HIS HEART pounded pounded pounded, but thankfully she could not hear it. Showing even only an inch of his emotional turmoil would be a false step, the worst mistake he could make. Until he found a safe way out of that situation, he had to play safe, as if he were in front of a predator (and, by the way she circled around him, observing him from every side, he might really be). Don’t attack first. Weigh every word you say. Pay attention to any shift in her face and voice. Remember she haunts those like you and a snap of her fingers could turn you to dust.
Leo followed Road with his gaze as she walked around him, making sure not to lose sight of her for a single second. “So have you.” It was not a matter of age, nor of physical growth. None of them talked about the passage from childhood to adolescence, and both of them knew it well. Once so close, now they were on the opposite sides of the same war - black and white, bad and good. Leo wondered - not without a shiver - how much it would take her to rip his body and mind apart, and if she was going to regret it at all. He thought not.
Her question came as a surprise. Leo startled, puzzled by the concern in her voice and face. She seemed honest. He could not be completely sure, but for a moment he did wish he could trust her worry and think she was the same as before, even if only slightly, even if only for this reunion of theirs. Wishing, though, had never helped him. It had not helped when his mother had died, leaving him alone; it had not helped when he had seen other Exorcists’ bodies horribly mutilated. Wishing did not help; gritting his teeth and going forward did.
Absent-mindendly, he touched his spectacles. “Sort of. They’re helping me, though.” His was only half a lie. His glasses did help him, although he was not mentioning why. The moment she realized what his eyes really were, it would be over for him, he knew it; he felt it in his bones.
“And you?” A very brief pause. “Who are you now?”
‘ So have you. ‘ The words lingered heavily in the air and the message was clear to [ both ] of them and while it mattered not to Rhode, the younger one inside was suffering. Oh how foolish she was, the one friend she could not forget - even after what she had done to her own parents. With her own two hands.
His reply brought just a small smile upon her features. They’re helping him, she thought and remembered back to the times he was teased and avoided, regarded as a monster when they were younger - which only brought the two of them closer. Her inability ( now gone due to the pact with the apostle ) was as frustrating for her as his eyes were for him. And silently, she reminisced memories of past days - when they first met, when Road saw his eyes for the first time, the first few letters the young boy was taught and mastered and the stories they explored together. So much had happened and there was a sudden pain. Pain for the time lost and simultaneously, joy ( she thought she’d never see him again, yet here he was - alive ).
And without a second thought, small hands moved up to cup his cheek. They were so close. The touch was soft, soft and gentle and Road smiled - the most genuine one in a long, long while. “I have missed you so, Leo.”, a mere whisper, heartfelt and honest. A soft bump of their foreheads, an intimacy ( as innocent as their childhood selves ) shared between the two of the past. “I am so glad to see you well.” Another whisper and she lingered just a bit longer - long enough for her to register the next words - the inquiry.
Abruptly, she pulled back from the other; her eyes saddened and her heart heavy. ‘ Who are you now? ‘, he asked and she pondered. She had given up herself for the foolish wish she had ( they had dreamed of ), yet she had not completely lost herself ( not yet, she was not ready to give everything up just yet! ). Her arms behind her back, fingers intertwined as she paused for another second or two, gaze trained on the floor instead of the boy in front. “Who am I?”, the words were repeated slowly as if she needed to think about it herself ( which she had to as she did not know the answer ). A sad smile tugged on her lips before she locked eyes with Leo once more. “I am Road.” It was not a lie, for she had pushed through for the second time since it took over her body.