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Post by skyeknight on Jun 18, 2019 1:37:20 GMT
"They're enjoying it. As long as Namine's dog isn't disrupting class." she said.
Lance meant well. He often sent the children into giggling fits than actual studious moments. Despite that, the kids needed a reason to laugh. Some of them lost homes. Some of them lost family. Some of them had been hurt. Namine's dog might not have been a trained therapy dog, but he knew where he was needed most. More often than not, he was buried under a mound of children, letting them crawl all over him, cuddle and pet him.
"Well, good news is, you're not like your father."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 18, 2019 16:56:30 GMT
"That big drooling guard mutt? I think the people trying to disturb the class should be more concerned," he teased.
Lance was a well-meaning dog. Lovable to say the least, but he was trained to protect and serve. It was exactly the sort of thing Namine could do. Jane was doing the same for those kids that had been devastated by the apocalypse he had wrought. He spun a small red pepper shaker with indifference, guilt seeping into his mind. She had to know all of this was his fault. Even her words of slight encouragement didn't help.
"Yeah, at least I'm not an obvious killer."
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 19, 2019 1:32:53 GMT
"Once or twice someone was taught a lesson." Jane shrugged.
Lance was overprotective. He scared off a few super angry adults who really should have known better than to make the kids cry in front of the hound. It was like tears triggered him or something. The dog went nuts. He hadn't hurt anyone but he had growled something fierce. Enough to send that person running. Shadow was something the same. He looked big, intimidating and evil, but at his core, he was as soft and kind as Lance. A protector.
"You're not a killer, Shadow."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 20, 2019 22:03:48 GMT
"By the dog or by you?" Shadow teased.
It was one thing having a teacher give a lecture on something that didn't involve school. It was another to have a big dog alongside a teacher, whom he knew wasn't afraid to pull a punch if something was going wrong, be the one giving their own kind of lesson. Lance didn't seem like the attacker type, more like a lovable gentle giant. All bark but no bite. Jane said he wasn't a killer, and he pointedly ignored looking at her. Did she not see the body count of everyone who died in his explosion? How many people got injured and then probably died in the hospital? There was still blood on his hands, and it didn't matter if it was an accident.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 22, 2019 2:34:19 GMT
"Both?" she smiled sweetly.
She had to protect the kids, even if the world had come down around them. She and Lance made a formidable team and helped keep things as normal as possible. There was no keeping everything status quo but the Agreste home was the perfect place for those kids to heal and recover. But it seemed Shadow still held guilt over what happened. She could see it in the way he avoided eye contact, the way he shifted in his seat, the dark look that seemed to cross his face.
"Shadow..."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 22, 2019 6:08:54 GMT
"People were hurt because of me, Jane. If I hadn't fulfilled the promise the professor made to Disparion, none of the destruction would have happened. Your kids would be safe, probably learning from the best. The Agreste home wouldn't have been made to grant lost people asylum. I could have been there to save Yang as opposed to that...that BASTARD WHO STOLE MY MEMORIES TO BEGIN WITH! I don't care if I asked him too."
The pepper shaker and parmesan shakers rattled as Shadow punched the table. The edges of his red eyes betrayed unfallen tears. He had been stoic and emotionless throughout the process. As the saltwater pooled, a huge burden was lifted off from him.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 25, 2019 2:48:04 GMT
Jane reached across the table, taking both of Shadow's hands within hers and giving them a reassuring squeeze. She had known this had hurt him, but all of that guilt was weighing him down like iron shackles. He didn't deserve to try to shoulder this burden alone, but that was just how Shadow was. He kept things close to the heart until the pressure built up so much that it had to be vented. As he was doing now.
"Shadow, you can't change what happened," she said gently. "And there were outside factors that were out of your control. If your dad hadn't gotten you to follow through with the promise, he would have found another way. If not now, then a hundred years from now. But you stopped him."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 25, 2019 4:55:02 GMT
"I tried to stop him. I really tried. I tried to do good things, to stop crime in its tracks and to destroy monsters that threatened innocent people. Instead, I became one of them. But..."
The self-loathing and self-pity came to a grinding halt with that 'but'. That was what was truly wrong. He had been so fixated on beating himself up for doing things without support that he had been blinded by those who had helped them. Sunshine had followed through on her promise to him, like he had followed through on the promise he had made to Maria. He had saved the world. But he didn't do it alone.
"...but I realized doing it on my own wasn't enough."
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 26, 2019 2:29:02 GMT
"You were never alone," Jane insisted. "You had your friends and your partner."
She supposed, in some way, she had been jealous of him. He had good people around him who had cared so much about him, but now, she had those people too. She had Yang. She had Namine. She had her father and Adrien and Aqua. She had Shadow. But the thought of him trying to shoulder all of this alone made her heart clench and she squeezed his hands again. He had been so strong for the sake of everyone around him. It was hardly fair.
"And... And I'm here," she said softer, "If I can do anything to help... Please, just tell me."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 26, 2019 4:02:42 GMT
"And I pushed them away, thinking I was protecting them...I...I pushed you away."
She was was squeezing his hands with such compassion and reassurance, he was pretty sure that she was reaching for his heart with it. That only made him his heart clench even tighter. He didn't even have the Sapien rings on, because if he did, he would have given Jane a greeting he couldn't express with words. Hearing her speak so quietly became part of the reasons he was starting to view Jane as more than just a friend or a drinking buddy or hunting partner. No, he was all three to him...and something else.
"But not anymore. No more keeping you out of the dark. I promise it on Maria's name,"
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 28, 2019 1:54:16 GMT
"Shadow," she said in surprise, "You don't have to promise..."
She knew he was being serious since he was invoking Maria's name. But he hadn't pushed them away. He told her what was happening in advance but nothing she could have done could have stopped it. She was powerless against a demon, especially one as powerful as Disparion. Jane herself had been used to help open the seals and part of her was at fault for what happened. Letting her on disgust and rage get manipulated by that... woman.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jun 28, 2019 3:57:47 GMT
"Yes. I do."
He looked her hard and long, red eyes to blue. Jane was a strong, powerful woman. Had she always had a small little dimple on the corner of her right cheek? He was just noticing it now. The pull towards her had been like no other motivator he had before. Well, it was the same motivation he had when his feelings for Sunshine were still there. Now, his partner was married and pregnant. Now, he could extend that promise of protection to another woman that was becoming more important to him.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 30, 2019 22:44:09 GMT
Jane felt her face heating up. She hoped it didn't show. She always said she never cared about what anyone thought. But Shadow was making it extremely easy to forget herself. Especially when he spoke like that. It left a feeling in the pit of her stomach, like squirming snakes inside. It was enough to make her feel like she couldn't breathe. Confusingly enough, it was a good feeling. She hadn't wanted to rely on anyone.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jul 1, 2019 6:10:57 GMT
The last time Shadow had seen that color on Jane's face, it had been when they had bonded over booze. There was no alcohol anywhere nearby. Heck, unless someone was willing to split a crappy tasting wine for 8.50 a bottle, there would be. No, she was blushing and he had been the cause of her blush. The sensation he felt was...bizarrely satisfying? In the same way winning a card game against Jim and Dimitri was.
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Post by skyeknight on Jul 3, 2019 2:02:40 GMT
Jane was thankfully spared any forced explanation as their food was brought out. Never before had she been so relieved to see a waiter come to interrupt. Though, equally disappointed at the same time. It was oh so very confusing. Yang would have made fun of her for dallying like this. How soft and sentimental that Jane was becoming over some man. She let go of his hands almost reluctantly.
"Better dig in," she said.
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