Broken Stride

The Modeling Job

Cassian was pleasantly surprised to find himself feeling well-rested despite having fallen asleep scrunched up on a tiny couch. He was also surprised to find that when he awoke he was not on said tiny couch. He was even more surprised to find that half of his body was warmer than the other. Steeling himself for whatever horror he was about to find, Cassian carefully peeled his eyes open.

He couldn't see very well around the blanket smushed up against the right side of his face, but he was definitely pressed up against something.

No. . .

Someone.

Horror dawned on him when he realized he was sat curled in Uchan's lap, the other's head resting on top of his own. How did he get here? And why? He wracked his brain for some semblance of a memory that would explain his current predicament, but everything was a blur from the night before. The last vague memory he had was falling asleep on the couch with Naeun. That didn't explain how he came to find himself literally being held hostage by the Psyker trainee like some kind of stuffed animal though!

. . .

He hated to admit it, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. It wouldn't hurt to stay put for just a little bit longer, right? As the thought entered his mind, he found himself dozing again; Teetering on the edge of consciousness—that is, until . . .

Click!

Wait, was that?

Cassian peeled his eyes open for a second time to find himself face to face with the back of a blue smartphone right as another flash went off. He hissed against the sudden brightness and blinked rapidly to clear his vision as he tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Shit, sorry! Forgot the flash was on," Naeun whispered, looking anything but apologetic, a shit-eating grin plastered to her face.

Flash?

"Hey! Did you just take a picture?!"

Sleep forgotten, Cassian wrenched his hand free from the blanket prison and swiped at the teen. Naeun laughed as she stepped out of his reach, snapping yet another photo.

"Come on, you looked so adorable!"

"Get back here!"

Cassian lunged at her a second time, wiggling free of Uchan as he made a grab for her legs. Naeun let out a shriek of laughter as she fell, launching her phone down the hall to keep it from Cassian's hands.

"Never surrender!" Naeun cried out dramatically, writhing free from his grip.

"Delete those pictures, damn it!"

"FUCK!"

The two of them froze at the Psykers sudden cry. Cassian winced slightly when he realized that—in his haste to get to his sister—he'd accidentally smacked Uchan in the face with his metal leg. If the Psyker hadn't been awake before, he definitely was now.

Naeun hesitated for only a moment before she took advantage of the situation; Before Cassian could even think about stopping her, she dashed down the hall, grabbed her phone, and slammed shut the door to the nearby room.

Cassian let out a groan of frustration, muffled slightly by the fact that he had his face buried in the—frankly—very soft carpet.

"What is wrong with you two?" Uchan grumbled, massaging his jaw in the place Cassian had smacked it. He would bring himself to feel bad about it if not for the worry of what Naeun would do with the pictures she'd gotten away with.

"Sorry, I'm dead. Dead men tell no tales," Cassian replied, rolling over so he was flat on his back, though still wedged between the couch and the coffee table. His legs were still tangled up in the blanket but he didn't really care, he just wanted to melt into the shadows and never come back out. He probably could, actually—well at least until he ran out of mana but he'd bet he could last for quite a while anyways.