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not_heavens_adam) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
batheon2012-07-05 07:25 pm
not_heavens_adam) wrote in batheon2012-07-05 07:25 pm
Entry tags:
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
Some theoretical five years into the future, the Great Powers That Be have granted characters one (completely optional) chance
to go home. Everyone has a difficult decision to make, perhaps
one of their most trying: will they make the trip back home, now that
the path is open? Or will they remain in Vatheon, to continue
their lives without ever seeing their homes again?
R U L E S
~ Post with your character(s)!
~ In the subject line write either LEAVING or STAYING.
~ Optional: write a little blurb about who your character has become, or their feelings on the situation.
~ Everyone tag each other!
~ ???
~ FUN
STAYING
He was particularly calm about his decision, though.
He knew Luke would survive after Akzeriuth. That had been his main concern from the beginning. The one thing that drove Guy to look for a way home - just to see that his best friend would come out alright in the end. He was fully aware of that now. He knew Luke would find support when he went back to Auldrant. Not if. When. Even in five years... it seemed that decision was always rather obvious for the redhead.
Even when Guy found out that Luke was, in fact, destined to die.
To die, and promise to return... and then...?
He didn't know.
He didn't know, and he didn't WANT to know.
That's why Guy hadn't mentioned that he was staying in Vatheon.
Sure, it was selfish. Horribly so.
But the future that had been revealed to him on Auldrant... was not a future he wanted to live in. This existence, this time... this is what he wanted to remember. Not to look back at the politics and travels and trinkets, failed plans and forced childhoods... and have to remember that he was dead.
Here, Luke would just be gone. Gone - somewhere else. Not dead. Never dead.
Call it selfish, but... he preferred that.]
no subject
There were people here who accepted him for who he was; not just as a replica, not just as Luke fon Fabre, but as someone who'd committed a horrible mistake and was trying his best to change that. He'd made acquaintances, close friends, fellow replicas, and still kept close ties with his friends from Auldrant, especially Guy. They'd been living together all this time, after all.
He found out more about this world than he ever did on Auldrant. And regarding Auldrant, he learned of a future that horrified him... that he'd die at a young age, trying to save his world. And maybe he'd come back. He promised. But... It wasn't a sure thing. He... died, after all.
Here, his problems were met with patience and concern, not impatient snaps to keep going and stop being an idiot. He'd felt... like he actually belonged somewhere. And to someone who technically didn't have a home, that meant so much to him.
And Luke decided to leave it all.
Some might have thought he was crazy. Why leave if he came to love it and its people so much? Some, however, would understand.
When Luke destroyed Akzeriuth, when he cut his hair and promised to change, he tied himself completely to his world. No matter how much he could love another world, he had a duty to Auldrant that he couldn't run away from. The world was still in danger, and it was still his fault. He knew that replicas weren't treated well there... it wouldn't be like Vatheon at all. But despite all of that, his duty to his world meant more to him than anything.
He expected his friends to stand beside him and walk with him to change their world.
So when he turns and sees Guy hanging back and away from the plaza, Luke freezes to a halt as he slowly feels his world tilting to the side.]
... Guy?
no subject
The blonde slowly takes another step backwards before keeping remarkably still, his expression gentle and slightly pained.
He doesn't speak a word. He just lets that familiar smile slip onto his face, crossing his arms in front of him and keeping his stance firm.
He's not going, Luke.]
no subject
No. No no no.
Luke takes in a breath and sways just slightly, as if that slow tilting of his world just threw him off its axis. Yes, he needs to go back, he needs to save his world and fulfill his duty and... and die, in the end.
But how is he supposed to do it without his best friend by his side?
Whoever else might have been with him don't exist in the space that was his world anymore. Instead, he's running over to Guy and reaching to grip his upper arms, eyes already lit with barely held back tears.]
Guy! Why - You can't! You... You have to come with me! I...
["I won't allow you to stay!"
It's... been a while since he felt the part of him that wanted so much and never gave in return. Ironic that it'd come out now, when he can't even get a hold of what all he's feeling.]
no subject
[His tone is soft, despite the sting of his words. Hypocrite of the highest order tonight, aren't you, Gailardia?
Well. It was for the better, right?
He lets out a sigh, arms already moving to rest against Luke's hands. Let go, Luke. It would be alright. You'd make it through this... hell, there wasn't even a guarantee that the world Luke returned to wouldn't see his best friend there waiting for him.
Just... not this particular best friend.]
no subject
If he lets go, he'll just punch him. He knows it. Right now, it's the main reason why he's holding on so tightly.
Selfish? How dare he? So wanting his best friend to stay by his side and be with him and go back home was selfish?
Hypocrite. How dare he stay here and abandon their world you selfish -
...
The anger fades, though Luke's grip doesn't. Another tear falls as he lifts up his head again.]
Don't call me selfish! Don't! You... You stupid -
[His voice shakes and cracks, and he lowers his head again to hide once more. What if he goes back and Guy isn't waiting for him? What if he can't tell him that he's still him? That he can be happy even in the face of this? That looking forward without looking back really was such insightful advice?
That he'd be there, by his side?]
no subject
[His voice is still low - almost cold. Almost.
...
Eyes soften as Guy lifts a hand to rest against Luke's head.]
I'm just one person, Luke.
You'll have support. You'll be able to pull through this - to do what you set out to do. To change, like you promised you would. If you can do it here, you can do it back home, too.
I'm keeping you to that.
[Maybe with the threat of the curse slot gone... maybe with that threat diminished, with one less confusion out of the way... it would be easier.]
no subject
[It's like he can't let go of Guy's sleeves. As if he knows that when he does, he'll lose him forever.]
You're my best friend, Guy! I love you, dammit! I - [He turns his head away.] I can't do this without you!
[He's sure he can't. Part of the reason he could get this far in Vatheon was because of Guy. Sure, there were other reasons... but it was support and love and patience that helped him through that.
Support? He'll have that. But everything else...? Especially with the one person who believed so much in him gone?]
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[Did having the person gone suddenly mean the support he'd provided this whole time was meaningless?
No. No it didn't. Guy knew that... and he was pretty sure that Luke knew it, too. Whether Guy was there or not, it didn't change the fact that he had faith in what Luke could do. How Luke could change.
...
Slowly, Guy lifts the hand resting against Luke's hair, only to reach it to the back of his own neck, fiddling against the nape for a moment.]
You made this promise without me there. You were determined to see it through regardless of whether I came through or not. It might be hard... but you can do it. Don't deny what you've already been given.
[A wry smirk.] You can move on without a servant at your side.
[There's the gentle clink of metal against metal. The slide of fabric against skin, and... a rather empty feeling of something being lost. And the collar that had been against Guy's neck - the trinket he had worn for years and years, to symbolize his status to the Fabre household as servant and caretaker - now rested in his fingers. He worries at it for a moment before reaching down to hold it in both hands, within Luke's line of vision, even as his voice slips into a painfully formal tone.]
Luke fon Fabre, from this moment, I will no longer consider you my master, but simply my equal.
[A pause. He swallows dryly, his voice softening once more.]
I'm not going to stop being your best friend, Luke. Here or there or anywhere else. Don't ever think that. Because I trust you, and I trust that you can do this. That's never going to change.
no subject
Did Guy know...
Did he know just how much abandonment still tore Luke apart? Reminded him of that day on the Tartarus, when everyone walked away from him and left him all alone?
It was happening again, wasn't it? He was going to be left alone again, by his best friend. This time, there was no way he could see Guy come back to him. He'd be stuck here... forever. And Luke would have to go back to Auldrant, to fulfill his promise to the world.
...
He still listens, though. He does his best to gain control of his breathing so that he can hear Guy over the sound of it.
Equals, huh... Funny. Luke always thought of Guy as something like his equal, especially after he cut his hair.
And...
...
How can they be best friends if they're never going to see each other again? Or even if he returns and finds Guy there... How can he be Guy's best friend if he's never going to see the redhead again? The thought made Luke's heart ache.
He can barely even speak; there's a stupid lump in his throat that hurts just trying to swallow around. When he opens his mouth, a choked noise escapes, and his hands move to the fabric against Guy's chest instead.
What... What was he supposed to do?]
I don't... [know what to do.]