Kractero wrote:Doughertania wrote:Anton GreavesAs the two of them sat in silence, he sighed. "Look, if you're upset about what happened to Pierce, she kissed me then starting going insane. It took while, but I finally talked her down. But she's different now. She has a new personality, one that's a mix of the Pierce we know and what she once was. When you get you'll see that she's not the same."
But instead of saying anything to that answer, she asked the unspoken question that hung around them for so long. Did he love her? "I…I don't know Val." He sighed again, hating that he didn't have the answer for such an obvious question. "There was a time I did. Back at our first lab, when it was you and I against the world, I though it was going to be the two of us for life. But after the fight, and then being rivals, I was so focused on making sure I could unlock the secrets of extra-dimensions travel that I never even considered we'd be back on the same side. And then after the party, I felt so close to you that I finally let my mind take a rest and let us have a moment of passion again. But despite that, I still have these nagging doubts that you're not actually here for me, just my research. Or that you only like me because of who I was, not who I am now."
"And then Violet came back, which just muddies things further. I liked her a lot, even saved her life. But she left me suddenly for some girl named Honor, which left me pretty alone here. So when she revealed to me that she did this to try to save Honor from killing herself, and for her act of kindness she is cursed, all those emotions were brought back. She didn't abandon me. She loves me, but she couldn't tell me thanks to whatever spell has been placed in her."
"And that's my problem. Both of you like me, I like you guys, but there's so much confusion I don't know who I really like." He groaned at how pathetic it sounded. "And now Pierce likes me too, but I've never really seen her as anything but a friend. I've been trying so hard to help heal the wounds she's suffered, to show her that the world doesn't have to be a strange and horrible place. Sure she's loyal and stuff, but that's more her programing than anything else. She probably only likes me because I'm kind to her. If someone else shows her kindness I'm sure it'll have the same effect."
He glanced over at Val."Look, if you want to just stay lab partners I understand. You've got so much going for you, and anyone here would be lucky to have you. You don't deserve a guy who can't make up his mind over two people." He lowered his head, finally finished. He just spilled his guts to her, laid all his cards out in the open. It needed to be done, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
(OOC: Krac this still before the timeskip, so this is over Buenos Aires)
Val had lately been having some unprecedented thoughts of regret over their fight which caused them to split apart. She wished that she hadn't reacted like that, or maybe that the moment never happened. When he started talking about it, it brought the thought back into her head. She brought her legs up, curling into an upright fetal position. "I wish that never happened...sometimes...I just wanted to go back to normal...and after the dance you made me so happy, but it seemed it didn't matter..."
She listened to what he had to say about the other two. It was as if the fight put a reset on their relationship and made her on equal footing with the others. Like he met her at the same time as them.
"No...I still like you," she admitted, looking down at her feet. "Even when you act like an idiot or make me mad. I couldn't go with anyone else...I'll...I'll just wait some more...like I always have."
Anton Greaves, Before TimeskipHe looked over at her, his eyes wide with shock. "Val, do…do you really mean it? Are you willing to give up your senseless belligerence, to fight past what the parasite has done to you?" Anton never believed that Val actually wanted to conquer dimensions. Sure, she was domineering at times, but so was he. There's a difference between a take charge attitude and blind aggression. But when she bonded with the parasite, something changed. While Anton had bonded with the mind of the original life form, Val had bonded with it's heart. It amplified all of her passionate emotions, to the point where she stormed off after their fight nearly came to blows. But he never thought that was actually her, rather this…
thing that was bonded to her. And here, after all these years, was a glimmer of hope that he was right.
He got off the bench and knelt in front of her. She was still in a fetal position, so he wanted to make sure she could see him, see the sincerity on his face. "I'm not asking you to change who you are. You've always been a stubborn, controlling, mischievous, spirited person, and that's a good thing. You help ground me, help me realize that despite my burden I'm still just a man. You show me that I can make mistakes, and that sometimes you don't always have to let the mind control everything. All I'm asking is that you relinquish your aggression. If you can give up this impossible dream of hitting everything before it hits you, give up waging war with other dimensions rather than protect our own," He looked up at her, staring into her golden eyes. "Then I don't think you have to wait anymore."
Part of him asked what about Violet, but he shrugged it off. After consulting with Hecate, Triss had said there were only three options to break the curse. He could kill the host that held the entity responsible for her curse, but he had no way of knowing who that host was or where to find them. He could kill Violet, but there was no way to restore her to life aside from godly magic, which he doubted he could convince Themis or Hecate to help. Or, he could let her go, let her love some who wouldn't hurt every time they touched. After all he was a savior, and saviors have to make sacrifices. Even ones that hurt.