AN/Disclaimer: I put this here even though it does nothing because it makes me feel better. Skip it if you want to. You all know what these things usually say. I wish I did own Legend, but I wouldn't be writing this disclaimer if I did.
So... My first fanfic. Probably sucks. I did it for a school assignment though (long story), so it's probably not an F.
Summary: Day and Eden make their way back to Batalla Sector, and Day can't quite help but sense there's something, or someone, he's missing. He's just not sure if he dare ask. (Champion Alternate Ending.) One shot.
The wire ring has long since been too tight for my finger, often leaving a red scratch mark if I try to take it off. Today was no different. Except this time, I actually succeeded.
I catch Eden looking at it, no, staring at it, as I place it on the table between us, which subtly vibrates in time with the moving train.
"What?" It was meant to be a simple question; it came out more as a harsh demand.
Immediately, I snap my mouth shut. It's been a long time since I've spoken to my little brother like that, and I'm about to apologize when Eden speaks.
"I just thought...you know, you've kept it on this long; I thought you'd keep it on until we're finished here in Los Angeles."
There's something about the way he says Los Angeles that makes me wonder. It's not just the fact that we both lived here, about ten years ago, during the war between the Colonies and the Republic. I don't know why he says it the way he does, but I don't ask. A year into living in Antarctica, I had given up on regaining my memories through therapy, in hopes of creating new ones. I had enough recollection of my days as a criminal as it was. I let the remnants of my old memories go a long time ago.
"We might be staying here a while," I remind him gently. "Especially since you're going to get that job position."
Eden doesn't reply, but my thinly veiled encouragement makes him smile.
We sit in silence for a while, before Eden reaches over to take the ring, which has shifted slightly towards him thanks to the moving of the train. He examines it a moment, fiddling with it, before handing it back to me. "Fixed it. It should fit now."
This time, I'm the one who doesn't respond. I don't even move; I just stare at the wire ring balanced in the palm of my hand. There really isn't any point in saying anything. Maybe a thank you aloud would be nice, but Eden knows me well enough to know when I'm saying it silently.
Finally, I just shake my head, letting the ring drop onto the floor and roll away. Like a "Thanks, but no thanks" gesture.
Eden fills the silence that would have followed, starting to describe the new invention he's planning to start. I'm only half-listening, and I think he knows that, but he continues anyway. He's hoping I won't get into one of my silent moods today; that much I know. Meanwhile, I decide to focus on one of the screens on the train wall, the one scrolling through various news headlines. There's the one about Eden and me coming to the Batalla sector in Los Angeles, one about a June Iparis making various changes to the LA military squadrons...
The news headlines get old after they cycle through a few times, so I start to listen to what Eden is saying.
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Eden has a way with words. When we were younger, only I would have had the role of eloquent speaker, but since we moved to Ross City, he's become just as expressive in words as in diagrams. By the time the train pulls into the station, I'm fully listening to him, smiling too, at least a little bit. Even interjecting into his continuous, animated explanations from time to time. He's moved on to describing another invention now, outlining the diagram of gears in the air as we step off the train into the cool night air.
The street was empty when we set foot on it. For the most part, it still is.
I barely notice the woman that passes us, despite her military uniform, until she straightens, quickening her pace as she stalks past us. I cast her a look, but she's already moved on down the street.
Eden falters in his chatter a moment, noticing my distraction, and I take the chance, making sure the woman is out of earshot. "Did she seem familiar to you?"
Eden glances over his shoulder, as the woman's footsteps fade quickly behind us. "A bit. Why?"
Suddenly finding no reason to explain why I had asked, I shrug. "No idea."
Perhaps I'd seen her on the news before, or I had just thought I'd seen her before. Or maybe I'd even seen a younger version of her, when I used to live here in my teens. Whatever the case, it didn't seem like anything worth pursuing.
"Did she seem familiar to you?"
I stop, my eyes searching Eden's face for a second. There's something I'm missing here, something he's not saying, but whatever it is, he's either refusing to tell, or doesn't know how to.
I hesitate one last moment before continuing to walk, instinctively reaching to rub the spot where the paperclip ring used to be against my finger. "No. I was just asking."