Their experience in Altera a year and a half ago had changed them. They had gone back towards Elder to retrieve what was left behind in the hidden lab before making their way back across the land towards Feita.

        Now, they called a well off town in Velder their home. Add's success as a doctor earned them a large house and fairly decent political standing. Rumors of a person who could treat nearly anything had quickly spread across the kingdom when they had first taken up residence there. It had brought them many travelers who sought Add's help, but not all of them held intentions of good will. For that reason, people sometimes heard wispers about the miracle doctor being protected by an mysterious wind that dealt with anyone who threatened him. (Y/n) never killed anyone in honor of her father's memory, but those individuals never dared to plot against Add again.

        Raven remained with them so that Add could monitor his health condition. The experimentation done by the nasods left him with a health condition related to his nasod arm that ate away at his life span. Using every bit of knowledge he had, Add kept the stubborn man well taken care of to continuously extend his lifespan as it was being taken away. It was all as normal as it could get for them.

        "Did you have a good rest last night?" (y/n) asked as she entered the room that Add had turned into a dedicated workspace. "I know you hate going to bed past your personal curfew, but you seemed like you enjoyed yourself." She approached his desk with a cup of tea, delighted as always by the sight of his hair pooling down his back as he worked.

        "I only go to sleep early to keep myself in peak condition. One night isn't going to hurt me." He accepted the warm drink without taking his eyes off the screen in front of him. "And yes, I did enjoy spending my time with you. Raven is coming back this afternoon. If I hadn't taken that opportunity, I'd regret it later on. My patience for my patients has been running thin recently."

        (Y/n) smiled at his word play. Add set up a date for them yesterday in the comfort of their own home. Raven lived with them, but worked as a mercenary which had him leaving for days at a time. It usually gave Add and (y/n) plenty of opportunities for privacy, but Raven had not taken any mercenary work that required long distance travel in almost two months. The moment Add found out that the man would be gone for even just a day, he had jumped at the opportunity. Dynamo had been put into sleep mode so he could get some rest as well. Add even completely stayed out of his work room the entire day.

        "Is it too bitter today?" (Y/n) caught the wince that Add tried to hold in when he took a sip of his tea. She found out over time that he actually genuinely hated the stuff, but regularly drank it at its strongest of states for health reasons. "I brewed it with the new herbs just like you asked. Is the flavor too strong?"

        "It's nothing I can't handle," he replied. "As long as I get the proper results, I'll make no changes to it. Just-" he winced again after taking another sip. This time his eyes remained shut tight. (Y/n) raised an eyebrow at him. "I take that back. Sugar, please. I need it. I don't care if the effectiveness goes down," he quietly requested. Even though she understood his reasoning for doing so, (y/n) could not imagine purposely drinking something that wasn't absolutely required to keep her healthy if she could not stand it.

        She returned with sugar now mixed into the tea. "Is that better?" He gave her a satisfied hum in reply. (Y/n) was about to leave him to his work, but his dynamos came to life and floated over to block her path. "Don't you have a busy schedule today? You'll get distracted if you don't focus," (y/n) said while turning back to face him. He had turned his chair around and met her gaze with mischief.

        "Raven isn't back yet, and I'm already distracted. Come here. Let's talk for a moment." She complied with his request and sat on his lap so that he could hug her from behind. He was quick to initiate affectionate contact these days so long as no one was around to witness it. Dynamo was still in sleep mode from the previous night, so (y/n) was the only person who ever got to see him completely remove the mask he wore to fool others. It was never anything beyond cuddles or Add chosing to use her as a pillow, but (y/n) never complained about it.

        "What's on that brilliant mind of yours?"

      "You are," Add immediately answered and burried his face into her neck.

        "Be serious, Add," (y/n) said with a laugh. "You've been sighing a lot more lately. It's hard not to hear." She reached back to catch a few strands of his hair.

        "Not even that escapes your ears," he mumbled. He moved to rest his head against her shoulder. "Do you listen to every little thing?"

        "Sometimes. When I'm awake for too long at night, I go to your door to check on you when you're asleep to make sure that you're still breathing. It's a bad habit that I picked up from my father." Add had insisted that she get an entire room to herself so that she could have a perfectly normal life. He had been so happy to present it to her that she hadn't had the heart to tell him that she'd much rather keep things the way it had always been with them sharing the same sleeping space.

        "Why do you think it's a bad thing?" Add mumbled. "Sounds to me like you're just being extra careful. Nothing is going to happen to me, (y/n)."

        "I'm scared," she admitted. It had been easier to check on him when he had been much closer. "Nothing has gone wrong ever since we started living here. You've achieved so much in such a short time. It feels almost unreal. Perfect even."

        Add hummed in agreement. "Then you also have that feeling too. The feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong. It's been driving me insane this week. I thought it was just me, but apparently you feel the same way."

        They each had their own reasons for suspecting such. Add's trauma stemmed from loss just as much as hers did, so having everything in their life constantly working out in their favor was starting to produce seeds of doubt. (Y/n) hoped that they were just imagining things. The last thing she wanted was to deal with another crisis.

        "There's nothing to be worried about," Add told her. She had zoned out for a moment while thinking of the possible wrongs that could occur. "It's probably just stress. We haven't had any time alone for a while. Just forget about that for now. No one would dare to do anything against me. I hold everyone's lives in my hands. The last thing they'd want to do is upset the person who determines whether they live or die." He briefly laughed, low and sinister.

        "You scare me sometimes when you say that so casually." (Y/n) knew that Add actually valued the lives of his patients. It just wasn't for the reasons they suspected. It was not out of the kindness of his heart. Add wanted something from them in return that they didn't even realize they were giving him. He wouldn't allow even one specimen to die for that reason alone.

        "I don't actually scare you. You're not afraid of me," he said in full confidence. "You trust me. Maybe you're the only person that truly does. Everyone else thinks I'm some sort of saint." He held no shame in his actions either. It was all to reach his end goal of absolute power. "I feel much better charging my social battery like this. You'll have to distract me from work more often." (Y/n) was glad that he had the opportunity to be himself around her. Seeing him interact with people who clearly annoyed him while keeping up an act of kindness still somewhat threw her off even to this day. She didn't want Add to hide any of his feelings from her as he did with them.

        "I'm guessing that means you're about to actually do your job now?" (y/n) said.

        "Unfortunately, yes. You aren't off the hook though. I can get done quickly if I have Dynamo assist me. You'll be all mine soon enough."
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Just a reminder that Add has now obtained Dissembler status in case no one noticed. Until next time you cool readers!