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dragonspeakIt was a jolt, when it finally hit him. With the Investigation Team back together--really together, as soon as everyone started remembering again--it was as if everything had fallen back into place. They were no longer in Johto, and sometimes Merlin still missed being woken by Ambrosius or even being given Nineve's disdainful-but-affectionate looks when he did something particularly stupid, but they were making a new home for themselves. That was what mattered the most.
He had gotten swept up in the joy of being surrounded by people who knew him again. That was the only reason Merlin could give for forgetting something so important. It hadn't sunk in as the years passed, or even when Souji's uncle had been sent to the hospital for a heart attack. Only when he'd overheard the nurse telling Souji that the case had been "too much excitement for his old heart" did the fog lift. Merlin looked at his friends, really looked at them, and saw the maturity in the shape of their faces and some lines that hadn't been there before. And Nanako...she'd grown out her hair, liked to keep it long nowadays, and somehow he'd missed her shooting up like a tree over the past couple of years.
The dark green frames pressed uncomfortably into his skin as Merlin's fist clenched. Suddenly, the hallway was too narrow and the air too heavy for him to breathe in. "Gonna head outside for a sec, guys," he choked out and near stumbled away. His hands didn't stop trembling even when he sank onto a bench in the small, outdoor area of the hospital.
He had gotten swept up in the joy of being surrounded by people who knew him again. That was the only reason Merlin could give for forgetting something so important. It hadn't sunk in as the years passed, or even when Souji's uncle had been sent to the hospital for a heart attack. Only when he'd overheard the nurse telling Souji that the case had been "too much excitement for his old heart" did the fog lift. Merlin looked at his friends, really looked at them, and saw the maturity in the shape of their faces and some lines that hadn't been there before. And Nanako...she'd grown out her hair, liked to keep it long nowadays, and somehow he'd missed her shooting up like a tree over the past couple of years.
The dark green frames pressed uncomfortably into his skin as Merlin's fist clenched. Suddenly, the hallway was too narrow and the air too heavy for him to breathe in. "Gonna head outside for a sec, guys," he choked out and near stumbled away. His hands didn't stop trembling even when he sank onto a bench in the small, outdoor area of the hospital.
