Title: Aftermath
Character/Pairing: Leanne, Zephyr, Vashryon
A/N: Some of these snippets take place during/before the game, but most take place after.
Summary: They carved this home themselves.
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1. Noise
It was quiet outside. Leanne was used to constant noise, to the clockwork groans and creaks of Basel's gears. Out here, only the wind whistling through the grass gave her a sense of sound. In the distance, she could hear a soft chirping, a low warble—bugs? birds? She could recognize a few, but the rest were foreign.
She wasn't sure if she liked this silence.
"Wait up," she called to the others, running to catch up to them. If there wasn't any sound out here, she'd have to make some then.
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2. Open
The sky didn't end. Zephyr stared at it for a while, unable to understand. The sky didn't end. Neither did the land, he was sure. They were on their longest trek out of Basel so far, an attempt to find the edge of the world.
Three days later, they still hadn't hit one. Maybe they would never. In this world, unbounded by Basel's walls, what stopped it from going on forever?
Zephyr shivered. He'd never admit it, but the thought frightened him.
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3. Stars
"Wow," Leanne gasped, staring up at the stars. "There are so many!"
"What a sight," Vashryon added, smiling.
"What are they? I mean, at home, you don't really see them much so I never thought about it...but what are they really?"
Vashryon hummed, in thought. "Maybe jewels?"
Zephyr rolled his eyes. "It's always money with you."
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4. Weight
The gun was heavy. Heavier than she expected, after watching Vashryon and Zephry run through the arena, practically flying through the air.
"Be careful of the recoil," Vashryon reminded.
"Ok."
"And remember to turn off the safety."
"I know!" Leanne snapped back, annoyed.
She fumbled with the cold metal, trying to remember all she learned an hour ago. Her fingers slipped along the handle, holding the grip uncomfortably. With a sigh, Zephyr silently helped her position her hands better.
"Th-thanks," she stuttered, finally holding it up and taking aim at the target. The gun was so heavy. The weight of their lives was in this—if, when she succeeded, she'd have to protect them with it.
She'd have to kill with it.
With shaky hands, Leanne pulled the trigger.
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5. Flower
"Oh wow, there are so many here," Leanne chirped excitedly, picking flowers in the meadow.
"You're happy," Zephyr commented.
"Well, yeah, we don't even have some of these at home." Leanne held up the bunch she had picked, showing them to Zephyr. "Aren't they pretty?"
"I guess." Zephyr shrugged, not really interested.
Vashryon shook his head. He was holding a few flowers himself—it would help with the ladies, he was sure. "No taste with that one."
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6. Dark
His fingers were clumsier than she expected. Leanne couldn't repress the chuckle this time as he accidentally tickled her sides.
Zephyr gave an annoyed grunt, moving his fingers along her abdomen, and she laughed harder. His hands rushed impatiently as he tried to find just where to touch her.
"I thought you were good in the dark," Leanne teased.
She couldn't see his expression—unlike him, she could barely see in the dark—but she knew he was glaring at her, embarrassed. "Leanne."
Laughing, she stroked his back, her fingers leaving a feathery trail down his spine. He gasped, and she gave him a seductive smile. "Here, let me show you how."
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7. Happy
"Are you happy now?" Leanne asked. Startled, Rowen stopped walking.
"I didn't think I'd see you again," Rowen said, looking back at the basillica as though to make sure of where they were.
"Me neither." Leanne averted her eyes, considering it all. "I just...wanted to check something."
"I see." Rowen mused her question. Happy. He rubbed his left hand, still feeling the emptiness from where the ring used to sit.
Still feeling the emptiness of where the prelate used to be.
But that was the past. There was no reclaiming that and Frieda, she'd never want that. He smiled at her, feeling a little lighter. "Happier."
Leanne smiled back. "I think that's all anyone could be."
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8. Photograph
"Can we have just one good photo?" Leanne complained, staring at the picture in her hand.
"Can I go now?" Zephyr grumbled, already inching away. Vashryon didn't say anything but his legs were tense, ready to run.
Looking up, she glared at them. "You didn't even smile! Not once!" Turning her head, she snapped at the other one, "And you, stop looking like you want to have sex with the camera."
"How else are the ladies—"
"Now, we're doing this again, until you get it right." Leanne snarled. The two men stared at each other, nodding in agreement, and then broke into a run.
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9. Extension
Their lives came on an extension. Zephyr should have died from a bullet. Vashryon from a monster.
And Leanne? She should have died twice over, once from her rock and the second from her fall. Somehow, by some miracle, she had bought herself a leave of stay.
"You can't say you're happy with this!" Zephyr yelled, their one chance to get her rock back dead.
And he was right, she wasn't happy. It would be a lie otherwise. But she dodged death's scythe twice.
It wasn't a surprise death had finally come to collect.
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10. Alcohol
"Still don't like the taste?" Leanne asked as Zephyr spat out the drink. He grimaced.
"Hey, that was expensive!" Vashryon complained, taking the rest of Zephyr's glass. "At least swallow it down."
"How can you drink that?" Zephyr asked, cringing. The taste lingered, and he couldn't drown it in water.
"Well, I should have known better than to expect a child to understand." Vashryon took another gulp, sighing happily. "Ah, that's the good stuff."
Zephyr frowned, ready to snap back when he turned green and ducked his head.
"Hey, don't throw it up!"
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11. Wounds
"Argh, you are being a baby," Leanne snapped, smacking Vashryon's arm away as she tried to disinfect his wounds.
"I can do it myself," Vashryon grumbled, not liking it in the least. "I taught you!"
"Yeah, and you can't reach this spot properly!" Leanne glared at him. "Just let me do it."
"I can handle it, I'm not an old man."
"If you don't let me do this, you won't live to be one."
"At least be gentler about it. You're not even a hot nurse."
"I'm being very gentle," she said as she pressed hard with the cotton gauze. "Now what was that about a nurse?"
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12. Tease
"Come on, Zephyr," Leanne said, walking past him. Her hands brushed his and when he pulled back, surprised, she gave him an innocent look. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
And really, it should have been nothing. They'd touched like this before, a shoulder bump before battle, a hand off of weapons and magazines during prep time. He was used to that much.
But recently, Leanne had started to amp it up. And not just quick brushes, but slow, lingering ones. She'd smile brightly whenever he stared at her, as though she had no idea what she was doing.
But she knew. He was sure of it. She knew exactly how his skin burned when she did that and he wasn't sure what to make of it.
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13. Revenge
It was supposed to be revenge. Petty, maybe. Unnoticeable, perhaps. But he had had enough and it was time he had revenge.
So, though it took him days to be able to do it, he managed to brush his arm against hers once. Slowly. His fingers even managed to clutch hers briefly before he let go.
Maybe she wouldn't like it as much when she was on the receiving end.
"Oh," she gasped in surprise and he smirked. Finally, she'd stop after this.
"Oh," she repeated, her expression changing, looking for all the world like a cat that caught the canary.
His smirk dropped and Zephyr tried to calculate just how quickly he could escape the room.
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14. Anniversary
They left flowers every year in his stead, a reminder of the dead.
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15. Smashed
"Vashryon," Leanne grunted, hoisting up the older man. "I hate you."
"Annndddddd I luuuvvvvv you," Vashryon slurred, leaning heavily on her. He could barely walk and they still had two more levels to go. She should have known better than to go to the Chitchat Noir with him.
"Next time, we're bringing Zephyr. I want to get smashed too, sometimes."
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16. Red
"It's been what, five years now?" Vashryon mused, leaning against the rails.
"Probably," Zephyr said, not really wanting to calculate how long they've lived together. Leanne waved to the two from the shop, indicating she was almost done.
"Man, time flies." Vashryon shook his head. "You're all growing up and Daddy's going to be so lonely."
"Good thing you have no kids."
"That hurts!" Vashryon bemoaned, before seriously asking, "Are you hands still red?"
Zephyr stared at them. "I hope not."
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17. Quiet
They were asleep on the couch, their legs tangled up as they lay on opposite sides. Vashyron shook his head, amused at the sight.
"Really, you two, you didn't have to wait up for Daddy," he muttered. Especially since that meant that he had nowhere to sleep right now. "Now what's Daddy to do?"
It was strange, really, to realize how filled his little home had become. To have a professor and two kids filling his rooms, to have people to come back to.
He didn't think he'd have a family again, not this soon.
It was nice to have someone, someplace to come back to.