Garrance Oneshots

Breaking Point

"Laurance has been acting... weird..."

The blonde blinked in surprise at the raven haired female. She hardly ever said anything about Laurance ever since they had gotten him back from the Nether. It had come as a complete shock that she would acknowledge his strange behavior, and even more shocking that she would confront Garroth about it. He was the closest person to the brunette that was here, after all.

"I noticed the change in his behavior too." Katelyn agreed with Aphmau, then glanced at Garroth. "Garroth, has Laurance said anything to you yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not.." Garroth said with a shake of his head, sighing. "He refuses to talk about the Nether."

"I see..." Aphmau frowned, clearly disappointed. "Why is he being so secretive about this?"

"The Nether isn't like this Realm, Aphmau. It's a prison, even for Shadow Knights. Especially the sentient ones..." He began, but saw the brunette approaching them. "Laurance...."

"They let you out of the infirmary?" Aphmau asked him, her eyes widening in shock.

"For the time being, yes..." Laurance replied, not looking at Aphmau. "They decided that it was better to let me out for a bit, rather than keep me strapped to a table all day."

"How are you feeling? Can you walk fine? Are you lonely? Do you want to talk?" Garroth began bombarding him with questions, cutting Aphmau off as she was about to speak.

Laurance stared at him with a blank face, slowly blinking. Garroth didn't know where this was coming from. They were best friends before everything happened, then Laurance locked himself away in the Nether. Was he just desperate to talk to his old friend again? He had missed the brunette a great amount, and seeing him in such a state in the Nether... he just wanted to make sure his friend would be okay.

"Garroth, give him some breathing room." Katelyn scolded him, punching him in the arm.

"Ow...." Garroth groaned, rubbing his arm where she had punched him. "Sorry..."

"I'm fine." Laurance responded, in quite a hurry.

"Oh... alright, then." He blinked, surprised by the rush. "Has Cadenza visited you yet?"

"No." He shook his head, walking closer to Garroth. "I'm going to take a walk around the capital..."

"I'll go with you!" The blonde offered excitedly, thrilled at the opportunity of being with his best friend again. "I know the capital like the back of my hand!"

"Wow Garroth, you're just all over him aren't you?" Katelyn asked, laughing.

"Shut up!" He yelled at her, patting Laurance's head. "He's my best friend."

The two females laughed at Garroth's defensive response, making the blonde puff up his cheeks. He looked over at Laurance, who was... smiling. It was a good thing that he was smiling, but there was just... something off. There was a painful look to it, like it was hurting him to smile. Garroth brushed it off, thinking it must have just been part of his recovery. Not only had he been getting surgeries for the past week, but he had also been tortured and tormented in the Nether for... how long had it been? Smiling must have been his way of coping with pain.

"Anyway, let's go." Garroth cleared his throat, grabbing Laurance's hand and bringing him along. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I've been in an infirmary for an entire week, I was told." Laurance blinked, taking his hand back. "I don't know anything about this world anymore..."

"That's not true! You remember Phoenix Drop and New Meteli, don't you? When you guys first found this island?" He cried, bewilderment written all over his face. "Don't you remember....?"