Voice

Summary: "We thought that, perhaps Lucciola would want you to hear those words. Even if he was not able to say them to you in person."

Warnings: Sadness, everything is sad.

Notes: AU, VERY AU. This takes place after the "friends" story in the Fam art book,(A fan translation of that can be read at the Over the Sky Last Exile fan page. I am warning you though it is extremely terrible.) but things also happened differently there because Alex is alive, and it was just really, really terrible. I just haven't worked out how different it went though.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Dio had been feeling more anxious as his release from the hospital he had been staying in grew closer. The doctors were confident he would not have a relapse, but no one was even sure how he had managed come out of the fractured state he'd been in. He was constantly being assured that what had happened was not his fault. That no one blamed him. He knew that, and he understood, he really did. Even knowing that it was still so hard not to feel guilty about everything. He was excited to leave, but at the same time it frightened him now.

He'd gotten a lot of visitors while he stayed at the hospital. Now that Claus, Lavie and Alvis had gone back to the home world Sophia, usually with Alex, and Vincent in tow was his most frequent visitor. So he wasn't really surprised to find Sophia and Alex there when he woke from an afternoon nap, but the way they were both acting had him worried. Sophia kept quietly fussing over both of them, waiting for something. Alex clearly agitated stared fixedly at a small object he held.

Dio wasn't sure he wanted to know what was going to on, but anything was better than the continued awkward near silence. "If.. If you changed your mind about me staying on the Silvana after I get out of the hospital, that's ok. I understand since we aren't really sure how safe I am even with what the doctors are saying…" Dio was interrupted as Alex held the small device out to him. Sophia was biting her thumb through her glove. Dio recognized it. It was an audio recorder. It had been attached to a cord, like a pendant. Alex still wouldn't look at him, and before Dio could ask anything Alex pushed one of the buttons.

"I am.. Lord Dio's friend."

Dio had forgotten what he had been going to say. The only sound he could make was a quiet shrill whine. It was Lucciola's voice, it could not possibly be anything else, it took him a few moments to register just what had been said. Hands trembling he carefully took the recorder from Alex, and played it again, and again. His vision blurred from the tears, and he was barely able to catch his breath when the sobbing started. When Sophia sat beside him, trying to comfort him all he could do was cling to her. His grief-stricken cries could probably be heard throughout the hospital, but if anyone came to investigate the noise he never noticed. For that time there was almost nothing in the world but Lucciola's voice and words. "I am.. Lord Dio's friend."

"Those were his last words, just before she killed him." Alex said quietly, after Dio had calmed enough to listen. When Dio looked at him he was staring at the wall.

"You saw?" Dio managed to ask his voice cracking. Sophia was still holding him, gently stroking his hair. He couldn't help but think that this was what an older sister should be like.

"She showed me. She wanted to show you when she got you back, she thought it was something you would laugh about together." The last few words were laden with bitter disgust. Then Alex sagged a little, as if he were just exhausted after the anxiety from before had passed. "When Ifound out you didn't know, I … Reciuse did most of the work after I told him about it."

Dio stared."Why? Why do all this for me. I thought you didn't even like me."

"I don't." Alex replied bluntly resting his head on the back of the chair staring up at the ceiling.

"We thought that, perhaps Lucciola would want you to hear those words. Even if he was not able to say them to you in person." Sophia said smiling sadly, she looked as if she'd been crying too. "When Reciuse told us it might be possible to make that for you, we decided to try. Not just for you. We owe him that at least, after everything he did."

Dio slipped the cord over his head, still carefully holding the recorder. "Thank you… I don't know what else to say."

"That's all right." Sophia still smiling at Dio. "Everyone is waiting for you to come back to the ship. And… This was really Alex's idea." Alex frowned, but still stared at the ceiling. "You havetime to think about it, so you don't have to answer right away," Sophia continued "but Tatiana has been made captain of her own ship, and we want to give her something fit for her abilities, and adapted to suit environments on the home world. I want to ask you to help with that, and perhaps when it's finished you could make sure it gets to her safely?"

"You would let me do something like that even after?!"

Sophia frowned taking his hands. "Dio, that wasn't.."

"I know, I know. But it's so hard to make those feelings go away."

"I don't care how you feel. I still blame your sister."

"Alex." Sophia glared as she scolded him.

Dio couldn't help but smile a little. "It's ok. I know how all of you feel, and now I think I understand how Lucciola felt a little better." He said holding the recorder. "I don't know if I'll ever stop feeling the way I do about it, but if I'm going to I have to do that myself." He smiled at Sophia. "Do you have any plans for Tatiana's ship? I want to see them right away. Oh! And maps too, an entire new world to explore. This is so exciting I can't wait!"

"I can have copies brought to you tomorrow." Sophia said smiling, clearly relived by Dio's enthusiasm. They talked about the plans for quite some time before Sophia and Alex had to leave.

Even hours after they left Dio stared at the ceiling of his room, his excitement at the chance to go to the home world keeping him wide awake. He gently held the recorder, and pushed the play button.

"I am.. Lord Dio's friend."

"Thank you, Lucciola, I'm sorry. I was so angry and scared, I didn't understand your feelings back then. You did all of that just for me, didn't you? I promise I won't waste that." Dio placed his hands behind his head. "I'm going to go see everything, and do everything I can! A whole new sky to explore! You'll be there too, right?"

"I am.. Lord Dio's friend."

More Notes: This was inspired by the scene in Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam, where Dio talks about not being able to ask Lucciola how he felt anymore.