Where there are crypts [Vaan, PG]
Title: Where there are crypts
Characters: Vaan
Word count: 493
Summary: Vaan visits the catacombs beneath the cathedral in Rabanastre, where the ashes of the dead are enshrined, and has a bit of a moment.
Warnings: Aaaaaaaangst. and badly written fic because it is early and I have not slept |D sorry gaiz.
It’s a part of Rabanastre that people don’t often go by anymore; it reminds them too much of the war. It is, however, a place that Vaan is all too familiar with. The air here is thick, heavy; it makes you feel like falling to your knees and weeping. There’s no color here, either. It’s all drab stone and statues of saints, their unblinking eyes watching the comings and goings of the living putting those passed on to their eternal rest.
A resting place for the dead; it seemed an ill-fitting place for the smile on Vaan’s face, and for the bright color of the galbanna lillies he’d brought with him.
“...It was amazing; I really wish you could have been there. I mean... who’d have thought I’d ever meet the princess in a sewer?” His voice echoed through the halls, falling on naught but the ears of the dead. “It’s something I never expected. I was only there to raid the palace treasury.” Vaan paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “... uhhh... Don’t tell mom and dad that, ok? They’ll be really angry if they find out.”
He sighed and leaned back where he sat, resting his weight on the heels of his hands. “I really miss you. And mom and dad, too. Ever since I got back home...it’s like... People keep telling me how proud you’d be if you were here, and...” Vaan shut his eyes, the smile on his face fading away. “... and I miss you. That’s not stupid is it?”
Shifting his weight again, Vaan leaned forwards and ran his fingers over the brass plate that marked this small space as his brother’s; the place where Reks’ ashes were enshrined. “I hope they’re right. When they say that you’d be proud of me. That’s all I want. That’s all I ever wanted.”
Vaan set the small bouquet of lillies on the floor in front of the brass plate. They’d been his favorite, after all; He knew Reks would have liked them. “Basch says that he’s sorry for everything that happened. It really wasn’t him who killed the king. Who-“ He choked on the words, hot tears starting to stream down his cheeks.
“... It wasn’t him.” He wiped the tears away, but more’d only replace them. “I gotta go... Promised Penelo I’d take care of some stuff for her. I’ll be back, though; there’s still a whole lot more I gotta tell you.” Vaan pushed himself to his feet and bowed his head for a moment. “... I love you, Reks. You know that, right?”
He received no answer, save the echo of his own heartbeat in his ears and the sound of his footsteps as he made his way through the stone corridors. In this place, where there were crypts... the tears on his face and the heaviness of his heart seemed much more fitting than the smile he wore about the streets of Rabanastre.
Characters: Vaan
Word count: 493
Summary: Vaan visits the catacombs beneath the cathedral in Rabanastre, where the ashes of the dead are enshrined, and has a bit of a moment.
Warnings: Aaaaaaaangst. and badly written fic because it is early and I have not slept |D sorry gaiz.
It’s a part of Rabanastre that people don’t often go by anymore; it reminds them too much of the war. It is, however, a place that Vaan is all too familiar with. The air here is thick, heavy; it makes you feel like falling to your knees and weeping. There’s no color here, either. It’s all drab stone and statues of saints, their unblinking eyes watching the comings and goings of the living putting those passed on to their eternal rest.
A resting place for the dead; it seemed an ill-fitting place for the smile on Vaan’s face, and for the bright color of the galbanna lillies he’d brought with him.
“...It was amazing; I really wish you could have been there. I mean... who’d have thought I’d ever meet the princess in a sewer?” His voice echoed through the halls, falling on naught but the ears of the dead. “It’s something I never expected. I was only there to raid the palace treasury.” Vaan paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “... uhhh... Don’t tell mom and dad that, ok? They’ll be really angry if they find out.”
He sighed and leaned back where he sat, resting his weight on the heels of his hands. “I really miss you. And mom and dad, too. Ever since I got back home...it’s like... People keep telling me how proud you’d be if you were here, and...” Vaan shut his eyes, the smile on his face fading away. “... and I miss you. That’s not stupid is it?”
Shifting his weight again, Vaan leaned forwards and ran his fingers over the brass plate that marked this small space as his brother’s; the place where Reks’ ashes were enshrined. “I hope they’re right. When they say that you’d be proud of me. That’s all I want. That’s all I ever wanted.”
Vaan set the small bouquet of lillies on the floor in front of the brass plate. They’d been his favorite, after all; He knew Reks would have liked them. “Basch says that he’s sorry for everything that happened. It really wasn’t him who killed the king. Who-“ He choked on the words, hot tears starting to stream down his cheeks.
“... It wasn’t him.” He wiped the tears away, but more’d only replace them. “I gotta go... Promised Penelo I’d take care of some stuff for her. I’ll be back, though; there’s still a whole lot more I gotta tell you.” Vaan pushed himself to his feet and bowed his head for a moment. “... I love you, Reks. You know that, right?”
He received no answer, save the echo of his own heartbeat in his ears and the sound of his footsteps as he made his way through the stone corridors. In this place, where there were crypts... the tears on his face and the heaviness of his heart seemed much more fitting than the smile he wore about the streets of Rabanastre.