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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[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.