Oneshots [IdentityV]

Meeting you again [Norton x Naib]

A flame came to life between two fleshy palms. The marks on these hands were proof of what their owner had experienced and suffered. All those times he had risked his life to save the lives of his peers or to kill one of his enemies. Enemies... It all depended on the point of view to be honest, if he had been born somewhere else, he could have found himself in the opposite camp and the same cycle would have repeated itself. Killing, to survive and to live.

The flame went out as he lit his cigarette and put the lighter back in his pocket. Looking back on the last years of his life, he could have lived differently and perhaps avoided some of the sacrifices but... he had no regrets. It was a path he had chosen after all. His back leaned a little more against the back of his chair with his free arm and his legs crossed, his other hand changing direction between his lips and in front of him to let him exhale a cloud of smoke from time to time.

"Are you smoking again?" said a deep voice.

He heard the sound of the door opening and then those few words. His eyes then looked up at the person whose voice was so familiar and he saw black hair and a scar on that face he had seen so many times. The man approached him and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, the same one where he had stored his lighter. The scarred male thanked him before taking one, then leaning towards his face while he still had his between his lips and stealing his flame on the way to light it.

"I thought you quit?"

"Well, I can make an exception."

He ran his hand through his brown hair to put some wayward strands back in place while clicking his tongue. The two men remained in comfortable silence for a few moments, each smoking their cigarette. One was sitting in a chair and the other was leaning against the table in the break room. For once, it was quiet. No gunshots, no screams of agony... Just... Some peace.

"I heard the Brigadier General speak." the blue-eyed male announced, raising them to the other's face.

"You heard, huh..."

"So you're leaving?"

There was a moment's pause before the man with the scar reacted. His brown eyes then turned to his colleague and he let out a low chuckle before crushing his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Indeed."

"Why?"

"Why?" he repeated, flashing a sly smile at the other male. "Are you going to miss me, my dear Dax?"

"In your dreams, Ronald."

Dax let out a growl and Ronald watched him as he got worked up on his own with an amused look on his face. The brown-haired man was currently his superior since he was only a lieutenant colonel but this kind of friendly conversation wasn't out of the ordinary. Dax was different. The male was not like other people in the army, he was probably the most upright and fair person Ronald knew and he admired him for that reason.

To be honest, their first meeting had not been the most... peaceful, shall we say. Ronald had laughed at him and said silly things like the colonel having a big mouth because of his rank after he had reprimanded one of his colleagues for his behavior. It later turned out that this person had almost caused a serious accident with the artillery because of this and that Dax had actually prevented a tragedy.

That day Ronald apologized to the young man and since then he has done everything he could to get closer to him. Whether it was taking meals with him or volunteering to bring him documents. Every opportunity was good to see the other. However... As pleasant as those times were, the time had unfortunately come for change.

"I... feel like changing."

"That's surprising coming from you." he said, widening his eyes.

"Really? To be honest, I want to be a different man. Someone... new."

"I see... I guess I can only wish you luck in this case."

"Thank you, Dax." he replied, sketching a smile. "The war's over now and all that's ahead of us is paperwork and boring patrols so I guess I'm doing the right thing by leaving! You once said my acting was impressive, maybe I should try my luck in the field?" The time he had said that was because Ronald was always putting on exaggerated dramatic appearances to make fun of him but it wasn't wrong that the male had a certain charisma that made all eyes fall on him, he might succeed. "And you... what are you going to do?"

Dax thought for a moment. Him? He had dedicated most of his life to his country and had only known the battlefield for all that time, he couldn't do what Ronald was doing and change his daily routine like that. He needed time. Frankly, he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little saddened by his friend's departure. They had shared many moments together and Ronald was probably the person he was closest to here. The place will seem quite empty without him.

"I think I'll stay a little longer."

"Well, I wish each of us the best of luck, comrade."

Ronald straightened up from the table and then held out his hand to Dax. The latter widened his eyes before rising too and shaking it firmly. The two men exchanged a smile that was not surrounded by innuendos that could lead them into another fight but instead, this one was only filled with kindness. With that handshake, Ronald left the room to move on towards his new future, his next scene.

A few years passed after that, it was a rocky road but he had managed to find a new path that he liked. The brown haired male smoked his pipe as he slowly approached the theater. His friend Recluse was apparently dating one of the lead actors, the one playing Hamlet if he wasn't mistaken, and he had given him a ticket to see the next performance. 

It wasn't really his cup of tea to be honest but his associate insisted that he had been working too hard lately and badly needed a break. Finally, he had heard that tonight's show was going to feature a brand new actor who seemed to be their new star and was making quite a bit of noise lately. A guy named Ness? Never mind, he should just go inside for now, it was awfully cold during this harsh winter.

So he passed the ticket office and walked through the long hallway covered with a velvet carpet and red lined walls. When he entered the main hall, he saw that no one was there. He looked at his watch and noticed that he had arrived rather early, even much earlier. This gave him a chance to get the best seat at least. He took off his cap and approached the front rows before taking a seat in the center.

Suddenly, he saw the curtain move slightly and a figure appear. The hair color was not the same, but he would recognize those eyes and that smile among a thousand.

"It's been a long time, Dax."