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Oliver Davis has been overworking himself recently. Everyone around him knows it, hell, even he knows it– but something is stopping him from taking a break. Read– his pride. It's his pride stopping him from taking a break. But there's always work to be done, and the young man refuses to rest when it really isn't something he needs a whole lot of. Unlike some people, his brain can function at full capacity even when he's tired. Oliver lives and breathes his research, and contrary to popular belief, it actually does bring him some semblance of peace and happiness. Just because other people can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there.
But he has been running himself ragged. Maybe he should have expected something like an intervention.
This intervention begins when Madoka barges into his office one day without preamble. Oliver merely raises a brow at her presence. She stomps her way over to his desk, a disarming and completely hideous smile on her face.
"Alright little man, it's time for you to take a break," the woman says in her high-pitched voice. Oliver thinks if she's trying to seem sweet, she's failing miserably. He tells her at such with his usual stoicism. "Oh, don't be so grouchy! Come on, up you get! Off to bed, off to bed." Madoka sets firm hands on his shoulders, and Oliver opts to go along with her antics only because he knows he has a stash of research papers to review hidden away in his quarters. Might as well work on those, since she won't want me in the office for the rest of the day.
"You do realize it's midday, right Madoka?" He questions, turning to glance back at his teacher over his shoulder. She merely grins at him.
"Hm!" She chirps, still ushering him along at a fast pace. Oliver frowns when he realizes they've passed his room already. "That's why you'll be taking tomorrow off, too, if you keep arguing with me!"
Oliver sighs but hastens his pace so he's no longer being pushed by Madoka. She grins at him, silently proclaiming her victory as they continue through the complex.
He levels her with a glare that could kill when she deposits him in Lin's quarters, of all places.
"Have a restful night~! I'll swing by with Lin in the morning to make sure you've actually slept, Noll," Madoka chides lightly, spinning on her heel. He watches her wave at him over her shoulder before swinging the door closed on quiet hinges after she leaves. Oliver has no doubt that the woman probably locked the door behind her, so he doesn't even try to escape.
That all happened... a bit fast.
Oliver sighs again, allowing a quiet groan to slip from his lips now that he's finally alone. The man unbuttons the sleeves to his long-sleeved shirt and rolls them up almost to his elbows, allowing his skin to breathe. He also takes the liberty to loosen his collar and glance around.
Lin's space is as neat as ever, and Oliver is used to the man's quiet presence in his life. The room reflects him perfectly, down to the colors that decorate it. While they were in Japan, the most he'd call their relationship would have been a charge and his bodyguard. Now, however... he could say they've grown closer. Maybe even to friend status.
Not in a conventional way, though.
Oliver makes himself comfortable lying on his back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while his thoughts battle for dominance inside his head. An important idea will pop into his brain but then be pushed aside for another. He allows his thoughts to wander. Fatigue from the last few weeks settles into his bones, reminding him of his humanity.
He ends up falling asleep, with his hands crossed behind his head and his legs hanging off the side of the mattress.
{Six}
He wakes in a vast, dark space, and is initially confused. He's never had any sort of psychic dream– astral projection doesn't lie in his realm of expertise. Did Gene ever mention something like this? It's like he's floating in a void, soft darkness his only source of company. When Oliver lifts his hand, he can see himself clearly, so he knows his eyes haven't been blinded, or something along those lines. His skin holds a soft, almost ethereal glow, and when he raises his gaze he sees small white lights floating everywhere.
It's so peaceful.
He lets himself drift for a while, nothing occupying his mind. His eyes scan the environment as if looking for something, but the man can't remember what he's looking for in the plane. He doesn't even know how he got here in the first place.
When Oliver Davis first sees Mai on the astral plane, he is flabbergasted. She actually sees him at the same time, and looks shocked. The last time he had seen the girl, she had professed his love to him, and he had shot her down, thinking it was Gene that held her affection. He winces at the memory. They stare at each other for a moment.
She's surprised, as well? But not a moment later, a wide smile breaks out on her face.
"Naru!" She cries, racing up to him. Oliver knows it's coming, but he doesn't do anything to dodge when she leaps at him, wrapping her arms around his back tightly. For a moment, he thinks she might be crying– the front of his shirt feels wet, a large spot of warmth spreading rapidly on the material. Frowning, he gently pushes her away, wanting to see if his suspicions are correct. Oliver is met with her beaming smile though, and when he feels his shirt it's completely dry. How odd. I wonder if it has something to do with this place?
"Mai?" He asks bluntly, blinking rapidly down at her in his version of expressing surprise. "What is this place? Is it the astral plane?"
"Yeah! This is the place I would dream of whenever we were on cases!" She chirps, stepping back from him and twirling around on her heel. Oliver watches her, and he can't help the smirk he feels tugging at his lips. She looks so... light. Her clothes flow unnaturally smooth around her form, and her skin holds the same glow as his does. It looks more brilliant on her, though. Oliver chalks up his passing thoughts to the effects of the astral plane.
"Astral Projecting isn't a power I've been capable of before now. Is this your doing?" He asks curiously, tilting his head.
"Mm? I guess so. I've only been able to meet people here recently." Strangely enough, a weird smile appears on her face– Oliver can't place any other emotion than sad before her expression settles into something more genuine. The moment twists something deep in his core. My intuition? But his intuition has never been something he's been guided by, so he disregards it. It's probably their environment playing tricks on him.
"So your powers have grown," Oliver mutters, setting a hand on his chin as his thoughts whirl. A light laugh brings him from his mind, and he looks up to see Mai giggling behind her hand. He doesn't mind her loudness as opposed to his usual bubble of quiet, though. For the first time in a while, Oliver truly feels his interest in something re-ignited. "But why me?"
"I guess I just wanted to see you," Mai confesses, her cheeks coloring a deep shade of red. She rolls one of her ankles and ducks her head shyly. "I haven't seen you or Lin in over two years, Naru. I was just feeling a little nostalgic."
There's the subject that hangs between them, then. Of their last parting. Oliver doesn't want to ask about it, and neither does Mai seem to want to answer. So, it becomes something pushed to the wayside.
"Hm," he hums, still watching her closely. She's grown, for sure, though not by much– her hair isn't too noticeably longer, but it does reach her shoulders. She's also filled out a little; her arms and legs are slightly thicker, as if she's been working out. Must still be handling heavy equipment, he ponders absently. Mai raises her head, meeting his gaze for a moment with another, even more radiant smile.
"I won't keep you any longer for tonight." At her wording, the man raises an eyebrow. This earns him a cheeky grin and a little wave. It feels sarcastic. "I'll see you again tomorrow, Naru~!" She sings, smirking at him.
Oliver has the will to roll his eyes at her attitude, hearing her indignant huff in response as everything fades away.
Funnily enough, as he wakes from the brightness of the sun shining on his own bed, Oliver Davis feels more well-rested than he has in a while.
{Five}
The next time it happens, Oliver really thinks he's still awake. He blinks, and one moment he's in his office and the next he's standing on a short dirt path. The young man sucks in a quiet breath in surprise. He doesn't recognize his surroundings– there is a small house at the end of the path, painted in muted colors. Even though the structure is a bit bland, the colorful flowers that line the path and rest in beds out front really give the place some life. Oliver frowns, actually frowns, and tries not to lose his mind as he races to piece together what he last remembers. Did I use Psychometry without realizing it? Impossible.
The air is still even as the short, green grass waves in a breeze he can't feel. This is what clues him in.
Oliver wanders down the path, eyeing his surroundings with a calmer eye. Now that he knows he's in the astral plane, he isn't so worried about where he ended up. It is strange that this is based on an actual place, though, he muses. His feet take him around the side of the house, and he finds himself walking without purpose to the back of the structure.
It's there that he finds Mai.
She's dressed differently than last time, in comfortable pants and a loose shirt that she doesn't seem to care are getting dirty. Her form is crouched in the dirt, and she is rooting around the base of a small cluster of sunflowers. Oliver watches her for a moment before moving closer. She looks back at him without surprise, as if she expected him here. The young man cocks his head, casting his gaze around their environment in silent question. Mai answers absently.
"Mm, we found this little cottage on a case a few months ago," she explains, smiling up at him. Oliver really wants to wipe the small smudge of dirt from her cheek. "It really stuck with me, I guess! That, and... well, my mom really liked gardening. This place felt kind of like something she'd like," Mai finishes quietly, lowering her head. "It's fun to experiment with how I can make the astral plane look, too!"
"Did Gene ever show you how to do this?" He questions, genuinely curious. Mai shakes her head.
"Uh-uh, I don't think he even knew about it, to be honest," she responds truthfully. Oliver nods, accepting her easy statement as the truth without questioning it. "C'mon, I read a book about different kinds of plants, I'll show you what they are!" Mai says suddenly, gesturing him closer. When Oliver is within reaching distance, she reaches up and grabs his arm. Oliver keeps himself from losing his balance when she yanks him to crouch by her side. She puffs her cheeks out when he settles in place with a grace she could never have hoped of possessing. He smirks at her.
"Well?" He asks, sticking his nose in the air haughtily. "I'm waiting for a full informational session on each type of flower, what their genus names are, what family they belong to, and where they naturally mig–"
"Ah, no no no!" Mai shouts, leaping to her feet. Her fingers are colored brown from digging in the soil, but she clasps them over her ears without care. "I said I'll show you the flowers, not give you a history lesson!" She cries, skittering a few feet away. His smirk widens as Oliver watches her do a little dance in place.
"Alright then," he relents, catching her attention immediately, "but it'd be difficult for you to show me the flowers from all the way over there."
She huffs, glaring at him. Mai practically stomps her way back over and plops herself heavily back on the ground, turning her head away from the man with a grumble that sounds suspiciously like 'narcissist'.
"I don't see a lot of sunflowers in England," Oliver prompts, tilting his head to the bright yellow petals adorning said flowers in front of them. As if a switch has been flipped, Mai lights up. She reaches forward to finger at the beautiful plant, a small smile on her lips.
"I love sunflowers, they're my favorite! They like lots of sun and can grow to be really super tall. Have you ever seen the fields that are filled with them? You haven't? You have to look one up, they're so beautiful! And– oh, those are poppies–" Mai rambles, occasionally rising so she can move closer to a certain bunch of flowers. Oliver follows her dutifully, asking questions and indulging her when she picks a batch of dandelions to make a wish.
They spend the rest of the 'day' like this. The sun is shining from somewhere unseen above them, providing life to the flowers but Oliver can't feel its heat. He has fun. The faint thought of a trip to Japan, sometime soon, tickles the back of his mind. He smirks but he doesn't voice the thought.
Better to surprise her with a request for tea in person, after all her tea is the best around.
Oliver wakes with a small smile.
{Four}
Oliver knows immediately where he is this time– it's Mai's old high school. But why here? Mai's astral plane is certainly interesting, with all the actual places it's able to replicate. Oliver wonders how long she's actually had to practice to be able to do this at all.
He enters the building leisurely, allowing the world to guide him in the right direction. He knows because the classrooms he doesn't even look at aren't labeled– the one that is on the third floor. Class 1-F. He stands in the doorway, much like he did all those years ago, and peers inside.
Mai is sitting on the edge of a desk at the front of a classroom. In her lap are two little light sticks, resting against the fabric of her soft skirt. She swings her legs forward and back, forward and back, leaning the weight of her torso on her arms that are propped up on the desk. When she sees him, her face breaks into a smile.
"We never did get to tell ghost stories after school," the girl comments, holding up one of the lights with a small grin. "You wanna have a go?"
At his raised eyebrow, Mai grins mischievously at him.
There's something about this place that just makes Oliver feel more... carefree. Like he doesn't have to make an effort to push everyone away. Normally someone else being with him would make him tense up, but he finds that he doesn't mind Mai's presence at all. Quite the opposite, in fact; he prefers it.
So he accepts, taking an extra light from his former assistant and not thinking much about how out-of-character he acts around her. Sat on the edge of his own desk of choice, Oliver engages Mai with her ghost stories, and can't hold back his smirk as she squeals in fear at the end of every single one of his tales.
In the real world, his peers notice a change. The students he teaches can't pick up on it because they don't know him well, but his parents can. Lin and Madoka can. His research assistants can.
To any normal person, he's the same as always: stoic and driven by his work, spending long hours shut in his office, only engaging with people he finds interesting. But he snaps less and his shoulders aren't always drawn up in a tight line.
Madoka wonders what changed in that one afternoon he actually slept almost a full day.
Oliver looks forward to his fitful nights, now.
{Three}
Her apartment is actually cleaner than Oliver thought it would be. This time, he actually remembers settling into bed and drifting off, so he isn't as startled when he opens his eyes in front of a door. The eggshell-painted wood is a bit old, but with it being a small apartment he doesn't expect anything more modern. When Oliver reaches forward to twist the knob, it swings open easily.
He imagines it doesn't do this in the material world, so he merely steps inside without a glance back. A quiet click indicates it having shut behind him on its own.
The entrance he steps into is small, but cozy. Oliver doesn't bother to take his shoes off, instead opting to look around at the small decorations littered about. There is a small coat hanger on the wall to his left. It rests directly above a single umbrella, and Oliver is a bit amused that she doesn't actually have an umbrella stand. One pair of shoes rests to the side of the mat, plain in nature but surely belonging to one Mai Taniyama.
Oliver wanders further into the space, coming to a joined kitchen-living room area where he finds her bustling about. She mutters angrily to herself, apparently trying to death-glare something in a pot on the stove into submission. Amused by her antics, Oliver decides to wait until she notices him to say anything. He rests his side against the wall, watching her move about her space comfortably. She pulls items she needs from cupboards easily, born from a long time of living in this space. Not long after, she turns and meets his eyes.
"Eep!" She yelps as she bangs her hip against the kitchen counter in her haste to scramble back. Oliver can't help the smirk that blooms on his face, and he has the ridiculous urge to laugh at her. "Naru, you scared me! Gosh, I need to put a bell on you or something–" she descends into a tirade, throwing her arms up. When she is done with her rant, she crosses her arms and glares at him, deflating in place. "We're having a movie night. Grab the drinks from the fridge," she says, turning her attention back to the stove.
Oliver does what she asks without complaining, still riding on the tail of his amusement. He grabs two thermoses of drinks out of the fridge in the kitchen, and then finds himself wandering back into the living space. After placing the bottles on the low table in front of the old, worn couch, he glances around.
There is a bookshelf in the corner that immediately catches his attention. The young man makes his way toward it, eyeing the titles as he traces a single finger of their spines. A lot of them are ones he doesn't recognize– books native to Mai's home country that he never really paid attention to. Curious, he grabs one that he does recognize but hasn't read and flips it open. A study on parapsychology is the subject, and he skips over the table of contents and acknowledgments to glance at the introductory chapter. But after the first few pages, the book is blank, filled with white pages. Frowning, Oliver flips through the entire thing but finds he isn't mistaken.
"I never got around to finishing that one," Mai says, coming up behind him. "I always wondered how you understood all those complicated books you kept in your office," she mutters. Oliver cocks a brow.
"As I distinctly remember saying, 'my brain works differently than yours,' Mai. I would probably have been able to explain this to you if you had read more than two pages."
"Hmph!" Mai pouts at him before turning and settling herself on the couch. Oliver shuts the book and decides to move over to the sitting area as well. He sits on the couch with his posture straight in a way that's comfortable to him. Mai glances over at him and sighs loudly. Oliver feels his body tense when she moves closer to him, sitting just a few centimeters from his side. He casts her a neutral glance as she reaches for something beneath the low table in front of the couch. With a thump, an old CD case plops itself on both their legs, massive enough to do so without falling between them.
Oliver is surprised by the sudden happening of events. Mai flips through the case slowly, eyeing the titles with a critical look, and Oliver realizes that she's been talking this entire time. He focuses on listening to her.
"–bli Studio, which always has a bunch of good movies, but there are a few American ones that are really good too, but they're family-friendly since my mom showed them to me when I was young–"
"Why are we doing this?" Oliver cuts her off. She turns to look at him, blinking slowly. He purses his lips, suddenly feeling the urge to berate her for using her powers for something so... mundane. "This isn't real. We haven't actually seen each other in two years, and I find it a bit childish that you'd want to use your newly developing abilities to watch movies in the astral plane. This seems a bit... trivial," Oliver finishes lamely, keeping his gaze directed at Mai. It's because of this that he sees her expression twist.
Her curious stare falls in an instant. She tries to angle her body away from him– perhaps toward the TV, maybe even the kitchen for a distraction– but Oliver sees the way her brows furrow delicately. The corners of her mouth turn downward, farther and farther until they tremble. The skin on her chin contorts, and Oliver is struck by how absolutely devastated Mai looks.
"O-Oh..." she whispers, her voice cracking pathetically. Something in him twists, and Oliver wants to find a way to tactfully apologize. "W-Well, I guess it can wait for another night–"
The space around them fades, and Mai is no longer sitting beside him.
Oliver wakes earlier than he normally does. The thought of a productive day ahead, for once, doesn't offer him any comfort.
{Two}
It's three days later when Oliver wakes in the blank space of the astral plane. The first night he had been really worried that Mai would leave him with silence, left to wonder if she would give him a second– no, this would be his third– chance.
He isn't willing to search for her in the real world, yet; he hasn't told anyone about his dreams. It feels like something private, something intimate between them and them alone. The thought of not having to share something with anyone without guilt had been appealing, but on the third night Oliver's patience was being worn by apprehension.
So, seeing the familiar space is a healing balm on his soul. He'd rather die than admit that, though, so he sets out with one objective on his mind.
Unlike the last few times, the astral plane doesn't seem to form into any place. He ends up drifting for a short while before impatience stops him. He silently pushes the plane to lead him to Mai, but really he has no idea what he's doing. Oliver is tempted to conduct research on the space, maybe he can ask Mai about it when he sees her again? It would be really helpful to know more about Astral Projecting from someone who actually practices the ability, rather than from an outsider's perspective.
He finds Mai sitting cross-legged, in the middle of nowhere. One moment the space was blank, and then Oliver sees her blink into existence. He stops short, startled by her sudden appearance. The girl appears to be meditating– her posture isn't rigid nor is she completely still and silent, but there is peace on her features. She hums a soft tune to herself, surrounded by the presence of wispy fox fires. Oliver approaches slowly, trying not to upset her peace.
They sit like that for a short while, with Mai in a trance and Oliver watching her closely. She opens her eyes and stares back at Oliver when the hackles on the back of her neck have been raised from being watched for too long. She leans forward as if she's going to greet him, but Oliver doesn't let her speak.
"I'm sorry," Oliver gets out, keeping his eyes firmly locked with hers. "The last time we spoke I said some very insensitive things without regard to your feelings. I shouldn't have disregarded something that is clearly important to you– for that, I'm sorry."
"There you go again, taking the best moment for yourself," she says softly, chuckling. "I'm sorry for sending you away so suddenly– I shouldn't have done that, our time here is so short anyway and I did that without thinking."
Oliver frowns at her wording but nods to show he accepts the sentiment. And with that, her smile is wider, more genuine. Seeing the show of happiness makes Oliver feel better.
Mai stands, and Oliver takes the initiative to do so, as well. She moves forward to stand by his side, and the man is confused why she does so until everything begins to blur, the fox fires fading. The scene around them changes, and Oliver finds himself in a graveyard. The cropped grass is a healthy green, and nameless gravestones span out from their position in neat rows. He looks over, and Mai is still by his side. It's a bit weird to have her with him when a new scene materializes around them, but he is more curious where she is taking him. Oliver has an inkling he knows where they are, but he doesn't say anything.
As it turns out, his hunch is right– Mai kneels at two gravestones that are set close together, with the names Mrs. Taniyama and Mr. Taniyama inscribed in the stone. 'Loving parents the world will never mourn. Their lives will be celebrated.' Oliver looks at Mai, who is staring at the stones with an indecipherable look on her face. After a moment of silence, she slowly kneels in front of them.
She bows her head.
"I hope they're there, waiting for me," she says softly, closing her eyes. Oliver thinks about what it would be like to die. He thinks about what it would be like... to not have any hope of life. To be like his brother, who didn't experience his death through psychometry but rather by being killed without mercy, and having no hope of waking up from a nightmare. He doesn't do well with sentiment, or kind words for that matter. Ask literally anyone else– Oliver isn't the best at expressing his true feelings, but here, something urges him to try.
"I believe they will be," he finally says, finding the words to be simple yet effective. Mai tilts her head back to look at him. She smiles.
Oliver dips his head in acknowledgment, feeling as if a weight has lifted off his chest.
The two stay in that graveyard for a while. Oliver doesn't know how much time passes in the astral plane, but he feels as if it's stretched, somehow. After a while, he ends up sitting next to Mai, who has shifted to sitting on her legs from her previous kneeling position. She ends up telling him about some of the stories of her mother in life. The young woman doesn't remember her dad well, but she tells Oliver of his large hands that would ruffle her hair or of his comforting arms that would give her the best bear hugs. Oliver listens, an understanding ear to the loss of a loved one. He understands her pain well.
Mai is the one who stands first, indicating the end of their night together. They both stare down at the gravestones of her parents, and Oliver allows his urge to reach forward and set a hand on the mother's stone. Beside him, Mai sniffles, but doesn't cry. He turns to face her.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks hesitantly, gazing up at him with wide eyes. Oliver stares back for a moment, before nodding.
"Yes," he responds. Mai smiles.
It had been a hit and run, of all things. Of all things. She had been safe in the Dollhouse. She had been safe at Rokuryu High School. She had been saved from Urado. And yet, a simple hit and run, by a human no less, was what stole such a bright light from the world. Had she been in pain in her last moments? Had she been gripped by fear and hopelessness, just as Gene had been?
Oliver sits in his chair, his blank stare directed at the wall with his phone in hand. Houshou Takigawa, once one of his employees from the close-knit group from the Shibuya Psychic Research Office located in Japan, is on the other line. He explains the truth haltingly.
"We're... we're sorry Naru," Monk says, his voice quiet. Broken. Oliver wonders about the sound of his tone– does his grief run so deep because he lost someone he cared for? Someone he considered family? A girl he loved like a daughter? "She told us not to tell you. She didn't want to be remembered like that. Especially after–" The man doesn't finish, but Oliver hears the unspoken words loudly.
'Especially after you left.'
Oliver is spiraling, thinking he'll never go near another car in his life. After all, they took the two most important people from him.
{One}
When he opens his eyes to the office of Shibuya Psychic Research, something deep within him quakes.
There are little things, the smallest details that tip him off. He knows this isn't the real office because the titles of the books on the shelf in the corner are blurred, as if someone glanced at them but didn't really remember them properly. On the coffee table sits a vase of vibrant sunflowers, the brightest and most attractive splash of color in the office. This place is different from the last ones– although the rug between the couches is almost too smooth (it almost looks like it doesn't have all the texture that is born from woven fabric), the place is remembered clearly and with a lot of care.
"Naru, the tea's almost ready!" A melodious voice calls. Oliver immediately sets out to the kitchen and stops in the doorway. Mai is there, standing at the stove as she peeks into the kettle of boiling water. He watches her for a moment, entranced by her presence as something splinters inside his chest. Without much thought, the young man moves forward to stand right beside the brunette. She raises her gaze to meet his, tilting her head with a clueless smile. She opens her mouth as if to say something, maybe even inform him that his tea is ready, but–
"Why didn't you say anything?" He asks quietly, brokenly. She takes a moment to comprehend his question. Naru thinks she'll leave him without an answer, just like Gene did, as they stand in silence. The tea kettle doesn't make a sound, despite the steam rising from the spout.
"I guess I wanted to spend some time with you before I had to leave," she says quietly, lowering her eyes. Her features adopt a melancholy countenance, and the splintery feeling makes an ache grow in Oliver's chest. He reaches out to set a hand on her cheek– her skin is so warm– and she nestles into the touch, closing her eyes. Oliver doesn't like not seeing her eyes. She looks like she could be sleeping with her face as peaceful as it is.
She looks like she could be dead.
He shakes the thought away.
"Why?" He asks again, feeling repetitive. Mai opens her eyes, smiling up at his face. Oliver doesn't know what she sees that causes her to make that expression at him, because his face has been morphed into its normal blank mask. The same one he wore when he broke her heart.
"I didn't get the chance to answer you, then," she says suddenly. Her gaze pierces through him, right to his very core. His soul quivers. "It was you, Naru. Oliver. The answer was always you."
Oliver's chest quakes with a sob that doesn't escape his throat. He closes his eyes, setting his other hand on her shoulder and bringing her to his chest in a tight embrace.
"This is the last time, isn't it," he states, knowing in his heart of hearts that what he suspects is true.
"Yes," Mai responds softly, her arms dainty against his waist, "I can't stay any longer."
They stand there for what feels like hours, basking in each other's company. Eventually, they migrate to the couch in the office. The tea kettle on the stove is still silent, the tea completely forgotten. Mai sits right beside him on one of the long couches, and she reaches over to intertwine their fingers. Oliver rests their hands on his thigh, silently appreciating the contact. He feels himself drowning in his sea of grief. Outwardly, he appears blank.
"I'm sorry," Oliver says eventually, for everything, he adds silently. For breaking your heart, for not having more faith in you, for leaving you behind when you were the one who brought me out of my mind.
For letting you die alone.
"I forgive you," Mai responds quietly. Oliver turns his head to stare into her eyes, and he nearly cries. The pools of brown are so soft, so full of life. The irony is not lost on him. "Life is too short for grudges, Naru. You've heard me say that before, and that's why I wanted to see you now– because I never got the chance to even when I worked up the courage. Can I ask you for a favor?" She asks, a small smile pulling at her lips. Oliver nods, once. "Please don't lose yourself."
The young man frowns, his chest swooping low with a sudden pang of grief. He swallows and closes his eyes. Mai rests her free hand on his cheek, and he opens his eyes again to stare into her steady gaze.
"I know that losing the people you love is hard. Especially when they were the ones who showed you they cared the most. But... for my sake, and for Gene's. Promise me you won't retreat completely into yourself," she whispers, her expression steely. Oliver keeps their eyes locked for a moment later before he nods once more. His voice seems lost to him.
Mai's smile is small, but Oliver swears it's the most brilliant smile she's ever given him. Even despite how sad it is.
Some quiet instinct urges him to close his eyes, and he does so, gripping tightly to her hand on his lap. All is quiet, not even the ticking of the clock disturbing the peace.
The lightest of touches, a featherlight feeling, alights on his forehead. Oliver keeps his eyes closed, leaning into the touch as her final words as whispered for him and him alone to hear.
The press of her lips against his skin is gone as she leans away. Oliver makes a conscious effort to keep his breathing steady even as his chest constricts, and his surroundings buzz out like static on a television screen.
"Goodbye, Naru."
Oliver wakes with tears staining his cheeks. He decides not to go anywhere on that day.
For the first time in years, for the first time since he found Gene, since when his twin was still alive, Oliver allows himself to mourn. For a lost love, for the woman who was all emotions where he was logic. To the girl who forced him to face the things he feared, to the assistant who made the best damn tea he'd ever had. To the high schooler who grew to fall in love with the field he once hated for being forced into it.
Noll remains in his private room, curled around himself in bed and with heart-wrenching sobs racking his body. Throughout the day, objects periodically rattle or float while he lets his emotions run wild, but nothing is ever broken. He thinks about the last words she spoke to him, of all the times she yelled at him, blushed because of him, had faith in him.
Oliver Davis mourns a broken heart, and in the morning his mask has been reformed.
{Zero}
The person who hit her didn't hold any malice toward her; it had been a complete accident. The worst of any kind. It had been another teenager, who had glanced down at his phone to change the song he was playing in his car for only a second. Mai gets the sense that he drove this neighborhood often because he didn't even slow when turning the corner. No one had been coming when she had started to cross the street.
One moment Mai is walking along, and the next she is flying through the air.
Her head hurts, her neck hurts, her chest is burning. When the girl hits the ground, she screams, her entire being alight with P A I N. So, so much pain. She ends up lying on her back, but she can't see anything. All she can see is darkness, and she begins to cry as panic grabs hold of her. The girl sobs, but blacks out when her torso s c r e a m s at her in protest. Slowly, her vision starts to come back, but Mai feels it cruel. To give her her sight, only to take her very life away from her.
She knows she's dying, and something deep inside her is telling her she won't be walking away from this. She wants nothing more than to disregard the feeling, to call for help, to live to recover and see another day, but– she knows those are dreams beyond her reach. Her intuition has never been wrong, after all. Especially after the last couple of years of development.
'Animal instincts,' as Naru had called them. Heh.
She's tired, and so in pain, but her body won't let her rest just yet. Mai stares up at the night sky, feeling her throat clogging up with something– blood blood blood. She tries to slow her breathing, tries to focus on anything other than her misery, but she can't hear anything still and the taste of iron on her tongue is making her want to throw up. Loneliness constricts her chest like a vice, making it even harder to breathe.
She wants to see Naru. A single tear slips down her cheek.
Mai closes her eyes, focusing on the painfully slow breathes that rattle in her chest. A veil falls over her, taking away the pain everywhere except in her lungs. There is no panic, there are no realizations. There is only sadness, and the lonely company of her empty mind. She doesn't even realize she's stopped crying.
One moment she is lying there, and the next . . . .