse of his face, turning ever so slightly. Lucius observed his profile and tried to ignore the way his heart jumped happily in his chest. He looked tired, pretty though he still was. The bags under his eyes a little deeper than usual.

He set the hand he'd had against his nape lower, falling on his back. He tried to feel, subtly, if he'd lost weight. It was difficult through his clothes, thick and dark and far too heavy to wear to bed. Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren't pajamas at all. He'd clearly gotten dressed at some point for one reason or another and not bothered to change before climbing back into bed.

He wondered when the last time he showered was. He didn't smell bad, but certainly not freshly washed. He considered leaning down, burying his face in the crook of his armpit, and shook the thought away.

How creepy, that'd be. Corbin wouldn't take kindly to it.

"You saw me just yesterday," he muttered.

"Too long," Lucius said with a mocking sort of whine. "I always miss you when you're not around."

Corbin's singular visible eye twitched, and then he was looking away again. 

"Lucius," he said and said nothing else.

"Come with me," he said again. "Me, Gior, and Elena. We're going shopping."

"Why the fuck would I want to do that?"

"Because you'll get to see me in drag."

There was a lengthy silence that followed the words. And then, exasperated, "what?"

"I'm gonna get a nice wig and a nice dress and some nice heels," Lucius mused. He'd started running his hand up and down Corbin's back without realizing. "Don't you wanna have a say in what I pick? I'll let you dress me."

Corbin sat up, slowly, with a groan. He rubbed a hand against his forehead as if fighting a headache. "And why are you doing this?"

"For our trip to Velvet Vice that you're tagging along on."

"Says who?"

"Says you," Lucius lied. "You already agreed so you can't renege now."

"If you ever try to fucking gaslight me again," Corbin hissed. The underlying threat went unspoken. "I've been out of it, whatever, but I know what I've said. Fuck no. To both of those things."

"How long have you been in bed?" Lucius asked again. He was circling. He'd come back to this. "Have you eaten?"

"Speaking of things I've said, I'm certain I told you to get out already."

"Answer my questions and I'll go." 

It was a lie. They both knew it, so it felt like it didn't count.

Corbin sighed, shaking some of his hair out of his face. And then, so fast Lucius's brain couldn't even comprehend the movement, he shoved him away and off the edge of the bed. He crashed to the ground with a loud thud. He landed on his tailbone and hissed at the sharp ache it sent up his spine. Corbin stared down at him with a blank expression.

Before either of them could say anything, a knock sounded at the door. Whoever it was didn't even give Corbin time to respond, pushing it open slowly and stepping through.

"Are you alright?" Bellamy asked, voice a little strained with worry. Then, she noticed Lucius, his wince and the way he was trying to rub the pain on his lower back away with little success, and cocked an eyebrow at Corbin. 

"Yeah," Corbin said, voice softened. Nothing like the way he'd spoken to Lucius. He was ridiculously jealous to hear it. "Sorry. He fell—"

"You shoved me!" Lucius shouted, indignant. 

"Could you escort him out? I don't even know why you guys let him in—"

"I have a key, jackass!"

That brought Corbin up short. "Who the fuck gave you a key?"

"I did," Bellamy said and Corbin recoiled in shock. She was frowning. "You should be nicer to him. He's good for you. If I’m not around to look out for you, I know he'll always be."

"Don't say stuff like that. Why wouldn't you be around?"

"You haven't left your bed in days." Bellamy crossed the threshold of the room. She took the place on the bed Lucius had been booted from. Grabbing him by the chin, she turned his face this way and that, and Corbin let her. "You need to get out. Get some sunshine."

Days, she'd said. The very idea of that pulled at his heart. Lucius really should have noticed sooner. 

Corbin scoffed. "Yeah, alright."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Corbin's eyes fell, his hair falling around his face with the movement and shielding his expression from view. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Take a shower and let Lucius take you out." She smiled, slightly. There was a curious strain to the expression. "You might even have fun."

"Why don't we go out instead?" Corbin asked, and Lucius had to fight to ignore the way those words stung. 

"I have some things to sort out, myself. Nothing fun. And like I said," she glanced toward Lucius with soft eyes, "he's good for you."

Corbin didn't respond to that. Bellamy let go of his face and stood, offering a hand to Lucius which he gladly took. "Thanks, Lucius," she murmured. To Corbin, she said, "I love you, but get out. Lucius will have you back by midnight."

"I love you, too," was Corbin's whispered response.

As fast as she'd appeared, she was gone.

Corbin didn't speak to him. He only threw back the remaining portion of his covers and stepped down beside him. He made a beeline for the bathroom, and Lucius watched him go.

In his absence, Lucius took it upon himself to make his bed as he heard the shower start. He sorted through some of the clutter on his desk, a myriad of hastily scribbled notes he had to exercise serious self control to not read. He picked some of the dirty clothes scattered around the floor up to drop into the hamper. Hung up some of the few he figured were clean enough.

Corbin was usually such a neat freak. His room never got this way unless he was having a seriously difficult time, and he never warned about the worst of his moods. His brain would turn against him like poison, eating him up alive from the inside, and he would just... let it. In complete silence.

Lucius wondered if he really understood just how much he would do for him. Wondered if it was a kind of failing that he hadn't made it obvious enough. Wondered if Corbin actually did know but, for whatever reason, was choosing to ignore the fact.

Maybe he simply didn't want his help. His big sister, Bellamy, he had all of the patience in the world for. He didn't shrink away from affection. He hadn't thrown a fit at the way she'd barged into his room without his permission. He was subdued. He listened.

Maybe, Lucius considered too often for his taste, Corbin really didn't like him. Maybe he'd been kidding himself— forcing himself into his life all these years when all Corbin really wanted was to be left alone.

Lucius sucked in a harsh breath, anxiety beating like stones against his chest.

Then, the bathroom door opened, and steam billowed out. Just behind it, Corbin followed. Towel wrapped around his waist, he paused just outside the doorway. Looked around at the way his room had been ever so slightly pieced back together. His mouth clicked open and then shut.

Ultimately, he didn't say anything. He nudged Lucius to the side to get into his closet and shut the door behind him. Lucius sat on the edge of his bed and waited.

When Corbin reemerged, he was dressed simply. A dark hoodie and dark pants. He'd shoved his hands into his pockets, looking distinctly awkward. Ordinarily it might have been enough for Lucius to laugh— poke fun at him if he was in one of his better moods. 

As it currently stood, his body language only made the whispers in the back of his clouded mind grow louder.

"Well?" Corbin asked pointedly. "Let's find you a pretty dress."

Ah. The voices quieted to a serene hush. How easy, he was. How quickly undone.

Lucius smiled wide, standing. 

"Let's go."