A/N: I have no words for why this is so late so, uh...here

Til next time!

~shine

~Repaint Tomorrow~

=I'm Not Really Laughing=

Rena stared at the portrait Aisha had just finished of her, smiling broadly at the end result. "I must say...this is much better than the work you did before." Rena commented, ignoring the glare being sent her way. Her words were true, however. With each passing day, Aisha seemed more and more focused on what she wanted to do with her art. It was like she had been shown something that she couldn't look away from anymore. She'd stopped going to her classes, though Rena couldn't help but wonder if that would affect her standing with her sponsor, Hoffman. He wasn't known for being patient with Aisha for very long, and her skipping classes could be seen as an act of rebellion. He could very well have her moved out of her studio by the end of the week if she kept this up. "What would you call this?"

"Well...the idea came to me after I remembered you were the captain of the Archery club back in high school, so I sort of based it around that...and the wedding dress you showed me that you were fond of." Aisha explained. Rena nodded slowly, growing more fond of the drawing now. "As far as the name goes...probably something like...Grand Archer, maybe? It was the only thing that seemed the most appropriate."

"I see..." Rena replied. "I like it! It's a good name."

"What is?" Raven asked as he appeared beside his fiancee. Rena showed him the portrait and he whistled softly. "Now that's definitely a look I'd never expect Rena to have." He commented, earning a painful jab in the ribs from the blonde woman. Chuckling to himself, Raven kissed her cheek. "Still, it looks great. Though I could swear I saw that dress somewhere before..."

"A-anyway, I have to get going!" Aisha snatched the portrait away from Rena before Raven could say more. "I'll drop by the shop later!"

"Oh...okay?" Rena said softly, though Aisha was long gone before the words left her mouth. She turned her attention back to the dark haired man, who had his arms around her waist and a thoughtful expression on his face. "Think too hard and you'll fry your brain, darling."

"Har." Raven grumbled, glaring at the blonde. Rena chuckled softly and kissed him, making her way to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Raven would probably hold onto her for a while now, so rather than sit around and be forced to cuddle, she found that being productive often bored him enough that he'd let go.

x X x

Elsword ran a hand through his hair as he rest against the guitar in his lap. He normally found himself in public places when he and Chung had their fights. The boy never approached him when others could see and hear their conversations. After all, the Seiker family was one well known for their long history or successful heirs, and while Chung was far from the lazy type, he didn't actually care much for his family's business. And he was no idiot either. Elsword had watched him work the nights they had spent together, always trying to improve his inventions. He would mutter something about it not being good enough to compare to a "nasod" or whatever. But that wasn't the point. The point was, Chung didn't want people to know that the current heir of the Seiker family didn't want to sire children. He didn't want to disappoint his father by him knowing that he didn't not intend to marry some random woman he could not love, but rather he chose a certain redhead who refused to be a dirty little secret.

He sighed and clutched at his hair, groaning in frustration. He didn't notice someone take a seat beside him until they said, "You know, for someone who doesn't want to be found, you choose the most obvious places." Elsword looked up quickly, spying Add as he licked a chocolate flavored ice cream cone. Elsword frowned and turned his attention elsewhere, He in't have time to bother with him right now. "Aisha's been looking for you, you know. She wanted to show you something."

"Well tell her that I want to be alone right now. I've got a lot on my mind." Elsword grumbled.

"Tell her yourself. I'm not your messenger." Add answered. Elsword sighed and began to get up. Add didn't stop him, but as he watched Elsword pack up, he said, "You know...I don't really care what your issue is, but if something's bothering you, i'll listen to you talk." Elsword looked up at the albino male, genuinely shocked, "What? I can be a good friend when I try."

"You? Want to be my friend?" Elsword asked, caught by surprise. Add shrugged, going back to enjoying his sweet treat. Elsword took his seat again and stared at Add for a while, not sure what to say. He wasn't even sure if he could trust him, but if what he said was true, he might as well test the waters. Whatever happened, happened and all that. "It's...about a boy."

"Shocking. Since when is it never?" Add replied, nonchalant. Elsword couldn't help but feel like there was a hint of sarcasm in that phrase as well, but shrugged it off.

"He's the heir of the Seiker family." This time it was Add's turn to be caught off guard, and Elsword smirked. "Shocked? Well, he and I were something of an item in the past. He still wants to be, but he an I don't see eye to eye."

"If this is the Lady's sense of humor, it's not funny. I'm in the exact same situation." Add mumbled. Elsword already knew, but he wasn't sure what exactly to say to that. "Well, what's your story?"

Sighing, Elsword began to tell his tale. Add listened intently as Elsword explained the circumstances surrounding his meeting and eventual relationship with the Seiker heir, as well as their many arguments and reconciliations. Although he couldn't say he sympathized entirely, Add was more open mined than Elsword thought, which was shocking. He didn't think the whit haired boy was as patient as he was, but even as it took Elsword an hour to explain fully, he sat an listened quietly, sometimes checking the time, and other times he would give his insight.

"I see. That's quite some story you've got there." Add answered as soon as Elsword was finished. "And here I thought you were just some random bum trying to worm his way into Aisha's life so you could rob her blind."

"That was a lifetime ago. I don't do stuff like that anymore." Elsword shrugged. "So, I shared my story. What's yours?"

Add was silent for a while. "Aisha and I are childhood friends turned lovers. We started dating in middle school and come high school, we were more or less in love. But being the genius I was, I was allowed to take as much time from school as I wanted, so I stayed home and did all my homework online. In Junior year we got into an argument and I said some things that I regret." Add answered. "Well, that and the fact that I ignored her for the better part of a year and a half. I started working in sophomore year, so I was swamped with projects, but I made as much time for her as I could."

"You could've stopped working, you know. Whatever the reason you started working, I think she would've been happier just being around you." Elsword said as he leaned back in his seat. Add shrugged. "Why did you start working anyway?"

"I wanted to give her a good life. All the art supplies she could ever want, a house, pets, and the freedom to paint, draw and sculpt anything she wanted. Everything she ever drew for me, I've kept in safe keeping." Add answered. He sighed. "But, even with the money I was making back then, I could've given her all that in just a few months. You'd be surprised what my blueprints and designs sold for. And if I happened to create something revolutionary? Well, the amount would make your head spin, I imagine. In a year? I made 26.5 million ED from working as much as I did. That's why I made my dynamos, actually. They collect data for me and all the data is stored in here." He pointed at his left eye. "it also gives me live feedback, so if they ever spot her, i'll always know if she's in trouble or not."

"That's considered stalking." Said Elsword.

"I know, and I won't deny that I didn't consider it. But I more or less let them do whatever they want. If they happen to come across her, then they'll do whatever they do." Add shrugged again. "I don't actively tell them to stalk anyone. They have minds of their own, so if they find someone or something interesting, then they'll more or less keep researching."

"Sneaky. But still kinda stalker-ish." Elsword replied. Add glared at the red head who shrugged. "Chill out, it was a joke. But anyway, if you're sorry about how you treated her, why not just apologize to Aisha?"

Add chuckled. "She won't even sit in the same room with me, let alone talk to me more than she needs to. It's a miracle she accepted my insight on her project." Add explained. Elsword didn't say anything. What could he say, since he was the same way towards his own ex? He sighed. "Well, as much as I enjoyed this chat, I should probably get home with Eve's lunch. She'll probably ask what took so long. See ya around."

"Thanks for the talk." Elsword waved. Add nodded and made his way home, gathering his dynamos about him as he walked. Elsword noticed that his feet never actually touche the ground. In fact, it almost seemed as if her was gliding through the air. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later. As he stood up to start on his own way, he found himself face to face with the Seiker boy. "So, now you're following me. I thought we agreed that you'd let me have my space?"

The voice that answered him was far deeper than he thought, however, and Elsword soon noticed that he was much taller than Elsword originally thought. "Come. You and I have much to discuss." Wordlessly Elsword gathered his things. He wondered just how this would turn out.

X

To say that Elsword was intimidated by the man sitting across from him in the white limousine would have been the understatement of the year. Easily 6'5, broad shouldered, thick muscled and with an even thicker neck, the man was like a tree reinforce to stand as strong as any fortress Elsword had ever heard of. Elsword hadn't bothered to ask his name. His words caught in his throat before he could even say anything. They too were intimidated by the man, and Elsword completely understood why.

There was a certain air about the man, as if the wrong words would have you leaning face first out the door of the limo, painting the Grand Central Highway a lovely shade of red and white. Elsword could barely stand to look at the man. He found solace in staring at the world outside. He wasn't aware that there was even a third passenger when he heard a woman clearing her throat. Elsword glanced away from the window and to the seat beside him.

The woman was certainly very beautiful, her hair was cyan, like her eyes, and both seemed to hold a beautiful, crystalline glow to them. It was almost ethereal in a way, and she smiled faintly at Elsword as his rather blatant staring. Like the man sitting across from him, she wore a white business suit and a pendant with the same blue gem that Chung had. He had offered to give Elsword something with the gem in it as well, but he had refused, though grudgingly. Elsword was on the run at the time, and he would have likely sold it for extra money, rather than sit and appreciate how beautiful the thing actually was. It was for the best, he had told Chung at the time. That had been several years ago when they first met.

"My cousin came to us late last night. He told us that he had found love on his own, and that the person he loved was certainly worth going against his father's wishes. Imagine uncle's surprise when the name of the person happened to be the son of his own best friend." The woman said, her voice soft, but her tone hinted at her amusement. Elsword took a while to digest the information. "Yes, you've met uncle before. He is Chung's father. Helputt Seiker. He was the man who gave you your name."

Elsword's eyes grew wide as saucers at this information, but Helputt's expression didn't change. Even as Elsword stared at him, as if trying to recall anything about the man. "I-I..." Was all he could say. A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and the woman smiled openly at Elsword. "So you're...?"

"Yes, my name is Sasha. He's told you about me, correct?" She asked. Elsword nodded slowly. Her smile vanished then. Straight to business, then. "Then you know why we cannot allow this union to continue. Uncle isn't getting any older, and neither is my cousin. He needs to sire an heir soon, before uncle retires."

Elsword frowned now, his mood flat lining and becoming sour. "So, that's what this is about. Business." Elsword grumbled. Sasha released Elsword and glanced at Helputt to say something, but Elsword cut him off. "I get it, all right? I was insecure enough about being with him even before knowing how filthy rich he was. When he told me, I knew that we'd probably be broken up, and he saw it too. So I tried to convince him to tell his father the truth about us. About him. He was scared."

"Why would he have reason to be scared? Uncle loves his son dearly!" Sasha interjected.

"Would he love him still when he learns that his son is gay, and has no intention to have children?" Elsword answered coolly. Sasha was quiet just then, and Elsword could feel the atmosphere growing heavier. It was hard to breathe, let alone be angry anymore. He was tired of fighting this, and though he would rather have had Chung tell the man himself, it had to be said. "I love your son, sir. I really do. But as long as he remains to scared of you to tell you the truth himself, I can't be with him. I don't want to be some dirty little secret for the rest of my life, and neither will I live with the fact that he's too ashamed of me to let the world know the truth. But at the same time, I understand his fear. He's going to take over the business some day. He's afraid you'd disown him if you learned the truth about him. And he's worried about damaging the reputation of the family and the business. It's a lot of pressure."

"He's already told me." Helputt said finally, after Elsword finished his speech. Elsword hid his shock "When he told me that he wanted to marry you, he mistook my silence for anger and fled in tears. I haven't seen him cry since he had nightmares as a child." Elsword chuckled at that. Chung had told him about those nightmares one night. they were cute, and mostly irrational fears, but Elsword could understand how they could be traumatizing to a young child. "He told me where I could find you, so he does not know that we are on our way to see him. I will just ask you one thing."

"Sir?" Elsword was confused.

"Later, uncle. We're here." Sasha said as the limo pulled up in front of the Seiker Estate. Standing out front in his pajamas and rubbing his eyes tiredly was Chung. Elsword smiled softly at the sight. He never was very graceful at waking up. Even now the boy swayed somewhat on the spot as he blinked and grumbled something under his breath. His hair, which was normally brushed neatly before he even left the room, was a mess. "Lazy child. He really ought to take this visit more seriously. We brought someone special to see him, and this is how he dresses."

"Did you tell him you were bringing me?" Elsword asked curiously. Sasha shook her head, curious as to why that would affect his appearance. Elsword chuckled. "Well, that's the problem, then. He doesn't like to look his best for anyone except his father and me. He probably thinks it's some foreign princess type. He doesn't want her to think him charming or handsome."

"Yet we all know that he is." Sasha replied. Elsword nodded, his smile widening.

As soon as the limo door opened, Elsword relished at the sudden blush that erupted over Chung's face at the sight of him. "E-els? Why are you here? I thought you were still mad...?" Chung spoke softly, his eyes filling with tears at the thought of their conversation recently. Elsword hugged him, kissing the boy's forehead and telling him it's all right. Chung melted into his embrace at hearing those words, hugging Elsword tightly and apologizing profusely all the while. Elsword simply held him, apologizing as well once the boy was quiet. "I thought about what you said, and I realized that you were right. I love my father, and I don't want to lose his favor, but I couldn't bear my life without you. You are all that makes me whole."

"Stroking my ego won't get me in bed with you. You know that." Elsword chuckled underneath his breath. Chung lightly punched Elsword and glared at him, blushing faintly. "I heard from your father that you told him everything? About us, and you being gay."

"I told you, Els. I couldn't bear life without you. Does this mean that...?" Chung looked at the red head hopefully, only to be met with a shake of the head. "B-but...!"

"Slow down there, tiger. I'm still hurting, you know. And besides...I don't wanna just jump straight into a relationship again like we did before. That's how things ended up like this." Elsword spoke softly. It took Sasha clearing her throat again to break the two boys apart, and even then, Chung refused to let go of Elsword's hand. Luckily for him, the red head didn't mind. Helputt approached his son slowly, holding something in his hand. He handed it over wordlessly, before touching his forehead to his son's and smiling faintly.

"It took a lot of courage to do what you did. I'm proud of you, son." Helputt said. Chung smiled broadly. "Also, your blueprints were approved. A prototype is already ready for testing. This, however. Is my suggestion on improvements. You said you wanted something strong, but knightly. Elegant, was the first thing that came to my mind. Try it out. You always did like a challenge."

Elsword glanced between the two Seiker men curiously. He had honestly no idea what was going on. Chung never talked about business around him, and whenever he was stressed over something, he always bottled it up inside, rather than talk about it with him. It was the few things Elsword disliked about the boy, but he mentally waved off the thought. Oh well. "Ah, I guess I should tell you now. I'm making armor for the Hamel police department, and military. There's rumors of a war coming, so I want to protect them as best as I can. We also have another project in the works, but I can't talk about tha-" Elsword's frown stopped him in his tracks, and Chung frowned himself before sighing. "Come with me. You too, father. You won't be happy with me either."
- - - -

Aisha blinked tiredly and leaned up from her seat on the floor, her sketchbook was in her lap, but Add was no longer beside her. Instead he was in the kitchen preparing tea. Eve was at the table chatting idly with him about something, but she couldn't tell what. She was still tired, so their words bounced around her skull before getting lost in the empty void of her mind. Yawning softly, she looked down at her sketchbook, smiling wanly at the sight. It was a picture of Add when they were younger, that same mass of hair covering the left side of his face. He was smiling a genuine smile this time, the hood of his hoodie was pulled up, so the cat ears were visible.

Getting a look at him now, it wasn't entirely that she disliked Add. And he was far from ugly. Life had certainly been kind to him. But it was mostly the fact that she couldn't just forget what happened. forgiving him meant that she was okay with how things turned out, and she honestly wasn't. No one would be. But she saw how sincerely he wanted to be her friend again, and it was admirable that he was this patient for this long. He would sometimes pat her on the head like he used to, and even use old childhood nicknames. It wasn't that she hated him and the sound of his voice uttering those things or his touch creeping her out. They just brought up memories she wanted so badly to forget. They made it harder to start over with him, when memory and reality contrasted so much.

"Ugh." Aisha gently said, pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her head on her knees. she hugged her legs tightly in her arms and sighed heavily. "Why is this so hard? Am I really a vindictive person?"

"No, you're just the type that cannot forget. It makes it so much easier to forgive." Add's voice surprised her, and Aisha stiffened, refusing to look up at him. Whether he took offense to that or not, it didn't show in his voice, and his touch was light when he took one of her hands and placed the mug of tea in it. "Black Pekoe, just like you like it: on lump of sugar and just a squirt of lemon juice. Long squeeze, of course."

Aisha, despite herself, smiled at that. Even after all these years, he still remembered. She thanked him, looking up and gracing him with a smile. Add felt himself smiling back, then took a seat beside her again. "Do you think...we could have stayed friends, even after all that?" Add asked after a long silence. Aisha thought about that honestly before shrugging. "I see. For what it's worth, not a day goes by that I don't wish that I could go back in time and take back what I said." Aisha glanced down at her half empty mug silently. "There never was anyone else. It was my obsession speaking. I wanted to know more about the notes left to me by a co worker. They were hard to decipher, but I was able to create my dynamos from it."

"Joy." Was Aisha's sarcastic response, and Add frowned. "I learned that my insecurities these past years have been the result of a lie and my ex boyfriend's selfishness. That certainly clears up many questions about myself." Aisha sighed heavily. "Did you honestly think that would make me feel any bit better? That I would suddenly change my tune and leap into your arms and everything would be okay?"

"No, because then that would be too easy, wouldn't it?" Add's tone was cool, but Aisha felt her insides grow cold. "Every day i've been here, I've tried to make amends. to apologize for the past so we could start over. So that I could get to know the you that is here now, rather than the one that I keep in my head, reminding me of my failure! That I single handedly destroyed the one thing in my life I was actually happy about!" Add's voice raised as he continued to talk, his grip on his mood slipping.

"Right, of course. You mean your research, right? I don't remember you giving me the time of day to even register that we were even dating." Aisha's voice lowered as she glared at Add. "Well i'm very sorry for your loss. Unfortunately for you, i'm done being a replacement for your one true love, so you'll have to fool some other woman into thinking you actually care."

"I'm always going to care." Add spoke softly, the fight draining from him suddenly as he sighed heavily. His shoulders sagged in defeat, and he even hung his head. "Always."

"'You're a nuisance. Everything you do, everything you say is just a constant weight on my mind that I could do without. Why are you even here? Why do you stay when you know that you don't belong?'" Aisha began slowly, her voice shaking as she fought back the pain that tried to bubble forth. She could do little to restrain the tears, however, as they flowed freely down her cheeks. "Is that really how you show someone you care about them? By saying something so hurtful? Telling them that they don't belong, that they're a nuisance and a constant burden? Thanks, but i'll pass on having my existence ground under your heel a second time. I loved you."

"Aisha-" Add stopped himself, sighing again, looking away. He could never face Aisha when she started crying. It always made him feel uncomfortable, and he never knew what to say to make the tears stop. And to think that he had caused her so much pain when he wasn't even aware of himself. "I loved you too."

Aisha's harsh laughter only made him feel that much worse. "You'll have to excuse me while I refuse to understand how you could love someone and then tear them down so cruelly." Aisha wiped her eyes and hid her face in her knees again. "Just go away. I don't even want to hear you breathe right now."

Add conceded with a nod. "Very well."

Eve, who had been watching from her spot at the table, took a seat in front of Aisha on the floor and wrapped her arms around the girl awkwardly. Oberon soon joined, then Ophelia and finally Ferdinand. Moby and Remy worked their way past Aisha's arms to bump against her cheeks and cuddle her.