DRESSED UP IN SHADOWS, ONE LEG AT A TIME

===

On any other day, Angel would have taken quite some time to wake up. There was no time for that, however - Erebus was alive, and she had plans with him.

Angel was already freaking out as she leapt out of bed. Was Erebus already awake? Had he been waiting on her for long? Why was she getting so excited about this? Erebus was probably not even thinking about this at all, if he was even awake at this point. Besides, it was just a walk around the town, what was the big deal?

"Good morning, Clara," Angel greeted as she walked into the kitchen. Clara was standing in the corner, sipping coffee from a mug.

"You're quite energetic today, sweetpea," she commented. "Does this, perchance, have something to do with our guest?"

Angel grabbed a loaf of bread, pulling out two pieces of toast and putting them in the toaster. "I've got some plans," she told her. "I wanna take him around town, get him used to everything."

Clara nodded as Angel walked over to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of orange juice. "That sounds lovely," she mused, smiling. "What sort of things are you planning to do with him while you're out and about?"

"I have ideas," Angel said. "First off, I wanna go down to the record store, and see if I can get Animals by Pink Floyd - I can rant to him about music and stuff while that's happening. I wanna go down to that one milkshake and soft pretzel store, I can't remember the name, but I wanna go there... then we can go to the park and hang out there for a bit."

Clara couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You've got this all planned out, don't you?"

Angel nodded, pouring herself a small glass of orange juice. "I thought of it all last night. I have to admit, I'm excited."

A knowing grin spread across her aunt's face as she sipped her drink. "How romantic," she murmured.

Angel choked slightly on her juice at Clara's words. "What?!" she exclaimed, coughing loudly.

"Oh dear," Clara said, moving over to Angel and rubbing her back. "You must know where I'm coming from when I say that... you did talk about him all the time."

"Clara, I will grind your liver into a fine slurry," Angel muttered, clearing her throat as her face burned. "This is not a date, I just wanted to show him around the town so he can get used to everything!"

Clara shrugged, still softly grinning. "Alright, dear, I believe you," she told her. The toast popped out of the toaster, and Angel set it to the side on the counter before pulling out two more pieces of bread. "Are those for him?"

Angel nodded. "I'm not sure what he'd want on it, so I'll just give it to him plain," she explained.

"You really do care about him, don't you?"

Putting the bread in the toaster, Angel smiled softly to herself. "I've never really met anyone like him," she said. "Yeah, he was a dick when we first met, but he wasn't that bad... plus, he was being forced to act that way, I know that now. I just wanna make sure he's safe and comfortable here." She paused briefly, taking another sip of her orange juice. "He reminds me of myself, a little."

"How so?" Clara asked.

"Well, just like... the thought of being made to live a life that's not for him, I suppose," Angel explained, shrugging. "Reminds me of my parents a little, really, in more ways than one..."

She glanced down, shaking her head as if to rid herself of whatever she was thinking about. "But yeah, he's cool. I like him, just not in that way."

"If you insist," Clara murmured. "Well, in any case, I hope the two of you have a good time."

"Oh, I'm sure we will," Angel said, giggling a little. "I'm super excited to listen to the album I'm gonna get."

The toast popped out of the toaster, and Angel grabbed them, sinking her teeth into one of the slices. "I'm gonna take this to Erebus now. Let me know if you need anything before I go."

Clara nodded. "Thank you, dear."

Angel picked up the other pieces of toast, walking over to the guest room. She couldn't help but reflect on Clara's comment about their time together being romantic, and how ridiculous it was. Erebus was barely even a friend at this point, let alone more, so why was she thinking about this at all?

Angel knocked on the door to the guest bedroom. "Erebus?" she called softly. "I brought toast."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Come in," came Erebus's voice from inside the room. "What is toast?"

Angel gently opened the door, peering inside. Erebus was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her closely as she entered the room. "It's slightly burnt bread slices, because people like that for some reason," she explained, moving over to him and handing him the toast. "Did you get any sleep last night? It doesn't look like you did."

The dark circles beneath Erebus's crimson eyes spoke for themselves. "No," he said. "I don't need to sleep. I'm a creature of the night, Angel."

"Um- no, you're not," Angel told him pointedly. "You're human. You need to sleep - are you sure you want to go out today? I'm fine with staying here while you sleep, I might be able to get some more rest of my own. My arm still feels weird from yesterday."

Erebus shook his head. "I'm fine if you are."

Angel looked mildly concerned. "Did you even try?" she asked.

There was a pause as Erebus kept his focus on the ground in front of him. "If I try, it'll work," he muttered.

"What kinda logic-"

"Angel, would you willingly go to a place where you nearly experienced death?" Erebus asked, his voice sharper than he had meant it to be. Angel saw him wince at his own tone, though he kept his gaze on the ground. It hit her, then, that since Erebus had nearly died in the Land of Dreams back in Minecraft, he would be afraid to enter that place again.

"That makes sense..." she mumbled, quickly choosing to change the subject. "Anyways, are you sure you want to go? If so, we'll need to pick out clothes for you."

It took a second for Erebus to look back up at Angel, processing her words as if he hadn't heard them properly the first time. Angel could tell that she had interrupted his train of thought, and felt bad. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Why?" Erebus asked.

"I thought I interrupted you," Angel said. "Ignore me if you want."

Erebus shook his head. "You're fine," he reassured her, standing up. "We should get ready to go."

Angel took a bite out of her toast, motioning for Erebus to follow her. "I really hope that my shit fits you," she said. "You're a lot lankier than I am, and taller... damn, you are stretched..."

"Is that a compliment?" Erebus tilted his head as he walked after Angel, going into her room.

"I dunno." Angel shrugged, shutting the door behind the two. "I've never called anyone stretched before. That was a weird thing to say... I say stuff like that sometimes. Tell me if it becomes a problem."

Erebus raised an eyebrow. "I don't think it will be," he told her sincerely. "It's not like you're calling me anything bad."

"That's true..." Angel moved over to her dresser and pulled out a few articles of clothing - a Led Zeppelin T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and an undershirt - before going over to her box of accessories. "Is there anything you have in mind that you want to wear? If my stuff won't fit you, I can always steal stuff from Tom."

"I'm not sure," Erebus said, taking a bite out of the toast he had been holding for some time now. Angel heard him let out a muffled yelp as he did so. "What the fuck- people like this?!"

Angel couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. "To be fair, people usually put butter or something on it, I just didn't know if you'd like that," she explained, taking a bite. "Toasted bread by itself is pretty shit."

"Then why are you eating it?" Erebus asked incredulously.

"Because it's bread," Angel told him simply, pulling out a few chains from the box. "Bread is just superior, but you can't un-toast it. It's gotta be eaten."

She moved over beside Erebus, leaning over and biting his toast. Startled, he quickly let go of it, leaving Angel with the whole slice in her mouth.

"It's not horrible," she mumbled, her voice muffled as she tore off the rest of the bread, chewing what was in her mouth and swallowing. "Still better with something on it... but in any case, is there anything you want to wear specifically? Otherwise, I can pick out an outfit for you."

Erebus glanced down, thinking to himself for a moment. "That skirt you showed me..." he mused. "Can I see it again?"

Angel froze up, bread halfway to her mouth, her face starting to flush at the question. "Did I say something wrong?" Erebus quickly asked.

"I- um... no, of course not," Angel told him, shaking his head as she lowered the toast. "I just... The thought of you wearing that skirt was - it's not bad or anything! I swear, that's not what I mean, I just..." She looked away, fixing her gaze on the ground. "I have an outfit that can go with that, and... you'd look really good in it."

Erebus tilted his head to the side. "Really?" A small smirk crossed his face as he took a step forward. "Well, I'm sure you'd prefer me in that, then, right?"

"I-I mean, I don't care," Angel said quickly. "I didn't mean that like you can't wear anything else, I'm sure you'll look good in anything - I mean-" She groaned in frustration. "God, you know what I mean! Just - let me get the stuff..."

Moving past Erebus, she reached into her drawers, pulling out the skirt she had shown him before. She could feel his lingering gaze on the back of her neck, but it wasn't unpleasant for her, despite how flustered she got from it. Attempting to ignore this feeling, she pulled out a few other articles of clothing - the belt and chain that went with the skirt, a pair of shorts for underneath, a cropped black tank top, and a black leather jacket from her closet.

"This is optional, but do you want fishnets?" she asked as she laid out the clothing on her bed.

"What are those?"

Angel brought out a pair of fishnet stockings. "You wear these underneath the shorts and the skirt," she explained. "I just think they're neat, but you don't have to wear them if you don't want to."

Erebus reached over and took the fishnets from Angel. "I'll try them," he said. Angel tried her hardest not to imagine him wearing them in a vain attempt to keep herself from growing even more flustered. "I appreciate you doing all this."

"It's nothing, really," Angel mumbled. "But of course, I'm glad that I could help. I'm going to get changed in the bathroom, and you can stay in here and get dressed, okay?"

"Alright." Erebus nodded, smiling once more at Angel as she walked toward the door.

"Last call for another piece of toast," she offered, chuckling.

"Absolutely not," Erebus said, and Angel laughed as she stepped out of her room, shutting the door behind her.

Taking another bite of her toast, she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as she began to pull off the clothes she was wearing. Her reflection in the mirror caught her eye, and she smiled, mildly happy with what she saw, despite her hair being messy as a result of her just getting up a few moments ago.

Once she had undressed, she began to put on the outfit that she had picked out for herself, unable to help but wonder what Erebus would look like once he had gotten dressed. Would he even like the clothes she picked out for him? She had been mildly surprised when he had picked out the skirt to wear, but it would have made sense, since gender-specific clothing didn't seem to have been a thing in Minecraft, save for the skins of Users.

Speaking of clothing, since Erebus was a monster, had he even been wearing anything when first arriving at the physical world?

"Jesus Christ..." Angel muttered to herself at the thought, shaking her head.

It wouldn't matter either way, whether he liked the outfit or not, since Angel had a lot of clothing that he could borrow, even though only some of the articles might fit him properly. All she was worried about was his comfortability with the clothes he wore, since she knew how bad the opposite felt from experience.

This was not the case today, however. Clipping a chain onto her jeans, she looked up into the mirror again, grinning at the woman she saw inside of it as she did so. This was one of her favorite outfits to wear, it made her feel comfortable with herself. She started to hum to herself as she brushed her hair and applied a fitting shade of lipstick for the outfit she had on, her smile not fading as she grew lost in her thoughts. Being this happy with herself, with the people she was around, was not something she would take for granted.

A knock on the door interrupted her, and she set down the lipstick she was putting on. "Hm?"

"It's me, Angel," came the voice of Erebus. "I just wanted to see what you thought of the clothes you gave me."

"Are you comfortable in them?" Angel asked. "Do you think they're good?"

"Yes," Erebus said. "I think it suits me, but I wanted your opinion."

"I'm sure you'll look good in whatever." Angel moved over to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open. "I just-"

She stopped speaking abruptly, her eyes widening slightly as she observed Erebus. "Jesus..."

A sense of pride filled her as she saw just how good the outfit worked on Erebus. The skirt he had been interested in was perfect on him, the bright red squares contrasting the dark skin of his legs, where the fishnet stockings he had chosen to wear clung beautifully. A few of the rings he had worn last night shone on his fingers, and he had on a chain necklace - a modest amount of accessories despite his hoarding habit. Those, combined with the leather jacket around him, made Angel's heart pound ever so slightly faster, and she desperately wished that Erebus himself didn't have anything to do with this.

"Angel?" Erebus's voice jolted her from her thoughts. He tilted his head, watching her closely, the way her eyes trailed up and down his body not going unnoticed by him. "What do you think?"

"Um-" Angel cleared her throat, looking away. "That's... yeah. You look fucking sick."

Erebus smiled, stepping closer to her. "So do you. I like that shirt - that's what you were telling me about last night, right? Led Zeppelin?"

Angel felt a rush of excitement as she realized that he had been paying attention to her interests. "Yep," she said, nodding. "God, I can't wait to show you their music..."

She couldn't help but feel her gaze linger on Erebus, admiring how he looked with the outfit on as he stepped in front of the mirror to examine himself. Angel could see him looking in the mirror, but he wasn't looking at his clothing; rather, he was looking at himself, his face, observing his own reactions with fascination and apprehension.

"I'm not used to this..." he murmured. Angel moved beside Erebus, watching him closely. "I thought that all of this would be different." Reaching up with one hand, he lightly touched his cheek, as if feeling whether he was real or not. "I'm not myself at all, Angel. Not my appearance, not the way I think, not the way I act..."

Angel frowned softly as she stepped closer to him. "I understand how jarring of a change this is," she told him, her voice soft and gentle. "But maybe you could think of it in the sense that here, you can be whoever you want to be. How do you want to appear? How do you want to think, or act?"

Erebus, with some hesitance, tore his gaze from his reflection and turned to Angel. "I don't know," he said softly.

"And you don't have to," Angel reassured him. "The only person you know is me. No one's going to be pressuring you into identifying yourself until you feel comfortable enough to do so, okay? It'll take time to adjust, and me, Clara, and Tom respect that. We're gonna do our best to help you out, just let us know what we can do."

With a quiet sigh, Erebus nodded. "I don't understand how you can stand to be so kind to me," he mumbled. "But I appreciate you saying that." Determinedly looking away from the mirror for the time being, he turned to the door. "We should go, then, I suppose."

"Yeah..." Angel followed him out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm excited to walk with you," Erebus told her as she did so. "From what I've seen so far, your town is very interesting."

Angel nodded. "It is, it's really pretty too," she said. "I think you're gonna like it, it's not as boring as the villages you're used to."

"I would hope so," Erebus chuckled.

They walked into the large dining room, where both Clara and Tom were sitting at a table, sipping coffee. Angel waved at them as they looked up.

"Aw, look at you two," Clara giggled. "Going out together..."

"It's adorable, isn't it?" Tom chimed in. Angel looked away, embarrassed.

"Don't make a big deal out of it," she muttered. "We're just walking around town."

"It must be at least a little nice, isn't it?" Tom asked, tilting his head, a pleasant smile on his face.

There was no way Angel could deny this. She rarely had an opportunity to hang out with people besides her family. "I mean... I suppose," she mumbled. "It's whatever. Let's just go."

Erebus nodded, following Angel as she walked toward the door.

"We'll see you later, magpie," Clara said. Erebus briefly froze up at the name, not having expected it, and stumbled slightly. "Stay safe, Angel."

"We will," Angel reassured her, glancing over at Erebus. "You good?"

Erebus, still processing being called an endearing name again, nodded absentmindedly, and Angel laughed to herself as they walked out the door.