Log: Complete

[lady-turk.livejournal.com]

When: Nov. 6th probably. Early at night or something.
Rating: PG-13 most likely. Death and whatnot mentioned.
Characters: Elena [lady_turk] & Jr/Rubedo [red_dragon_666]
Summary: After this log, back in Elena's apartment, Jr. finally wakes up. There's a lot of talk and Elena knows waaay more about Jr. than anyone else and there's mention of being threatened with breasts.


Log;
When Rubedo finally came to, there was no sense of time. Day? Night? Future? Past? In the warped mess of his memories and fears, his state of unconsciousness had turned into a state of deep dreams...or rather nightmares, only a few hours prior. He had been tossing and turning and randomly yelling out things in his unwakable sleep. Albedo's name. MOMO's name. Sakura's name. Even Gaignun's.

But mostly... He had been begging for forgiveness. He hadn't meant to kill them all.

It was with a start that he woke, and then he just stared numbly up at the ceiling for a long moment before lifting a shaky hand to his chest, resting over the right side of his chest. His right heart beat...

It was faint. So faint. Was it even there? Had he...

"Albedo!" His voice was weak, raspy from his prolonged screaming during the fight and his nightmares. Panicked, and not even questioning why he was wearing a shirt that wasn't his, he tried to scramble out of bed.

Only to fall right out in a mess on the floor. Still... He was still too weak to even walk, let alone run to check if his brother was okay.

"What the--" He swore, then looked up weakly, just in time to see Elena sitting not far off in a chair. He was confused, but not stupid, and managed to put the pieces together. Had she recovered him? What was she doing? Was this HER shirt?

"...Al... Albedo... Elena, was he... Was he..." He couldn't even finish.

It was complaining about the little things that kept Elena’s mind off bigger worries. Like sewing. Sewing was just one of those things that Elena could not seem to do well. Little rips and tears, she could manage, but the state that Jr.’s clothes were in was beyond her skills, though she was trying. And complaining about it. Because as long as she was complaining about it, she could ignore the worries she felt hearing Jr.’s cries and yells, as he was caught up in his nightmares. She wanted to do something to make them stop, but not knowing what was causing them only left her with so many options. So she sewed and complained and watched and did what she could when the nightmares let up.

When Jr. finally woke up and fell out of the bed, Elena’s head snapped up she quickly made her way over to his side, her pathetic attempts at sewing forgotten in the chair she’d been sitting in.

“I didn’t carry you all this way just so you could injury yourself further!” the blonde complained, wrapping one arm around the redhead’s back and easing him back on the bed. She ignored his words while she fussed and checked him over, settling him back onto the bed.

"NO! Elena!" He grunted as he was dragged back onto the bed, and he couldn't believe how weak he was. Not that Elena wasn't a strong woman, but in his normal state he would have gotten out of her grasp. He could have run to see.

Like this, he could barely keep his head up off the pillow once he was finally forced to lay back down. But still, he tried.

"Why did you take me away?! I wasn't supposed to let go! I wasn't supposed to let go of his hand!" That was what had started this entire thing, fourteen years ago. The butterfly that had started the typhoon.

Trying not to cry, and failing, he wondered why Elena always had to witness him at his weakest. "Tell me he's not dead. Tell me he's not laying there dead."

Pausing, Elena bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about what to say, her hands poised over the sheets and blankets. Remembering her picture though, Elena relaxed her jaw and answered in a flippant tone, voice not wavering through years of practice.

“If you’re talking about that guy you were fighting, well…” Here she stood up and brushed back some of her hair. Jr. hadn’t hurt himself any further with his little stunt and for that, the blonde could relax a little more. “He didn’t look dead when I saw him last.”

“I couldn’t carry the two of you, and frankly, I don’t know if I would have wanted to try. But to do that, I had to separate the two of you, not that either of you were willing to let the other go and give me an easy time doing it,” she complained lightheartedly. Letting Jr. see her worry wouldn’t do any good. Better that he get mad at her than keep to his current train of though. Still… She wasn’t completely heartless…

Bending over so that she could brush away Jr.’s hair from his face tenderly, Elena gave him a soft smile. “So no, you didn’t let go of his hand Jr.”

Relief flooded him, causing his features to relax. He tilted his head a bit to lean into her hand and sighed. "Knowing him... That bastard will still probably never let me live it down."

Still, even with those words, he was smiling a little as he let himself collapsed back against the pillow, shutting his eyes. Guh. It had hurt to be moving, anyway. From how he was bandaged, he could only guess that Albedo's attacks and the Red Dragon Mode had scorched his skin pretty badly.

Albedo... Even as...mad as he had been... He was glad that he was alive. He was glad that Albedo would be alive to taunt him some more, and insult him some more, and rub in his past mistakes. He was glad he hadn't killed his other half.

"I'm...glad the City's still here...and that it didn't get out of hand..." Truly..having let himself fall into the Red Dragon, it was a miracle that the place was still standing. Or at least, he was assuming it was, since this was Elena's apartment, and he doubted she'd had a chance to run very far before he had lost control.

“We’re all safe Jr.”

She wanted to ask. Oh how she wanted to ask. But… it looked like Jr. would finally be able to get some real rest and she didn’t want to begrudge him that. No matter what kinds of questions she had.

Sighing softly, Elena placed a quick kiss to the top of Jr.’s forehead before she went back to her chair and moved it so that she was within reach of Jr. and the bed. Picking up her sewing once more, the blonde made a face and sat down with a sigh.

“Get some rest. I doubt you’re in much shape to do anything else.” The words ‘We’ll talk later,’ danced on her lips, but Elena held back. Like with everything else between them, Elena wanted to ask, but she wouldn’t. Instead, she’d wait and try to fix the mess of cloth Jr. had once previously called a shirt.

Rubedo opened his eyes after the kiss to his forehead, and he just had to offer a weary grin as he watched her move closer and try to return to sewing. Were those his clothes?

Man, she looks like crap. How long have I been out? A week?

He had a little bit of tact, though, so he refrained from saying it quite like that. Instead he tried to joke weakly, "Quit acting like my mom. You're totally not old enough. You look like you could use more rest than me, Elena... This is your bed, isn't it? Just lay down and sleep. I can make it home. I'm tougher than I look. Honest."

“So says the person who fell out of bed on his first try,” Elena quipped lightly, a faint smirk dancing on her lips. True, she felt like she could sleep the rest of the day away, but she also knew that she could force herself to stay awake.

“You’re staying in bed till you’re better even if I have to tie you down and keep you there myself,” she stated, pointing at him with the needle she was using. “I’ll be fine as well. There’s this little thing called coffee that was invented. I’ll make some while you sleep, but only AFTER you go to sleep.”

Coffee sounded...awesome. But then she had to go and tell him he had to rest first. He doubted he would be able to, honestly. So many nightmares waiting to devour his mind. The very thought made him shudder a bit, though he tried to hide it by rolling onto his side away from her.

With a sigh, he shut his eyes and tipped his head to the side. "Heh. Tie me down? You really are kinky..."

But then his voice got quieter. "Sakura... I gotta tell her... I'm okay...and...that Albedo's not dead..."

“I’d prefer to call it adventurous,” she said, going along with the tease and pretending not to notice the way he wouldn’t meet her eyes now. Some things you didn’t share because some skeletons needed to stay where they were.

“So it’s Albedo, is it?” Testing out the name, Elena cut off her other questions and focused her attention back onto her fingers, though that situation was starting to look rather hopeless. “I’ll tell her that then, now that I have a name to go with a face. And I guess I can mention that you’ll be all right as well.”

Worry and fatigue didn’t suit her, but she knew how to deal with both easily enough. But if Jr. didn’t stop talking and at least, pretend to sleep, she was going to have to take drastic measures.

After that, Rubedo did try to sleep, a little bit comforted now knowing Albedo was alive and that Sakura would be told everything was all right. About thirty minutes passed as he kept his eyes closed and just lay there, though his thoughts did occasionally cause him to shiver.

Finally, though, he opened his eyes and sighed yet again. "...I'm going to smell like a girl, now."

During the time that Jr. was trying to get some rest, Elena finally decided to give up sewing and do something about how she felt. Next to sleep, coffee and a shower were high up on the list of things Elena was craving right now. Getting up and putting the mangled piece of fabric aside as a lost cause, Elena ran a hand through her hair in an effort to keep her thoughts in order. She’d make coffee first, and while that was brewing, she could take a quick shower.

Leaving the room as quietly as possible, the blonde proceeded to seek out the two other things she craved. And while the coffee maker worked it’s magic, Elena went after the second item in question. Her shower was quick though. It was just something to put things to rights and refresh her spirits.

Dressing lightly in shorts and a shirt and with her hair still dripping lightly, Elena went to check on the coffee to see if it was done or not. Maybe she’d bring some to Jr. if he was still awake or something. If he had actually gone to sleep, there was no reason she couldn’t drink it herself while she watched over him.

Deciding he didn't want to be laying around in a woman's bed anywhere, and having been able to HEAR her turn on the shower, it was not a happy combination. Chicks were the last thing he needed to be thinking about right now. Priorities, idiot, he scolded himself as he sat up and tried to carefully climb out of bed.

His legs wobbled, but they held. Still, he was quick to grab onto the chair, because he doubted he would be able to walk upright without any help. By the time he made it to the bedroom door, he was clinging to the wall and muttering an oath.

"Damnit. Elena, walking around without pants on is not where I expected this day to go. I didn't go to the garden for a DATE. Are my clothes okay?"

Hearing Jr.’s familiar voice, Elena made her way back towards the bedroom, leaving the coffee in two mugs in the kitchen, cooling on the counter. Smirking lightly when she saw the state the redhead was in, the blonde couldn’t help but be very amused by the situation in front of her.

“Well your shirts pretty much a goner, but your pants survived well enough if you’re into that whole ‘destroyed’ look,” she replied teasingly. “They’re back in the bedroom, though it doesn’t look like you’re in much shape to go anywhere today. So why don’t you enjoy the freedom of not wearing pants for a while?”

Rubedo scowled at that. "There's no freedom to it. Gimme my pants. Nevermind, I'll get them." He hoped to GOD he wouldn't fall on his face right then. He would just have to beg Elena to put him out of his misery if that was the case.

Fortunately, he managed to hobble over to his pile of clothes all right, and happily collapsed onto his knees so that he could try to tug them on while sitting on the floor. "Besides, chicks dig that whole 'destroyed' look. After yelling my ear off, I bet Mary and Shelley would tell me I look awesome." Or maybe they would just yell at him some more, and then tell Gaignun HE looked awesome.

But hey. Nobody had to know that.

Laughing lightly, Elena decided to let Jr. keep some of his dignity and went to fetch the coffee mugs. She wouldn’t let him out of her apartment without proving to her he could, and even then she’d tag along to make sure he’d be all right, but there was no sense in rushing it. She’d delay it as long as possible, even if it were only keeping Jr. immobile and hesitate to leave through conversation and coffee.

Returning to the room with coffee mugs in hand, Elena walked over and held one in front of the redhead, smiling lightly. At him or at the situation, it couldn’t be told, but Elena was leaning more towards the thought of being amused by Jr.’s situation, even if she was still worried about him.

“So who are Mary and Shelley that they know so much about fashion?”

"Hah, Marry and Shelley? They're sisters." He finally finished buttoning his pants, still so weak that he wasn't quite deft enough to do it quickly. God help him if he decided that he needed to pee or something.

"Shelley's the Durandal's navigator and helmsman. Mary is kind of the second-in-command to me, but they both pretty much do that job together. They're my leading ladies." Okay, he couldn't stand anymore. The chair was the closest thing to him, so he collapsed into that, looking up just in time to see the offered coffee.

Smiling, he reached out to take it, hoping it wasn't obvious how much his hands were shaking as he tried to grip it. He quickly drank as much of it as he could so that he didn't end up spilling it, ignoring how it scalded his tongue.

If Jr. was trying to convince Elena that he was doing fine through his actions, then he was doing a considerable job of failing at it. Still, she wouldn’t bring it up unless he tried to do something stupid.

Taking a seat on the bed, Elena took a sip of her coffee, relishing in the warmth and strong taste of the black liquid. She didn’t normally take it black, but for staying up, pure coffee without sugar and cream did the best job. Making a soft little humming noise, Elena smiled into her mug. Really. Sometimes, there was nothing better than a decent hot cup of coffee and enjoyable conversation.

“I’m guessing they must both be pretty smart if they manage all that. So tell me, if they’re both so smart and fashionable, what’s they’re personalities like? They sound like they’re both special to you.”

"Well, yeah! Those girls have been through a lot." His throat was still a little raw, so Rubedo's voice was scratchier than normal, but at least it didn't hurt a lot to talk. ...The scalding liquid had done a good job of numbing that.

"We saved them from a bad situation about....twelve years ago? I think? Anyway, they've helped me and Gaignun out a lot in return. I get along a little better with Mary, since she's more the life of the party and seems willing to talk to me more. Shelley's definitely the serious type, but I've heard her joke off and on."

He took another sip of his coffee, looking down at his murky reflection. "Whenever Gaignun's on the Durandal, though, they're usually attached to each of his arms. I guess he likes the arm candy."

Smiling a bit, Elena decided to pick up on the conversation, letting Jr. have his time to rest and take it easy. “That sounds a bit like how it works with my co-workers. Except I’ll shoot the first person to call me arm candy. Sides, that sounds more like how Tseng is, since he’s the one that’s mostly by Rufus’s side.”

“Reno would be the talkative one, so I guess that makes him your Mary. And I know Rude can crack a joke, but he normally doesn’t say much. He’s the Shelley to balance out Reno’s Mary, though they’re not related and it’s not possible even think that they could be. “

“I mean, picture it. A tall, built dark skinned bald man being related to a lankey, pale, redhead? If that’s even possible somehow, I don’t know if I would want to meet the parents of siblings like that.”

THAT at least made Rubedo sit back and laugh, though it was a pretty pathetic sound, considering how weak and raspy it was, and it nearly made him drop his coffee. He quickly tightened his grip on it with a sheepish smile before taking another drink.

"Yeah well, most people could never believe me and Gaignun are related, from how different we act! Same with Albedo. But we all virtually look the same. If we weren't Variants, we'd all be blond and have blue eyes. Still, I'm registered legally as Gaignun's son, so at least that's some weird legal proof I'm related to him."

Resting the coffee on his knee, he reached up to rub at one of his shoulders. "....Heeey... Lanky redhead? You better not be comparing me to him. I'm definitely one of a kind. Um. .....Sort of."

Yeah, sort of...

It was good to hear Jr. laugh, even it was a sad shade of what he normally sounded like. All the more reason that Elena was worried about him and all the more reason why she wouldn’t be letting him out of her sight for a while. She didn’t care if he was technically an adult. She’d treat him as a child if he didn’t want to let her put some of her worries to rest. Elena’s smile never wavered, but she was starting to fret and the desire to make Jr. rest was beginning to nag again at her.

Pushing aside those thoughts, however, the blonde merely went on with their conversation. “Families are families, in the end. No matter how they act or what they look like. The ties aren’t something a person can get rid of easily,” Here, the blonde had to pause as she thought about her own words. Before any of her thoughts could become too melancholy though, she quickly shook her head and smiled, though it was with a small bit of regret. “Besides, sometimes it’s amusing to see what kind of reactions people get when they find out who’s related to who.”

Laughing lightly, Elena raised her mug and took a sip before she spoke again. Her tone was light enough, but it was laced with her emotions of curiosity and concern as well. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of comparing you to Reno physically. But… Jr. With all this talk of families and differences and that Albedo person, it does make a girl curious about what the truth might be.”

"Eh? Now you're just saying that 'cause I'm shorter. Bet you I could kick more ass than him." He finally finished his coffee, only to have trouble swallowing the last bit as she inquired further. He had been about to ask her why she had almost looked sad there, but then she had to go and change the subject.

Or rather, continue it in a different direction.

Suddenly more somber, he looked away and forced himself to swallow. "Heh... What are you talking about?"

Sighing, Elena set her coffee aside for a moment and leaned back on the bed, using her arms to keep her up. “I’m going to make some guesses and you’re free to say whatever you want or to say nothing at all, but I want to know what’s going on before I worry myself into gray hairs and wrinkles.”

“You and Albedo are even more closely related than you are to the other Variants, which means there’s a stronger bond between you two. But something happened; something you might have done or felt you’ve done that broke that bond. More things happened and now you can’t forgive him as much as he can’t forgive you, even though you two still share something of that bond that’s been broken.”

“I’m only asking about all this so that I can know why you were fighting and why you were holding his hand afterwards. I want to know so at least I can try to understand why one of my close friends is suffering so much. But like I said, you also don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

Rubedo remained quiet for a little while after that, shifting uncomfortably as he stared down at the empty mug in his hands. Occasionally he would tilt it, letting what bit of coffee that was left trickle back and forth at the bottom.

Explaining all of that... How could he? It was such...old history. And hard. At least with Shion and the others, it had been a little easier. They had been able to watch most of it. But...at the same time... Reliving all of those memories, almost literally face-to-face... Now that had been hard.

And it wasn't like he trusted Elena any less than he trusted Shion, or KOS-MOS, or Ziggy... And by now he had probably known her just as long. chaos he had known longer...and MOMO had deserved to know. Still...where was he supposed to start?

He rubbed his thumb against the side before glancing. "Albedo and I were...born as one, conjoined at the heart... On my right side, I can still feel his heartbeat. Always. It gets weak sometimes, though...and it hurts..." Perhaps that was one of the many reasons fighting him was always so hard.

"You know I was Unit 666. Albedo was 667. Gaignun, or Nigredo back then, was 669. There was this girl, Citrine...she was 668. Albedo definitely didn't like her. I can't say I was crazy about her either, but... She was useful, and important, just like all the URTVS, but we were the four Variants I told you about."

He tipped his hand to the side to glance down at the number 666, typed in crimson on his palm. "I was the leader because I was supposedly the one with the perfect anti-UDO link. And I... I kept us all linked. See, I don't remember if I told you this, but us Variants had minds of our own... All the rest before us just thought as a collective. We could speak telepathically...but they didn't like to talk to us. To them we were monsters. Especially me, of course. The Red Dragon."

Rubedo's fingers curled, and he closed his hand into a fist. "Albedo hated them all for it. He was always a little unstable... And a total wimp. Not that he couldn't fight, but...mentally...emotionally... He was always clinging to me. And I always just allowed it, because we were brothers. I think it was... It was when we were assigned to help Sakura Mizrahi that he started to really change."

Elena let Jr. talk, letting the new information he was telling her put the pieces together that she’d been missing from all the other times he’d opened up to her. She wasn’t reclining any longer and instead, had chosen to sit up. There was a serious expression on her face, even if the blonde seemed passive at the moment.

Whatever this UDO thing was, Elena couldn’t bring herself to care much about it at the moment. Maybe that was a failing, but the blonde couldn’t even find it in her professionalism to care. The red dragon thing he mentioned must have been that shock-wave from earlier, the blonde surmised. Certainly it was something to fear or respect, but not enough to call someone a monster for.

Putting a hand over one of Jr.’s holding onto the empty mug, the blonde gave a slight squeeze. This really wasn’t her time to talk, but she still wanted to show Jr. that she did support him and that he wasn’t a monster, no matter what others said or had said. And that she would wait until he was ready to go on.

The hand on his was a little comforting, and he actually visibly relaxed and smiled wearily at her before continuing. "She was the daughter of Joachim and Juli Mizrahi... Both respected back then." At least, he thought, Juli was slowly earning respect back for her family name. “She was only twelve when she was sent to the Yuriev Institute for treatment, same age as me and Albedo. See, um... Not sure how to explain it so you understand, but more or less, she seemed to somehow connected to the U.M.N. in a way that shut down her central nervous system. It was like a bizarre form of autism. Restoring her membrane electrical potential should have worked... But this was different somehow."

Strange... It was so strange. Talking about Sakura in the past, when she was probably waiting for him back at the apartment. He really needed to go soon. If only he could walk without clinging to crap.

"That's why she was brought to us. We were allowed to dive into her subconscious domain, our goal being to clear all U.M.N. and any U-DO pulses that were within her. It was also the perfect combat training for us URTVs at the time... But it wasn't just for that. In her subconscious, she could communicate with us. It was the perfect way for us to take messages back and forth between her parents... It made her mother especially happy. Sakura... The three of us got really close to her. She especially seemed to like me and Albedo..."

His hand was trembling now, so he gripped the mug tighter to steady it as he narrowed his eyes. "It changed me a little bit... It helped me get close to someone who wasn't a URTV. And Albedo... I thought it would do him good. But it seems like maybe the minor contact with U-DO pulses seemed to warp him. At times he really wasn't himself. It was after he discovered something amazing and terrible that his mental health completely declined. Albedo had a special ability... Both of our abilities started out the same, but as we grew older, they grew further apart. My special skill is that I'm able to slow down my cellular development, and even completely halt it. That's why I look like this... Albedo... He can speed his up. But with the speed he can do it, I know he's using the U.M.N. to assist that. You can blow his head off and it will regenerate before he can die."

"When he found that out... And when he found out that he was the only one like that...that the rest of us would eventually die... Everything was different. It... It wasn't too long after that, when Sakura... Sakura died too young. And I always... I always thought Albedo was the one who killed her. He seemed to act...JEALOUS of her at times. It was only thanks to a curse day here in the City that I learned Albedo didn't murder her. She... She died for him...hoping it would save him."

The mug cracked. Just talking about it was making him too upset, and his gaze was becoming unsteady. At the very least, his strength seemed to be returning, but not at natural levels. He was positively trembling.

"But it was a waste. Albedo was doomed. And I was the one who finally sealed his fate...and all of the other URTVs."

This was… so much, much more than what Elena had even been thinking of. Even if some of the finer details were lost, she understood the majority and the important parts. And Jr. trusted her with all this? She honestly didn’t know what to say, if she should say anything at all. At the sound of the cracking mug, though, Elena reacted before she even thought about what her actions were.

The hand that had been placed over Jr.’s quickly removed the mug before any damage could be done. That quickly taken care of, in less than a blink of an eye, Elena had wrapped her arms around the redhead and was pulling him slightly out of the chair even as she was throwing herself at him slightly, giving him a tight hug. Her voice was soft but steady and strong, even as she squeezed Jr. tighter, trying to offer him what comfort she could. “You don’t have to go on. I’ll still be here and we can talk about other things. You don’t have to make yourself tell me.”

The sudden warmth offered was what surprised him. He had hardly noticed the mug being taken away. Wide eyes stared over her shoulder for a long moment before his eyelids drooped, and he reached up to gently grip at her sleeves. He would keep his cool. He had managed to go it in front of the others when going over this.

...Okay, he really hadn't. But he sure hadn't cried about it. And he had gotten this far... He needed to finish it now, or he probably never would.

Now or never. That seemed to be Rubedo's motto in life.

"It was on the planet Miltia that we were finally sent to combat U-DO. We weren't ready. War was one thing... We knew how to fight. We knew how to use our powers. I guess I should say...I wasn't ready. We made the link, surrounding it. Even then Albedo was...cowering... He was so scared. He wouldn't let go of my hand. But I had a vision..."

His voice was muffled then, as he pulled back. He wouldn't be treated like a child through this. He wouldn't be scared like Albedo had been. ...Like Rubedo had let himself be.

"That if we used our wave-form to combat it, it would have destroyed the planet. So many people... I got...scared. I don't know how I knew what would happen, but I did. I started to back away, but he screamed for me not to let go. I did. And I...cut the link....between all of us. The lucky ones were instantly killed by U-DO. The others were driven mad...with the assistance of the Song of Nephilim. That one's...a different story. But let's just say... Albedo got up close and personal with U-DO, and ended up nearly killing Gaignun."

"It's all kinda blurry after that... But all I could do was barely carry Gaignun out of there. Outside it was crazy. Infected URTVS and Realians were killing soldiers along with innocents. It was Canaan and chaos who managed to rescue us... We recorded as the only two who survived. Albedo was...left behind. He... He's never forgiven me... And the things he's done since then... Even if it's my fault, I can't forgive how he's taken it out on innocent people. Especially MOMO and Sakura..."

He dropped his hands away. " 'I am not an anti-existence... I am the infinite telomerase... I am the perfect chain...' ...That's what he said...back then...in that death trap..."

What did a person say to something like that? What could a person say? There wasn’t some kind of miracle speech that a person could just give and that would make everything all better. And meaningless words of condolence would just sound hollow and empty, so there was no point to them.

Elena just stared at Jr. as she tried to grasp on just what it was that she was supposed to say or do next. He didn’t need her pity or for her to treat him like a child, but what else…? Acceptance? Would that be right? Would that be appropriate? Maybe it wasn’t, but it was all Elena could think of.

“Thank you for telling me all that.”

She didn’t know if he would go on from that, or what Jr. might do next, but she would accept it, like everything else he had told her.

Of course, that wasn't where it ended. After that, though Albedo had been crazy, they had tried to recuperate at Labrynthos... But he had just been too far gone.

He wished he could have stopped him... In truth, Rubedo wanted to go back in time and change things. He wouldn't change that he had broken the link. That had been necessary if he didn't want his Red Dragon Mode to completely destroy the planet and everybody on it. But he... He would have tried harder with Albedo.

Held him down with his own body for years if needed. Anything to stop where he had gone, and what he had done...

But he...didn't need to say all that. Didn't want to. He had given his story, and he would stick to it, and that was enough. So he glanced up and offered a lopsided smile, hopefully to counter the infinite sadness in his eyes.

"Yeah well... Bet it put you to sleep, right? That's what you should be doing right now, you know."

Although Jr. could stop his aging process where his body was concern, that didn’t mean he could stop the way his eyes carried the weight of his age in a different manner. It was that look that changed the way Elena thought for a moment and changed the way she knew she would think later on in the future. At least perhaps, where Jr. was concerned. Which is why the blonde smiled a little and decided to let go of her personal preferences for the time.

“I’m not the only one who should be sleeping right now,” she countered, leaning back and smirking. “I said I’d do whatever it took to make you get some rest, didn’t I? And I intend to do just that. If wearing you out by talking is not enough, I’ll have come up with some more creative means of keeping you in one place.”

He had just been trying to stand back up in order test how steady his legs were when she began talking again, and the pure and utter shock sent his knees buckling with him crashing right to the floor.

Not that they hadn't flirted on many occasions, of course, but Elena usually didn't instigate when sober, and NEVER that strongly. Just sitting on his knees there, he was staring up at her like she had possibly just grown horns. Or wings. Something of that nature.

Either way, she had managed something amazing. She had rendered Rubedo speechless. Mostly. ...He was TRYING to talk.

"K---Khu...uh..?" ...And failing.

Elena couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked look on Jr.’s face. Who knew she could get such a huge reaction out of doing something as little as that? It put things on a positive note though, so she didn’t mind in the least. And really, she was having a whole lot more fun out of doing so than she’d thought she’d be having.

Whole-heartedly amused, Elena slid off the bed and sat next to Jr., tilting her head slightly and smirking in a rather, well, predatory fashion, the blonde continued to tease, lowering her pitch just the slightest. “You’re not interested in finding out what measures I’ll take to keep you in my bed?”

She could’ve had a bit more fun had she been wearing anything else besides shorts and a shirt, but that might have been a bit of overkill and just more than a little mean. Still though…

He had a feeling sitting around and stuttering like a lame-ass totally wasn't getting him anywhere, and it was then he realized she was joking. Well, he was 99% sure. It was always a joke, after all. It was something of a relief... As much as he adored MOMO and Sakura, he couldn't exactly joke about this sort of thing with them...let alone talk about it SERIOUSLY.

Too young. Too innocent. He would always preserve that, if he had any say in the matter.

With a shake of his head and a raspy laugh, he leaned over to tackle her down onto her back. It was rather pathetic how weak this move was, but she didn't seem to be putting up too much resistance, and he let out a playful growl as he 'pinned her down' by her shoulders.

"What? Try to tie me down? Mary tried that once to get me to rest and they couldn't hold me! Do your worst. I was made for combat."

“You might have been made for combat, but I was trained for it as well,” Elena playfully countered, letting herself be taken down. It was all part of her plan. Really! And if it wasn’t, hey, improvise was part of a good plan as well.

Wrapping her arms around Jr.’s waist, Elena laughed, as she hugged Jr. and did her best to smoosh him, face and all, to her body. “Mary probably failed because she was using the wrong kind of rope. But since I don’t have any rope on me right now, I’ll just have to make due with my arms.”

“Submit and get some rest!”

"Ackpth!" Unfortunately, even if he had tried, there would have been no resisting. He was still too drained to put up much of a fight... So down he went, left only to flail for a second before going limp and sighing.

He fidgeted for a second, then tried again to straight against her arms to sit back up, his voice a little muffled against her shirt. "Ya know, being pressed against a sexy woman's body and BREASTS is not how guys rest." At least not sexually repressed guys.

Or virgins.

Ignoring the sexy part, Elena just smirked and claimed this little struggle as a victory for herself. It really didn’t take any effort on her part at all to keep Jr. right where he was. “Not unless they’re gay, but otherwise it does make for a very convincing argument to keep someone in bed if they’re trying to protest.”

“So deal? You stay and rest up here and I let you actually have some breathing room between me and my breasts.” It was sly and rather hidden underneath all the other words she was say, but Elena didn’t exactly mention the fact that she would be completely letting go of Jr. anytime soon. Call it underhanded, but the blonde wanted to make sure that Jr. stayed in bed this time.

Rubedo shook his head and just laughed again. "Man, Elena. You're killer. You kinda remind me of Mary and Shelley if they were to be one person. And here I used to think they were scary just on their own."

Cocking a grin, he lifted up one hand to salute as best he could...which was easy, since their salute was a fist to his chest.

"I solemnly swear that I'll try to rest for at least a couple more hours before trying to go home again, okay? But if you can, let the others know I'm okay. When I left, MOMO was upset about something else, and Sakura was pretty worried about me. See, this is why I don't need YOU freaking out. If all the girls in my life start freaking out, I'll shoot myself. Hey--"

He started in realization and suddenly jerked away to try and stand up, completely distracted from their joking mood. "Where are my Makarovs?! Gaignun gave me those!"

“I’ll take that as a compliment then,” Elena acknowledge, glad that she had finally gotten her way. However, the good mood was quickly ruined, at least on Jr.’s half, when the redhead started worrying about his guns. Elena couldn’t help but snicker to herself as she listened to him. It really was a measuring point as to how drained Jr. was if it had taken him this long to notice that his gun weren’t on his person. Or maybe it was a point on how well she could distract a person. Either way, it still amused the blonde.

“Jr.? Table?” Elena suggested lazily, still laying on the floor, but pointing in the general direction of where her computer sat. Right there in plain sight, were three guns resting next to the keyboard. Two of them belonging to Jr. and one belonging to Elena. The computer scene had defaulted to the random screensaver Elena had picked, but that was still enough of a sign to show that it was functional. “And there’s the computer too, so you know they’ll be getting the message that you’re all right as well.”

Sitting up and smirking lazily, Elena ran a hand through her hair in a lazy attempt to fix the blonde locks. “Is there anything else? Because you did promise you’d rest.”

"Yeah, whatever. A man keeps his promise, after all." Or at least he tried, anyway. He seemed to fail a lot, but those thoughts would just get him depressed.

So instead he hobbled over to the desk to carefully pick up the pistols and inspect them. They were a little scratched, not to mention scorched, but it was a miracle they were still intact. Honestly, a lot of miraculous things had happened. Albedo should have been destroyed, too. The only excuse he could come up with was that his own protective force field had sort of shielded Albedo and his weapons.

..How ironic, in a way. He'd been holding them there in order to get an easier kill. ...Supposedly.

Rubbing at his arm, he set the second gun down, then forced a grin on his face again as he trudged past Elena. He was sure to reach down and utterly tussle up her damp hair just because she'd been fixing it as he passed by her. "I'll crash on the couch."

Making a small noise of protest, Elena would swear that she wasn’t pouting over her messed up hair, but anyone else would have called the faint expression on her face a pout. But revenge must be taken for actions made against her and her mild attempts at grooming! Muttering under her breath, Elena quickly made her move knowing that the guns were all safely out of arms’ reach.

Standing up and walking over to Jr. before he could get very far, Elena picked the smaller body up and then turned to dump him back on her bed. She knew she couldn’t have gotten away with something like that normally as Jr. was just as much of a fighter as she was, but Jr. was weak and the blonde was going to use that to her advantage while it lasted. Especially since it was for his own good.

Leaning over Jr. and lightly pressing him into the mattress with her hand, Elena stated in a no-nonsense tone with a passive expression on her face. “Like hell you are. You are weak, this is my place, and I don’t care what your morals of gentlemanly behavior, politeness, or chivalry say otherwise. You are taking the bed or do I have to use the threat of my breast to convince you otherwise?”

It wasn't often that Rubedo blushed, but currently his cheeks were probably about as red as his hair. If he hadn't mentally slapped himself out of it before it could even start, he would have begun stuttering again.

So he did his best to fix a scowl on his face.

"FINE. Jeez. Man, you're really lucky I'm a weakling right now. ...Of course...if I wasn't, I guess we wouldn't even be discussing this. Let me go already. I'll stay. But...uh..."

Once again he blushed a bit. He had put his pants on earlier for decency's sake, but as torched as they were, they wouldn't be comfortable to sleep in.

"Can I lose the pants?"

Elena raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jr. blushing, even as a part of her brain made a note of how cute it looked on him, and backed off. Smirking and nodding, the blonde stood up to leave, cheered up by her victory of the war.

“Sure. Do what you need to. I’ll be in the living room if you need me for anything.” She said with a note of finality to it. Just before she closed the door to the bedroom however, Elena turned to give Jr. a quick smile and one last message.

“Really though. I’m glad you’re all right.”

Rubedo managed to gain enough composure to simply wink at her in response before the door shut. Then, he utterly collapsed back on the bed with a light groan.

Albedo's crazy. Women are crazier.

He lay there for a long time before finally managing just enough energy to sit back up and fiddle with his pants, eager to kick them off and crawl under the covers.

Yeah, fine. He would smell like a girl. But damn the bed was comfortable, and even though he hated laying around, he knew that he needed to regain his energy. After this he would be sure to find something to eat, thank Elena again, go and tell Sakura he was okay, and then check on MOMO and make sure she was okay.

Apparently this was a busy week. With another groan, he rolled onto his side and shut his eyes, trying to think calming thoughts. Wondering if Ziggy was still around and how the girls were faring and how badly injured Albedo was would NOT make things better.

As he eventually drifted off to a quiet sleep, he let his hand rest over the right side of his chest, soothed by the faint ghost of a heart beat.