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a mishmash of psls
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sevenvices, but this amounts to "Pandora Hearts AU where Break lives because he's a fuckin cheater."
Also since I just tossed us all together, feel free to start your own threads too! this is a post not a cop
sevenvices, but this amounts to "Pandora Hearts AU where Break lives because he's a fuckin cheater." Also since I just tossed us all together, feel free to start your own threads too! this is a post not a cop
for gilbarto
[ It's been a busy few days, to say the least. Whether it was fate or providence, Break didn't care to dwell on it too much. For anyone else, this would be because they would know to take their chance as a gift. Break had been given a chance that few others were, because just like that, everything had been repaired. He had his eye back, his contract with the Mad Hatter was gone (though quickly reinstated when they had returned), but most importantly, his illness was gone. He had been given more than another chance at life. He had escaped his death sentence.
And he absolutely hated that.
There was no small part of him that was grateful for all the chaos that quickly followed upon their return. Everything was as he had left it, after all. They were preparing to take down Glen, since this world, however flawed it was, well... It was still theirs. More than anyone, Break knew the dangers that came with changing the past. So they had fought for it. In a way, they had succeeded. Their world was still here, but it wasn't unchanged. The past remained, but the present was what Break had always anticipated. He just hadn't thought he would live to see it.
It's troubling, of course. There are absences so great now that the void weighs even on Break. So he knows it weighs heavily on others all the more. There are people like Reim and Sharon that he worries about in his way, but he's not who he extends his concern to first. It's even a surprise to him when the thought dawns on him, but it makes sense. Reim and Sharon cared, certainly, but they hadn't lost in the same way.
He does give it time. It's only a few days, so it's not much, but that time is a quieter sign of the way that Break is a bit more careful towards some peoples' feelings than he seems to show outwardly. But after a few days, he doesn't want Gilbert to be alone either. It's odd to think about what had happened in that stupid town, since it feels like a dream more than anything now, but for better or for worse, that's what it had taken. Just like Reim or Sharon, Break considers Gilbert a true friend now too.
...Though, of course, this doesn't mean he'll express that in any reasonable way. ]
Gil~bert~! ♥
[ Which is to say, wherever Gilbert is, Break will be quite literally twirling in. There are teacups and saucers balanced on his head clownishly, and in each hand, he holds something different. One hand carries a tray of sweets, and the other has a large, steaming teapot. ]
Why, what are you doing in here looking so gloomy~? It's tea time, you know.
why do i love to die
...
The problem is, with no four dukedoms and no Pandora left, there... really isn't much work to be had, either. So really, it's more like the entire housing staff of all of their estates could probably be let go with the amount of work Gilbert's been doing. Sure, he has his place among the Baskervilles and new duties to fulfill now, but he's basically The Glen That Got Away - not as relevant to their workings as Leo or even Vincent. It leaves a lot of free time, and as we all know, Gilbert does not do well with even a little free time.
When Break twirls into the room, Gilbert appears to be in the middle of carefully re-threading and hand-sewing a barely tattered corner of a seat cushion. It's probably from a parlor room that barely sees the light of day...]
What—? [What is this foreign TEA TIME, he hasn't taken a break in days!!] I don't really have the time for that right now. --And I'm not looking gloomy! This is just the way my face is.
no subject
[ Does Gilbert ever sound proud of anything other than serving Oz, though? This is irrelevant. Because Break is definitely not taking "I'm busy" for an answer, as evidenced by how he sets what's in his hands down on the small table, and he quickly starts to divvy up what's left balancing on his head too. ]
Be~sides~. That cushion is perfectly fine, first of all, and second, you can take a break for tea. When was the last time you even had tea?
[ A beat, and then he adds: ]
Preparing it for other people doesn't count.
no subject
[OPENS HIS MOUTH.
CLOSES HIS MOUTH... He hasn't had tea in - how long has it even been? Probably sometime after Elliot's death, when Sharon bullied him into it...
Though of course, remembering that just gets him all gloomy again. Gloomier? GLOOMIER. A lot of people are dead and he's tired, okay. ...Tired, but maybe also at least a little grateful for Break. He sighs, carding a hand through his hair, and sets the pillow down on his lap. That's the biggest concession he's about to make, okay.]
I'm not proud of it, that's just a fact. [OBVIOUSLY.] ...And I'm not in the mood for tea, either.
no subject
Well, you never will be, so long as you have any choice about it. I insist.
[ He places a playful stress on that word, but then twirls one of the saucers under his hand. His back is turned to Gilbert at this point, but his voice is at least a touch more serious. Not completely, but those light variations in his tone tend to mean a lot. ]
We haven't had a chance to really talk since we came back. I thought it might be worth it.
no subject
It's that way for Break, too, he knows. That's how he can identify the care in the way he sets the plates and saucers out (even though it takes him a second or two longer than most who know him well to actually catch on, as usual). The serious tone is something he recognizes much sooner, however minute the difference is, and he sighs.
The cushion is set off to the side.]
...Things have gone very quickly since then.
[He's not even sure where to start.]
no subject
[ He motions with an elegant, if clownish, sweeping gesture towards one chair. Clearly, that one is meant to be Gilbert's, since Break sits down in the other one. He'll wait before digging into the sweets and tea before them, which is probably surprising too. In fact, Gilbert might realize within the next five years or so (approximately, given how well Gilbert tends to notice things), that there's a bit more ceremony to what Break is doing here that's shown in small gestures.
He wouldn't say it, but this is his way of paying respects. He may not have the same sort of bond with Oz by any measure, but he wouldn't exactly forget that optimism of hoping for a scene just like this. ]
I did expect that they might, though still... It's not an outcome I could have anticipated either.
no subject
For now, he just shuffles over to take the offered seat, and the tiredness that he feels but tries not to show is apparent in the heavy way he sits. He moves as though still in mourning when he doesn't have appearances to keep up, but that probably won't change for quite some time.]
...They made the decision that worked best in the end, I think.
[There were other options, sure, but every single one of them came with pretty immense sacrifices. Even Gilbert logically knows that this was the path to the best possible resolution with the fewest lives lost.
Still...]
for sharon
By now, Sharon had probably heard about it, but Break had immediately gone to Sheryl, just as Gilbert had immediately gone to Oz. Perhaps he should have gone to Sharon first, and he realizes that as he starts to walk towards the parlor where he knows she's waiting. That's the difference between Gilbert and Break, though. Gilbert had gone to see the person most important to him right away, because he wanted to confirm that Oz was safe and sound. For Break's part, going to Sheryl was logical and necessary. He needed to recreate his contract with the Mad Hatter, and Sheryl had at least agreed to set that up as quickly as possible. But.
She had also scolded him for not going to see Sharon first. Granted, she hadn't pulled out her harisen to do so, but he also imagined that's because Sharon would be taking care of that portion quite thoroughly.
...He feels a bit of a sense of dread at that, actually.
Break pauses at the door awkwardly, but it's not actually the dread that gives him pause. It's perhaps a small part of it, but as he raises his hand to knock at the door, he knows it's quite a bit more than that. There was no small part of himself that was resigned to his fate. He didn't quite accept it, but he felt he deserved it. Losing his sight was just a natural punishment for what he had done, and he would accept it without complaint. Knowing he would never see Sharon's face again had twisted at his heart, but he had accepted it. So now, to stand here and know he would see her face better than he ever had?
It's an underwhelming word, but it just doesn't seem fair. There's something definitely not fair about this that he's acutely aware of, and that's why the knock doesn't actually come. He doesn't turn to leave, but it's more that he's just working up whatever emotion he needs for this. He's really not sure what it should be. Upsettingly, there are too many swirling about.
Of course, Sharon might not share that same sense of what Break is feeling. After all, she'll certainly know that he's there, because of how the light filters at the bottom of the door. And really, who else would stand outside the door like this without knocking? ]
no subject
Or, at least the childish part of her had hoped to see Break before now, while the future duchess half of her had suspected he'd speak with her grandmother first. It's fine. She's not a child any longer, and although she's not thrilled with Break at the moment, that she can feel emotions towards him that aren't grief and regret-- that means something.
And with two of the three suspects successfully cleared, she raises her voice from within the parlor. ]
You may enter.
no subject
Ah, dear me, such a chilly welcome~!
[ His tone is light and teasing, but with a bow of his head, he enters fully. Even if the door is a great shield, he does know that he'd deserve to get smacked around a bit. Though as he bows his head forward lightly, there's a shift of the bangs that cover his face that's light, but it's just a glimpse of what's now been returned to him, at least in a sense. The bangs still cover part of his face, but there's no empty socket now. Even so, he doesn't draw attention to it, but Break just lightly closes the door after himself. ]
...Don't be too upset with me, though. I had to talk to your grandmother rather urgently, so I promise that no one else came before the two of you.
golden girls
[ Reim has certainly been filled in on the story by now. Granted, it would probably seem strange and even insignificant compared to the events that came to pass in the last week or so as they stopped Glen, but Break had at least made a point to also tell Reim the truth. If not for the very physical things that signified its truth, it would probably seem like Break was making fun of Reim as usual. And yet, from losing his contract with the Mad Hatter to regaining his eye, the story he told could only be true.
Though, still, a story of a town where people from all sorts of worlds were forced to murder each other, and Break had tried playing the hero? Where Break and Gilbert had both been murdered and brought back to life? That was pretty unbelievable, even with the strange things that they were exposed to daily.
At least it didn't actually end up mattering much at all. Break had reinstated his contract with the Mad Hatter, his health was normal for once, and if anything, regaining his sight just meant he could be more of a pest than usual.
Such as, you know, today.
Reim will probably feel his incredible sixth sense for Break's annoying presence tingling, since this is a finely honed skill. Mere moments later, there's suddenly rustling from a cabinet near Reim... ]
15min late with starbucks
[The story may be true, but as far as Reim's concerned, that doesn't make it any less stupid. He's not surprised by that, considering it's Break, and he's pretty sure Break playing the hero is still a rude joke!! but he's been dealing with it the way any reasonable, normal person would.
That is, not talking about it. It already gives him a headache after everything else, and what if the next step is ulcers...
So the perfectly normal day spent locked in a room organizing something or other is going great, primarily because the door is locked. So is the window, and the big cabinet by the wall--
But not, apparently, the smaller cabinet on the floor under a set of shelves. Reim stops what he's doing to look over at the cabinet, squinting, and his worst fears are confirmed when he hears a sound coming from some mysterious dark recess of cabinetry. Someone needs to invent zip ties already because this is ridiculous.
He says nothing, however, simply stepping quietly over to stand by said cabinet and continue thumbing through the small pile of papers he's doing something boring with. He has a plan and it's great: the very moment he sees a fat hand start to sneak through an open crack in the cabinet doors, he's kicking them shut.]
no subject
The cabinet shuts sharply on his hand, and it's actually Break that ends up yelling for once, since even the master swordsman of Pandora isn't immune to the pain of getting your hand caught in a door... There's a pretty loud series of crashes, since reflexively jerking back definitely sends him crashing into something else in the cabinet. So. Hopefully it was nothing important in here??? Maybe it's just taxidermy, in which case, this is honestly a favor to the world.
Break doesn't try and roll out of the cabinet just yet after the noise settles, since he's still cradling his hand and waiting for the throbbing to stop, but he'll still half-yell through the door. ]
Now that was absolutely uncalled for! [ Which is mildly serious, so he ruins it by whining annoyingly right after. ] You're so me~an, Reim...