Day 66: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[his_legacy]

Link wasn't in the mood for 'rest and relaxation,' as the boss had put it. Daytime here was completely unproductive, and it was frustrating. There was little he could do, other than keep up with recording his map. He supposed he ought to take the chance to get to know the other patients: Who was powerful, who needed help, who knew what... Perhaps some of the people who had been here longer. Link was lucky he had Sora as a friend, who seemed to know a good deal about how things worked.

It was a two-edged sword, though, that the boy had to have been trapped here for quite some time to be as settled as he was.

The Hylian settled into a chair with his journal, tapping the strange sort of writing device he had been given against his chin. It had become evident last night that the building was relatively organized, the second floor being similar in its main layout to the first floor. That was somewhere to start, at least.

[Nina, dearest!]

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[avengingfists]

Ilia was late to breakfast that morning having taken some time before to stop by the bathroom in order to wash her face. Last night's time in the caverns had left her skin feeling clammy. They hadn't gotten as far as she had hoped, but at least something had been done, and it looked like she and Seishin had quite a big adventure ahead of them.

Before hitting the cafeteria, she took a moment to put together a few notes for friends on the bulletin. As a result, she wound up eating along in a corner of the room. Ilia hardly had a chance to get her food down before the Head Doctor announced the next shift change, directing everyone to the Sun Room. She checked her notes again and was glad to see Claude was willing to talk. He sure had some explaining to do!

The young man in question wasn't difficult to find. Ilia marched herself over and stood before him, crossing her arms. She managed to keep her expression neutral despite the irritation that resurfaced from remembering the almost-episode with Guy the day before. "Claude."

[earthling]

Upon hearing his name, Claude looked up just in time to see his mom approaching him. The expression she wore made it hard to gauge what this might have been about. Of course, this was his mother, and he couldn't quite squash the niggling sense of foreboding that lurked in the back of his mind.

"Um, hey!" he said with a wave of his hand. "Everything okay?" He patted the couch cushion next to him as a silent invitation for her to sit down.

[avengingfists]

Everything was not okay. But seeing as there was a handful of staff members cycling about the room Ilia couldn't just box his ears like she felt tempted to do. Instead, she took the seat he offered and turned towards him.

Then she reached up and gave his ear a sharp yank. That would have to do for the physical trauma part of this scolding.

"Claude!" Her voice was lowered to a harsh, heated whisper. "Why didn't you tell me Guy was gynophobic? I almost touched him! Do you realize how serious phobias are? How traumatic it would have been if I had managed to surprise him?"

A part of Ilia was telling her she was treating Claude like a child and he deserved his dignity. But then, an even stronger part, something pulling at her from a core level, was drowning out that guilt. Claude was from the same world she was from, even if not the same time. He owed her explanations of things that could become problematic. Somehow, he was responsible and needed to accept the consequences for leaving her in the dark.

[earthling]

Letting out a yelp, Claude had no choice but to give into the hard pull, and he abruptly tilted his head to the side. That alone was enough to raise some red flags. No one wanted wanted to be the target of his mother's wrath, least of all anyone who knew the death and destruction it could bring.

He inwardly cringed as he listened to the charges being made against him. Crap. This was going to take some serious explaining.

Rubbing his lobe, he straightened and did his best not to look like a child who had just been scolded by his mother. At the end of the day, though, that was exactly what he was, and there was no hiding the embarrassed expression he wore.

"I-it's not like I knew you talked to him a lot!" Claude defensively shot back, but then the full weight of what she was saying sunk in. Mom was talking to Guy? He never imagined he would be thinking this, but he honestly hoped she was just doing research about the basement and not talking about...other stuff.

Taking a deep breath, he willed himself to calm down. It was probably better to put out any fires raging in front of him before worrying about anything else. "Besides," he continued, quieter now, "it's kind of a personal thing for him, you know? I feel weird talking about that sort of stuff without asking him first."

That sounded like a lame excuse, but it was true. Claude rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable now. Just owning up to it and apologizing was probably the best way to go after all. "Sorry..."

[avengingfists]

Ilia sat back, arms crossed and one hand's fingers tapping out a strident cadence. She made no move to cut in as Claude talked. She had another one of those feelings that she got around him, like she knew exactly how this was going to go. First came the deflecting excuse, then a more legitimate excuse, then, ah, there it was. The apology. She nodded at last, relaxing a bit but still unsmiling.

"Thank you," she said, her voice even. "Now that that's out of the way, I do understand why you would want to let someone keep their privacy. It is a personal thing, like you said."

She nodded slowly. Then her eyes flashed and she leaned close, a slightly teasing smile playing at her lips although the seriousness never left her eyes gaze. Her voiced dropped low, certain no one else would hear, "But I think you're the kind of person who would want their dearest person to not have extra traumatic experiences on top of everything they have to go through in this place."

[earthling]

Well, that was one set of ruffled feathers he managed to smooth over. Claude let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The moment she leaned forward, though, he grew uneasy again and tried to brace himself for whatever came next.

Her teasing smile should have clued him in, but Claude still felt himself grow tense the moment she spoke. Dearest person? Oh, no, she wasn't on that again, was she?

"W-well, yeah, I am, but, um..." No matter what he said, he felt like he was just digging a deeper hole for himself.

So, like a champ, he just petered off into an awkward silence.

[avengingfists]

Ilia sighed, shaking her head sadly. She would never understand the type of person that refused to seize their happiness when it was right there in front of them. It looked like a peptalk was in order, though she didn't know how much good it would do.

"Look, Claude," she started, finally gentling in her demeanor, "I know it's hard trying to break the status quo, but nothing will ever happen if you just stand still." Movement was better than stagnation.

She shrugged. "Unless you enjoy always being seen as 'just a friend.' I can't imagine that being comfortable." It was living in hell for her, but at least she was safe in the knowledge it was no fault of her own.

[earthling]

Even when she technically hadn't even given birth to him yet, his mom could read him like a book. Claude had readied himself to go on the defensive, but in the end he wound up deflating like a balloon. What was the point of denying it? She'd probably get irritated with him if he did, and he'd spent most of their conversation trying to avoid that.

Still, it was hard to figure out what he should say. Claude opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before nervously rubbing the back of his neck again.

"Well, maybe not," he finally admitted, "but I can't exactly change how he sees me, either. At this point, I'm pretty sure saying something would just make him feel awkward."

Although it was true that didn't want to put Guy in that kind of position, a selfish part of Claude also knew that he just plain couldn't stand the thought of rejection. Granted, in this case, it wouldn't come as a huge shock at all, but someone only had to go down that road once to know how rocky it could become. Why set himself up for failure and risk ruining a good thing?

[avengingfists]

She smiled, glad he was listening to her and not immediately covering his ears like a child would. Still, it was obvious he was struggling with the idea. It was true, he couldn't change how someone felt.

"So you've already talked to him about how he feels about dating other men?" If Guy was dead-set against the idea, then there wouldn't be much to hope for, that was true. Her mouth quirked up in the corner. "Although, even if he's against dating other men in general, that doesn't mean he might not have his own soft spot for you, y'know."

Sexuality was a fluid thing, and relationships beyond the skin-deep complicated matters further. But that also meant there was room to grow. Ilia placed a hand on Claude's shoulder, lightly squeezing. "You know, it's hard to click so well with just anyone. And you and Guy, you've both got some good chemistry. There's a lot to gain if you just take a chance."

[earthling]

While it was kind of a relief to talk about this with someone without having to going into any long-winded explanations or awkward confessions, there was something weird about it, too. Twenty years younger or not, this was still his mother. At the same time, maybe that made talking easier. If this had come from anyone else, he would have immediately shut them down with denials.

He very nearly covered his face when she kept prying, but Claude figured he ought to keep some of his dignity intact and face this like an adult. That still didn't do much for the blush that spread across his face and ears like wildfire.

"Um, s-sort of?" The pitch of his voice rose, and Claude cleared his throat in an attempt to save face. "I mean, I know it doesn't not happen where he comes from. I just don't know what he thinks. He sounds like he's accepted that he can't be with a woman, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'd accept...you know, being with...me..."

Even if getting stuff off his chest felt nice, it also stirred up a lot of the insecurities Claude harbored. Guy meant a lot to him, and if staying silent about his own stupid feelings allowed them to stay good friends, he was willing to do that. Once it was all out in the open, though, there wasn't really going back. That kind of bombshell had the potential to change things forever -- and not always for the better, either.

His mom gave sound advice. Unfortunately, things didn't seem so simple to Claude.

"There's a lot to lose, too," he muttered as he stared down at his slippers. "I'd probably feel awful if he turned me down, and then he'd never see me the same away again." When he thought of accidentally driving a wedge into their friendship, his heart ached.

[avengingfists]

Seeing Claude finally face this problem head-on gave Ilia a strange sense in pride. It took a big man to speak through a blush that burned fierce and bright like that. It was also good to know that Guy's planet wasn't unfamiliar or against homosexual relationships, which had once plagued Earth in a very sad way. But sodomy morals aside, there was always going to be bumps along the road, especially when dealing with inter-species relationships.

"I wonder if you're just not giving yourself enough credit," Ilia said at last, her eyes glancing down to look at her own slippered feet. She had never been the type to let self-esteem get in the way of her own merit. She plunged forward without inhibition and took what she wanted out of life. Sometimes things still evaded her reach, but at least she could always say she lived a life without regrets.

"... You know, I've confessed my feelings to someone I loved before. And it didn't turn out the way I hoped it would." Ilia spoke slowly and plainly, feeling she could share a story of her own love and loss with this boy. If she was going to meddle in his love life then it was the very least she could offer him in return. "But I came to a realization shortly after I gave myself a moment to mope and cry about it. Wanna know what it was?"