lazybox | izunia lucis callout

I'm so thrilled you two find this funny. [Ardyn snapped that as he left Church to the matter of the door, not once taking his eyes off his brother like he expected a knife pulled at any second.]

Who the hell do you think you are, parading around as if all this is normal?!

Y'know, most people thought the humor thing was a point in my favor. [He huffs as he attends to the matter, and then leans his back against the door, arms crossed. Watching.]

I'm probably gonna punch you like at least once. [Fair warning.]

[Well, yeah, Church, he expects no less. Izunia turns his attention to Ardyn with a sigh -

Something in his expression changes, and much as he might be Ardyn's physical double, there's a weight to him then that shows all the thousands of years he's been putting this off.]

What would you have me do? Everything about this is so far past normal that we don't exactly have an etiquette book.

[He sighs and leans forward, his elbows on the high counter.]

I'm sorry. I know that it will never be enough, but I am.

[Ardyn scowled and bristled like an enraged coeurl, standing between his brother and Church like he was the latter's Shield instead of the reverse.]

I don't care. We're well past apologies even if I was inclined to accept such a thing.

Then the fuck do you want from him, you want him dead?

[For all Ardyn's bristling, Izunia doesn't move and doesn't seem to have any intention of doing so. He stays right where he is, hands folded over the glass counter, weight on his elbows.

If that is what Ardyn wants, no one can blame him. Even Izunia thinks he probably deserves it.

Instead, he answers an earlier comment - ]

I have no intention of taking them away from you, Ardyn. I wouldn't want to even if I could.

You are not helping. [The hand he gestured to Church with was shaking, however slightly. Once again, Ardyn was covering an emotion he didn't understand with the anger that he did; in this case, a deep-seated fear and uncertainty that had been abruptly uprooted.]

And you'll excuse me, dear brother, if I don't believe you. Of course you could, you did it once already.

I'm trying to make this not last three agonizingly tense hours, because Yuuri's gonna fucking smash in every window to find us if she thinks we're missing. He's not stealing shit. It was an honest mistake. You didn't tell me you were fucking twins.

[Ardyn needs something to ground him, though, and Church, as ever, is willing to be that. He pushes away from the door and nudges Ardyn's side, slipping an arm around his waist.] Hot, by the way.

With help and a careful arrangement of schedules to avoid ever having to spend too long with anyone who would be able to tell the difference, except Gil.

[Izunia looks, almost pointedly, at where Church's hand is wrapping around Ardyn's waist. It's not at all a jealous look; if anything, he seems comforted by it.]

Obviously, not going to work here, even if I wanted to.

You didn't ask. And you, don't you dare call him-

[The muttered comment turned to vicious snarling in an instant upon hearing the fond nickname, Ardyn halfway to taking a step forward and holding his hand out for a sword that hadn't been pulled from the Armiger yet--]

[--but the arm around his waist stopped him, arm gradually lowered back to his side. Still tense, still furious, but just...so tired of all of this.]

...not again. I can't just...let you take everything I love again. And how am I ever to trust you when you say that you won't? How am I to trust anything you say to me again?

[He's going to stand firmly right the fuck here unless something happens. Which has a high risk, honestly. If he's about to say something, he actually bites it back to let this play out. It's absolutely his concern, but maybe he should verbally butt the hell out of it before Ardyn snaps at him, and then it'll just turn into something incredibly ugly.]

[It's not the direction he expected this conversation to take. Not that he had any idea what this conversation would be like, really, but of all the possibilities Izunia's mind has played out in the past anyway, this isn't one.]

I don't know, Ardyn. I can't make you trust the words out of my mouth again. Trying would only make it worse.

[Forced trust is no trust at all and they both know it.]

...I don't want to fight you. [He leaned against Church's side, his own arm finding its way around his shoulders--seeking out silent comfort in the way that was uniquely Ardyn's touch-starved lack of subtlety.]

You aren't worth the trouble.

Then are we just gonna do this staredown while you both quietly have total fucking breakdowns and pretend that you're not?

Please, I've been trying to not hyperventilate for half an hour, don't remind me.

[There is nothing quiet about his attempt to not have a total fucking breakdown, here.]

I don't want to fight you, either. I never have.

You had me fucking crucified and now you expect me to believe that, you little-

[...Deep breath.]

...So what, then? I live in paranoia that a traitorous coward is walking around wearing my face, and you just go about your life as you ever have?

We could take him with us.

[It's not something Ardyn will like. Or anyone will like. But the suggestion, the compromise, has to be brought up, and neither of these fuckheads are gonna say it.]

I was trying to kill the monster that took my brother away from me. I was just too much a fool to realize they were one in the same.

[Ah, there's the subject he was expecting to dominate this conversation. Izunia sighs, and pulls a pen from the Armiger to flick between his fingers. No point disguising his old nervous gestures.

He doesn't answer Church's comment just yet, waiting for Ardyn's reaction. There's way too many ways to screw that idea up, and he - he doesn't even know what he wants, right now.]

The only thing you killed was what remained of your brother. Nice job screwing that one up, by the way.

[Ardyn scowled, tightening his hold on Church even as his shoulders went rigid with barely-restrained fury.]

I would rather die. And I'm aware that is a weighted statement when it comes to me, but in this case I mean the turn of phrase as intended. Over my countless-times-dead body does he come with us.

Why the fuck not? You get to keep tabs on him, make damn sure he's not out sullying your oh so good name, we all get to kick him in the balls--cuz, trust me, there are plenty of us that would like a turn--and then you get to, I dunno, fucking talk to each other. Or fucking don't. You know where he is and what he's up to, and he's having a miserable fucking time of it.

[Yeah, okay, that was one of two reactions he expected. Izunia sighs and debates throwing his pen at Church, just briefly, for being dumb.]

And meanwhile his fully justified paranoia that I'm gathering information to replace him again grows to the size of this rock we're all standing on.

[Come on, Church, surely you're not - actually no you still wouldn't be the stupidest pretty face Ardyn's ever picked up so maybe you are that dumb.]

Because, in the most eloquent manner of speaking, fuck that, Leonard.

[or in other words, yes izunia is correct here]

[Oh, he is absolutely that dumb! He'll probably get even dumber. Just you watch.]

That's fucking stupid.

[He blinks, and stares up at Ardyn, a little incredulous.] You're fucking stupid and beyond paranoid.

[Be grateful you have the one thing Izunia is actually scared of halfway wrapped around you right now, Church, because his pen is twitching badly.

It's strange, in some ways. He hasn't felt this much like 'Izunia' in lifetimes.]

It's not completely irrational, given the circumstances. And I still have enough of his habits ingrained to make things worse.

[If it wasn't a fountain pen he'd probably be clicking it right now. Instead, the end of it taps on the glass counter. The one stress tell he never fully managed to control - Izunia is a fidgeter.]

It's not something I want, but that's the way it is.

[Ardyn's shoulders went rigid, expression very carefully held as something calm enough to be unreadable.]

Fine. [His voice was ice cold, pulling away from Church and turning away towards the door.] Fine. Take his side, see if I care. As if I didn't know this would happen.

[Of course he'd known, in that dark corner of his mind that threatened to take over entirely now; in what 'Ardyn Izunia' had known for two thousand years. Trust was worth nothing, loyalty and compassion nothing but a nice concept spoken of in fairytales.]

I hope you're pleased with yourself, oh Founder King- [and despite everything, Ardyn's voice cracked and faltered midsentence.] -now that you're doing all of this again. Why don't you two just have a nice discussion about how much better you'll be once you're rid of my paranoia.

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