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 Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 6:16 pm
Telling Gale he was leaving wasn't going to be any easy task. He'd parted with Tobias with ideas in his head and with both hope and despair growing in his heart. There was a future out there, away from what this life had become. But it meant leaving everything behind.
...Which wasn't much. What did he care, all the achievements, all the awards, all the success--it hadn't bought him his parent's love, and now they were dead. Who was there to show off to? The accomplishments didn't do anything for the emptiness in his heart.
But losing Gale would.
He had called her after he and Tobias had parted, asking if she could come pick him up. He was in the park, a bit out of the way. He'd asked if she could come sit with him for a bit. Naturally, Gale had assured she'd be right over and they'd ended the call with a tender goodbye.
Now, he just sat there quietly, fingers laced together and head bowed. His eyes were squeezed shut and he tried to push away the building headache. It was stress induced, he knew that. Or maybe the lack of sleep or proper food--the greasy pizza he'd just had didn't count.
He was still struggling to figure out what to say; he couldn't tell how long had passed. Seconds, since he called? Minutes?
...He was running out of time and still no closer to finding the right words to say.
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:14 pm
Gale had started over as soon as she received the phone call, though she made a quick stop at a convenience store to pick up a sports drink and some water, as well as some nice soup for Laurence. She knew he hadn’t been eating, and it wasn’t that she blamed him…but she knew that the funeral was done and he had the opportunity to relax now, if he would only take it.
She wasn’t more than fifteen minutes in getting to him, and when she saw him on the bench, she gave a subdued smile and hurried over, holding the soup under one arm and the bag in the other.
“Laurence. I brought you some things to drink, I saw you downing the coffee earlier and I don’t want you to dehydrate…I brought some soup for us to share too if you’re interested.”
Sitting beside him, Gale placed the bag of drinks into his lap and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close and kissing his cheek tenderly. “I love you. I was so proud of you today…you did better than I could ever have…We made it. The hard part is over…now it’s just…picking up the pieces and settling down again.”
Her voice was quiet, as it had been over the past week. Quiet and reassuring, and her hand traced slow circles on his shoulder. “I want you to drink though, please. One of the sports drinks so I know you’re getting back some liquids that aren’t just coffee.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:49 pm
His shifted positions as soon as he heard Gale's voice, sitting up straight and tiredly lowering his hands. He wore a soft smile, but it was mirthless.
"You're too good to me," he said gently, leaning against her as she joined him. He was good and complied, going through the bag in his lap and pulling out a drink. He opened it up and took a sip. It was flavorless, but that was all just his nerves and he knew it.
"The hard part is almost over," he admitted. "...I have to talk to you about something important. It's not--I love you," he prefaced, not wanting her to assume the worst. "I love you, now and forever. That isn't changing. And I'm sorry, I know this isn't going to come out how I want it to, but..."
He exhaled and was torn between looking at her or hiding his gaze.
She deserved the truth. She deserved his full attention.
Grief stricken and exhausted, his eyes found hers.
"I made a mistake, a long time ago, and I think there's only one way to fix it. And I'm terrified that if I do that, I'm going to lose you."
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:56 pm
Gale was pleased to watch him take a nice sip of the drink. It did her heart good. She was just about to open up the soup, eager to taste it. Baked potato soup was so delightful. One of the best things about dating Laurence was the fact that he had slowly gotten her to start eating meat again. Not much, and not often…but the aroma of bacon which had once sickened her now caused her mouth to water, and she was more than ready to just guzzle the contents of this container.
At least she had been until he spoke.
She froze at his words and looked at him, suddenly wary.
He said that he loved her now and forever but…was he going to break up with her? This sounded an awful lot like a ‘I need some time to find myself’ speech and for a moment, Gale felt her world begin to crumble and the edges of her vision began to blur.
Quickly she got ahold of herself though and blinked, frowning and pushing the lid back down on the soup container, before putting it on the bench beside her.
“…Okay…well. What’s going on? Can I help with anything?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:04 pm
"I don't know," he admitted. "I guess, for starters, please don't think I'm crazy. I swear."
He looked at her with a desperation in his eyes that he hadn't really shown before; he needed her to believe him. Needed her to just hear him through.
...Needed to make sure she didn't try to have him committed before he could disappear. Or, before she could tell her sister.
"It's this organization that does," he waved his hand and struggled to figure out how to word it. He settled on an unimpressive and exasperated, "things. They're not good. I don't know why I joined. I was stupid and desperate, I guess. Just another attempt to get ahead, to be something. It was before I met you. At first, they weren't asking for much. It was like being involved in some special little club that just fed you all this garbage. Told you how important you were, what a change you could make. And then they started asking things. Demanding, really. You can't say no to them. I did the bare minimum, but I've become a disappointment. I know I have. And it's only a matter of time before they want me to do things again ,before they want more from me than I can give. So I have to get out, but there's only one way."
He tried to read her expression, tried to figure out if she was going to break up with him for being a raving lunatic.
"...You know all those weird things around the city? ...We've talked a few times, I know. The strange sightings, the monsters, the fighting?" he prompted, too tired and too far in to back out now.
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:09 pm
For a moment, Gale wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry.
Was he trying to tell her he was involved with the Negaverse? Or involved in some gang?
Whatever it was, she was just happy that he wasn’t breaking up with her. There was a staggering relief that this was all it was…if this was all it was.
“So…I mean…I’m not…I’m not completely sure what you’re trying to say, Laurence…I’m sorry. Is it…is it something that you can show me? Because I don’t…”
Gale shrugged and glanced away. “Just show me if you can. My brain is still screaming at me that you’re trying to break up with me so…a visual…some visual proof would really be…helpful right now…I’m so sorry if that sounds crass I just…”
Her heart was hurting, but she was hopeful too. If he was in the Negaverse…
“…how do you…’Get out’? Do we have to kill someone?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:14 pm
He was quiet, for a long moment, and then nodded slightly. "Just me."
He looked away now, a cold sweat coming over him. He was clammy and anxious. He hadn't had a panic attack in a while and he was doing everything he could to fight off this one.
There was no phrase, no item, just his own will.
Laurence was there one second, but a uniformed officer the next.
"I'm not lying," he tried to insist. "This is the best proof I can show you. It's not safe. I can't just move to another town, I can't just quit. It's a force greater than anything I've ever known, and the only way to get rid of it is to burn it out of me. And if I do that," he faltered, praying that Gale just give him a chance.
"...There's a chance that I might lose parts of myself. The parts that know you, that love you. I might lose all of those memories. But I--I don't want to lose you. If i don't leave, I will. If I do leave...there's--there's still a chance."
He hoped. He looked at her helplessly, desperately, and clung to the bottle she'd given him with such ferocity that the plastic was bowing in.
He'd said what he could; there were more words on his tongue but his mind was a jumbled mess. He held his breath, and waited.
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:23 pm
Gale watched him for a long moment, her stuttering heartbeat slowing slightly as he transformed into a…familiar Negaverse agent.
“Ah. So you’re a captain now?” The words were out without the permission of her brain but she didn’t care at this moment in time.
For her there was words to say, and after an interval, Super Sailor Kari had replaced Gale, her hair cascading around her face, the way she wore it now. Her periwinkle eyes were looking at Amesite with nothing but affection within them.
“I hope you listened to me. I see that you obviously didn’t stay out of trouble or you wouldn’t have been made a captain but…I do hope you haven’t killed anyone. And I know you’ve stayed safe…I’ve been with you since pretty soon after that night we met…”
Of course that night was pretty much burned into her mind but…he hadn’t been so bad.
Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek, watching him with a warm, loving smile. “So…we have to get you out of that uniform and into something brighter, hm? I’m down for that. You won’t forget me for long, Laurence. I’ll make sure of it.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:42 pm
Her words caught him by surprise and it was plainer on his face than any other emotion he'd shown tonight. It took him a few seconds longer than he'd wanted to actually process what he was looking at--who he was looking at. What she was saying.
He didn't feel like he had the right to smile, but one formed anyway.
He leaned into her hand, craving her warmth, her acceptance.
"You have so much faith." He needed that, he needed her. "...And here I was, thinking there wasn't any way you could have been involved. You were too kind, too gentle. But I should have known you had a fighting spirit involved."
Oh, hell, Karone would kill them both. She'd just die if she knew.
He swallowed. She couldn't know. Neither of them could. Even when he opened his mouth to warn her, he couldn't get the words out.
...Despite it all, it wasn't his to tell.
"We have to move quickly. I already spoke to my brother." His eyes found hers, and he wondered how long it would take for her to sink in. Seconds that were too precious to count.
"He purified, too. I knew he was alive. I'm sorry for lying to you. I didn't know, I couldn't--I couldn't afford to let anyone know. He came to the funeral. We had dinner together. He knows how to do it, who to talk to."
He moved closer, closing his eyes as he rested against her hand. He needed to power down, he didn't want to get caught. Not when he was so close. It was like he could see the first rays of sunlight breaching the horizon after a long night.
"I haven't killed anyone. But they keep telling me to pull starseeds. I don't have it in me, I don't know who I'm kidding. The lawyers are working on getting the will in my name. I said I'd donate a chunk to them. But I don't want to. Tobias is talking to his friends, I'm going to go get a throwaway phone and call him. To tell him how this goes. And I think," he exhaled a shaky breath that was full of more relief than it was anguish. "...I think I'll be able to tell him it went well. It's going to be a rough week. Are you...are you ready for this, Gale?" he asked gently. "...I want you by my side. But I know I'm asking for a lot."
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Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:02 am
Kari shrugged, letting her powered side melt away and leaving Gale behind once more. “There’s no fight in me. There hasn’t been since that night we met. Things were really bad for a while after that…but then I found my friends…and then I found you and everything…got so much better. I wasn’t alone anymore. I need you in my life, Laurence.”
She nodded at the news that his brother was alive, surprised but…not as surprised as she might have been, especially when he said that the other male purified. “Now…this isn’t the Tobias that’s dating my friend Evan…is it? Because that would just be too much for me to deal with right now…I know that he purified right around the time that your Tobias went missing and…I guess I kind of wondered but didn’t want to let myself really think about it too strongly in case it got him into trouble…”
Gale sighed and rested her head against his shoulder and nuzzled close. “You’re not asking a lot at all. I love you. I trust you. I want to bring you out of that awful organization. I…was very nearly corrupted you know. I almost wanted to join them but. Things happened and I’m much happier that things turned out as they did. I have you…I will never leave your side, Laurence. Not for anything or anyone.”
This was nothing bad. They would get Laurence out of there and all find a wonderful happy ending.
“…Easy peasy.”
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Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 6:35 am
When it was just Laurence and Gale again he just shrugged. "I don't know who he's dating, if he's dating anyone. I didn't ask. I tried not to be involved in his life, in anything that would tell me more than I could be trusted with. I didn't want anyone to have that information, to use it against him. He got out," he shrugged, almost helplessly. "I didn't want to drag him back in.
He squeezed her hand, processed the information. That she almost got corrupted, that she almost joined them. "...I'm glad you're you. That you didn't join them. You'd have been disappointed, in the end. I don't think anyone really cares about you. Just what you can do for them. It wouldn't have been good for you. It's not good for anyone, but. You deserve better."
He rested his head against hers and closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. "I love you, Gale. Everything about you. You're too good for me, but I know how lucky I am to have you. I've--" he hesitated, and corrected, "We've got a lot on our plate. But...I feel like I can do it. Knowing I've got you. I'm not..."
He swallowed. "I'm not afraid."
He was, a little bit. Afraid of making the wrong move, of taking the wrong step. Of the risk of losing everything he had spent his whole life building. Of losing himself, every memory, everything.
It might as well have been death, in a way, and that thought terrified him. His hands were clammy and his heart beat increased, but he had to tell himself that it beat dying and it beat being alone. It beat hurting the people he cared about, and all he could do was hope--pray, maybe--that when his time came, fate let him catch a break and remember what he needed to.
...And, if it didn't, if he had to start all over again...
At least he knew he was in good hands.
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