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[ltcolonel_dad]

That's funny. I could have sworn I left them around here somewhere....

[FINALLY! THERE THEY ARE! He's knows he was looking for something, and he found it, so now he shall do a slight victory dance. Well, until he notices that the people in the pictures aren't the ones he expected. Namely, not Haseo and Luke. Not them at all. And then the wave of

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[rendingblast]

[Luke looks awkward]

Ah... I... Um...

I-I'm sorry...

[ltcolonel_dad]

[...Oh. This is not going to end well, is it. Sighs. Pictures go away for now.]

It wasn't so bad, honestly. I've just got my own family and I wouldn't want to forget them.

[Sighs.]

It's not your fault, though, so don't blame yourself. You've got no reason to be sorry. Are you gonna be okay, Luke?

[rendingblast]

H-huh? Oh! Yeah, I'll be fine. I've got family too...

But... I'm still sorry.

And thank you. It was... really nice, while it lasted.

[ltcolonel_dad]

I kind of figured that...

[It can't have been that good, considering how formal he was...]

You don't have to be, but thank you. And you're welcome. It was pretty good, for a while

[Slight smile]

If you ever need anything, you don't even have to ask.

[rendingblast]

Thanks. I... also think I should really introduce myself.

My name's Luke fon Fabre.

[ltcolonel_dad]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Luke fon Fabre. I'm Maes Hughes.

[rendingblast]

--Are those pictures of your real family...?

[ltcolonel_dad]

Yup. Wanna see them?

[ He's not even waiting for an answer, because he hasn't done this in a week. The pictures are not so hidden any more. In fact, he looks pretty cheerful.]

The most adorable girl in the world right there? That's my daughter, Elysia~ And that's my wonderful, amazingly talented wife, Gracia~

[rendingblast]

[Luke looks at the picture and grins] I'm glad they've got someone that cares about them as much as you do.

[ltcolonel_dad]

[They used to. Still, he's smiling pretty brightly, regardless. He's also slightly embarrassed to be called out by someone else on it.]

I'm just lucky to be able to know them at all, really. It'd be hard for anyone not to care about them.

[rendingblast]

Not everyone will care the same, no matter what... But still. It's nice to see.

[ltcolonel_dad]

[^///^]

Thanks. So, Luke, anyone special where you're from?

[rendingblast]

... Special?

Um... Well, there are some people.

[ltcolonel_dad]

That's good. Any names? If I get to go on about my family, you're certainly allowed to go on about your friends.

[rendingblast]

W-well... There's Guy, Jade, Anise, Natalia... T-Tear...

And Asch, too.

[ltcolonel_dad]

[There's someone named Guy here now. Never heard of the others. Not a bad thing, really.]

Wonderful! It's always great to have friends to fall back on.