(no subject)
Title: A Decent Start
Characters/Pairing: Asch, Guy, Luke, Natalia
Genre: Drama, Humor, General
Rating: PG
Summary: Score damn it, I am never going to Mushroom Road again.
It began, as these things usually did, when his stupid replica opened his stupid mouth to say something utterly...well, stupid.
He had spent damn near an hour crafting a wide array of excuses to use for when that damn replica and his happy troupe of companions invited him along on their Journey of Friendship -that he did not want to join, no he wasn't just being antisocial, thank you all the same- and just one little sentence rendered all of them useless.
"Well, I'll just stay here then."
Thank God for Guy and his mega-crush veiled as a Mother Hen complex. "You're not staying here by yourself! This place's monsters are really powerful. Suggesting that you stay here by yourself is borderline suicidal, Luke!" He did not have to add that lately Luke's willingness to sacrifice himself for the overall good had set his Suicide Radar on a high alert that didn't appear to be relaxing any time soon.
"I'll just stay on the ship." Luke folded his arms and gave them an even stare. "Besides, I'm the best choice to stay behind. Me and Asch fight alike, so having the both of us and leaving someone else behind to watch the Albiore would just screw up our formations. And Asch deserves to look for this Rugnican mushroom thing as much as the next person; Mother is his mother too."
Asch resisted the childish urge to snap, "She was my mother first," and simply grunted. He did want to help Mother, but...travelling with them, even if only for a few days...
Post-Akzeriuth had been bad enough. Tear was all right, and Natalia had been understandably jittery, but Guy was downright icy -still was, apparently- and that Colonel was just so damn NOSY that Asch could hardly stand it. Not to mention that little girl tossing off the lewdest of comments when he and Natalia were standing anywhere within five feet of each other -she was thirteen, for Lorelei's sake! How did she even know that word?!- had made the air thick enough to choke on. A repeat of that experience was not on the top of Asch's List of Things to Do Before I Die.
So he worked his mouth as he also worked his brain, scrambling for an excuse other than, 'No, because I really hate you guys,' because he didn't really hate them; but Guy hated him and while being with Natalia was a sweet little bonus, he was not looking forward to being teased by the hellish duo that was composed of the eldest and youngest members of the group. "I'll pass."
Guy made a sound that clearly portrayed his approval, but Luke sent him a scathing look and said, "C'mon, Guy, stop giving Asch such a rough time. He loves you, y'know."
Nothing short of drawing his blade and stalking towards his replica would make everything better, so he did just that. Or, he would have, if Guy hadn't snatched up his wrist in a grip so tight it actually hurt and yanked him back. He sent Guy a withering glare that effectively masked his hurt and forcibly tore his wrist from Guy's grip, tighting his fingers around the hilt of his sword to keep himself from rubbing his arm. The bastard had actually meant to hurt him.
"Guy," Luke sighed, sounding like a parent exasperated with their disobedient child. He looked as if he would continue, but shook his head and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll go tell the others that Asch is going with you all tomorrow morning."
"I didn't agree to a damn thing," Asch interrupted, tone more acidic than he supposed it could have been, but this making decisions about him without his consent was awfully reminiscent of a certain bearded madman's tactics, and he'd had enough of that.
"I'm telling Natalia," Luke called, not bothering to turn around as he jogged to the Albiore.
He was trapped. If he ran off without a viable excuse -or even one that Natalia, in all her naivety, would swallow- then she would never forgive him. He had about ten seconds to think of something, but it was proving difficult with Guy glaring at him. "What?" he asked sullenly.
Guy frowned and looked away. "Y'know, you're not making it easy on me."
"...Excuse me?" Asch couldn't help the little snort of disbelief that accompanied his question.
"You really make yourself easy to hate." Without further explanation, Guy followed after Luke, leaving Asch to stand alone at the entrance to the swamp.
----------------
"Asch, are you all right? You're not sleeping," Natalia said quietly, striding over to him in that graceful way she always did and curling her legs beneath her to sit next to him.
"That's probably because I'm keeping watch." While normally he would have used a condescending tone for the words, with Natalia, he found himself amused rather than irritated. She just had that effect on him.
Of course, that could also be because he was biased, but.
"Oh." She flushed. "Yes, I suppose that's also a good reason not to sleep." Upon seeing his small grin, she allowed herself an embarassed giggle. "Now I feel silly."
He nudged her gently with his shoulder, and she ducked her head, turning pink. How cute.
"Asch," and he groaned inwardly, having seen this coming from a mile away, "you know that Guy's trying his best to forgive your father, right?"
"It's taking so long that I'm beginning to wonder when he'll get around to me."
Natalia blinked in confusion. "Why would he need to forgive you? What have you ever done to him?"
"Apparently I was born." Asch reached forward and tossed another log onto the fire, addressing her sigh with a slightly harsher tone (although it was still comparatively gentler than his usual), "Oh, don't sigh like it's not obvious. He hates me because he hates Father, and even though I can't do anything about that, he's going to keep hating me." He was not pouting. "And all that time I believed we were friends. Damn it, but I was stupid."
"Asch, you were friends."
"Of course. Friendship usually consists of one person oblivious of the other trying to murder him."
"You were such a brat, I wasn't the only one willing to murder you." The sentence was muffled and unmistakably Guy's, from his bedroll a little ways away. "Half the maids were asking to help."
"Guy!" Natalia hissed.
To her surprise, Asch's lips twitched, as if he were fighting a smile. "I'm sure you would have let them, if you could stand getting within seven yards of them without panicking like a little girl."
There was a snort from the mop of blonde hair peeking from beneath the blankets before the material rustled from a shift of weight. After that, silence.
"...There. I tried." Asch wrapped his arms around his legs and clasped his wrists. "Go back to bed, Natalia."
"Thank you," she whispered, and kissed his cheek. Placing a hand on his shoulder for balance and support -in both meanings of the word- she rose to her feet and retreated to her own bedroll across the clearing.
Asch watched her curl up between Tear and Anise before gazing back at the fire, gnawing on his lip, face growing hot for reasons other than his distance -or lack thereof- to the blaze.
It wasn't fixed...but it was a decent start.
Characters/Pairing: Asch, Guy, Luke, Natalia
Genre: Drama, Humor, General
Rating: PG
Summary: Score damn it, I am never going to Mushroom Road again.
It began, as these things usually did, when his stupid replica opened his stupid mouth to say something utterly...well, stupid.
He had spent damn near an hour crafting a wide array of excuses to use for when that damn replica and his happy troupe of companions invited him along on their Journey of Friendship -that he did not want to join, no he wasn't just being antisocial, thank you all the same- and just one little sentence rendered all of them useless.
"Well, I'll just stay here then."
Thank God for Guy and his mega-crush veiled as a Mother Hen complex. "You're not staying here by yourself! This place's monsters are really powerful. Suggesting that you stay here by yourself is borderline suicidal, Luke!" He did not have to add that lately Luke's willingness to sacrifice himself for the overall good had set his Suicide Radar on a high alert that didn't appear to be relaxing any time soon.
"I'll just stay on the ship." Luke folded his arms and gave them an even stare. "Besides, I'm the best choice to stay behind. Me and Asch fight alike, so having the both of us and leaving someone else behind to watch the Albiore would just screw up our formations. And Asch deserves to look for this Rugnican mushroom thing as much as the next person; Mother is his mother too."
Asch resisted the childish urge to snap, "She was my mother first," and simply grunted. He did want to help Mother, but...travelling with them, even if only for a few days...
Post-Akzeriuth had been bad enough. Tear was all right, and Natalia had been understandably jittery, but Guy was downright icy -still was, apparently- and that Colonel was just so damn NOSY that Asch could hardly stand it. Not to mention that little girl tossing off the lewdest of comments when he and Natalia were standing anywhere within five feet of each other -she was thirteen, for Lorelei's sake! How did she even know that word?!- had made the air thick enough to choke on. A repeat of that experience was not on the top of Asch's List of Things to Do Before I Die.
So he worked his mouth as he also worked his brain, scrambling for an excuse other than, 'No, because I really hate you guys,' because he didn't really hate them; but Guy hated him and while being with Natalia was a sweet little bonus, he was not looking forward to being teased by the hellish duo that was composed of the eldest and youngest members of the group. "I'll pass."
Guy made a sound that clearly portrayed his approval, but Luke sent him a scathing look and said, "C'mon, Guy, stop giving Asch such a rough time. He loves you, y'know."
Nothing short of drawing his blade and stalking towards his replica would make everything better, so he did just that. Or, he would have, if Guy hadn't snatched up his wrist in a grip so tight it actually hurt and yanked him back. He sent Guy a withering glare that effectively masked his hurt and forcibly tore his wrist from Guy's grip, tighting his fingers around the hilt of his sword to keep himself from rubbing his arm. The bastard had actually meant to hurt him.
"Guy," Luke sighed, sounding like a parent exasperated with their disobedient child. He looked as if he would continue, but shook his head and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll go tell the others that Asch is going with you all tomorrow morning."
"I didn't agree to a damn thing," Asch interrupted, tone more acidic than he supposed it could have been, but this making decisions about him without his consent was awfully reminiscent of a certain bearded madman's tactics, and he'd had enough of that.
"I'm telling Natalia," Luke called, not bothering to turn around as he jogged to the Albiore.
He was trapped. If he ran off without a viable excuse -or even one that Natalia, in all her naivety, would swallow- then she would never forgive him. He had about ten seconds to think of something, but it was proving difficult with Guy glaring at him. "What?" he asked sullenly.
Guy frowned and looked away. "Y'know, you're not making it easy on me."
"...Excuse me?" Asch couldn't help the little snort of disbelief that accompanied his question.
"You really make yourself easy to hate." Without further explanation, Guy followed after Luke, leaving Asch to stand alone at the entrance to the swamp.
----------------
"Asch, are you all right? You're not sleeping," Natalia said quietly, striding over to him in that graceful way she always did and curling her legs beneath her to sit next to him.
"That's probably because I'm keeping watch." While normally he would have used a condescending tone for the words, with Natalia, he found himself amused rather than irritated. She just had that effect on him.
Of course, that could also be because he was biased, but.
"Oh." She flushed. "Yes, I suppose that's also a good reason not to sleep." Upon seeing his small grin, she allowed herself an embarassed giggle. "Now I feel silly."
He nudged her gently with his shoulder, and she ducked her head, turning pink. How cute.
"Asch," and he groaned inwardly, having seen this coming from a mile away, "you know that Guy's trying his best to forgive your father, right?"
"It's taking so long that I'm beginning to wonder when he'll get around to me."
Natalia blinked in confusion. "Why would he need to forgive you? What have you ever done to him?"
"Apparently I was born." Asch reached forward and tossed another log onto the fire, addressing her sigh with a slightly harsher tone (although it was still comparatively gentler than his usual), "Oh, don't sigh like it's not obvious. He hates me because he hates Father, and even though I can't do anything about that, he's going to keep hating me." He was not pouting. "And all that time I believed we were friends. Damn it, but I was stupid."
"Asch, you were friends."
"Of course. Friendship usually consists of one person oblivious of the other trying to murder him."
"You were such a brat, I wasn't the only one willing to murder you." The sentence was muffled and unmistakably Guy's, from his bedroll a little ways away. "Half the maids were asking to help."
"Guy!" Natalia hissed.
To her surprise, Asch's lips twitched, as if he were fighting a smile. "I'm sure you would have let them, if you could stand getting within seven yards of them without panicking like a little girl."
There was a snort from the mop of blonde hair peeking from beneath the blankets before the material rustled from a shift of weight. After that, silence.
"...There. I tried." Asch wrapped his arms around his legs and clasped his wrists. "Go back to bed, Natalia."
"Thank you," she whispered, and kissed his cheek. Placing a hand on his shoulder for balance and support -in both meanings of the word- she rose to her feet and retreated to her own bedroll across the clearing.
Asch watched her curl up between Tear and Anise before gazing back at the fire, gnawing on his lip, face growing hot for reasons other than his distance -or lack thereof- to the blaze.
It wasn't fixed...but it was a decent start.