Freud was quiet for the rest of the day. They went about their business, exploring houses for more survivors and items that could be of use to them. He responded to the thief only with curt replies and seemed distant, not at all like the warm man who was slowly becoming Phantom's friend. Phantom could easily guess why; Freud had remembered, and he hadn't liked it. That didn't mean Phantom had to like this behavior of his.
The latest house they were checking out was near the park. Its doors creaked irritatingly when opened and shut, and the place was covered in dust. Still, it was in good condition, considering. The brown carpets were matted with sticky things that Phantom didn't want to know about. The walls were painted bright, cheerful colors, an arrangement that seemed melancholy now, when it had once been perhaps a loving home for a family.
Evan was 'helping', running around the house and bouncing up and down the stairs, watching dust roll off of them in waves. Although still depressed and traumatized, Evan could almost seem normal at times, romping about in his shorts and tee, never letting his dragon plush go. However, many times during the nights they spent in their temporarily chosen house, Phantom heard him crying out, clutched in the hold of vicious nightmares. The boy also seemed afraid to be touched, and any loud noises made him shake.
A sickened feeling settled in Phantom's gut when he came upon an empty nursery with glow-in-the-dark stars plastered on the ceiling. The crib was a pale blue, the inside swathed with downy blankets. It was eerily empty, disturbingly quiet when once it had been filled with laughter, even the small tears of a fussing child.
This could have been mine and Aria's, Was all that could run through his head at that moment. Phantasmagoric images flashed before him, of a blond, blue-eyed girl giggling in Aria's arms. Aria had always loved the name Cygnus, the name of the constellation of the swan. A beautiful name.
The thief shook his head to clear it and walked away, gently shutting the door behind him. Putting a barrier between him and the might've beens.
Next came the master bedroom. The items around the room were in disarray, as if the owner had hastily packed. Various pieces of trash, just random things such as empty boxes, littered the carpet. Phantom quickly made his way over to the black desk that was adjacent to the door and started opening drawers.
Jackpot; a drawer filled with rolled up... Maps? Phantom unrolled one- useless, it was a map of Henesys. Another one. It was a map of the surrounding cities. Now this could come in use.
"Freud," Phantom murmured, voice echoing throughout the empty halls. He held up the thin roll of parchment, "Freud, I found a map."
Footsteps. Wordlessly, the redhead came to take it from him, unrolling and inspecting it. Freud nodded and turned to leave, halted in his tracks by Phantom grabbing his sleeve.
"Can't you at least say something?-" Phantom began irritably. Who the hell did Freud think he was? No one ignored Phantom and got away with it.
"Don't touch me," Freud interrupted coldly, shrugging off the hand.
"We don't have time for you to sulk, Freud. What the hell's gotten into you?"
Freud was deathly silent for a few moments, simply looking over at Phantom icily. "My husband is dead, Phantom."
"My lover is dead too," Phantom narrowed his eyes. How dare he be so selfish, "At least I'm not throwing a pity party for myself."
"He promised me..." Freud whispered weakly. "He promised me. 'Til death do us part. I never thought it would come so soon..."
Without another word, Freud stalked off, leaving Phantom to wonder if maybe he had been too harsh.
Evan was fast asleep, tucked in beside Mir. They had been forced to eat the cardboard cheerios for dinner- even worse, every time they ate them, it was without milk. The little boy had poked and prodded at his food distastefully, his expression mirroring Phantom's. The kid was quickly becoming like a little brother to the man.
Phantom eyed Freud warily as the man paced the living room, eyes almost vacant. It was startling when the auburn-haired man finally came to stand in front of him- he, himself, was laying on the couch, staring up at the dusty ceiling fan.
"Phantom?"
"What is it?"
Slowly, Freud came to straddle Phantom's hips, leaning in closer to his face. Phantom's eyes widened, startled as he was by the sudden weight on top of his. Cool, minty breath brushed across his lips and then his ear. The blond's heart pounded in his chest, his face flushing.
What...?
"Make me forget."
"I- Freud, what the hell!" Phantom hissed as Freud's lips brushed the shell of his ear.
"I don't want to remember anymore."
Phantom slapped Freud in the face, hard, wincing as the motion jostled his injured arm.
"You can't run away, Freud. Wake up."
Freud, clutching his cheek, sat up and bit his lip. All was still and silent for several moments.
"..I'm sorry," His eyes were downcast and heavy with melancholy, a hurt that no one could sooth.
"...Do you know for certain that he's...?" Phantom asked finally.
"No. But if I was turned, then he would've been as well. He wouldn't have ran, even if I begged him to."
Somehow, Phantom found himself reaching forward, arm wrapping around the shaking man. It was strange to see Freud so unhinged- but he knew that grief could do strange things to a man.
"I know how it is," Phantom said simply. He wouldn't say he was sorry. Sometimes a simple 'sorry' could hurt like a punch to the gut, the pity unbearable. However, knowing that someone else was going through the same thing could mean a lot to someone.
"I loved him so much," Freud laughed bitterly. "And even then, all I remember is a shadow of those feelings. You know, I remember... Back in Leafre, I would show him different types of flowers, and he would make them into crowns for me..."
"Aria... She and I would feed the birds. I remember one time, I hired a professional to paint her. I think his name was... Eun Wol, or something like that."
For a moment, Freud's eyes flashed, before he seemed to shrug whatever it was off. "Aria? Was she yours?"
Phantom nodded with a woeful smile.
"We met when I left a calling card at her manor. I intended to steal a family heirloom of hers that had been passed down for years- a blue diamond known as the Skaia. I thought she was just another haughty, rich, tittering woman. She proved me wrong when she came out to meet me that night. And you know what she said?" Phantom laughed softly, caught up in reminiscing. "She said, "Over my dead body," chin up in the air and her shoulders squared. She looked so damn defiant. My beautiful, proud Aria."
Freud smiled faintly. "I... Still don't remember how I met him. Perhaps I will with time."
The hours passed with the two of them exchanging stories, laughing away their pain. Phantom had never told any of this to anyone else, and it was oddly refreshing to do so. It took a weight off of his chest.
"-And so Aria said, "Well, I prefer a man to keep his corny pick-up lines to himself," Phantom snickered. "Cheeky little lady, she was."
"She sounds like a work of art," Freud smiled gently.
"She was," Phantom yawned, gently rubbing at his eyes. "We should go to sleep."
"Wait. Let's look at the map, first. We need to figure out where we're going next."
Phantom nodded in agreement, pointing to the map that rested on the table. They unrolled it, Freud leaning over to study it. He pointed to the name Henesys, marked in bold letters on the map. "Here's us. We came from there," His finger trailed to Kerning City. "The surrounding cities are Perion, Lith Harbor and Ellinia." In the center of it all was Sleepy Woods, a thick, scraggly forest.
"Wait, what's this?" Phantom rested his thumb next to the word Edelstein. "I've never seen it on a map before."
Freud's eyes widened, before he broke out into a grin.
"That's it!" He stood and began to pace, leaving Phantom bewildered.
"That's where the lab was! Edelstein! It was in the mines. Gods, what were they called? Nevermind, we'll ask the locals when we get there."
A warm sort of feeling washed over the two of them. They were finding their way. Phantom found himself sighing in relief- Freud was back to normal, even if his heart bore more scars now.
"Let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us, tomorrow," Freud flashed a crescent moon of white teeth at Phantom.
"Goodnight, Freud."
"Goodnight, Phantom."