driftfleet | (no subject)

Isn't it?

I could be winning but I'm going easy on you, since you're my favourite big brother.

Technically, I'm your only brother.

Do you want me to take it back?

I think it's too late for that.

Stop beating me.

[ She frowns, but it's obviously a mock-frown since she's trying very, very hard not to laugh. ]

[ He shrugs loosely as if to say "What of it?" ]

Maybe we need a different kind of challenge.

[ Now she's a touch nervous. ]

... Like what.

[ He catches onto that. ]

I don't know. Nothing comes to mind.

Hm.

[ Shifting, she steps away from Charles, breaking their contact before she settles down on the bed. ]

There was something... Else I wanted to ask you.

Of course. What is it?

When Hank and I were on the planet we were, you know. Holding hands and we shared... Everything.

[ They might have done a bit more than hold hands, but big brothers do not need to know that. ]

I... [ She huffs a noise, crossing her arms with a tight frown. ] I wanted to start doing it - with you. Not - holding hands, we do that already, but the other part. Sharing things. Mentally.

[ She is making a complete mess of her saying Charles can touch her mind again, isn't she. ]

[ He stares at her, uncomprehending. ]

You - what?

I'm saying you don't have to - to not be you with me. It's okay.

[ She doesn't know what she's asking, was the first thought in his mind. People always say that, at the start. That they're all right, that they're willing to try. But hearts are so . . . changeable.

And yet. They had made such big steps. His fear shouldn't stop him here. ]

No. I think . . . it's a good idea.

[ The thing is that Raven does know. She grew up with Charles, he used to touch her mind all the time, but then she'd grown up more and hated it. Living with Emma had soothed the angry burn of her fear, and the planet, sharing everything with Hank... It had helped. It's not perfect, and it's not going to completely change her mind overnight, but it's a start.

Besides, Charles was in her mind before and during Washington. Right now, she knew she could trust him again. ]

Only if you want to.

No.

[ His tone is sharp, though not directed at her. ]

It can't be - my decision alone. It has to be mutual. It has to be - It can't be on me.

I've already told you I want to.

[ Careful, she leans forward, watching him. ]

That's what I'm saying, Charles. I want to, but you don't have to. It's your decision too.

Then . . . we'll do it.

Okay.

[ She lets out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, trying to relax. ]

... I don't know how this works, really. It's been a while.

[ Charles waits, just in case she intends to take it back. Then, slowly, he lets his barriers slip.

There is no real way to how it works. ]

Oh!

[ The voice in her mind is familiar, of course it is, and Raven lifts her head to look at Charles before she relaxes. It's not like in Washington, she thinks, where he made himself appear properly - he probably did that so she didn't freak out - but it's familiar all the same. ]

... It just goes, doesn't it?

[ It's always been hard to explain, he admits, How the mind works can't fully be put into words. The scope of it is large. Like its own little universe. ]

[ Closing her eyes, Raven basks, for a moment, in how suddenly close to Charles she feels. All the things they've done to repair their relationship, all the things they did to get themselves back together, and this feels like the culmination of it. They're working hard, and it makes her feel warm all over. ]

Can I talk back to you in my head? I can only remember speaking aloud.

[ Of course, Charles replies. Your thoughts are still yours. But if you direct them at me, I can hear them. ]