05 Sweater
a/n: Cross, L, and Lin on a mission in Oblivia, checking out some creepy new enemy in the Devil's Colony cave complex. Also fashion disaster.
Slight swears, creepy crawlies. Prompt from OnePirateWolf96 yayyyy!
All the good things belong to Monolith Soft.
Cross hadn't said anything about L's choice of attire. Lin, however, had said plenty. "Wow, L, that sweater is not looking good on you."
"We know!" L replied cheerfully. "We are what is looking good under it"
"I didn't mean that either. It's baggy and all the wrong colors, and I mean all of the colors, and pretty ragged."
"We were fighting tyrants most hotly yesterday with Douglas. We did not break a sweat, but perhaps we broke the sweater." L pulled curiously at the bottom edge, tugging an armlength of yarn free, leaving the tail to dangle down to his pointed shoes. Tatsu batted it cautiously with his wingarm, pulled back, and pounced awkwardly.
"Stop it, Tatsu. You are not a cat."
"We agree, although we haven't put that to the taste test," L added mildly.
Cross finally turned to shush them. Some very weird reports had come from Oblivia about changes in the tunnels at the northern edge of the bottomless gap. New types of insectoid enemies, very small but vicious and able to move without being seen. The torches that lit the series of cave rooms cast limited light, and the party would have to stay on alert, fashion disaster or no.
They moved slowly, following the gentle slope whenever they came to a diverging path. Cross didn't trust the flickering lights and ordered Lin and Tatsu to pull out their flashlights. It seemed unnecessary as room after room offered only the same known enemy and the same crude torches.
It was in an unremarkable room that they were caught by surprise. Cross realized afterwards that it was the first room to have no blatta crawling on the floor or vesper floating just above their heads. There were only a few rocks, sitting in pools of their own shadows.
"Meh, meh, Tatsu feel itchy."
"I told you to take a proper bath," said Lin.
There wasn't time to shush them again. The shadows rose up from the ground, a pulsing wave of darkness. The team launched into battle but it was like fighting the wind. Cross twirled and stabbed, Lin slammed her shield for protection, Tatsu wailed, and the "pew pew pew" of L's psycho launchers filled the room. Cross could feel the hint of resistance, but nothing seemed to drop or even stick to their blade. Finally, Cross called a halt. "The torches must have been hit. Turn those lights on, Lin."
"I ... I did! They aren't working." "Tatsu same."
"Fine, don't worry. L, shoot a couple rounds, bright ones, and we'll find the torches and relight them."
"We will flashbang in a flash!" The sound of psycho launcher fire was heard again but to Cross's horror there was no light to be seen.
"Okay, okay, that's not good. Team, gather round." Cross put out a hand, touched soft sweater, and dragged L closer. "Lin, if you can grab Tatsu and move towards my voice," Cross ordered.
"MEEEEEHHHHHH Tatsu very itchy now." Lin said something quite rude under her breath, but Cross was too relieved to feel her shield bump against their hip to care. Cross was starting to feel the same itchiness squirming along the tops of their boots.
"Okay, we need out, as fast as possible. Maybe if we make sure we're going upward, that will get us home. I think."
"MEHHHHHHHHH!"
"Be quiet. Lin, brush him off or something." Vigorous thumps and more wailing were heard. Cross felt the sweater pulling out of their hands. "Hey! L, what are you doing?"
"We believe we have untangled a solution, if you would be so good as to follow us," L said calmly.
Cross didn't have a better idea so they put one hand on L's shoulder and another hand on the tip of Lin's shield. "Keep a good hold of the tater, kid." There was a Nopon squeal that indicated the grip was firm indeed.
L walked confidently through the caves, making each turn with no hesitation. Cross had no idea if the team was getting closer to the entrance or not, but they took comfort in the gentle upward slope of several hallways. Cross was unable to tell how much time had passed, but suddenly there was fresh air blowing on their face, tainted with the slightest grit. Cross rubbed their eyes fiercely, and was immensely relieved to have the darkness lift. It was a whisper light sensation as whatever had covered their eyes peeled away, and Cross shuddered. The inky cloud of tiny gnats poured off of the team and flowed back into the cave.
"We're coming back with flamethrowers, I swear to god." Cross looked gratefully at L but their thanks died on their lips. "What happened to your sweater."
L inspected the hem, now resting slightly above his abs. "The trail of the thread has led us out of our labyrinth, as well as created quite the fetching crop top, do you not think?"
a/n: Yay! Thank you to OnePirateWolf96 for the stack o' prompts (see them for excellent Vandham/Nagi fluff as well as FE3H and Pokemon). Sweaters usually show up for Christmas; this made for a fun challenge.
Next up: still no prompt list, although I am set for a few more days. Drop a hint/dare/suggestion and see what happens.