Alright well, this was my first Abyss fanfic that I wrote quite a while ago. I initially intended this to be humorous, but it started getting a little deeper than that...I realize there's many things in the fic that I could probably change, and I've already received quite a bit of feedback on it. But of course, comments and criticism are appreciated :) (though as I have stated, it's been a while since I wrote this so please keep that in mind when reviewing ;))

"You know, I still can't figure out what you see in her."

The party was resting for the night at Belkend, after Jade received the forbidden text that Ion had given him via Asch. Natalia was apparently trying to cook some spaghetti and was in a fit about why apples weren't a perfectly suitable substitute for tomatoes. The rest of the group was trying to reason with her while the only two redheads present were standing at the opposite end of the room.

"Humph. I wouldn't expect dreck like you to understand anyway," mocked the one with long hair.

Luke wasn't about to let him off like that without a protest. "Just because I'm a replica doesn't mean I don't know when a chick is actually good looking!"

"Oh? And what exactly would you consider 'good looking?' Not that your opinion actually matters," Asch scoffed.

"Are you blind? Tear is so much--" Luke stopped himself before he realized what he was saying. "…Dammit…" he cursed under his breath.

The God-General looked at him, raising an eyebrow at his sudden revelation. Luke could have sworn he saw a slight smirk somewhere.

"…Oh, I get it. As long as it's nice to look at, that's good enough for you, right? Figures." He turned around, apparently not interested in what else his replica had to say.

"W-what the hell do you know?!" Luke tried retorting. Though he wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to start defending his preferences in the opposite sex - much less reveal more about who he was actually interested in.

Not like I didn't just give it away…oh well, I've gone this far already… "Well it's definitely not b-because she's a lot prettier…" he mumbled.

Asch gave a deep sigh, pondering whether or not he should give his mirror copy a bloody nose right about now. As hard as it was, he decided not to cause a scene. "Well unlike some people, I don't like women just because of the way they look. Now shut up and get out of my sight." He started walking away.

"And you're saying I do?!" Now Luke wasn't about to slip up the chance to show Asch that he wasn't exactly much smarter than him, even if he has lived for only seven years. "Everyone keeps talking about how "pretty" Natalia is, how "cute" she looks in her dresses. And uhh, I'm sorry but (well actually, he wasn't) the way she looks could never save the fact that she's still dead annoying."

That wasn't exactly music to Asch's ears. He turned around and grabbed Luke's collar, his face only inches away from the other. "Now listen here, dreck. You wouldn't have any idea about why or how I feel about her the way I do because you weren't even there during those past ten years! You say "Tear" or whatever you call that Oracle Knight is "better?" You still haven't exactly explained why you apparently have your eyes on her, have you? You've only met her like, what, not even a year ago and you're already drooling over her! Only more proof that dreck like you don't ever know what you're talking about!"

Luke was fuming and blushing at the same time. He didn't care at this point who heard him, he wasn't about to lose a verbal (and potentially physical) argument with Asch, even if the topic was rather petty to begin with. He tried looking at him in the eye, though all he found himself doing was stare at the floor, his face beet red the entire time. He loosened a little of Asch's grip on him before he went on.

"It's because…she's strong…n-not just because she's a soldier but she knows how to keep going even when she knows her own brother is the one behind this whole mess…even though I messed up a lot in the past, she knows how to give people second chances…and so far s-she's kept her promise to me that she would watch me and make sure I don't make a mistake again…" He suddenly found himself being more humble. "I-I don't know what she thinks of me, b-but I can tell she's a great person, and she deserves a lot more credit than she gives herself for…she's always thinking about others before herself and doesn't show her true feelings because she doesn't want anyone worrying about her…and because of all that, I know I'm not even half the man she deserves…" When he couldn't find anything else to say, he forgot what the argument was even about.

Asch just looked at him and didn't say anything for several seconds. He let him go, a bit more gracefully than Luke expected. "…I guess you're not as immature as you seem."

Luke was startled. "W-what?"

Asch turned away, obviously not wanting to clarify what he meant. "Whatever, I'm going to bed." He started towards one of the bedrooms' doors and placed his hand on the doorknob. Before turning it, he paused.

"Hey, dreck…"

"Uh, yeah?"

"If you really care about her…it's not exactly wrong to let her know how you feel. Because…." He stared back at where Natalia was. "…there are no guarantees in this world." And he walked in the room and shut the door behind him.

Luke just stood there, taking in Asch's last words. Although Asch was usually the last person he could ever cooperate with, he somehow started feeling a bit better after their little "debate." He looked over at Tear, trying not to make it too obvious. The melodist was busy helping Mieu to some dinner.

Maybe one day… he thought. And with that, he headed towards his own room.

--

"Well, I guess that means Asch won't be having any dinner then…" Natalia expressed with regret after seeing him leave.

Tear sighed, wondering if that was maybe for the best, given Natalia's reputation with food. Still, she couldn't help but be curious.

"I wonder what all that was about though…?" Tear asked to herself as she saw Luke go in his room. Although Luke and Asch were pretty loud at the time, she couldn't decipher the exact words that were exchanged because of all the other chatter going on.

"Oh, you know how they are. They always find something to fight about." As Natalia was finishing the last touches on her spaghetti (or rather, what it seemed to look like), she caught Jade grinning as he flipped over the pages of the forbidden text. "Well! You certainly look like you know something, Colonel!" the princess accused with her arms crossed.

Jade looked up. "Me? Oh, even if I did know what they were talking about, I can assure you that it doesn't involve either of the two of you." And he went back to the book he was holding, smiling as usual.