Thirtieth PSI

[a_gentle_boy]

[action, dated back a few days]
[He'd heard from Rin that both Roshian and Giriko had gone in a single night.  Though he wasn't very fond of them himself, he remembered how distraught Luke had been for those few weeks when his 'mother' had been droned, and how happy he'd been to have her back.  The two of them . . . They were obviously important to his friend.

He isn't surprised when he rings the doorbell to be greeted by Roshian's smiling face.  She pats him on the head.  'Luke was upstairs.'  Evidently, she still remembered that they were friends.  They were the same age, after all, in the same classes.  And if he thought about it . . . Luke was the first real friend he'd made here and still his closest.  He nods to the drone, quickly hurrying up, a jigsaw puzzle tucked underneath his arm, a small box of chocolate held in his hands.  If Luke felt even half as badly as he had when the Netherlands had gone, or Margot . . .

But the moment he walks through the bedroom door to be greeted, his face falls.  No cap.  Nothing blue.  No trace of that interesting way of speaking Luke had.  Around the room . . . No Gizmo.  No home pictures.  And now that he thinks about it . . . no funny robot on the front lawn.

It is suddenly very difficult to swallow.  He carefully walks to the desk, setting his presents down, barely capable of doing so without trembling.  His hands . . . Lucas shoves them into his pockets quickly.  As he backs away, a small box set atop the desk catches his attention out of the corner of his eye.  "For Lucas".  Turning to the drone boy to ask in a casual manner, he is greeted with mild surprise.  If it had his name on it, certainly, it was for him.  Once again, his shaking hands can hardly grasp ahold of the object, but he manages it in the end.  And when he turns to leave, he doesn't even apologize as he accidentally sweeps  a stack of books off the desk.

He stumbles down the steps and out the front door, clutching the box to his chest.  The heaving of his chest as he runs . . . He can pretend that it is because of the exertion that his chest has become so tight.  Not because it has become so hard to breathe.  Not because of the tears that flow, unwanted, from his eyes.

  . . . Goodbye, Luke.  May you solve every puzzle that arises to challenge you.]

1. Alone in the park, Lucas finds the most isolated bench he possibly can and eases into it, still holding the box to his chest.  He has an inkling of what's inside.  The same reason he had shown Luke where he kept his box . . . Now, though, he simply sits.  And allows himself, after a few futile moments, to cry softly.

2. He has calmed down enough to go through the things that had been left to him.  Just as with the Netherlands, just as he himself did, Luke had kept notes.  Lucas dries his tears, looking through each piece of information carefully.  It's hard for him to understand right now, but . . . He will go through everything again when he's in a less harried state of mind.  The Westport notes.

3. It had been too late for Luke.  But it didn't have to be that way for anyone else.  Not if he hurried up with this.  Lucas is too shy to take pictures of people, but late into the afternoon, he is in the park with an ancient, half-broken camera, practicing taking pictures of trees and squirrels and snowdrifts . . .

((A bit deliberately less accessible than the usual entry, so I'm going to ask that no more than 3-4 people respond to the first prompt.  Thanks.))  

Comments

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[Kay frowns sympathetically. She'd go for a hug or something, but Lucas doesn't seem like he wants that sort of thing right now.]

I know... it's really tough saying goodbye. Especially when you don't get the chance.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas would love a hug, actually, although he wouldn't say so. He continues talking into his knees.]

Yeah . . . I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

I don't think any of us ever really do.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . .

[Lucas sighs after a little while and unfolds. It seems he is done with his cry.]

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[And now she'll hug him.]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[He accepts. And he'll even put his arms around her after a few moments. He doesn't want to cry again, but . . . No. He won't cry again. For a few moments, his breathing is heavy, but he suppresses it quickly enough.]

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[Kay rubs his back a little, trying to get him to calm down.]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

I guess . . . the lesson to learn from this is to value my friends as much as I can . . .

[Somehow, Lucas will hug even tighter.]

Don't leave, OK?

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

It's okay. I'm not going anywhere.

[Hugging back~]

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas is content to sit like that for upwards of five minutes, after which he will suddenly suffer from an attack of acute embarrassment and slowly pull away.]

Thanks, Kay. Thanks . . .

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

It's okay. You can always talk to me about this stuff, all right? Don't be shy.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas nods. And then, suddenly, a random thought, out of the blue.]

Hey, Kay . . . ? You met my mom, didn't you? She said she met some of my friends and I asked and she described someone that sounded like you.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, we met! I ran into her on her first day here when she was wandering around outside. She was really nice!

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[He nods.]

I don't think there's anyone in the world as nice as my mom . . . I think she liked you a lot.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I made such a good impression! And after meeting her, I can definitely see where you got your kindness from. You both have really big hearts.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

Y-You think so? Thanks. I . . . I always looked up to my mom a lot.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Yeah! You two are definitely a lot alike.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

I'm glad. It's what I always tried to keep in mind . . .

[Lucas smiles again, and for a few moments, he is quiet.]

It would be harder than anything if she was droned.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Make sure you do a good job protecting her, okay?

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas is about to respond with his normal, confident, 'of course', when he falters.]

. . . A-Ah. How? How do I protect her from something like that . . . ?

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[Kay frowns a little.]

Well... I don't think you really can. But you can definitely keep her safe while she's here, right? She probably protected you a lot when you were growing up, so now it's your turn!

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Oh gosh. Don't say things like that. Especially not when he'd just had the same conversation with her. Lucas nods as fervently as he can, though he can't help the small blurriness of vision as his eyes water a bit.]

I will. I definitely will. More than anything else I have to do here . . .

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[She sees those watery eyes, mister.]

...Did I say something wrong?

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[He smiles reassuringly, shaking his head quickly.]

No. You're right. You . . . just don't know how right you are.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

You're lucky to have such a great mom.