...I couldn't think of another way to keep my sister free and clear of the consequences. It had to look like he killed me. There's no room for ambiguity.
That said, if they don't find my body, I... don't know what the world will think. It might all have been for nothing. Or worse than nothing.
[ unable to help it, she takes his hand in both of hers. The words rumble out of her before she can stop them, as they gush forth straight from her heart. ]
Aqua. You worked your whole life on that plan and even managed to execute it. I just can’t see failure as something that happens to you. You gave your life to kill that disgusting man. Don’t believe it was for nothing. Of course it meant something.
… this will sound macabre, but I think even in the best case scenario for him, he bleeds out before he can get help.
I know—well… I think I’ve gotten to know you, at least a little. You didn’t fail. Ruby will be fine. [ more exquisite lies. but the determination in her face is real. ] And that man? Is dead.
[He blinks at her when she takes his hand, listening as she pours words over him like an overflowing vessel into a waiting pool. It's not that everything she says is kind, necessarily, or that she can have any more insight into Kamiki's fate than he does, or that saying he couldn't fail makes it real.
But she's reaching him. Touching him, despite the ocean of distance that's always held him, even before he was named for the sea.]
[Swallowing, he leans towards her until his closed eyes rest against her crown. They're in the sitting room, and it'll be good for the others to see them like this; at the same time, it doesn't matter. Aqua would do this anyway.]
I know you had to pick me because the pickings were slim.
[His voice is a murmur, just for her.]
Still... thank you. Thank you for saying this. Thank you for... working so hard to save me.
[A little trickle of wetness finds its way into her hair.]
I didn't want to die, [he admits. Since Lortel has one of his hands, he reaches across both of them to touch her arm with the other.] I don't want anyone else to die anymore.
[ Leans wholly into him, enjoying his warmth and closeness and solidity. Not really wanting to think about the way he was actively in the process of drowning when she first found him. She finds that now it hurts to picture. ]
… I picked you because I wanted to, Aqua. Don’t sell yourself so short. Or are you criticizing my tastes? [ smiles lightly, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face with one of her hands. ]
… I don’t, either. I don’t know… that is, anyone we lose now will hurt. There’s not that many of us left.
Still, don’t forget the promise I made you. Neither of us will die here, isn’t that right?
[Right. Her impossible promise, their mutual deal. Chuckling a little, despite the fact that there's still a tear or two in his eyes, Aqua gives the hand that remains in his a small squeeze.]
Mm. Yeah.
[He presses a soft kiss into her hair, then takes the hand from her arm to wipe his eyes dry. His other hand doesn't let go.]
[ she leans in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth without much thinking about it. it’s only once she’s done it that she flusters; that can’t really be construed as keeping up their deal, given they’re not in public. ]
[He peeks at her from over his hand, taking in her expression. Then he smiles faintly. Leans over to kiss her gently one more time between her brows.
For all her scheming, she's sweet. Adorable, in the sense that she's easy to adore.
Though he knows he deserves no such thing, being with Lortel makes Aqua's heart soften and keep beating. Reminds him that, despite everything, he's alive. They're both alive.]
I know it's not the time, but... you're cute, you know.
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[His thumb grazes her jawline, then he lets his hand fall away again. Gazing ahead at nothing, he absently touches his stomach.]
But you don't know what I've done, either.
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looks up at him. ]
… what happened before you died?
[ she just says it. ]
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Hopefully? I killed my father.
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I’ve been planning to do the same thing for years.
To my adopted father, that is. Elte Kehelland. He killed my parents.
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[He rests both his hands on his knees. They curl into fists.]
I spent the rest of my life searching for him so I could take everything from him in return.
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[ … ]
I took Elte’s company from him. I took everything.
[ ……
very softly: ] I wish you hadn’t died for it.
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That said, if they don't find my body, I... don't know what the world will think. It might all have been for nothing. Or worse than nothing.
[He really screwed the pooch this time.]
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The likelihood of his surviving is low. I just have no way of knowing for sure, since... well, I was dying, too.
[...]
If I'd known I'd have to worry about how it went, maybe I could have planned something more concrete. I was making do with what I had available.
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How does she reassure him? Why does he sound so unsure? ]
“Have to” worry? And what does that mean? It sounds like you succeeded, as far as you can tell.
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[He bites the inside of his cheek, then lets out a ragged, shuddering breath.]
Then I'll have left her alone for nothing. I'm her big brother, I'm supposed to protect her.
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Aqua. You worked your whole life on that plan and even managed to execute it. I just can’t see failure as something that happens to you. You gave your life to kill that disgusting man. Don’t believe it was for nothing. Of course it meant something.
… this will sound macabre, but I think even in the best case scenario for him, he bleeds out before he can get help.
I know—well… I think I’ve gotten to know you, at least a little. You didn’t fail. Ruby will be fine. [ more exquisite lies. but the determination in her face is real. ] And that man? Is dead.
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But she's reaching him. Touching him, despite the ocean of distance that's always held him, even before he was named for the sea.]
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I know you had to pick me because the pickings were slim.
[His voice is a murmur, just for her.]
Still... thank you. Thank you for saying this. Thank you for... working so hard to save me.
[A little trickle of wetness finds its way into her hair.]
I didn't want to die, [he admits. Since Lortel has one of his hands, he reaches across both of them to touch her arm with the other.] I don't want anyone else to die anymore.
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… I picked you because I wanted to, Aqua. Don’t sell yourself so short. Or are you criticizing my tastes? [ smiles lightly, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face with one of her hands. ]
… I don’t, either. I don’t know… that is, anyone we lose now will hurt. There’s not that many of us left.
Still, don’t forget the promise I made you. Neither of us will die here, isn’t that right?
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Mm. Yeah.
[He presses a soft kiss into her hair, then takes the hand from her arm to wipe his eyes dry. His other hand doesn't let go.]
We'll hold each other to it.
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Umm… right. Of course we will.
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For all her scheming, she's sweet. Adorable, in the sense that she's easy to adore.
Though he knows he deserves no such thing, being with Lortel makes Aqua's heart soften and keep beating. Reminds him that, despite everything, he's alive. They're both alive.]
I know it's not the time, but... you're cute, you know.
[When will it be the time, in this place?]
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[ why? why kiss her so sweetly when this is all meant to be for show?
could he—like her? ]
D-Do you… um…
[ Very uncharacteristically, she seems so flustered she’s lost for words. ]
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[Did he overstep? But she kissed him on the mouth!]
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[ help help help ]
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Is it too presumptuous to think you might feel the same way about me as I do about you?
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