What? Neku's writing ANGST? How'd THAT happen?
Yeah, the prompt was "Holiday" and the only thing I could think was, "when was the last time I wrote some good, angsty, Diamondshipping?"
Hence, this. Oh, and two things that have NOTHING to do with said prompt, but rather, reveal a bit of Seb and Nekou's past. But the whole thing is depressing. You've been warned...
90. Holiday.
Christmas time.
The most wonderful time of the year my ass, Giovanni thought to himself. It was wonderful, all right- if you had someone to spend it with.
Otherwise, Christmas more or less sucked the big one. There really wasn't any less vulgar way to put it, he realized. And yet, here it was, December 23rd. The same night every year he was expected to make that one call, the one he'd rather not make but knew he had to anyway. He'd make that call, and ask the same thing he did every year, and get the same reply he got every year.
Still, something had to be said for trying. He picked up the phone on his desk. Christmas carols were playing on the radio, a futile attempt to bring a little bit of holiday cheer into an otherwise bleak and lonely existence. "I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me..."
Christmas songs shouldn't be allowed to be that depressing, when it came down to it.
"Hello?"
A warm, welcoming voice on the other end. It bubbled with charm and spirit and all the things Giovanni had fallen for in his misspent youth. And he had to wonder at this point, just hearing it, how much of his life was being misspent now.
"Delia?"
"Oh, hello, dear? Calling to wish me Christmas greetings, I assume?"
She acted as if nothing was wrong. Typical of her, of course. After nearly 14 years, the facade of normalcy had become second nature for the both of them.
"Um... yes. You could say that."
"Oh, that's wonderful, and a merry Christmas to you, too, Gio. So, anything special you had to call to tell me about? I thought at this point, email was the norm for these things... wasn't it safer or something?"
How could she not have figured it out by now? he wondered. It had been this way for about four years now... after all, wasn't it only natural for a father to wonder how his child was doing? And what better time than Christmas? Or she's just faking ignorance because it's killing her as much as it's killing me.
"Look... is the boy over there? I need to know..."
"Oh, Ash? Yeah, he brought his friends over too... I got your package in the mail, if that's what you were asking about." She giggled. "Don't worry, he'll get it the 25th, just like always..."
Time to drop the bomb, then.
"I was just wondering... why don't we try something different this year?" He didn't know why he bothered asking, he knew in the end the reply would just be no...
"Such as? What else is there we can really do?..."
"You know, Delia. As well as I do. Why don't we spend Christmas as a family this year?"
There was a silence over the phone. There. He'd gotten it out of the way. All that was left now was to wait for the reply.
"Giovanni? You don't mean?..."
"Yes. I want to come over for Christmas this year. Don't you think it's time we did something... normal... for once?" Normal. The word was so foreign to him. Normal went out the door the day his mother died. Normal seemed so... wonderful... right now. All he wanted, more than anything, was to be loved... to be able to hold her again...
"You know the answer is no," she replied, calmly but with a trace of sadness in her voice.
"...Delia..."
"I know how much you want to see him, but think about what's best for him, will you? The very moment Ash finds out, we're all in danger. You knew that thirteen years ago. Please. Think of the boy, will you?"
The agreement... the one they made the day he was born... that he'd never know until his eighteenth birthday. Let him decided then what he wants to do with his life, they'd agreed. And he'd be safer in the end for it...
"I am thinking about the boy, Delia," Giovanni finally protested. "And it's not normal for him to grow up like this, never knowing his father. He's going to find out sooner or later, anyway."
"Four more years. That's all there is left. Is it really that hard for you?"
Four years seemed like an eternity to him now. Still, it was clear he lacked any choice in this matter. Delia seemed stuck in her ways.
"No, dear. I guess not. Merry Christmas, Delia."
"Merry Christmas," she replied, impassively. It was as though she wanted to pretend nothing was wrong.. that tomorrow everyone would just wake up and it would be Christmas Eve as usual... But it wouldn't be. There was a click, cold and unemotional, harsh, as Delia hung up.
"So, I guess it's just you and me again this year, Persian," Giovanni said, resigned, as he petted the cat behind the ears.
"Mrow?"
51. Childhood
"Enjoy your vacation, Namba?" Namba had returned that morning, thefirst day back since he'd been on vacation. Sebastian had managed to cave to his requests for a holiday and ended up stuck with twice the work that week in the doctor's abscence. Despite this, Namba seemed clueless as to the sarcasm he'd arrived to.
"You bet I did, Professor. Here, look at this." He opened a photo on his cell phone. Namba was on the boardwalk at some beach- probably in a resort town- eating ice cream with another woman that seemed to be somewhere around his age. "Who's the lady?" Sebastian asked. He gave Namba a mischievous look. "Is there someone we don't know about? On the rebound after your last breakup, Namba?"
Namba glared up at his superior. "She's my sister," he said, clearly offended by Sebastian's implication they were dating. "She lives out there. So I didn't even have to pay for a room or anything. Just stayed over at her house by the bay."
Sebastian's expression softened a little. "Oh," he said, staring into the picture deeper now. "I'm sorry. I should have figured."
"It's fine," Namba said. "What's wrong, Professor? Do you have a sister?"
She was beautiful for her age. 13 year old Natalie had just seen The Wizard of Oz- her favorite movie- for what seemed like the millionth time, and was acting like Dorothy to the amusement of her older brother. "What do you think? Do you think I'll make it?"
"I'm positive of it," the 15-year old Sebastian replied, watching her burst into "We're Off to See the Wizard" again. She was lucky, he thought... she'd always wanted to be an actress, and her parents supported it wholeheartedly, figuring she'd make for a decent cover once Sebastian was following in their footsteps... it must be so great to be able to follow your dreams, he often found himself thinking. He stepped off the porch. "Natalie? Mom says to come in for dinner..."
But she was too lost in her song to even hear him. "Natalie! You need to come in now! Besides, you shouldn't even be dancing out there in the road anyway... it's too dangerous, you know that.." She continued even then. Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Your food's just gonna get cold... see what I care." He started up the porch inside.
"Because because because because because..."
As he opened the door, the sound of an oncoming car caught Sebastian's attention. Cars were uncommon on the quiet street he lived on... He turned to see it coming around the corner... in the direction of Natalie...
"Natalie! Watch out!"
"...Because of the wonderful things-"
"NATALIE!"
A scream rang out. Sebastian watched in horror as the car drove off. "Hey! Get back here, you bastard! You hit my sister... oh. Wake up, Natalie, come on, tell me you're okay!" He lifted her limp body by the shoulders. "Natalie! You'll be fine..."
But he realized from the moment she was hit it was too late.
"Do you have a sister?"`
Sebastian turned away from Namba, trying to hide his tears. It wasn't often he thought of Natalie anymore... but when he did, it was the most painful experience he'd ever known. He could have saved her... he could have stayed there and brought her in... Namba seemed the luckiest man in the world right now... at least he got to watch her grow up... and even now, decades later, they could still find time to enjoy ice cream together...
"Yes. I had a sister."
"Had? You mean?..." Namba broke off, the way people always did to avoid having to bring things like that up. It drove Sebastian insane. Death was as natural as birth... why did everyone treat discussing the loss of a loved one as if it were a dirty thing?
"She died, okay? She was killed in a hit-and-run incident. They found the creep who did it two days later and he managed to get off the hook on an insanity plea, or something."
"Oh," Namba said.
"I was 15. I'm going to my office now, Namba. Try not to blow anything up today, okay?" He returned the phone and turned for the door... the same way he did all those years ago...
"And don't you dare mention this to anyone, understood?" He reached into his pocket and fingered the tiny silver locket that once belonged to her... and wondered if she was watching over him now.
"What do you think, Natalie? Do you think I'll make it?" he asked under his breath. And he swore he could hear the tiniest trace of a young girl's voice reply, You already have.
50. Request
"Just hear me out, will you?"
Usually, Sebastian could trust his friend to come through for him. This time was proving particularly difficult.
"Sebastian, do you have any idea how that would look? You're talking about a girl who was brought in on suspicion of being an enemy spy... who didn't even bother to fight back upon her capture... who for three days was a nervous, sobbing wreck until you managed to drug her happy... I don't think I can do this, and I fail to see why you keep pushing it." But Giovanni knew all right... Sebastian's motivations weren't on a whim, and Sebastian knew he knew too. "You can't just keep holding on to your projects like this... the plan was to study her memory loss, then throw her back out again. And if I recall, your original plan was just to slip a little poison in her tea and let her pass on quietly. But you backed out of that saying you couldn't stand to do it... I've never seen you like this, Sebastian."
The protests fell on deaf ears. "Her fighting skills are above average, considering the amnesia she's suffering... and..." His eyes became sad, pleading... He couldn't lose his composure now. "I think 78 has a lot of potential, that's all there is to it."
Sebastian's quick change of emotion confirmed Giovanni's suspicions. "I know how you felt about Natalie, Sebastian. I helped you through that, remember? But she's gone now. She's been gone for twenty-four years. You can't bring her back. The girl can't bring her back, either. Just let it go. Let Natalie rest in peace, is that so much to ask?" In a way, he felt Sebastian's pain. The one in question bore more than a passing resemblance to Sebastian's late sister, once she'd been nursed back to health. It was no wonder Sebastian felt a sudden need to take her under his wing, at least at the time. "Besides," he added darkly, "don't you think she's been through enough already?"
Sebastian dropped the front. No use denying what was already known. "Natalie never had a chance to have a future. It's a miracle 78's still alive. The least I- and you as well- could do for Natalie's memory is try and give her a shot at having one. She'll take anything she's offered at this point. Please, just give it a chance? For Natalie?"
"...I'll consider it." Though he never really knew Natalie... Giovanni still remembered how many calls he got from Sebastian in the middle of the night in those days after the tragedy. And if this could bring an old friend some comfort... maybe finally settle the whole thing... wasn't it all worth it in the end?
"Please do," Sebastian said, getting up to leave. "Oh, and she's decided she has a name," he added.
"Is she getting her memory back, then?"
"It's doubtful. I don't think she ever will. She says she's tired of being just another number... she says she wants to be called Nekou now."
About these last two... I've been roleplaying Nekou lately (on Black Rocket HQ.... shameless plug!), and Nekou's backstory came up. And I was wondering "Why WOULD Sebastian take Nekou in? He's not exactly a humanitarian... Then I got the idea for Natalie, and everything clicked into place (childhood trauma is every writer's best friend in times of need). And here, the sketch that kicked off the idea.. Natalie.
Hence, this. Oh, and two things that have NOTHING to do with said prompt, but rather, reveal a bit of Seb and Nekou's past. But the whole thing is depressing. You've been warned...
90. Holiday.
Christmas time.
The most wonderful time of the year my ass, Giovanni thought to himself. It was wonderful, all right- if you had someone to spend it with.
Otherwise, Christmas more or less sucked the big one. There really wasn't any less vulgar way to put it, he realized. And yet, here it was, December 23rd. The same night every year he was expected to make that one call, the one he'd rather not make but knew he had to anyway. He'd make that call, and ask the same thing he did every year, and get the same reply he got every year.
Still, something had to be said for trying. He picked up the phone on his desk. Christmas carols were playing on the radio, a futile attempt to bring a little bit of holiday cheer into an otherwise bleak and lonely existence. "I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me..."
Christmas songs shouldn't be allowed to be that depressing, when it came down to it.
"Hello?"
A warm, welcoming voice on the other end. It bubbled with charm and spirit and all the things Giovanni had fallen for in his misspent youth. And he had to wonder at this point, just hearing it, how much of his life was being misspent now.
"Delia?"
"Oh, hello, dear? Calling to wish me Christmas greetings, I assume?"
She acted as if nothing was wrong. Typical of her, of course. After nearly 14 years, the facade of normalcy had become second nature for the both of them.
"Um... yes. You could say that."
"Oh, that's wonderful, and a merry Christmas to you, too, Gio. So, anything special you had to call to tell me about? I thought at this point, email was the norm for these things... wasn't it safer or something?"
How could she not have figured it out by now? he wondered. It had been this way for about four years now... after all, wasn't it only natural for a father to wonder how his child was doing? And what better time than Christmas? Or she's just faking ignorance because it's killing her as much as it's killing me.
"Look... is the boy over there? I need to know..."
"Oh, Ash? Yeah, he brought his friends over too... I got your package in the mail, if that's what you were asking about." She giggled. "Don't worry, he'll get it the 25th, just like always..."
Time to drop the bomb, then.
"I was just wondering... why don't we try something different this year?" He didn't know why he bothered asking, he knew in the end the reply would just be no...
"Such as? What else is there we can really do?..."
"You know, Delia. As well as I do. Why don't we spend Christmas as a family this year?"
There was a silence over the phone. There. He'd gotten it out of the way. All that was left now was to wait for the reply.
"Giovanni? You don't mean?..."
"Yes. I want to come over for Christmas this year. Don't you think it's time we did something... normal... for once?" Normal. The word was so foreign to him. Normal went out the door the day his mother died. Normal seemed so... wonderful... right now. All he wanted, more than anything, was to be loved... to be able to hold her again...
"You know the answer is no," she replied, calmly but with a trace of sadness in her voice.
"...Delia..."
"I know how much you want to see him, but think about what's best for him, will you? The very moment Ash finds out, we're all in danger. You knew that thirteen years ago. Please. Think of the boy, will you?"
The agreement... the one they made the day he was born... that he'd never know until his eighteenth birthday. Let him decided then what he wants to do with his life, they'd agreed. And he'd be safer in the end for it...
"I am thinking about the boy, Delia," Giovanni finally protested. "And it's not normal for him to grow up like this, never knowing his father. He's going to find out sooner or later, anyway."
"Four more years. That's all there is left. Is it really that hard for you?"
Four years seemed like an eternity to him now. Still, it was clear he lacked any choice in this matter. Delia seemed stuck in her ways.
"No, dear. I guess not. Merry Christmas, Delia."
"Merry Christmas," she replied, impassively. It was as though she wanted to pretend nothing was wrong.. that tomorrow everyone would just wake up and it would be Christmas Eve as usual... But it wouldn't be. There was a click, cold and unemotional, harsh, as Delia hung up.
"So, I guess it's just you and me again this year, Persian," Giovanni said, resigned, as he petted the cat behind the ears.
"Mrow?"
51. Childhood
"Enjoy your vacation, Namba?" Namba had returned that morning, thefirst day back since he'd been on vacation. Sebastian had managed to cave to his requests for a holiday and ended up stuck with twice the work that week in the doctor's abscence. Despite this, Namba seemed clueless as to the sarcasm he'd arrived to.
"You bet I did, Professor. Here, look at this." He opened a photo on his cell phone. Namba was on the boardwalk at some beach- probably in a resort town- eating ice cream with another woman that seemed to be somewhere around his age. "Who's the lady?" Sebastian asked. He gave Namba a mischievous look. "Is there someone we don't know about? On the rebound after your last breakup, Namba?"
Namba glared up at his superior. "She's my sister," he said, clearly offended by Sebastian's implication they were dating. "She lives out there. So I didn't even have to pay for a room or anything. Just stayed over at her house by the bay."
Sebastian's expression softened a little. "Oh," he said, staring into the picture deeper now. "I'm sorry. I should have figured."
"It's fine," Namba said. "What's wrong, Professor? Do you have a sister?"
She was beautiful for her age. 13 year old Natalie had just seen The Wizard of Oz- her favorite movie- for what seemed like the millionth time, and was acting like Dorothy to the amusement of her older brother. "What do you think? Do you think I'll make it?"
"I'm positive of it," the 15-year old Sebastian replied, watching her burst into "We're Off to See the Wizard" again. She was lucky, he thought... she'd always wanted to be an actress, and her parents supported it wholeheartedly, figuring she'd make for a decent cover once Sebastian was following in their footsteps... it must be so great to be able to follow your dreams, he often found himself thinking. He stepped off the porch. "Natalie? Mom says to come in for dinner..."
But she was too lost in her song to even hear him. "Natalie! You need to come in now! Besides, you shouldn't even be dancing out there in the road anyway... it's too dangerous, you know that.." She continued even then. Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Your food's just gonna get cold... see what I care." He started up the porch inside.
"Because because because because because..."
As he opened the door, the sound of an oncoming car caught Sebastian's attention. Cars were uncommon on the quiet street he lived on... He turned to see it coming around the corner... in the direction of Natalie...
"Natalie! Watch out!"
"...Because of the wonderful things-"
"NATALIE!"
A scream rang out. Sebastian watched in horror as the car drove off. "Hey! Get back here, you bastard! You hit my sister... oh. Wake up, Natalie, come on, tell me you're okay!" He lifted her limp body by the shoulders. "Natalie! You'll be fine..."
But he realized from the moment she was hit it was too late.
"Do you have a sister?"`
Sebastian turned away from Namba, trying to hide his tears. It wasn't often he thought of Natalie anymore... but when he did, it was the most painful experience he'd ever known. He could have saved her... he could have stayed there and brought her in... Namba seemed the luckiest man in the world right now... at least he got to watch her grow up... and even now, decades later, they could still find time to enjoy ice cream together...
"Yes. I had a sister."
"Had? You mean?..." Namba broke off, the way people always did to avoid having to bring things like that up. It drove Sebastian insane. Death was as natural as birth... why did everyone treat discussing the loss of a loved one as if it were a dirty thing?
"She died, okay? She was killed in a hit-and-run incident. They found the creep who did it two days later and he managed to get off the hook on an insanity plea, or something."
"Oh," Namba said.
"I was 15. I'm going to my office now, Namba. Try not to blow anything up today, okay?" He returned the phone and turned for the door... the same way he did all those years ago...
"And don't you dare mention this to anyone, understood?" He reached into his pocket and fingered the tiny silver locket that once belonged to her... and wondered if she was watching over him now.
"What do you think, Natalie? Do you think I'll make it?" he asked under his breath. And he swore he could hear the tiniest trace of a young girl's voice reply, You already have.
50. Request
"Just hear me out, will you?"
Usually, Sebastian could trust his friend to come through for him. This time was proving particularly difficult.
"Sebastian, do you have any idea how that would look? You're talking about a girl who was brought in on suspicion of being an enemy spy... who didn't even bother to fight back upon her capture... who for three days was a nervous, sobbing wreck until you managed to drug her happy... I don't think I can do this, and I fail to see why you keep pushing it." But Giovanni knew all right... Sebastian's motivations weren't on a whim, and Sebastian knew he knew too. "You can't just keep holding on to your projects like this... the plan was to study her memory loss, then throw her back out again. And if I recall, your original plan was just to slip a little poison in her tea and let her pass on quietly. But you backed out of that saying you couldn't stand to do it... I've never seen you like this, Sebastian."
The protests fell on deaf ears. "Her fighting skills are above average, considering the amnesia she's suffering... and..." His eyes became sad, pleading... He couldn't lose his composure now. "I think 78 has a lot of potential, that's all there is to it."
Sebastian's quick change of emotion confirmed Giovanni's suspicions. "I know how you felt about Natalie, Sebastian. I helped you through that, remember? But she's gone now. She's been gone for twenty-four years. You can't bring her back. The girl can't bring her back, either. Just let it go. Let Natalie rest in peace, is that so much to ask?" In a way, he felt Sebastian's pain. The one in question bore more than a passing resemblance to Sebastian's late sister, once she'd been nursed back to health. It was no wonder Sebastian felt a sudden need to take her under his wing, at least at the time. "Besides," he added darkly, "don't you think she's been through enough already?"
Sebastian dropped the front. No use denying what was already known. "Natalie never had a chance to have a future. It's a miracle 78's still alive. The least I- and you as well- could do for Natalie's memory is try and give her a shot at having one. She'll take anything she's offered at this point. Please, just give it a chance? For Natalie?"
"...I'll consider it." Though he never really knew Natalie... Giovanni still remembered how many calls he got from Sebastian in the middle of the night in those days after the tragedy. And if this could bring an old friend some comfort... maybe finally settle the whole thing... wasn't it all worth it in the end?
"Please do," Sebastian said, getting up to leave. "Oh, and she's decided she has a name," he added.
"Is she getting her memory back, then?"
"It's doubtful. I don't think she ever will. She says she's tired of being just another number... she says she wants to be called Nekou now."
About these last two... I've been roleplaying Nekou lately (on Black Rocket HQ.... shameless plug!), and Nekou's backstory came up. And I was wondering "Why WOULD Sebastian take Nekou in? He's not exactly a humanitarian... Then I got the idea for Natalie, and everything clicked into place (childhood trauma is every writer's best friend in times of need). And here, the sketch that kicked off the idea.. Natalie.