driftfleet | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Zelos Wilder (good end)
Broadcast: Video
Action: Marsiva. From the hospitality deck, but he'll be moving around after!
When: 10/7 Morning!

[Again. Again. Zelos takes a good few minutes looking around before he decides that he's definitely been left behind in some way. Another handful of minutes pass, and he's tapping at the device meant to broadcast. If he's nearly alone up here, then he's just got to find out if there's anyone else out and about somewhere else, right?

Despite the stress he's feeling right now, the image that appears on screen to everyone is pretty upbeat. And pretty cocky, too.]

Yo! Looks like I missed out on the party. There's gotta be someone out there, right?

[He leans in a little closer for effect before sighing and pulling back, both arms raising in a shrug.] This is just my luck. Come on, give me a sign or something!

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[His stomach sinks but things start making a little more sense. This isn't the same-universe Baroona he had known back then, is it? But he still knew him? Was close enough to be friendly with him?

He frowns further, looking far too revealing for himself (as far as Baroona must remember) and upset.]

...Everything with COMPASS was going out of control. I was trying to find you and the others, but I couldn't. That's the last I remember. ...But our last conversation, we were talking about all of it. The Project Head, yourself, my guilt...

You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?

[He listens intently for anything that's remotely familiar but it's no use. His confusion is clear and only growing, subtle signs making way for a clear expression. Eventually, all he can do is shake his head, slow and stiff, shocked in his own way.

His throat feels thick and tight.] ... No.

[Baroona had assumed the time discrepancies were the worst of it but this-knowing each other without knowing at all was somehow so much worse. As if they were both seeing ghosts of a person they used to know.] I'm sorry. [His voice is too soft, too weak. He clears his throat trying to get rid of it and only partially succeeds.]

We were on different teams. Orange and Red. We were... supposed to destroy this planet but... it kept feeling like they were trying to break us. [He tries to swallow and finds it hard to do. Frowning, he continues on anyway.] You had saved me. More than once. They punished you for it. Shut off your life support. [His eyes raise to Zelos', hoping to find some semblance of recognition.] I held you to calm you down-you don't... you don't remember that?

...No. Sorry.

[Reaching over, he rests a hand on Baroona's shoulder and squeezes lightly in an attempt to comfort.]

But it sounds like things weren't too far off. The setting seems completely different, but if we were helping each other out like that... It's the same.

[He hopes that can offer some sort of comfort, but he knows it still won't feel right. It's strange. And while he thinks this is still Baroona, it's still... worrying. Concerning. It's sad that he can't remember the same things.

It's lonelier.]

I can tell you a bit about it if you want to hear, but things got pretty bad for a while.

[Words come slow as the news finally settles and he finds himself teetering on how to feel about it. While it's true, things largely feel the same he can't help but feel that everything's shifted as well. Neither of them are looking at the right person, just who they hope for them to be. It feels wrong and it unsettles him but he can't deny that the hand on his shoulder feels just the same as the ones that healed him. Just as he can't stop his own hand from moving up to clasp it.

Finally, he sighs.] It's not the same... [He speaks with finality, moving up to hold Zelos' gaze firmly.] ... but it's not too different, either.

[His gaze falls down again as his hand slides Zelos' from his shoulder. Calmly, he holds it palm-up in his own hands, running fingers along the veins.] You're just the same as the one I knew. [There just weren't any memories of him.]

... I'd like to know. About the me you knew.

[Watching him trace fingers over his hand like that is a little mesmerizing, but he manages a small smile at the words. He wants to know? That just made it easier to ask, himself. Maybe they were the type of friends that could stay this way no matter the circumstances. That was a little encouraging. That someone like him could have that? It was nice.

He leaves his hand there for Baroona to do what he wants with it.]

Then why don't we trade stories? If these guys think they're going to screw us up by mixing up universes and timelines, they've got another thing coming. [He's still watching their hands for now.]

When we first met, you were trying to attack a speaker at the train station since a voice came from it. I had to get you to stop. [He even snickers a little at the memory, looking up and away finally as he gestures with a free hand.]

Would you rather sit, or take a walk?

[That's not exactly what he wants to hear. To be caught doing something so stupid... Baroona glances away, trying to hide his embarrassment and failing. It's a relief that Zelos looks away before noticing.

He thinks.

Shrinking into his shoulders, he keeps his gaze on the hand until the heat in his cheeks dies down.] Walking's fine.

[Mumbled out, though his decision does leave him in a predicament. He has no idea what to do with this hand. After a moment's hesitation he sucks it up and takes it in his own, tugging Zelos with him down the hall. He's gentle, at least and once his embarrassment fades he slows down. Still can't really meet Zelos' eyes, though.

Attacking a speaker?] When we first met, you groped me.

[He says finally and it's like saying it gives him confidence.] You grabbed my dick after we went running together.

[He goes along with the tug easily, finding it a little endearing, if embarrassing-- but that return story? It slows his steps and he stumbles a bit in his surprise.]

What?! No way! Haha... Why would I do something like that... [He frowns at his own train of thought, looking up to the ceiling as they continue. A free hand scrubs at the back of his head.] ...Seriously, how the hell did that happen?

[Baroona shrugs and the movement only reminds him that they're still holding hands. A bit self-conscious, he lets go, hiding his own in his pockets.]

We were playing chicken. I almost had you beat but then you grabbed me. [He shrugs, digging into his own pocket and pulling out his own pair of Zelos' gloves, tattered and well-worn.] You gave me these too.

Oh. [A long pause in which he finds his hand is free and moves to rest it behind his head with the other.] So basically, I won.

Not really.

[He waves the gloves, giving a small but impish smile.] I got the prize.

[At that, he laughs, breaking his position as they walk once more with a shove.]

Oh, shut up.

[Teasing.] So where were you, anyway? The middle of the snow? Sounds like my crappy luck doesn't end with just my timeline.

[The shove makes his stumble and the stumble makes him laugh, light and brief, before trailing back to Zelos' side. The gloves get tucked back into his pocket.]

It was a planet called Ajna. Completely covered in snow. Days were three days long. It was a pain.

The whole planet was snowy?!

[It sounds like hell. He doesn't know how much Baroona knows about his past, yet again, but he's comfortable. It's hard to separate this one from the last. Much different than himself and the other Zelos here...]

We were in a city called Zelien, for the most part. Uh, population: ghost people. For some reason. On top of that, time and space kept screwing around, and we'd get pulled to other places left and right.

That sounds confusing. Did the ghosts ever do anything?

[Usually he'd dismiss the idea as stupid. But... he was surrounded by actual aliens. He talked to a fucking dragon. All stupid things can exist now.]

Haha... Not really. It felt super weird when they'd walk through you as if you weren't there, though. There were a bunch of cultists scattered throughout them that were completely solid, too.

Now they did plenty. [Thinking back on it just makes him frown, and he sighs, waving the details off.]

We were dealing with a company made solely for the purpose of studying fear. Of course, they weren't admitting it at that point anymore, but it's pretty obvious when you look at what happened.

[He waits for Zelos to expand but when he gets nothing...]

So what happened?

[He pauses, frowning.] If you tell me it's too horrible, I'll punch you.

[He hesitates a long time at that, staring seriously at the ceiling before he decides on telling him something without him (Baroona) involved. He sighs loudly, slumping a bit more again before sorting through his own personal stories. Why was he being this open?

Well, because in that other place, they knew a lot about each other, didn't they? Did it matter that this Baroona wasn't the 'same one'?]

Sometimes things would be quiet and you'd think you could get away with talking to your friends or just hanging out. Going over the last miserable thing that happened, you know? Or they'd dangle useful stuff in front of us and make us work for it.

A lot of us tried for that last part despite the risks. One time it was a pretty bad trap. My roommate and some strangers were locked in the same room with me. Half of them were restrained in deadly traps and we were given a time limit to save them. But the way it was set up, you'd have to torture yourself for the contraption to free the one who was trapped.

[He's looking at the ground now, while explaining this, face openly sad and hands curled into fists at his side, even as he rests on them.] On top of that, there were three of us who were trapped, and two who had to save them. With all of them hooked up on the same timer, I couldn't get to my roommate fast enough after helping the first girl.

[He was certain he had died, even if his back was steaming and he came back like that. It was a bad situation all around, though, that's for certain.]

I don't really remember what happened after that. I passed out.

Damn, Zelos. [Is there anything else to say? It sounds awful-maybe worse than the coliseum. A blatant game that's even more senseless than entertainment. Something so senseless Baroona can barely see the reason for it. He doubts Zelos can either, even after all this time.

A thousand questions mix with millions of sympathies but none of them make it out in time. Instead, Baroona settles with wetting his lips and looking away, laughing softly and without amusement.] Looks like you get into awful situations no matter what.

[Rubbing at the back of his neck, he looks off the the side, thinking of his own story to tell.] I didn't go through anything as bad as that. You-[His mouth thins into a small grimace, distaste boiling in his stomach.]-It felt like you were always there to protect me from it. I told you about it earlier. For some reason, I guess they wanted my blood. For files or something. You were supposed to get it but-[He shakes his head.]-You were an idiot. Like always. [A pointed glance sideways at that.] I don't know how, but you cheated. Maybe you lied. Either way they found out and punished you. We had these cuffs on our wrists. Life support, I guess. They turned yours off as punishment. It was only thirty seconds but...

[His throat goes tight at the memory. Of holding him and feeling him so close to the point of fading and finds it too easy to take the memory one step farther. To see his face paled and empty, lying stonily next to Robin's corpse.] Anyway... we had a bit of a misunderstanding after. [He laughs at that, and this time it's different. Almost... sheepish. Carefully, he avoids Zelos' gaze as he continues.] We were a lot more flirty there. None of it meant anything but... [He shrugs.] With how far you kept going for me, it was hard to tell.

[There's such a large range of emotion from the start to the finish of what Baroona is saying. In a way, he's proud of this other version of himself working against fear and cowardice to protect a friend. On the other, he's terrified. Bad things happen like that everywhere, it does seem true. Did he have to worry here, too? Is his purpose in all of these places to protect Baroona from all of that? It seems to be a recurring theme, at least.

Aside from those feelings, though, something else starts to seep in as Baroona's worry starts showing. It's subtle at first, but the glance sideways and the way his voice seems more strained with those last words. The change in his heartbeat, and then that laugh.

Before he registers what's being said, his own chest tightens a bit nervously. It hits him delayed. Flirty? And then he's wondering why that's such a big deal. He's always messed with his friends like that.

But he remembers Zelien, too. Carrying him up the stairs just to mess with him, staying by his bedside at what could have been his last moments, being asked to hold his hand.

Relationships normally don't make Zelos feel flustered. But this one was too personal. It was a close friendship, one he wanted to continue no matter the risks. Before he realizes it, his cheeks show the slightest bit of flush, and that surprised expression he'd been wearing on his face this whole time flickers to something more exposed before he purses his lips and looks away. A hand instinctively raises to rub at the back of his head.]

Wow, that's-- [Can he even comment on the incident itself after all of that?] Haha, I mean... ["I'm not like that for everyone."] I don't--...

[Is he seriously out of words, right now?! He's mentally strangling himself at this point, looking more and more troubled by his own reaction. What happened to his composure!]

How weird... haha...

[Baroona fixes him with a confused but slightly amused look.] What?

[Zelos is flustered, that's evident as day, but even having been at his side for a month isn't enough to tell him why. All he has is assumptions-startled reactions and sheepish behavior-that all point to one thing.] It didn't mean anything. You don't have to worry.

[He shrugs nonchalant, looking away.] You turned me down pretty quickly when the misunderstanding happened.

Turned you down, huh...

[The words fall out automatically, thoughtful and doubting in tone. "Turning him down" was probably more like reacting like this, huh? He does want to run away and not think about this any more, but. He'd been thinking of it back in Zelien, too.

The pang he gets from it all makes him daring without thinking, and he tries to act like it's nothing all while hiding meaning beneath his words with a laugh.]

Who said it didn't mean anything? ♥ Did I sound that convincing, hmm?

[But the words slip out and he's even more nervous, laughing to cover it and forcing himself to grin teasingly at Baroona.

Shit. He doesn't need this. Not again, not someone else. This sort of thing isn't supposed to happen! He's just a shallow guy! He just wants to have fun!]

[Now that makes him pause. It's different from all he other teasing comments, sincerity lurking just below. He can see it clearly, just not what it means. His steps falter and he gives Zelos a befuddled look.]

You did then, I'm not sure about now.
[Reaching out, he takes hold of Zelos' arm, forcing him to stop and turn around.] Zelos, are you... serious?

[It feels like a stupid question. Too presumptuous. His uncertainty eases his hold.]

[He freezes up. Stopping right in place, his body turns with the grab, but his gaze leads elsewhere, stubbornly refusing to look at Baroona since that question. This is what he wanted, wasn't it? He had left it to fate, in a way, to see if he could see past it, and it looked like no matter what version, Baroona was as observant as ever.

The problem was, he had no idea what to do now. He wasn't brave enough to admit his confusion right now, and even if he was, he felt like he didn't deserve to be. He laughs, forced like the last one, and turns to try and fake his way through this as well.]

We've been talking for a while, huh? I'm getting kind of tired! Maybe I should go find a place to sleep...

[He's so bad at this.]

[Baroona scoffs.] You're such a bad liar.

[That stayed the same across all universes. Still, his grip does ease up, as if he's finally giving up the fight.] We've barely gone over what's happened. You're acting strange. If I make you that uncomfortable I can leave.

[Those words are what shocks him into reality. What's he doing? Trying to run away again? With a disappointed frown, he lets out a soft laugh again, but this time it's different. If a laugh could be self-deprecating, this was it.]

...It's not that you make me uncomfortable. [He can't believe he's freezing up over admitting something like this. Who cares? If Baroona doesn't treasure him the same way, he doesn't have to. That's fine.

He doesn't want to leave. He wants to be here. To protect him, too.]

I don't share this stuff with just anyone, you know. I'm comfortable around you.

[He lets that set in for a few moments before nodding with his head for them to keep walking.] Come on.