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“What if Ghaul was right?” Gideon burst out, cutting off Zenith’s sentence.
Seeing that he had gotten the Titan’s attention, Gideon continued.
“We fight and run straight into danger all the time. Why? Because we know that if we die, we’ll come back. So, without our light, would we ever fight?” He mused kicking his feet out over the ledge. His head pointed down to observe the city below.
Zenith was stunned and at lost for words. Reaching up, he placed a hand on Gideon’s shoulder hoping to provide some comfort for his obviously distressed lover. “Of course we would fight! We’re guardians! Even without the light!”
Instead of soothing his lover however, it seemed to further enraged him.
“Then why did it take ONE guardian reclaiming their light from a SHARD to spark everyone into fighting?! Why did so many innocent guardians have to DIE before someone got off their ass to fight?!” Gideon nearly screamed.
Zenith was taken aback by the sudden outburst. He tried to scramble for an explanation, but could not find one. Seeing this, Gideon stood from his seat and began to pace back and forth.
“So many guardians ran away without their light like COWARDS! Ghaul was right! We aren’t brave! We just forgot what the fear of death felt like!”
Zenith stood as well and held his hands out in a placating manner. The eyes of many guardians burned him. They stared as if Gideon was some show to watch. “Gideon, people are starting to stare…maybe we should find somewhere private to-”
“LET THEM STARE!”
Zenith flinched at the sharp tone. He had never seen Gideon so angry before. Usually, he was able to calm him down, but there was no calming this Gideon down.
“Gideon, really, this really is not helping-”
“Oh I’m sorry. Is this making you uncomfortable?! Well I’m SORRY if my true feelings are unpleasant to your "oh-so-delicate” ears!“
Zenith’s face tinted blue in embarrassment. "That’s enough, Gideon! You are acting like a child!”
Gideon froze in his pacing as he turned to Zenith with a deadly calm expression. “Oh… I’M acting like a child?” He took slow paces up to Zenith and waited until he was directly in his face to speak in a seething wisper. “That’s rich coming from you.”
Zenith suddenly felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped onto his head. Unconsciously, he clenched his fists.
Gideon was trying to get a rise out of him, he knew. That’s all it was. Gideon was upset. He did not mean to say such harsh things. He…he did not mean them… he…
“I…trusted you…” Zenith managed to get out as his anger turned into sadness. “I trusted you…You said...You said you...”
He spared a look up at Gideon hoping to see some sort of remorse. Something that died he didn’t mean it. But all he saw were the same hard eyes.
“Oh get over it, Zenith! People- GOOD people have died and you’re getting worked up over this?!”
“Stop…stop yelling at me…” Zenith warned as tears pooled into his eyes. “S-stop it…this is not the way to handle this.”
Gideon honestly looked disgusted. “You don’t get it do you? No of course you don’t. You’re too busy being selfish!”
“Y-You…you don’t mean it.” A tear escaped from Zenith’s eye and he rigidly reached up to scrub it away. “You don’t mean it. You’re upset. I know. We can talk this out-”
Gideon slammed his fist onto the wall next to him causing Zenith to jump and step back.
“Of course I mean it! I’m finally getting a chance to tell you how I really feel and you’re brushing it off because it upsets you?!”
Zenith couldn’t help it as a sob slipped past his lips. “I…I-I’m trying…”
He turned away from the furious hunter. Setting a brisk pace, he started walking.
Gideon’s anger seemed to waver just slightly as he watched the other man walk away. “You’re pathetic! Just like the rest of them!” He shouted as a last ditch effort.
He smirked slightly as Zenith stopped in his tracks. But no sooner had he stopped, Zenith started again. This time, running away with his head down and hands pressed to his eyes.
Suddenly, all of Gideon’s anger left him leaving a dark, heavy feeling of loneliness behind.