itscurtains | And I'll Be With You When You Dream

[It's Sunday night! Boy, today sure has been a day, hasn't it?? Memories returned, Father's Day Gifts given, and Benjamin sure had a Time, didn't he?

Looks like it's time to find ways to cope.

Thus, the bed frames from Broadhurst dorm are being worked on being taken apart by Varian while the mattresses are becoming The New Floor.

Additionally, there's plenty to eat and drink, what with the hot pot provided by Rina, cookies that might just taste a bit burnt from Farrah, apples from Orpheus, more delicious potatoes from Maya, as well as sandwiches by Cassandra. There is also quite the variety of pie, from caramel, to bittersweet chocolate and strawberries, and several other varieties from the vending machine. Finally, there's popcorn brought in by Spongebob. If someone wants a drink, there is some delicious hot cocoa, provided by Elsa, as well as the tea brought in by Discord. There's also a variety of drinks from the vending machines.

Everyone's invited of course. There are a variety of games happening, and there's even a TV that's been wheeled down from the Library. So bring your pajamas, whatever they happen to be, and settle in for a sleepover!]

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[He gives her a smile, although it's more of a shadow, an implication, than the actual thing.

She's been one of the most steadfast people here. Even when they didn't need that steadfastness yet. Even as everyone else has slowly begun to fall apart.

Anyone would be lucky to be able to call her their daughter.]

If that's so, then... I wouldn't mind if you stayed for a little while.

[There are plenty of people Maya has taken to, since arriving. She respects Salieri's talent, and even Discord's wit. But there's always been something about Benjamin that has felt... comfortable to her. A gentle sort of kindness and familiarity. Nothing too overbearing, just a steady hand when she needed it.

She just hopes that her hand can be as steady as his.]

Good. I'm glad to be here.

[She traces her hand down the span of his arm and... Gives his hand a little squeeze.]

Do you want to talk at all? Or just sit?

[Her hand finds his, warm from being tucked under a blanket. He's acutely aware, moreso even than before, of his size and strength, of his hands that hauled stones and laid brick and labored in the fields for fifteen years. Deprived of his occupation, his life, his humanity.

Her hand is small and soft in his, and the gentle touch almost makes him cry again, like it did earlier - being slammed with fifteen years of starving for comfort in less than twenty-four hours has completely shattered something that was previously whole inside him.

He leans into her, their shoulders bumping together, his fingers closing around her delicate hand.]

...Tell me about your schoolmates. [Talk to me about something far away from here. Please.] Or... Anything else you want to talk about.

[Talking about her schoolmates? The thought makes her chest ache abruptly. It's hard to not think of Nana and Claudine, trapped in their own horrible game. It's hard to not think of Nana, missing from home. Even if Peregrine had assured her over and over again that it wasn't her fault, that they would find a way... she still frets.

But Benjamin doesn't need to know all of that. He has enough on his mind, even if Maya doesn't understand the depth of it.]

Of course, Barker-san. It's probably best that I focus on my dorm mates, of course. Much less to talk about there. [She hums for a moment.] There's Aijo Karen. Very passionate but... naive. Misguided. Her friend Kagura Hikari has only just recently returned to Japan. Aijo-san is completely devoted to her, despite the years apart. And Kagura-san... is a distant sort of woman.

She reminds me of myself, in a lot of ways.

[He listens to the way that she talks about her friends. He wouldn't mind if she gave him the long story, of course- but she has better things to do than keep him company all night and distract him from being alone with his own thoughts.]

Do you all have the same course of study?

[Performing arts, maybe?]

Yes. We're all part of the actor training program. [She pauses.] Well. Most of us are. Daiba-san -- [Her voice catches here, just a little. When she speaks again, it sounds strange.] Daiba-san just started training with the production crew as well. If any of us could manage both, though, it would be her.

Every year we perform the same play -- Starlight. It's our way of showing how our talent has developed. Last year, I played the lead of Claire, while Saijo-san played opposite me as Flora.

[Unfortunately, she does a good enough job of masking her worry that he misses it. Or, if he picks up that something's strange, that she's trying to hide it from him.]

You have a bright future ahead of you.

[It isn't fair that she's stuck here. His fingers tighten slightly around hers, but then his thumb just sweeps gently back and forth over the back of her hand.]

I wish that I could be there to see it. ...Sorry. Was that too strange of me to say?

Barker-san.

[The surprise is clear on her face. But more than that, there is concern. Her eyes are wide and her brows are lifted. She shifts so that she can face him more readily, moves her opposite hand so that his is sandwiched between hers.]

You will be there. I know you will be. We will all make it out of this together, and you will be there to watch me shine upon the stage. And not just myself -- the rest of my classmates as well.

[Her sudden burst of concern takes him by surprise - partly because he doesn't feel like he's capable of such a burst of passion, and partly because he'd mostly been talking about the chronological gap - her great-grandparents might be children, in his time, if they've been born yet.

But his hand is pressed between hers, and she sounds so... determined, that something deep inside him that's atrophied overnight can't help but rise to meet her, just slightly.

His hand tightens around hers.]

I hope you're right, my dear. Whatever happens here... I have business to attend to. But if I can't come to two thousand eighteen... I'll always be cheering you on.

Whatever business you have to attend to...Know that you are not alone in it. [Another pat to his hand.] We are your friends and family, and we will stand with you.

And once it is all said and done... Then you can come forward in time and watch us perform.

...[He manages a soft, sad smile.] I'd love to introduce you. To my wife and my daughter.

I'm sure Johanna would be happy to meet her stage sister. [He brings Maya's hand to his lips and kisses the back of her hand, then lets it fall again.]

Thank you, for checking on me.

I would like to meet them in turn. You speak so highly of them, I... know they will not disappoint.

[She gives his fingers a careful squeeze]

You don't need to thank me. It is... What family does, right?

[Family. That's loaded. He feels like he was a different man when he met all of them here in the academy. He feels like he's lied to them.

He's afraid to lose them. Like he lost Lucy and Johanna.]

Family... [He squeezes her fingers back, slightly, looking down at their joined hands and then back up at her.] Yes. We are, aren't we.

We are. [She pats his hand, then traces her fingers up and down the span of his own.]

And I do not know about you, but... I would do all I can to protect my family.

And I'll Be With You When You Dream

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