fabrecation | 016 [Action/Video]

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016 [Action/Video]

[It had happened that morning. Luke, in this time period, had a much easier time of sleeping and waking early, and so he was in the weapon's shop when it hit him.

All those memories that had been buried thanks to the Malnosso. Traveling with Tear, meeting Jade and Anise, killing his first human being, Guy, Master Van...

Akzeriuth... Cutting his hair. Trying to save the world he screwed up. Killing his own master. And the long month afterward... He can even feel the link he has with Asch flaring to life again.

Luke freezes in his spot, holding a fancy sword in his hand. How... How could he have forgotten all of that? How could he have acted like such a jerk to everyone? Such an ignorant, thoughtless... He was so nasty to everyone whom he considered his friends, and now... they... who knows what they thought of him now? This boy who had to relive who he used to be, the person he's ashamed of.

The sword in his hands trembles, and without thinking it through at all, Luke suddenly brings the sword back to slice through his hair, cutting the back of his neck and leaving only a small piece of the long hair behind. The rest is clenched in his hand, his knuckles almost white from the strain. All those terrible things he said to everyone, to Xion and Asch and Ion and...

Noel.

"You're a criminal?"

His face pales, and the sword in his hand clatters to the ground. Thankfully for the staff of the weapons store, he doesn't drop the mass amount of hair.

But he does abruptly leave, and he runs back to Community Housing Building 2, head lowered the whole time so that no one can look at him. He doesn't want anyone to see him, the leftovers of a massacre that he created. Ashes of the sacred flame...

... Asch.

It's that thought which makes him pause just outside of the door to his apartment. He barely even realizes that he made it there until now. Would Asch accept him back? He hadn't tried contacting him since the link came to life again... What if he just ruined whatever progress he made in their already strained relationship?

But... this was still his home. So, he keeps his head low again as he knocks on the door, hair still unknowingly clenched in his other hand.]

[A few hours later, the video option of the journal is activated, and Luke's face appears on the other side. He's not looking at the journal, and he keeps brushing his hand through his now short hair, so very similar to how it used to be. He looks... tired, depressed and stressed, as if a whole ton of weight was just added to his shoulders.]

Everyone, I... [How does he even start? He didn't have to do anything like this after Yulia City.] I guess I don't really know what to say. Heh... pretty pathetic, right?

[No, that's not good enough. It sounds like an excuse to not talk to anyone. He shuts his eyes and takes in a deep breath.] ... I'm sorry. A lot of you saw me with long hair, and... I probably treated you badly. That...

That person was who I once was. The Malnosso did something to me to make me forget everything that happened back in my world. I... [Killed hundreds. Thousands. I was manipulated and betrayed by the only person I trusted at the time, and I was tossed away like a piece of trash, and I was abandoned...] ... went through a lot to make me who I am today. I'm still not a good person. But I learned in my world... I guess you could say it made me open my eyes to who I was.

I'm not going to be that person anymore. I promise all of you that. And... [I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry -] I know I can't apologize enough for everything I said or did, even though I want to. But I want to do anything I can to let everyone know that I won't ever be like that again. I'm not that person anymore. [I'm not even the real Luke.] So... If anyone wants me to do something for them, anything, or... has any questions, just... talk to me.

[He finally looks at the little camera.]

... I'm sorry.

[After another hour or two to himself, Luke walks out of the apartment building and tries to find whoever he met when he still had long hair. Whoever he was particularly nasty to... to apologize to their faces. To own up to what he did and take responsibility, not from hiding behind a book, but face to face.

He especially looks for Noel. After what he said to her... He needs to see her now.]

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[When Luke enters the apartment, he'll find Asch dozing on the couch, with Star curled up into a bundle on his lap. It's strange for him to still be asleep at this time in the morning, but what's probably even more strange is that he doesn't stir as Luke comes in.]

[Luke had honestly figured that Asch wasn't home when he didn't answer the door. He still didn't have a good grasp of their link, after all; only enough to realize it was there, or when he was close, or to talk if he tried hard enough. He... feels close, but...

So, Luke unlocks the door and lets himself inside, locking the door behind him. Once he looks out and into the apartment... he is pretty surprised to see Asch there. Immediately, there's the strong urge to get out and run away, or at least retreat to his room and not come out for a while.

Instead, he frowns and purses his lips to fight it, and the fist holding the remains of his hair shakes as he lowers his head once more, and he reaches out within the link in an attempt to rouse him as well as speaking out loud.]

Asch?

[Star moves first, perking up and launching himself at Luke with a chipper, welcoming "mieu!" in hopes of some cuddles. After a moment with no sign of reaction, Asch's eyes snap open to zero in on Luke, holding his breath and remaining still for just long enough to probably make his reaction somewhat alarming. Once that's over, however, he exhales and sits up, brushing his hair out of his face.]

What are you doing here?

[Luke might not like Star very much, but he can't help smiling a little and scritching the top of his head with his free hand. Asch's reaction, however, makes Luke flinch, still keeping his head low. It makes the still long bangs cover his face, which he doesn't particularly mind.]

I... [What was he doing here? Luke wasn't really thinking when he fled the weapons shop. He stays silent for a few seconds, then tries again.] I wanted to stay here again.

[Asch blinks at Luke a few times, eyes narrowing. He takes in the expression, the posture, the hair. It clicks.]

...You're back to normal, then.

... Yeah. Asch, I... I'm sorry for saying all that stuff to you. And for pushing you like I did. [He gives a half smile, though it's very bitter.] I don't see how you put up with me for even that long.

[Asch scowls at that, then stands up, heading away from Luke for the kitchen. He can't bitch at Luke on an empty stomach.]

Just shut up, I don't want to hear your apologies. I'd rather forget it ever happened.

[Ugh, just being reminded of it has gotten him back into that same foul mood. Stupid naive idiot. He'd rather forget his own replica had been that much of a fool.]

[It sure is a good idea, forgetting it ever happened... But he knows everyone else won't let it go that easily. This means that Asch is going to let him stay... right? He didn't shout at him, or make him get out, or...

After a moment of just standing there, Luke follows after Asch, Star leaping onto his shoulder to go along for the ride.]

So I can still stay here?

If you have to. [Asch isn't going to outright agree to Luke sticking around, obviously, and he responds in a tone that is almost neutral, leaning on the side of irritation.

He's still angry - he's not even looking at Luke as he preps himself a piece of toast to nibble on. But he's been through enough experiments to know that kicking Luke out for this will just come back to bite him in the ass later, somehow, whether through karma or just sheer lonely misery at having to ~~live alone~~ deal with Star's complaints.]

[Luke stands in the doorway as Asch prepares some toast, staring down at the fist which still holds the long mane of hair. It's like a part of himself died... Maybe that's why he hasn't let it go yet. Or maybe he just doesn't know what to do with it.

Regardless... He knows he must look like a mess without it. It's... It takes some courage to ask Asch this, seeing how he really only trusted two people with taking care of his hair, one who was kidnapped and one who was gone.]

Asch? Could you... help me cut the rest of my hair?

[Asch glances back at him, biting thoughtfully on the toast as he eyes the bundle of hair Luke's holding. It's true that his current hairstyle is a mess, and someone's going to have to fix it. And he'd much rather that Luke ask someone else, but...

...well, Guy's gone, Tear's gone, and Xion's in the hospital. And unfortunately this is not an unfamiliar job to him. Eventually he turns away again, fetching the butter.]

Throw that out before you drop hairs all over the apartment. And get a chair, I'll cut it outside. I'm not sweeping up your mess afterwards.

[Since he can't make Luke do it because he'd TOTALLY DO IT WRONG okay.]

... Right.

[He heads out of the kitchen, and out of the apartment buildings entirely. It had been a nice, ordinary day, though gusts of wind would blow at times.

This is one of those times. Luke stares down at the hair in his hands... Then shuts his eyes and opens his fingers, feeling the strands slide and be caught by the wind.

And with that... he says goodbye to the person he once was.

Once he goes back inside, he grabs a chair, holds it under one arm and goes back to the kitchen.]

I'm ready when you are.

[By the time Luke's finished, Asch has finished his snack, washed his hands, and located a few things: a sharp pair of scissors, a spray bottle (for keeping Star out of the houseplants, totally), a brush, and a comb. When Luke returns and fetches the chair, Asch just nods and steps past him, wandering out the door to stand outside one of the windows, setting up his little collection of equipment on the ledge.

HE IS READY FOR HAIRCUTTING. Are you sure you want to go through with this?]

[Luke follows him outside, and he stands still for a second, just watching Asch fiddle with the hair cutting equipment. Really, was he ready?

After all that's happened... yes. He definitely is.

He shifts the chair under his arm, and when Asch seems to indicate that he's ready to cut his hair, Luke nods, then sets the chair in front of Asch, sinking into it and straightening his back automatically. He places his hands on his knees, too, and shuts his eyes.]

... Okay. [Come at me bro.]

[So dramatic, dreck, over a little bit of hair. ~~because Asch would never be like that.~~ Asch doesn't respond, though, immediately going to work; dampening the hair first, then combing, then starting to trim.

He tries to push aside his irritation and lingering anger about the act itself; his replica, his stupid replica. Cutting the hair that showed his nobility to the world. Sure, it made little sense here, but in Auldrant...

...It's just infuriating, to see him discard something that Asch still clung to, despite having no claim at all.]

[That nobility was a strong part of Luke's behavior. To claim that he was Luke fon Fabre, that he was wealthy and could deem anyone else unimportant... It was what he wanted to leave behind. He wanted to look at the world through the eyes of a normal person, not just a noble.

So as Asch trims his hair, Luke realizes that this time it's... different. He's not as attached to his hair as he was when it was longer on Auldrant, although he still cares a great deal about it. When Tear trimmed his hair, it was as if pieces of his life were being cut away. Now... It felt like he was slowly being freed.

He opens his eyes and stares down at the ground at his feet. He was expecting to feel sorrow all over again... but it's liberating, now.]

[Asch doesn't speak as he's cutting, keeping all his thoughts to himself- which is, admittedly, pretty normal for him, but he notices it with more prominence now because Luke is so quiet as well. He glances sidelong at Luke as he moves to the front to fix up the side bangs, but he avoids eye contact; he'll get irritated, he knows, and say something to start a fight, and... he just has no energy for it right now. He's still tired, and this past week has been especially strange for him. Too quiet, for one.

Was it Luke's absence? Was he unstable? Or the nature of their link? All he knows for sure is that it's bothering the hell out of him. And that's on top of the fact that he knew his replica was out there making a fool of himself...

...ugh, whatever. With a final snip on the duck-butt, Asch steps back, setting aside the scissors.]

There. If you don't like it, go cry to someone who's actually trained for this sort of thing.

[Luke doesn't want to start a fight either, for those very same reasons. He's tired, both physically and emotionally, and he doesn't want to raise his voice anymore. He's tired of it.

... And, quite frankly, he's missed Asch. He doesn't want to ruin it by starting a fight.

Once he's finished, Luke reaches up and tugs on one of the side tails of his hair. It's nearly the same, probably a little shorter than he wanted... but that's all right. It could always grow out a bit.]

It's fine. [The cut on his neck hurts a little now that Asch has surely passed his fingers around it, but he's dealt with worse. It's only slightly annoying now.] ... Thanks. It means a lot to me.

[Asch says nothing at first, weighing what he should say against what he shouldn't, and pondering both for a long moment. Mercifully he's distracted by something he notices now - two things, seeing one only by studying the other more closely - and steps back around to the front of the chair.]

...Get up. Turn around and sit on it backwards.

[This is not a request. :|]

Huh? Uh... okay.

[He's not really sure what Asch wants, so he raises an eyebrow, but he does what he says. Soon enough, he's straddling the chair and holding onto the back with his arms, and gives a little glance behind him.]

So... What're you going to do?

[Once again Luke is met with silence, as Asch rests his finger against the cut and makes good use of those seventh fonons to try and fix it up. Idiot cut himself while chopping off his hair, didn't he? Geez...

The cut is minimal, though, which is why Asch pays it very little mind; the source of his focus is the wings on Luke's back, which... are not looking terribly pretty right now. He brushes his hand through the feathers, looking vaguely irritated, flicking away a tuft of loose plumage near the base.]

You didn't mess around with your wings last week, did you?

[... Huh. The cut isn't such a pain anymore...

But that's forgotten in favor of Asch's fingers running along his wings. It makes him tense up, frown and... start to flap his wings. He lets out an irritated sigh afterwards - he knew this would happen. The only person who could touch his wings without them freaking out like they are now was Guy, and he wasn't here anymore... Of course they'd twitch and flap and evade Asch's touch.]

I might've gotten them kind of dirty... [More like he'd lie back on the ground, scowl, yet pay no attention as he'd relax outside or on the roof. They're probably dirty and ruffled, thanks to all of that.]

[Kind of dirty, he says. Geez, what a child. Guy used to do this for him, didn't he? And without Guy around he's just gotten lazy about it. He presses his hand at the base of the wings, where they meet in the middle, trying to halt the motion without just grabbing them.]

Stop moving, you'll just make this harder. You need to take better care of these things.

I can't help it, they keep moving on their own! And how am I supposed to reach back there?

[The pressure against his wings makes them stop flapping for the time being, but they do stick straight out and shake, as if straining. After only a few seconds, first one flaps, then the other, like they're trying to ward off Asch's hand. Hence the other reason why Luke barely bothers with it; they freak out on him, too.

Maybe he is controlling it, a little. He just doesn't like people touching them.]

It's because you have no self-control, dreck. [Asch's tone is impatient, and after a moment of watching the wings twitch and move around like that, he lifts his hand away, scowling.] They don't move on their own, they're a part of you. That's like saying your eyes move because they want to look around.

016 [Action/Video]

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