(Untitled)

[with_diamonds]

Most days, Lucy tried not to think about how much she missed her brother. It crossed her mind, of course, on a regular basis - living with Mathias, she had a near-constant reminder of it, which helped in that she'd gotten used to it, let it become normal - but it no longer held the enormity it once did. A year and a half down the line, and it was

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[prodigaljaybird]

There's something wrong with her. That much is apparent as soon as Jason's through the door, Lucy standing there over a soaked folder with a face so pale he's surprised she's not on the ground already.

Quiet but quick, Jason pulls out one of the kitchen chairs, appearing at her elbow in the next moment to give it a gentle tug.

[with_diamonds]

The touch came as a surprise, though Lucy didn't startle too much as she turned in its direction, drawing in a sharp breath but otherwise outwardly unfazed. None of this should have been a shock. She'd seen Max after, knew he wound up alright (or as much so as anyone could after being sent off to war like he'd been). It wasn't that. What got to her was what it meant, or what she supposed it did: that after taking him for granted when he'd been here, she'd let even his memory get away from her. It was, simply put, fucked up.

"Jason," she said on an exhale, grateful as she took the seat he'd brought over, hands refusing to leave the pages, like they themselves were one piece of her brother she had left. Them and his dog tags, still sitting under her shirt. "Hey."

[prodigaljaybird]

"Hey," Jason returns, dragging another chair over and perching himself on the end of it. They're in the way now, the back of Jason's seat jutting into the space leading to the kitchen proper, and god help anyone who dares comment on it while Lucy's knuckles are white around manila pages.

"You got something?"

[with_diamonds]

Lucy nodded, exhaling slowly as she held the folder out for him to get a look. Protective though she inherently was of it, there was nothing to hide held within its pages; on paper, Max was one of many, any number of boys who'd been shipped off to a foreign country and brought home different people, wounded or worse. There was no point to prove here, no battle to fight, but she wasn't going to pretend like it hadn't happened, or like it hadn't affected her. That was part of the problem, the very thing she'd been doing for too long.

"It's my brother's," she explained, voice kept quiet. "He was in the army and he got hurt. This is from then."

[prodigaljaybird]

Jason takes it carefully, holds it like something fragile, and not because it's tissue wet. "You're from before me," he says, opening it carefully. "What was it? Vietnam? Cambodia?"

[with_diamonds]

"Vietnam," Lucy answered, voice a touch quieter, chin dipping in what wasn't quite a nod. Tugging at the thin chain that hung around her neck, she pulled his dog tags out from under her shirt, holding them up for a moment before she let them fall over fabric again. "He was drafted. Shipped out a little less than a year before I showed up here. This is technically from after me."

[prodigaljaybird]

"He was here," says Jason, thumbing over the name printed neatly at the edge of the folder, thinking nothing of the admittance that he's read up on her. "Max. Was he from after this?" He holds up the folder. "Or before, like you?"

[with_diamonds]

Max's stay on the island was long enough that Lucy didn't think anything of the fact that Jason knew he'd been there, just gave a slight shake of her head. "After," she said. "A while after, I think. He'd already been released, apparently. So I never knew much about this part." At the time, she wasn't sure she would have wanted to. Now, it certainly served its purpose.

[prodigaljaybird]

"Do you want to?" It's an honest question, and one to which Jason can't guess the answer. "I never heard of anybody here getting something from home to make them happy. It gave you this to fuck with you. It's not gonna change things for him if you don't read it, but it'll change you."

[with_diamonds]

"I don't think the point is what happened to him," Lucy said, then pressed a hand to her mouth, as if that could fight off the way her voice wavered and her eyes burned. How she could change like a flip of a switch, she didn't know, but if she'd been given this to fuck with her, then whatever was behind its arrival had certainly succeeded. She was meant to be planning a wedding, and Max wasn't here to give her away, or laugh at her for growing up, or attempt to stalk Pete. She'd been so convinced that things were finally how they were supposed to be, and that couldn't be further from the truth. "I think the point is that he's not here."

[prodigaljaybird]

It still feels strange sometimes, to move on instinct without fear of rebuke. Jason chased his own violent tendencies so long he'd forgotten he could just as easily be kind, and he hesitates only a moment before he puts a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." This, too, is new. There's no help in being sorry if what he's sorry for can't also be fixed, but people seem to feel better when they hear it.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy summoned up a smile at that, small and melancholy but utterly heartfelt, a hand lifting briefly to rest over his. To say that she appreciated it would have been an understatement. With as many people had disappeared, and in the face of something like this, there were times it seemed that there was next to no one left, and any reminder that she wasn't alone went a long fucking way.

"Thank you," she said, soft, and meant it for any number of things - what he said, for his sitting with her, for the fact that he hadn't vanished yet, however out of control it was for everyone. "I'm glad you're here."

[prodigaljaybird]

"Me too," says Jason honestly. "But I wish we were both here. You've got your wedding coming, and - " Jason's face falls. "Don't you need somebody to give you away? Did you ask Bucky?"

[with_diamonds]

"I haven't asked anyone yet, but I was thinking about doing that," Lucy said, ducking her head, a hint of a sheepish smile playing at the corners of her mouth before she looked up at Jason again. There were a few people she'd considered, but that did seem the best option; she just had yet to decide to do anything about it. "Do you think he'd say yes if I did?"

[prodigaljaybird]

"'Course," says Jason, certain of it, even if he's not equally certain that Bucky would agree to that kind of attention right away. Once he realized the importance, though, Jason has no further doubts.

"And if he balks, just lean on his girl," he adds with a sudden grin.

[with_diamonds]

"I'll keep that in mind," Lucy said, with what barely counted as a laugh, but still did. With that sort of assurance from Jason, she did feel that her chances were much better; the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. "I'll do that, then, I think. Ask him."