Parting is such Sweet Sorrow (IC) (Closed)

[Breella]

September 10th 2011

Early Evening, The student Greenhouse.

Gwen paced around the greenhouse. It had flourished under her watchful eye. There were vines with giant red, purple and green grapes hanging down from the catwalk. The orange tree in the center had begun to bear fruits, There were a dozen or so other plants Gwen had rescued and a patch of vegetable garden several of the other students had come in to work on. Gwen finally sat by the large Koi pond on the east wall. Her long black skirts gathered around her bare feet, her brown tanktop loose on her small body. She pulled her auburn hair over her shoulder and fidgeted with it while she waited for Brian to arrive.

[Raveled]

Brian Harris walked across the Claremont campus, hands deep in his pockets, shoulders hunched. He didn't feel the cold of the night air, but the young man had a lot running through his mind. The broadcast revealing the Gorgon to the world had happened more than a month ago, but it seemed like he couldn't turn on a news program or read a paper without another expert talking about how the Gorgon was so beyond anything ever faced, or another simulation on where would be safe from the thing. Brian was fairly certain that, pound for pound, he could throw out more power than almost anyone on campus, but he felt so helpless right now.

He glanced up as his steps took him closer to the greenhouse, a smile tugging on his lips. This was a bright spot, at least. Gwen had asked to meet him in private. It was weird, but ever since their pre-dawn talk in the greenhouse, he felt that it was their special space.

He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. He smiled at Gwen, glancing down from time to time to make sure that he wasn't stepping on any plants as he walked over to her. He took a seat next to the pond, facing her. "Hey there, Gwen. You, uh, wanted to talk?"

[Breella]

Seeing Brian made Gwen feel warmer. She had felt so cold since Summers sent word to her that she was going to have to leave for Sanctuary. It was no longer a possibility. The League was preparing it for refugees should things not go well on Earth. Gwen couldn't hold back anymore, she began to cry off the bat before any words escaped her lips. She put her face into his shoulder and sobbed silently. She tried to talk but the words came out garbled, almost totally incoherent. The Vines tried to console her in her mind but Gwen was so upset she couldn't hear them.

[Raveled]

Probably the last thing Brian was expecting was for Gwen to throw herself at him and burst out crying. He had no idea what was happening, but he reacted automatically, folding his arms around her and hugging her to him. For a long minute he rubbed her back and murmured soft, comforting words while his mind tried to process what was happening. "Gwen," he said. "Gwen, it'll be alright. Everything'll be fine, just calm down." He kept repeating the words over and over like a mantra while he tried to figure out what could have caused her such distress. When an answer came to him though, his heart froze. "Gwen, wait." He pulled away until he could look her in the eye. "It's not your parents, is it? Is your family okay?"

[Breella]

That thought sobered Gwen for just a moment. "Th-- They're fine." she choked out before the realization hit her that in a few days they might not be, Brian might not be, not Vicky, John, Morgan, the Twins... She pulled back and looked at Brian. "All of this Gorgon stuff-- I've been holding it in but-" Gwen's voice cut out and she sobbed again drawing a deep breath. "I should have told you this was a possibility sooner, I shouldn't have let us get so involved with everything going on."

[Raveled]

Brian calmed down, pulling Gwen to him again and letting her cry. "It's alright," he assured her. "I know. It's hard to even comprehend what's coming. That even something that powerful, and that evil is out there is kind of overwhelming. But we'll get through it, I swear." He held her, and after a moment began chuckling. "God alone knows how we're going to do it, but dammit this world didn't take it lying down when someone wanted to chew up the entire universe. We're not the kind of folks to take something like this lying down." He pulled away, looking Gwen in the eye and brushing her hair back. "Besides. Do you really think I'd let anything in the world keep me from seeing you again?" He leaned in and kissed her quickly.

[Breella]

Gwen felt more warmth flow through her body as Brian's lips met hers. "I never intended to feel this way about you, about anyone." Gwen began as she broke the kiss. "I've never been in one place longer than a few months, never been this close with someone before." She weaved her fingers into Brian's and looked into his eyes. "I-I've got something I need to tell you and I... I don't know how." Gwen bit her lip and took in a deep breath. "I'm leaving--"

[Raveled]

Even as his body warmed against against Gwen's, Brian felt an icy hand reach into his chest and take hold of his heart. "You're... you're leaving? You're leaving... Claremont? But Gwen, I... how could... but me and you, we were... why?" Emotions rushed through him, bringing back memories of when his parents were ripped away from him, and Brian found himself on the edge of tears. "I thought you were going to stay here. In Freedom City, at Claremont. I thought we'd be... together." He took Gwen's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Why, Gwen? Why do you have to leave?"

[Breella]

Gwen felt her chest tighten. Again the Vines tried to get through to Gwen but she wasn't listening. "I'm going... If the Freedom league can stop the Gorgon I'll be back before you know it but-" Gwen swallowed hard. "If things don't go well." Gwen choked on her words and fought the tears back. "If things don't go well you have to promise to meet me on Sanctuary." Gwen tightened her grip on Brian's hand and her breath came ragged as she fought more tears.

[Raveled]

Brian fought to keep control of his emotions. "Gwen, you're not making sense! Sanctuary? What is that? If the Freedom League fails, the entire world's going to be destroyed -- but they're not going to. They didn't when Omega came, they didn't when the Grue invaded, they didn't when that madman tried to take control of ArcheTech. They don't lose -- they can't lose." He took a deep breath, steadying himself for what he was going to say. "And even if they fail, I'm not going to run. My parents are still here, and I'm not going to abandon them."

[Breella]

"I was an asset before my powers started to change, and now, with what I can do with healing, I'm an even bigger asset to what might be our next home." Gwen took a deep breath again. "If the League succeeds and everything is fine, I'll be back before the month ends but if--" Gwen was struggling to organize her thoughts. She pulled Brian close to her, held him tight and whispered in his ear. "Sanctuary is another planet, well another version of Earth. I've got to go help terraform it back to livable and prepare it for refugees."

[Raveled]

Brian felt the pressure in his chest ease a bit. Gwen wasn't leaving the school on a permanent basis, just going away for a bit to help with the evacuation. It'd suck that she would be away for so long, but she'd be back. And in any case, he'd probably be much too busy in the next few weeks to miss her. Or so he tried to tell himself.

Brian smiled, relaxing for the first time since Gwen had burst into tears. "I wish you weren't going away," he admitted freely, "but I can hardly tell you not to go help people. But I'm really going to miss you, Gwen." He leaned closer and kissed her again, more slowly, taking his time with it.

[Breella]

Gwen kissed back, letting her hands hold Brian tighter. "Promise me you'll bring your family to Sanctuary if things get bad enough." Gwen had a sting about her parents for a moment. They were up there on the list of "important scientists" but Gwen couldn't help but worry about just about everything. She nuzzled her face up to Brian's. "I... I've never felt for anyone the way that I feel about you."

[Raveled]

Brian felt a pang in his chest when Gwen mentioned his parents. Maybe his mom could wrangle a pass to Sanctuary by pretending to be someone else (and avoiding psychics, probably) but his dad? Brian didn't delude himself into thinking that AEGIS or UNISON or the Freedom League or whoever was running this whole show would be too interested in evacuating criminals. He didn't want to say that to Gwen though, not and ruin such a perfect moment. He held her, kissing her cheek and the very end of her nose. "It's going to be hard being without you," he admitted. "When are you leaving?"

[Breella]

"Tomorrow afternoon." Gwen looked up into Brian's eyes and brushed her lips across his. She brought her hands up to the sides of his head and brushed them across his ears, letting her hands hold his face. "I don't know if there will be any active way to communicate with this Earth when I get there. Heck-- when I agreed to this idea I didn't think I'd have any friends at Claremont to miss. I didn't think on a lot of things..." She rested her arms on Brian's shoulders, fingers interlaced behind his head while resting her forehead on his.

[Raveled]

"That's not true anymore," Brian whispered. "You've got me. And you've got Vicky too, I'm sure. There's lots of people who would miss you if you... didn't come back." He slipped his hand behind her head and kissed her again, quickly. "So you're going away for awhile, then? Are you all packed and ready? Do you... do you need me to get you anything?" The sentence rewound itself in his head and Brian pulled back suddenly, blushing. "I mean, do you need me to bring your luggage down or take you to the airport tomorrow, anything like that."

[Breella]

"Airport? No, no airport, someone from the League is coming here to transport me there tomorrow." Gwen looked off into the distance and closed her eyes. Sleep now, we will talk tomorrow. She told the Vines as she could feel the sun fully depart as the end of twilight took over the sky. The evening lights turned on in the greenhouse and a pale glow surrounded Gwen and Brian. "You could come back to my room and help me get a few things together, I'd like that. Maybe we can spend some time together this evening, watch a movie... and... just be teenagers?"

[Raveled]

Brian breathed a little more freely, nodding readily. "Yeah, I think I'd really like that." He stood and lead Gwen out of the greenhouse, holding the door for her and making sure it latched behind them. The weather was turning nippy, and even though he didn't have a green thumb Brian knew better than to let too much cold air get in to the plants. Outside, he held Gwen back for a moment. "Wait a moment," he said. "You liked this before and we might not be able to do it for awhile, so." He swept the small woman into his arms, then leapt into the air. His power flared around them, propelling them higher and faster than Brian's muscles ever could. It was a short flight, but Brian was grinning widely by the time they set down in front of the dorms. He opened to door with a sweep of his hands, ushering Gwen inside. "Okay," he said. "Which room is yours?"

[Breella]

Gwen had Brian by the hand and led him to the elevator. She leaned into him while she waited for the car to come. She was oddly silent and seemed deep in thought when the bell sounded and the doors opened.

Gwen led Brian to room 712, the door had a whiteboard on it and a note was scratched onto it. "Gone for the night with some friends, don't wait up for us.-Jeena and Zach" Gwen erased the message and write one of her own. It simply said "You promised. <3" Gwen then rummaged in her purse for her keys and unlocked the door. The room was dark but Gwen knowingly made her way to the switch on the wall. It was obvious that Gwen's bed was the one on the right. A decent size map of the world hung on the wall with red flags sticking out of it. Photos decorated the rim of the map. The bedsheets on the right were bright green and brown. A laptop sat partially open on the bed. "Welcome to my humble abode." she said as she smiled at Brian.

[Raveled]

Brian stepped cautiously into the room, half-expecting alarms to go off as soon as he crossed the threshold. It was a thrill, being in a girl's room with said girl in tow. He'd never gotten to this part of dating before, and the fact that he was doing it with Gwen made everything a thousand times better. He walked over to her bed and ran his hands down the carefully made sheets before moving to investigate the map. "This is all the places you've been," he said, taking the fact for granted. "That is... really, really cool." It was mind-boggling, in fact. The farthest Brian had ever been from home (if one didn't count alternate dimensions) was, well, Freedom City itself. To imagine that Gwen had traveled to all these different places and that they were the same age was incredible.

[Breella]

Gwen pointed to the eastern coast of Australia. "Here in Australia, the Darling river in New South Wales, this is where my parents are now." Gwen moved her hand over some of the other flags. It was noticeable upon closer inspection that they were all numbered. Gwen's smiling face was visible in almost every photo around the maps edge. Various poses, most all with some dirt or plant in the photos. Some alone, some with her parents. The resemblance between Gwen and her father more so than her darker skin, hair and eyed mother. Some photos Gwen was harnessed and climbing high above the ground in tree canopies, some repelling into caves, others tilling fresh dirt. Gwen move her hand to South America. "This is where I was born." Gwen pointed to a bright green tag in an area labeled 'Maracay'. It was in Venezuela.

[Raveled]

"That's incredible," Brian said with feeling. He stepped behind Gwen, putting his arms around her. "You've seen more of the world than I think I ever will." He chuckled suddenly. "You're going to have to find some way to put another dimension on there now, you understand?"

He stepped away and sat down on the bed, glancing at the half of the room that belonged to someone else. "You're rooming with Jeena, right? The, uh, other Dutch transfer student?" His eyes roamed across the far wall, eventually tracking back to Gwen. "Does she keep you up all night with weird Euro-pop?" He grinned. "Morgan usually blasts this weird Celtic-rock-punk stuff when he's making runes. He worked up some kind of sound-bubble thing so he doesn't have to worry about anyone else complaining."

[Breella]

"I've never had a real room-mate before. Most places I've lived I roomed with mom and dad, or we slept outside in our tents." Gwen pursed her lips in thought. "I'd have to say she's pretty good. She keeps to herself a lot. If she's not off with Vicky and I she's with her brother." Gwen had her own feelings that she kept to herself about how Jeena seemed too perfect. "I have no idea what this other Earth looks like. All I've been told is that it was ravaged by war, it's getting better but the Terraforming needs a kick in the butt if they're going to bring people over."

[Raveled]

Brian's face grew more serious as Gwen talked about Sanctuary. "I'm sure you'll do great," he said, "but we're not going to need it." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to the bed. "'Cause we're gonna stop this Gorgon thing. And then I'm going to see you again." He leaned in and kissed her tenderly, shifting so his knee rubbed against hers. When he pulled away, his face was flushed and his heart was pounding. He licked his lips, eyes still locked on Gwen's. "So. Um. You wanted to watch a movie?"

[Breella]

Gwen let her body loose like jell-o when Brian kissed her, on her bed. She blushed an almost luminescent shade of pink-red as she bit her lip. "I don't know what's popular with movies. I've always been an Animal Planet or HGTV person when it doesn't come to documentaries." Gwen leaned over to her computer and opened the lid, her hair cascaded down her back and onto the bed as she moved. Her laptop too was a shade of evergreen with wild lime vines painted across it. "But mom and dad helped me set up a movie subscription so you can help me pick something from this for us to watch."