Yuki
I was surprised, but I had thought that would be the case. After all, I'd have done the same thing, if given the chance so long ago. Calmly, I bit into my red apple and rolled Brokentear's words around in my head, testing how much truth they had. His words were of truth, completely and wholly, which was scary, because I usually had to dig around to know the entire story of things. Still, I appreciated his honesty.
"I don't think I could," I said slowly, picking my words carefully and weighing how much kid and how much mature I was willing to trade. For right now, because this was an important conversation, I'd give him the adult me. "Think of you as a terrible person, I mean." I looked at him, really looked at him, and softened at the sight of watery eyes.
"You're not a terrible person. I've met my share of terrible people, and you'll never be one of them. Brokentear, you give those of us with no homes someplace we can eventually call home, give us food and companionship with no strings attached. You..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain what I wanted to get across without being too much out-of-character. I turned my gaze to the early night sky and watched the few stars out.
"You love them, those who came before us. I think, if it was someone else, someone who didn't do much for any of us and we were placed in an entirely different situation, I would think of you as a terrible person," I said, darkness and the scent of blood and Sophie's clear blue eyes flashing through my head, "But we're not, and you're you, and I think you're a good person, someone who's seen their fair share of grief, and someone who took what chance they could to keep their loved ones here."
I blinked, the image of my sister fading from my mind, and let out a slow breathe, because my next words would leave me in a fragile situation. "I think, though, that you can let them go. The previous residents and your family, I mean. You might not think us enough, but I think that your newest bunch of charges can come to fill in the holes left by the previous ones. And..." I paused, picking my words wisely, then blowing out a breathe and looking anywhere but at him. "I don't know, maybe I don't understand, but...I think your wife and daughter would understand if you let them rest. I think they'd be fine with it so long as you were happy." I held my breathe for his reaction, staring out into the night sky and hoping I hadn't said something to upset him.
Setsuna
It's amazing, the amount of faith this one boy had in me. He hadn't said anything, hadn't done anything but kissed my knuckles and smiled like I was a huge puzzle piece in his world. The thought was terrifying, because I wasn't sure if I could let him be the same thing for me. Not with the way I was, not when, even with my immortality, this heart of mine could leave me catatonic, never to interact with him again.
With that terrifying revelation, my heart squeezed and twisted and pain began to blossom in my chest, creating shallow and panicked breathes from calm, even ones. Trying for calm and failing with a slight dose of panic, I pulled lightly on our linked hands to sit him up and off my lap, then lightly kissed him fingertips and stood up. He looked at me with confusion, but I couldn't bring myself to reassure him.
"Do excuse me, but I must find the restroom," I said, a slight gurgle coloring my words, and panic trying to show through my eyes. I hoped he hadn't noticed, but instead of worrying about it, I simply smiled confidently, closing my eyes to do so, and walked briskly to the nearest bathroom.
Once there, it was easy to let go, to lean over the sink and let loose huge amounts of blood, burning my throat in it's path to the sink drain. My heart twisted and clenched again and I gasped for breathe, wiping the sweat that had formed from my forehead and trying to calm down. One more push of blood and I felt my heart resume it's normal, steady staccato beat, the demons inside settling down for a nap after having used my heart for a ping-pong ball. I breathed again and wiped my mouth before standing up and looking in the mirror, trying to appear my usual calm and confident self.
I wondered if I could convince Forever to take a nap with me while my body regenerated the blood I had lost. Waking up to his adorable face, whether asleep or awake, would make all of this so worth enduring. I fixed my hair, slipped the frail me behind the confident one, and walked back to that adorable boy in the living room. I smirked at him, pretending I hadn't just left him with no believable explanation, and leaned against the doorway. "So, what are the chances of me being able to convince you to lay down and take a nap with me?" I asked sweetly.
