Day 46: Sun Room

[human_sponge]

Peter woke up suddenly, his body twisting in the bed and then forcing him to catch his breath in pain. Pain, which was coming from his middle because of the thing that had scratched him last night, and after that

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[razing_phoenix]

It was nice to get such a strong reaction from Claude about the whole thing. For one thing, Guy wanted to be excited about it too, so it was good to have someone else's enthusiasm to work off of. He smiled back, and was quick to wave his friend off when he tried to clarify. "Don't worry, I know what you mean. He pretty much had the same thing to say."

Talking about this with Claude did make him think about Ashton, though. He and Luke had originally disappeared around the same time, but Ashton had never once returned the way Luke had. Guy didn't really know if that was a good sign or a bad one, but it did make him worry for Claude. It probably would have reassured Claude immensely to see Ashton again.

Though what came as a real shocker was when Claude brought up that meat cleaver. Considering how much had been going on, Guy had completely forgotten about it. It seemed only right for Luke to inherit his old weapon, and Guy's face lit up at the realization.

"Hey, you're right! How could I have forgotten? I'll have to let him know." Hopefully Luke wouldn't refuse the offer. It wasn't like the cleaver was getting any use out of him, so there was no reason why his friend should feel like he was taking advantage of Guy. Maybe he could get a hold of Luke over the bulletin and then arrange to drop the thing off with him tonight. He'd rather his friend didn't go without a weapon for any longer than was necessary.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said with a small laugh. "You'd think I could keep track of my own things." Usually he was sharper than that, but something felt a little off after the whole dying thing. He hadn't been able to put his finger on it so far, though.

[full_score]

"No need to thank me," Claude replied with a sheepish a smile. "I was the one who accidentally left it in there." It had originally been his to use, but he was glad Luke was around to receive it now. Either way, though, he didn't blame Guy for not remembering. The past few days had been terrible enough to make anyone forget a small detail like that. Still, he silently reflected, it was almost humorous how often their stuff wound up in the other's room.

It was at that moment his eyes settled onto the paper crane that was perched beside him. With the shock of finding Guy sitting in here, it looked like he'd forgotten some of his own items of business. His face grew somber for a moment, and he plucked it up from its place on the couch. After gently setting it into the palm of his hand, he presented it to Guy.

"By the way," he quietly said, "I was supposed to deliver this for Okita. He made it once he heard about..." Claude momentarily averted his eyes. "You know..."

[razing_phoenix]

Despite what Claude said, it was still nice of him to offer like that. Guy wouldn't have minded returning it, but it was probably best to hand it off to Luke. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Claude had any new friends coming in who might be able to use it. Guy felt partly guilty for that, but at the same time he knew he had no control over who the institute brought here.

When Claude suddenly picked up a small, folded paper bird that Guy had until now not noticed, he was about to ask if the younger man had made it himself (it was a neat skill), but before he could say anything it was being handed over to him.

"For me?" he asked with wide eyes, but he quickly took it and held it as carefully as he could. It seemed fragile, and the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally crush a gift from his roommate. While all was well now, he still appreciated the gesture, and it was nice of Claude to remember to deliver it even after Guy's awakening.

"I wonder where he learned how to do this," he remarked, tone impressed as he examined the details of the paper bird. "Thanks for delivering it," he said as he glanced up to Claude with a slightly solemn smile.

[full_score]

"It's called 'origami', a special art indigenous to Okita's homeland," Claude explained. "Origami cranes are known as a symbol of peace in my time, though I don't doubt the meaning is a little different in his era." That was back before nuclear weapons had been developed, before humans on Earth had nearly destroyed themselves. Naturally, lots of things had changed and evolved throughout the several centuries that separated them.

"He actually taught me how to make them awhile back," Claude added. "I'm sure he'd be happy to show you if you asked." Actually, he'd probably be happy to see Guy at all. The thought of their reunion was enough to put a smile on Claude's face. Despite how calm Okita had been for his sake, he knew the news had been hard on the man. Thinking on that reminded him of something else, however, and Claude's eyes widened a little.

"Oh yeah, I think he wrote a message inside," he suddenly said. Unfortunately, reading it would mean having to unfold the crane and ruin its shape, though Claude thought he could assemble it back together if that was what Guy wanted. Well, unless he asked Okita to do it, anyway.

[razing_phoenix]

While the word was one that Guy had never heard of before, he wasn't surprised that "origami" was considered an art form. He wouldn't even know where to start when it came to folding a piece of paper and making a crane out of it. The idea of it being a symbol of peace was a nice one, but the way things were regarded where Claude came from could be largely different compared to how Okita looked at things. Guy would just have to ask his roommate about it at dinner, then.

Guy was taken aback when Claude mentioned that Okita had taught him how to do the same thing. First of all, he was impressed that Claude had been able to pick it up so easily, but even more shocking was knowing that Okita and Claude had spoken so many times. While he knew they'd been vaguely aware of each other, he hadn't realized they'd really started to get to know one another. "That was nice of him," he remarked. "It's good to hear that you guys get along." It didn't really matter too much in the end, but Guy was still glad to know that.

As for the fact that there was some sort of message hidden within the folded bird, Guy decided against unwrapping it and finding out what it was. He didn't want to destroy the piece of art, especially since the note was obviously never meant to be read. He could ask for Okita's opinion about the whole thing tonight and go from there.

"I think I'll wait on reading it," he said with a sigh. "It wouldn't seem right to do that without asking him first."

[full_score]

Although he certainly wasn't as close to Okita as he was with Guy, the fact remained that they were on good terms. Okita had been kind enough to approach him that day in arts and crafts, not to mention patient enough to demonstrate how to fold a paper crane. Not only that, but he'd seemed to go out of his way to make sure Claude had been holding up all right yesterday, even though Guy's death had hit him pretty hard, too. Truth be told, Claude thought Guy and Okita were very lucky to have one another as roommates.

No doubt Guy was curious about what the man had written him (and, if Claude wanted to be honest with himself, he kind of was too, even though he knew it wasn't his place to even think about it). Still, he was a bit relieved to hear that Guy would wait to open it. For all Claude knew, he hadn't been supposed to mention it to anyone at all, so maybe it was for the best that Guy asked permission first.

"I'm sure he'll be really happy to see you during dinner," he said with a small smile. Claude had eaten enough dinners by himself to know how lonely it could be sometimes, but it was still hard to imagine how Okita must have felt when he had to return to an empty room yesterday.

Thinking of dinner inevitably brought his thoughts to nightshift, however, and Claude couldn't help but grow a little more serious. "By the way, have you thought about what you're going to do tonight? I mean, you're still injured, aren't you?" Honestly, Claude wouldn't blame him if he needed to just take some time off for once, but he had a feeling Guy might wind up brushing it off if he actually said that out loud.

[razing_phoenix]

"I made sure to let him know that I'm okay over the bulletin board, but yeah, it'll be good to see him again," Guy agreed. Even though he obviously hadn't been aware during the period when he'd been dead, it still felt like it had been a while since he'd seen his roommate. While it was going to be kind of weird to talk to him now, Guy was still glad he'd be able to go back to having his normal dinners with the other man.

Not that anything here should be normal, but Guy had already realized that change in him. It was hard not to fall into a routine after a while, though.

As for what was going to happen tonight, Guy honestly hadn't given it a ton of thought. He was still soaking in everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, so it was tough to consider the future. Part of him wanted to hunt down Sync, but he wondered if he should be pushing his luck like that. He'd lost both of his fights against the God-General in this place, and with the possibility of a curse slot...

"The only solid plan I have is delivering that cleaver to Luke," he responded. "I don't know what I'll be up to other than that. Did you have something in mind?" Guy would rather not stick in his room, though. While he was still hurting, the medicine would probably help; not to mention he'd done enough of sitting around in his room, considering first the broken arm, then the zombie bite, and now this. Weren't they back to the drawing board in their progress? It meant they couldn't waste any time.

[full_score]

Claude was glad to know Guy had written a message informing people he was back. He wondered if Dias had done the same thing. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure who Dias hung out with aside from himself and Celes. Otherwise, Claude probably would have done a better job of telling more people what happened. (Or, half-telling, seeing that he hadn't been able to spit the whole story out when he'd talked to Okita.)

Then again, seeing how they were both back, it was probably just as well that he hadn't had a chance to confuse and upset anyone else.

When Guy asked what he had in mind, Claude briefly closed his eyes and gave a small sigh. "To be perfectly honest, I'm at a loss over where to go from here." He'd hung his hopes on getting both artifacts, only to have them dashed to pieces the moment he'd opened his eyes in the arena. "I was mostly asking because I wanted to make sure you aren't going to be alone tonight. You're injured, and those pills in your room will probably dull your reaction time if you take them."

Not that he didn't trust Guy to be able to look after himself, but the odds certainly weren't in his favor. And if there was anything Claude had learned within the past few days, it was that no one was invincible in this place. After everything they'd gone through, he was starting to wonder when they were going to run out of luck and either find themselves brainwashed, or wind up as part of some patchwork monster. It was a miracle they were even talking together now, and Claude didn't want to risk losing his friends anymore than he already had to.

[razing_phoenix]

The matter of his reaction time was probably worth consideration, even though Guy didn't want to admit to being any weaker than he already had. He knew it wasn't a good idea for him to be swinging a sword around when he was still this hurt, but he also didn't like the idea of just letting another night pass by him. He'd missed yet another one due to being dead for most of it, so how could he just stay in another time?

It was discouraging to hear that Claude didn't have any real plans of his own, but maybe they could work something else out. Guy was half-tempted to just stick with Luke, but at the same time he wondered if he might just end up dragging his friend down. Luke would spend the whole time worrying about Guy, and that just wouldn't do.

The pain was beginning to fade, giving Guy enough range of movement that he could lift his hand to his eyes and rub at them as he thought things over.

"I don't plan on going anywhere alone, but I don't want to just stick in my room, either," he eventually said out loud. "I'm fine with staying with you, though I guess I could also go along and help Luke out with whatever he wants to do tonight." Guy wondered if he should have been giving his friend some more direction, but he knew that Luke tended to want to find his own way. Guy had always been the follower rather than the leader except when it came to teaching, so it was hard to know his place in relation to Luke now.

[full_score]

Though it was good to hear he didn't intend on going out alone, Claude kind of wished Guy would give himself some more time to take it easy. He'd just died, for crying out loud! Not many people just got up from something like that, and walked away from it like it was nothing. There was some merit in not wasting time, true, but that would hardly matter if he wound up burning himself out later down the road.

Still, it sounded like Guy had made up his mind, and Claude wasn't in any position to argue. He knew that if he were in Guy's shoes he'd hardly want to sit around in his room and twiddle his thumbs while other people were out exploring. He just hoped his friend would recognize his limits and not push himself too hard.

Then there was the Luke factor to consider as well. It must have been a long time since Guy had gotten a chance to have some proper time with him. Even though Guy didn't seem to open up with his feelings about many things, Claude imagined he must have missed him a lot. After all, he knew how much it'd hurt to lose Ashton, and they hadn't exactly grown up together. Certainly there were instances when time didn't make a friend any less dear to the heart, of course. But the fact remained that Luke and Guy were very close, and now he was back.

"Well, either way, I'd like to come with you while you deliver the cleaver, at least," he told him simply. It wasn't like he didn't trust Guy to get the job done, but with everything that had happened, he couldn't bring himself to not make sure his friends were safe. Hopefully Guy wouldn't have a problem with that. He couldn't imagine him having any objections, anyway.

As they spoke, the issue of Sync still lingered in the back of his mind. Considering their history, Claude couldn't help but feel like it was only right for him to inform Guy of everything that had happened yesterday. But it wasn't exactly something he was proud to tell, and he wasn't sure how to even bring it up. Claude's gaze flickered away from Guy for a moment, betraying his hesitation.

[razing_phoenix]

While Claude's request did make Guy feel like he was maybe being babied, he knew that he was just being sensitive about it. Of course Claude would be overprotective after he'd seen his neck get snapped right in front of him like that. If it had happened to Luke, for instance, Guy wouldn't have been able to let himself leave his friend's side for a full day if he could help it.

In fact, Claude even seemed to feel kind of awkward about the suggestion, if the way he looked away afterward was any indication. It wasn't worth saving his pride and refusing if he was going to make Claude feel bad about it.

"Yeah, that should be fine. Hopefully his room isn't too far from ours," Guy quickly responded. He would make sure to get the room number from Luke over the bulletin, and then it would be simple enough for him and Claude to meet up once night came. Once again, he was grateful that their rooms happened to be in the same block.

"When I meet up with him, I'll get an idea of what he's got in mind and then we can decide from there," Guy added. That seemed like the safest plan at this point. He didn't want to ditch Claude for Luke by any means, but he figured the younger blond would understand why he was eager to stick with his old friend.

[full_score]

"That sounds like the best plan," Claude quietly agreed. "We can meet in the hall that leads outside the block and head to his room together." He was sure Guy wouldn't have any problems finding out where Luke's room was, and then getting their plans sorted out once they all met probably wouldn't take that long. He had a feeling Luke and Guy would want to hang out together, though, which was understandable.

With all of that cleared up, he paused and noticed that the nurses were starting to round some of the patients up. The shift would probably be ending in a few minutes. Claude hated to part from Guy, especially after thinking he was dead for a full day. There was still so much for him to say, and yet he wasn't sure if he was able to find the words. Even if he could, he doubted they would be adequate enough.

That wasn't even touching on all of the Sync stuff. Normally he didn't have a problem with keeping certain things to himself, bu ever since their talk in the chapel, the thought of hiding anything from Guy had a way of making him feel guilty. Claude uncomfortably rubbed the back of his head and shifted next to his friend.

"There's something else I probably need to talk to you about," he confessed before offering him a small smile. "Looks like I'll have to tell you when we're on our way to Luke's room, though, if that's all right with you."

[razing_phoenix]

Nodding to indicate that he understood where they were to meet, Guy found himself feeling relieved that he at least had something in store for tonight. It wasn't much of a plan yet, but he had a reason to get out of his room and do something. He'd laid still for long enough, as far as he was concerned.

Also upset to see that the shift was over, Guy glanced over at Claude and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He got the feeling that there was something going on, and the fact that his friend had more to say to him seemed to indicate that. Luckily, Guy was a patient person. It didn't seem like it was something that could be blurted out as the nurses took them away, and so he would wait for night to hear about it.

"Yeah, that's fine," he agreed. He was probably going to end up vaguely anxious about it for the rest of the day, but it was only two more shifts. It could have been worse. "Take care of yourself, Claude," Guy added as he slowly forced himself to his feet. There were still bouts of soreness running through his arms and his neck when he moved his head around too much, but it was slowly ebbing. "Thanks again for the medicine." Before he could say any more, a nurse came by and Guy had to keep her eyes on her and make sure that she didn't come too close. With that, he headed off to the bulletin to leave a note for Luke.