~"Master"~
"Why do you still call him master!"
Asch's heated words echoed in my ears as I fought absently through the replicated streets of Hod, inching closer and closer to Master Van. A dark glare crossed my face. He was no master of mine, and he never was, but regardless...I could never revoke that title from him.
"Why do you still call him master!"
I blinked. "Are you talking to me?" I asked softly.
"What else, dreck?" Asch answered with crisp consenants filled to the brim with pure rage. "So why? Tell me." he nearly growled. I thought it over for a moment.
"Hey guys, lets take a break." I suggested. The team talked it over, eventually agreeing it to be a good idea as not to wear ourselves out before the final battle. I sat on the stone steps of the nearby staircase.
"Is everything okay?" Tear asked softly, Jade looking over her small shoulders. I nodded.
"Its, uh...Asch." I explained. Tear's eyes darted away. She left without another word. Jade following suit, adjusting his glasses knowingly. I leaned back with a sigh, a hand rubbing lazily at my eyes.
"So you wanna know why?"
"Thats right." Asch confirmed with a quiet anger.
"Its kind of a long story, but I think I can spare the time before it all ends."
"Master Van!" A hyperactive fourteen year old Luke fon Fabre shouted cheerfully as his Master met him at the heart of the Duke Fabre manor. Van chuckled heartily, ruffling the boys hair affectionately. He looked around cautiously. "Nobody's here!" he stated exitedly, his arms outstretched. The tall man sighed, kneeling down and enveloping the giggling boy in a warm embrace, a tired smile gracing his lips.
"Silly boy." he mumbled as he got back onto his feet, but Luke simply smiled.
"I love you master!" he declared shamelessly. Van's eyes looked up to the sky.
"Shall we get started then?" he asked, ignoring Luke's affection. The flame haired boy nodded happily.
"Yeah!"
Luke groaned softly as he woke, his eyes slowly opening. He tossed in bed, no desire to get up.
"Luke?" Guy, his personal servant, asked as he cracked the boy's door open to peek inside. Luke's head sprang up from his pillow.
"Master Van?" he asked breathlessly. Guy laughed softly, obviously hurt. After all, Guy did way more for the young noble than Van ever would.
"I'm afraid not, Luke. Its just Guy." he said, coming to his bedside. "You had another headache." he explained. Luke growled turning his head from the servant.
"Yeah, I know." he muttered. "Why can't Master Van be here?" he asked, worming his way back under the thick blankets.
"Because he has important military issues to attend to, you know that."
"Whatever." Luke sighed.
"Are you planning to fake sick all day?" he asked, a delicate hand placed on his slim hip. Luke's head popped up from under the blankets, starring the servant dead in the eye.
"I am not faking." he said carefully.
"Of course not." Guy agreed, heading for the door. "I'll make a request for Van to come see you." he said, just before exiting the room. Luke huffed, clutching his pillow.
"Stupid Guy...!" he growled, a youthful blush painting his cheeks pink.
Luke threw his pillow over his head as he heard the rough knocking on his door. "Go away!" his yelling muffled by the pillow.
"Its Van." the older man called through the wooden door. Luke instantly threw the pillow aside.
"I-I mean...Come in!" he said, combing his fingers through his hair in an attempt to look decent. Van slipped into the room, silently making his way to Luke's side.
"Guy told me you weren't feeling well, but you appear fine to me." he scrutinized, crossing his arms. A dark blush bloomed on the boy's cheeks.
"B-But I totally am sick!" he argued.
"I'd say you look pretty healthy..." he leaned down so he was eye level with the smaller, younger, male. "Except for your face is pretty red." he laughed as Luke's blush darkened. He wanted to argue, to prove his strength to his Master, but with him so close it was hard to think. Before Luke could ponder further, the Commandant pulled away.
"Luke, I have something important to ask you." he spoke gravely, his eyes meeting the boy's to confirm he'd gotten his complete attention.
"What is it...?" he asked softly, afraid he'd been caught doing something bad again.
"Why do you love me?"
Luke blinked. Why did he love Master Van? That was simple! Way too simple! He loved him because...um, well...because...
"I dunno...you've always been really nice to me. You know..." he explained slowly. "Like how you get me out of boring lessons that usually end with me and Natalia fighting anyways and slipping me an extra helping of desert because what good is a life without sweets? And the way you're always talking to me and not at me." Luke paused, his eyes dropping to his hands that lay in his lap. "You're the only one who doesn't seem to want me to remember things. Its like...everyone wants me to be someone else, but not you!" he once again met Van's eyes, a confidence the Commandant hadn't seen in the boy before. Van sighed once more.
"Does it not bother you that I am a man? Not only that, but that I'm much older than you?" he asked sternly. Luke shook his head, a serge of bravery pushing his blankets aside as he stood tall on his mattress, reaching eye level with his Master.
"Never!" he claimed. Van paused for a moment, absorbing everything Luke had said. The fire headed boy couldn't let this chance go to waste. "I...I love you Master!" he said as he fell forward, pressing his soft lips onto the rough chapped lips of his Master. This was all he needed.
"Are you serious?" Asch asked, the absense of anger making his voice sound almost eerie.
"Unfortunately..." I answered. "He was the only one who didn't want me to be you, because he knew I was just a copy. Or so he believed."
"Replica." Asch said strongly. "I want you to prove to me thats really true!"
"I don't want to fight you...but if thats the only way I can convince you, then I'll do it." I answered him honestly.
"Good." he responded, a long silence following. I stood just as his voice rung through my head once more. "You...You really loved Van?"
"Ridiculous, I know." I said with a hollow, jaded laugh.
"No, its not. I believed in him just as much as you did..." he sighed. "Did you...Did you let him take you?" Asch's voice shook softly as he asked that haunting question. My body tensed as those exact words were repeated to me in Van's voice, like a recording of the night I'd lost my innocence. "Let me take you." his deep voice had commanded.
"Yes." I answered solemly. Asch was quiet, though I could feel the heat of rage boiling in his mind.
"That bastard!" he nearly screamed. "I'll kill him. I'll rip his head off and feed it to the ligers!"
"Asch, calm down!" I yelled. "Whats done is done! I mean, yeah, he needs to be...defeated. But don't get carried away!"
"How can you be so calm after all that he's done to you!"
I bit my lip, tears welling in my eyes. I turned from the group, sure to hide in case they spilled down my cheeks. "I...I just want it to be over. If I think about it too much, I'll loose sight of my goal. I don't want to kill Master Van. If all I thought of was what we'd done, then I'd loose all my resolve to defeat him..." my voice cracked, a tear rolling down my face. I wiped it away quickly, now was no time for such things. Asch seemed to calm down as he listened. "He just couldn't understand that even though I was just a copy of someone else, that I was still my own person. I let him take advantage of me because I was too stupid to realize what was really going on..."
"Replica. We'll meet soon." he said, beginning to break contact. My arms wrapped around me, pleading me to call out to him, to tell him to stay, but I refused. "And Luke...be strong. Van has no right to hold onto you, so don't let him."
My eyes widened as Asch's voice left my head. Asch had...he'd called me by name. The tears filled my eyes once more. I shook, both from happiness and lament. These conflicting emotions were nothing new to me, however.
Asch was right. I rubbed at my eyes one last time and swallowed my sorrow. "Its time to end this." I spoke confidently, rallying up my party once more. "Today, we finish this!"
Author's Notes
Hey there y'all. I know my subscribers are probably disapointed because this isn't related to any of the ongoing stories I need to update, but I'm sorry! When the inspiration strikes, you have to take advantage of it before its gone! I've been sososo busy with school, its ridiculous. But this weekend I had free time and ended up spending most of it playing Tales of the Abyss. After I finished it the idea for this popped into my head and I just had to write it. I promise I'll update my other fanfictions soon, but until then I hope you enjoyed this! I'm thinking of making a story of AschxLuke centric drabbles (I'd probably include other pairings too) that will be updated weekly throughout the summer, but we'll just wait and see how busy I am. As a side note, I am totally in love with the battle theme for Final Fantasy XIII. Lol.
So be sure to leave a review of what you thought and if you might enjoy a drabble story!~