Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.
The embers glowed a dull red as the fire slowly burned itself out, the darkness encroaching with each passing moment no fuel was added to the flame. For a long while it had been the sole worry of the person that had stood guard for the first couple hours of the night, though as usual, he had been neglectful in his job. It wouldn't be until it was almost completely dark that, his eyes straining to try to make out the shapes that shifted in the forest around them, he would finally remember that the fire was behind him. Of course, he would be quick to build it back up to a cheerful crackle, just in time for the next member of the group to take over for him. There would be few to no words spoken between them, nothing to let on that he had almost let their only source of light and heat die into non-existence, but she still knew.
Tear had been watching Luke take first watch for months now, so much so that, although it was a bit sad, she could predict his exact movements to the minute of it happening.
Just like Jade, Tear had spent most of her time training, teaching herself how to live off of very little sleep- on the battlefield, there was no guarantees of a good night's rest. However, unlike the Colonel, who had quickly claimed the unwanted early morning watch shift as his own, along with the responsibility of building up the fire so that it was hot enough to cook a quick breakfast over, she had always preferred the deep darkness of the night, when the fonon of Shadow, the one she had first gained control over, was most abundant.
There was something soothing about the stillness the night brought, something that almost reminded her of the lullabies Van use to sing to her when she was a child. Had it been up to her, she would have gladly taken both the first and second watches, just to spend those few hours alone in peace. As it was though, Luke had claimed the easiest of the watches, at first out of laziness, then later to help with the nightmares that had plagues him shortly after Akzeriuth. Although they were not rare, the extended period of consciousness seemed to help ensure they remained gone, and so he had kept his spot.
And all this time she has remained awake with him, watching over him just as he was watching over them. But tonight's wakefulness was different. Tonight, her mind was focused on one thing: him.
Normally, during the hours that Luke had first watch, her mind was racing with the problems they had fixed, those that were still troubling them, and the ones that might or might not appear in the future for their band of misfits. They seemed to almost be made of trouble fonons, if those had existed, that drew others towards them without warning, making messes everywhere they went. Occasionally, during these times of thinking, she would come up with an idea or half a plan to fix the worries that followed them, some of which had helped to cure the world's wounds a little bit more in the past. However, tonight, her thoughts were in nothing more than one large jumble, thoughts and phrases blending together into an incoherent fontech wreck that she knew would take more than a fonmachine technician to put back together. She was worried, anxious, wound up, and couldn't even sleep if she wanted too. She had been like this for the past three days, and she knew exactly why.
Everything, from the pounding of her heart to the frazzled state of her mind that barely allowed her to think straight, was all because of what Luke had said on Nam Cobanda Isle.
When the Antlion man had asked the simple question of who was most important to Luke, he could have chosen anyone in their group, from Jade, who was clearly the strongest, to Guy, who had spent every day since his creation raising him. He could have chosen Anise who, while a formidable opponent, was still the youngest, and so the weakest, or Natalia, who had been his lifelong childhood friend, as well as his fiancé for the past seven years. He probably eve could have chosen Mieu, for without the adorable creature, their explorations of the many caves and dungeons they had found themselves in would have been severely limited.
He could have chosen any of them. But with a shrug and not a single moment's thought, he had named her as his most cherished team member.
Raising herself so that she was sitting upright, Tear watched as Luke slowly swung his head from side to side, scanning the forest that surrounded them. In a minute, she knew for a fact that he would turn her way, his eyes easily picking her silhouette out from the dim glow of the fire behind her, and that he would question her reason for still being awake. If she wanted, she could avoid his inquires all together by lying back down, feigning sleep until it was her turn to take watch. Or she could lie to him, pretending a cluttered mind that thought of everything but him, an excuse that he would nod at, give a few words of reassurance, and then let go, forgetting by the next day that they had ever spoken.
Or she could speak her mind and get some real answers for once.
"It's not your turn yet, Tear." He had turned earlier then she had expected, his head cocked with a small smile as he looked at her. Motioning towards her bedroll, he gave a little reassuring nod. "I'll wake you when it is. You should go back to sleep, if you can."
"I hadn't fallen asleep yet." His eyebrow raised at her confession, though Luke didn't question her, not like he would have done once. Now he just nodded and reached for a log from the pile next to him, tossing it onto the fire and building it up until the clearing was lit, enough light for them to easily see each other without straining their eyes. Walking over to join her on her side of the fire, Luke kept his voice low as he spoke, eyes glancing at the others to make sure he hadn't disturbed them.
"Want to talk about it?" It was an innocent question, one that could have an equally innocent answer, if she wanted. She could just shrug, just shake her head and lay back down, and he would accept it.
They all had things on their minds, things they didn't want to share between the other members of their party, and Luke knew his, perhaps almost better than anyone else. He wouldn't pry, not if she didn't give him the in he was asking for.
"Did you mean what you said, back on the island?"
She didn't need to explain- the flush that covered his cheeks, his hand rising to rub at the back of his head, the slight shifting of his weight as he looked away, all of it told her that he knew. He knew what she was asking, what answers she wanted- was she truly his most cherished friend?
Watching him stand there, his mouth flailing like a fish, Tear almost took back her question, almost let him off the hook; it was clear by his inability to meet her gaze that he was having trouble finding the words. But as she was about to speak, as she was about to let him know that it was ok, that he should forget it, he finally sighed and smiled, that small, almost imperceptible smile he always wore when he was mentally berating himself.
"Well, yeah," Luke finally said, his smile widening into something real, something meant to be shared instead of hidden by his bangs and a turned away face. "Yeah, I think I did. You're one of my best friends, Tear."
Her own face flushing at his words, Tear glanced down, her own smile soft at his answer. Shaking her head, she glanced up and motioned for him to come closer, rising to her feet to meet him as he did.
"Luke," Tear said softly, careful not to be loud enough to wake the others, "you're an idiot."
Leaning forward, she placed a quick kiss against his cheek before gathering together her weapons, biting back a laugh at the gaping look on his face. Turning away, the shadows and her hair luckily hiding what little color had covered her cheeks at her actions, Tear stretched as she walked away, her staff in one hand and her bag in the other.
"I'm going to patrol the perimeter," Tear called softly back, glancing over her shoulder to see Luke still standing there, watching after her, his face blank as he tried to process what had happened. "I'll be back in time for my watch."
When Luke didn't respond, Tear just continued on, humming softly to herself as she left, mulling over Luke's words as she made her rounds, clearing out the weak forest monsters that got too close to the camp. Leaving the forest safe for the night when she returned, to a fire just starting to rebuild, to a Luke who flushed redder then his hair when he saw her, and a mumbled good night as he hurried to his own bedroll, shifting Mieu into a comfortable positon so they could sleep.
Leaving her to her watch as she continued to go over the words he had said, how he had begged for her return, how he had promised anything to have her back after the Antlion man had taken her. How he had claimed her as his most precious, his most cherished companion, and even if he was an idiot and hadn't realized just what she was asking, he had responded just the same.
Maybe he felt the same way, based off of what he said, though she couldn't yet be quite sure. Maybe one day she would be.