Simon didn’t mind, he knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose. After a moment, he gently lay them both down. Everything felt so….hopeless. He hated having to see her suffer like this, knowing there was nothing he could do to make it any better. Right now he wanted to beat the living hell out of Astral for everything he’d done to them, and so many others.
Astral, if he had known, would have obliged Simon. He deserved it, he knew, he deserved it and so much more. The next time the two men saw each other… he'd do nothing to stop Simon.
Simon most likely wouldn’t do it, not having the physical strength to do so. But he would yell and scream and make no mistake, Astral would know just how much pain the two of them had been going through while he hid in his workshop.
Mia would be terrified the entire time. She'd be scared for Simon, and herself. He would lash out at them, something she held as fact. They'd never be able to get away with it. She dreaded ever knowing how Astral would hurt Simon after that, child or no.
Simon didn’t even care about the consequences at this point. They were already going through so much every day, and while he knew it could get worse, he didn’t care.
(aha, so… what now? Timeskip? To when?)
((Hmmmmm ig? Idk maybe Astral sort of realizes how much time has passed and goes to check up on the two of them??))
(That could work…)
(I'll write it up in a bit!)
Astral looked up. How long had he been in here? He'd gone through so many souls. His hands were stained with them, his clothes spattered with their essence and their tears. He'd been here too long, he'd done too much. There were none left for now. There would always be more, but not now. No more he could tear apart and put back together.
"Simon…" The god looked up. Oh god, how long had he left the man alone? How far along was he? He'd need to be taken care of, he knew there were things Mia couldn't provide. He'd… have to go do them himself. Make sure Simon and the baby were okay. He had no idea how the child would affect Simon, how they would grow. So, for the first time since Simon ran, Astral opened the door of his workshop, and started out to find the human.
Simon was….not doing well. Mia was practically having to force him to eat. The man was skinny, way thinner than he was supposed to be at this point in time. He really was trying to take care of himself, he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Mia but it was just…difficult.
Mia was doing the best she could. She didn't want to hurt Simon, not even on accident, but with where he'd deteriorated to… she was worried she'd have to physically force the food down his throat. It wasn't healthy at all… She was on her way back to the room, with food for both of them. She hoped he'd be able to stomach some of it…
Astral was slowly making his way through the halls. He didn't bother to check on their minds- it might not have even crossed his own. He just kept walking, kept searching. Then, on the other side of the hall… Mia.
The woman was too caught up in her thoughts as she headed back to the room. How much would he be able to stomach? How much could she get him to swallow, to hope he wouldn't send it back up. She froze, though, when she felt a shadow fall over her.
She couldn't even scream before Astral's hand covered her mouth, but she did manage to drop the plate. Hopefully, it was enough to warn Simon.
"Where is he..?"
Simon heard the noise in the hallway and instantly froze. He stayed stuck there for a moment before quickly getting out of bed, going and hiding in the closet. He tried not to make too much noise as he did so.
Mia shook her head as best as she could. She, she wasn't going to betray Simon like that.
"Where is he?" Astral demanded again, louder. He was slowly coming out of the stupor of the past months, back to thinking.
"I… I need to make sure he's okay. The baby is okay, too."
Simon could hear that it was Astral now. He did his best to stay quiet, putting his hands over his mouth in case he started hyperventilating.
Mia shook her head again. She was trembling, tears coming to her eyes.
"Where… is he?!" Astral was growing tired of this, this game. He slammed Mia to the wall, feeling bones crack under his hand.
"Tell me!!"
Simon flinched, of course hearing the sound, how could he not. He was considering just going out there, he didn’t want Mia to get hurt because of him.
Mia let out a sob of pain, falling to the floor with a heavy thud. Her jaw, she couldn't move it- her entire head was on fire…
"Where…"
At hearing Mia’s cries of pain he couldn’t do it anymore and quickly got up, yanking a blanket off the bed and wrapping it around himself before bursting out into the hallway. “I’m right here!” He was doing his best not to shrink in fear at the mere sight of Astral. “W-what do you want?”
Astral looked over, letting out a breath.
"Simon…" The god took a step forward. He was still covered in the essence of souls, staining his hands a sickly pale blue white.
"Is she taking care of you? Are you eating?"
Yeah Astral’s appearance definitely wasn’t helping him not feel terrified. But honestly Astral’s words made him angry. How dare he show up here after months asking how he was doing as if nothing had happened?! “Yes. We’re doing fine.” He replied shortly, looking over at Mia, trying to see if she was okay.
Mia… she wasn't doing too good. Astral had probably broken her jaw when he slammed her into the wall, and that was at best.
Astral looked, not surprised, but unready for how Simon had answered. He took half a step back, then two more forward.
"Let me see," the god said. He'd finally managed to work himself up to see Simon and he was going to make sure the child was okay too.
“No.” Simon replied before he could even think. He didn’t want the god anywhere near him, especially not touching him. “There’s nothing to really see yet anyway.” He said, trying to justify his response some but that didn’t change how hostile his tone was.
Astral stopped a moment.
"You think… you think after all these years, of trying to father a child I- I wouldn't know everything? That I don't know just how far along you are?" Astral took a step forward. He… he didn't mean to be angry. He just… he wanted to see. He wanted to see it wasn't for nothing.
Simon tried not to let Astral intimidate him but he for the most part failed, stumbling back a step. He just really, really didn't want Astral touching him.
"Please… please, show me, Simon." Astral made no move to touch Simon, not yet, but he didn't stop his advance. Simon was the one who'd thrown the blanket on, the one who was hiding.
Simon knew he was going to lose this battle no matter what. He took in a deep breath and quickly asked. “If I do it will you fix Mia’s jaw?” He really hoped Astral said yes, he didn’t need his friend to be in more pain.
Astral nodded, not even hesitating. He would have anyway, though he didn't say it out loud- he still needed her to take care of Simon for the most part.
"I will."
He nodded. “Okay….fine then.” He said, as if he really had any choice in it anyways. “Thank you…” he said quietly, his rage having left for the most part. Now he was just back to being meek.
Astral nodded once.
"Please…" He kept his hands to himself, looking down at Simon. "Take the blanket off."
He sighed softly but did as Astral said. He just sort of stared down at his feet, letting his eyes go out of focus so he wouldn’t really have to think about all of this.