ITP: We make up for missing Mother's Day and Father's Day emo

[thekingsgambit]

[To most, a day of remembrance is a somber occasion. And Lelouch has already filled that requirement, having spent the majority of the day where he is now, in his room. For perhaps the second time, his laptop is closed and shunted to the side to make room for box containing Marianne's necklace. The box is open, although he has yet to touch it this entire time. Instead his attention is focused on an overturned jar of origami stars on the upper end of his desk. Some spilling onto the papers and schematics that crowd the desk's edge and tumble softly to the floor.

Another star bounces off his leg and falls onto one of pages already cluttered on the ground. Absently, his gaze travels to it, briefly reading the writing. Suddenly he jerks his head up from where he had been resting it on his palms, elbows doing their best to dig into the table. Lelouch snatches his jacket from the chair, not bothering with the mess he has made for the moment.

Eventually, he finds himself on a course only briefly trodden but one he has studied well enough to know his way. It helps that his destination is not a place. His walk is brisk and immediate, and it doesn't take him long to find what he's after.]



Should we be concerned?

Comments

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Cannot do what now? Acknowledge the day for what it is? Who else will? Only us three...

[Though the tone is sharp and demanding, the cut-off is too sudden for it to be intentional. Lelouch's very focused stare wavers, even as he tries to hold it in place.]

[ascendthethorns]

Lelouch..

[Takes a moment, then moves over to him to rest a hand on the back of his shoulder.]

Come. We can discuss this later. But first, we should return you to the cabin.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Bristles and viciously pulls away.]

Do not patronize me! I came here to find you. You searched for answers. You kept that necklace all these years...

[He lets the previous explanation fall and shifts his tone back to something more cool.]

I want to know more about you and her.

[ascendthethorns]

[Drops hand and takes a step back of her own.]

Very well. What do you wish to know?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Seems a bit surprised at this.]

No delays this time?

[ascendthethorns]

Yours is a simple request and one that I can attempt to fulfill. As such, I do not yet see cause for delay.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Makes a small sound under his breath, an acknowledgment and then delivers his question in low, almost dead tone.]

Tell me about just before... that night. Tell me how things were.

Mother had several absences over those few days.

[ascendthethorns]

You would ask me to begin there..?

... She was preoccupied. With her work. A new project, I believe? The demands it made of her time were significant, and I did not see much of her myself that.. week.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

And before that?

[ascendthethorns]

Before that?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

She trusted you. You were the captain of her guards. There had to have been something.

[ascendthethorns]

Lady Marianne was a proud, independent woman. And very protective. It came as.. no surprise that she would tell me nothing, and I did not wish to pry. We spoke rarely of work besides. She did not desire to discuss it often.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Protective... She never thought of protecting herself. Mother never needed that. She shouldn't have...

[ascendthethorns]

She never thought to back down, but that in itself is an expression of self-preservation, is it not? I do not believe that she never considered her own safety along with that of others. Rather, at that time, she knew.. or she must have believed.. hmn, no. Understand that I do not have your answers, Lelouch.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

As you have already told me. Nobody has answers here! That's why everything is so sickeningly stagnate. I don't want answers; I --

[Tears gaze away and practically hisses his next words.]

Tell me why she was important to you.

[ascendthethorns]

[Takes a second, reflexive step back.]

... what?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Isn't this a another simple request?

[ascendthethorns]

[Shakes head as if to disagree.]

Lady Marianne.. her support was immeasurable. And her personal devotion to all that she cared about and to all in which she was involved seemed absolute. Her strength and will as well. I have yet to meet another so worthy of admiration..

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[He remains quiet for a long while, looking away from her and crossing his arms defensively. When he speaks again, it is scarcely above a mumble.]

... You wish to be like her.

[ascendthethorns]

[Grunts softly and after a pause, tentatively moves to reduce the space she built.]

Lelouch? If you're going to ask for my candor, then I must make a request of my own. Understand the limits that are in place for us both. Do not disregard them. There are topics that must not be broached and questions that I will not answer. Not on this day.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[He turns his head without moving the rest of his body, the challenge from before back in his expression.]

There are always limits. Why would it be any different today?

[ascendthethorns]

Why? That is not something you should need for me to explain.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

You are afraid.

[ascendthethorns]

What? Hmn. You are mistaken. There is nothing to fear.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Laughs in a choppy manner.]

You know the situation better than that, Cornelia. She was the strongest woman I have ever known.