Photo album spread out on my bedroom floor...

[almost_knightly]

There was nothing remarkable about the day when Break got up this morning. There was nothing remarkable lying in wait in his bathroom, and nothing remarkable between himself and the kitchen, and nothing remarkable between the kitchen and the library.

The library, however, held something new today. It was lurking on the bottom shelf, easily missed but for Break's habit of crawling around on the floor -- a large binder, sedate red leather and several inches wide.

Break knows that binder.

Fingers shaking, he snatches it up out of the shelf. He fumbles it, and it falls open, and the first thing he sees is Faneuil Hall at Christmas, covered in snow. Below that is a photograph of Shelly, his own Shelly, dressed in winter clothes and laughing with Sharon when she was still small, and there's his ponytail in the photograph next to it because no one could ever get him to look at the camera that first year and he's seen these pictures a thousand times --

He slams the book shut, suddenly unable to look. A cruel gift, in a way; there are days that he wonders if he'll ever see this place and these people again. But on the other hand, now -- now he can show people, he can let them see things he's only described. It's as precious as it is mean.

Gathering the photo album up close to his chest and clutching it as though he's afraid it'll vanish, Break leaves the library, in search of some of the people he trusts most.


[ooc: Locked to hadengineered, retraced, of_murder, standstilltime, smallkindnesses, info_barma]

Comments

[hadengineered.livejournal.com]

He'll find Knave in one of the music rooms, playing a slow version of Canon in D by Pachelbel. He's found the sheet music inside one of the piano stools, and is now trying to see how many variations he can make out of it.

"..."

He tilts his head towards the door, curiously, when he hears footsteps nearby.

[almost_knightly]

Break doesn't recognize the song at first; it's one of those that puts him right to sleep unless someone has had the sense to make it loud and give it drums. But he follows the music anyway, just to see who's there, and by the time he peers around the door and sees Knave he knows what it's playing.

He lingers hesitantly in the door, still holding the book close. He doesn't want to interrupt.

[hadengineered.livejournal.com]

Knave finishes off the current measure, fingers stilling on the keyboard, and nods at Break.

"Yes, Mister Break?"

[almost_knightly]

Break hesitates, uncertain; he's wearing sandals today, so Knave will see it when his toes curl up.

"The mansion gave me photographs from home," he blurts at last. That's as far as he gets; asking outright if Knave wants to look at them with him is a bit too much, just now.

[hadengineered.livejournal.com]

He stares at him for a moment, before turning slightly to face him properly. That's piqued his curiousity.

"May I see?"

[retraced]

Gilbert is wandering through the hall on his daily patrol. Nose and cheeks a little red where he failed to put on enough sun blocking lotion the last few days, but otherwise looking the same as always.

"Break?" he calls out from across the hallway as he turns a corner and spots the man.

[almost_knightly]

He relaxes suddenly and toddles into the room, joining Knave there on the piano bench. With a bit of difficulty, he lowers the cover, and allows the album to fall open there against the piano.

It opens to some place sort of in the beginning of the middle, and the first photograph is of the Boston Commons, right at the top of the page.

"That's the city where I live," Break says, pointing to it. The other two photos on that page are of Break's own Shelly, smiling with a book in her hand, and Break and his Liam. They're sitting on a blanket on the grass. Liam is a skinny teenager, though already almost at his full height, and Break looks like any other Break in the mansion, but for the clothing.

Naturally, Liam looks irritated, and Break is laughing at him.

[almost_knightly]

Break stops short for a moment. Then, as though he'd never stopped walking himself, he moves quickly forward and grabs Gilbert by the arm, dragging him into the nearest open parlor.

"I've got somefing to show you."

[retraced]

He doesn't protest the dragging, but he also doesn't stifle the small noise of surprise as he's pulled into the parlor. Whatever it is, he's expecting it to be trouble, and prepares himself for such. Another dead body, maybe? Or just another stupid prank of the mansion.

"What is it-?"

[almost_knightly]

Break lets him go only long enough to snatch a pillow from a couch and chuck it on the floor by the coffee table; he wants something comfy to sit on. Then he reaches out to tug at Gilbert's coat, insistently, pulling the taller man down next to him as he plops down.

The heavy book is dropped onto the table, and Break opens it up and flips through it until he finds the photograph he's looking for.

"That's Boston," he declares, almost breathlessly. "That's Boston, that's where I live. See?"

[retraced]

"That's..."

Holy crap, huge buildings. In color! And...are those boats? In comparison, the buildings and the bridge are even bigger than he thought! He just stares down at the image, reaching forward to let his fingertips rest along the bottom of the photo.

"Where did this come from?"

[almost_knightly]

"From home. This book belongs to Shelly. My Shelly."

Reluctantly, he leans back away from it. As he moves, the photos on the other open page are revealed. There's a few more shots of Boston and its skyline, but the one at the very bottom is Break and his own Liam walking down a city sidewalk in the rain. Break has climbed onto an old-fashioned street lamp and is leaning half off of it, waving his umbrella around and apparently singing. Liam, from underneath his own umbrella, glowers up at him and reaches out -- probably yelling at him to get down.

It's an old photo, and in it, Break is the spitting image of his younger counterparts in the mansion. The only difference is the clothes, and with his penchant for long coats, even that's not entirely dissimilar.

[smallkindnesses.livejournal.com]

[of-murder.livejournal.com]

[Gil is in the kitchen as usual, putting something into the oven.]

[retraced]

He leans in for a better look, his eyes wide and curious and looking very much like the child version of himself. He'd never doubted that Break's universe existed, but to actually see it - and see Liam in there as well...

"You really do look just like him."

[almost_knightly]

Break's mouth twitches into a quiet smile. He hasn't looked like that in ages, and seeing this picture after watching his counterparts running around the mansion for months -- it's almost a disjointed feeling, as though he's not quite looking at himself at all, even though he remembers that day and remembers that he did slip. Liam caught him before he could brain himself on the sidewalk, which was exactly what he'd been saying would happen.

Teasing, he disguises his accent like he does at home, adopting the wry tone he's heard his counterparts use and imitating them flawlessly.

"I am quite sure I could still pass for him if I tried. I'm only five years older, after all, and I look young for my age even without a contract~"

[retraced]

He only looks away from the book when he hears that covered accent, in a tone that's far too familiar to him. Five years or not, Break had said that back home he doubted he had another year to live...Gilbert would never see his own Break at this age, in this state. This man might have won against disease, but the strain of his second Contract would definitely kill Break eventually.

"It's a little creepy that you can do that," he says, meaning the identical voice and inflection. "Are there...any pictures of your Gil?"

[almost_knightly]

"I speak wivout the accent at home, you know," Break tells him, slipping readily back into his usual lilt. "I had to work hard to learn that."

There are pictures of Gil, in fact -- mostly when he's a bit older than this one is. Break flips closer to the back of the book, and the pictures he ultimately stops for are from a party of some sort. The most prominent on the first page is a group photo with Gilbert in the middle, looking sheepish and embarrassed and refusing to gaze directly at the camera. Vincent holds onto one of his arms, smiling pleasantly as he side-eyes Oz, who is latched onto the other one and practically grinning his teeth out. Elliot is just behind Oz, but he's not paying attention to any of the others -- he's turning over his shoulder to yell at Oscar, who has been caught in the process of jumping into the photo at the very last minute.

"This is from the party we frew for him when he got his chef's whites," Break says, pointing to that photo in particular. It's his favorite of the lot.

[almost_knightly]

[The kitchen, as it happens, is one of the first places Break looks. There is usually someone he likes to be found in the kitchen. But, seeing that Gilbertine is cooking Real Food™, Break hesitates.

Well, if whatever it is has just gone into the oven, that means she's done for a bit, right? Timidly --]

Gillie? Are you busy?

[bittyrainsworth.livejournal.com]

[Sharon will just be seated beside her, trying to behave like she knew she was supposed to when they had teatime.]

[almost_knightly]

[Break toddles by in the hallway and almost misses them entirely at first; then, having caught sight of a couple of poofy dresses, he backtracks and pokes his head out onto the balcony. The photo album is still clutched in his arms.]

Who wants to see pictures of my Shelly and Sharon?

[He sounds just an eensy bit hopeful, and is making that cute face he makes when he wants something.]

[smallkindnesses.livejournal.com]

I would love to see! Won't you join us?

[almost_knightly]

[That's all he needs. Moving forward, Break sets the book on the table and picks Sharon up instead, scooting her chair closer to Shelly's and setting her on his lap so she'll be able to see better. (He also quietly snatches a cookie and stuffs it into his mouth as he clears room for the album in front of them.]

This one has all my Shelly's favorite pictures in it, over years and years. It starts just as I came to live wiv 'em.

[He'll let Shelly open the book herself. The very first picture on the very first page is an 8x10 of the three Rainsworth women -- Sheryl in her chair, Sharon on her lap, and Shelly smiling vibrantly behind them. They're wearing modern dresses, and from the 90's, no less; but they are just as ladylike and beautiful as the ones Break has seen around the mansion in their fancy frilly numbers.

Obviously, they're born with it.]

[retraced]

Gil stares for a good, long time at his identical face on the page. Even though he's used to seeing himself from different times and universes...seeing a photo of such an intimate situation that he wasn't a part of makes his heart ache a little. Oz still looks like Oz, Vincent is still the same as ever. This photo could have been taken at home, with a few changes to the clothes and sepiatone rather than color, but...

He raises a hand to cover his mouth, shoulders slumping forward just a bit.

"Somewhere...it could have been like this."

No Chains, no Contract killing his master from the inside. No guns. No violence. A carefree life - the exact thing that his master has always wished for.

But a sharp pain erupts inside of the corner of his temple, reminding him of his duty, his promise, his 'absolute'. Longing and regret...there was no time for any of that, even here. He winces and brings the hand up to rub at the side of his head, eyes still focused on the photo.

[almost_knightly]

Break turns to glance at him as his demeanor changes. It hadn't occurred to him that seeing these could trigger anything for anyone, but -- well, Gilbert had asked.

The other photos on these pages are all from the same party -- Break conspicuously absent, as he'd been growing his hair back out from the chemo at the time and spent the party hiding from the camera like he'd done as a young man. The Rainsworth women smile and laugh as they raise their glasses in a toast; Sharon looks a little older, her features a bit more mature, but she's still just as petite as the ones in the mansion and Shelly has gray in her hair. Oz is caught kneeling with a fancy camera much like the one the modern Liam carries, an expression of absent concentration on his face as he takes his picture. Alice unapologetically collects an enormous plate of food from a table laid out with all manner of appetizers and Ada laughs merrily at something Oscar says. Finally, at the very bottom of the second page, there's a picture of Gilbert himself in his whites, leaning against that table and smiling cheerfully -- though he's blushing, just a bit.

He'll let Gil look a while longer and ask any questions he might have before Break tries to turn his attention to other things.