Can't Hide From the Truth

[last_to_kneel]

Who: Varon and Resa/Esmerelda Vanuatu
What: Varon closed himself off and he needs his shell cracked.
Where: Doma Stronghold
When: After Mission: Greece and when Varon and Resa return from Europe

Varon didn't stay for his debriefing. In fact, once the plane landed and his bike was secured in the garage, he didn't speak much to anyone and had gone straight into his room. Raphael and Amelda didn't receive in so much as a greeting from the Australian.

This form of anti-social behavior was something that the others had gotten used to once they understood that Varon needed time to collect himself from any mission like this. Soul snatching wasn't his idea of fun. He hated it and it was wearing him down.

Once he reached his room, he slammed his door and dove onto his bed. Sleep always made the pain go away even for a little while. At least his dreams didn't hurt him.

Comments

[neverwavering]

She descended down without a word and aimed a strong kick at his shin, growling a bit. "If you'd like to be able to produce kids in the next lifetime, I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut. Got it?"

[last_to_kneel]

"Ow!" He hopped on his one good leg. The threat wasn't anything new. He's had that before from Mai before she left. "Mind tellin' me what that's for?"

[neverwavering]

"You know, you miscreant." Pride, along with envy, were Esmerelda's sins, both of which she indulged in heavily.

[last_to_kneel]

"No, I don't!" He managed to put his weight back on it thought it still hurt too much to put all the weight on his leg. "Is it 'cause I mentioned Raph? I don't think the bloke's into skinny noodle chicks."

[neverwavering]

Okay, that? That earned him the right to be tackled down to the mat. For someone so noodly and skinny, she definitely packed a punch when needed. She then went to deliberately straddle herself against him to keep him pinned and then placed the weight of her arm on the area that she kicked.

[last_to_kneel]

"Get off me!" He squirmed under her. He couldn't move and the trainees around started laughing at Varon's plight. One made a call that they should take it to the bedroom. Varon yelled at the recruits, "Shut up!"

His attention was fully on Esmerelda now and he smirked. "What, I'm not gonna get kissed first? Kinda forward don't ya think."

[neverwavering]

To the one who made the comment, Esmerelda threw one of the balls square to the face. He took the brunt of it and promptly fell off of his feet in the process.

Then, she turned her attention back to Varon and grinned. "You really think I'm into someone like you, hm?" Purposefully, she lowered her gaze to make herself seem more appealing.

[last_to_kneel]

"I'm the one pinned. You tell me." His eyes half closed. Of course, she was the one in control at this point and he didn't have any means to defend himself other than with words. If he really wanted to, he would have fought her off relatively easily from his training and evasion that he's used almost all his natural life.

[neverwavering]

Okay, sure. With this personality, she was all about making the boys melt and being seductive. That, and she always loved being in control, no matter what. "Maybe I just felt like keeping you here."

[last_to_kneel]

Varon was playing along rather than seduced. He knew of her reputation as not only a duelist but as a person as well. He knew her too long not to notice.

"Hm, guess that makes me the one bein' crushed on than me havin' the crush, huh." He smirked.

[neverwavering]

Oh, darn. That just meant that she would have to try harder, which was something she didn't entirely mind too much.

"Does that mean you have a crush on both me and the Mask? Is that why you're so protective of her?"

[last_to_kneel]

"That's like...kissin' my sister! NO! I don't have a crush on ya." He looked away with his eyes closed and a huff. "That's just weird."

[neverwavering]

"No? But, I've seen how you look at her. I've seen how much you try to make her happy." Then, she leaned down to his ear and whispered: "Besides, don't you want to keep her away from being harmed further by Dartz or do you want to see her fall further into madness?"

[last_to_kneel]

He turned his face toward her, not realizing how close she was to him and inhaled deeply from the question. "Neither option sounds good, love. Honestly, I think both options sound lousy. I want both you an' her happy. Guess that's why I put up with a lot of your shit." He whispered.

It was the truth. He wanted both sides stable which was why he worked so hard to be her buffer.

[neverwavering]

Her? Happy? For a moment, she was frozen, trying to think of why anyone wanted her happy.

"Are you serious on that?" she asked him seriously. "That you want the both of us to be happy?"

If he knew that Resa didn't like being harmed, it was doubly so for Esmerelda. Being harmed, in any way, was a death sentence.

[last_to_kneel]

"Yeah, I'm serious. I've got no reason t' lie." Varon's voice can only he heard by her at this point. He didn't like seeing either of them miserable which was why he was so protective. He thought of himself as her brother but he denied himself the reason that there could be something more between them.

"You should know that by now."

[neverwavering]

No one ever wanted her to be happy. No one ever did anything nice for her, except her Mask. But, that was okay. The less people who knew about them the better. She was her shield when no one else would be it. She was the irrational half, willing to get her hands dirty for everything and anything under the sun and more. So, for anyone to be this legitimately nice to her was unexpected.

Their mind went a million miles a minute, still trying to process this. Someone wanted her to be happy. Someone wanted her to be happy. Someone wanted her to be happy.

Out of nowhere, she could feel water dripping from her eyes and on to her shirt. She hadn't expected to feel these kinds of emotions out of anywhere, and here they were in the open. Soon, her hands clenched at her head as more tears ran down her cheeks. She was confused, she was scared - she did not know what to do for once and that terrified her.

Thankful that everyone else politely left the room, Esmerelda began to scream for confusion and being taken off guard like this. Even though she was physically nineteen, she still had the mentality of a fourteen year old to her. Why was she crying? Why didn't she have any control over this? Why couldn't she anticipate that he'd say this and continue on in the farce? She didn't get it and didn't know if she wanted to, at this rate.

[last_to_kneel]

It didn't matter at this point that she knew or not how much he really cared and how much punishment he endured to get this far. He wanted to reach up to hold her, to make the pain go away. He didn't think on it too long before he sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "Shh, it's okay."

It was much like the first time they met. He thought he got through to her that time too, but time has a funny way of masking things and pushing the important things aside for the sake of the mission. It was what their lives were about, and one of the things he hated. Still, there was a reason why Dartz didn't bar him from getting this close to his personal and secret weapon. In a way, Dartz knew that Varon was one of the few people that didn't have to have his life completely turned upside down. Varon had nothing to lose.

"You're not at that place anymore. You have a new life now. Make the most of it." He whispered.

[neverwavering]

Esmerelda gasped when she was held, the mind currently shifting between both Resa and Esmerelda as they both felt scared by what was going on at the moment.

She buried her head into Varon's arms as she beat against his chest in aggravation, but mostly out of fear at herself. She kept on crying, biting down on her lip. Everything that was going on was too fast, but she liked it.

"S-Sorry, I'm sorry..."

[last_to_kneel]

"Why? Because you're feelin' again? There's nothin' wrong with that." He didn't stop her from hitting him. He understood clearly that she was pushing back her emotions.

"It's gonna be okay. It's just us now." There was no sense fighting what he has held back for so long. He rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Look at me. I'm not gonna hurt you. That's a promise I made t' ya then and I'm still gonna keep it."

[neverwavering]

She continued to pound her fists against his chest until she couldn't anymore. Tears continued to spill down her cheeks as she looked pathetically up at him like a wet puppy.

At the moment, she didn't know who she was. Both Resa and Esmerelda were gobsmacked and unable to speak. All she could do was nod silently, tears still staining her cheeks.

[last_to_kneel]

He held her close, his chin resting on her shoulder. Her hands still on his chest, it didn't seem to bother him. He didn't know what else to do other than to be there for her and not let go.

The spacious area was strangely empty. There were plenty of spaces to hide yet they remained on the mat and strangely alone in such a busy company.

[neverwavering]

Soon, her arms wrapped around him with her chin resting in the crook of his neck. She didn't want him to let her go. She didn't want to move from this moment.

Dartz could suppress all the good emotions again so as to make her the perfect weapon again, but this time, she didn't want it. She just wanted to be loved. Was that so much to ask?

[last_to_kneel]

Varon knew that the Stone would eventually win again and shut both of their emotions away. He fought too long and too hard to keep his mind intact and the last time he allowed his rage to take over was the day he killed four men in cold blood for revenge. He promised his mother's spirit and to God that he wouldn't allow himself to get that way again.

It was temporary. He wanted to hold on to what they had. He wanted to kiss her tears away but refrained. It was this respect for Resa and Esmerelda both that kept him from trying. She was the closest thing to family he ever had other than Raphael. If Dartz locked him away, he would find a way back and try again.

[neverwavering]

It was too cruel to be kind, especially when she knew that she would be made to work efficiently. She didn't want it, though. She just wanted to live a normal life - free from this kind of work. Why couldn't anyone else understand her need for a quiet, stress-free life?

After her silence, though, she decided to talk once more. "If... if... you wanted to do that, I-I wouldn't mind." Her voice was shaky, but she was regaining control once more. She wouldn't be locked up again. No more chains. No more padded rooms. No more pain.