[Al didn't mind the smoke. It wasn't as acidic as Granny's pipe, and he found the smell made him miss her terribly. She'd have some sort of advice for a situation like this.
Heartsick, he came out to the kitchen, noticed the tea, and smiled tiredly.]
[He'd heard Al approach, but didn't move, remaining just out of sight, the puffs of smoke drifting past the open doorway the only indication of where he was. A large cloud appears before the tired sort of chuckle, empty and humorless.]
[Al came up to the window and pushed it open, leaning on the sill. It put him roughly next to the shinigami.]
... it was a demon. He sold his soul to Hannah -- the same way Ciel was with Sebastian.
[Al had never once made any indication that he knew about Ciel -- or even that he cared for him at all. But there was pain in his voice.]
Hannah granted his wish, and then... he died. He was a child. He didn't know better. He understands it now, he knows now. It's caused him a lot of pain.
[There was a hitch in Urahara's breath, or perhaps it was merely Al's imagination, but that pause before he lifted the pipe back up to his lips again was definitely there. He remembered seeing Ciel form his contract with Sebastian, remembered the desperation and pain and anger that had driven him into such a state so as to be able to summon a demon such as Sebastian. He couldn't see Luca like that, couldn't see Jim letting Luca fall to such depths, but it's all too easy to see Alois' tear-stained face overlapping with that of Ciel's.
And he remembered Hannah. Maid-like, but more, and devoted to Luca when she had been here. Luca had loved her, like he loved everyone, and so it didn't make sense. Yet in a way, it did. The Macken brothers, after all, were rather like two different sides of the same coin.]
[He could see the tense in Urahara's shoulders when he mentioned Ciel. He knew he'd cared deeply for him, perhaps more than Ciel himself even realized. ... and he knew very well how much Urahara cared for Jim and Luca. He'd become something like a favorite uncle, another parental figure.]
... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I've always -- thought it was for the boys to say, if they wanted to.
[Even now, with how tired he is, Urahara is still quick to reassure Al. Not so fast that it sounds false, and not so slow that it sounds like it's only said to be polite. Perfectly timed, and above all, true. No matter how he had found out (and having it shouted across the network by the mentally and emotionally unstable older brother was not exactly the best way to go about it), it was still better than Al having to betray Luca's trust.]
Then this 'Claude', this butler of Alois-san's...
[Was he the only one who thought that he could very well be a demon?]
[Tall, dark hair, gold eyes, spectacles, large hands, didn't smile much... Claude. Urahara stores it all away in his memory, marking the potential demon down as someone to keep an eye out for in case he ever arrived.]
[There's a tired chuckle, but this time it's more tired than empty, a little more life and less harshness in the sound of it before he takes one last, long drag on the pipe. It glows orange-red in the darkness before he knocks the ash out onto the ground and steps inside.]
[Al laughs, and the smiles makes him look like he is the age he appears to be. Not a day over sixteen. He sets the teacup down in front of Urahara and picks up his own, settling into the chair.]
... even with the damage done... it's good to see them back together. They need each other.
[Making someone laugh eases that ball of tension inside Urahara a little bit, and he takes a seat across from Al, tucking the pipe into one of his many pockets before wrapping his hands around the cup.]
They do, and Luca-san will be good for Alois-san, changed as he is from the Jim-san we knew.
[It's this razor-sharp observation that puts people on edge around Al sometimes. He knows things from details. He knows people.]
An identity change on this scale means an incredible amount of damage. And Jim had already had someone, perhaps a lot of someones, hurt him before Luca passed away.
He might be even slower to trust than he was before.
It's more than that. Manipulation's involved, both of and by him.
[He meets Al observation for observation, grey eyes serious and incredibly sad under the brim of his hat. It's moments like these in which his age shows. All hundreds of years of it.]
He said he's not Jim, that Jim's dead... He's Alois now, and has been for a long time. The way he said it, however, made it sound like it was someone he had to be, as if he didn't know how to be anyone else.
Traumatic events change who you are. Ciel was very like that, when he became the Earl it was a personality change to go along with it.
[Yes, he knew about that too.]
Alois has had things happen to him -- but that mentality just... suggests that he's had to do horrible things, too. To detach himself from it, he's become something that's not himself.
['Saw' not 'know'. In age down events, in the Dreamscapes, in every calculated movement and word that fell from Ciel's lips. Even more so in those stolen moments of surprised outrage when he managed to steal back some of Ciel's stolen childhood.]
But he doesn't have Ciel-san's strength. He's always been fiercely attached to others, and because of that, incredibly dependent on them. As Jim-san, it was Luca-san. As Alois-san... it seems to be this Claude. Hopefully we will have time to shift this dependency.
[A nod. Urahara, thankfully, has never had to experience that. What it would be like to lose Yoruichi, forever, permanently, he did not want to think about.]
He is a rather... bright boy.
[And he does mean bright. There's no other way to describe the love that pours out from Luca.]
[Al sensed it immediately, that pain, knew Urahara was thinking of someone. He reached out and set a hand on his, leaving in there. Sometimes you needed the warmth of another person.]
Ah, if you don't mind terribly, I just might take you up on that offer.
[It's not the darkness that bothers him, or the trip back. Both are laughable when one considers the shinigami he is. Rather, it's the loneliness of returning to an empty house with a heavy heart. Too many people have come and gone lately, among them several allies and most recently, his 'daughter' from the family event.
He knows that Al knows that, and is grateful for the thoughtfulness.]
... I'm glad you were there for him today. And every time, really. I mean, I never even properly thanked you for giving the boys a place to stay when I... left.
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[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 03:34 am (UTC)Heartsick, he came out to the kitchen, noticed the tea, and smiled tiredly.]
... you didn't know, did you.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 03:42 am (UTC)[He'd heard Al approach, but didn't move, remaining just out of sight, the puffs of smoke drifting past the open doorway the only indication of where he was. A large cloud appears before the tired sort of chuckle, empty and humorless.]
Alois-san confirmed it today.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 03:47 am (UTC)... it was a demon. He sold his soul to Hannah -- the same way Ciel was with Sebastian.
[Al had never once made any indication that he knew about Ciel -- or even that he cared for him at all. But there was pain in his voice.]
Hannah granted his wish, and then... he died. He was a child. He didn't know better. He understands it now, he knows now. It's caused him a lot of pain.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:13 am (UTC)And he remembered Hannah. Maid-like, but more, and devoted to Luca when she had been here. Luca had loved her, like he loved everyone, and so it didn't make sense. Yet in a way, it did. The Macken brothers, after all, were rather like two different sides of the same coin.]
He didn't summon her the way Ciel did.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:19 am (UTC)It was quieter.
[He could see the tense in Urahara's shoulders when he mentioned Ciel. He knew he'd cared deeply for him, perhaps more than Ciel himself even realized. ... and he knew very well how much Urahara cared for Jim and Luca. He'd become something like a favorite uncle, another parental figure.]
... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I've always -- thought it was for the boys to say, if they wanted to.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:24 am (UTC)[Even now, with how tired he is, Urahara is still quick to reassure Al. Not so fast that it sounds false, and not so slow that it sounds like it's only said to be polite. Perfectly timed, and above all, true. No matter how he had found out (and having it shouted across the network by the mentally and emotionally unstable older brother was not exactly the best way to go about it), it was still better than Al having to betray Luca's trust.]
Then this 'Claude', this butler of Alois-san's...
[Was he the only one who thought that he could very well be a demon?]
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:27 am (UTC)[Al finishes, more bluntly than is his way, but he knows it's most likely true. The whole thing is a vicious cycle.]
We'll have to be careful. I've dealt with Sebastian, and demons like that aren't... to be underestimated.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:34 am (UTC)[Tall, dark hair, gold eyes, spectacles, large hands, didn't smile much... Claude. Urahara stores it all away in his memory, marking the potential demon down as someone to keep an eye out for in case he ever arrived.]
Do you know where his seal is?
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:37 am (UTC)If I spot it I'll let you know.
[He was silent for several seconds, before giving his sleeve a gentle tug.]
... come in? The tea will get cold.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:55 am (UTC)As the gentleman wishes~
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:57 am (UTC)[He gives him that tired little grin almost rueful, reaches up to touch the edge of his hat.]
I am a farm boy.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 04:59 am (UTC)Ah, but gentility is born within us~
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:02 am (UTC)... even with the damage done... it's good to see them back together. They need each other.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:10 am (UTC)They do, and Luca-san will be good for Alois-san, changed as he is from the Jim-san we knew.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:17 am (UTC)Someone hurt him.
[It's this razor-sharp observation that puts people on edge around Al sometimes. He knows things from details. He knows people.]
An identity change on this scale means an incredible amount of damage. And Jim had already had someone, perhaps a lot of someones, hurt him before Luca passed away.
He might be even slower to trust than he was before.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:30 am (UTC)[He meets Al observation for observation, grey eyes serious and incredibly sad under the brim of his hat. It's moments like these in which his age shows. All hundreds of years of it.]
He said he's not Jim, that Jim's dead... He's Alois now, and has been for a long time. The way he said it, however, made it sound like it was someone he had to be, as if he didn't know how to be anyone else.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:33 am (UTC)[Yes, he knew about that too.]
Alois has had things happen to him -- but that mentality just... suggests that he's had to do horrible things, too. To detach himself from it, he's become something that's not himself.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:41 am (UTC)['Saw' not 'know'. In age down events, in the Dreamscapes, in every calculated movement and word that fell from Ciel's lips. Even more so in those stolen moments of surprised outrage when he managed to steal back some of Ciel's stolen childhood.]
But he doesn't have Ciel-san's strength. He's always been fiercely attached to others, and because of that, incredibly dependent on them. As Jim-san, it was Luca-san. As Alois-san... it seems to be this Claude. Hopefully we will have time to shift this dependency.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:45 am (UTC)[He knew. Ed's 'death' had destroyed everything. Made it impossible to live until he found his brother.]
Luca is here, though -- I'd rather he be attached to Luca than anyone.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:49 am (UTC)He is a rather... bright boy.
[And he does mean bright. There's no other way to describe the love that pours out from Luca.]
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 05:55 am (UTC)... he's love, made into something living.
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 06:00 am (UTC)I couldn't have put it better myself.
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Date: 2012-10-15 06:01 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 06:08 am (UTC)[It's not the darkness that bothers him, or the trip back. Both are laughable when one considers the shinigami he is. Rather, it's the loneliness of returning to an empty house with a heavy heart. Too many people have come and gone lately, among them several allies and most recently, his 'daughter' from the family event.
He knows that Al knows that, and is grateful for the thoughtfulness.]
[Offline]
Date: 2012-10-15 06:12 am (UTC)[Soft, and with real warmth.]
... I'm glad you were there for him today. And every time, really. I mean, I never even properly thanked you for giving the boys a place to stay when I... left.
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