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foxysquidalsoTitle: Waking from Dreams
Fandom: Ace Attorney
Word count: 2,500
Pairing(s): (hints of) Diego/Phoenix
Rating: All audiences.
Spoilers: For the end of Trials & Tribulations and some elements of AJ.
Warnings: None to speak of.
Summary: When you work nights a lot, it's good to have a reliable babysitter, and Phoenix's babysitter is an excellent one, if a bit enigmatic.
Notes: Set a few years after T&T, but before AJ.
Waking from Dreams.
When he walked through the door, Phoenix started at the sight of a body stretched out on his couch. Almost at once, he relaxed. It was only the babysitter. Why was he so jumpy? A long night of borscht and card games could certainly put a man on edge.
It was dark in the room, but the babysitter was bathed in the glow of the warm, red light emanating from the visor that covered the top half of his face.
Phoenix approached him with caution, so as not to wake him. He had to suppress a chuckle as he drew nearer. Trucy had left one of her toys on the couch, and Diego, while asleep, had wrapped his arms around it and pulled it close to his face: a plush cat wearing a magician's top hat and cape. There were also a few glittery heart-shaped stickers stuck to the edges of Diego's visor, which made the scene almost hilariously surreal.
Phoenix wished he had a camera handy, but the camera in his phone wasn't working, and a picture taken by visor light probably wouldn't come out well. Instead of worrying about it, he sat down in the empty chair across from the couch. He guessed Trucy was already in bed. He didn't go check on her--not yet, though he liked to at least get a glimpse of her before he went to sleep--because he trusted Trucy, and he trusted Diego. He trusted everything to be where it was supposed to be when he got home.
In spite of everything that had gone wrong over the past few years, Phoenix was aware of how fortunate he was in some ways. This was one of them: he had people he could trust.
There wasn't much he could do by the light of Diego's visor. It illuminated the man on the couch and gave Phoenix a dim impression of the rest of the room, but that was all. He couldn't read by it, and he didn't want to turn on a light and risk waking Diego. Instead, he sat back and studied his familiar surroundings. Everything looked a little different bathed in that red glow, more unreal, like a setting in a dream. He noticed that there were two coffee cups on the table. That was different. Diego must not have been expecting to fall asleep. He was a neat man, though not to the point of fastidiousness. He never went so far as to clean up after Phoenix, but he usually cleaned everything he himself dirtied.
Phoenix hoped the two coffee cups meant that Diego had used two of them in the course of his daily coffee regimen, not that he'd been giving Trucy coffee. No, she was still too young for there to be any risk of that. If anything, Diego had probably made her some hot chocolate. Someday, though, Phoenix knew, he'd try to introduce her to his preferred beverage. She was already more than a little interested in it, unfortunately, as Diego made drinking it look so good. Though if that was the extent of Diego's bad influence, he wasn't the worst role model his daughter could have had.
Phoenix watched Trucy's heart-shaped stickers shine in the visor's glow. It was an oddly mesmerizing sight. He'd never seen Diego sleep before, had he? No, not that he could recall. Diego had been in prison for years, and once he'd been released, he had been--
Phoenix couldn't say Diego had been a changed man. He hadn't truly known Diego before. He did know that much of the anger that had damaged Diego and twisted his perception had left him, but that Diego remained guarded, watchful. He didn't relax that guard easily. Phoenix had seen few people manage to get a genuine smile from him: Maya, Pearls, Trucy. Maybe that was all. Maybe there wasn't anyone else who could make him smile.
Most people looked younger, or at least more vulnerable, when they slept, but Diego's vulnerability, if there was any of it, was masked by the hard surfaces and smooth lines that removed a portion of the humanity from his face. He assumed Diego didn't usually sleep with his visor on. It looked uncomfortable, even heavy. Phoenix had been tempted to ask Diego about that, more than once, but the question seemed too rude, too personal.
Though he knew Diego better now, to the point where he could ask him to watch his daughter when he was staying out late, as he so often did. To the point where Diego simply said "Sure thing," in reply, as if it were an everyday occurrence, nothing to think twice about.
Which was exactly what it was.
Maybe someday Phoenix could ask him about the visor. Or he could ask Trucy, who had probably already asked a million questions about it.
She had asked to try it on, once. Phoenix remembered, because he had been there at the time. Diego had hesitated--long enough that Phoenix had noticed, though Trucy hadn't seemed to--before he'd smiled and taken the visor off. It had taken him a few moments to remove it. It didn't appear to come off easily, which made sense.
Trucy, who accepted everyone as they were, obviously hadn't thought twice about the scar on Diego's face or his unfocused eyes. Phoenix had. He'd frowned. Diego had laughed, though Phoenix, studying his face, had been sure he couldn't see, or only dimly could, when Trucy put the visor on her own face and danced around with it.
Though Trucy could be exuberant, Diego hadn't appeared to be at all anxious that she would drop it. He'd stood still, calm. His body in repose, his smile easy, he had trusted her to bring it back unharmed, and she had. Now Phoenix did the same with Diego, trusting him with something precious and necessary.
Since that day, Phoenix hadn't seen Diego without the visor, but he couldn't forget the sight. Diego had looked so open, himself, in a way that had nothing to do with the scar or his weak eyes.
Phoenix wasn't sure if he would see Diego like that again someday. It was amazing enough that they could be together, like this, considering how they'd met and what had happened then.
"And what are you thinking about, Nick?" the familiar, low voice spoke from the couch.
Phoenix remembered, all at once, how deceptive Diego could be when he tried. "How long have you been awake?"
"A few minutes. It's hard to sleep through being stared at."
"I can see that." Phoenix paused. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It's the cat."
"Cat?" Diego seemed to notice the plush toy he was curled around for the first time. "Ah yes, Mr. Magic. Yes, we were communing over here." He sat up, the toy cat still in his arms.
"I'm glad you two have become such good friends. It's heartwarming."
"He was a little slow to open up to me at first, but I think we're finally starting to get along." Diego set Mr. Magic to one side with a show of care for his comfort. Then he laughed and shook his head. Although Phoenix couldn't see his eyes, he had the air of a man blinking himself awake. "Damn, I hate when I fall asleep in this thing." He raised his hands to the sides of the visor and matter-of-factly removed it. Its light went out.
"It looks like it would be hot." Finding himself sitting in the dark, Phoenix reached over to turn on the nearest lamp.
Diego wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Phoenix tried not to stare, though Diego probably wouldn't realize that he was staring. "In this case, appearances aren't deceiving. I'm used to it, though." He didn't put the visor back on, instead setting it down in his lap. "How was your night?"
"Oh, you know--the same as it usually is."
"More victories for the champion?"
"That's--a nice way of putting it."
Diego snorted. "If there's one thing they say about me, it's that I know how to look on the bright side."
"Is that what they say? Really?"
"Maybe. I never paid much attention to what people said about me."
"That sounds more like you."
"Yeah," said Diego, "You know me pretty well."
That was true, wasn't it? Funny how things worked out. "Hey, do you want something to drink? Some coffee, maybe?" Phoenix asked.
"You know I can't say no to a cup of coffee."
"Are you--actually physically incapable of saying no to coffee? I've wondered about that. Does the addiction run that deep?"
Diego leaned back. "I don't think I'll answer that. I'll let you figure it out."
"I know how you like to let me figure things out." Phoenix rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. As he walked towards the kitchen to see about the coffee, he couldn't resist turning to glance back at Diego. Diego had picked up the cat again, but he wasn't looking at it. He wasn't looking at anything, but there was a faint smile on his lips, his skin dark gold in the lamplight. The scar across the bridge of his nose was fainter now than the other time Phoenix had seen it. Diego had a nice face.
"Hurry up in there, Nick," said Diego, his tone light and teasing, and Phoenix couldn't figure out if Diego knew that he'd been lingering in the doorway, watching him.
He'd probably be trying to figure Diego out for years to come. He stepped into the kitchen before replying, "Don't rush me, Armando."
There was coffee in the cabinets, all courtesy of Diego Armando, who had demanded that the kitchen be kept well-stocked with coffee and coffee paraphernalia, as one of the requirements--the only requirement--for his agreeing to be a sitter. As Diego had fallen asleep before he'd had a chance to clean up, everything was already out, and making the coffee didn't take long. Phoenix waited in the kitchen for it to be ready, his back against the counter. He listened to the coffee maker hiss its distinctive song.
When he returned with the coffee, Diego's visor was still in his lap instead of on his face, though the toy cat was seated beside him again, looking quite proper in its top hat. Diego was able to see him to an extent, however, because he reacted, turning as Phoenix approached, then holding his hand up to take the cup. "I can see where you are," he said, sensing Phoenix's uncertainty. "I just can't see the details well. Like your face. But I remember what it looks like, so that's no problem."
Phoenix had poured a cup of coffee for himself, too, though he knew he'd regret it in an hour or so.
"It's funny," said Diego, as Phoenix returned to his seat across from him. "When you came home, I was dreaming. When I realized someone was here, I thought I was still dreaming. I still don't know at what point the dream ended and I actually woke up."
"What were you dreaming about?"
Diego didn't answer him right away, instead breathing in deep, taking the steam rising from the coffee into his nose and lungs. "I usually dream that I'm asleep." He took a sip of his coffee. "Maybe that sounds odd."
"No. I don't think so. Is that all that happens? You sleep?" Phoenix sipped at his own coffee, which a dollop of milk had cooled enough for him to drink comfortably.
"I'm asleep, and there's someone sitting beside me, watching me. In the dream. But then, when I wake up, there's no one there."
Phoenix felt a sudden pain in his chest that ran down into his stomach, twisting it. His grip tightened on the handle of his coffee cup. He was glad Diego wasn't able to see his face in that moment, because he knew his distress and sympathy must have been written plainly there for anyone to read.
Diego took another sip of his coffee, unconcerned. If his own words troubled him, he didn't show it. "But tonight, I woke up, and you were there."
If anyone could make him feel like his old self: uncertain, young--it was Diego. At times, Phoenix suspected that Diego still enjoyed causing him distress. If that were true, it was not true in this moment. When he studied the other man, he read nothing like that in his expression. He wore no mask of any kind. He smiled.
"Yeah, that's--that's good, right?" Phoenix asked.
Diego nodded, solemnly. "It's good. That's always the worst part about waking up, no one being there. So I didn't mind you watching me. Though I did wonder what you were thinking about, with that intense look on your face."
"Nothing, really. Just about how different things are now."
"You're right about that. But isn't that the way things go? Every day's different than the one before, and by the end of your life, you've passed by a thousand unimaginable places."
Phoenix stepped in before Diego could get too poetic. "True, but I meant specifically between you and me."
"Oh, that." Diego laughed, then drank deeply from his cup. "That is something special. Another kind of dream I woke up from, you might say. Hating you. Looking back now, I can't see why I ever did."
"That's nice to hear." He was more amused than alarmed by the fact that Diego could mention hating him so casually. "At least you like me now."
"Like you?" Diego's gaze couldn't focus on him, but he raised his head and looked at him, as if he would have scrutinized him, if he'd been wearing his visor.
Phoenix expected Diego to say something else about it, maybe Yes, I do like you, or to make a joke, or anything, but he didn't. Instead, he put down his now presumably empty coffee cup. He returned his visor to its usual place covering his face, turning it on in the process. Red light spilled over him. He rose to his feet. "Thanks for the coffee. I should be getting home."
"It's late," said Phoenix. He heard a tightness in his own voice as he said it, and he knew that Diego must have detected it, too. That was something Diego would never miss. "You can stay here tonight, if you want."
"No, Nick. Not tonight." Diego's grin was bright. Not even his visor could outshine it. "Maybe next time." He moved towards the door, and Phoenix, rising, went with him.
The heart-shaped stickers were still affixed to the sides of Diego's mask. Either he didn't know Trucy had stuck them on, or he'd forgotten they were there. Phoenix opened his mouth to mention them, then closed it again. "See you next time, then," he said, returning the grin.
"See you, Nick." Diego walked out into the night, his bright hearts shining.
Fandom: Ace Attorney
Word count: 2,500
Pairing(s): (hints of) Diego/Phoenix
Rating: All audiences.
Spoilers: For the end of Trials & Tribulations and some elements of AJ.
Warnings: None to speak of.
Summary: When you work nights a lot, it's good to have a reliable babysitter, and Phoenix's babysitter is an excellent one, if a bit enigmatic.
Notes: Set a few years after T&T, but before AJ.
Waking from Dreams.
When he walked through the door, Phoenix started at the sight of a body stretched out on his couch. Almost at once, he relaxed. It was only the babysitter. Why was he so jumpy? A long night of borscht and card games could certainly put a man on edge.
It was dark in the room, but the babysitter was bathed in the glow of the warm, red light emanating from the visor that covered the top half of his face.
Phoenix approached him with caution, so as not to wake him. He had to suppress a chuckle as he drew nearer. Trucy had left one of her toys on the couch, and Diego, while asleep, had wrapped his arms around it and pulled it close to his face: a plush cat wearing a magician's top hat and cape. There were also a few glittery heart-shaped stickers stuck to the edges of Diego's visor, which made the scene almost hilariously surreal.
Phoenix wished he had a camera handy, but the camera in his phone wasn't working, and a picture taken by visor light probably wouldn't come out well. Instead of worrying about it, he sat down in the empty chair across from the couch. He guessed Trucy was already in bed. He didn't go check on her--not yet, though he liked to at least get a glimpse of her before he went to sleep--because he trusted Trucy, and he trusted Diego. He trusted everything to be where it was supposed to be when he got home.
In spite of everything that had gone wrong over the past few years, Phoenix was aware of how fortunate he was in some ways. This was one of them: he had people he could trust.
There wasn't much he could do by the light of Diego's visor. It illuminated the man on the couch and gave Phoenix a dim impression of the rest of the room, but that was all. He couldn't read by it, and he didn't want to turn on a light and risk waking Diego. Instead, he sat back and studied his familiar surroundings. Everything looked a little different bathed in that red glow, more unreal, like a setting in a dream. He noticed that there were two coffee cups on the table. That was different. Diego must not have been expecting to fall asleep. He was a neat man, though not to the point of fastidiousness. He never went so far as to clean up after Phoenix, but he usually cleaned everything he himself dirtied.
Phoenix hoped the two coffee cups meant that Diego had used two of them in the course of his daily coffee regimen, not that he'd been giving Trucy coffee. No, she was still too young for there to be any risk of that. If anything, Diego had probably made her some hot chocolate. Someday, though, Phoenix knew, he'd try to introduce her to his preferred beverage. She was already more than a little interested in it, unfortunately, as Diego made drinking it look so good. Though if that was the extent of Diego's bad influence, he wasn't the worst role model his daughter could have had.
Phoenix watched Trucy's heart-shaped stickers shine in the visor's glow. It was an oddly mesmerizing sight. He'd never seen Diego sleep before, had he? No, not that he could recall. Diego had been in prison for years, and once he'd been released, he had been--
Phoenix couldn't say Diego had been a changed man. He hadn't truly known Diego before. He did know that much of the anger that had damaged Diego and twisted his perception had left him, but that Diego remained guarded, watchful. He didn't relax that guard easily. Phoenix had seen few people manage to get a genuine smile from him: Maya, Pearls, Trucy. Maybe that was all. Maybe there wasn't anyone else who could make him smile.
Most people looked younger, or at least more vulnerable, when they slept, but Diego's vulnerability, if there was any of it, was masked by the hard surfaces and smooth lines that removed a portion of the humanity from his face. He assumed Diego didn't usually sleep with his visor on. It looked uncomfortable, even heavy. Phoenix had been tempted to ask Diego about that, more than once, but the question seemed too rude, too personal.
Though he knew Diego better now, to the point where he could ask him to watch his daughter when he was staying out late, as he so often did. To the point where Diego simply said "Sure thing," in reply, as if it were an everyday occurrence, nothing to think twice about.
Which was exactly what it was.
Maybe someday Phoenix could ask him about the visor. Or he could ask Trucy, who had probably already asked a million questions about it.
She had asked to try it on, once. Phoenix remembered, because he had been there at the time. Diego had hesitated--long enough that Phoenix had noticed, though Trucy hadn't seemed to--before he'd smiled and taken the visor off. It had taken him a few moments to remove it. It didn't appear to come off easily, which made sense.
Trucy, who accepted everyone as they were, obviously hadn't thought twice about the scar on Diego's face or his unfocused eyes. Phoenix had. He'd frowned. Diego had laughed, though Phoenix, studying his face, had been sure he couldn't see, or only dimly could, when Trucy put the visor on her own face and danced around with it.
Though Trucy could be exuberant, Diego hadn't appeared to be at all anxious that she would drop it. He'd stood still, calm. His body in repose, his smile easy, he had trusted her to bring it back unharmed, and she had. Now Phoenix did the same with Diego, trusting him with something precious and necessary.
Since that day, Phoenix hadn't seen Diego without the visor, but he couldn't forget the sight. Diego had looked so open, himself, in a way that had nothing to do with the scar or his weak eyes.
Phoenix wasn't sure if he would see Diego like that again someday. It was amazing enough that they could be together, like this, considering how they'd met and what had happened then.
"And what are you thinking about, Nick?" the familiar, low voice spoke from the couch.
Phoenix remembered, all at once, how deceptive Diego could be when he tried. "How long have you been awake?"
"A few minutes. It's hard to sleep through being stared at."
"I can see that." Phoenix paused. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It's the cat."
"Cat?" Diego seemed to notice the plush toy he was curled around for the first time. "Ah yes, Mr. Magic. Yes, we were communing over here." He sat up, the toy cat still in his arms.
"I'm glad you two have become such good friends. It's heartwarming."
"He was a little slow to open up to me at first, but I think we're finally starting to get along." Diego set Mr. Magic to one side with a show of care for his comfort. Then he laughed and shook his head. Although Phoenix couldn't see his eyes, he had the air of a man blinking himself awake. "Damn, I hate when I fall asleep in this thing." He raised his hands to the sides of the visor and matter-of-factly removed it. Its light went out.
"It looks like it would be hot." Finding himself sitting in the dark, Phoenix reached over to turn on the nearest lamp.
Diego wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Phoenix tried not to stare, though Diego probably wouldn't realize that he was staring. "In this case, appearances aren't deceiving. I'm used to it, though." He didn't put the visor back on, instead setting it down in his lap. "How was your night?"
"Oh, you know--the same as it usually is."
"More victories for the champion?"
"That's--a nice way of putting it."
Diego snorted. "If there's one thing they say about me, it's that I know how to look on the bright side."
"Is that what they say? Really?"
"Maybe. I never paid much attention to what people said about me."
"That sounds more like you."
"Yeah," said Diego, "You know me pretty well."
That was true, wasn't it? Funny how things worked out. "Hey, do you want something to drink? Some coffee, maybe?" Phoenix asked.
"You know I can't say no to a cup of coffee."
"Are you--actually physically incapable of saying no to coffee? I've wondered about that. Does the addiction run that deep?"
Diego leaned back. "I don't think I'll answer that. I'll let you figure it out."
"I know how you like to let me figure things out." Phoenix rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. As he walked towards the kitchen to see about the coffee, he couldn't resist turning to glance back at Diego. Diego had picked up the cat again, but he wasn't looking at it. He wasn't looking at anything, but there was a faint smile on his lips, his skin dark gold in the lamplight. The scar across the bridge of his nose was fainter now than the other time Phoenix had seen it. Diego had a nice face.
"Hurry up in there, Nick," said Diego, his tone light and teasing, and Phoenix couldn't figure out if Diego knew that he'd been lingering in the doorway, watching him.
He'd probably be trying to figure Diego out for years to come. He stepped into the kitchen before replying, "Don't rush me, Armando."
There was coffee in the cabinets, all courtesy of Diego Armando, who had demanded that the kitchen be kept well-stocked with coffee and coffee paraphernalia, as one of the requirements--the only requirement--for his agreeing to be a sitter. As Diego had fallen asleep before he'd had a chance to clean up, everything was already out, and making the coffee didn't take long. Phoenix waited in the kitchen for it to be ready, his back against the counter. He listened to the coffee maker hiss its distinctive song.
When he returned with the coffee, Diego's visor was still in his lap instead of on his face, though the toy cat was seated beside him again, looking quite proper in its top hat. Diego was able to see him to an extent, however, because he reacted, turning as Phoenix approached, then holding his hand up to take the cup. "I can see where you are," he said, sensing Phoenix's uncertainty. "I just can't see the details well. Like your face. But I remember what it looks like, so that's no problem."
Phoenix had poured a cup of coffee for himself, too, though he knew he'd regret it in an hour or so.
"It's funny," said Diego, as Phoenix returned to his seat across from him. "When you came home, I was dreaming. When I realized someone was here, I thought I was still dreaming. I still don't know at what point the dream ended and I actually woke up."
"What were you dreaming about?"
Diego didn't answer him right away, instead breathing in deep, taking the steam rising from the coffee into his nose and lungs. "I usually dream that I'm asleep." He took a sip of his coffee. "Maybe that sounds odd."
"No. I don't think so. Is that all that happens? You sleep?" Phoenix sipped at his own coffee, which a dollop of milk had cooled enough for him to drink comfortably.
"I'm asleep, and there's someone sitting beside me, watching me. In the dream. But then, when I wake up, there's no one there."
Phoenix felt a sudden pain in his chest that ran down into his stomach, twisting it. His grip tightened on the handle of his coffee cup. He was glad Diego wasn't able to see his face in that moment, because he knew his distress and sympathy must have been written plainly there for anyone to read.
Diego took another sip of his coffee, unconcerned. If his own words troubled him, he didn't show it. "But tonight, I woke up, and you were there."
If anyone could make him feel like his old self: uncertain, young--it was Diego. At times, Phoenix suspected that Diego still enjoyed causing him distress. If that were true, it was not true in this moment. When he studied the other man, he read nothing like that in his expression. He wore no mask of any kind. He smiled.
"Yeah, that's--that's good, right?" Phoenix asked.
Diego nodded, solemnly. "It's good. That's always the worst part about waking up, no one being there. So I didn't mind you watching me. Though I did wonder what you were thinking about, with that intense look on your face."
"Nothing, really. Just about how different things are now."
"You're right about that. But isn't that the way things go? Every day's different than the one before, and by the end of your life, you've passed by a thousand unimaginable places."
Phoenix stepped in before Diego could get too poetic. "True, but I meant specifically between you and me."
"Oh, that." Diego laughed, then drank deeply from his cup. "That is something special. Another kind of dream I woke up from, you might say. Hating you. Looking back now, I can't see why I ever did."
"That's nice to hear." He was more amused than alarmed by the fact that Diego could mention hating him so casually. "At least you like me now."
"Like you?" Diego's gaze couldn't focus on him, but he raised his head and looked at him, as if he would have scrutinized him, if he'd been wearing his visor.
Phoenix expected Diego to say something else about it, maybe Yes, I do like you, or to make a joke, or anything, but he didn't. Instead, he put down his now presumably empty coffee cup. He returned his visor to its usual place covering his face, turning it on in the process. Red light spilled over him. He rose to his feet. "Thanks for the coffee. I should be getting home."
"It's late," said Phoenix. He heard a tightness in his own voice as he said it, and he knew that Diego must have detected it, too. That was something Diego would never miss. "You can stay here tonight, if you want."
"No, Nick. Not tonight." Diego's grin was bright. Not even his visor could outshine it. "Maybe next time." He moved towards the door, and Phoenix, rising, went with him.
The heart-shaped stickers were still affixed to the sides of Diego's mask. Either he didn't know Trucy had stuck them on, or he'd forgotten they were there. Phoenix opened his mouth to mention them, then closed it again. "See you next time, then," he said, returning the grin.
"See you, Nick." Diego walked out into the night, his bright hearts shining.
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Date: 2010-06-03 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-03 05:04 am (UTC)Also, I love your icon. ♥
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Date: 2010-06-03 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-03 04:46 am (UTC)Bright hearts, ahhhhh
I LOVED IT
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Date: 2010-06-03 05:08 am (UTC)I'm so glad you liked it! You know I appreciate your support.
Aw, yes, Nick and Gogo. Also, I feel so flattered when you use that icon.
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Date: 2010-06-03 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-04 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-03 03:16 pm (UTC)The inclusion of the viser and Diego's sight was wonderful, it was referenced enough to show it's important and shouldn't be overlooked.
And the ending made me smirk, poor Diego and his new stickers. XD
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Date: 2010-06-04 11:25 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I also like thinking about how characters from the first 3 games would interact with the Phoenix as he grows into his hobo self after losing his badge. I think that some of the people he knew before probably bring out more of his old traits--though probably different traits, depending on who he's interacting with.
I also think that Diego dealing with the changes in his life--like his health problems--in a more everyday way is interesting.
Okay, and now I have to know who the other character is! You made me curious. :3
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Date: 2010-06-07 03:32 pm (UTC)The other character is oddly Kristoph. Not in a direct way, but I think they have such a complicated relationship that it'd be difficult to find an exact dominance between them. If anything I just don't think Phoenix would top Kristoph as easily as he could most characters. XD
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Date: 2010-06-03 07:39 pm (UTC)But really, you gave it so much intimacy, gave all these little things such power. And I had a little chill when you described the dreams he has, someone sitting next to him. Wonderful.
(I wish I could've read this last night! But my eyes were all fuzzed up myself from getting them dilated at the eye doctors!)
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Date: 2010-06-04 11:28 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you like how it turned out--I just love exploring how different characters might relate in different situations.
The intimacy and the importance of little things were things I was really hoping to convey, so I'm glad that stood out to you. ♥
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Date: 2011-12-12 08:33 am (UTC)I'm not a big fan of the pacing, but the attention to detail and the subtlety are definitely worth it. Also, the idea of Godot as a babysitter. ^^