Chapter 12: Guardian

It'd been days since the incident at the bar. The day after I'd gotten my stitches, King visited the man who attacked me to see if he was okay. I felt bad about it, and I wouldn't dare tag along, so I waited patiently for a few hours before King returned home. He told me that I didn't do any permanent damage, other than a bruised ego, but the man was going to be okay.

"How can you care about so many people?" I remembered asking him that day. He walked past me, speaking without even thinking of his response. He told me, "Because its the right thing to do." In that way, I was jealous of him. Try as I might, I didn't have it in me to forgive people so easily; the way King freely forgave others. However, this same quality drew me closer to him. With so much strength and compassion, he inspired me to be a better man every day. Somehow, a part of me knew that even though I would continue to try, I would never be as good a person as King.

I sat in my room, resting on my back as I stared at the ceiling above me. I'd been like this ever since that night. For the past few days, my thoughts teased me. I thought back to the feelings I had when King touched me, when he told me that everything was going to be okay. I did believe him when he said it, but the more I lay there thinking about everything, the less I continued to believe. 'He was just being concerned, there was nothing else to it.'

"You know, I think if you stare just a little bit harder, you might just be able to chip the paint." I heard a voice say. Looking away from the ceiling, my eyes locked with King's. He stood with his arms folded, leaning against the door frame to my room. I could see a smile on his lips through the mouth of his mask. It was the first genuine smile I'd seen from him in a long time and being here now to see it; it felt so good. Whenever he was happy, I was happy. And lately, he hadn't been overly joyous about much of anything.

"Just thinking, that's all." I replied as I moved up into a sitting position on the bed. "What about you?"

"I've been doing the same. Hey, can we talk?" he asked me, his smile fading slowly back into the shadows of his mask. For a second there, I stopped breathing. This was the first time since me telling him about my secret that's he's wanted to talk. Catching myself, I nodded and motioned for him sit down in the chair across from me.

"Sure, what's up?" My posture immediately straightened up and I wondered what exactly he was going to say. Taking the seat, he flipped it around backwards and sat down, letting his arms fold on the head rest.

"I know things have been weird between us lately, but I need your advice." he said.

"What is it...?" I asked. Though I was nervous, I was also excited. It felt like the old days where we'd come to each other for advice. We were all each other had and it was nice to have that feeling returning to me.

"I...can't help feeling still...." he stopped and looked to the ground. Biting my lower lip, I waited for him to finish his sentence.

"I mean...do you think..Armor King is disappointed with me?" As soon as his words finished, my heart sank. While one part of me felt relieved at the topic, another part felt terribly guilty and upset for him.

"King.."

"I know, I know you told me that he's proud of me. That I tried my best to avenge him and that's what matters the most but..something still doesn't feel right. He taught me how to control my anger; how to win against overwhelming odds. But still, I couldn't defeat Marduk. I can't help but have this feeling deep inside my heart that somewhere out there, wherever his spirit is, he is upset with me."

"You just said it yourself." I replied, watching as he slowly looked up at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Your heart. That feeling in your heart, that's him. His spirit is there and he's telling you to let it go. He knows how hard you tried, King. He knows how hard we both tried to avenge him."

"He taught me to win, he taught me to succeed-"

"But at the end of the day, you're still human. We're both still human. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves for the next time. Armor King also taught you that...didn't he?" After I spoke, King took a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling, much as I had been doing before he came in. After a few more moments of silence, he nodded and looked back at me.

"Thank you Peter. I needed that." he said, exhaling as he started to cheer up.

"No problem, you would do the same for me."

"When did you learn to be so...understanding?" he asked me. Looking away and smiling at the fond memories I had, I gave him his answer.

"I learned from you." The room was quiet for a little while before King stood up and walked towards the door. Before he left the room, he turned back to face me again.

"..I've missed talking to you, Peter."

"I've always been around, King." As soon as I said it, I mentally gasped, realizing that I had maybe said too much. The last thing I wanted to do was offend him, especially now. Holding my breath slightly, I looked over to him to see what his reaction was going to be. For a brief moment, he looked shocked, but after a few seconds, he nodded silently and offered me another small smile.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." he said before walking out. Releasing the breath from my chest, I sighed silently to myself as I lay back down on my back. Even though he wasn't acting fully like himself yet, I couldn't help but find myself smiling at his words.

-----

The next few days passed by uneventfully. King and I just continued to get back into our routine lives, albeit slowly. Small talk between us now was far less awkward than before and oddly enough, things were feeling similar to the way they used to be. Hell, I'd settle for that any day over the walking-on-egg-shells tension we'd had before. Another thing I noticed was that King was a bit more protective over me now. Whenever I went to go anywhere, he always offered to come along, especially if it was during the hours of night. While I would've loved nothing more than to have him accompany me so frequently, I wanted to show him that I was a strong person. I wasn't as weak as I used to be anymore.

One night, I was walking down the street towards the house when my cell phone started to ring in my pocket. Fumbling with the grocery bags in my hands, I finally was able to reach it. Once I flipped it open, I heard a woman's voice.

"Peter?" asked the voice. Right away, I noticed that she was sobbing.

"Julia? What's wrong?" I asked, stopping in my tracks despite the heavy bags I was carrying.

"I...I lost. I'm no longer in the competition." She managed to say in between sobs. Frowning, I continued up the steps to the front door. Once inside, I began to speak to her again.

"Julia...I'm so sorry. I know how much winning this tournament meant to you."

"That's just it. Since I've been eliminated, I won't be able to get the data I needed for my research. It's all over for me. My dream, my purpose, everything. It's finished."

"Don't say that Julia. I know you. You're smart, you will find a way to continue."

"I hope you're right." she said, her voice beginning to calm down.

"Where are you now?" After a slight moment of hesitation, she replied.

"Ugh, I just got off the plane, I'm at the airport. And of all the nights, flagging down a taxi seems to be impossible right now."

"No need. Stay right where you are, I'm coming to pick you up okay?" I said as I placed the grocery bags on the kitchen table and searched for my car keys. On the other end of the phone, I could hear Julia trying to protest.

"No Peter, I'll be alright it's almost one in the morning and-"

"It's fine, I just came back from getting some groceries anyways." I said, finding my keys.

"Grocery shopping at this time?" Julia's voice said with a hint of humor.

"Hey, 7/11 is open all the time and I'm weird like that, so yeah." After my statement, I heard her start to chuckle. Good, at least she was beginning to feel a little bit better now.

"Peter, you always know how to make me laugh." she said, sniffling slightly as if she were drying her eyes.

"I try. Okay I should be there in about a half hour okay? I'll find you so stay put." I said, grabbing a jacket.

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh and Julia, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"No more crying okay?" I said with a polite yet reassuring tone. Laughing again, she agreed and hung up the phone. Putting my phone away, I made my way back to the front door when another voice called out to me.

"Peter? Where are you going again so late?" I turned around to see King, standing in his boxers, shaking himself awake. Flustered and slightly caught off guard, I was thankful it was dark because I could feel myself starting to blush. Finding a spot on the wall over his shoulder to look at, I began to speak to him.

"Julia just called. She just got off her flight and she's feeling pretty down. She got eliminated from the tournament." I said, scratching the back of my head and looking to the ground.

"Oh. Well I'll come with you then. Just give me two minutes to put something on." he said, turning back into the darkness of his room.

"King, you don't have to do that, I'll be fine on my-"

"It's late and you're tired. I don't want you to fall asleep at the wheel, okay?" he interrupted, but with a calm and collected tone of voice. Knowing how stubborn King got when he had his mind made up, I offered no further resistance. In what seemed like seconds, he reappeared from the darkness and tossed on his jacket. Once we were outside, I made my way over to my car. Before I could even turn the key in the lock, King nudged my elbow and motioned towards his car next to mine.

"I'll drive." he said. Shaking my head, I tried my best to hide my smile as I got into the passenger seat of his car. That was another quality that drew me closer to him. He was always so selfless, no matter what. Once I was inside the car, I couldn't help it. I chuckled to myself.

"...What?" asked King as he turned the key in the ignition and started to back out. Controlling myself, I tucked my smile away slowly.

"Oh nothing." I said. Looking over, I noticed him smiling at me; his lips visible once again through the mouth of his mask. He knew what he was doing. I don't know why, but at that moment, I felt like we were connected a little more than before.

-----

Julia was standing outside one of the gates with her bags on the ground. Once she recognized King's car, she immediately smiled and waved at us. Getting out of the car, I smiled and opened my arms as she ran to me. We embraced tightly for awhile, happy to see each other again.

"Thank you guys so much for coming!" she said, switching her hug to King who now stood beside me. Helping her put her bags into the trunk, we all got into the car. Instinctively, I sat in the backseat only to be surprised when Julia sat in the back with me. Moving over, I smiled as she adjusted her glasses.

"That tournament was so tough, in a way, I'm glad it's over for me." she said.

"Well we're glad you came back safe. And don't worry, we'll find a way to get your data back." I said, hoping to reassure her and make her feel better.

"I really hope so. From the looks of things, Jin seems like he's going to win the tournament this year."

"Again?" I said with a slight eye roll.

"Yes. But if he does win, I'm sure he will help me. We are friends after all." she said, trying to keep an optimistic appearance.

"Yeah and if that doesn't work, I can always talk to Xiaoyu. She's his best friend, I'm sure she can convince him to help you out." I said aloud to her.

"Yes that is true. Hopefully, I'll get to see my dreams fulfilled sooner rather than later."

"You will, Julia. So how was your flight?" I asked her, watching as she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Oh god, it was so long. But everything turned out okay, minus the kid who kept kicking my chair." We all laughed and a few moments passed. To my surprise, Julia leaned her head against my shoulder and began to fall asleep. She must've been tired. Looking up, I made eye contact with King in the rear view mirror. As soon as our eyes caught each other, he looked back to the road and sighed to himself. He had to be tired too.

"King, I'll drive now if you want." I said in a low voice so as not to wake Julia.

"No, it's okay." he replied quietly.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." he said, looking back to me in the mirror. Just then I heard him repeat those two words to himself in a silent whisper, before looking away.

...

'What was that all about?'

-----

A little while later, we pulled up to Julia's house. She had woken up and shook herself awake. Getting out of the car, she turned to King and smiled.

"Thank you again King, you're the best." she said.

"Anytime you need a favor just ask! You be sure to rest up okay?" he said in a friendly tone.

"Will do!" Just then, I moved to get out of the car to help her carry her bags from the trunk.

"Hey King, do you want me to drive us home?" I asked politely, knowing for sure that by now he must've been tired.

"I'm okay Peter." he said before covering up a yawn. I sat still for a second, looking at him before I snapped back into reality and got out of the car.

"Thanks Pete." said Julia as she opened her front door and showed me where to put them.

"No problem, Jules."

"Hey Peter?" she began, sounding somewhat serious again.

"Yeah?"

"I have to be honest. I do miss you being the person in my life." The bluntness of the statement caught me by surprise and I found myself standing there, not knowing what to say. Before an awkward silence could come over, Julia picked up the conversation again. "But I want to see you happy. Tonight when I saw you and King, you didn't look happy."

"Well, he had a bit of a hard time taking what I told him. He asked me not to talk about it." I said, folding my arms over my chest and looking to the ground.

"...Take it from someone who understands the feeling. If you need to talk about something, talk about it. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself crazy. If I've learned anything from you, its that holding your feelings inside will only make things worse. Just try and talk to him." Her words sounded so odd to me. Of all people, she had the most reason to hate me, yet here she was; trying her best to help me instead.

"Thanks Julia. I might just do that." I said.

"He needs you now more than ever after everything he's been through. Let him know you're there for him. Even if it has to be just as a friend." Looking at her, I felt lucky to have people like King and Julia in my life. Through their guidance, I had come a long way and it was through them that I understood what true friendship was all about.

"Thank you. I really appreciate that. But just know that even though things changed, I'll always be here for you too." I said, giving her a hug.

"I know you will be." With that said, she waved me goodbye and I went back outside to the car. Getting inside, King was quiet for a little bit before engaging in random small talk. It was as if he was uncomfortable. Julia's words played back in my mind. She was right.

"King. Are you okay?" I asked, looking at him. His eyes stayed on the road ahead as he nodded.

"Of course, I'm okay. Why?" he replied in a quiet, yet polite manner.

"Just making sure." Maybe Julia really was right. Maybe it really was time to talk to him. One thing was for sure, it couldn't be right here, right now. So I decided that I would try and talk to him tomorrow. Looking at him again, he not only appeared tired but upset. I knew King better than anybody and the more I looked at him, the more I knew that he was not okay like he had claimed he was.