After waiting for seven years, the day had finally arrived. It was the day that Simon had been expecting ever since the trial, ever since he had told the court that he had been the one to kill Metis Cykes.
Over the past seven years, Simon hadn't been afraid to die, nor had he given it much thought. Instead, he had focused on crafting the persona known as the 'Twisted Samurai', a coldblooded murderer that had no qualms about threatening people with the same fate as he had presumably given Metis Cykes. At some point, he stopped being able to see the difference between himself and that persona.
And so, when December 21st finally arrived, he thought that he was ready. That he would simply go up to the gallows and let them put the noose over his neck. That he would calmly say his last words to whoever would be watching, even though he didn't really expect an audience. Aura maybe, even if she had told him that she didn't want to watch it. Their parents were long gone, and Athena? No, there was no way he was going to allow her to watch his execution. The only person he could think would join would be that Fool Bright.
And yet, as the day arrived… Simon realized that he wasn't ready to die just yet. In fact, one could say that the prospect scared him.
When he happened to look in the small mirror in his cell, he noticed that his eyes were widened in terror, and that several tremors were going through his body. Both things made him realize that he needed to reevaluate his assessment from earlier.
Simon wasn't scared at the prospect of dying.
He was absolutely terrified.
And then, it was time. He almost wanted to fight the guards that came to grab him from his cell, but he knew that they wouldn't think twice about using the electrified shackles that Fool Bright had been so fond of using on him.
So, he simply let them lead him to the gallows, where they already had the noose ready for him. He tried telling them that he wasn't the killer, that Athena had been right when she had said that his heart had screamed he hadn't done it, but they simply scoffed at him, saying something about how all criminals claimed they were innocent. But he was innocent, that was the difference!
Even so, he didn't try to fight back against the guards when they led him up to the gallows. He did yell a lot, and he did try and get the noose off of his neck. It felt like it was stuck to his skin like glue though, and no matter how hard he scratched, it wouldn't come off. He was properly panicking now, and despite his reputation as the coldblooded Twisted Samurai, he felt himself starting to sob as the executioner reached for the handle to open the trap door beneath him.
"Don't! I didn't do it!" Simon croaked between sobs, his hands shaking as well. "I didn't kill anyo-"
"SIMON!"
A startled cry left Simon as his eyes shot open, and he suddenly sat upright on the bed.
"Whoa there, take it easy."
It wasn't until then that Simon realized he wasn't alone. He was too out of it to realize who it was, though. The voice sounded sort of familiar, but it was kind of fuzzy around the edges due to his current state.
"I need you to try and take some deep breaths for me," the voice said gently. "Can you do that for me?"
It took some time, but Simon eventually got his breathing under control, aided by the still-mysterious voice. As his breathing slowly calmed down, so did Simon, and the voice began getting less and less fuzzy, and he was finally able to focus enough on it to be able to tell who it was.
"... Gavin-dono?"
Simon blinked a few times as he got his bearings, a confused expression in his eyes.
… Why was Klavier in Simon's cell?
The voice, who had turned out to be his coworker, Klavier Gavin, breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God you're awake now… That nightmare really had a deep hold on you."
Simon was still getting his bearings, but he did manage to pick up on one specific word in Klavier's sentence.
"N-nightmare?" he asked weakly, only noticing at that moment that his voice was kind of hoarse. As he slowly got his barings more and more, he noticed that he was laying in a soft and comfortable bed, a far cry from the bed in his cell. "This… this isn't my cell…"
He noticed that his statement seemed to take Klavier by surprise, and when Klavier spoke again, his voice was softer than before.
"Simon… what's the last thing you remember?"
If this was happening under normal circumstances, Simon would have snapped at Klavier for addressing him so casually. This was anything but normal circumstances, though.
He tried thinking back to the last thing he remembered, a low and frustrated growl leaving him when he came up empty. "I… I'm not sure," he admitted quietly, closing his eyes. "My head's kind of throbbing... " he muttered, using some of his long hair to shield his eyes from the light coming from the hallway of whichever place he was currently in. "Gavin-dono, why am I not in my cell? In fact… where am I?"
"Let's take one thing at a time, okay?" Klavier said gently, taking a seat in a chair next to whatever bed Simon was currently laying in. "And please, no more of that Gavin-dono business for now, it's the middle of the night. Call me Klavier.
"Now, as for why you're not in your cell… It's over, Simon."
As if prompted by Klavier's words, Simon's mind began flooding with memories from the last few days, which finally revealed to him what he had forgotten: he was saved the day before his execution. They had caught the Phantom. And, most importantly of all… Athena was safe.
"I… I remember now…" Simon said quietly, taking in a deep breath as he slowly rearranged his thoughts. "Although… I must confess that I still do not remember where I am at the moment."
Klavier seemed to calm down a bit when Simon began remembering the events of the previous days, since he had admittedly been a bit worried. "You're in my guest bedroom. It's around four in the morning on the 22nd," he explained, continuing before Simon could say anything.
"We held a small acquittal party for you, which is probably why your head is throbbing," he said, since while Simon hadn't been downright plastered or anything of the sort, he had certainly had his fair share of drinks. "You ended up telling me that you don't have a place to stay yet, and since I didn't want you to spend money on a hotel room, I offered to let you stay here until you get back on your feet, and get a place for yourself."
Simon took in Klavier's words, still trying to make sense of everything. "... I'm safe," he said quietly, mostly trying to convince himself of it. "I'm no longer in prison… I'm not going to die."
Klavier figured that Simon wasn't speaking to him, and was mostly trying to ground himself, so he didn't say anything. He ran a hand through his hair instead, since it was a mess after waking up suddenly when Simon began screaming in his sleep.
"Oh… you're bleeding," he suddenly said, his gaze locked on Simon's neck. "You… were scratching your neck in your sleep," he said quietly as he got up from the chair, his back to Simon. "I'll just go get a washcloth to clean up the blood, and some bandages as well." He didn't waste any time, since he figured that Simon didn't want to be alone after what had happened, and he returned soon after with a damp washcloth and some bandages. "Will you let me clean your wounds?"
Simon hadn't even noticed that his neck was bleeding until Klavier mentioned it, but he could feel the sting of the wounds now, and he simply gave Klavier a nod to show that it was okay. He winced slightly when the cold washcloth hit his neck and began washing away the blood, leaving only the scratches he had made. "In… in my nightmare, I was clawing at the noose to try and get it off…" he said quietly, and he suddenly realized that he had probably scratched his neck in real life as well.
Klavier didn't answer Simon as he gently cleaned up the scratches, which thankfully weren't too severe, meaning that he didn't need to bandage up his neck. "You're okay now. You're free," he said softly, sitting back down on the chair once he had finished with Simon's neck.
"... I'm not sure if I'll ever be truly free," Simon said quietly, avoiding Klavier's soft gaze. He didn't think he deserved such softness. Not yet, at least.
"... Forgive me if I'm being impertinent," he said after a few moments of silence, his gaze back on Klavier. "But I couldn't help but notice… your accent seems to be gone?"
That actually made Klavier laugh, although he still kept the laughter soft, since he knew that Simon's head was probably still hurting.
"I'm not actually German. I'm a bit surprised that most people don't seem to realize this, considering the fact that Kristoph isn't German," he admitted, an amused smile playing on his lips. "The entire Klavier Gavin persona is exactly that… a persona. It's meant to draw in the fans. My real name isn't even Klavier."
"That is somewhat of a relief," Simon said, a small smile on his lips at the thought- the first smile of the night, and hopefully not the last. "I would be concerned if your parents named you Piano."
That got a small chuckle out of Klavier, and he was pleased to see that Simon seemed to be doing better. He could tell that Simon's voice was still hoarse after his nightmare, and he got up from the chair before he began speaking. "I'll be right back. I'll get you something to drink."
True to his word, Klavier came back a short while later, a cup of chamomile tea in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. He put the tea on the bedside table, but he handed the glass of water to Simon, who seemed grateful for it.
The glass never reached Simon's lips.
He had barely lifted the glass when a horrible pain soared through his wrists, a strangled pained cry leaving him as he dropped the glass, the water spilling all over the floor.
"Simon!" Klavier cried out as he watched the scene unfold, obvious worry in his voice. He didn't even care about the floor getting wet, not when his (Coworker? Friend?) houseguest was clearly in pain. He then noticed that it seemed like Simon's hand couldn't stop shaking, and in an effort to help him calm down, he grabbed his wrists.
Big mistake.
"Do not touch me!" Simon hissed as he yanked his hands back, his voice suddenly close to the dangerous tone he used when he played the part of the Twisted Samurai. Only, Klavier knew the reason he did it, since it was clear when he looked into his eyes.
Simon wasn't angry.
He was scared.
It wasn't until then that Klavier had taken the time to look at Simon's wrists, but when he did look over them, he realized that he had been an idiot for trying to touch them.
Simon's wrists were covered in what were undoubtedly electrical burns, and considering that they were in the unmistakable shape of the shackles Simon had worn, it also answered Klavier's silent question about why Simon had been so scared when Klavier had held his wrists.
It had probably reminded him of the feeling of those horrible shackles that the dete- that that son of a bitch, the Phantom, had used to torture him. Because really, that's all it was. Government sanctioned for sure, but it was still just glorified torture.
"... You have nerve damage." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes, I realized as much," came the reply from Simon, his voice quiet as he refused to meet Klavier's gaze. "My hands will start to shake at random times, and I get these… flashes of pain, as you have just witnessed for yourself."
It sounded to Klavier like this was something that Simon had had to deal with for a while, and it only made Klavier's anger rise. His anger wasn't directed at Simon at all, but rather at everything and everyone that had put his (Houseguest? Friend?) coworker in a position where he not only had permanent damage to his skin, but also where he most definitely would have to deal with chronic pain and limited mobility for the foreseeable future.
"Have you seen a doctor for it? It looks like it's been bothering you for a while…" Klavier commented, a frown on his forehead as he imagined Simon in pain, his hands shaking…
Simon glared at him as he brushed his bang away from his face, his grey eyes locked on Klavier's blue. "What would the point have been?" he asked, his voice lacking the usual edge and coldness he had become quite fond of using during his time as the Twisted Samurai. It signaled to Klavier that Simon was probably exhausted, in more ways than one. "I was supposed to be dead at this point in time. What would this pain have mattered, when I would only have had to suffer for a short while longer?"
Klavier had to admit that he hadn't really thought about that, but… it was true. Simon had spent the last few years certain that he would die on December 21st, only to suddenly have gotten his freedom back. And while Klavier knew that Simon would obviously be happy that he was free, and that Athena was no longer in danger, he figured that he would also be struggling for a while. After all, Simon had been certain that he would be dead at this point, which meant that he now had to adjust to life on the outside. A life he never expected to have a chance to experience.
Klavier didn't say any of this out loud to Simon. Instead he simply bent down to pick up the glass, thankful that it hadn't shattered. "Do you want something for the pain?"
Simon slowly shook his head, since his wrists had stopped hurting already, and the shaking was also at a minimum. "That won't be necessary, but… thank you for the offer," he said quietly, still not used to expressing such gratitude. He carefully grabbed the mug with chamomile tea from the bedside table, silently grateful that his wrists hadn't decided to hurt then, like they had with the water just before.
"... It's good," he muttered after taking a slow drink of the tea, letting the liquid slowly calm him down. "... Gavi- Klavier… I am sorry about yelling at you," he then said quietly, a look of regret in his eyes. "But, as you probably have already guessed, you grabbing my wrists… Well, it reminded me of those accursed shackles."
Klavier had a soft smile on his lips as he shook his head, glad that Simon seemed to have calmed down entirely after his nightmare. "No, I shouldn't have grabbed you like that," he said, his smile falling a bit as he tried to figure out what he should say.
"Simon… I know it can't be easy for you. Going from believing you're going to die one moment, and then having your whole life ahead of you the next… I cannot even begin to imagine what you're possibly going through, and I won't claim that I know what you should do… but, you're my (Coworker? Houseguest?) friend, Simon. And I want to help you as much as I can."
Simon didn't have an answer for that, but Klavier could tell that he was grateful from the soft, and very rare, smile on his lips.
"I… I think I would like to go back to sleep now," Simon then said after he had finished up the tea and put the mug back on the bedside table.
"Yes, of course. Don't hesitate to wake me up if you need anything," Klavier said as he rose from the chair, a smile on his lips as he regarded Simon in the bed. "... You're strong, Simon. I'm sure you'll be fine. But please do not forget that you have several people around you that are willing to help you. Me included."
Simon had closed his eyes when Klavier spoke, but he slowly cracked them open a bit to look at him, the rare soft smile back on his lips.
"... Thank you, Klavier," he said quietly, closing his eyes again as he tried to go back to sleep, hoping that the nightmares would let him be for the remainder of the night.
Thankfully, no more nightmares came for Simon that night. And when he awoke in the morning, he found that, while he was still very unsure about his future, he had also gained something he thought that he had lost so long ago.
Hope.