[Fic] [Round 37] Peace, Of a Sort, G
Author: Isha
Title: Peace, of a Sort.
Word Count: 1,250
Rating: G
Any Warnings: Um. Strangeness ahoy.
Prompt being used: Word prompts - luck, war, forgiveness and first and last words of the fic being the same
Timeline: Some unspecified point in S3
Summary:
Disclaimer: I own none of these very entertaining characters, please don’t sue me. Thank you.
~
It is dark, but he can still see the man’s lips curve into a fond smile as he watches through the window.
It is not easy to catch that unguarded light in his eyes, he is not one given to wearing his heart on his sleeve.
It is almost a shame to disturb the peace of the moment, but this is a conversation that has been long overdue.
‘Lord Weller.’
The man does not start; he is too controlled to betray his surprise in such a manner. He is still a warrior, though, and his hand had flashed to his sword at the sudden sound, only unclenching itself from his sword hilt a moment later.
He notices that the hand curls into a fist as it rests by the man’s side.
‘Shinou.’
The man’s voice is controlled as he turns to face him-as always-but the smile is gone now.
Which is only to be expected, really. There has been too much between them for him to expect the same blind devotion from Lord Conrart Weller that he receives daily from the common Mazoku of his kingdom.
No, not his kingdom anymore, it is Yuuri’s kingdom now.
And with that thought strengthening his resolve, he dives in head first, as always.
‘You hate me.’
A beat, and then: ‘I do not hate you, Shinou,’ Conrart Weller says calmly.
And he knows it is the truth, any hate Conrart Weller had had for him had burned itself out long ago. Now there is only indifference left.
He thinks, with a kind of despair, of Lawrence Weller, of the man’s life, of the passion he had put into everything.
It is terrible thing to remember too much.
He shakes his head, knowing that the stroke must be swift and sure.
‘I did not order Julia to her death.’
And he can see the effect of his words in the very fact that Conrart Weller makes no reply.
He goes on, though, stepping forward a little from his perch on one of the higher shelves of the library so that Weller can see his face as he speaks. His present form is smaller, but Weller is so silent that his voice has no trouble reaching him.
‘I had waited four thousand years, it would hardly have made a difference to me to wait a few centuries more. I would have waited for Julia to live out her life, but it was her choice to do what she did.’ He stops, and the silence causes Weller to meet his eyes. ‘You see, she understood that if she did not do this, it would fall to her child to do it in her stead.’
He can see it in Weller’s eyes, the mingled rage and sorrow that comes from those words: her child. Weller had loved the woman, after all, enough to have wondered what she would have looked like, her belly round with his child.
‘It was her choice,’ he repeats. ‘And this way, it was still Julia who had to face Soushu. She wanted to spare someone else that.’
‘But you pushed her into it,’ Weller snaps, the words seemingly torn from him. ‘She was too good, too noble to think of refusing you if it meant she was the only one who could save everyone else. You did that.’ He glares at him now, rage burning bright in his eyes. ‘I wouldn’t put it past you to have caused the war with the humans, as well, just to ensure that she would sacrifice herself sooner rather than later!’
‘I’ll admit that after all that has happened between us, I have no great love for humans,’ he grits out, anger making his own voice hard, ‘but I did not kill hundreds of people-Mazoku and human alike-to get my hands on one soul!’
‘She was not just a soul!’
‘Of course not. She is the one who saved us all-even me.’
He has Weller’s attention now, he can see that this is something Yuuri has not told him. Perhaps the boy does not even remember it himself. It costs him to make this admission, but his voice is quiet but clear as he speaks.
‘It is only the purest luck that the plan worked, in the end. I could have done all this within five hundred years of my death, if I had chosen to, but I had to wait this long for Soushu to weaken.’ His mouth twists in self deprecation. ‘Unfortunately, as Soushu was weakening, so was I, and it was too late for me to see it. I-as Soushu-would have taken over Yuuri completely if it wasn’t for that small sliver of Julia left in him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It is Julia who gave him the courage to fight Soushu, to fight me. If she had not…’
He trails off, but Weller isn’t listening, eyes wide as he stares past him, anger momentarily forgotten.
‘Perhaps there was some higher power at work,’ he says, shrugging as makes himself comfortable on the wood below him. ‘Something-someone-that ensured that the right people were where they needed to be at the right time.’
‘But-’
‘Would you have Julia back if it meant giving up Yuuri?’
Weller actually takes a step back, and he knows his words have hit their mark.
‘We all of us did our duty. It was not a task any of us would have wished on our worst enemy, but we did it, because it had to be done. That is all I can say for myself-and for the Daikenja,’ he says. He can take Weller’s anger, and he knows the man thinks of Ken Murata as a friend-purely because of Yuuri, of course-but he will not have Weller disrespect Daikenja’s memory.
‘You really did love him, didn’t you?’
Weller’s face is carefully blank, and he knows the question is much deeper than it appears.
He meets the other man’s gaze so that he can see the truth in his eyes as he speaks.
‘I still do.’
A beat of silence, and then:
‘How do you know you are not just mistakenly transferring your feelings for him to the one you see now?’
The voice is quiet but tortured, and he knows what Weller is really asking him.
‘I find it helps if you think of each of them as their own person,’ he says softly. ‘I love the man he is now, as I loved the man who was at my side then.’
Weller looks up, and his eyes shine so brightly, such a mixture of emotions in them, that for a moment he sees Lawrence in the face before him.
‘Do not look for her in Yuuri. It would be an injustice-to all three of you.’
Weller says nothing, turning away to peer out of the window again.
He knows what the man sees there, the twenty seventh Maou of Shin Makoku was enjoying a rare catch session with the man called His Eminence Murata Ken, laughing and shouting as they threw the ball back and forth in the late afternoon sun.
Silence descends over the room. Weller’s hands are not fists any more, and he can see the beginning of a smile curving the man’s lips again.
It is not forgiveness-he would not ask for it, just for doing his duty-but between them there is a peace now, of a sort.
And he finds himself well satisfed with it.
~
A/N: Argh. This was supposed to be something a little lighter, along the lines of Conrart and Shinou commiserating about how they’re both in love with reincarnations, but. They just refused to talk, and in the end I had to resort to the word prompts. See what happens when you don’t open up, you mealy mouthed little b*stards?
Also, I’m not sure if the ‘Julia’s children would have been Keys, too’ theory makes any sense, but. Here was my reasoning: the Key is Julia’s blood, which would flow through any children she would have. Which should make them equally likely to be Keys themselves. Right?
Anyway. Thanks for reading, all comments and concrit is very welcome. =)
Title: Peace, of a Sort.
Word Count: 1,250
Rating: G
Any Warnings: Um. Strangeness ahoy.
Prompt being used: Word prompts - luck, war, forgiveness and first and last words of the fic being the same
Timeline: Some unspecified point in S3
Summary:
Disclaimer: I own none of these very entertaining characters, please don’t sue me. Thank you.
~
It is dark, but he can still see the man’s lips curve into a fond smile as he watches through the window.
It is not easy to catch that unguarded light in his eyes, he is not one given to wearing his heart on his sleeve.
It is almost a shame to disturb the peace of the moment, but this is a conversation that has been long overdue.
‘Lord Weller.’
The man does not start; he is too controlled to betray his surprise in such a manner. He is still a warrior, though, and his hand had flashed to his sword at the sudden sound, only unclenching itself from his sword hilt a moment later.
He notices that the hand curls into a fist as it rests by the man’s side.
‘Shinou.’
The man’s voice is controlled as he turns to face him-as always-but the smile is gone now.
Which is only to be expected, really. There has been too much between them for him to expect the same blind devotion from Lord Conrart Weller that he receives daily from the common Mazoku of his kingdom.
No, not his kingdom anymore, it is Yuuri’s kingdom now.
And with that thought strengthening his resolve, he dives in head first, as always.
‘You hate me.’
A beat, and then: ‘I do not hate you, Shinou,’ Conrart Weller says calmly.
And he knows it is the truth, any hate Conrart Weller had had for him had burned itself out long ago. Now there is only indifference left.
He thinks, with a kind of despair, of Lawrence Weller, of the man’s life, of the passion he had put into everything.
It is terrible thing to remember too much.
He shakes his head, knowing that the stroke must be swift and sure.
‘I did not order Julia to her death.’
And he can see the effect of his words in the very fact that Conrart Weller makes no reply.
He goes on, though, stepping forward a little from his perch on one of the higher shelves of the library so that Weller can see his face as he speaks. His present form is smaller, but Weller is so silent that his voice has no trouble reaching him.
‘I had waited four thousand years, it would hardly have made a difference to me to wait a few centuries more. I would have waited for Julia to live out her life, but it was her choice to do what she did.’ He stops, and the silence causes Weller to meet his eyes. ‘You see, she understood that if she did not do this, it would fall to her child to do it in her stead.’
He can see it in Weller’s eyes, the mingled rage and sorrow that comes from those words: her child. Weller had loved the woman, after all, enough to have wondered what she would have looked like, her belly round with his child.
‘It was her choice,’ he repeats. ‘And this way, it was still Julia who had to face Soushu. She wanted to spare someone else that.’
‘But you pushed her into it,’ Weller snaps, the words seemingly torn from him. ‘She was too good, too noble to think of refusing you if it meant she was the only one who could save everyone else. You did that.’ He glares at him now, rage burning bright in his eyes. ‘I wouldn’t put it past you to have caused the war with the humans, as well, just to ensure that she would sacrifice herself sooner rather than later!’
‘I’ll admit that after all that has happened between us, I have no great love for humans,’ he grits out, anger making his own voice hard, ‘but I did not kill hundreds of people-Mazoku and human alike-to get my hands on one soul!’
‘She was not just a soul!’
‘Of course not. She is the one who saved us all-even me.’
He has Weller’s attention now, he can see that this is something Yuuri has not told him. Perhaps the boy does not even remember it himself. It costs him to make this admission, but his voice is quiet but clear as he speaks.
‘It is only the purest luck that the plan worked, in the end. I could have done all this within five hundred years of my death, if I had chosen to, but I had to wait this long for Soushu to weaken.’ His mouth twists in self deprecation. ‘Unfortunately, as Soushu was weakening, so was I, and it was too late for me to see it. I-as Soushu-would have taken over Yuuri completely if it wasn’t for that small sliver of Julia left in him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It is Julia who gave him the courage to fight Soushu, to fight me. If she had not…’
He trails off, but Weller isn’t listening, eyes wide as he stares past him, anger momentarily forgotten.
‘Perhaps there was some higher power at work,’ he says, shrugging as makes himself comfortable on the wood below him. ‘Something-someone-that ensured that the right people were where they needed to be at the right time.’
‘But-’
‘Would you have Julia back if it meant giving up Yuuri?’
Weller actually takes a step back, and he knows his words have hit their mark.
‘We all of us did our duty. It was not a task any of us would have wished on our worst enemy, but we did it, because it had to be done. That is all I can say for myself-and for the Daikenja,’ he says. He can take Weller’s anger, and he knows the man thinks of Ken Murata as a friend-purely because of Yuuri, of course-but he will not have Weller disrespect Daikenja’s memory.
‘You really did love him, didn’t you?’
Weller’s face is carefully blank, and he knows the question is much deeper than it appears.
He meets the other man’s gaze so that he can see the truth in his eyes as he speaks.
‘I still do.’
A beat of silence, and then:
‘How do you know you are not just mistakenly transferring your feelings for him to the one you see now?’
The voice is quiet but tortured, and he knows what Weller is really asking him.
‘I find it helps if you think of each of them as their own person,’ he says softly. ‘I love the man he is now, as I loved the man who was at my side then.’
Weller looks up, and his eyes shine so brightly, such a mixture of emotions in them, that for a moment he sees Lawrence in the face before him.
‘Do not look for her in Yuuri. It would be an injustice-to all three of you.’
Weller says nothing, turning away to peer out of the window again.
He knows what the man sees there, the twenty seventh Maou of Shin Makoku was enjoying a rare catch session with the man called His Eminence Murata Ken, laughing and shouting as they threw the ball back and forth in the late afternoon sun.
Silence descends over the room. Weller’s hands are not fists any more, and he can see the beginning of a smile curving the man’s lips again.
It is not forgiveness-he would not ask for it, just for doing his duty-but between them there is a peace now, of a sort.
And he finds himself well satisfed with it.
~
A/N: Argh. This was supposed to be something a little lighter, along the lines of Conrart and Shinou commiserating about how they’re both in love with reincarnations, but. They just refused to talk, and in the end I had to resort to the word prompts. See what happens when you don’t open up, you mealy mouthed little b*stards?
Also, I’m not sure if the ‘Julia’s children would have been Keys, too’ theory makes any sense, but. Here was my reasoning: the Key is Julia’s blood, which would flow through any children she would have. Which should make them equally likely to be Keys themselves. Right?
Anyway. Thanks for reading, all comments and concrit is very welcome. =)