yousei-san (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flair) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
metamorphosis2011-08-03 08:51 am
flair) wrote in metamorphosis2011-08-03 08:51 am
Entry tags:
254;
Title: The Home Stretch
Characters: Spada Belforma, Luca Milda, Iria Animi
Rating: PG-14
Generally Luca-centric. The last 52 of 104.
53. Future
Looking out at the land before them from the top of the Tower of Dawn, the group shares a look that says it all; the future is bright.
54. Health and Healing
Despite taking three (near-death) days to heal from the first wound, Luca doesn't even rest a moment after coming to Sania Village - not even on the airship does he take a moment to close his eyes and sleep after his ordeal; he just sits by a window and looks pensively out of it to the ever-changing world below him.
55. Separation
The appropriate grace period for after a break up is three weeks; Spada only waits three days before he takes Luca out to find him a new girlfriend, even though he still hasn't stopped crying and even though the girls give him more pitying looks than interested ones (which are reserved for Spada and Spada only, and he shrugs them off by giving more attention to Luca than he really should).
56. Everything For You
Luca doesn't like to think he swings that way (despite all evidence against it, faith and devotion and he pleads innocent until proven guilty, on all charges, and he pleads the fifth, too) but he can't help but blush and stutter like an old song and dance when Spada leans over him and murmurs that everything he does is for him.
57. Slow Down
Luca's hand in his is a constant reminder to Spada that sometimes it's okay to slow down and take your time with the little things (with the little kisses, the shy goodbyes, and dating).
58. Lesson
With the worlds reunited and Devic Artes not a possibility anymore, Luca's lost all of his strength - which is why, one Monday, Spada comes around with three wooden swords and teaches him a little thing about swordplay.
59. Challenged
It's no different than any other time Spada's teased him and taunted him into something, coaxed him out of his quiet shell until he's flustered but determined, but this time, he decides to make it different; Luca takes him up on his challenge and shoves the whole hotdog in his mouth, earning catcalls and whoops and hollars that make his ears go as red as the ketchup smeared on his fingers.
60. Exhaustion
He doesn't realize just how tired he is until he slips up a step, but he refuses to rest; Spada and the rest try to coax him into sittign down, try to make him rest because fuck, he really did just come back injured and drained from a literal power surge but he can't, he can't rest until it's all over.
61. Accuracy
Luca's never been one for archery (or, well, any sort of outside activity) but he doesn't think he's so bad when his arrow falls just a little short of the target's center and the party's staring at him in mild disbelief - along with the rest of Galpos, until cheering erupts and they give him a piece of fruit for his trouble anyways.
62. Versus
Just because he's teaching him how to fight with a normal-sized sword doesn't mean Spada goes easy on him; if anything, he's harder on him because Luca knows how to fight (not everything disappears just because their artes are gone now; even though he's no soldier, he's been on the battlefield more than once and he knows how to strike) though it's harder to adjust to the difference in weight and size in a wooden sword compared to the broadsword he'd been carrying around all journey.
63. Heartfelt Apology
Luca knows they mean their apologies despite the way they laugh and sound completely unconvincing.
64. Luck
They're not old enough to gamble but Spada brings him to a casino anyways, even though Luca protests and protests; Spada turns out to have the most amazing luck on the slots, and Luca turns out to have the worst composure when playing poker.
65. Impressions
Spada's impression of Luca is a little (okay, a lot) over-exaggerated, though everyone (minus the victim) agrees it's perfect.
66. Teenager
Luca tries to bullshit himself about 'hormones' and 'typical urges' but all of it passes over his head because right now, all he can think about are the words whispered into his ear as he holds the phone with his shoulder and bites his lip to keep from making a single sound as he strokes himself.
67. Irregular Orbit
Luca's a little like a satellite; he stays on the edges of the party, keeping to himself and watching everyone else talk and whisper and dance and laugh, but when Spada and Iria saunter over and pull him into fray he's thrown out of orbit and into the twisting, grinding bodies of la fête.
68. Cold Embrace
The snow in Tenos envelops Luca in a cold embrace when he falls into it, laughing and pink and exhausted, to make a snow angel.
69. Frost
When winter comes, the glass is frosted on Luca's window so thick he can only make out the shapes of the people below, and the house beside his; it becomes a little clearer when Spada draws a smiling face on it and peers through the eyeholes, and Luca laughs before he races to get ready to go out.
70. A Moment in Time
Luca laughs even when he's pinned down by Spada in the chill Regnum snow, straddled and Spada's close, pressing a cold, red nose into Luca's warm neck and it makes him squirm and shout for him to get off, it's cold while Spada grins and just pushes it in harder; it's a moment that stays with Luca even into his old age, hands folded on his lap and looking out into the same, cold snow he'd played in when he was younger.
71. Dangerous Territory
Stealing kisses just enough to get Luca flustered while he's trying to hold a conversation with Iria on the phone is dangerous enough for him, but it's child play to Spada.
72. Boundaries
But maybe he's crossed a line when he sneaks a kiss on Luca's neck and Luca immediately tenses up, words freezing in his throat.
73. Unsettling Revelations
Luca's not as innocent as he looks.
74. Shattered
It's completely by accident that Luca bumps into a very expensive vase and fails to catch it before it hits the ground, shattering into a million pieces with a sickening crack and patter of porcelain shards.
75. Bitter Silence
There's a quiet part of him that hates Luca and what he represents (an heir, a son, one that's looked at and wanted and somebody's proud of him) but hates his gutlessness more, and despite the quiet Spada slings an arm around his shoulder and gives him a grin.
76. The True You
Luca's in his element on the debate team, trigger handed on the button and smiling as he asnwers the questions.
77. Pretence
Despite all pretences, Luca isn't fragile; he bends and he twists until he's about to break, and sometimes he gets closed, but he never breaks (until the memories come rushing back and he can't contain it, his existence more a burden than anything else and he just wants to disappear).
78. Patience
Spada's hard to tutor (won't sit still, reads porn instead of books, complains loudly and sleeps while he's in the middle of talking) but Luca's got a lot of patience to spare for him.
79. Midnight
The moon's almost at its peak in the sky and they're still outside, sitting on the branches and watching the shadows grow longer and longer with every passing moment and for once, maybe, Luca thinks he hasn't screwed up; the feeling intensifies when Iria yawns and slips against him, rests her head on his shoulder and drifts off to sleep, with Luca's arm creeping nervously around her shoulder.
80. Shadows
Luca huddles against the walls, sipping his punch in the corner as the music thrums through the room and everyone dances, teachers keeping a watchful eye and nudging those who get to close (but none of them reach for Luca, and he doesn't reach out to anyone).
81. Summer Haze
It's already hot outside, and letting Luca lean against him to catch his breath in the small bit of shadow left from the oppressive sun's rein over Regnum isn't comfortable in the least, but when the boy looks as if he's about to pass out or keel over and die Spada can't help but pull him against him, hating the sudden rush of heat against his chest from that dumbass dark blue jacket and loving Luca's surprised gasp, then sigh of relief at the wind sweeping in the shade.
82. Memories
All Luca has are his memories now, crashing over him in waves and overwhelming him in the darkness of his own mind.
83. Change in the Weather
The sudden changes in weather and temperature (thanks to their ability to fly the skies with the airship) make him sick and Luca spends as much time laying down feeling green around the gills as he does looking out the window at the expanse of land below them.
84. Illogical
When Ange quietly suggests that he and Spada were rather close (too close, perhaps?) and that maybe there was a little more than friendship there, Luca can't wrap his head around the idea of Spada liking him like that.
85. Only Human
Luca thinks Spada might be a little greedy for affection but really, he guesses, he's only human.
86. A Place to Belong
Luca finds his place amongst a rag-tag group of heroes; he feels at home with Spada and Iria and the rest, sitting up by the campfire and laughing into the night before falling asleep, smiling all the while.
87. Advantage
Luca has the advantage in the library; he knows all the nooks and crannies, the sturdiest bookshelves and the parts nobody goes too, so he's the one leading Spada through the twists and turns and amongst the books, ignoring him when he gives him impatient looks and impatient kisses on the back of the neck.
88. Breakfast
Luca comes downstairs one morning to find Spada cooking an omelette, whistling while cracking eggs into a bowl and beating them with as fork, careful not to spill it on the countertop; it comes as a surprise to Luca to find that Spada can cook (though he suppose it really shouldn't - Spada did stay on his own for a year) and - as he finds out soon enough, sitting down at the table and getting a plateful of eggs - cook well.
89. Echoes
He feels as if every sound he makes echoes down the deserted hallway, but he can't stop, even at the risk of someone stepping out of class and seeing the two of them just barely behind the lockers, breathing hard and fingers hooked around belt loops and shoulder blades for need and support.
90. Falling
For a single, terrifying second Luca's awake (the darkness is gone, the castle crumbles under his feet, and there's a bright, brilliant light that seems to hang just above the clouds, close enough to hold) and he's falling, limbs locked in fear and clouds racing at his sides; he closes his eyes and embraces the darkness again, instead of the wind whistling against his ears.
91. Picking up the Pieces
Luca's glad he wakes up on the back of Chien instead of amongst the ruins of Sky Castle; he uses their slow but steady walk to Sania Village as a time to collect himself and figure out what to say to the people he hopes he can still call his friends.
92. Gunshot
Despite Iria's vehement teachings, the gun still feels awkward in his hand and the moment Luca tries to shoot it, he's jerked back by both surprise at the sound and the force of the shot; Iria rolls her eyes and wonders how he learns anything.
93. Possession
Something possesses Luca to step up and shut up Iria with a kiss; it's ten-second bravery that wears off just as quick and rewards him with a (cute) blushing Iria and a sore, hand-shaped mark on his cheek.
94. Twilight
"I-It isn't such a bad book, you know!"
95. Nowhere and Nothing
Luca remembers how, the day before everything started, he felt like his life was going nowhere, and how he did nothing to try and change that.
96. Answers
Luca tries to answer his parents to the best of his ability, when they finally manage to sit down with him one night, about his time away from home; he's careful not to mention anything important, but it all ends up being important (to him) and he excuses himself to bed without explanation.
97. Innocence
His touch is simple and experimental, gliding over skin and through hair after some hesitance as to whether or not to actually go through with it; there's something innocent in all of it, like a child exploring a cave or trying to figure out how something works, and Luca's face even lights up like a child's would after finding something out when he finally makes the bored smirk disappear from Spada's face.
98. Simplicity
A cold winter's night spent sipping hot chocolate, out on the balcony of the Belforma household, is base in its simplicity but a soothing circumstance at last, compared to the hustle and bustle and pain of being inside and surrounded by his brothers and for once, Spada's glad for Luca's simple way of approaching problems.
99. Reality
It ends when Luca has to go home, wishing Spada a Merry Christmas; Spada escorts him home and doesn't leave.
100. Acceptance
For the first time in his life, Luca feels surrounded by friends.
101. Enthusiasm
Well, sucking at kissing wasn't caused by a lack of enthusiasm on Luca's part.
102. Game
It doesn't matter what game they play (board games, video games, guessing games) because somehow, Spada would cheat (playing the banker, UpUpDownDownLeftRightLeftRightBAStart, who knows) and Luca would be left the loser.
103. Friendship
The word is sweet and poignant on his tongue, and Luca mulls over it until he's comfortable enough to at least murmur it, earning smiles and smirks from his party members.
104. Endings
It never ends, for Luca; the journey, the adventure, the nights he spent amongst friends - none of it, and he's thankful, truly thankful, to have been spit on by Fate.
Characters: Spada Belforma, Luca Milda, Iria Animi
Rating: PG-14
Generally Luca-centric. The last 52 of 104.
53. Future
Looking out at the land before them from the top of the Tower of Dawn, the group shares a look that says it all; the future is bright.
54. Health and Healing
Despite taking three (near-death) days to heal from the first wound, Luca doesn't even rest a moment after coming to Sania Village - not even on the airship does he take a moment to close his eyes and sleep after his ordeal; he just sits by a window and looks pensively out of it to the ever-changing world below him.
55. Separation
The appropriate grace period for after a break up is three weeks; Spada only waits three days before he takes Luca out to find him a new girlfriend, even though he still hasn't stopped crying and even though the girls give him more pitying looks than interested ones (which are reserved for Spada and Spada only, and he shrugs them off by giving more attention to Luca than he really should).
56. Everything For You
Luca doesn't like to think he swings that way (despite all evidence against it, faith and devotion and he pleads innocent until proven guilty, on all charges, and he pleads the fifth, too) but he can't help but blush and stutter like an old song and dance when Spada leans over him and murmurs that everything he does is for him.
57. Slow Down
Luca's hand in his is a constant reminder to Spada that sometimes it's okay to slow down and take your time with the little things (with the little kisses, the shy goodbyes, and dating).
58. Lesson
With the worlds reunited and Devic Artes not a possibility anymore, Luca's lost all of his strength - which is why, one Monday, Spada comes around with three wooden swords and teaches him a little thing about swordplay.
59. Challenged
It's no different than any other time Spada's teased him and taunted him into something, coaxed him out of his quiet shell until he's flustered but determined, but this time, he decides to make it different; Luca takes him up on his challenge and shoves the whole hotdog in his mouth, earning catcalls and whoops and hollars that make his ears go as red as the ketchup smeared on his fingers.
60. Exhaustion
He doesn't realize just how tired he is until he slips up a step, but he refuses to rest; Spada and the rest try to coax him into sittign down, try to make him rest because fuck, he really did just come back injured and drained from a literal power surge but he can't, he can't rest until it's all over.
61. Accuracy
Luca's never been one for archery (or, well, any sort of outside activity) but he doesn't think he's so bad when his arrow falls just a little short of the target's center and the party's staring at him in mild disbelief - along with the rest of Galpos, until cheering erupts and they give him a piece of fruit for his trouble anyways.
62. Versus
Just because he's teaching him how to fight with a normal-sized sword doesn't mean Spada goes easy on him; if anything, he's harder on him because Luca knows how to fight (not everything disappears just because their artes are gone now; even though he's no soldier, he's been on the battlefield more than once and he knows how to strike) though it's harder to adjust to the difference in weight and size in a wooden sword compared to the broadsword he'd been carrying around all journey.
63. Heartfelt Apology
Luca knows they mean their apologies despite the way they laugh and sound completely unconvincing.
64. Luck
They're not old enough to gamble but Spada brings him to a casino anyways, even though Luca protests and protests; Spada turns out to have the most amazing luck on the slots, and Luca turns out to have the worst composure when playing poker.
65. Impressions
Spada's impression of Luca is a little (okay, a lot) over-exaggerated, though everyone (minus the victim) agrees it's perfect.
66. Teenager
Luca tries to bullshit himself about 'hormones' and 'typical urges' but all of it passes over his head because right now, all he can think about are the words whispered into his ear as he holds the phone with his shoulder and bites his lip to keep from making a single sound as he strokes himself.
67. Irregular Orbit
Luca's a little like a satellite; he stays on the edges of the party, keeping to himself and watching everyone else talk and whisper and dance and laugh, but when Spada and Iria saunter over and pull him into fray he's thrown out of orbit and into the twisting, grinding bodies of la fête.
68. Cold Embrace
The snow in Tenos envelops Luca in a cold embrace when he falls into it, laughing and pink and exhausted, to make a snow angel.
69. Frost
When winter comes, the glass is frosted on Luca's window so thick he can only make out the shapes of the people below, and the house beside his; it becomes a little clearer when Spada draws a smiling face on it and peers through the eyeholes, and Luca laughs before he races to get ready to go out.
70. A Moment in Time
Luca laughs even when he's pinned down by Spada in the chill Regnum snow, straddled and Spada's close, pressing a cold, red nose into Luca's warm neck and it makes him squirm and shout for him to get off, it's cold while Spada grins and just pushes it in harder; it's a moment that stays with Luca even into his old age, hands folded on his lap and looking out into the same, cold snow he'd played in when he was younger.
71. Dangerous Territory
Stealing kisses just enough to get Luca flustered while he's trying to hold a conversation with Iria on the phone is dangerous enough for him, but it's child play to Spada.
72. Boundaries
But maybe he's crossed a line when he sneaks a kiss on Luca's neck and Luca immediately tenses up, words freezing in his throat.
73. Unsettling Revelations
Luca's not as innocent as he looks.
74. Shattered
It's completely by accident that Luca bumps into a very expensive vase and fails to catch it before it hits the ground, shattering into a million pieces with a sickening crack and patter of porcelain shards.
75. Bitter Silence
There's a quiet part of him that hates Luca and what he represents (an heir, a son, one that's looked at and wanted and somebody's proud of him) but hates his gutlessness more, and despite the quiet Spada slings an arm around his shoulder and gives him a grin.
76. The True You
Luca's in his element on the debate team, trigger handed on the button and smiling as he asnwers the questions.
77. Pretence
Despite all pretences, Luca isn't fragile; he bends and he twists until he's about to break, and sometimes he gets closed, but he never breaks (until the memories come rushing back and he can't contain it, his existence more a burden than anything else and he just wants to disappear).
78. Patience
Spada's hard to tutor (won't sit still, reads porn instead of books, complains loudly and sleeps while he's in the middle of talking) but Luca's got a lot of patience to spare for him.
79. Midnight
The moon's almost at its peak in the sky and they're still outside, sitting on the branches and watching the shadows grow longer and longer with every passing moment and for once, maybe, Luca thinks he hasn't screwed up; the feeling intensifies when Iria yawns and slips against him, rests her head on his shoulder and drifts off to sleep, with Luca's arm creeping nervously around her shoulder.
80. Shadows
Luca huddles against the walls, sipping his punch in the corner as the music thrums through the room and everyone dances, teachers keeping a watchful eye and nudging those who get to close (but none of them reach for Luca, and he doesn't reach out to anyone).
81. Summer Haze
It's already hot outside, and letting Luca lean against him to catch his breath in the small bit of shadow left from the oppressive sun's rein over Regnum isn't comfortable in the least, but when the boy looks as if he's about to pass out or keel over and die Spada can't help but pull him against him, hating the sudden rush of heat against his chest from that dumbass dark blue jacket and loving Luca's surprised gasp, then sigh of relief at the wind sweeping in the shade.
82. Memories
All Luca has are his memories now, crashing over him in waves and overwhelming him in the darkness of his own mind.
83. Change in the Weather
The sudden changes in weather and temperature (thanks to their ability to fly the skies with the airship) make him sick and Luca spends as much time laying down feeling green around the gills as he does looking out the window at the expanse of land below them.
84. Illogical
When Ange quietly suggests that he and Spada were rather close (too close, perhaps?) and that maybe there was a little more than friendship there, Luca can't wrap his head around the idea of Spada liking him like that.
85. Only Human
Luca thinks Spada might be a little greedy for affection but really, he guesses, he's only human.
86. A Place to Belong
Luca finds his place amongst a rag-tag group of heroes; he feels at home with Spada and Iria and the rest, sitting up by the campfire and laughing into the night before falling asleep, smiling all the while.
87. Advantage
Luca has the advantage in the library; he knows all the nooks and crannies, the sturdiest bookshelves and the parts nobody goes too, so he's the one leading Spada through the twists and turns and amongst the books, ignoring him when he gives him impatient looks and impatient kisses on the back of the neck.
88. Breakfast
Luca comes downstairs one morning to find Spada cooking an omelette, whistling while cracking eggs into a bowl and beating them with as fork, careful not to spill it on the countertop; it comes as a surprise to Luca to find that Spada can cook (though he suppose it really shouldn't - Spada did stay on his own for a year) and - as he finds out soon enough, sitting down at the table and getting a plateful of eggs - cook well.
89. Echoes
He feels as if every sound he makes echoes down the deserted hallway, but he can't stop, even at the risk of someone stepping out of class and seeing the two of them just barely behind the lockers, breathing hard and fingers hooked around belt loops and shoulder blades for need and support.
90. Falling
For a single, terrifying second Luca's awake (the darkness is gone, the castle crumbles under his feet, and there's a bright, brilliant light that seems to hang just above the clouds, close enough to hold) and he's falling, limbs locked in fear and clouds racing at his sides; he closes his eyes and embraces the darkness again, instead of the wind whistling against his ears.
91. Picking up the Pieces
Luca's glad he wakes up on the back of Chien instead of amongst the ruins of Sky Castle; he uses their slow but steady walk to Sania Village as a time to collect himself and figure out what to say to the people he hopes he can still call his friends.
92. Gunshot
Despite Iria's vehement teachings, the gun still feels awkward in his hand and the moment Luca tries to shoot it, he's jerked back by both surprise at the sound and the force of the shot; Iria rolls her eyes and wonders how he learns anything.
93. Possession
Something possesses Luca to step up and shut up Iria with a kiss; it's ten-second bravery that wears off just as quick and rewards him with a (cute) blushing Iria and a sore, hand-shaped mark on his cheek.
94. Twilight
"I-It isn't such a bad book, you know!"
95. Nowhere and Nothing
Luca remembers how, the day before everything started, he felt like his life was going nowhere, and how he did nothing to try and change that.
96. Answers
Luca tries to answer his parents to the best of his ability, when they finally manage to sit down with him one night, about his time away from home; he's careful not to mention anything important, but it all ends up being important (to him) and he excuses himself to bed without explanation.
97. Innocence
His touch is simple and experimental, gliding over skin and through hair after some hesitance as to whether or not to actually go through with it; there's something innocent in all of it, like a child exploring a cave or trying to figure out how something works, and Luca's face even lights up like a child's would after finding something out when he finally makes the bored smirk disappear from Spada's face.
98. Simplicity
A cold winter's night spent sipping hot chocolate, out on the balcony of the Belforma household, is base in its simplicity but a soothing circumstance at last, compared to the hustle and bustle and pain of being inside and surrounded by his brothers and for once, Spada's glad for Luca's simple way of approaching problems.
99. Reality
It ends when Luca has to go home, wishing Spada a Merry Christmas; Spada escorts him home and doesn't leave.
100. Acceptance
For the first time in his life, Luca feels surrounded by friends.
101. Enthusiasm
Well, sucking at kissing wasn't caused by a lack of enthusiasm on Luca's part.
102. Game
It doesn't matter what game they play (board games, video games, guessing games) because somehow, Spada would cheat (playing the banker, UpUpDownDownLeftRightLeftRightBAStart, who knows) and Luca would be left the loser.
103. Friendship
The word is sweet and poignant on his tongue, and Luca mulls over it until he's comfortable enough to at least murmur it, earning smiles and smirks from his party members.
104. Endings
It never ends, for Luca; the journey, the adventure, the nights he spent amongst friends - none of it, and he's thankful, truly thankful, to have been spit on by Fate.