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]

((What a bad time for notifs to go down. =( Sorry about that.))

[Lucas reaches up to cover his face with a hand, as if that will somehow keep him from feeling the pain that rises in him once more.]

He left me . . .

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

Someone...left?

[Crowe knew that feeling all too well. Some of the people he was the closest with here have all left, and yet here he was, still in Mayfield.]

They...sent someone you knew home, huh...

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas shakes his head. What he had just said was supremely selfish. The Netherlands had not left him; he had just left. But he couldn't help feeling that way, despite himself.]

. . . Someone I loved . . .

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[He shakes his head sadly.] It's never easy. I kow the feeling. But if they've been sent home, then... then you can at least know they don't have to be here anymore. They're back home where they should be...

[He didn't sound too convinced of that. After all, Mr. Hughes....]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

I know . . .

[The Netherlands is gone. That is the worst. But close behind was the thought that despite everything he had gone, despite how much he had promised himself that he would be strong, despite how much he knows the Netherlands would hate to see him this way . . .

He is still so weak.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

It doesn't make it easier thinking that, I know, but... hey, you're a brave guy. I know you'll be alright.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas doesn't want to be 'alright'. He wants to be with the man who had been a father where his own had failed, his family where his own had been lost.

Heavy breathing and the occasional gasp is the only response Crowe will receive.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[He gentle tries to lead Lucas with a hand on his back. He speaks quietly.]

Come on. Let's get you back to your house.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[He shakes his head. Too many drones in the house. Nothing to do but cry.]

I want to stay outside . . .

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Hnng what do]

Okay. You're free to hang out at my place as long as you want, if you like. I know Watson would be glad to see you, and I'll do my best to keep Mukuro out of your hair. [small smile]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas pauses for a few moments before he reaches to take ahold of Crowe's hand.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[He gives you an encouraging pat on the shoulder, and a bigger smile.]


Great. Let's go.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas follows along silently, looking a bit like a dog on a leash. His gaze is mostly kept to the ground.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe will just walk along with him. He figures Lucas will talk once he wants to. And of course, he's welcome at Crowe's house for as long as he wants.]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[When they are almost there, a soft voice speaks up from behind Crowe.]

Can we sit outside . . . ?

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

...Of course.

[There's a few chairs on the porch Crowe leads Lucas to.]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas sits.
If Crowe is anywhere close enough for him to do this, he will lean his head against him, as if he needs to feel the touch of another person. If Crowe is not, he will scrunch up into a small ball.

Lucas will sit silently for more than an hour before leaving. He feels very much like he is ten again . . . Waiting for Claus to come home.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe is more than used to being a comforting shoulder - especially considering he's friends with a guy like Ren - so he's fine for letting Lucas sit as long as he needs.]