[ he doesn't know who has the upper hand. laurent is stinging with rage, a small explosion of panic and hysteria threatening to burst within the cage of his ribs. he can't seem to get himself under control as he always does, and when he doesn't, someone suffers for it — but sasuke is too strong. with the help of the water and sasuke's own blundering unease, there might have been hope. but pain ignites through laurent's unhealed body at the struggle, fighting off sasuke's grip in the sheer panic of survival, then clinging to him for the very same reason. it hurts to breathe and hurts to hold his breath. to drown in this pool is suddenly of concern of him.
he doesn't have more than a few seconds to dwell on the sheer ridiculousness of this notion, because he's pulled into another memory, this time not his own. it's jarring in its violence, visceral and harrowing. laurent knows right away this is the brother, the spitting image of the man before him, and realizes abruptly the reason for his murder. his heart seizes, every limb going still as he takes in the image of the child sasuke, and even when he returns to the present, the memory burns in his mind.
acutely aware of the press of their bodies, laurent grows rigid with sudden tension. then sasuke moves, sliding away and leaving laurent adrift, though he grows unsteady when sasuke splashes back into the water, rushing to the edge and gripping the pale marble as he throws an accusatory glance over his shoulder. ]
Stay where you are. [ laurent feels breathless, his chest rising shallowly. ] In this state, your Shadow will overtake you and you'll kill me if you leave the water right now.
[ and for some reason, he knows sasuke will stay. he doesn't feel fear — not for his life, anyway. the trepidation squawking inside of him, undignified, is for the close proximity of another body, the familiar yet foreign sensation of being touched, his skin burning in the places sasuke's heat feverishly occupied. he quietly places a lid on his confusion and forces himself to turn, setting his back to the marble, his hand pressed gently to his side as pain lingers. ]
You said I wouldn't understand what happened with your brother. [ and — he doesn't. neither does he expect sasuke to explain. ] You don't need to understand what happened in my past, either. We should agree on this.
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he doesn't have more than a few seconds to dwell on the sheer ridiculousness of this notion, because he's pulled into another memory, this time not his own. it's jarring in its violence, visceral and harrowing. laurent knows right away this is the brother, the spitting image of the man before him, and realizes abruptly the reason for his murder. his heart seizes, every limb going still as he takes in the image of the child sasuke, and even when he returns to the present, the memory burns in his mind.
acutely aware of the press of their bodies, laurent grows rigid with sudden tension. then sasuke moves, sliding away and leaving laurent adrift, though he grows unsteady when sasuke splashes back into the water, rushing to the edge and gripping the pale marble as he throws an accusatory glance over his shoulder. ]
Stay where you are. [ laurent feels breathless, his chest rising shallowly. ] In this state, your Shadow will overtake you and you'll kill me if you leave the water right now.
[ and for some reason, he knows sasuke will stay. he doesn't feel fear — not for his life, anyway. the trepidation squawking inside of him, undignified, is for the close proximity of another body, the familiar yet foreign sensation of being touched, his skin burning in the places sasuke's heat feverishly occupied. he quietly places a lid on his confusion and forces himself to turn, setting his back to the marble, his hand pressed gently to his side as pain lingers. ]
You said I wouldn't understand what happened with your brother. [ and — he doesn't. neither does he expect sasuke to explain. ] You don't need to understand what happened in my past, either. We should agree on this.