Lucas Lee • Take 42 • Video

[bbcarrotcooler]

[Lucas is grinning, happier than he's been in a long time. Not as happy as he's ever been...but certainly better than he's been since Nepeta was terminated.

And he's smoking this cigarette like it's the first one he's had in years.]

Holy shit, you guys.

This place is like, a billion times huger than I thought it was. Are you seeing this shit?

[

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[quarkylass]

I'm here.

[ She doesn't look happy about it at all, though. There's still some blood smudged across her face, but thankfully it isn't hers. ]

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[bbcarrotcooler]

[His eyebrow quirks at the blood, and his face shifts almost immediately to concern--but he tries to mask it.] There you are.

I was looking for you during the...thing. I couldn't find you.

Are you ok?

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[quarkylass]

Yeah, I was with Jack, and then I found Komui and I had to go do engineering stuff.

Lucas, I-- [ She stops, uncertain of how to continue. ] I did something bad.

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[bbcarrotcooler]

...are you okay?

Something bad like...

[He was really hoping it was something that teenagers consider bad, like getting in a fight, and not something actually bad. But the whole "I was with Jack" thing is making warning bells sound in his head.]

Where are you now? I can come find you.

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[quarkylass]

No. Something bad bad.

[ She looks away from the camera for a moment, examining her surroundings. ]

I'm in the main engineering area. I'm supposed to be working.

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[bbcarrotcooler]

[Okay the worry is strong, but he smiles a little at her, trying to be comforting.]

Well you can take a break, because I said so.

I'm coming that way, now. Come on, we can walk through the greenhouse. You'll like it.

I'll even put out my cigarette.

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[quarkylass]

Okay. I really want to garden again one day.

[ She nods. He'll find her leaning against a wall, staring at her fingers. ]

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[bbcarrotcooler]

[When he sees her he hesitates, because she's obviously upset, and he hates that, but he doesn't know how comfortable she is with him yet.

Lucas takes a knee in front of her, only a little awkward.]

Hey. You're...in one piece.

[He puts his arms out a little...because maybe she needs a hug.]

Come here.

[quarkylass]

[ She looks up at him and practically tumbles into his arms, ready for any sort of hug. ]

I didn't mean to hurt them, but he told me to...

[bbcarrotcooler]

[Lucas wraps his arms around her and stands up, holding her to him tightly. Maybe she's a teenager, but fuck it. He can pick her up, and he is picking her up.] It's okay--it's--

What??

Sweetheart...what...

...what are you talking about?

[quarkylass]

I killed people. I killed them -- and the lady was screaming and the other guy, I hit him with a wrench and Jack said it was okay, because they would die anyway!

[ Jade lets herself be picked up, wrapping around Lucas like she did to her Grandpa when she was younger, when she had nightmares. ]

But they keep showing up in my dreams, and when I'm not thinking about engineering, and there's so much blood and I can't stop thinking about it!

[bbcarrotcooler]

[...Lucas...doesn't know how to deal with this.

He'd told the kids that he saw not to hurt anyone that wasn't trying to hurt them first, but Eridan seemed so damn apathetic about the whole thing...he thought the warning might have fallen on deaf ears. But he couldn't find Jade during it all, and he's kicking himself even harder for it now, because--

Fucking Jack. He hated him. He really, really hated him, for more reasons than he could possibly count.

Lucas rubs her back and rocks her a little, letting her cling, speaking softly.]

...Jade...

It's--nothing was...your fault. These were bad people. But you shouldn't--

--you should never've been in that position. You should never've been expected to do those things, god dammit, if I would've just found you, I could've--

Listen. Are you listening? [He pulls back a bit to look at her, still holding her.]

[quarkylass]

But Val said they had families, and kids and stuff...

[ She nods, looking at him. Her eyes are full of tears, and she's scared. ]

I'm listening.

[bbcarrotcooler]

[He somehow manages not to cringe when she says that, because he's been specifically trying NOT to think about that part.]

...so do you. So do all of us. Two...two wrongs don't make a right. But you did something that you didn't want to do to save your friends and family. The things they were doing to us...weren't like that.

People dying is never a good thing. But you never wanted to be in that situation. They forced you to.

[Lucas keeps holding her with one arm, and uses his other hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.]

It's not your fault. I promise you. I swear.

And I promise that I'll do everything I can so you...won't be in that situation, again. Let me do the bad things. Okay?

[quarkylass]

[ She sniffles and nods. ]

Okay. But you don't like to do the bad things either, do you?

[bbcarrotcooler]

...no one really likes to do the bad things, I guess. But I've done it for a long time. I've got...adult action hero immunity to it, by now.

[Lucas hugs her to him again once more, before looking at her again.] Maybe...Jack isn't--

--I know you like him. [For some stupid fucking dumb as shit reason that Lucas can't even begin to wrap his head around. Time for some gentle admonishment.] But I don't really think...he's the person you should be going to for advice on what to do.

...we got an apartment, and there are DVDs and...I'm pretty sure there's snack food, too. Maybe even ice cream, if you can wrestle it out of my hands.

Maybe we can go chill out for awhile and not think about work or other stuff. [He smiles encouragingly, but still softly. Movies help everything. And he was positive that there were some Disney movies around somewhere that had nothing to do with death or dying or wrenches to faces.]