yousei-san (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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metamorphosis2011-07-17 03:27 am
flair) wrote in metamorphosis2011-07-17 03:27 am
Entry tags:
247;
Title: The Halfway Point
Characters: Luca Milda, Spada Belforma, others mentioned briefly
Rating: PG-13
52/104 sentences.
1. Introduction
The name strikes something in him, when the delinquent introduces himself - Spada Belforma, but where had he heard Belforma before? - and he returns the confidence the other teenager exudes with a small, nervous smile and a name - Luca Milda.
2. Complicated
Spada's a lot more complex than he shows off; Luca realizes this when Spada blocks a sword coming his way, tells him to move it or lose it, and they'd only met five minutes ago.
3. Making History
It's Spada he stands besides, smiling, as the Manifest hovers just between them; it's Spada he makes the Primeval Giant's wish with, knowing in his heart of hearts that everything will be all right, though no one will know it was them who changed everything.
4. Rivalry
It's just something friendly (seeing who can get the last hit, the last kill, pick up the most loot) but it's a rivalry all the same, and Luca revels in the way it makes him feel, warm and happy, when he gets one up on Spada and gets a noogie for his success.
5. Unbreakable
He isn't glass (he isn't fragile) but he isn't unbreakable, either, and he feels as if he's about to when Spada kisses him roughly and caresses him as gently as he can, as if tempering glass.
6. Obsession
There's something in the way he walks (a stride, leisurely but guarded) that gives off a protective vibe, something that says, "I'll always protect you." even (especially) in the most dangerous situation, that makes Luca wonder if it's becoming an obsession.
7. Eternity
It feels like forever before Spada's able to move again, streaking past the others to kneel by Luca and pull him into his arms, heart in a panic and shaken, above all else, when Luca's eyes close on him and he's failed to protect him again (again?).
8. Gateway
When Luca opens his eyes, it's like a gate flies open and Spada doesn't care how he looks; as soon as Luca sits up, dazed and confused, he gathers him up in his arms and squeezes him tightly, ignoring the sudden yelps of pain, and when he finally lets him go (on Ange's orders, of course, of course) he lets his fingers jitter nervously by his thigh, wanting to make sure that he really is okay.
9. Death
As much as he stands by the window, as much as he fidgets and pretends not to be keeping an eye out at where the castle fell, no one's convinced (himself most of all), and Spada feels frustrated because it's already been so soon and he failed to protect him for the third (and last, possibly, last time, because he fell from the sky and who the hell survives that?).
10. Opportunities
Luca is extremely easy to tease, to rile up and get flustered; insanely easy, even, which is why Spada delights in pressing and needling until that embarrassed, red flush surfaces and works its way up the rest of his face, down his neck and across his ears, to the roots of his pretty white hair until he's sure it'll turn as red as Iria's; he delights in making the poor boy uncomfortable, taking every opportunity to feel that warm flush under his fingers or against his hip or thigh, delights in kissing collarbones and shoulders until he sees and feels it fan out underneath his lips and the shaking, soft breath of Luca beside him or beneath him or on the floor in front of him, knuckles white against skin reddened from embarrassment and arousal, whispering his name like a mantra, and sometimes, he fools himself into thinking it's only to rile him up.
11. 33%
It's a bad night when he's able to pressure Luca into taking just a small sip of his father's (stolen) liquor and Luca accepts the glass, runs his finger around the rim once, twice, before he takes a small sip of it and makes a face at it; it's an even worse night when that same glass is refilled twice and Luca's cuddled against him, snug against his chest, with it loosely grasped in his right hand (the other is around Spada's waist, fingers playing with the hem of his untucked dress shirt) and he's mouthing words into Spada's side and Spada doesn't want to believe the shape of those lips, the words they're forming, and he wants to believe that Luca's drunk enough to be asking for olive juice.
12. Dead Wrong
His back is against the wall, legs shaking like jelly and he's trying to gain purchase on the coutnertop, his right hand slipping from cold, clammy palms every time he tries and Luca grins, loves seeing Spada like this; he works his way down, shifting his knee between Spada's thighs and Spada bites his tongue, putting his effort into not making a sound and into threading his fingers in Luca's hair, down the back of his neck and up again, and there's something wrong about this but Spada can't put his fingers on it, not while he has his fingers on Luca, who rocks him against the wall and smiles like an angel because he's finally got the upper hand.
13. Running Away
Before, he'd run away; he'd shrink into the wall and bolt, or resign himself to some fate, or go with the less confrontational avenue - but now Spada gives him that look, the one that calls him disgusting for even thinking about bolting now, when everything's about to end, even if he doesn't mean to call him disgusting, and it hurts; it hurts to think that Spada might think that about him, and so Luca doesn't run, even though he wants to (even though he should).
14. Judgment
Luca's nervous, standing in the Belforma's front parlor, fiddling with his cufflinks and glancing around every few seconds; though the Milda family and the Belforma family have good relations, the latter is still one of the noble houses and the former is only merchant class, and he can't help up look down at his clothes and wonder if he'd be judged by the quality of his threads, rather than the quality of his father's work, but every nervous worry disappears the second Spada slides down the banister, lands in front of him, and jerks him along to go hang out around the town.
15. Seeking Solace
He seeks solace in books, content to curl up with one and read it until his eyes get heavy and he slips into a sleep, book still dangling between his loosened fingers and his head nodded onto his shoulder.
16. Excuses
For every excuse Luca makes, Spada makes another reason, and it's with a heavy heart and true resignation that he skips school to see Spada off, mixed feelings above all.
17. Vengeance
Spada doesn't - can't - understand how you can't hate someone who tried to kill you; Luca just shrugs, gives the body a final glance and makes his way up the stairs (he has bigger things to worry about, his own problems to face, but Spada still doesn't understand).
18. Love
They're four little letters that he never knew could make his heart jump into his throat so fast.
19. Tears
When all you've got is yourself, you learn to do things yourself, so Luca really shouldn't be surprised to find Spada mending his own clothes every few nights, little stitchings and biting thread with his teeth; he winces every time he sticks himself with the needle, and he holds pins between his teeth, and there's spools of different colored thread (black, white, brown, and a vibrant green that looks as if it's never been touch before) around his feet, and it's likely the most domestic thing Luca's seen all journey.
20. My Inspiration
He knows exactly who he's going to choose when he stands by the Manifest; he extends his hand towards Spada, smiling, and while Spada doesn't take it in order to stand next to him, the effect is the same, and it's the faith and devotion he puts into Spada's hands every day of their journey that leads him to this choice.
21. Never Again
Spada sits at the window of the inn room for the umpteenth time, hat gripped tightly in his fingers; every time he glances back at Luca on the bed, face marred with pain and hurt and worry and nightmares, another thought races through his mind ("You couldn't protect him." "You're a failure of a shield." "It should've been you.") and he grows angrier and angrier at himself; the second Luca opens those beautiful eyes of his (they're beautiful, the most beautiful; after seeing them closed for the last three days, they're beautiful) he swears he'll never let him get hurt ever again.
22. Online
"I-It's a pony, Spada, and I'm, um, roleplaying, and-- don't give me that look, it's a fun and creative way to write and connect with others!"
23. Failure
He's the seventh son, and while he's always heard that seventh sons are the lucky ones (the ones that are looked to, smiled upon, the most fortunate of all sons, for their status as the seventh, and that the seventh son of a seventh son is the best, though he doubts his father was a seventh son) he knows it's just a pack of lies.
24. Rebirth
When the Devas die, they are reborn and take on human form, lying dormant until the day they awaken; Luca's heard they cause horrible things to happen (death, destruction, they're a scary bunch he shouldn't mingle with) and when he finds out he's one (something to be feared, something that brings misfortune to everyone around him) he sulks and wonders why, though when he's standing before Mathias with his sword at the ready and his friends (Avatars) around him, he's no longer afraid of what will happen, because he knows they'll fix what's wrong.
25. Breaking Away
The first time he runs away, it's after they put ice down his back and snow in his bed, and he's twelve years old and dressed in light clothing (no socks, no shoes, no jacket, no gloves, no scarf) and it's a cold, freezing winter night in Regnum; he doesn't have anywhere to go, so he wanders around the noble district and loses himself in the residential district, and when his fingers and toes start to go numb he hangs around one with empty flowerpots and beds sheeted with snow, and a young woman peers out after he sees her through the window and brings him soem soup; she's beautiful, with long blonde hair drawn back into a ponytail, and a little kid peers out from the doorway with sleepy eyes (he's got the weirdest hair - silver, or maybe it's blonde and it just looks that way from the light pouring from the house?) until his mother tells him to get a scarf, dear, the old green and yellow one from last Noël; he nods and rubs his eyes, yawns, and leaves - only to return with the scarf described, and the pretty woman wraps it around his neck and asks if he'd like to come in; Spada considers it for two seconds before he shakes his head slowly and steps back, then bolts down the road and doesn't stop until he finds the front yard of his home, dark and with no signs of a search for a missing twelve year old.
26. Forever and a day
Luca always thought they'd be together forever, but with their journey at an end, he doesn't know; a month later, he wakes up to find the whole group downstairs, chatting and laughing with his mother, and he feels a twinge of happiness that makes him bolt downstairs, still in his pajamas, to see them.
27. Lost and Found
Luca's like the little brother he never had (never wanted to have, seeing what his own brothers had done to him) and when he loses him (to a goddamn castle, no less), he wants to search for him, but no one else offers up the suggestion and he stays and worries, hopes he's okay and he'll find his way back; when Luca appears at the door way after Iria, a worried frown creasing his brow (as if he'd been the one worrying for days and days about them and not the other way around) he can't help himself, grip loosening on his arms and the words spilling out before he can reign them back in - a soft, disbelieving, "Luca, you..."
28. Light
Luca laces their fingers together as the sun rises; they can see it perfectly from the airship, a full disc rising over the horizon little by little, shedding light on every bit of land it can touch, and Spada wonders if it's just from staying up all night to see the moonset and the sunrise or if Luca's onto something when he lays his head on Spada's shoulder and smiles like he's never seen something more beautiful.
29. Dark
It's when the lights are out that he sneaks his arms around Luca, holds the sleeping boy in his arms and presses his lips to his pulse, just to make sure he's alive and just softly breathing in sleep, not dead and cold and clammy like in the nightmares he wakes thrashing out of, Luca's name on his tongue and bitten back not to wake anyone.
30. Faith
Spada knows that if Luca just stopped being such a doormat, he could do anything he set his mind to.
31. Colours
In srping, everything is a light and refreshing green, dotted with pastels; in summer, everything is a dark, forested green, ripe and bold; in fall everything is gold and red and orange, brown spotting the undersides of leaves and roads; in winter, everything is white and red and subtle, especially Luca's expressions and the way he moves when Spada tries to catch him under a mistletoe for a little fun.
32. Exploration
Even though he's lived in Regnum all his life, he's never known the city as he does now; ducking in and out of alleyways and traversing streets he's never seen before, he keeps his sights in front of him and his hand clasped tightly within Spada's, not wanting to lose him in the twisting, winding ways.
33. Seeing Red
Even when the journey's all said and done, Spada remains the shield that protects his friends; today (and every other day, while he's thinking about it) he's Luca's shield, and he becomes it the second he sees Luca get shoved into a wall by a group of boys who grin and laugh and shout when Spada slips between them and Luca, fists up and more than ready for a fight; he gets it, and he wins, and when he asks Luca about it Luca shrugs and smiles and tells him he's tired.
34. Shades of Grey
He's right (Asura's right) and he's wrong (Asura's wrong) and he's alone (The Overlord's alone) and everyone's left him (Innana, Durandal-- Orifiel, Vritra, all of them) and he can't think and the light (grows brighter and he can feel the cold steel in his hands and) the castle starts to shake and he feels like curling up and (the sword snaps like a twig and he feels despair as he stabs Innana, feels it cut through soft garment and softer skin as if it were nothing) and he doesn't look back, not after all that, not after what he's done (what Asura's done) and he can't (open his eyes, he can't, it'd be too much) pain to see their eyes with hatred and (disappointment and shock and sorrow and) he can't think, he can't think, and the castle crashes down around him and he can't (doesn't) care.
35. Forgotten
The memories he has yet to remember feel like a string gently tugging on his conscience, leading him along; Luca feels around in the darkness blindly, wanting to catch a hold onto that string and follow it, but every time he catches the thin red line between his fingers, it slips away as easy as sand.
36. Dreamer
"The world was thrown into chaos because Devaloka and Naraka were divided," and it's in a strong voice, resolute, that he says it; and it's in a softer voice, more like his usual, that he presents the end with a smile to his friends and with his palms flat, "so we should return the world to its original form."
37. Mist
In Lemures Marsh, he feels completley and utterly alone, and maybe he is; the mist swamps around him, thick and heavy, like an overbearing mother or a sudden heatwave, and he twists his hands and tenderly calls out a greeting - and yelps when he's pulled back, and he can smell Spada close to him, and realizes it's him holding him and laughing his ass off, turning him around and shaking him by the shoulders, just a little, and Luca can't help but smile just a little, even when Spada exclaims that he 'shoulda seen his face' and howling when Luca shoves him with his shoulder, slipping his hand into Spada's and knowing he'd never be lost for long, not with a friend like him.
38. Burning
He's ten years old and every inch of him burns, raw from scratching and itching worse than before, and he has to sit on his hands so he doesn't worsen his condition of chicken pox (on his mother's command, of course, as she smooths aloe over his skin and tells him it'll be over before he knows it).
39. Out of Time
Mathias' hand reaches towards the Manifest, and he knows he has to stop it, but he freezes when she begins to speak and the memories come flooding back, as clear as day and as sharp as knives.
40. Knowing How
It isn't as if he hasn't read about it before (studied it, told about it, lived it, done it; he's twenty-three, who hasn't?) but Luca's hands still shake and they still fumble with the clasp of Iria's bra, fingernails scraping nervously across soft, smooth skin and elicting a complaint from his partner that's soon smothered in a soft kiss (because if he learned anything from Spada, it was to step up).
41. Fork in the road
It isn't a real one - more of a metaphorical fork in the road, he muses, than a real one - but he's got two choices (study and wake up late due to passing out on his books, thus having to run to his first class to take an exam he'll be late for by then or sleep now and not be late to his first class) and it's hard to choose one; on one hand, he needs to study - on the other, he won't be late for the exam, and it's with some reluctance (and force from Spada, who puts him to bed and holds him there while he squirms and protests until he lies, defeated, breathing heavy and pink in the face from exertion, and until he closes his eyes and lets his breathing even out) that he chooses the second.
42. Start
Luca's still late to his first class, the exam having started fifteen minutes prior to his arrival, due to a Spada who gets him breakfast from the café down the way and won't let him go until he stops studying and starts eating it (and finishing it, too).
43. Nature's Fury
The storm rips above them, thunder rolling and lightning cracking like thin ice over the clouds, arching and weaving and webbing its way to new spots, new places; Luca huddles in his blanket and tries not to cry, shaking and flinching every time thunder booms above his little makeshift tent, and even though he's never been afraid of thunderstorms (tucked safely away in his home, leaning against the rain-stained window pane with a book in his hands and the fury of the storm on the otherside of it) it's an entirely different story when you're out in the middle of it and every other person out here is in a tent that's just far enough to discourage him from trying to crawl over and cling onto them instead.
44. At Peace
The storm eventually clears, though, after a rocky bout of sleep, and it's with a hesitance that he peers out at the clearing and sees the world at peace; too early for anyone else except Ricardo to be up (he's patrolling the area, kicking dirt over their campfire pit and getting ready to get everyone else up) and it's quiet, comfortably silent, and he takes in the smell of rain and wonders if there ever was a thunderstorm last night, or if it was only a dream.
45. Heart Song
Luca's heart sings a high, shrill, sharp note when Spada kisses the top of his head and promises he'll never let any harm come to him, not in a million years, and he can't figure out what it is.
46. Reflection
There's nothing extraordinary about him; it's the first thing he thinks when he's washing his face in a pool of still water, right by their camp, and he catches his reflection in it, watching the water ripple across his reflection every time it drips from his soaked bangs; Luca knows there's nothing extraordinary about him, and it shows even more when he's travelling with the rest of his (smart, talented, wonderful) friends and their enemies look at him and laugh.
47. Perfection
Spada knows he isn't perfect (who is?) but sometimes, when he's watching Luca bathe and sees the scar on his back and remembers the heat and drifting ashes of the volcano, he wishes he was.
48. Everyday Magic
There's something magical about staying in such an ordinary house with such an ordinary family; Luca's mother laughs and cooks breakfast, easy-going with small talk and waiting for her son to stir, while Luca's father peers disapprovingly over his newspaper at Spada, and when Luca peeks over the railing of his room and jolts out of bed, almost falling over himself and down the stairs to hug him, Spada wonders if there is magic at work (but there's no such thing as magic, past what Avatars could do, and he knows it).
49. Umbrella
It's pouring rain and he's standing by the school, wishing he'd brought an umbrella, shifting from foot to foot and watching girls and boys trot off on their own or in pairs, giggling and talking and laughing with rainboots splish-splashing through the puddles and mud; Luca sighs at the gathered books and papers in his arms and closes his eyes, stepping out into the rain and expecting to be showered - but there's nothing, just the sound of rain hitting something above his head, and when he dares to peek open an eye it's Spada holding a large, black umbrella over the both of them and slinging a slightly damp arm but very much warm arm around his shoulders and smirking.
50. Party
Birthdays are usually a quiet occasion spent by himself for Spada Belforma, either out on the town or in his secret hideout, but a year after their journey's end, it's different; he wakes up to an overly-decorated room (not quite finished; he catches Luca tacking up the last of the ribbons) and the smiling faces of his friends, and when Luca comes back in with a birthday cake, all dolled up and reading 'Happy Birthday, Spada!' just for him, he can't speak (the words clog up in his throat, painfully) and it takes him a moment to shake it off and dig in, sans fork and knife but with the playful shouts and grievances of the rest of the party at not being able to have some cake too.
51. Troubling Thoughts
When Luca comes over to eat with the Belforma family (Milda business, from what Spada gathered, and he had to be there), Spada worries over what his brothers' might've (could've) done, and he checks Luca's food discreetly for anything dangerous (glass, shrapnel, nails, wood, glass) before he hands it off to him, and he does the same to his own; even though they have a guest over, Spada wouldn't put it past his brothers to do something nasty.
52. Stirring of the Wind
There's something different in the wind the day Luca Milda leaves Regnum for the first time; it's a troubling wind, he decides, and wonders if he'll ever be able to return home.
Characters: Luca Milda, Spada Belforma, others mentioned briefly
Rating: PG-13
52/104 sentences.
1. Introduction
The name strikes something in him, when the delinquent introduces himself - Spada Belforma, but where had he heard Belforma before? - and he returns the confidence the other teenager exudes with a small, nervous smile and a name - Luca Milda.
2. Complicated
Spada's a lot more complex than he shows off; Luca realizes this when Spada blocks a sword coming his way, tells him to move it or lose it, and they'd only met five minutes ago.
3. Making History
It's Spada he stands besides, smiling, as the Manifest hovers just between them; it's Spada he makes the Primeval Giant's wish with, knowing in his heart of hearts that everything will be all right, though no one will know it was them who changed everything.
4. Rivalry
It's just something friendly (seeing who can get the last hit, the last kill, pick up the most loot) but it's a rivalry all the same, and Luca revels in the way it makes him feel, warm and happy, when he gets one up on Spada and gets a noogie for his success.
5. Unbreakable
He isn't glass (he isn't fragile) but he isn't unbreakable, either, and he feels as if he's about to when Spada kisses him roughly and caresses him as gently as he can, as if tempering glass.
6. Obsession
There's something in the way he walks (a stride, leisurely but guarded) that gives off a protective vibe, something that says, "I'll always protect you." even (especially) in the most dangerous situation, that makes Luca wonder if it's becoming an obsession.
7. Eternity
It feels like forever before Spada's able to move again, streaking past the others to kneel by Luca and pull him into his arms, heart in a panic and shaken, above all else, when Luca's eyes close on him and he's failed to protect him again (again?).
8. Gateway
When Luca opens his eyes, it's like a gate flies open and Spada doesn't care how he looks; as soon as Luca sits up, dazed and confused, he gathers him up in his arms and squeezes him tightly, ignoring the sudden yelps of pain, and when he finally lets him go (on Ange's orders, of course, of course) he lets his fingers jitter nervously by his thigh, wanting to make sure that he really is okay.
9. Death
As much as he stands by the window, as much as he fidgets and pretends not to be keeping an eye out at where the castle fell, no one's convinced (himself most of all), and Spada feels frustrated because it's already been so soon and he failed to protect him for the third (and last, possibly, last time, because he fell from the sky and who the hell survives that?).
10. Opportunities
Luca is extremely easy to tease, to rile up and get flustered; insanely easy, even, which is why Spada delights in pressing and needling until that embarrassed, red flush surfaces and works its way up the rest of his face, down his neck and across his ears, to the roots of his pretty white hair until he's sure it'll turn as red as Iria's; he delights in making the poor boy uncomfortable, taking every opportunity to feel that warm flush under his fingers or against his hip or thigh, delights in kissing collarbones and shoulders until he sees and feels it fan out underneath his lips and the shaking, soft breath of Luca beside him or beneath him or on the floor in front of him, knuckles white against skin reddened from embarrassment and arousal, whispering his name like a mantra, and sometimes, he fools himself into thinking it's only to rile him up.
11. 33%
It's a bad night when he's able to pressure Luca into taking just a small sip of his father's (stolen) liquor and Luca accepts the glass, runs his finger around the rim once, twice, before he takes a small sip of it and makes a face at it; it's an even worse night when that same glass is refilled twice and Luca's cuddled against him, snug against his chest, with it loosely grasped in his right hand (the other is around Spada's waist, fingers playing with the hem of his untucked dress shirt) and he's mouthing words into Spada's side and Spada doesn't want to believe the shape of those lips, the words they're forming, and he wants to believe that Luca's drunk enough to be asking for olive juice.
12. Dead Wrong
His back is against the wall, legs shaking like jelly and he's trying to gain purchase on the coutnertop, his right hand slipping from cold, clammy palms every time he tries and Luca grins, loves seeing Spada like this; he works his way down, shifting his knee between Spada's thighs and Spada bites his tongue, putting his effort into not making a sound and into threading his fingers in Luca's hair, down the back of his neck and up again, and there's something wrong about this but Spada can't put his fingers on it, not while he has his fingers on Luca, who rocks him against the wall and smiles like an angel because he's finally got the upper hand.
13. Running Away
Before, he'd run away; he'd shrink into the wall and bolt, or resign himself to some fate, or go with the less confrontational avenue - but now Spada gives him that look, the one that calls him disgusting for even thinking about bolting now, when everything's about to end, even if he doesn't mean to call him disgusting, and it hurts; it hurts to think that Spada might think that about him, and so Luca doesn't run, even though he wants to (even though he should).
14. Judgment
Luca's nervous, standing in the Belforma's front parlor, fiddling with his cufflinks and glancing around every few seconds; though the Milda family and the Belforma family have good relations, the latter is still one of the noble houses and the former is only merchant class, and he can't help up look down at his clothes and wonder if he'd be judged by the quality of his threads, rather than the quality of his father's work, but every nervous worry disappears the second Spada slides down the banister, lands in front of him, and jerks him along to go hang out around the town.
15. Seeking Solace
He seeks solace in books, content to curl up with one and read it until his eyes get heavy and he slips into a sleep, book still dangling between his loosened fingers and his head nodded onto his shoulder.
16. Excuses
For every excuse Luca makes, Spada makes another reason, and it's with a heavy heart and true resignation that he skips school to see Spada off, mixed feelings above all.
17. Vengeance
Spada doesn't - can't - understand how you can't hate someone who tried to kill you; Luca just shrugs, gives the body a final glance and makes his way up the stairs (he has bigger things to worry about, his own problems to face, but Spada still doesn't understand).
18. Love
They're four little letters that he never knew could make his heart jump into his throat so fast.
19. Tears
When all you've got is yourself, you learn to do things yourself, so Luca really shouldn't be surprised to find Spada mending his own clothes every few nights, little stitchings and biting thread with his teeth; he winces every time he sticks himself with the needle, and he holds pins between his teeth, and there's spools of different colored thread (black, white, brown, and a vibrant green that looks as if it's never been touch before) around his feet, and it's likely the most domestic thing Luca's seen all journey.
20. My Inspiration
He knows exactly who he's going to choose when he stands by the Manifest; he extends his hand towards Spada, smiling, and while Spada doesn't take it in order to stand next to him, the effect is the same, and it's the faith and devotion he puts into Spada's hands every day of their journey that leads him to this choice.
21. Never Again
Spada sits at the window of the inn room for the umpteenth time, hat gripped tightly in his fingers; every time he glances back at Luca on the bed, face marred with pain and hurt and worry and nightmares, another thought races through his mind ("You couldn't protect him." "You're a failure of a shield." "It should've been you.") and he grows angrier and angrier at himself; the second Luca opens those beautiful eyes of his (they're beautiful, the most beautiful; after seeing them closed for the last three days, they're beautiful) he swears he'll never let him get hurt ever again.
22. Online
"I-It's a pony, Spada, and I'm, um, roleplaying, and-- don't give me that look, it's a fun and creative way to write and connect with others!"
23. Failure
He's the seventh son, and while he's always heard that seventh sons are the lucky ones (the ones that are looked to, smiled upon, the most fortunate of all sons, for their status as the seventh, and that the seventh son of a seventh son is the best, though he doubts his father was a seventh son) he knows it's just a pack of lies.
24. Rebirth
When the Devas die, they are reborn and take on human form, lying dormant until the day they awaken; Luca's heard they cause horrible things to happen (death, destruction, they're a scary bunch he shouldn't mingle with) and when he finds out he's one (something to be feared, something that brings misfortune to everyone around him) he sulks and wonders why, though when he's standing before Mathias with his sword at the ready and his friends (Avatars) around him, he's no longer afraid of what will happen, because he knows they'll fix what's wrong.
25. Breaking Away
The first time he runs away, it's after they put ice down his back and snow in his bed, and he's twelve years old and dressed in light clothing (no socks, no shoes, no jacket, no gloves, no scarf) and it's a cold, freezing winter night in Regnum; he doesn't have anywhere to go, so he wanders around the noble district and loses himself in the residential district, and when his fingers and toes start to go numb he hangs around one with empty flowerpots and beds sheeted with snow, and a young woman peers out after he sees her through the window and brings him soem soup; she's beautiful, with long blonde hair drawn back into a ponytail, and a little kid peers out from the doorway with sleepy eyes (he's got the weirdest hair - silver, or maybe it's blonde and it just looks that way from the light pouring from the house?) until his mother tells him to get a scarf, dear, the old green and yellow one from last Noël; he nods and rubs his eyes, yawns, and leaves - only to return with the scarf described, and the pretty woman wraps it around his neck and asks if he'd like to come in; Spada considers it for two seconds before he shakes his head slowly and steps back, then bolts down the road and doesn't stop until he finds the front yard of his home, dark and with no signs of a search for a missing twelve year old.
26. Forever and a day
Luca always thought they'd be together forever, but with their journey at an end, he doesn't know; a month later, he wakes up to find the whole group downstairs, chatting and laughing with his mother, and he feels a twinge of happiness that makes him bolt downstairs, still in his pajamas, to see them.
27. Lost and Found
Luca's like the little brother he never had (never wanted to have, seeing what his own brothers had done to him) and when he loses him (to a goddamn castle, no less), he wants to search for him, but no one else offers up the suggestion and he stays and worries, hopes he's okay and he'll find his way back; when Luca appears at the door way after Iria, a worried frown creasing his brow (as if he'd been the one worrying for days and days about them and not the other way around) he can't help himself, grip loosening on his arms and the words spilling out before he can reign them back in - a soft, disbelieving, "Luca, you..."
28. Light
Luca laces their fingers together as the sun rises; they can see it perfectly from the airship, a full disc rising over the horizon little by little, shedding light on every bit of land it can touch, and Spada wonders if it's just from staying up all night to see the moonset and the sunrise or if Luca's onto something when he lays his head on Spada's shoulder and smiles like he's never seen something more beautiful.
29. Dark
It's when the lights are out that he sneaks his arms around Luca, holds the sleeping boy in his arms and presses his lips to his pulse, just to make sure he's alive and just softly breathing in sleep, not dead and cold and clammy like in the nightmares he wakes thrashing out of, Luca's name on his tongue and bitten back not to wake anyone.
30. Faith
Spada knows that if Luca just stopped being such a doormat, he could do anything he set his mind to.
31. Colours
In srping, everything is a light and refreshing green, dotted with pastels; in summer, everything is a dark, forested green, ripe and bold; in fall everything is gold and red and orange, brown spotting the undersides of leaves and roads; in winter, everything is white and red and subtle, especially Luca's expressions and the way he moves when Spada tries to catch him under a mistletoe for a little fun.
32. Exploration
Even though he's lived in Regnum all his life, he's never known the city as he does now; ducking in and out of alleyways and traversing streets he's never seen before, he keeps his sights in front of him and his hand clasped tightly within Spada's, not wanting to lose him in the twisting, winding ways.
33. Seeing Red
Even when the journey's all said and done, Spada remains the shield that protects his friends; today (and every other day, while he's thinking about it) he's Luca's shield, and he becomes it the second he sees Luca get shoved into a wall by a group of boys who grin and laugh and shout when Spada slips between them and Luca, fists up and more than ready for a fight; he gets it, and he wins, and when he asks Luca about it Luca shrugs and smiles and tells him he's tired.
34. Shades of Grey
He's right (Asura's right) and he's wrong (Asura's wrong) and he's alone (The Overlord's alone) and everyone's left him (Innana, Durandal-- Orifiel, Vritra, all of them) and he can't think and the light (grows brighter and he can feel the cold steel in his hands and) the castle starts to shake and he feels like curling up and (the sword snaps like a twig and he feels despair as he stabs Innana, feels it cut through soft garment and softer skin as if it were nothing) and he doesn't look back, not after all that, not after what he's done (what Asura's done) and he can't (open his eyes, he can't, it'd be too much) pain to see their eyes with hatred and (disappointment and shock and sorrow and) he can't think, he can't think, and the castle crashes down around him and he can't (doesn't) care.
35. Forgotten
The memories he has yet to remember feel like a string gently tugging on his conscience, leading him along; Luca feels around in the darkness blindly, wanting to catch a hold onto that string and follow it, but every time he catches the thin red line between his fingers, it slips away as easy as sand.
36. Dreamer
"The world was thrown into chaos because Devaloka and Naraka were divided," and it's in a strong voice, resolute, that he says it; and it's in a softer voice, more like his usual, that he presents the end with a smile to his friends and with his palms flat, "so we should return the world to its original form."
37. Mist
In Lemures Marsh, he feels completley and utterly alone, and maybe he is; the mist swamps around him, thick and heavy, like an overbearing mother or a sudden heatwave, and he twists his hands and tenderly calls out a greeting - and yelps when he's pulled back, and he can smell Spada close to him, and realizes it's him holding him and laughing his ass off, turning him around and shaking him by the shoulders, just a little, and Luca can't help but smile just a little, even when Spada exclaims that he 'shoulda seen his face' and howling when Luca shoves him with his shoulder, slipping his hand into Spada's and knowing he'd never be lost for long, not with a friend like him.
38. Burning
He's ten years old and every inch of him burns, raw from scratching and itching worse than before, and he has to sit on his hands so he doesn't worsen his condition of chicken pox (on his mother's command, of course, as she smooths aloe over his skin and tells him it'll be over before he knows it).
39. Out of Time
Mathias' hand reaches towards the Manifest, and he knows he has to stop it, but he freezes when she begins to speak and the memories come flooding back, as clear as day and as sharp as knives.
40. Knowing How
It isn't as if he hasn't read about it before (studied it, told about it, lived it, done it; he's twenty-three, who hasn't?) but Luca's hands still shake and they still fumble with the clasp of Iria's bra, fingernails scraping nervously across soft, smooth skin and elicting a complaint from his partner that's soon smothered in a soft kiss (because if he learned anything from Spada, it was to step up).
41. Fork in the road
It isn't a real one - more of a metaphorical fork in the road, he muses, than a real one - but he's got two choices (study and wake up late due to passing out on his books, thus having to run to his first class to take an exam he'll be late for by then or sleep now and not be late to his first class) and it's hard to choose one; on one hand, he needs to study - on the other, he won't be late for the exam, and it's with some reluctance (and force from Spada, who puts him to bed and holds him there while he squirms and protests until he lies, defeated, breathing heavy and pink in the face from exertion, and until he closes his eyes and lets his breathing even out) that he chooses the second.
42. Start
Luca's still late to his first class, the exam having started fifteen minutes prior to his arrival, due to a Spada who gets him breakfast from the café down the way and won't let him go until he stops studying and starts eating it (and finishing it, too).
43. Nature's Fury
The storm rips above them, thunder rolling and lightning cracking like thin ice over the clouds, arching and weaving and webbing its way to new spots, new places; Luca huddles in his blanket and tries not to cry, shaking and flinching every time thunder booms above his little makeshift tent, and even though he's never been afraid of thunderstorms (tucked safely away in his home, leaning against the rain-stained window pane with a book in his hands and the fury of the storm on the otherside of it) it's an entirely different story when you're out in the middle of it and every other person out here is in a tent that's just far enough to discourage him from trying to crawl over and cling onto them instead.
44. At Peace
The storm eventually clears, though, after a rocky bout of sleep, and it's with a hesitance that he peers out at the clearing and sees the world at peace; too early for anyone else except Ricardo to be up (he's patrolling the area, kicking dirt over their campfire pit and getting ready to get everyone else up) and it's quiet, comfortably silent, and he takes in the smell of rain and wonders if there ever was a thunderstorm last night, or if it was only a dream.
45. Heart Song
Luca's heart sings a high, shrill, sharp note when Spada kisses the top of his head and promises he'll never let any harm come to him, not in a million years, and he can't figure out what it is.
46. Reflection
There's nothing extraordinary about him; it's the first thing he thinks when he's washing his face in a pool of still water, right by their camp, and he catches his reflection in it, watching the water ripple across his reflection every time it drips from his soaked bangs; Luca knows there's nothing extraordinary about him, and it shows even more when he's travelling with the rest of his (smart, talented, wonderful) friends and their enemies look at him and laugh.
47. Perfection
Spada knows he isn't perfect (who is?) but sometimes, when he's watching Luca bathe and sees the scar on his back and remembers the heat and drifting ashes of the volcano, he wishes he was.
48. Everyday Magic
There's something magical about staying in such an ordinary house with such an ordinary family; Luca's mother laughs and cooks breakfast, easy-going with small talk and waiting for her son to stir, while Luca's father peers disapprovingly over his newspaper at Spada, and when Luca peeks over the railing of his room and jolts out of bed, almost falling over himself and down the stairs to hug him, Spada wonders if there is magic at work (but there's no such thing as magic, past what Avatars could do, and he knows it).
49. Umbrella
It's pouring rain and he's standing by the school, wishing he'd brought an umbrella, shifting from foot to foot and watching girls and boys trot off on their own or in pairs, giggling and talking and laughing with rainboots splish-splashing through the puddles and mud; Luca sighs at the gathered books and papers in his arms and closes his eyes, stepping out into the rain and expecting to be showered - but there's nothing, just the sound of rain hitting something above his head, and when he dares to peek open an eye it's Spada holding a large, black umbrella over the both of them and slinging a slightly damp arm but very much warm arm around his shoulders and smirking.
50. Party
Birthdays are usually a quiet occasion spent by himself for Spada Belforma, either out on the town or in his secret hideout, but a year after their journey's end, it's different; he wakes up to an overly-decorated room (not quite finished; he catches Luca tacking up the last of the ribbons) and the smiling faces of his friends, and when Luca comes back in with a birthday cake, all dolled up and reading 'Happy Birthday, Spada!' just for him, he can't speak (the words clog up in his throat, painfully) and it takes him a moment to shake it off and dig in, sans fork and knife but with the playful shouts and grievances of the rest of the party at not being able to have some cake too.
51. Troubling Thoughts
When Luca comes over to eat with the Belforma family (Milda business, from what Spada gathered, and he had to be there), Spada worries over what his brothers' might've (could've) done, and he checks Luca's food discreetly for anything dangerous (glass, shrapnel, nails, wood, glass) before he hands it off to him, and he does the same to his own; even though they have a guest over, Spada wouldn't put it past his brothers to do something nasty.
52. Stirring of the Wind
There's something different in the wind the day Luca Milda leaves Regnum for the first time; it's a troubling wind, he decides, and wonders if he'll ever be able to return home.