justichthys | Kyr: Contact

[ It's better. It's better, listening to Puma talking about the family he'd found back home and their stupid, ridiculous antics. It's better, listening to Puma talk about the other people who'd given him second chances, hearing the fondness that slips through the cracks. And the birthdays – she likes the birthdays. ]

[ … She'd forgotten all about Pearl. ]

[ And that's probably made clear by the way she jumps like a scalded cat, halfway dislodging herself from where she'd curled up against Puma. ]

P-Pearl—?

[Oh]

[Right]

[That mess of Pearl having seen.]

....oh. Um. Thank you.

No problem. [Or so she says from the other side of a closed door. There might be a crack left open, she had left in kind of a rush, after all.]

So uh. I'm coming in. [She announces it as she does, nudging the door closed as she returns.] ...You guys, uh. You okay?

[ Well. Aoko’s looking more like a wreck than Pearl’s ever seen her, subdued and tear-streaked, rumpled like a little kid that woke up in the middle of a nightmare. On the other hand, she’s also flopped against Puma like he’s a giant fluffy labrador, so there’s … there’s that. ]

[ She clears her throat, sitting up properly. Her voice has gone faintly hoarse. ]

M’fine. Sorry for … and, uhm. [ She looks to the water. ] Thanks.

[Puma looks....about as wreck as he really should be all the time if he didn't force composure. So he looks as tired and worn out as the racoon eyes would usually imply.]

...as much as to be expected. Thanks for the water.

No big! You guys seemed like you needed some alone time, anyways. [She quickly pours each of them a glass of water, before setting the pitcher aside.]

So... uh.

...I'm guessing I just dreamed all of that and it's not worth mentioning ever again, right?

[ Takes the water and, for a long moment, focuses on holding the glass steady in hands that still want to shake. She takes a sip. ]

… [ Glances at Puma. At Pearl. Back at Puma. Pearl again. ]

[ It really says something, doesn't it, that she isn't immediately being a nosy badger of a mother hen. ] Uhm. [ Swirls the water in her glass. ] Sorry, Pearl … and thanks. For coming to help.

[He takes the glass and at least he can keep his hand steady when he needs to.]

...

It's, uh. Yeah. Thanks.

[God, what does he say in these situations?]

[Great job, Pearl. You try and wait for it to not be awkward, and things are still awkward. Guess that's just par for the near-stabbings course.]

It's no biggie. Like I said, clearly I just imagined all' this.

So, I'm going to finish this water, I guess, and go back to sleep, and when I wake up none of this will have actually mattered in real life. That's what ya'll are wanting too, right? So. I can oblige.

[ Let’s be honest, here: there's not a whole lot anybody could say. ]

[ Aoko glances between them again, clutching the glass of water in her lap. ] Are … are you sure you're okay, Pearl? [ And there it is, the worry, the desire to put everyone else’s pain in front of her own. EVEN IF ... THEY WOULD RATHER SHE LEFT WELL ENOUGH ALONE. ]

....

[Sighs.] It's....it would be better for you to not bury it if you're....actually kind of traumatized.

[He's fucked up, he knows he's fucked up, he can't fuck up his teammates because of his own issues.]

Nah, don't worry about it. It's no biggie. [She pulls up the smile that she uses when she's forcing herself to keep going, but is too incredulous to do it properly.]

I mean, think about it. You nearly died, Aoko. And you nearly killed your best friend. I tried to help, and fucked it up, and now I got ya'll water. If anything, I should be asking if you're okay. That's a hell of a bad night. So... You guys okay? No more stabby stabby?

[ Wow, that was one hell of a flinch just now. Aoko draws in a deep, shaking breath — and lets it out slowly. ]

You didn't fuck anything up. And. [ You're really bad at not being worrying. ] And you're forcing yourself.

...you got Aoko unpinned. [He can't...fully remember what happened, he wasn't in the present enough for it. But he remembers 'outside threat.']

Not being pinned can make a world of difference in...situations like that. [Just...staring at the wall, yep.]

This isn't about me. End of the day, I wasn't holding a knife to anyone, and I didn't almost get knifed.

Stop worrying about me just to get away from how messed up this all is. So I saw someone I care about almost get killed. Probably not the last time. Definitely not the first time. I'll get over it.

W-What? I’m not — that's not …!

[ Why would she say that? It's not a bad thing to worry about others; she's not using them to escape her own problems! She's just … she's just … ]

[ She’s just tearing up all over again because tonight has been terrible, she's shaken and distressed and exhausted . ]

[His arm tightens around Aoko.]

It's not to get away from all this. [His voice is flat, even.]

Aoko helps people, it's what she does. It doesn't matter what's going on, if people need help, she's going to do it. She doesn't use it to run away from a problem.

And I'd be getting distance whether or not you were here. I'm an excellent compartmentalizer, and it's rather necessary with everything fucked up in my head.

You're also talking to two people who would rather get knifed than to see someone important to us to get knifed, so just....

[Nggggh]

What about Disney? [WHEN IN DOUBT, DISNEY MOVIE?]

[Aoko's almost crying--her fault, of course. Puma's being protective and trying to avoid everything--okay, that she's fine with. She thinks about it for a second and then nods.]

Disney sounds good.

[ It’s awkward to hear herself talked about like this, like she’s some kind of … like she’s somehow cooler than she really is. Aoko ducks her head, scrubbing her eyes roughly. At least he understands that she’s straightforward in her concern for others. ]

[ For once, she doesn't argue with the subject change. For once, she doesn’t push, or pry. She just quietly climbs off the bed, and wobbles over to the television to set the movie up. ]

Good.

Because step one for any refusals would be dragged into the cuddlepile thing. [He says it with such a straight face too as he moves off the bed, considers it for a moment, and decides to just straight up all the messed up bedding for three person comfort.]

[Looks at Puma. Looks at Aoko. Looks back at Puma where he's straightening the bedding.]

...Who's doing the dragging? I might have changed my mind~

[She's totally trying to use humor to help defuse the situation further, but to her credit she's actually delivered the line with the perfect amount of self-assured smarm.]

[ Aoko actually pauses when Puma says that, lifting her head and glancing back at him. Huh … ]

[ She manages a faint, tremulous smile before returning to what she'd been doing. ]

It looks like the two of you are getting along well … [ She lifts up one of the DVDs, considering it thoughtfully. ] So I'd let Puma-nii do it.

I'm better at dragging anyway. Everyone's just a sack of potatoes at best now.

[He plops down on one side of the bed.]

[Tch! TCH!!]

Fine, fine... I'll play along.

[She plops down on the other side,folding her arms.]

[ It's … it's like a pair of cats … ]

[ Once the movie's all set up and starting to play, Aoko grabs the remote and makes her way back to the bed. If the middle's free, that's where she'll flop down … and quietly, super sneakily reach out to snag their sleeves. ]

[ Pearl may have hurt Aoko's feelings pretty badly just now, but that doesn't mean she wants the older girl to leave. ]

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