gorobo | IC Inbox

"Then, if you'll have me, I'll do my best to help you out," he says, "in return... you do your best to stay out of trouble. That is to say- tell someone if you're going off somewhere on your own."

He gives her a small smile, encouraging. Or he tries, anyway.

"How does that sound?"

She nods. "Okay, I can agree to that." She's a little nervous still, but it's better. He's there to help. And Phoenix will have more help too. Everyone gets help. Is there a downside. Maybe. She'd find out later.

"How do you feel about Phoenix anyways?"

He nods, relieved. He feels a little better knowing that she's okay with him keeping an eye out. "It's a deal then."

(A blue butterfly flutters near her shoulder. Magician, it says, before disappearing once more into nothingness.)

And then she asks about Phoenix, and Falcon doesn't flinch. She's direct, and he likes that, but...

"It's...," he trails off, because how does he start to even explain the whole situation? How does he tell a 10 year old 'oh yeah, he had a hand in hacking me. He did it for my own good, but goddamn did it fuck me up and I still don't completely trust that he's not going to turn around and fuck me up even further, despite all the evidence pointing against it'?

"... complicated," he settles on, folding his hands together. "It's complicated."

She now, more comfortable, moves to sit next to him. "What do you mean? Do you need my help pranking him?" Yes, because that's what she thinks fixes everything. Or at least can be a bonding experience for the both of them.

It's so- childish. Such a child's solution to a problem way more complicated than most could ever understand, and yet-

He lets out a small chuckle, looking at her sideways. "I don't think it'll help," he says, "but it's a nice thought. Giving him a taste of his own medicine."

Which is to say... a prank couldn't even come close to anything that happened, but it's a nice offer nonetheless.

She pouted. If that couldn't be a solution what could. "Can you talk to him?" She asked. She wanted to help him and Phoenix too.

She was going to fix their relationship herself! Then everything would be good.

"Well- we have been talking," he says. She's really invested in this, isn't she? "We're working on it, Futaba-chan, promise."

It's the truth, isn't it? He's... trying. And Phoenix is trying too. He hasn't forgiven Phoenix, and sometimes, just thinking about it makes him furious... but she doesn't need to know that.

"Do you think you are making progress?" she asked. Just talking is different than doing things.

"I can help if you want?"

"Perhaps a little," he makes a vague gesture with his hands. It's... hard to say. He likes to think they have (he's not threatening to shoot Phoenix on sight anymore, is he? That's progress, isn't it?). "You shouldn't worry about it, really."

She's a kid- that's not her job.

"Just focus on yourself, okay? We'll work it out."

He'll... try to, at least. He still hasn't forgiven Phoenix, nor does he think he ever will.

She looked him over. "Is it hard?" He seemed to be struggling a bit anyways.

She scooted a bit closer to him. Just barely touching him, a test of if she could do what she did with Phoenix or her mom.

He carefully doesn't flinch away from her- she doesn't mean any harm, she's a kid- but he can't quite help the twitch of anxiety that crosses his face. Sudden touch is still-

... Well. nevermind. That's not her fault. He won't hold it against her.

"... It is," he admits, "he didn't mean to, but he hurt me. Ah- that is- he's not a bad guy, Futaba-chan," he course-corrects immediately, shooting her an awkward grin, because he's not gonna dump his problems onto this kid. "It was just a really unfortunate situation. Really- don't worry about it."

Ah, fuck. He fucked up. This is why he's no good with kids.

"So your scared something is going to happen to hurt you again? So you think being upset is helping?" She asked softly. He was nervous with her touching him so she didn't push it and pulled back a bit.

"I know Phoenix isn't going to hurt me, I know he isn't bad. He reacted scared when I called him Dad on accident. He was terrified when I went to mementos. He's never been upset even when I felt like I've been too clingy or too much."

His face drops the smile slightly at her words -wow, she doesn't mince them, does she- but it is a relief when she pulls back. It feels wrong, she didn't do anything, but it feels better like this.

(How fucked up is he that he can't even stand the sudden touch of a kid?)

Of course he's still upset. He- he is scared, so fucking scared sometimes, when he stops distracting himself with missions or nature or learning or anything, and feels the foreign files they put in him sitting there, menacingly, but he's not going to just say that.

He knows it doesn't help. It doesn't make it just go away.

"I- well," he struggles to find the proper words. Do not fucking snap at the kid who has nothing to do with it, oh my god. "I'm trying. It's a lot better than it was at first, really."

There. Diplomatic.

Then-

"... You called him dad?" he tilts his head at her, smirking. "Him, really?" He can't help his snort, but still.

"He's been good to you, huh."

"He's been really good to me." Guess none of them could imagine being called dad. Must be a weird thing for them. They seemed to at least handle kids pretty well.

"Are you scared of people?"

Her question hits him, and he wants to deny it immediately. Of course he's not afraid of people- he's a weapon, for crying out loud. Not that he's exactly eager to do so, but if he wanted, he could full just about anyone with lead before they even realize what's going on. Why would he be afraid of people when he can be such a danger to them?

He's not. He's not afraid of people. He's just... rightfully wary, knowing what they can do. Knowing what they have done.

Knowing what he can do.

"Of course not," he says, perhaps a little too late, "but being cautious can't hurt." He looks at her. "That's why I'm worried about you handling a gun, or going to Tartarus. It's just being cautious- and that's a good thing, wouldn't you agree?"

It's probably not a subtle of a topic change as he thinks it is.

"I'm scared of people." She said softly. She let that sink in. The person she was closest to was a bird. The next was obviously not human and you could tell just by looking at her eyes.

The next person Futaba had approached without fear was a robot. A robot she knew was another version of the bird.

"People hurt others. People hurt Mom. I know shadows are from humanity. I know palaces are distorted desires. People.... they aren't good. I know most of the people here are murders."

Edited 2024-06-21 20:11 (UTC)

Oh.

It's unfair. It's horrible. She's a small kid, and yet she already has seen the worst of humanity, to the point she's scared of people. She shouldn't be. She should be filled with wonder about the world, with wonder about fellow people.

The worst part is that he can't even disagree with her.

"Some people aren't all bad," he tries, but he knows it's a weak argument. He doesn't even fully believe it himself. "My mother. She is- was- she's a good person. Your mother, too, when I knew her."

This is the part where he should say 'and I'm sure there are more people like them out there, we just have to find them!' but he doesn't. How could he, when he doesn't even really believe it himself?

God, he's really fucking this up, isn't he?

"... Humans suck, huh."

"You knew Mom?" She asked softly. Did that mean Phoenix did too? He did defend her min pretty hard. Any time she got brought up there was a strange emotion on his face.

She wanted to hug him to support him, but he didn't like that. So she didn't know how to help him.

... Fuck. He shouldn't have mentioned her.

"Briefly," he says, keeping his face carefully neutral. "She was... trying her best, from what I could tell."

"Did you know me?" She asked next moving topics. It would be cool. There was other versions of her here. Even if she only met one.

"Haha, unfortunately not," he smiles awkwardly at her. "She liked to talk about you, but we never actually met in person."

... Probably for the best. Guilt crops up his chest, thinking about he forcibly orphaned this very girl, in his own universe. He doesn't even want to imagine what it would've been like, had Isshiki introduced him to Futaba.

Shido might've had her killed too. Might've had him-

Nevermind. It didn't happen. There's no use thinking about it.

"What did mom say about me?" He looked sad at her. It was almost like Phoenix. What happened to Mom? As much as he tried to help her. He promised to help her protect Phoenix and Renée, that wasn't something she felt she wanted to ask him.

She started to feel like she wasn't going to like the answer. The normal pushing away the feeling wasn't working. She needed a subject change. "Oh! Falcon-san! You wanted seeds! Let's go find some." She quickly switched to smiling, hoping he'd go with it.

Before Falcon can answer (or even think of an answer, really), Futaba changes the subject abruptly, causing him to blink. It happens so fast it nearly gives him whiplash, but he can't deny that it's a relief that she did so.

"Yes, I did," he smiles back at her, and stands up, "if you want, you can tell me about the plants you like best. Maybe I'll plant some in my garden, too."

"Oh! yeah! Maybe we can get some red ones! They'll match you! Plus the butterflies will like them!" She was full of energy now that the topic was changed to something a lot more pleasant. She stood up to follow him. There had to be plenty of red flowers to match him after all.

"Oh, yes. I've meaning to get red spider lillies- they would look nice in the garden."

Something to spruce up the view towards autumn.

"Though if you have other suggestions, I'd love to hear them, Futaba-chan."

IC Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)