Day 57: Waiting Room/Lobby 1 (Fourth Shift)

[hairraising]

Since her talk with Soma in the morning, Rapunzel had been afraid this moment might come. Even as she distracted herself with other things, there was a tightness knotting up inside her stomach. Even as she assured herself that she would be prepared if it happened, the feeling wouldn't pass. And now, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and the

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[girlsandgadgets]

Though he wanted to continue to spend his free time in the cool air of the courtyard, Edgar instead found himself sought out by his "nurse," who ordered him to follow for the fourth shift of the day. At first, he thought he'd receive the usual excuse: something about the weather being too much for him and it was better for his health to come inside. He had to admit that prolonged exposure to the elements probably wasn't best for his recovery- the cold didn't do his throat any favors, but it was nice to stop sweating for a while. Oh, what he wouldn't do for a bath

[damned_visitors]

This day was one that Saxon had been anticipating with a whole jumble of emotions. He had missed his brother, more than he had ever expected to. Things had been somewhat rough between them before all this, and maybe that was why he was so bothered by what had happened. What if it had been his fault? He realized that was self-centered, but

[girlsandgadgets]

No amount of preparation could have kept the surprise from Edgar's face as he heard the familiar voice call an unfamiliar name; he felt hints of excitement and anxiety overcome him, even if for only a moment. Ten years apart, and the reunion hadn't felt like this. Then again, that had definitely been Sabin in the mountains: taller, broader, but undoubtedly his twin. This man- Edgar didn't even have a name for him- was not his brother, no matter how incredible the resemblance. It pained Edgar to remind himself of that fact, but it was something he had to do

[damned_visitors]

In the end, Edward didn't react as much as Saxon might have hoped. He looked happy enough, but it wasn't the heartfelt reunion he had been hoping for, deep down. He realized that probably was impossible right now, with Edward's illness and all of the unresolved issues between them, and yet sometimes... sometimes he just wanted things to be that simple

[girlsandgadgets]

Two weeks since they'd parted. A shop- presumably the one from the picture- which they ran together. How did the pieces of Edward March's life he was being handed fit with all he'd learned about the institute? The obvious answer was where Edgar truly was Edward March, with everything he knew- sanity included- falling into question; however, he could never erase from his mind the experimentation on him, and what the doctor had said: her words burned in his memory every time he felt the heat rising in his chest. Even if he was Edward March, that didn't explain why the higher staff made it no secret that they knew who the patients truly were

[damned_visitors]

It was true that his brother wasn't as well-groomed as he was normally, but Saxon had chalked that up to him not having access to all of the hair products and skin moisturizers that he'd made use of back home. He honestly didn't understand why Edward bothered when he was usually speckled with oil by the end of the day, but his twin had usually had some clever response about how you never knew when a pretty lady might show up

[girlsandgadgets]

"It's..." Another pause as Edgar forced himself to look at the man sitting across the table. His fist tightened, nails digging into the grooves of his palm. That tone of voice, the look in those eyes as the brother of Edward March tried to make light of what was an undeniably unpleasant situation, the concern hidden behind as much of a smile as he could muster: it was all too close. Too close to be an imposter, but it absolutely had to be

[damned_visitors]

Saxon hadn't realized that he'd asked such a difficult question. From his perspective, checking up on a family member who was in the hospital, whether for an injury or a mental illness, was normal. Still, as he watched the way that Edward's face fell as he refused to meet his eyes, he wondered if he'd gone about all of this the wrong way. Maybe he shouldn't have asked questions at all; maybe he should have just talked about what he'd been up to

[girlsandgadgets]

The silence between them was more uncomfortable than Edgar would ever admit. He searched his mind for an answer to the twin's question- any answer would do, as there were none that came to mind that could even begin to explain what was going on with the institute, the military, or the plans of General Aguilar for the patient population; Edgar didn't know the answers to those questions, himself

[damned_visitors]

The silence stretched out once more, and Saxon didn't know what to make of it. Before all this, even with their problems, conversation had been easy between them. How could it not be, when they'd grown up together? Jokes were tossed around just as easily as more serious discussions were carried out. That was how it had been up until Edward had been placed here.

Now it was as if a wall had been put up between them, and Saxon wasn't sure if that was Edward's doing or simply the fault of the circumstances. He didn't like it, though. None of this felt right.

Still, Saxon allowed Edward to take his time with the response, partly dreading it. It turned out that that was for good reason, since the words coming out of his brother's mouth were complete nonsense. Monsters? There was no such thing. And he hadn't seen a single soldier around; he could hardly imagine what the military would have wanted with mental patients, anyway