Chapter Text
Over the years, Laurance had grown tired of living in the village.
He was tired of living there just to see the villagers either die or leave one by one until all he had left was their children. Children who grew to have grey hair and wrinkled skin while Laurance was stuck with his eternally brown hair and skin untouched by time other than his many faded scars.
He stayed though, if only to honor his Lord and his duty to Phoenix Drop. He helped them with every war, and every single battle. He completely dominated the battlefield. He’d become their weapon, leaving trails of bodies in his wake. Eventually, rumors had spread across the land that Phoenix Drop had an immortal soldier.
He still fought, though as the battles all blended and melded together, he started wishing someone could strike him down and end his misery. Not like he could be killed, not without someone really powerful to stop him in his full form.
The strongest people he knew were dead, so no hope there.
After the decades of war, things finally seemed to settle down. The village turned more into what someone would call a town. He couldn’t even separate people’s descendants from people who moved in anymore. He looked at his bloodied, rusted armor and told the Lord he was retiring. She wished him the best, and just like that he left the town of Phoenix Drop and all of the grief that it carried with it. He hoped Engrith would forgive him for leaving his grave behind, the one he had cared for so long even after it had been grave robbed.
He left for New Meteli, then Scaleswind, then All across the region of Ru’aun. Each town was very different than what he remembered, a projectile weapon slung on guards' shoulders called a musket instead of swords or bows and arrows, Steam-powered machinery, printer presses, some even converted to something called paper money as currency and they studied to go to universities.
As each town grew in size, and more technological advances were made Laurance found himself more immersed in the city life than he had ever been the past hundred or more years blending into crowds and drinking away feelings with random strangers at taverns.
Taverns, though, soon turned into bars and restaurants as the city became taller with things called skyscrapers and the inventions of automobiles and the telephone and Laurance had began to eventually wonder what Phoenix Drop had become.
The brunette couldn’t stay away from home.
It was nothing at all like it used to be. The once small town grew into something bigger and it wasn’t recognizable at all other than the park that had reserved the Statue of Irene and even the well that many drunken guards or townsfolk had fallen into it. At the base it had a golden plaque attached to it with some dates and other info. nothing was mentioned of him in the plaque, although, it stated that Irene herself had drank directly from this very well and the water had a holy quality to it.
After all this, he started looking on newspapers and on library computers and found a listing for a house on a strip of empty houses on a block that just been built. He didn’t think he’d get the house when he applied for it.
He was happy when he got the call.
While Laurance was the only one on the street, he had grown fond of the beautiful neighborhood. The picturesque nature of the trees and flowery bushes were a lovely site, it was more quaint than the city but refreshing all the same. He moved in what little possessions he allowed himself to have, since attachments that could ruin when he was stuck in this state would prove futile.
He enjoy the peace and even grew a routine of sorts. He drank tea in the morning and ate whatever he had for breakfast, then he’d take a shower, then he’d turn on his TV(he bought it for cheap at a yard sale years ago and kept the old thing with him ever since.) and watch whatever was playing on the screen.
He’d make whatever new dish he thought to try for lunch and dinner, mostly old-school recipes (he remembered a tuna jelly-mold he saw in a magazine decades ago and tried it out, then vowed never to try that again.) Everything was okay, he was alone, but that was okay.
Then he noticed the for-sale signs being taken down.
His little quiet life was disturbed by the plethora of moving trucks coming into the area. The first one he saw only had one man moving in on the house at the corner. His blue eyes looked on from his porch curiously, the man in the distance barely looked at the movers whilst directing them in a way that felt… familiar even from a distance he couldn't even read the details of his face.
Laurance catches sight of the man with dark hair, they lock eye contact and the former Knight feels resentment boil strong in his blood. His chest grows tight and the man tries to control his breathing Relax, it's not him. He tells himself over and over until he’s sure he can breathe properly again.
The man across the street from him narrows his eyes and lifts his hand as if debating whether to wave to him or not. Laurance bites his tongue and smiles, throwing a halfhearted wave in their direction before jerking around and forcing himself inside. The black-haired man frowned, muttering something under his breath before marching off.
The next person he saw move in was another familiar Face, a familiar figure, Brendan. Or at least his freaky look alike- maybe his great-grandson or something. The coincidences of similar-looking people were starting to get… concerning when two houses away from him he saw another person he never really was able to stand- Aaron. Or… Whoever it actually was.
Then two weeks after that two moving trucks parked themselves across from each other and Laurance was dreading even looking out the blinds when he heard the loud beeping and the distant chattering.
_
Laurance sat curled on his couch, dark circles thick enough to be bruises sat heavy underneath his eyes. His thumb hovered over the google search bar on his phone, hesitating for a moment before typing.
What to do if someone reminds you of someone you hate and or cared about from a previous life but you can't just stay inside forever and live your immortal and sad life as a complete hermit?
Strangely enough, nothing popped up other than a series of books and…. “fan fiction”? As well as a popular tale called ‘Tuck Everlasting.’ Which he looked at the general description and it sounded a bit too romanticized for his taste- in a similar fashion to vampires like in those Vampire films and books. He hated vampires and what they stood for, why did so many find themselves so attracted to such an awful life and to creatures that killed and ruined others' lives?
A lot of whatever fanfiction was, was just a bunch of nonsensical mishmash of words he didn't care to look into or understand. He scrolled further and found a couple…. blog posts or something, it was similar to a town post board but with a much further range and Laurance couldn't be bothered to even try to understand the abbreviations and stupid hypothetical.
‘I would <3 to be immortal, living forever sounds awesome.’
Laurance narrowed his eyes “Go to the nether and find out yourself.” he found himself thinking bitterly, his thoughts interrupted by his doorbell chime reverberating throughout the house. He sits up, standing to his feet and walks over to the door. He opens the door and
Oh my Irene.
“Aphmau?” he says in shock, the girl looks at him in confusion “Yeah thats me…” She murmurs, shaking her head “I basically just moved in across the street! How did you know my name?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
How is she here? She's supposed to be in her realm watching over everyone, This…. It's really her, it has to be but she doesn't recognize Laurance. But everything about her is the same down to how her hair is parted.
Laurance put on a charming grin as he looked over at her “I heard the name when all the movers were here yesterday, I saw you with your friends.” Of course, that was a complete lie. Aphmau nods “Oh! Yeah! Not to mention a lot of yelling went on- Sorry about that…” she apologized nervously through clenched teeth.
Laurance shrugged it off, leaning against the doorway “Didn't bother me too much… What was that all about, anyway?” he didn't actually hear what all the hullabaloo was about. Aphmau looked back at the house next to Laurence's “...Well, there’s these three guys I've known for a long time and they moved in the exact area I have- it was a coincidence but I thought they had done it on purpose for a moment… Then KC made me mad on top of it all-”
Laurance couldn't help another twinge in his chest at another familiar name. “KC?” He thought of another girl he had known so long ago. While he wasn't particularly close, he was fond of the meifwa “The girl with Pink hair?” he questions, and Aphmau nods “That's her.” she rolls her eyes.
“she just set up like a weird thing in my basement and- oh right, I did come to meet our neighbors! I didn't realize we even had you as a neighbor until Katelyn mentioned this one didn't have a sign on it-” she paused “Basically I realized, we never introduced ourselves! Well… I'm here on behalf of the other two since they are at work.”
Laurance chuckled, He never heard Aphmau talk so… Cheerily and carefree. It warmed his heart, the name Katelyn rung familiar as well but he forced himself not to focus on that bit “I see, well… I haven't exactly been friendly with my neighbors either- only really interacted with one… from a reasonable distance of across the street.” he admits abashedly “My name is Laurance, it’s lovely to meet you.”
This felt so painful yet so nice at the same time, finally… a familiar face yet his wasn’t familiar to her.
“Laurance.” She says as if thinking about it “That’s a nice name!!” She says it at as if making an excuse “and If You’d like I could introduce you to my friends, and it might be easier for you.” She offers kindly and Laurance just couldn’t say no to her, He cares for her so much and has a selfish need for a friend “I’d like that actually, just let me get my shoes on- you can come in if you’d like or stay there it doesn’t matter.”
Aphmau nods with a smile “I’ll just stay at the door, Laurance!” She spoke in such a chipper and friendly manner towards him without even thinking that he couldn’t help but smile back at her. He missed her, he missed his friends so fucking much. Laurance hurried to his closet, ushering her to wait while he found a pair of shoes to slip on before heading out with Aphmau.
“I’ll introduce you to my roommates first then I can introduce you to the boys, and Brendan!” She looked at the driveway “…Well Brendan’s car is not there, so maybe not him yet.” she mumbled to herself, it seemed she knew him pretty well too- did… they all know each other? “Is he your friend too?” He asks and Aphmau nods a bit subtly “Yeah, he’s real nice- a little weird but he’s nice! We occasionally worked on projects together in class.”
Laurance can only nod in response “Cool.” He responds real smooth-like. Aphmau opens her door “KC!!! Katelynnnnn?!” It’s called out playfully with a huge grin on her face. Laurance lets out a sharp inhale and prepares himself. KC was the first one down the stairs “Aphmau!” she cheers with a big smile “KC is so glad you're home!!”
So this one still does that cutesy speak? Laurance was sure that the old KC didn't speak in the third person anymore after she married Dante- she had reasons to hide behind it but… She wondered if this one did too.
“You must be KC then.” he smiles kindly at her and she stares back her pupils turning into slits “Aphmau who is this? He's cute!!!” she squeals, immediately covering her mouth and shyly turning away.
“This is Laurance! He's our neighbor! I offered to introduce him to everyone since we happen to be friends with everyone.” she introduces him and he waves, smiling along with what she's saying. The miefwa nods “Ohhh! It's nice to meet you!! Oh Katelynnnn, KC thinks you should come down here!”
There's an audible groan and Laurance can't help but frown a bit. The Katelyn he knew was a bit of a hot head but never really a grump . The blue-haired woman stepped out of the room “I was trying to meditate-!” she paused once her eyes landed on Laurance “Oh Hello, you're The mysterious neighbor that Aph couldn’t shut up about.” She changed demeanor immediately, her annoyed expression turning more complaisant.
“Laurance.” he corrected a bit awkwardly, this was by far one of the weirdest moments in his life “Uh- Katelyn…” She looks at him up and down “Have we met before or something?” she asks, leaning against the railing. Laurance feels guilty when he answers, forcing himself to not look away “No, I don't think so- Sorry.”
KC flicks her tail, looking between the two curiously and with a smug smile she chimes in “You know I thought you looked familiar too!” Aphmau looks at Laurance from next to him, her eyes observing him. The former knight shrugs, and he feel’s like a total asshat for lying again.
“Well I don't remember meeting you before, it could be Deja Vu- like we were in the same store or something.” he offers as a solution. “That’s probably it.” Katelyn agreed and KC let out a harumph “I mean I guess so…”
Katelyn rolled her eyes “Okay, nice to meet you then. I'm gonna go back to meditating now before I strangle KC.” she gestures to her room and Laurance looks that way “Maybe we can all get to know each other better when I'm not in the middle of something.” She gives a wave, turns around, and heads back to her room.
KC giggles, her shoulders bouncing lightly ( She’s a mirthful one isn’t she? ) “Katelyn likes to meditate a lot, being interrupted makes her a bit grumpy…” she bounces on her heels “It’s nice to meet you but I need to go get the cookies from the oven!” She flicks her ears and waves a hand “Bye Laurance, lovely meeting you!”
Laurance waved back, allowing her to go back to baking “They seemed nice.” he says, they both weren’t that different from who he once knew. Katelyn though did seem way more relaxed now, that might just be because she was meditating though.
Aphmau nodded in agreement “Yep! We all have our fights and lots of people find Katelyn aggressive or KC annoying at first- I mean I know I did! I became friends with her by accident, actually.” She laughed nervously. “On accident? How’d that even happen?” Laurance is sure most real friendships don’t happen purposely, most of his were by accident.
Hell, his strongest relationship other than Aphmau or Engrith, the blonde knight who he was so fond of- started off as more of a rivalry. They both fought over Aphmau and got into dumb arguments, dumb arguments that turned into friendly jabs, and soon playful teasing, then hands that searched for each other in the dark as unspoken confessions. Laurance hadn’t realized he zoned out until Aphmau was standing in front of him trying to get his attention “Hellooooo?” She tried, waving her hand a bit.
Laurance looked back at her with watery eyes, he hadn’t thought about him in too long “My Apologies, my thoughts drifted away from me.” Aphmau can’t help but giggle at his response “No worries! All I said was that I put in a sleepover invitation at the wrong desk and she showed up! We ended up getting along… are you okay though? you seemed… lost.”
That’s the most Aphmau has yet to sound like her- or the old her- Irene? Laurance nods “Thank you, but I’m fine- Your friendship with them just reminded me of one that I used to have.” He must have sounded sad because Aphmau reached out and placed a hand on his bicep, rubbing a thumb up and down on the arm “You want to talk about it?” She offers so kindly, to someone she barely knew.
It also may seem a bit flirtatious, to an outsider, but he knew Aphmau. He trusted her, he just didn’t trust himself.
Laurance lets out a pained sigh “I um, it was… a while ago- and….” He chokes “I can’t uh- I can’t, later maybe- Thank you.” He swallows dryly, running his fingers through his hair “Let’s uh- go meet our other neighbors, shall we?” He turns to leave and Aphmau hesitates to let the subject drop before nodding “Yeah! Of course! Come on-!” She walks ahead of him, closing the door behind them.
A car door slammed shut from next to them and the two turned towards it to see Brendan hauling an IKEA box with the image of a couch on it and he was obviously struggling. Aphmau nearly said something but without a word, Laurance walked over and picked up the other end “Oh! thank you, Ga-” He heard, the man peaked over “Uhh I don’t know you-“
“Laurance, sorry you just looked like you were struggling.” He smiles and Brendan smiles back “Well, thank you! Not many people like to help these days- oh Aphmau hey!” He cheers and Aphmau smiles “Is there any way I can help too, Brendan?” She asks, and Brendan gestures with his head to the door “Open it for us?” Aphmau goes and does just that.
Laurance knew he could have lifted the entire box in by himself, helping Brendan felt so at home for him. Back in the village, he would often help with the heavy lifting- especially during the period Garroth was missing. Definitely a really painful time, he could barely handle being without the man- only Aphmau had really been able to ground him during that time
“We can just drop it right here-“ they both carefully set it down on the floor “So Laurance, right? Nice to meet you! I’m Brendan.” He offers a hand to shake and Laurance takes it “Nice to meet you too.” He smiles “If you ever need help like this don’t hesitate to ask- I’m from across the street.” He gestured to his house from the doorway, Aphmau looked at him “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind if you ever need help either.” She chimes in.
Brendan nods “Well thanks! I don’t want to bother you guys though.” He looks down at the box “I need to get to building this though, we can all hang out later!” He grins and Aphmau nods “Yeah! Come on Laurance!” She nudges him and despite his urge to stay and help- he follows her.
Laurance steps outside and Aphmau glances his way “That was awfully nice of you, you don’t even know him.” She reached to tuck hair behind her ear “Do you do that often?”
Laurance forced himself to laugh, it was awkward “I uh… not usually! But Brendan reminded me of a kid I knew once and I felt like helping him.” He shrugged ( Wow Laurance, scum of the earth you are. Can’t do anything but shrug can you?) and then he walked ahead of her.
“oh… either way, it’s still a good thing to do for a stranger, it’s…. Gentlemanly!” She perks up, happy at herself for finding the right wording no doubt.
“Thanks, we’re heading to the neighbors across from you right?” He gestured to the house “Yeah! The-“ She pauses, her happy face turning into a grimace “Zane.” She speaks.
Zane turns towards her as he steps off the porch “Aphmau.” His line of sight turned towards Laurance, his eye looked him over “You, I was going to come by your house eventually- I’m head of the neighborhood watch.” He introduces “Zane Romeave.”
Laurance can’t help but sneer, pointing a thumb in his direction while turning to Aphmau “This guy? Wanting to keep the neighborhood safe?” He cackles “No way I can believe that-“The idea and audacity that Zane fucking Romeave wanted to keep anyone safe Was so ridiculous. Zane let out a growl “Well You’d better believe it- whatever your name is.”
“it’s Laurance.” He answers, covering his smile with his hand “Nice to meet you.” Though, he doesn’t mean it- he can’t. This guy has been the source of so much hurt for him and all his friends for so fucking long. Zane sighs heavily, crossing his arms clearly annoyed by the way his eye’s wrinkled “I also am gonna be…doing some events and I was looking for more people to join the watch but I can see no one here wants to or is even worthy.” He puffs out his chest, much like a bird. Laurance can’t even feel bad “Probably wouldn’t have joined anyway.” He comments bitterly. Zane’s brow twitches “ Tch , whatever- I’m keeping an eye on you little Laurance.” The fury bubbles in his chest “Good luck, Cyclops.” He huffs, glaring at him until he was out of sight.
Aphmau had a similar expression to Laurance “I get why I’m not particularly fond of Zane, but how come you aren’t?”
Laurance’s expression softens “I… I just had a run-in with him when he first moved in- it doesn’t help he looks like an asshole that-“ he cringes, coming up with a quick lie “that bullied me in high school.” The girl looks at him with a doubtful expression.
“Oh… okay… why don’t we go ahead and meet our three annoying but well-meaning neighbors.” The goddess (?) cheers with a smile.
Laurance nods, walking with her to the door “Yeah alright.” Laurance was prepared for Levi or Malachi, maybe Dale or Logan- just… when Aphmau knocked on the door he didn’t expect to see Garroth, Travis, and Dante in front of them, all looking like they had fought to get to the door.
“Aphmauuu! How’s it cooking good looking?” Dante flirts, leaning against the doorway and the whiplash he felt was severe. Dante had a look that only spelled mischievous, eye’s narrowed in on Aphmau but there was nothing real behind it and that was worse than it being real.
“Heyyyyyy Aphmau!” Travis greeted with a wink, at least that was more characteristically true to the Travis he knew. He spoke the same as Dante, but it was more playful than flirtatious.
Garroth sends the other two a not-so-subtle glare before turning to the girl next to him, he was quiet for a moment and he seemed to calculate something in his head head before speaking in a very goofy-sounding voice that he had forced to sound lower like he smoked a pack of cigarettes.
“Hey Aph, how’s it going?”
Still, he looked exactly the same as he did the day he lost him, well he had significantly less scruff, and his hair was more neatly kept not even half as many scars and-
His heart was racing and he could barely hear himself think, he stared into Garroth’s eyes with unintentional intensity. Aphmau was mumbling something, but it was all so distant and muffled and he felt dizzy.
He swallowed thickly, opening his mouth to speak.
Laurance was utterly mortified.