Gone Away, Back Again
Rating: G/PG
Characters: Natalia, Asch
Warnings: Massive spoilers, implied Asch/Natalia, …angst?
Summary: When will you… come back?

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They stand facing the sea at the port. Neither turns to look at the other… The waves crash lightly into the supports below, and finally, she asks her question.

“Asch… Will you… Will you rebuild Kimlasca with me?”

She’s so tired… So worried… She looks out of the corner of her eye, and she sees his mouth moving. She hears him mention “duty”, “the country”, and something else… He’s still talking, but she can’t hear him anymore. She can’t hear him because she’s so tired, so worried…

What will happen when she sees him again? Will he still be Asch? Will he still be okay?

She… She doesn’t want him to go away again. He disappeared so many years ago… Luke… Luke is gone. Asch is here. But how long will Asch be here?

He’s still talking. He hasn’t noticed her worry, her exhaustion, her frailty… She still doesn’t understand a word he’s saying.

She doesn’t know anymore…

She turns her back to him, and she thinks he’s stopped talking. Her hands raise, and curl into a ball, pressing against her chest. She asks… Despite all her worries, she asks.

“Will you still be Asch when I see you again? Or will you be someone else, …wearing the same old face again?”

She doesn’t know how to feel when he says “Asch is the only one that can die now.”

When she hears him walk away, she puts her face into her hands. She still doesn’t know if he’ll ever come back.