Elizabeth finds out how deep the Luteces' relationship runs
Elizabeth didn't understand what the Luteces did, even after a couple weeks (or something like that. Time was tricky now), around them. She watched them leave to do some sort of research, then they came back an hour later and talked about being gone for days. They were staying in an abandoned hotel. The Luteces were trying to make it comforting for Elizabeth, but she wasn't sure what to think or feel about anything.
They answered questions when asked, and Robert at least was good conversation. Rosalind mostly let him talk and supplied more explanations or corrections when she felt like it. Elizabeth still didn't really know what to make of them. They were responsible for her problems, but they'd been trying to fix them and. . . she largely tried not to think about it. For now she needed them and they seemed at least a little interested in helping her.
They shared a bedroom in the hotel. Elizabeth knew which one it was, because it was the only other one that looked habitable. She didn't know what they did in there. None of them needed to sleep, though Elizabeth still did it out of habit. She knew they holed up for hours and often there were strange noises which she couldn't place.
She went down to the kitchen and poked around a little. The food was being replaced, probably by the Luteces. She wondered why they bothered. She was hungry, but they kept telling her that it was just the idea of hunger. They didn't ever eat, though they did sometimes drink tea to have something to do with their hands.
She made pancakes and hummed to herself. She heard giggling outside the door to the kitchen after a little while, then Robert's voice filtered through. The distance made it hard to tell what he was saying.
When they weren't leaving cryptic clues about the nature of the universe the Luteces were. . . really boring. They talked about science and that was pretty interesting, but they usually lost Elizabeth pretty quickly. When she asked questions they usually couldn't answer them in a way she understood well enough to follow the conversation without more questions. She still wasn't sure how much she could ask and they both seemed awkward about talking to her.
Elizabeth decided that she wasn't going to tolerate that anymore. They were all she had for company, and she was tired of tiptoeing around them. What was done was done, as Rosalind was fond of saying. It was time they all get over it.
Elizabeth pushed her way out the door and saw the Luteces kissing in the hallway. Robert had his hands in Rosalind's hair and she had her hands under his jacket. This was, as far as Elizabeth knew, not a familial kiss. The moans at the very least were over the line.
The Luteces paused when they realized they'd been spotted. They separated quickly, each adjusting their tie and smoothing their hair. Elizabeth stared at them, unsure what to make of any of this.
Robert spoke first. "Ah, well, I suppose that was eventually going to happen."
Rosalind wiped around her lips to ensure there was no stray lipstick marring her features. She gave Elizabeth a nervous glance. "You must understand that some habits are worth maintaining, even after they serve no obvious purpose."
Robert nodded. "Eating makes you happy and does you no harm. This is. . . our concession to our former humanity."
Elizabeth shook her head, her mouth moving without any sound coming out. "You two are. . . related. I mean, you at least pretended. . . you're not. . ."
Robert cleared his throat. Rosalind sighed. "Whatever you're about to ask we are almost certainly doing, Miss Elizabeth."
Robert chuckled. "At least as it pertains to each other. We cannot claim to know exactly how your mind works."
Elizabeth shook her head. "Were you. . . doing this while you were alive?"
The Luteces exchanged glances, frowning softly. "Not usually. We were quite platonic in many universes, and there are many more where we never met. Here, now, as we are there is no one else who could ever understand us." Rosalind spoke rationally, refusing to let emotion color her explanation.
"It's more than that. We love each other in every universe where we've met. It's rare for something like that to be a constant, as you will see. There are so few, and fewer good things." Robert continued, his tone a little softer.
Elizabeth frowned and thought that over. She was glad she hadn't walked in on them. . . doing whatever. A couple times she'd wanted to check in on them and now she knew what kind of bullet she'd dodged. She blushed brightly and his her face in her hands.
Robert moved closer, squeezing her shoulder softly. "We don't ask for your approval or even your understanding."
"You've thought of us one way for a long time. We are challenging that perception. We understand that it will take some time to accept." Rosalind added, touching her other shoulder lightly.
"We only ask that you respect our decision and continue to accept our council, until such time as it is no longer required." Robert finished.
Rosalind looked up, which made Elizabeth pause. She inhaled and smelled smoke. "OH! The pancakes!" She darted back toward the kitchen, leaving the Luteces in her wake. She sighed when she saw the destroyed pancakes, scraping them into the trash bin.
The Luteces strode into the room, surveying the mess she'd made. She wasn't the best cook or the cleanest. Rosalind chuckled a little and Robert shot her a dirty look. Elizabeth frowned at them.
"Since we're the reason your pancakes burned we'd like to make it up to you." Robert explained. Rosalind nodded over his shoulder at Elizabeth.
"You're going to cook for me?" Elizabeth asked. It was kind of amusing to think the biggest scientists from back home were going to be doing grunt work on her behalf.
Rosalind laughed. "It's hardly the first time we've made you breakfast. I imagine your table manners have improved."
Elizabeth frowned, trying to work that out. The Luteces set to work, cleaning things up and fetching things from other universes when they discovered they were out of something. Elizabeth noticed that they always went together, even on the quickest errands. She wondered why, now. Were they tied to each other, or just afraid of getting lost?
It took about half an hour for breakfast to be prepared. Elizabeth had no problem admitting that everything smelled really good. The Luteces gathered the food and swept out to the little lounge/dining area. "Can you set the table, please?" Robert asked over his shoulder.
Elizabeth retrieved plates and silverware, then glanced at the door the Luteces had gone through. She put the tableware down and pulled reality apart. The Sea of Doors was a good place to collect her thoughts. She could feel her connection to all versions of herself in all times. She thought back to when she was a child. Visions of herself with Songbird came first. Elizabeth suppressed a shudder. She tried to think what the Luteces might have looked like fifteen years before their death. Perhaps they had lighter expressions, fewer lines at the corners of their eyes.
*She found what she was looking for, then. As a baby she hadn't taken it in, but as an adult she would remember and understand. She felt strong arms under her and heard a man's voice humming to her. A voxophone played in the background, addressing the man as 'brother'. He stroked her hair, smiling down at her. "Do you think we should try to get her to eat? She's been holding down soda water fairly well so far."
Elizabeth heard the peculiar sound of footsteps made in heeled shoes and then another person was standing over her, another set of hands stroked her forehead. "Perhaps a bit of bread. She's still so warm."
Robert nodded. "She's not shivering anymore. I assume it's not getting worse."
Rosalind pressed her lips together and withdrew. "We can only hope. Damn Comstock and his ridiculous wife. She needs to be seen by a physician."
Robert resumed humming, rocking Elizabeth back and forth.*
Elizabeth stepped out of the memory and back into the kitchen. The Luteces were there, as eerie and still as ever. They were looking at her. Elizabeth steadied herself for whatever they might say next.
"Which do you find more disturbing?" Rosalind asked.
Elizabeth paused, looking down at her hands. "You gave me to him twice."
The Luteces nodded, as though that solved a mystery for them. Robert sighed, his stiff posture relaxing. "In some universes that was indeed the case. Often we were not allowed to see you until you were confined."
"Usually we were tricked into handing you over, but that does not absolve us of our guilt. Nothing ever shall." Rosalind said, her posture remaining formal.
Robert shook his head. "No. We must undo what we did. We can't give up."
Rosalind turned on him, frowning. Her arms crossed across her chest. "Elizabeth's presence here is proof that we'll never undo it. She will remember. So will we. This can only end in one manner, Robert. Are you willing to let it go that far?"
Robert shook his head. "I won't be swayed, sister. This is the right thing to do. It's the only thing to do. I wish you would be a little more helpful in the endeavor."
Rosalind turned away from him, going toward the door. "The moment I touch an oar is the moment in which I concede that the past can be rewritten. That is not something which I believe. I shall not assist you in your errand anymore than I already am."
Elizabeth watched the argument. She thought about the question of redemption. Booker hadn't believed in it until she asked him to sacrifice himself. Comstock had believed in it too much and later glorified the sins he'd washed away. The past was never past. The cycle could never be broken.
In the grand scheme of things she thought she could understand why the Luteces slept together. Knowing the shape of the universe was a heavy burden. She walked past Robert, giving him a curious look.
He sighed and collected the tableware. "Even in moments like this we love each other and are united in our goals. The only difference between the two of us is our expectation for the outcome."
Elizabeth nodded, looking out the door. "I think she's right, but I hope you are."
"That sums us up quite nicely, I think." Both Luteces said it at once.