ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

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[agoodname]

Are you staying? [he's...trying to keep his voice steady and calm. It mostly succeeds. He mostly keeps that slight bit of nerves out of it.]

[enigmaster]

[And, honestly, he almost wants to say no. Because there's that part of him that's screaming at him to get the hell out, screaming see, I knew this would happen, knew that if something seemed too good to be true it really had to be. But Oswald is in such a state and... And he doesn't... want to leave...] ...Yeah. I... [He hesitates.] Yes.

[agoodname]

[and there's...oddly no release of tension at that answer. It remains in that tightness in his shoulders; in the way he's not looking at Edward.] Do you--[his voice cracks a bit, and he clears his throat]--would you prefer that I leave? That is, if it would make you more comfortable, I could...

[enigmaster]

What-- No. [If it was a matter of just not being around Oswald, he wouldn't have come back, he would've just... figured something out. There's no point to him being here if Oswald is just going to leave.] No, don't do that.

[agoodname]

Oh. [That answer was, apparently, not entirely what he expected. It's not obvious, exactly, but it is there. And finally his eyes flick up to Edward's face, like he's looking for something.} Alright. [he presses his lips together, gaze darting away once more as he toys with the cuff of his sleeve almost nervously] ....I really am sorry, Edward. I was very out of line.

[enigmaster]

[Edward just... looks at Oswald. Not looking away, as tempting as it is.] It's-- [He swallows. Stops himself, for once, from just saying it's fine, because it's not. But he doesn't really know what... to say, right now. No one's said sorry for doing this before. It's new territory.] ...It's pretty late. You should probably go back to sleep.

[agoodname]

Edward, I-- [his fingers curl hard into his sleeve, and he looks up, then--but his eyes flick over Edward's face once more and he immediately quiets. Whatever he was going to say, hushed.] ...yes. Okay. [and he simply nods, gaze dropping away again] Goodnight, Edward.

[enigmaster]

[He feels... a little guilty, maybe, over just shutting the conversation down. But it is late and he's... He's very tired. Honestly, he doesn't think he can do this right now. All he'd do is make a mess of it or get angry again or... Who knows what.] Mhm. Goodnight. [Yep, he's... going to walk out the living room. Time for bed.]

[agoodname]

[and Oswald just...watches him go. And then looks around himself and realizes the mess he's made of the living room and well, he wasn't exactly expecting Edward to return, at least not right now so he...takes a moment to throw the kleenex and the boxes away. And then wraps himself back up in that blanket and tucks himself into the corner of that couch to try and fall back asleep. Try being the key word there]

[enigmaster]

[And Edward, meanwhile is just... going to stare at the ceiling for a while. He's exhausted enough from today that, assuming there are no further interruptions, he'll just... slip right into sleep in a few minutes. This is a tomorrow problem.]

[agoodname]

[it sure is a tomorrow problem. And both ghost parents are going to make sure that Edward's sleep goes undisturbed.

By the time Edward wakes up the next morning, Oswald will be gone, all evidence of whatever state he was in swept away like it was never there.]

[enigmaster]

[It's... kind of what he was hoping for. That he'd be asleep when Oswald left. He still needs some time to process. He's just... going to stay inside, today. Any ghosts that show up trying to bother him today are just gonna have to fuck off, because he's going to be ignoring them. He just... needs time to think. So. Quiet day indoors. He doesn't have a lot to do, but that's. Fine. Just alone with his thoughts. That's. Great.]

[agoodname]

[sometime around noon, Elijah will make himself known]

"Edward?"

[enigmaster]

[NEVER MIND THIS IS WORSE ACTUALLY] ...Hm?

[agoodname]

[and Elijah will just...come over and sit next to him. Not too close, of course, but he'll still do so]

"How are you feeling?"

[enigmaster]

[Yeah, there's a question.] ...I'm still trying to work that out.

[agoodname]

[. . . .]

"...can I help?"

[enigmaster]

[Edward just... shrugs. He doesn't know.]

[agoodname]

[that's fair. Elijah hums, quietly.]

"It can be a bit difficult to suss out what you're feeling when you're in a situation that you perhaps haven't dealt with before." [he considers] "I suppose it's best to just start with a small piece and go from there. So what's the simplest bit to suss out?"

[enigmaster]

I don't know. [...] I guess I'm kind of angry, still.

[agoodname]

[Elijah nods at that, understanding] "I can understand that. What are you mad about?"

[enigmaster]

That Oswald went behind my back. That he didn't listen to me when I told him I was fine.

...That he shared something that's not his to share.

[agoodname]

[another nod.] "And yet you're still here. Why?"

[enigmaster]

I don't know. ...I just... don't want to leave.

[agoodname]

"....that's a good place to start, then. Figuring out why you don't want to leave."