Twentieth PSI

[a_gentle_boy]

[action, multi-topic for everyone]
Lucas is a wreck.  By now, he has forsaken the hat and the mask, and his burn marks are very clearly visible to anyone who didn't guess before.  He doesn't particularly care.

1. He stumbles across town like a zombie, smashing into things wherever he goes, barely registering the pain.  He stops suddenly in random spots, staring at the floor or at a tree or at a shop window or at a drone.  This is where we had ice cream.  This is where I bought him the present.  This is the bench where he listened to my story . . . This is where . . . This is . . .

2. In school, he keeps his head down and buried and sits in a far corner.  His shoulders occasionally heave.

3. At home, he shuts himself in his room.  Family members or those who visit him will find drawing after drawing after drawing of a certain person strewn all across the floor, each one with slash marks through the face.  Is he already forgetting?  Is he losing the smile, the laugh, the voice?

[action, forward-dated, open to Taiwan, Saki, and Mindy]
A full day after his meeting with Taiwan, Lucas enters the house uninvited.  He doesn't care about not being selfish anymore.  He has remembered -- There is something very precious he needs to get back, the symbol and the memory that he absolutely needs.

He finds it in the basement.  True to his word, the Netherlands has framed the very first drawing that Lucas has ever made, of Miffy and Hello Kitty enjoying a picnic in a park.  Propped up beside it is the best piece of art that Lucas has ever produced: a drawing of the two of them, laughing and happy, so closely resembling each other in looks that they could've passed as a father and a son.

He is about to leave with his treasures when he catches a glimpse of something else out of the corner of his eye.  A shoebox.  For 'Lucas'.  His hands shake as he pops the lid; he stares at what's inside.

"Mr. Netherlands . . . . . . . I . . .  I . . . OK.  I'll keep going.  I'll keep fighting . . . "

((I have been informed that Lucas has been left notes of all the conversations the Netherlands has had with Jane Smith, the Westport notes, and Richard Grey's wallet.  Also, Nini, if you don't mind, I think I will forward-date that conversation they just had to after this.))

Comments

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas covers his face with a hand, as if that can somehow keep him from crying again. He doesn't dare to speak until he is sure he can do so without gasping or panting or otherwise showing his weakness. Last time . . . last time, he had promised himself that he would become strong. Last time, he had fought his way through the tears and the despair to grow up, to become a hero. He had never expected to have to go through something like this again, so soon. He had never expected that the feelings he thought he had conquered had only been buried more deeply within his heart.

But there is no reason that this time couldn't be the same way . . . He places his free hand over Taiwan's hand and whispers.]

I'm done . . . I'm sorry. I . . . I have to be strong.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[Taiwan nods, sandwiching Lucas' hand between her own and squeezing them affectionately. There is something very motherly about the smile on her face at this moment.]

"You can do it, Lucas. Just remember, you're not alone."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Looking at her face, nodding as he wipes the tears away, Lucas is reminded, suddenly, again of how much Taiwan resembles Hinawa.]

You, too . . . Let's . . . Let's get through this. Together.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[And Taiwan's own expression just brightens that much more at the sight of Lucas' smiling face.]

"We'll both be strong. For him."

[Leans over to give him a kiss on the forehead, hugging him again briefly before letting go.]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

We will.

[He turns away and lets out one last, shuddering gasp before he speaks again. There's something that wouldn't be fair not to share with her . . . He doesn't want to deal with it right now, but.]

. . . Miss Taiwan. Look at this.

[The closed shoebox is offered silently.]

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

"Hmm? What's this?"

[Taiwan looks down at his name written on the box before opening it up. She's never seen any of these things before, but she can guess at where they came from. Her complexion pales a little as she sifts through the items.]

"...Are these from Westport?"

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas nods.]

There's more.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[Taiwan spends some time looking through it all, quietly frowning. She knew he was hiding a lot from her, but she didn't think it was this much...]

"He... never told me much about Westport."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas is quiet. Westport carried with it its own set of memories of the Netherlands.]

He . . . He didn't want you to worry. It was . . . terrible.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[She sighs, but smiles just a little.]

"I know. It was his way of showing he cared about me. He never wanted me to get involved..."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas nods again to that.]

But you should know what we found . . . If there's something you've never seen. You should read it.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

"I've never seen any of this before..."

[Can you PM me whatever's in these notes or something? Or should I ask Mekky for it?]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas keeps quiet as he allows her to take her time.]

((I-I don't know what she had in mind, actually.))

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[Taiwan looks through everything systematically, reading it all over slowly. Finally, she finishes, packing it back neatly into the shoebox.]

"...Thanks for showing me all of this, Lucas. I appreciate it."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas nods and takes back the box, placing it onto his lap.]

Don't thank me . . . He . . . would've wanted you to see it, too.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[Laughs a little.]

"Yeah... I like to think he would've shown me eventually."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas glances around the rest of the basement and slowly gets to his feet.]

I . . . I don't think there's anything else.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

[Taiwan smiles and hands him the shoebox and pictures.]

"Here you go."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[He collects his treasures, and though he values the drawings more, it is the shoe box he takes the most care with. The things inside were . . . important.]

I-If you find any more of my drawings . . . You can keep them if you want.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

I'll hang them up in the living room if I find any.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

O-OK . . . Then . . . Then I'll see you.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

Okay. Take care, Lucas, and come visit anytime you like.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

I will.

Just . . . maybe not in the night-time.

[pinkplumblossom.livejournal.com]

I can't say I blame you.