Dimensional Descent

Raj tried to move directly past Zephyr, feeling that the time was about to hit zero.

"Hey," Zephyr reached out and put a firm hand on Raj's shoulder, his frown turning more dangerous. "I said to stop. That's my woman in there, who do you think you are?"

Raj froze, blinking once, then a second time.

The anxiousness in his gaze dimmed, and in the end all that was left was irritation.

He didn't like the feeling at all. His heart sunk to the pits of his stomach and his mind felt like it was whirring. He didn't even know what the emotion was, it was mixed in with too many things.

It was rage, but not quite rage. Sadness, but not quite sadness. Even embarrassment, though not quite that either. He had come here with his brothers, just to find out the girl he thought about more than he wanted to admit was with another man?

Was that why she had reacted like that? It wasn't his face at all, but rather that she was embarrassed to be caught in a situation like this?

No, what would she have to be embarrassed about? The two of them were so stubborn that they never really put any official labels on their relationship, and how long had it been since they saw each other?

But he had thought that things would stay the same... hadn't it stayed the same last time?

He had literally died in a war and disappeared for decades from Yuri's perspective, but after they met again she acted like nothing had happened at all and that they were still together.

He had thought that that meant that she was his ride or die. He never said it, but how could he not be a bit jealous about what Leonel and Aina had going on? A lot of times he would prefer to hang out with his wife than them, and Raj couldn't really blame him.

And now, Raj stood in confusion, a stranger's hand on his shoulder, and a great deal of hostility surrounding him.

before, but now barely more than a year was too much? Was it because before she was surrounded by humans she always looked down on, and now she was surrounded by people she thought were on her level so she could really

always been

a-" James started to roll up his sleeves like he was about to burn

see what was wrong, only to

felt embarrassed he had fallen for a preschooler's gag, and on the other,

to beat your ass,"

free to try

"As if-"

Leonel, for so long he had been at least three inches taller

you,"

everyone and grabbing Aina's wrist. Surprisingly, Aina had reacted before even James had, but this time, he chose to take a step back and let

stuck in the Segmented Cube for too long. They felt stifled, and they felt too reliant on

he would take all the weight on himself

like it. They were all men at the end of the day, although they had all grown up together,

didn't have such fiery spirits, they wouldn't be his brothers to begin

Even if he didn't say anything like he normally wouldn't, that didn't

left tackle, the man who had protected his blindside for his whole football career. He took

he wasn't able