theafflicted | 05 - week five

05 - week five

WEEK FIVE

Come Sunday morning, the portals around Estelline fade away, but not all of the oddities hanging around disappear so quickly. The recreations of your dreams and memories are still around, ever changing and shifting. Whatever it is that brought these things here hasn’t ended, not yet.

You don’t have time to worry about all of that, though, even if you know you should exercise caution once two of you found yourselves on the bad end of a monster’s claws. The course still isn’t over, though, even if the portals changed lesson plans. Everything continues on, with new places to explore as the fog pushes back once again. This week still feels a little more like what you’re familiar with, though, after Saturday’s lack of lessons.

...For now.

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[ Fai tilts his head, flashing Sabo a confused look. ]

Meanwhile...?

[ He is very aware of what he's doing right now. ]

[ and sabo is also suddenly Very Aware of what fai is doing too. he would be more scandalized or embarrassed if he wasn't impressed on some level; it's not often that someone can catch him off guard like this.

he...still has to answer the question though. somehow. without losing face. ]

Ace's typically more reserved with any kind of physical affection or contact. ...except I feel like he's gotten better about it over the years.

Does he initiate it more often?

[ Just... casually asking about Ace while he's right there. ]

[ ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING AS IF ACE ISN'T HERE... ]

Yes.

[ hmm. he's not going to think any deeper than he already has to about this. ]

Any initiation that wasn't a fist for a punch or him just wanting to start something would be considered "more", honestly.

[ He laughs. ]

It's kind of nice when the prickly or the fight-driven ones get affectionate, isn't it?

I wouldn't call him "affectionate" exactly...

[

]

A better way to look at it is that he mellowed out. He's less angry now; he still has his temper but isn't always looking for a fight.

[ and actually allows people to approach him and not treat them as though they were going to harm him like some wounded animal. ]

[ That's definitely progress!

Fai lets out a sigh. ]

I wish Hien wasn't always looking for a fight...

[ Alas. He's not too bothered by it. ]

[ but this was progress that was made before sabo entered the equation!!! ]

Maybe he just needs to find something that means more to him than whatever he thinks he gets out of a fight. [ sabo takes a moment and debates whether he should share this next bit or not and...well. he looks over at ace and smiles at him a bit apologetically before he continues. fai was there in that one memory so— ] Part of the reason why Ace was so prickly and difficult when he was younger was because how he thought no one would accept him.

[ there's much more there to unpack but sabo leaves it there as shakes his head at a different memory. ]

And obviously that wasn't true.

…I understand how that feels.

[ Might as well share that about himself in exchange, right? ]

I assume you accepted him, Sabo?

[ frowns at fai. suppose he shouldn't be that surprised; everyone has their own baggage that they carry with them. it's just a matter of how much and if they share it. shame that sabo won't ask fai to elaborate on what he meant as he instantly responds to the question asked. ]

Of course I did! I might have been the first one to have really accepted him.

[ who knows if that latter statement is actually true but given their ages...probably. ]

[ He only isn't surprised to hear that answer. ]

I'm really glad that the two of you have one another.

[ And he does mean it. He's not teasing this time, because it's good to have people in your life that accept you and become your family. ]

[ he won't say anything for a moment and will just smile to himself. if it seems a little lonely then sabo isn't going to want to talk about it as he flips the conversation around. ]

How about you, Fai?

[ because he didn't miss it from just moments ago. ]

Does Hien accept you? Or, well, I assume you've come to accept Hien for whoever he is?

I have, yes.

[ It isn't hard for Fai to accept others, even if they've done a whole lot of horrible things in their past. Even though he has trouble accepting his own past, it's easy for him to accept others'.

But Fai smiles. ]

And I hope he accepts me, considering he's my boyfriend now.

I would hope that he does as well. [ said with a bit of a laugh. ] If you think to go with him after this is over and are in a relationship—it'd be something if he didn't accept you.

[ "something" being the best way to phrase it for him because, well, there are a lot of words that could be slotted there. admittedly, relationships out of necessity exist, but sabo's pretty positive that isn't the case here. there doesn't seem to be any reason here to be in any kind of relationship other than choice. ]

But I have a feeling that he does.

Mm, I think so too.

[ He smiles to himself. ]

As much as I wish that my memories weren't on display like that... part of me is glad that they were. We grew a lot closer for it.

[ soft. sabo is happy for fai. though admittedly, they didn't go into his memory and just ace's but that's neither here nor there...for the most part. he does mull over what fai comments on about how the experience brought them closer. ]

Having our memories on display was a mixed blessing, wasn't it? I'm glad that something positive came from it all.

[ hmm. ]

I wouldn't know how to explain how things changed between Ace and I.

Have you found some closure?

[ It could ease tension in their relationship if Sabo had some sort of closure. Fai can't make any assumptions on how Ace would end up feeling about it, however. ]

Ace asked me the same thing, you know.

[ he says a bit bashfully as he casually averts his gaze a moment and pats ace's leg. ]

I'm not sure if it was closure that I found but more that I have an answer for a question I kept asking myself.

Answers are important too.

[ He thinks they might be on equal grounds with closure. ]

Do you mind sharing the question?

[ It might be personal, and with Ace here… he thinks Sabo might not be as inclined to share. ]

If I was there that day, would I have been able to save him?

[ it's definitely personal but since fai was there, there's no reason to hide it or skirt it. though he does keep avoiding looking at ace directly. (also ace would probably be nodding off in this thread anyway BECAUSE HOW COULD HE NOT COMMENT OTHERWISE.) ]

My partner had taken it upon herself to remind me how useless it was to think about it. [ he smiles a bit sadly. ] She wasn't always successful, of course.

[ He smiles a little at that, knowing well what it's like to constantly wonder what would have happened if you did just one thing differently. ]

Are you satisfied with your answer?

[ Out of everything, he thinks that is the most important part. ]

I am.

[ sabo gives a single nod and chuckles softly. ]

Though now I have to decide what to do with the information that I've learned, but I think that will be a lot less troubling.

You deserve that satisfaction.

[ Especially with how difficult that memory was. ]

I hope whatever you do ends up being an easy decision.

I'm not so sure it'll be an easy decision, but it won't be one that I'll find myself regretting. Whatever it ends up being what I decide on.

[ probably? looks into the camera. ]

Well, if you need help making that decision, you’re free to come find me and talk it out.

[ Part of him wonders if this decision is… romantically inclined, but he won’t say so aloud. ]

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