Summary: Once, it was but a game. Now, it is his reality. / one-shot
Warning: Spoilers.
Characters: Gene
Alternate Titles: Games, Deceptions
Disclaimer: Own it, I do not.
Pretending
Tauria
It was hard, pretending to be Noll. Every case, there he was, helping out to the best of his abilities. Showing her information, pushing her gently in the right direction. He guided her powers in the way his brother could not – would not, so focused on his goal was he. Every time, she looked at him with adoration in her eyes… and every time he was reminded that this was all for his brother; not for him.
He did not begrudge his brother her affection. On the contrary – he thought it was about time. He was not jealous that Noll had found someone who saw that he wasn't as cold and callous as he appeared. Really, he wished them all the luck in the world with their relationship (they would need it, what with his brother's annoying propensity to douse himself so fully in work that he didn't notice the goings-on of the world around him).
In life, pretending to be his brother had been a game. A way of getting out of trouble, a way of tricking people, a way of letting his brother slip off to attend university lectures. It had been fun, he had enjoyed it, even if it did get a bit tiring pretending to be his brother. And now, in his after life, he would continue to deceive people into thinking that he was his brother. It was fitting, in an odd sort of way...
But there were times that he longed to reach out, to say that he was Eugene, not Oliver. Gene, not Noll. Yet, he knew if he were to tell her that, she would want more information. She would want to know what happened to him, and then she would tell his brother. And then Noll would leave. He would go back to England, back where he had grown up. Knowing him, he would end up dropping all forms of contact… "a clean break" as it were.
Gene couldn't – wouldn't – allow that. Despite the rather morbid mission that brought him here, Noll was finally something close to happy. No matter how much he acted like he didn't care; no matter what kind of bad attitude he put up, he knew that his brother cared for these people. He knew that sooner or later, one of them was going to be able to break through the walls he put up. Gene would bet his afterlife it was going to be the little brunette.
And that was why he kept pretending. That was why he smiled and didn't correct her when she called him "Naru". That was why he never said anything more than the facts she had to know, or a comforting word or two.
Sometimes, though, when he was left to his thoughts for too long, Gene was bitter. He had the power to speak up, to say something. He could tell them where he was, could finally rest in peace. (Well, perhaps. It was possible that he would continue to linger even after his body was found. That all depended on how strong his desire was to keep helping his brother and the odd group of employees he had collected.) He had the power to end his brother's search, to let him find his own peace in putting his body to rest. Yet, Gene knew that it would not make him happy.
So he kept pretending, no matter how much it hurt.
Tauria: Yay! I finally wrote something about Gene! Even if it is kind of sad.
Anyway, since I continue to come up with one-shot ideas (usually in the midst of attempting to write my multi-chapter Ghost Hunt story) I decided to make it easier and start a collection for them.
I hope you enjoyed!