Blameless Mingle / August 2018

[vartex]

Who: Blameless + crew + anyone!
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Blameless
When: August/etc

[A wild mingle appears! For The Yaugur System and drifting, whatever!]

Comments

[axi]

[Kaname recognizes the sentiment in him, and her smile softens. It's always touching to see just how much Walkure and Delta Flight and everyone else actually mean to him, even if she already knows. Carefully, she sits on the edge of his bed.]

You're very welcome. [A chuckle escapes her.] It was on the couch in my office before coming over, and I ended up having to battle Q-Lulu for it. A fight well won, though.

[vartex]

[Heh... that damn mercat. He almost misses him; the thought of Kaname wrestling with him makes him smile a little.]

He'll have to get used to that. I'll be keeping a close eye on this one.

[axi]

Don't worry, I had no intentions of allowing him to keep this.

[Reaching over, the singer picks it up and carefully folds it so the logo on the back is at the center of the garment.]

Should I leave it right here for now?

[vartex]

[He lets her fuss with it; in truth he's still just marveling at the fact that he even has it again. His days in Delta Flight are long gone at this point, but that can't sever the emotional connection he has to it. It's his team, and he'd died defying that separation to the last. It's as much a part of him as the Var, now.]

I... like it where it is, yes.

[He's not going to call it a security blanket, because he is a goddamned full grown adult man, but. Well.]

[axi]

[The sense on belonging the jacket offers Messer comforts Kaname as well. It can make him feel at ease even when he's by himself.]

All right. [Once it's set to the side of the bed, she goes to the desk and brings the bag back over.]

And now we've got food.

[vartex]

Did you cook?

[He's not exactly skeptical - Kaname's far from inept, she can fend for herself just fine - but the idea of someone cooking for him specifically is unusual.]

[axi]

Oh, no, it's from Nami's work. I figured I'd get you something better than what I could come up with.

[Fending and making something good are two different things. Kaname sits back down and pulls out a container with a spoon, a lidded bowl, and a thermos.]

Stew, dumplings, and some tea.

[vartex]

[Ah... Nami. That's right. He doesn't remember that part of the mist, but he'd heard the story.]

She's the one who found me, isn't she.

[Which means she saw him in that state.]

[axi]

[Well, crap. Kaname's smile falters and eventually turns a little more sober, but she nods.]

She is. She sent me your coordinates right away. [She pauses, offering him the thermos.] It's thanks to her we found you in time.

[vartex]

...I'll need to apologize to her, then.

[And thank her, of course, but he can't help the guilt that overrules most everything else he might be feeling. It's very lucky that he'd lost it out in the middle of nowhere- in a city, he could easily have taken a dozen people down before the Var had been quelled. It's fortunate that Prompto and Lucina are skilled enough to keep themselves alive or he'd surely have killed them.]

[axi]

[Once Messer takes the offered drink, Kaname makes a face. She understands the desire to apologize, even if she doesn't agree with it. Of course, logically, she knows it's the right thing to do.]

If you're doing that, you could thank Lucina and Prompto, too. [It's hardly an order, and Kaname's certain it's already on his mind.] They both stayed even when I told them they could leave. I think you could start to view them as potential friends.

[She smiles at him. Lucina at least was a possibility.]

[vartex]

You're assuming I hadn't already.

[There's the glimmer of playfulness to his tone, subtle in his own way. It's fair that she would be under the assumption otherwise; in truth, he doesn't put much thought to who he'd call "friend" outright. He's still rusty when it comes to allowing it or anyone.

They're alright, though. Lucina is talented and gives him something to work towards, someone to practice against, and Prompto...

...he's okay. He's a hard person to hate, though sometimes it feels like brushing up against a window about to shatter.]

[axi]

Here I'm torn. On one hand, it would be wonderful if you have. On the other, I'd like to think you would have mentioned it already.

[She's all but grinning now, her own way to match his hint of humor.]

Care to tell me which it is?

[vartex]

[WHY DOES HE EVER TRY THAT

IT ALWAYS BACKFIRES ON HIM]

I... hadn't... decided yet.

[axi]

[Kaname giggles into her hand at his reaction. Whether he means to or not, she enjoys the amusement she gets from him sometimes.]

I'm just glad you're well enough to talk with me like this.

[vartex]

Thanks to you.

[Anyone else's voice might not have reached him, after all. It's fortunate that she's the one here, rather than just any of the others. Her song soothed his rage quickly enough that his wounds could remain non-fatal.]

[axi]

Mm. [Her smile sobers a little as she listens.] I was going to bring you back to us. Anything else wasn't an option.

[They both know what she means, they always know. Failure wasn't on her mind, even if she did have to address the potential of it for the others. Kaname reaches over and very lightly 'taps' right above his injured with her finger.]

That was Prompto. He believed you'd come back, too. And this [She points to a healing slice on his arm.] was Lucina. Same thing. [She looks him in the eye, smiling, but very serious.]

Neither of us would be here if it weren't for them.

[Because like hell she'd simply leave him out there. She holds out her hand, a sign he should take it.]

[vartex]

[He's quiet for a little while, his expression contemplative as it often is, taking her words to heart. He knows, of course- had already known. His memories of when he goes full Var - out of control, that is - are spotty at best, a dizzy passenger on the runaway train of madness, but even so. Gunshots and sword wounds, Kaname's voice in his ear and her arms around him, with the other two hovering worriedly over them- he'd pieced it together just fine.

He knows, all too well, how much he owes each and every one of them.]

I'm lucky to be alive. I know that. If you'd been with those of lesser ability, I might not be.

[And... well, it's Messer. Acknowledging their skill is just about the highest praise he could give someone.

Open contact is still a reluctant weakness for him and in this moment it feels incredibly personal, but... at last, a few seconds after the last word leaves his lips, he winds his fingers cautiously around hers.]

[axi]

[His words have her smiling, eyes somewhat misty. She knows how much weight those carry, and it means so much that he's able to say that about people she-- in a way-- chose.

Kaname squeezes his hand the moment it makes contact with hers, a sign she's there for him. Silence continues, but a comfortable one. The two are able to enjoy those, where most might find it awkward. Eventually, she breaks it.]

Let me know of anything I can do to help you while you're recovering, all right?

[vartex]

[He knows he should probably have been the one to pull away before too long, before it gets awkward- it would make sense for it to be him. It always is. He just... doesn't, this time. He can't quite bring himself to, not yet. And it's fine, isn't it? It's platonic, it's innocent, it's just two allies - friends, friends, he needs to start correcting himself on that - offering mutual comfort to one another. If she's fine with it, then so is he.

He's brushed so close to death, so many times now. Fitting, for one who carries the banner of the Reaper. After that last time with the White Knight there shouldn't have been any more experiences like that, and yet here he is. Surely, even after everything, he's allowed something so small as this.

It's enough that she's here.

When she lets him go, his gaze lingers on his hand for a moment before he clenches his fingers and moves to drink the soup that she'd brought for him, instead.]

...You're already doing plenty. I wish you wouldn't worry.

[axi]

[As she's still sitting on his bed, leaning back would make little sense, so Kaname shifts just a little to get comfortable again. Waiting for him to have some soup, her eyes glance around the room. It's sparsely decorated, but there's more than when he first arrived. She considers that a good thing.]

You're being silly again, Messer. I didn't think you'd have it in you so soon. [It's not a deflection technique, not really. Kaname well knows he means it, and she knows he's aware how silly it is. Good thing she's a talented dancer, or she'd have tripped up during this one ages ago.]

I'll stop worrying when you do. Simple as that.

[vartex]

[Oof. Kaname, really? ...Okay, so he's a hypocrite, but she doesn't have to call him out on it.]

...Don't ask for the impossible.

[What else is he good for, if not that?]

[axi]

[Her smile's as pleasant as always, very aware of his feelings on the matter.]

I wasn't asking for anything. I don't think either of wants to stop, deep down. If we did, what would that say about us?

[There's a difference between absolute faith and not caring. It's called worrying.]

[vartex]

Hm. Those around us would probably question if we're the real thing.

[Imposter, you've failed to care about your teammate! Yeah, those in Delta and Walkure can be a little predictable when it comes to each other, sometimes.

Her words are reassuring, though, and it shows in his body language, just subtly.]

[axi]

Among other things, yes.

[Moving from the bed, Kaname instead takes a place on the desk chair nearby.]

Next time, I'll try to find some word puzzles for you.