Broken Home

A PainexBaralai fic.

Oneshot

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plotline. Shut your face. :3

The house's windows were cracked and cobwebbed to high heaven. The exterior paint was chipping severely, and in some places, nonexistent completely. The lawn was browned in patches, the occasional weed compensated the off-putting color. Years of neglect left the once home of splendor in ruins, not just by the outers of the old mansion, but the inside as well. A leaking faucet still creaked out water, a large circle below it's dripping point suggested the leak had been an ongoing affair over the long vacancy. The stairs were in disrepair, either missing a step or termite infested, not a soul dared the iffy steps. Wallpaper hung well below the waist, droopy and yellowed. White dust-covered sheet decorated the old, musty furniture. Mold hit the nose from every direction.

Red eyes were hollowed by the sight, they closed remorsefully. The owner stood, hands mimicking her eyes, quenched at her side. What tempted her to come back to her old home was beyond her at the moment. A distant memory of a child version of herself ran and played throughout the massive homestead, smiling and laughing. It was hard to imagine what could have possibly caused such a severe change in such a short time, but it broke his heart to know she wouldn't remove her silence of the events.

"Paine," A subdued voice awoke her eyes, they dulled, hiding back whatever emotion she didn't want known. "We don't have do this. We can just leave now and--"

"No." Paine answered sharply. She set off toward the door, leaving him to stand on the curb of the ghostlike neighborhood.

Baralai jogged up to her side as she stood, hand poised on the doorknob. He waited with bated breath, he could tell being back here was killing her.

The door eased open, creaking noisily. It wasn't so shocking that the door was open--who would want to come here?--but more the deteriorated beauty fighting the harshness. The red oak floors had long since lost their luster, but still had an aged eloquence that refused to be masked, the long corridors remained masterpieces of architecture, with grand doorways and large intricate terraces lining the ceiling.

Baralai entered the home in awe, circling the hidden beauty, but not ignoring the dilapidated structure. "Paine, it's--"

"Rubbish. All of it." She cast a spite-filled eye to him. "It was a waste of time."

"No, it wasn't. Something happened here with you. Something to make you hate it, hate the world."

"I don't hate the world."

"You act like it." He finished and left her to wander cautiously through the house.

"That isn't fair and you know it. I don't hate everything, you're lying." Paine said once he was out of earshot. "I love you."

She sighed and began her investigation of the decaying mansion. Paine reluctantly admitted it still held it's original mastery, but not it's shimmer and love. With a bit of work, she was sure it would be back to beauty. She strolled over to the staircase, frowning at the upper level. Baralai took notice of it as he met up with her.

"What's up there?"

"The rest of the house." She responded dully.

"We should see it then." Baralai strode past her, ignoring her ever-growing frown. He shuffled up the rickety steps, landing on the second floor in one piece. Lai turned to her, and beckoned her forward. "Come, please."

She sullenly nodded, gracefully climbing the broken steps herself, and took a deep breath at the new level. It was untouched from her last moment here. Not a thing had been bothered. No dusty white sheets covered her inherited goods. It was preserved in a sheet of thick dust, as Baralai found out upon touching a glass box set on display at a wooden table in the aging hallway. He lifted the box, opening it to find a diamond necklace. Paine took notice and roughly seized the necklace, tossing it aside.

"Don't touch it. Don't touch anything." She spat, taking the box from him as well. He watched her eyes sparkle with intensity, and something else. Something he was afraid to place, but he obeyed.

Paine took off down the leftward hall, letting her feet take her to her destination. She slammed the box down on the balcony and the glass shattered from force. Shards fell in every direction, shining in the paling sunlight. Paine didn't even flinch as it broke. She continued her steady pace, not once showing any uncertainty.

Baralai hesitated before following. Perhaps she wanted to be alone with her thoughts and memories, but maybe she had been alone for far too long. Baralai had been making every effort to change this since their reunion late last year. After believing her to be dead for so long, he took every opportunity to stay near her. They'd had a brief, unspoken but mutual attraction for one another when they had been in the Crimson Squad together. However, that had been the wrong time, wrong place to make anything of it, and they waited for a chance that soon would leave them in the storm of a specter's anger.

Paine played her part in the time they spent together. She'd asked him two months back to take a break with her and explore Spira, in hope of finding the girl she had once been. Although she rarely expressed it, she loved his company and wouldn't have traded the last half a year for anything.

Paine turned into a specific room halfway down the long and winding hall. Baralai's eyes felt deceived as he spied the room. It was a little girl's paradise, fluff and pink as far as the eye could see. A large canopy bed with the full princess outfitting. Thick velvet hung from the windows, shelves and shelves of books--fairy tales, no doubt--lined the walls. Toys littered the floor, turning the wooden beauty spotted with splashes of child-friendly radiance.

This must have been Paine's room, but it couldn't belong to the woman who stood before him. It wasn't possible.

"This was my room." She explained quietly as she lifted a thin book off the shelf and examined it's cover before blowing off the dust in one puff of her mouth.

Greater miracles have happened... Baralai thought.

"It's so...pink." Baralai decided on, entering the room with a light heart.

"I went through a phase." She turned to him, child's book still in hand. "And, I, well." She paused and looked in deep thought for awhile. "When I was younger, I lived here with my parents and my older sister, Odele."

Baralai nodded at the information he already knew beforehand.

"I was six when I found out Odele was sick. She had a disease that ate away at her lungs, making holes in it that the doctors in Bevelle couldn't fix. They told us she had a few months, if that, left to live," Paine looked her namesake and set down the book. It was flipped to a page showing a beautiful princess with long golden hair and bright shinning blue eyes. "My parents wanted to make her last weeks her best. They refused to stick her in a hospital where she would rot. Instead, we packed up our things and started traveling all over Spira and back, with the Zanarkand planned as our last stop. We got to Kilika when her lungs gave out. She told us to take her back home as soon as we could. She wanted to be here. Odele cried every night about missing this mansion. Father had us all on an express route to Bevelle by the time she was supposed to no longer be with us."

Paine's hands formed angry fists at her sides. "Sin attacked, taking Mother and Odele with it. Father couldn't bare the shock and grief, so he turned to alcohol."

Her voice grew more spiteful as she went on. Baralai eased his hand over hers, unfolding her palms and offering her support to continue. She silently took it, breathing deeply for a moment. "He wasted away thousands of gil on alcohol. He became resentful toward me. He started saying things he shouldn't have. I turned eight the year he began to hit me. I don't think it was even intentional, the way it started. We were just sitting at the table for dinner, he said something to me--for the life of me, I can't remember what exactly--and he threw a punch. Something about me angered him when he was drunk, but he beat me. It became a natural reaction in the house. I said a word when not spoken to, I spilt something, I breathed his air, or I stayed in his range of sight too long and he would hit me. I just took it for awhile, letting him use me. But, then things got worse. He learned how to cause mental pain along with physical. He began blaming me, making sure he knew it too. He blamed me for the condition of our home, his drinking, their deaths, even the chipping paint. It was my fault, or so he claimed. Then, I got older and stronger. I was able to fend him off for enough time to delay the beatings. I finally got to the point where I could avoid them completely. It turned bad one day, and I didn't mean to--it just...happened..."

She broke off, her voice too ragged to speak another word. But that was all Baralai needed to know. He embraced her, drying her tears and soothing her weary body. For how long they stood in silence, holding one another, isn't certain to either. It isn't important, though. All that mattered is she loved enough to let him in and he loved enough to understand.

I'm not sure when I first wrote this. But, it's sitting in my 'Documents' section and I want it gone.

I only edited it once, I hope it's okay.

As always, PLEASE review. :3