Hello again! I'm back with another hopefully awesome installment. I even took a certain reviewer's suggestion so I hope some changes ought to make this story better. I think it did.^^
Now onward!
"Wait here. I will gather everyone. Our butler Weis is here for any assistance." Lauren said before going upstairs. Lubbock and Tatsumi were inside the mansion in the living room. Tatsumi grimaced at the mention of the butler but he was more worried about Lubbock's paleness.
"Hey." He said and Lubbock shakily grinned.
"H-Holy shit. I never figured this day w-would come. " He joked and Tatsumi did not bother smiling, clearly seeing it was Lubbock's way off brushing off the situation. It was pretty serious and he hated not being able to cheer Lubbock up.
"You're going to be fine." Tatsumi reassured, Lubbock only hugged himself, back in his thoughts. If only he knew what the male was thinking about. Tatsumi finally inhaled the courage to step up and bring his friend into his arms. Immediately, Lubbock stiffened at the sudden affectionate gesture but Tatsumi did not budge. He tightened his hold and felt Lubbock's hands clench at his shirt.
"Lubba. You're going to be okay." Tatsumi attempted once more. He saw Weis looking directly at them and silently stared back until Weis looked away, while pulling Lubbock closer. He still did not trust the butler and would make sure to keep an eye on him.
"HE'S WHAT!?"
"M-mom-"
"HOW DARE YOU BRING SUCH FOOLISHNESS TO YOUR ILL FATHER AND I!"
Tatsumi and Lubbock listened slightly terrified at the booming voice of a raging woman. Lauren had ran back down and dodged a thrown stapler that flew past him and thudded against the wall.
"Don't attack me and come see for yourself! He's standing right next to me!" Lauren argued and flinched when footsteps thundered the marble staircase.
"When I get down I am going to make you WISH you were never born-!" There, a short plump woman froze on the steps with gold eyes on the other two boys. Mainly on Lubbock. Tatsumi felt his friend rack in shivers and he could not blame him since the woman's previous threat, although aimed at Lauren, shook them both up.
"How on earth..." Her hands covered her mouth and Lauren took the chance to walk up to her.
"Mother, that's actually him. He's really alive and right in front of us."
Lubbock moved out of Tatsumi's arms just as his mom marched right over. Tatsumi had a bad feeling about the distance between them. Lubbock and his mother that is.
"My god it really is him." She whispered, her eyes darting up and down his figure. Her hand slowly raised and Tatsumi faltered, ready to intervene. However, she wrapped her arms around Lubbock tightly and quiet sobs could be heard. He relaxed and slightly smiled at the relieving and touching scene. Lubbock had shakily held onto her blouse and tears fell from his clenched shut eyes.
"Come on. Let's give them a moment." Lauren had muttered and Tatsumi had no choice but to agree. He gave them one last look before following Lauren into the dining room.
"So, are you like a close of friend of his?" Lauren asked at once and Tatsumi nodded, trying to shrug off an indifferent part of his heart about that title.
"Yeah. We're trying to get back home. Erm... well, mine." He had hoped Lauren did not take too much on the account of his hesitance.
"Why..."
"Eh?"
"Why did he... wait so long to reveal himself?" Tatsumi looked down guiltly. How stupid would it sound for him to respond with "Oh yeah he pretended to K.I.A. so he could follow the girl of his dreams"?
"I-I'm not sure. But I know he doesn't entirely forgive himself for not thinking things through. It's better to accept him now with open arms because he's afraid that his mistakes may have caused you guys to have a change of heart." He rambled. He wanted to ask about the family supporting the empire but he did not want to overwhelm Lauren.
"I see. And he mentioned coming here not for redemption, but for a place to hide out."
"Well I'm sure he wants to make a few ammends here. After all, he did sort of... give away most of our entire background and objectives." Tatsumi reasoned with an indifferent look. Of course their secret convinced Lauren to let them in. No doubt he would be asking for more information on them.
"Right. Let's meet back up with my mother and Lubbock. You seem like a good guy Tatsumi."
Tatsumi nodded with a forced chuckle. Looks like he needs to keep his distance from Lauren or anyone. As Lubbock had asked, he could not give away too personal details, whether or not the family is sided with the empire. Back in the living room, he came across a rather funny scene of Lubbock's mother fussing over her son's figure.
"You need some meat on your bones! Where did you get these scars!? Oh my poor baby, you need a haircut!" Lubbock was trying to move her hands away and just as she was about to pull up his shirt, he stepped back quickly.
"I-I'm fine! And I don't need a haircut..." Tatsumi instinctively glanced at Lubbock's long bangs and neck-length green hair. It was one of the many physical features that made Lubbock special to him.
"Weis, can you show them some empty guest rooms? I'll tell my dad and send a telegram to my siblings. Mother stop crying or you'll use up all the tissue boxes." Lauren said with a humored grin. Weis nodded and when the older sibling and mother were out, he examined Tatsumi and Lubbock quite carefully.
"Mm... This way."
Tatsumi's hand itched for the handle of his sword, but the light brush of Lubbock's hand against his own killed all his desire to slice the butler to bits. He still could not forgive him for not believing Lubbock is who he says he is.
"Your room, Mr. Tatsumi is on the right. Mr. Lubbock is down at the end of the hall on the left." Weis projected as they stepped across the marble floor. He stopped and turned to bow before leaving to attend his masters.
"So what now?" Tatsumi asked Lubbock.
"We relax. I'm pretty sure you deserve a good rest." Lubbock encouraged. Before he could go to his room, Tatsumi blindly grabbed his friend's sleeve.
"N-Not yet." He stuttered. "We should go over our plans again. You know, just in case anything happens."
"Maybe later cause I'm exhausted." Lubbock responded with a yawn and Tatsumi sweated.
"Weren't you just saying I need to rest...?"
Luckily, Tatsumi finally convinced Lubbock and they stepped into his room, carpet being the first material in their next step. Tatsumi stood frozen at the large room's decoration while Lubbock barely glanced in acknowlegement at the interior decoration, king size bed, or the number of fancy portraits.
Lubbock sat down on the bed and threw his bag on the ground, looking just in time to see Tatsumi swinging open a door.
"Look Lubba! It has it's own bathroom! Woah I could fit my old room in this closet!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he walked inside the attached spaces.
"Ah Tatsumi..."
"O-oh yeah, the plans." Making a mental note to explore again later, Tatsumi closed the doors and laid his bag on the ground. He then flopped on the bed and a smile flashed upon the other teen's face.
"You're like a kid." Lubbock commented just as Tatsumi finished feeling the silk material of the comforter.
"You have to admit its a nice change from trees."
"True. Now sit up so I know you're actually paying attention." Tatsumi did so and Lubbock pulled out a map from his bag.
"So how long are we planning to rest here?" Tatumi asked.
"The most is a few days. Remember, the more time we waste, the less chance we have of meeting back up with everyone." Lubbock elaborated. "Make sure to keep quiet. It's always good to be cautious as assassins. Who knows what they will do with the information I gave them."
"Yeah, it was a bit extreme. But I can assume why you need to go that far for them to accept us." Tatsumi said with a shrug.
"I wish I had been more prepared though. I could have figured out at least three other ways to persuade them if I had thought about our plans more. But it's the past now. Here..." Lubbock pointed at a location on the map and Tatsumi leaned closer to look. His heart began to race from their shared body heat and brushing arms.
"That's our goal, right?" Tatsumi asked and Lubbock nodded. "Yeah, after a few days here, one more day and we're back at Night Raid. But we can't drop our guard there. Esdeath, the prime minister, and emperor are still at large. We have to be to ready for immediate combat on the following day we rejoin the group."
"That means some training sessions here and there?" Tatsumi interjected. Once again, Lubbock nodded.
"Since we don't plan to tell anyone, we have to do it in private. It will be a bit hard because Weis is a nosy wanker as usual." Tatsumi hid his laugh behind a hand as Lubbock had let his prestigiousness slip up.
Lubbock folded the map but Tatsumi grabbed it and reopened it.
"We need to make some pit stops to villages too. Can't go weaponless into Night Raid, can we?"
He caught Lubbock rolling his eyes, but did not comment on that.
"Sure Tatsumi, whatever you think is best. Right now, let's focus on not seeming too suspicious." Lubbock muttered uninterestly with another yawn. The brunette turned the map around and continued to examine it.
"Hey hey there's a blacksmith about five miles from here." He announced.
"Mhm..." Lubbock barely acknowledged.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt to go right now-" Tatsumi looked down when a light weight pressed against his shoulder. After his eyes caught sight of Lubbock leaning against his shoulder, snoozing serenely, his cheeks burned a little as he tried not pay attention to his racking heart. The way Lubbock vulnerably fell onto him unconciously made Tatsumi feel a bit more accomplished. His commitment to protecting Lubbock seemed to be playing out nicely since Lubbock is letting his guard down against him at the moment. He snaked an arm around Lubbock's torso to keep him from slipping and could not suppress a smile.
Things are starting to look up for now.
