lucid | 004. [ace attorney][daryan/pearl] along for the ride

Title: along for the ride
Author: dictionary
Fandom: Ace Attorney series
Characters/Pairings: Daryan Crescend/Pearl Fey
Prompt: #11. Defy
Rating: PG
Summary: Daryan thought he wouldn't be the kind of person to be used by a girl for her own agenda, but here he was.
Notes: OH LAWD.

“Tune in me tonight
Turn down all the lights
I’m just along for the ride.”
-Mates Of State, “Along For The Ride”

Daryan Crescend had earned something of a repellent reputation among many fans; he was antisocial and didn’t cater to the public’s expectations of him. If reputation alone wasn’t enough to drive the fangirls away, then his biting sarcasm would deter them from ever attempting to idolize him again.

He honestly wondered if having fame was at all worth it.

Somehow, though, through all of the hassle and annoyance, he had managed to find a hook. It wasn’t strong and it wouldn’t last, but it was there and it gave him a reason to deal with all of the daily bullshit that he hated so much.

It was strange to think about, but then, she was strange in the first place. He knew that she had her own interests at heart and only needed an avenue to further them, and he still couldn’t bring himself to resent her for it. He was well-acquainted with the rebellious desire to break away from expectations and found that people who felt that way were generally smarter than the ones who conformed to what they thought society wanted from them. Still, there were plenty of girls out there who were the same way, so why Pearl Fey?

It wasn’t something that could be explained or given a label. It was simply there.
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“I think my cousin expects me to marry a nice guy who doesn’t complain and isn’t all in it for sex.”

“A suck-up.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“You’re not going to make your cousin very happy, then.”

She became quiet when he said that, knowing that making her cousin unhappy was exactly what she wanted. A person like Daryan wouldn’t exactly thrill Maya, liberal as she was. She didn’t think she’d become the rebellious type that she had once regarded as so stupid.

“I know,” she said, shrugging. “That’s the point, I suppose.”
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They had fallen hard and fast for different reasons.

She was inexperienced, clumsy in dealing with her feelings; she was more in love with the idea of Daryan rather than the actual person. She might have been too obvious in her displays of affection in the beginning, but he noticed that she had settled into subtler ways of expressing how she felt.

It would have been a lot more pleasant if she was as sincere as he was. That had been his downfall; he cared much more about her than she did about him. He just couldn’t believe that Pearl genuinely thought what she felt was love when it was admiration and concern at most.

It was a disappointment and the only one he could blame was himself.
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“Are you mad at me?”

It was a question that he honestly didn’t think he would hear from her. She wasn’t so direct with her inquiries regarding people’s emotions. Her hands were clasped together and she was swinging her feet, tapping gently against the metal of the car they were sitting on. She hazarded quick glances at him, too insecure, too reliant on what he thought of her to look him in the eye. She was going to sever the ties that she had formed against her will. If there was one thing he had learned about her, it was that she could never be pinned down.

“Mad,” he repeated, trying the word on to see if it really fit what he felt for her. “Nah, I don’t think so.” He fleetingly wondered if she wanted him to feel something, anything negative so that she could let go without the guilt trailing close behind her.

“Oh.” She folds her arms and the ghost of an amused smile crossed her features before adopting the same pensive look that annoys him so much.

He raises an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason, really,” she says, blinking a few times. There’s an awkward silence before she ventures to tell him what he had known all along. “I’m going back to Kurain in a couple days.”

He shuts his eyes and pretends to be aggravated. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“It would’ve been way too strange. It would’ve…left kind of a bad aftertaste, I guess. But this was at your expense, wasn’t it? I – I’m sorry.” He can tell that she’s becoming more morose from the way her eyes lose their gleam and how she fidgets with her fingers.

He shrugs, putting on a decent front of not caring (but it’s painful, more painful than he thought it would be).

“Well, whatever, girlie. There isn’t much you and I can about that.” He shouldn’t have said ‘you and I,’ but it’s a difficult habit to break.

Her hand grips his, and they learn to appreicate each other for a few fleeting moments.