AT LAST, it updates. gasping golliwags, i know.
Mew's Silver Heartlock- i know whacha mean about the alerts, its so annoying (weepweep) thank you very much for the review, made me grin that you could semi-guess what was going on in my head. indeed, angst shall come about soon.
Ilyric- sweetness, mglad you liked this so far!
calmxebeforexthexstorm- thank you for the review, i'm glad you enjoyed it so far (smile smile) i appreciate it.
ONWARD 8D
ololololol
Luke pushed the large double doors open tiredly, entering the mansion that he called home. The walls were a creamy white, tall and covered in pictures and family heirlooms from the beginning of their family tree. A long red carpet ran from the door to a large polished staircase, keeping the polished black and white speckled floor clean. Luke glanced around the room and sighed. Home...
"Welcome home master Luke." a maid said, who had been standing at the door.
The redhead glanced at her, but said nothing in return, simply walked forward. He just wanted to sleep right now. However, the maid's voice caught him, light and nervous. She must be new here, Luke thought boredly. Turning he looked at her expectantly.
"U-Um...your father is waiting to see you i-in his office." she said nervously.
Luke's eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "Thanks" he said, turning and leaving the woman to her own devices.
Ascending the great stair case, Luke bit at his lip. Something told him this wouldn't end well. Memories of visiting his father's office had rarely ended in his favor, and it was a miracle he was still even allowed home. The memory of the last visit here made him cringe, and he almost backed down. His brother had come home last night, he knew that. There had also been a ball of some sort that he had refused to go to, he remembered that as well. It had been pure luck that he hadn't had to run away to avoid said occasion.
From the stair case was a long hall, the private rooms for the most part. From every wall hung a portrait of people from long ago, long titles for all. As a child, Luke used to enjoy being told the tales behind these people, but now they simply mocked him. He made his way slowly down the hall, taking his time to admire every last speck of his home. Mostly, he was avoiding his father. Nothing abnormal.
At last he reached the dark brown door that marked his father's office, the heavy door being the nightmare and butt of many a game and joke when he was younger. He stopped in front of the heavy door, gulping. He didn't want to go in there...after a moment of despairing glances at the exits, Luke finally caved in any pushed open the door. Inside was a desk, an enormous window that stretched from floor to ceiling framing it from behind, two pale white curtains tied back to allow sunlight to flow through the emerald glass. Book cases lined the walls where desks and computers did not, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say it was a library.
Behind the desk sat his father, imposing as ever, bent over a document and busily writing away with a pen. Luke entered, and waited for the man to notice him. The moment the pen left the papers, the man looked up, serious as always. He gestured to a chair that sat before the desk. The redhead walked to the chair, taking a seat and waiting for his father to speak. He didn't wait long.
"Luke, last night your brother returned from over seas." he began, leaning back and looking his son in the eye. "After months, he has returned. Do you know what this means?"
Luke stayed quiet, his head bowed. "It means that he has forgiven the stain you left on our family's name. He has come back, and I think its high time we had a talk about what we expect from you." he plowed on, eyes narrowed.
To this, Luke looked up and glared. "Basically, you're telling me what to do if I don't want to be disowned. We had this talk, didn't we?" he snapped.
He was surprised he wasn't slapped for mouthing off, but what came from Fabre's mouth next made Luke feel like he had been kicked in the gut. "You're correct. Theres only so much I will allow you to do that will shame our family any longer. Your last stunt almost cost us big. If it wasn't for your brother, you'd be out on the streets and we'd probably be broke." the man said, voice cold enough to freeze coffee.
Luke bit his lip, paling. He knew it was true. His father shuffled some papers. "Lets get started then." he said.
"So, any souvenirs from America?"
Asch stopped, turning and blinking before letting his face melt into a scowl. "So you decided to actually show up today. I half feared you'd be at your precious baby sitters'."
Luke winced, pushing off from the wall before looking away in a small act of shame. He crossed his arms. "How was your trip?"
Humoring the other redhead for a moment, Asch sighed heavily. "What do you even care?"
"I don't." Luke conceded, shrugging absently.
Narrowing his eyes, the older sibling glanced Luke over. Something wasn't quite right about his obnoxious little brother. He seemed...different. Naturally, being away for months at a time, it was normal for a person to change after such a dramatic event, but something really was off. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but his intuition was rarely wrong. Luke shifted under to intense and knowing gaze, not meeting Asch's eyes.
"What?" he muttered, annoyed tone hiding the nervousness that was under his skin.
Asch shook his head slowly. "Nothing." he said.
The younger redhead's eyes darkened, and he frowned. This was not lost on Asch, who simply turned away and began to walk off. A hand reached out to catch his own, and it was quickly slapped away, leaving it to hang in the air, stunned as Asch walked away at a steady pace.
The cubicals never looked so comfortable before now to Gai. he looked at his untouched space in the office, feeling cool in the normally stuffy work place. He eyed it, happy to be back, if only for a day. He was called in, and he couldn't have been happier. Sinking into the not-stuffed-enough chair, he heaved a sigh, shifting about before reaching down to turn on the computer. It started with a sharp hum, that was lost amongst the other humming computers.
In the background, the sound of a chair squeaking caught Gai's attention, and he blinked, turning to see a pair of bright green eyes watching him, a head peeking over the cubical behind him. When he turned to see this, Gai almost fell out of his chair, suppressing a shriek. Blinking quickly, he exhaled, smiling weakly.
"H-Hey there Luke. You scared me..." he mumbled.
The redhead waved a hand, smiling a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear me."
Somehow that only made a chill go through Gai's body. Laughing a little, if only to attempt to fight off the awkwardness, he turned a bit more. "Like a ninja, huh?"
"Yup."
The looked at each other, and for a long slow moment, time had the speed of cold syrup, awkwardness covering them as they looked at each other, unable to look away. When finally time did return to normal speed, they felt almost as dazed as they had last night. Gai was the first to look away, clearing his throat. A fleeting look of sadness covered Luke's face, but it was gone before Gai could do a double take. Never the less, it had been there, and he had seen it.
"S-So, why did you come here?" the blond asked turning back to his computer and trying to focus on the program he was supposed to make.
The redhead shrugged, watching his babysitter with an unwavering look that Gai could feel. "I wanted to talk to you. Cuz, if I don't, I might not get to again."
Pausing, Gai turned around, frowning a little at the quiet way Luke had spoken in. "What makes you think that?"
"From past experience, you could say." Luke replied, not meeting the other's gaze. Gai nodded slowly, and Luke took it as a green light to talk. Sucking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment before looking the blond in the eye, serious, which was shocking to him.
"Listen, about last night...I...didn't exactly mean to do that." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Gai nodded slowly. "Its...okay. No harm done."
Luke glanced away, before smiling weakly, "Heheh...thats good."
Things slowed again, before the sound of tapping footsteps echoed, and Luke's face twisted in horror, as if he were a deer just noticing the car. Without even a good bye, he darted off, Gai staring at where the red blur had once been, only just then hearing a familiar voice.
"Luke, get back here right now!!"
Tear zipped past Gai, and for the second time that morning, the blond found himself staring in confusion after someone, before shaking his head and turning around. What a weird day.
Tear rounded the corner, skidding a little on the polished tiles in her heels before freezing at the sight of Luke simply leaning against a wall. He looked far less fearful than needed be, and it urked her. The redhead turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"You're no good at tag." he mumbled.
Flustered, the brunette heaved a sigh, rubbing her forehead. "One, I'm not paid to play tag. Two, you shouldn't be running off without permission. You could have ASKED to go visit Gai."
The redhead rolled his eyes. "And have you tagging along? No way."
"Why not? Its not like you have some dark secret to protect."
She was met with silence, and frowned a little. somehow, this felt like something to take note of. This was definitely weird. Suddenly, the redhead was missing from the spot he was just in, leaving Tear to blink and look around, panicking. Oh what a day indeed.
Around another corner, leaning heavily against a wall, Luke stood there, eyes shadowed by long bangs. He could hear Tear panicking, but paid her no mind, deciding to let himself have a miniature breakdown for a moment. He figured he at least deserved that privileged still.
ooooooo
GASP, crappy chapter wut D8 but oh well. hope its not to awful...had a block for so long, i wasnt sure how to do this chapter at all.
