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[There's a thought in the back of Luke's mind.]

[It starts out tiny, but teenage boys by nature are curious. They might be stupid about it, but they are insatiably curious.]

[Nephrite. What is their relationship?]

[Like, obviously he's Asch's dad. But Luke doesn't come as part of that package. And yeah, he did say he had to give Asch a ride when Luke fainted, but even if that was true--he could have waited outside.]

[And why is it, that whenever Luke looks at Nephrite, he feels the urge to make him proud?]

[He can't find the answers to these questions on his own, so he goes after Nephrite himself. Sure, all the people in his family are allergic to emotions or whatever, but if he asks him directly--he'll definitely say something, right?]

[Wherever Luke finds Nephrite, he'll pull him aside:]

Hey, uh, do you have a moment?

[He was lurking around Random Play again. Aside from his and Asch's work with the Black Order, it's the most likely place that he can check on as many of his sons' relatives as possible while remaining relatively low-key about doing so.

Luke's approach catches him a little bit off-guard, only because he didn't expect the younger man to come to him.

'For you, always,' he doesn't say, because that would be too much. Instead he smiles blandly.]

I suppose I could take a few minutes out of my busy schedule. [Pretending to look through the racks for something he and Asch could watch together is hardly an urgent task.] What could you need from me, though?

[Low-key. Sir, everybody's staring at a vampire when they're in public????]

I dunno, I mean, I kinda should be asking you that, right?

[Luke hasn't thought far ahead enough to formulate a plan of attack here because thinking ahead is for cowards. And old people.]

Like, you just keep showing up where I do. And when I fainted, you were there, too, even though you could've stayed outside. If it was just because I was Asch's brother, I thought you'd try to spend time with me or something? But you don't, really.

[He will solve this mystery yet.]

Pretty suspicious, if you ask me.

[Well, this is interesting. Luke can be so careless, it's easy to forget that he's actually clever when he actually puts an effort in. He's doing pretty well at putting two and two together, here.

Nephrite wonders just how far he can take that line of thinking of his own accord, if prompted.]

My, are you accusing me of having some sort of ulterior motive? I suppose it must look a little strange. Why would someone see to your well-being but keep their distance? I'd be suspicious of me, too.

[In another world, Luke would not be so easily goaded.]

[Who am I kidding? There's no world where Luke doesn't fall for the bait (4).]

Exactly! That's it!

[He has won. Nephrite hasn't revealed anything yet, but Luke feels like he has won.]

So now you gotta tell me what's up!

[If someone asks if you're a cop, you have to tell them. Those are the rules!]

[...Ah, well. He was using his brain for a few minutes, that's something, at least.]

Or what? Do you think you have any leverage that could force me to give up any information I don't choose to?

[He does. All he actually has to do is make a sad face and Nephrite will crumble and tell him whatever he wants to know. But as usual Luke is stumbling around saying things to dangerous people when he has no idea who he's talking to, and that just won't do. He should at least try to present a threatening side, for the sake of Luke's future interactions.]

[Does Luke catch on that Neph is trying to teach him a lesson?]

[Absolutely not!]

[But Luke has seen enough movies to see where this is going. If Neph wants leverage, Luke has leverage (13).]

Of course. I have your purchase history from Random Play.

[He has-

That confident declaration actually manages to startle a genuine laugh out of Nephrite. He couldn't possibly have expected that direction, but...oh it's actually cute that Luke thinks he could be blackmailed that simply.]

...Oh, well, in that case I suppose I have no choice but to give up all of my secrets.

[The cheer fades into something like fondness, a little bit melancholy, as he looks back at Luke.]

...It's true that I've been concerned for your well-being, given...the unusual circumstances. And it's out of that same concern that I've kept my distance as well.

[He pauses, hesitating, but...why draw it out any longer?]

After all, reminding you of that other life only seems to cause you pain.

[To his credit, Luke actually does listen. And take time to process.]

Oh, that makes sense, I guess.

[But it does make Luke feel bad? Guilty?]

[Man, why does he always feel guilty around this guy?]

But, I mean, I don’t think that means you need to stay away. I’m gonna remember either way, right? I don’t think Takame-sensei was in my past life, but he still set one off.

[After a beat:]

Did our past life have dragon people?

Edited 2025-09-09 04:59 (UTC)

No, I'm sorry to say it was a world of regular human beings.

[It is true that Luke is going to remember no matter what. The last time he started to remember, he was with someone who had no idea what his student might be recovering. Luke himself has no idea what he might be recovering.

Nephrite knows. He's been keeping these truths from Luke in order to allow him to be happy and normal for as long as he possibly can. But...that time is coming to an end, one way or another. Maybe it's better that Luke should be prepared, even if that comes at the risk of frightening him.]

...It isn't just the pain of the headaches that I was worried for, I'm afraid. That other life...was a difficult one for you at times. The memories you recover won't all be pleasant ones. And if someone who wasn't there in our world at all could trigger them, imagine how much more likely my presence is to do so.

That’s lame.

[C’mon, he can understand no dragon people, but why aren’t there at least cat girls?]

[Still, he listens. He listens for once in his short and sheltered life.]

Yeah, I mean I kinda guessed that? I don’t think happy memories leave people passing out.

[At least, not from pain.]

Plus, you seem like you know what you’re doing. If they get triggered, you could probably help out, right? If you leave it to Asch, we’ll just end up fighting.

I dunno, it just seems like it’d be cool if you were around. You’re weird, but you’re nice.

[Nephrite Curtiss can count on a single hand the number of times in his life that he's been called 'nice'. All of the others were sarcastic. No one called Jade Curtiss nice, either, even when he very occasionally tried to be kind. He hasn't been nice for most of either of his lives, and he goes out of his way to be a difficult person to know so that people keep their distance from him.

But he can't do that with Luke, not wholeheartedly, and this is the result.]

You have no idea what you're saying.

[He meant that to sound dark and vaguely threatening, but he can hear the softness and melancholy in his own voice when the words pass his lips. He's better at the cheerful deflection if he wants to scare people away.

But Luke isn't wrong about the result of his interactions with Asch, even though Neph is pretty sure they'd end up working through it in a way that was beneficial to both of them. And...much like his brother, he's choosing to pursue this connection.

He remembers the first time, so many years ago now, that Asch's little hand had reached out to grab his for security, as if he was someone safe. The trust these brothers put in him is something he never feels he's earned, and something he would die rather than betray.]

[He shields that softness again behind a smile, but it's much less sharp now and more playful. Luke just doesn't need to carry the weight of Neph's emotions when he's dealing with his own; he'll process later on his own time.]

Well, when you put it like that, I can't claim you're wrong. The two of you get along much better in this life, but you probably could stand a little supervision even so.

Yeah, yeah. I don't really ever know what I'm saying, so it doesn't matter.

[Checkmate! He's a stupid teenager. Take that, Jade.]

I should probably get back to the shop, but I'm looking forward to seeing you around, old man.

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