Out with the old....

[sundead]

Who: Everyone
What: New Year's.
When: Dec. 31st, New Year's Eve, to Jan 1st, New Year's Day.
Where: Everywhere
Summary: It's New Year's, and the people of Luceti have a lot to reflect upon, and to look forward to. And on a more meta level, new journal names.
Rating: We'll see...

New Year's brings images of crowds, and songs, and fireworks; staying up til midnight and watching balls or bells being rung. But Luceti is a different time and place. Whether you're partying with friends or watching the sunrise, what are you doing today?

Comments

[ex_affability656]

Well...

[He whips out the surprise from behind his back--a large, hardbound book with a picture of the three of them slipped into the window on the cover.]

At first I thought just a photo album would be a good idea. But then I thought, why stop with just pictures? If...if we really weren't able to remember something--[Just like he couldn't, even with all the pictures he'd seen]--words could help, too.

[He leafs through the pages--all of them blank. Blank slates for new a hundred new memories they'd never have to lose as long as they had this.]

...I thought it'd be something we could work on. Together.

[contentedly]

Oh. Oh, Maes.

[He should be be proud. He got an immediate reaction. She rises to walk over by him and take the book.]

What a good idea.

[ex_affability656]

[He is proud. And his goofy smile only grows as he sees her excitement in turn.]

Really? I'm glad you think so! Even Elicia can help us with it. That way it will have a piece of all of us.

[In case we can't be together.]

1/2

[contentedly]

I think she would like that very much. [Warm. Loving glance.]

[contentedly]

[...at which point the tea kettle whistles.]

Oh. I should get that.

[Gonna let her go or make a move, sir?]

[ex_affability656]

[Not before he leans in to catch her on the cheek with a kiss as she goes. He just can't help it after how happy she looked about his idea.]

[contentedly]

[Direct hit! She smiles at him and moves away to get the tea, her heart beating a little bit faster.

Careful, Gracia. Careful.]

I thought some Assam would be nice. [...but she can't help herself.] Did you already start taking pictures for the book?

[ex_affability656]

[He takes a seat back at the table, setting the book down there, still smiling.]

As a matter of fact, I have. I've got a small stash of pictures I've taken since I arrived that we can use. But we can go back even further than that, if you want.

[And by small stash he means "hoards and hoards", of course.]

[contentedly]

We'll have to look through them later. [A "small stash" huh? Well. At least she can think of a way to occupy them for the rest of the night...

She finishes pouring the tea and brings it over to the table.]

What time do you think the fireworks will start?

[ex_affability656]

[He glances at the wall clock--just after eleven.]

Probably closer to midnight, I'd think--eleven forty-five, or sometime around then. It might just be a matter of waiting until we hear them.

[contentedly]

Would you like to start looking through the pictures until then? [Since they decided to stay up and all... unless he's got other ideas of how they should be occupying their time...]

[ex_affability656]

[He takes a sip of tea--perfect as always--before practically jumping at the idea and already heading back to the desk in the living room where he's got them cooped up.]

That's a wonderful idea! Hang on, I'll just--

[Come back with packets and packets of pictures now.]

[contentedly]

[...oh my.]

When did you even take all of these?

[ex_affability656]

[When he makes it back to the table and starts to uncover them, it becomes quite obvious that the subject matter of many of the pictures is, of course, Elicia.]

Oh, you know, just here and there when I saw something that needing a picture taken of it. The snow sets a nice stage for a lot of photo opportunities!

[In fact, they could probably fill the book with pictures of just Elicia playing in the snow.]

[contentedly]

Let's see if we can keep it to one or two photos from the same day for now.

[She smiles and starts looking through them with him...] Oh, look, it's the snowman army.

[ex_affability656]

[Cheerfully:] Okay, okay, fair enough.

[He grins at the photo.] She made such an impressive army to protect our house. Oh--and he's one of her playing with her friend Mithos!

[Whose true nature he is still blissfully unaware of.]

[contentedly]

They look very happy together.

[She will allow this picture into their book.]

[ex_affability656]

They do, don't they? I'm so glad she's made some friends around her age, too.

[On top of all her adoring fans, of course.]

[contentedly]

We really should follow up with Sophie's caretakers. I understand that she's about two.

[ex_affability656]

[He nods.] That's awfully young to be stuck here, isn't it? As she grows up she might not even have memories of being anywhere else.

[contentedly]

She's fortunate. I've heard that when the parents go home, children born here disappear.

[ex_affability656]

[It's something he hasn't heard, either--but it hits home. His hand freezes over the pictures--disappear--he doesn't want to think about what that means. But he can't help it.]

...That's terrible.

[contentedly]

[She nods, one arm wrapping around her waist in a reassuring gesture.]

............................my emotions.

[ex_affability656]

[...He knew that wanting their family to grow would be something he could never have ever since he came here. That was just a fact--he didn't have a life to return to, and he was lucky enough to have the two of them. But there was still a selfish part of him that wanted it. He can't help it--having a family was always his goal. Learning this--children disappearing--makes this desire sink cold into his stomach.

Children that didn't have a home to go to...

Still he's smiling. Like nothing's changed. He moves swiftly back to the topic of pictures--that was easy. Always easy.]

I got some at the Christmas party, of course.

I knooooooooooooow ;_;

[contentedly]

[He wasn't the only one who had the thought turn them cold, whose dream had always been to make a family. Her father had died, her brother had died, and her mother had rejected her for choosing Maes. Gracia had poured her heart and soul into their family, into the hope of building something new, something solid and lasting... with him. He'd wanted children - and she'd wanted them too. A whole houseful, as loud and boisterous as he was, as caring and smart and creative and kind...

But even in this strange half-life they were living, she couldn't yet bring herself to be intimate with him, let alone...

The risk was too great. She knew that.

But still her heart aches.]

Oh?