[Action]

[dissonates]

[After a few days of Deep Thought following this little encounter, Asch has finally resolved himself to go back home. He's packed his things, cleaned up, done a few repairs to make the apartment somewhat presentable after he tore it to bits during the Halloween ordeal, though he's sure it'll end up fixing itself anyway. Finally, sometime in the morning, he heads out and makes his way to House 5.

Depending on where the occupants are, he'll be looking for Guy, Luke, and Natalia- starting with their rooms, one by one, and then moving on to the rest of the house and outside if necessary. He's been thinking a lot - probably too much for his own good - and he's tired, but more than that, he's tired of just running away.]

Comments

[Action]

[forkimlasca.livejournal.com]

[Action]

[dissonates]

[He doesn't poke his head in outright, but he does try to subtly glance in to see if she's awake. Confirming that, he raps his knuckles on the door for her attention.]

[Action]

[forkimlasca.livejournal.com]

Come in.

[Action]

[dissonates]

[With her invitation, Asch steps inside, remaining by the door for a moment.]

Natalia. I need to talk to you, if you're free. [And willing to hear him out. He did sort of disappear without a word.]

[Action]

[forkimlasca.livejournal.com]

Asch, you've returned.

I am completely free... what is it?

[Action]

[dissonates]

[He pauses as if uncertain, then steps in fully and shuts the door behind himself before he approaches the bed.]

I need to ask you for a favour. It's unfair of me, but there's no helping it- I don't think I can ask anyone else.

[Action]

[forkimlasca.livejournal.com]

Then I will do whatever I can to help.

[Action]

[dissonates]

[He seems like he wants to ignore the invitation for a moment, but he does end up seating himself, hands grasping the material of his tunic.]

I need you... to watch me. To see how I act with the rep- ...with Luke. I need someone to stop me when I'm... the way I am with him.

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[Guy is actually not cleaning or reading fontech books like a nerd, for once. He's actually up on the roof; he seems to have kicked and/or scraped a lot of snow loose and spread out a blanket to lay on, in a thick coat with a scarf and gloves and looking all bundled up, hands behind his head.

He could either be watching the stars or his breath clouding against the night sky; either or.]

[dissonates]

[Man, Guy, have you seriously been missing all day, what a jerk. Asch would have looked for him at the bar, but he really didn't want to talk to him in a place so private, so he wandered around the village quite a bit before heading home again in the late evening. Being winter, the sun goes down much earlier, so it's quite dark when he finally returns. Even so, he somehow manages to spot Guy on the roof, lit only by the moon, and after a moment's hesitation, Asch steels himself and climbs up.]

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[There's the soft thunks of someone else climbing up onto the roof, and Guy glances over, expecting Luke (and getting ready to scold him; he shouldn't be climbing on roofs in the snow and cold until he's back to normal).

What he sees instead is Asch.

His surprise is evident; his eyes widen and he raises himself up on an elbow. After the silence that followed his little speech and no response for several days, Guy had thought he'd gone ignored.]

...hey.

[dissonates]

...Hey.

[Not exactly substantial, but until he finds the words - he's been searching for them for days now - it's all he's got. Once he reaches the top, he hesitates again, then steps over, kicking the snow off a spot on the roof beside Guy and sitting down, his knees drawn up to his chest. Chirp chirp, go the internal crickets...]

I'm back.

[His bag is unpacked and everything. He hasn't decided whether or not it's a good idea yet.]

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[Guy takes a moment to digest that announcement, lips pressed together as he examines Asch's face.]

...I wasn't sure if you'd do it.

[dissonates]

Neither was I. [It's spoken so matter-of-factly, flatvoiced, as if he's trying to keep himself reined in. It's harder than it's ever been, now. Memories always make things harder.] I thought a lot about what you said, though.

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

So I see.

[Guy vaults up to sit instead of recline, arms around his drawn-up knees.]

What did you think about it?

[dissonates]

...I think a lot of what you said made me angry. [A pause, and then-] But most of the time, what makes me angry is also the truth. I never wanted to acknowledge that.

[He doesn't really want to acknowledge it now, either, but sometimes what's difficult is also necessary. It's the sort of philosophy he's always lived by; why start rejecting it now? All he has to do is accept what's necessary, after all.]

...I can't change who I am. I can change my behaviour, if I try- even if it's hard, even if I don't really want to. It's possible. Maybe it's even necessary. [There's that unhappy word again.] But I will always be a Fabre. Even with a different name, I'm still Luke fon Fabre. I'll always have a Fabre's hair, a Fabre's eyes, stupid Fabre's genes. I can hate it all I want, you can hate it all you want, but that will never change. But I'm not my father, any more than I'm the replica- ...Luke.

[He's trying, he's trying. It's so hard, but he needs to try.

It's necessary.]

This isn't meant to be an ultimatum, or a threat. But you need to know that if we can't fix this, then I won't stay here. I can't. Even if you think I need to be here for my own sake, I can't.

[Action]

[fabrecation]

[Luke was in his room, head on his desk in pure boredom and occasionally snapping his fingers near one of his ears. He's a little tired, but unwilling to sleep, and he's found that there's a lot of things he can't do while he can't hear.

That, and Guy still won't let him out of the house until he's fully better. And there really isn't much to do around here.

So he was sitting, feeling his fingers move and hearing nothing, and- snap.

...

Snap?

Luke pauses for a long moment, then lifts his head and snaps his fingers again, right near his ear.

Snap!

It was faint, really faint, but he heard it! Luke slowly stares to smile as he rises to his feet and claps - he heard that - and he laughs and looks towards the door.]

Guy! Natalia!

[He heard that! It sounded like his own voice was about a mile away, but still!

No one's answering him immediately, so he's running out of the room to try and find them and make them yell at him or something.]

[Action]

[dissonates]

[And Asch was right outside his room at the same time, so when the door opens and Luke comes barrelling out, there's a sudden Luke-to-Luke collision.]

What the-!?

[Action]

[fabrecation]

Gah-!

[And Luke staggers backwards, wondering how in the world a wall suddenly appeared right outside his door. Is Guy that desperate to keep him inside?

But upon looking and seeing Asch... Luke's eyes widen, and he has to stare in shock for a moment. Once he gets over the shock, though... Sorry Asch, you're the nearest person, so you have to deal with another Luke-to-Luke collision as he launches himself forward for something similar to a tacklehug.]

Asch!

[Action]

[dissonates]

[Asch flails helplessly, grimacing in irritation as his back hits the floor. Immediately he's struggling, trying to wriggle his arms free to shove Luke off.]

Let go of me!

[Action]

[fabrecation]

You're back! You came back!

[Asch said something- He's not really sure of what, but he heard his voice, and it wasn't in his head! Luke grins and lets go, pushing himself back to a sitting position.]

Asch, I-I can hear again! Just barely, but- I heard you just now!

[Action]

[dissonates]

You can? [Asch resists the urge to shove - not a good start to the conversation he's already resolved himself to have - and sits up.] How barely is barely?

[Action]

[fabrecation]

[Luke gives a rather blank look at first, and while he didn't quite hear the question, he still answers. He manages to read the word "barely", and he got the gist from that.]

You sound really far away, and I couldn't understand everything you said, but- It's really coming back!

[Action]

[dissonates]

[Asch stares at him for a long moment, studying his expression. ...Yep, he still looks confused. He pushes himself to his feet, turning away, raising his voice so it's a bit louder for Luke.]

I'll come back later, then.

[goldenfirefly.livejournal.com]

[Stella had been in the clinic for a few days, and now that she's strong enough to walk around on her own, she's been doing so, exploring the world and seeing all of the sights and just... being happy that she's alive.

All with Asch's tabard on.

There were a few reasons why Stella decided to keep it with her: 1. It's still cold and she doesn't have a coat, 2. It was very nice of Asch to keep it with her, even though he probably just forgot it, and 3. She'd like to return it to him. After Shirley brought Stella home and reacquainted her with everything, Stella had gotten to work, and one of the things she did was washed Asch's tabard. Of course, she did it the old fashioned way. The washers and driers are terrifying and she hates them. Stupid things.

The only problem is that she doesn't really know where Asch lives. So while exploring the village, she happens to pass by House 5, and she stops and pauses for a while. Something about this place...

This is where he lived, isn't it?

With a small smile of triumph, Stella unhooks the tabard and folds it in her arms, steps up to the front porch, then dusts off a spot before she sets the tabard down. Afterwards, she tears out a page in her journal and writes a note, then goes back on her way. The note reads:

"Asch-

While I deeply appreciate you leaving this with me, I think you might want it back. Thank you again for your kindness.

p.s. Don't worry, I washed it for you.

- Stella"]