WHO: Gunnar Song + Sabin Figaro WHAT: Life goes on for everyone. WHERE: The Song residence. WHEN: Backdated to the night of Monday, July 20. WARNINGS: N/A (Gunnar wouldn't let it)
The past few days had been a strange couple of days for the Songs. Having started in Balamb with a flat barely big enough for them, the family of three had never put up anyone in their humble abode before. But when a zombie version of Sabin Figaro had stumbled up to their front door, Gunnar knew they had to do something about his shell-shocked state. Ruth was moved into Gunnar and Agatha's room to accommodate him.
"So what happened?" At that time, it never occurred to Gunnar that Sabin might be sick of that question already but he wanted to know what brought him running to his house rather than the open arms of his twin. Turns out that was the problem: there were no open arms, just a really ugly open secret.
"You've been meeting with Lena in secret?!" Gunnar exclaimed. "And you never bothered to let anyone like Xu know?! Really? Why?!" Probably because it was a secret, that's why. The man wouldn't get it, of course. Still didn't -- if you were under Cid Kramer's payroll and you signed a contract and you knew you were going to burn for this, then why do it? It wasn't like Sabin was a detached man, in fact Sabin was very much an attached man. Wasn't he scared for those who were close to him?
"And you didn't even call the police? I mean, I'm not sayin' what you did was wrong but you know she's a criminal and you know she's not allowed to be at large! If you do." Of course Sabin knew. Gunnar might have offended him but Sabin should forgive the man who had his priorities pared down to his wife, his daughter and his job. It was all well and good that he'd tried to set Elena to the right direction but Gunnar didn't think he should have stopped there. Didn't think he should go on either because a lot was at stake for meeting with the devil in secret here. "And I mean...yeah prison life sucks but you know, I'd rather see her behind bars than behind a, a...a wall that her body was stuffed in!" Those stories always gave Gunnar the creeps.
Anyway, Sabin didn't think bars would stop a bullet. "Okay, so we're just looking at a corpse, aren't we? It's just a question of who pulls the trigger, if it's you or someone else 'cause anyway, you're not scared to do what's right if you met her in the other side of the fence." He must have disappointed Sabin who thought he was the never die trying type but Gunnar wasn't going to keep trying if he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere, anyway. Sabin should forgive him but he had a family and no matter how much he cared for Elena, he wouldn't sacrifice them for the life of a single...well, she is a criminal! And you could only try for too long! If you kept digging the earth and found cement at the bottom, you wouldn't spend your entire lifetime trying to crack it open, would you?
His logic. That night ended with Gunnar fetching Sabin milk because Ruth often liked to drink milk before she went to bed and she didn't like the milk they bought. The cookies he served, though, were her favorite and Gunnar had to explain to her the next morning that when a friend was in need, sometimes you had to do some sacrifices. At least the cookies could be replaceable!
Sabin stayed with them for three nights and two days. Whenever Gunnar was away, Agatha stood to become his hostess to be joined by Ruth later who asked him many questions from what happened to him and if he liked the old cartoons her father grew up in. That Monday night, Gunnar went straight to a birthday dinner of his colleague and bought a few items in the grocery before he drove home.
He was a little surprised to see Sabin packing up when Agatha informed him of their guest's decision. (And Gunnar thought he was going to spend his whole life here--) "Hey! Leavin' so soon?" A tease, clearly. He marched to Ruth's study desk. "Bought you some snacks in case you were hungry."