Work Text:
Theo looked at Melody with a furrowed brow. “Wait repeat that?”
“He hasn’t seen his parents in like...gods last he mentioned it...30 some years? But he told me that a few years ago so it’s been longer.” Melody replied, looking at Theo with a small shrug. “Why are you asking me about all this stuff? Shouldn’t you be asking him?”
“I tried that.” Theo sighed, sagging against the back of the couch. “I figured you would know something about him considering you’re his best friend.” He tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling before sighing again. “I tried to ask him. I really did. Melody, I thought he was going to punch me.”
Melody snorted. “Sounds like him.” She got a laugh out of him for that. “What did you ask him to get that reaction?”
“I asked if he ever spoke to his folks.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, wrong thing to open up with I guess. I didn’t know he was estranged from them. I dropped it for a few days before trying to ask a different question.”
“Which was?”
“Where did he grow up?”
“Another bad question.”
“Apparently!” Theo threw his hands up and frowned. “How was I supposed to know these were taboo subjects until I asked about them? So that’s why I’m asking you. So I don’t upset him any further”
There was a beat of silence before Melody let out her own sigh. “I’ll answer what I can and what I think I should. I won’t tell you everything.”
“That’s fine. I just would like to know something about him.” Theo sat upright and looked intently at Melody. “I would like to hear them from Ghost but…”
“You don’t want to upset him. I get it.” Melody hummed, smiling at him. “You like him a lot.”
“I enjoy having him around, yeah. That’s why I don’t want to make him mad at me more than he usually is.” Theo clapped his hands on his knees, returning her smile.
“Not exactly what I meant.” Melody muttered, shaking her head when Theo gave her a questioning look. “Okay, I don’t even know where Ghost is from. He’s never told me. I’m sure it’s because he doesn’t want me tracking down his parents. Why? Because of what he’s told me about them when he’s gotten plastered.” She stopped when she saw the glint in Theo’s eyes. “No. Do NOT get him drunk just to weasle information out of him, you’ll just ruin what trust you’ve built with him.” She heard a small ‘yeah yeah’ from him and she shook her head. “He’s never really told me why he doesn’t talk about them to anyone but from what he HAS told me, I get it.”
Theo hummed softly, nodding. “So really, I should try and get it from him if I really want information. Fine fine. I won’t pry it from you then. Thanks, Mel.”
“Don’t…” Melody sighed. “Don’t make him upset. I don’t want to have him staying at my place for a week again because you two got into another fight.”
“That wasn’t my fault I swear.” Theo laughed, hopping up off the couch before going over to her to give her a quick hug. “I’ll see you later. Thanks again.” He heard her giving him a goodbye as he slipped out of her house to go track down Ghost.
-----
Ghost eyed Theo suspiciously as he quietly slipped into their inn room. “Where were you?”
Theo looked up quickly, shocked to find the other back at their room so soon. “Mel’s. I was just checking in on her since we weren’t staying with her this time.” He shed some of his outer clothes and shoes before climbing onto the end of the bed, facing Ghost who was up against the top of the bed with a book in his lap. “I thought you’d be gone longer. Did you find everything you needed?”
“I did. It wasn’t exactly what we needed but it can help a bit. I’m not a fan of the area it suggests we go to though.” Ghost sighed, marking the page in his book before closing it to set it aside.
“Oh?” Theo perked up, smiling at him. “Why aren’t you a fan of the area?”
There was a beat of silence before Ghost shrugged. “It isn’t a nice area to trek through.”
“You’ve been through it before?”
There was another moment of silence and Theo was ready to drop the conversation before Ghost sighed. “Yeah. I’ve been through there but it was a long time ago.”
“Long time ago? Like before you were with the guild then?” Theo scooted closer so that he was right in front of Ghost, looking hopeful. He let out a small chuckle when he noticed that Ghost was doing his best to not look up at him as he moved. “You don’t have to tell me anything you know. I’m just curious. You can always tell me to fuck off.”
“I grew up in that area.” Ghost muttered, still not looking up.
“You...grew up there?” Surprised, Theo tried to catch Ghost’s eyes but the other refused to look at him. “Is there a way we can go around it? So we don’t have to go near that area?”
“The information I gathered leads right to the middle of the village. We can’t ignore it if we want to keep on trail.” Ghost fiddled with the blanket on his lap before looking up finally. “I didn’t grow up in that town but on the outskirts of it.”
“Okay, so is there a way you can just give me the information and I can go look so you don’t have to go?” He got a shake of the head in response and he hummed quietly. “Ghost, we can figure something else out instead so we don’t have to go.”
“No, it’s the best lead...it’s just...It’ll be a little awkward for me is all.”
“You said you grew up there. Are your folks still in that area?”
Ghost fiddled with his fingers for a moment before shrugging. “They might be. I haven’t been back there in some...time now.”
“How long?”
“I think thirty years?”
Theo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but he didn’t say anything as he remembered Melody had mentioned something about him not seeing them in a long time. “And you think you might run into them?”
“Kind of. I...don’t have the best relationship with them. I would like to avoid running into them. Even if there is a tiny chance of actually running into them. I still don’t want to.”
“That’s understandable. Can I...ask why?” A heavy silence fell over them and Theo was about to change the subject before Ghost finally looked up at him with a small sigh.
“They weren’t the best to me. That’s all I really want to say.”
Theo nodded, reaching a hand up to rest it on top of Ghost’s head gently. “That’s fine. I won’t ask anything further about it. We’ll try to avoid as much of the area as we can then. Get as close to where we need to be and that’s all we’ll do.”
Ghost let out a heavy sigh and nodded again, reaching a hand up and set it on top of Theo’s. “One day I might be okay with talking about it all but for now...I’d rather just avoid it entirely.”
Theo remained silent, letting Ghost hold onto his hand. “That’s okay. I’ll be here to listen when you are ready.”