(no subject)
Title: Verisimilitude
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Chapter: Prologue
Characters: Just Guy and Luke for this chapter.
Genre: General/Drama (I highly recommend one listens to Sheaf of Soul when reading this.)
Rating: PG13 for now.
Summary: If Luke had just one tiny crack in his resolve, would Guy take advantage of it? Yes, of course he would. For Luke's sake.
They were staying the night in Daath as Luke deliberated.
Guy hated waiting when there was something he could do. It was a flaw he kept well-hidden; eyes closed, arms folded and ankles crossed, he gave off the impression of a marble statue with unending patience. Of a tree that could weather any storm, could live through the seasons, through the leaves changing, falling and growing again without even a speck of anxiety. An "old soul" he was sometimes called by the older nobles who seemed impressed with him and his ability to reign in his temper. He laughed them off in embarrassment because he knew the truth.
Every little twitch of a finger betrayed just how eager he was to do something. He could be patient, he could wait for an opportunity, but when an opportunity was present and he couldn’t take it the anxiety clawed at him like a living thing. The opportunity was present- talk to Luke. All he had to do was talk to him.
Luke couldn't die. Could not. Guy wanted to find Luke, to hunt him down and shake some sense into him. He wanted to cover Luke's ears to what Emperor Peony and the others were saying. He wanted to drag him away and remind him of what he had to live for, how much he had to look forward to; of all the people who loved him, needed him.
He wanted to tell Luke that he, Guy, needed him too.
It was Luke's decision though...that much was clear. Could he respect Luke's decision if it wasn't the one he wanted? Everything inside of him ached at the possibility of Luke choosing to die and somehow Guy knew that was what he'd pick. Luke was too kind-hearted, too guilty to choose anything else. He still felt he had something to make up for, and maybe he did- but dying wasn't the right way to go about doing it. Dying would only hurt more people: Natalia, Tear, Anise. Luke's parents. Dying never solved the world's problems; death was one of the world's problems. Nobody ever died of old age anymore, it was always some young idiot running off to be a hero-
Guy pushed off of the wall and paced a quick circle, the thumb of his glove to his teeth as he chewed anxiously at it. He'd promised himself to give Luke space, to give him time to talk to the others, but the longer he waited the worse he felt. What if one of them encouraged Luke to do it? Anise and Natalia he couldn't see appealing to both sides of the argument...but Tear was usually sensible. Even if she made it clear she was against the idea she might say something that Luke could easily construe as encouragement to decide on death. Jade had no reservations; he would evenly present both the pros and cons, and the reality of the situation was that from an outsider's point of few, Luke dying with the other replicas was a pretty good deal for the rest of the world's population.
No. No. He couldn't let Luke get those ideas in his head. He had to do something to stop him before Luke made a mistake.
Guy's bootfalls echoed down the corridors of the cathedral.
------------------
Luke was on one of window seats in the library, the last place Guy had thought to look before beginning a blind search through the town. He was fortunate that Luke hadn't strayed far; dawn would be coming soon, and with the morning sun Luke would need to present his answer. His head was against the glass as his breath fogged the pane. Even though Guy's footsteps were loud in the emptiness of the room, Luke didn't seem to hear him.
"Luke," Guy called.
Luke jerked back from the window in surprise, eyes wide as he regarded Guy. He'd obviously been crying, eyes red and puffy. He rubbed at them with the heels of his palms as his friend approached the window and sat beside him. "Guy...hey, why aren't you asleep?"
"Why aren't you asleep?"
Luke didn't answer. His gaze fell to where the tails of his coat draped over the edge of the seat cushion.
"Luke..." Guy drew up a knee and rested his arms atop it. "You aren't thinking of going through with this, are you?"
"I-" Luke stopped himself, swallowed. He wouldn't look at Guy's face. "...if I don't, everyone will die of the miasma. Or...Asch will die. I don't want either of those things to happen."
"I don't want you to die." Luke flinched but Guy only leaned forward, voice dropping low in both urgency and secrecy. "This is just the first solution they’ve found. Spinoza might've said there was no other way, but that's because everyone's already settled on this being our only option. There have to be ways to treat the miasma poisoning until we can figure out how to get rid of it; people are just too afraid to hang on." Guy's fingers clenched atop his knee and he hesitated for a moment before plowing forward. "They're using you. They might not be happy about it, but it's true; they're using you like Van did."
"That's...that's not..." Luke's hands began to tremble as they clutched the edges of the cushion.
"Luke, please. Don't do this. I know we can figure something out if we pool our resources; there's still someone out there who knows more about hyperresonances than anyone else, even Jade. There's still someone who would know what to do."
For the second time Luke's eyes widened, and he stared up at Guy. The hope on his face was unmistakable; the way his mouth hung slightly open, the way his eyelashes fluttered. Guy was close enough to see the light dust of freckles across his nose. "There...there is? Who? Who can...?"
Guy pursed his lips. "...Van."
Luke tilted his head like a confused puppy before jerking away from Guy to stare out the window. "That's not funny."
"I'm serious."
Luke stayed as he was for several seconds before glancing at Guy out of the corner of his eye. "If you went to Master asking for help the God Generals would kill you."
"They wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Van wouldn't let them." Guy leaned his head against the pane to catch Luke's eye. "I'll lie. I'll go to them pretending I want to join Van; I know I can convince him. He'll believe me; he'll want to believe me. I'll tell him that I'll join him only if he promises to get rid of the miasma. They'll need more time to replicate the land anyway and they're all breathing it in too."
Van would never do such a thing; he was going to destroy the world and replicate it, after all. But Luke couldn't see that far right now and Guy knew it. Even more than that, Luke desperately needed some hope. He needed to believe there was an alternative that they hadn't tried, a viable alternative. Guy's chest clenched at the thought of this all going wrong- of Luke refusing, or of him accepting and Van ordering the God Generals to kill them. He was that ruthless...Guy wouldn't put it past him to murder his old master.
He had to try.
He was lying to Luke again, and the guilt of it bore down on his shoulders as he watched Luke's eyes drift to the trees outside in thought. Luke worried at his lip, even peeled off a bit of skin. The clouds drifted away from the moon and Luke's face reflected pale on the window. "What...what about Asch?"
Guy's heart nearly leaped into his throat. It was working. "I'll stop him too."
"But he's so determined...there's no way you could convince him."
"Forget about that; just leave it to me." Guy had absolutely no plan whatsoever.
"But what about the others? About Tear, and Natalia? And Jade and Anise?"
Guy shook his head. "We can't tell them. It might get back to Van, or they might try to stop us. If we stay here you'll be expected to go; you know you will. You didn't have a choice to begin with."
"But I-"
Guy lunged forward quick enough to startle Luke and his hands snapped up to hold Luke's face in an uncomfortably intimate gesture. Luke lifted his hands to try and pry Guy's fingers loose but Guy only tightened his grip. "Luke."
His tone left no room for refusal. Luke looked up.
Guy's voice dropped to a whisper and Luke was reminded of chilly nights sitting at his window, Guy standing with grass between his toes and laughing as they shushed each other and glanced over shoulders and hedges for guards and maids. Secret best friends.
"Luke...if you tell me you don't want to do this, I'll kidnap you. I’ll do it so the others didn’t think you agreed to go. I'll take you as far from the Tower as I can possibly get you. And I'll figure out a way to keep you alive and destroy the miasma."
Luke hiccupped and gripped Guy's wrists. His eyes darted to the side, down, back to Guy's face; filled with tears. His hands began to shake and his nails dug into Guy's gloves.
“You said you trusted me, Luke.”
Luke squeezed his eyes shut. The silence stretched, punctuated by Luke's near-sobs, and the library felt at once too big and too small. "I don't wanna die...!"
Guy's eyes closed and Luke blinked when a hand left his jaw; gagged as his best friend's first sank into his gut. He pitched forward but Guy caught him, and as he drooled onto Guy's sleeve he felt himself being moved. His last thought was that Guy was a lot more prepared for this than he probably should have been.
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Chapter: Prologue
Characters: Just Guy and Luke for this chapter.
Genre: General/Drama (I highly recommend one listens to Sheaf of Soul when reading this.)
Rating: PG13 for now.
Summary: If Luke had just one tiny crack in his resolve, would Guy take advantage of it? Yes, of course he would. For Luke's sake.
They were staying the night in Daath as Luke deliberated.
Guy hated waiting when there was something he could do. It was a flaw he kept well-hidden; eyes closed, arms folded and ankles crossed, he gave off the impression of a marble statue with unending patience. Of a tree that could weather any storm, could live through the seasons, through the leaves changing, falling and growing again without even a speck of anxiety. An "old soul" he was sometimes called by the older nobles who seemed impressed with him and his ability to reign in his temper. He laughed them off in embarrassment because he knew the truth.
Every little twitch of a finger betrayed just how eager he was to do something. He could be patient, he could wait for an opportunity, but when an opportunity was present and he couldn’t take it the anxiety clawed at him like a living thing. The opportunity was present- talk to Luke. All he had to do was talk to him.
Luke couldn't die. Could not. Guy wanted to find Luke, to hunt him down and shake some sense into him. He wanted to cover Luke's ears to what Emperor Peony and the others were saying. He wanted to drag him away and remind him of what he had to live for, how much he had to look forward to; of all the people who loved him, needed him.
He wanted to tell Luke that he, Guy, needed him too.
It was Luke's decision though...that much was clear. Could he respect Luke's decision if it wasn't the one he wanted? Everything inside of him ached at the possibility of Luke choosing to die and somehow Guy knew that was what he'd pick. Luke was too kind-hearted, too guilty to choose anything else. He still felt he had something to make up for, and maybe he did- but dying wasn't the right way to go about doing it. Dying would only hurt more people: Natalia, Tear, Anise. Luke's parents. Dying never solved the world's problems; death was one of the world's problems. Nobody ever died of old age anymore, it was always some young idiot running off to be a hero-
Guy pushed off of the wall and paced a quick circle, the thumb of his glove to his teeth as he chewed anxiously at it. He'd promised himself to give Luke space, to give him time to talk to the others, but the longer he waited the worse he felt. What if one of them encouraged Luke to do it? Anise and Natalia he couldn't see appealing to both sides of the argument...but Tear was usually sensible. Even if she made it clear she was against the idea she might say something that Luke could easily construe as encouragement to decide on death. Jade had no reservations; he would evenly present both the pros and cons, and the reality of the situation was that from an outsider's point of few, Luke dying with the other replicas was a pretty good deal for the rest of the world's population.
No. No. He couldn't let Luke get those ideas in his head. He had to do something to stop him before Luke made a mistake.
Guy's bootfalls echoed down the corridors of the cathedral.
------------------
Luke was on one of window seats in the library, the last place Guy had thought to look before beginning a blind search through the town. He was fortunate that Luke hadn't strayed far; dawn would be coming soon, and with the morning sun Luke would need to present his answer. His head was against the glass as his breath fogged the pane. Even though Guy's footsteps were loud in the emptiness of the room, Luke didn't seem to hear him.
"Luke," Guy called.
Luke jerked back from the window in surprise, eyes wide as he regarded Guy. He'd obviously been crying, eyes red and puffy. He rubbed at them with the heels of his palms as his friend approached the window and sat beside him. "Guy...hey, why aren't you asleep?"
"Why aren't you asleep?"
Luke didn't answer. His gaze fell to where the tails of his coat draped over the edge of the seat cushion.
"Luke..." Guy drew up a knee and rested his arms atop it. "You aren't thinking of going through with this, are you?"
"I-" Luke stopped himself, swallowed. He wouldn't look at Guy's face. "...if I don't, everyone will die of the miasma. Or...Asch will die. I don't want either of those things to happen."
"I don't want you to die." Luke flinched but Guy only leaned forward, voice dropping low in both urgency and secrecy. "This is just the first solution they’ve found. Spinoza might've said there was no other way, but that's because everyone's already settled on this being our only option. There have to be ways to treat the miasma poisoning until we can figure out how to get rid of it; people are just too afraid to hang on." Guy's fingers clenched atop his knee and he hesitated for a moment before plowing forward. "They're using you. They might not be happy about it, but it's true; they're using you like Van did."
"That's...that's not..." Luke's hands began to tremble as they clutched the edges of the cushion.
"Luke, please. Don't do this. I know we can figure something out if we pool our resources; there's still someone out there who knows more about hyperresonances than anyone else, even Jade. There's still someone who would know what to do."
For the second time Luke's eyes widened, and he stared up at Guy. The hope on his face was unmistakable; the way his mouth hung slightly open, the way his eyelashes fluttered. Guy was close enough to see the light dust of freckles across his nose. "There...there is? Who? Who can...?"
Guy pursed his lips. "...Van."
Luke tilted his head like a confused puppy before jerking away from Guy to stare out the window. "That's not funny."
"I'm serious."
Luke stayed as he was for several seconds before glancing at Guy out of the corner of his eye. "If you went to Master asking for help the God Generals would kill you."
"They wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Van wouldn't let them." Guy leaned his head against the pane to catch Luke's eye. "I'll lie. I'll go to them pretending I want to join Van; I know I can convince him. He'll believe me; he'll want to believe me. I'll tell him that I'll join him only if he promises to get rid of the miasma. They'll need more time to replicate the land anyway and they're all breathing it in too."
Van would never do such a thing; he was going to destroy the world and replicate it, after all. But Luke couldn't see that far right now and Guy knew it. Even more than that, Luke desperately needed some hope. He needed to believe there was an alternative that they hadn't tried, a viable alternative. Guy's chest clenched at the thought of this all going wrong- of Luke refusing, or of him accepting and Van ordering the God Generals to kill them. He was that ruthless...Guy wouldn't put it past him to murder his old master.
He had to try.
He was lying to Luke again, and the guilt of it bore down on his shoulders as he watched Luke's eyes drift to the trees outside in thought. Luke worried at his lip, even peeled off a bit of skin. The clouds drifted away from the moon and Luke's face reflected pale on the window. "What...what about Asch?"
Guy's heart nearly leaped into his throat. It was working. "I'll stop him too."
"But he's so determined...there's no way you could convince him."
"Forget about that; just leave it to me." Guy had absolutely no plan whatsoever.
"But what about the others? About Tear, and Natalia? And Jade and Anise?"
Guy shook his head. "We can't tell them. It might get back to Van, or they might try to stop us. If we stay here you'll be expected to go; you know you will. You didn't have a choice to begin with."
"But I-"
Guy lunged forward quick enough to startle Luke and his hands snapped up to hold Luke's face in an uncomfortably intimate gesture. Luke lifted his hands to try and pry Guy's fingers loose but Guy only tightened his grip. "Luke."
His tone left no room for refusal. Luke looked up.
Guy's voice dropped to a whisper and Luke was reminded of chilly nights sitting at his window, Guy standing with grass between his toes and laughing as they shushed each other and glanced over shoulders and hedges for guards and maids. Secret best friends.
"Luke...if you tell me you don't want to do this, I'll kidnap you. I’ll do it so the others didn’t think you agreed to go. I'll take you as far from the Tower as I can possibly get you. And I'll figure out a way to keep you alive and destroy the miasma."
Luke hiccupped and gripped Guy's wrists. His eyes darted to the side, down, back to Guy's face; filled with tears. His hands began to shake and his nails dug into Guy's gloves.
“You said you trusted me, Luke.”
Luke squeezed his eyes shut. The silence stretched, punctuated by Luke's near-sobs, and the library felt at once too big and too small. "I don't wanna die...!"
Guy's eyes closed and Luke blinked when a hand left his jaw; gagged as his best friend's first sank into his gut. He pitched forward but Guy caught him, and as he drooled onto Guy's sleeve he felt himself being moved. His last thought was that Guy was a lot more prepared for this than he probably should have been.