[It's not an unfamiliar face. Guy sees Florian all the time back home now - the kid never leaves Anise's side. But there's a bearing to how this child holds themselves, how he talks, how the smile on his face never reaches his eyes, that tells Guy all he needs to know.]
You know him. Can't keep a secret to save his life.
[There's something heavily apologetic in how heavy his expression sits when he meets Ion's gaze, a familiar formality in how he adjusts how he stands, how his arms sit at his sides.]
I knew if he was telling the truth, you'd respond.
[Ion laughs, but his eyes close, his eyebrows knitting together before the sound finishes. There's a knot in his throat...a knot in his heart.]
I suppose...this answers a lot of your questions. About why I'd asked for you, how I could treat you like more than just a stranger. I'm sorry. I wish I could have been more honest from the beginning.
[There's so much more, of course, that feels more appropriate to say here, but instead a silence stretches on for longer than it needs to.]
Yes. It's been a very, very long time.
thats a bad icon and you should feel bad except i am the one who should feel bad really
[That Guy even remotely stayed away from Piety their first meeting is now out the window. He closes the gap with two strides, a hand moving to take Ion by the shoulder as he kneels down.]
You'd be proud of her. She's doing everything she can for the Order in your place.
...And she'd kill me if she knew I didn't try to pass something along.
[So hi, Ion, you're getting a hug. Sorry that he's not Anise... but he supposes that her being here instead would be a much greater torture.]
[Ion sucks in a breath as Guy wraps his arms around him, feeling a warmth that he's become so unused to. Whatever he was going to say before...his thoughts spiral and unravel with the tears that blur his vision and suddenly he's not Piety anymore, he's not a God or Fon Master, he's just Ion. Ion who was so young, who hurt so much and so often, who missed out on so many things--even feeling. This is an anguish he can hardly describe. His mask clatters as he drops it in his surprise, and his hands clench against Guy's tunic.]
You have to tell her--the things that I...all of the things that I couldn't say. That I wanted her to know. I couldn't get the words out...and she needed to hear them so badly...!
[ATTN GOD: ADDENDUM TO MY GODDAMN WISH, LET ION BE HAPPY FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE AND/OR AFTERLIFE?????
It's not the first time Guy's had to comfort someone much younger, and he takes it in stride. When Ion's fingers grip against him, his own hold tightens with the unspoken permission, keeping the boy close.]
I'll do whatever I can, Ion.
She knew a lot more than I think she ever let on. She's trying to forgive herself. The last thing she'd want is for you not to do the same.
[He'd always been so quick to shoulder everything, so quick to apologize. The eternal peacemaker, even when he'd been dying in Luke's arms. Just once... couldn't he treat himself with the same dignity he treated others?]
[He nods shakily, trying to subtly brush away his tears, but still, it's like he can't help himself. Like he instinctively can't put this on anyone but himself, even his own hurt.]
I'm so sorry for everything.
I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU RESPONDED TO THIS MID TRIAL OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE FIFTY YEARS AGO
Don't. For just right now... please don't be sorry about anything, Ion. The world's headed towards better things because of you. I wish you could see it.
A beat. With an exhale, Guy backs up, just a little bit - just enough to have Ion at arm's length, to keep the contact there while still getting a good look at the Fon Master's eyes. His expression, as unreadable as ever with the ties he holds on it, still seems oddly tired.]
Despite himself, Guy laughs, tucking his head down to hide his face in the grip of his free hand. It's not a sound of amusement. It's a reaction, a subtle punch to the gut, tinged with desperation... and almost bitter.]
He braces himself, but with Ion's fingers against his arms, it's impossible to hide how he shudders with his next exhale.]
...I don't have a choice right now. We've already made an agreement. [He won't elaborate. He can't. He knows it's underhanded of him, that it's tactics that go against everything Ion held dear.
But this was his wish. Even if he agreed to shed blood for it to have a better chance at coming true.
I know you won't; you're not the sort of person who would do that, and especially not to a friend.
[But there have been other times where things have been kept from Luke in order to keep him safe or unhurt...and ended up doing the opposite. So Ion's brows furrow.]
Just...please be careful. I don't want either of you to get hurt due to a misunderstanding.
I will. I want to think we trust each other more than that.
[we're just both dumb as rocks on opposite ends of the spectrum emotionally but IT'S FINE
He doesn't hide the slight aura of pessimism in his tone. Ion had been front and center for the curse slot, after all - he knew how Guy had dodged and weaved through that topic until it had exploded in his face. He trusted Luke to be fine. But to know what Luke would do with information that was likely to be extremely upsetting? That was harder to gauge now. It was easier to just put it off until it felt safer to play all his cards and keeping the outrage to a minimum.
Even if that was just his excuse.]
I know you'll take care of him as well. I don't think he really ever found someone he could talk to like he talked to you.
I don't plan on letting him down...or you, for that matter.
[Ion gives Guy a slight smile, hoping to look encouraging.]
After all, he found me when I was still masked, without even knowing the meaning of the word that I was named from. Especially after he was able to put his trust in me under those conditions, I'm going to make sure I'm always here for him when he needs me.
[Hm.]
Please, if you ever need anyone just to talk to, don't hesitate to find me, either. I'm almost always in the study.
[BOY IS THE GUILT THICK IN HERE OR IS IT JUST HIM REGRETTING HIS DAY ZERO CHOICE]
...Okay. Thank you, Fon Master.
Justice mentioned he had his own space that he stayed in one of the other temple rooms - someplace only he could access right now. Is it the same for you?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You know him. Can't keep a secret to save his life.
[There's something heavily apologetic in how heavy his expression sits when he meets Ion's gaze, a familiar formality in how he adjusts how he stands, how his arms sit at his sides.]
I knew if he was telling the truth, you'd respond.
I'm sorry, Ion. It's been a long time.
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I suppose...this answers a lot of your questions. About why I'd asked for you, how I could treat you like more than just a stranger. I'm sorry. I wish I could have been more honest from the beginning.
[There's so much more, of course, that feels more appropriate to say here, but instead a silence stretches on for longer than it needs to.]
Yes. It's been a very, very long time.
thats a bad icon and you should feel bad except i am the one who should feel bad really
[That Guy even remotely stayed away from Piety their first meeting is now out the window. He closes the gap with two strides, a hand moving to take Ion by the shoulder as he kneels down.]
You'd be proud of her. She's doing everything she can for the Order in your place.
...And she'd kill me if she knew I didn't try to pass something along.
[So hi, Ion, you're getting a hug. Sorry that he's not Anise... but he supposes that her being here instead would be a much greater torture.]
continues to make it bad
You have to tell her--the things that I...all of the things that I couldn't say. That I wanted her to know. I couldn't get the words out...and she needed to hear them so badly...!
WAILS IMMEDIATELY
It's not the first time Guy's had to comfort someone much younger, and he takes it in stride. When Ion's fingers grip against him, his own hold tightens with the unspoken permission, keeping the boy close.]
I'll do whatever I can, Ion.
She knew a lot more than I think she ever let on. She's trying to forgive herself. The last thing she'd want is for you not to do the same.
[He'd always been so quick to shoulder everything, so quick to apologize. The eternal peacemaker, even when he'd been dying in Luke's arms. Just once... couldn't he treat himself with the same dignity he treated others?]
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[He nods shakily, trying to subtly brush away his tears, but still, it's like he can't help himself. Like he instinctively can't put this on anyone but himself, even his own hurt.]
I'm so sorry for everything.
I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU RESPONDED TO THIS MID TRIAL OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE FIFTY YEARS AGO
[Guy's hold tightens, if ever so slightly.]
...It's so good to see you again.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
I wish I could see it, too. I've missed all of you so much. There's not a single day that goes by that I don't think of you all.
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A beat. With an exhale, Guy backs up, just a little bit - just enough to have Ion at arm's length, to keep the contact there while still getting a good look at the Fon Master's eyes. His expression, as unreadable as ever with the ties he holds on it, still seems oddly tired.]
Has Luke told you anything?
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[Ion takes a moment to take a deep breath and calm his nerves, even out his emotions, before continuing.]
Enough to know, at least, that he needs help. I promise, I'll make sure he gets home safely.
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Despite himself, Guy laughs, tucking his head down to hide his face in the grip of his free hand. It's not a sound of amusement. It's a reaction, a subtle punch to the gut, tinged with desperation... and almost bitter.]
We really are playing for the same thing, then.
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Yes.
[This time, Ion brings his hands up to grip Guy's arms, as if to steady the blond instead.]
...and that's why, no matter what happens, I'm going to ask you to stay with Cunning. It's the absolute best thing that you can do.
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He braces himself, but with Ion's fingers against his arms, it's impossible to hide how he shudders with his next exhale.]
...I don't have a choice right now. We've already made an agreement. [He won't elaborate. He can't. He knows it's underhanded of him, that it's tactics that go against everything Ion held dear.
But this was his wish. Even if he agreed to shed blood for it to have a better chance at coming true.
...]
Don't tell him any of this.
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[People can become monsters for all the right reasons. And this game enables those changes.]
I won't tell him.
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I told him we'd try to talk about things more. And yet... [Another laugh, just as empty as the last.] Funny how things just work out, right?
...
I don't want to keep him in the dark forever. I just... need some time.
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[But there have been other times where things have been kept from Luke in order to keep him safe or unhurt...and ended up doing the opposite. So Ion's brows furrow.]
Just...please be careful. I don't want either of you to get hurt due to a misunderstanding.
narrator: and then luke got hurt 3 days later
I will. I want to think we trust each other more than that.
[we're just both dumb as rocks on opposite ends of the spectrum emotionally but IT'S FINE
He doesn't hide the slight aura of pessimism in his tone. Ion had been front and center for the curse slot, after all - he knew how Guy had dodged and weaved through that topic until it had exploded in his face. He trusted Luke to be fine. But to know what Luke would do with information that was likely to be extremely upsetting? That was harder to gauge now. It was easier to just put it off until it felt safer to play all his cards and keeping the outrage to a minimum.
Even if that was just his excuse.]
I know you'll take care of him as well. I don't think he really ever found someone he could talk to like he talked to you.
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I don't plan on letting him down...or you, for that matter.
After all, he found me when I was still masked, without even knowing the meaning of the word that I was named from. Especially after he was able to put his trust in me under those conditions, I'm going to make sure I'm always here for him when he needs me.
[Hm.]
Please, if you ever need anyone just to talk to, don't hesitate to find me, either. I'm almost always in the study.
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...Okay. Thank you, Fon Master.
Justice mentioned he had his own space that he stayed in one of the other temple rooms - someplace only he could access right now. Is it the same for you?
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[Why does it feel so weird to be called Fon Master now.]
Anyone is welcome to find it, they need only search. My door is hidden within the private study, but unlocked.
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You're okay with that after what just happened to Fortune?
[GENUINE CONCERN HERE]
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[He sighs. A part of him understands that hope isn't enough.]
Either way, I feel my accessibility is too important for a peaceful resolution to think any other way.
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If that changes, though, know that Luke and I will be here for you. Whatever we can do for you, it's done.
[With how attached Luke is to Ion right now, Guy can absolutely say that with 100% confidence.]