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[ To Sam, who'd be conflicted about pissing on his father if he were on fire, it seems like a value-neutral statement. ]
Your friend?
[ Your brother, he doesn't say. ]
Your friend?
[ Your brother, he doesn't say. ]
[ Well, someone had to voice the thought. He gives her a little squeeze. ]
Since you didn't let the cops handle it.
Since you didn't let the cops handle it.
Yeah.
[ He doesn't have anything to add except shit like how the hell do you live with having a cop in the family?, and the answer is that Kyna hasn't spent her life in and out of jail, obviously. Or the other option, my brother's pissed at me, too, and there's no way in hell he's spilling that.
So he sits there in silence for a second or two, Kyna's cheek against his shoulder, and tells himself that he's not actually stuck on how nice this is. When he does speak, he clears his throat a little first. ]
Well, uh. You feel any better?
[ He doesn't have anything to add except shit like how the hell do you live with having a cop in the family?, and the answer is that Kyna hasn't spent her life in and out of jail, obviously. Or the other option, my brother's pissed at me, too, and there's no way in hell he's spilling that.
So he sits there in silence for a second or two, Kyna's cheek against his shoulder, and tells himself that he's not actually stuck on how nice this is. When he does speak, he clears his throat a little first. ]
Well, uh. You feel any better?
[Kyna swallows, nods a bit against his shoulder, but doesn't pull away. She's not afraid to admit to herself that this is nice—this sort of physical contact is what she's made for. The empathy bond makes it more complicated here, and so she doesn't get it as much.]
Yeah. Um, thanks. You're better at this than I thought, you know.
Yeah. Um, thanks. You're better at this than I thought, you know.
[ He laughs a little, but there's a little relief underpinning it. ]
You think so?
You think so?
Eh. Can't exactly throw stones when it comes to this kinda stuff.
[ Not the magic, obviously, but working outside the law? Doing things that pisses off family? Getting people killed? It's familiar, that's all.
And then, in hopes of heading off questions from her, he adds-- ]
Long story.
[ Not the magic, obviously, but working outside the law? Doing things that pisses off family? Getting people killed? It's familiar, that's all.
And then, in hopes of heading off questions from her, he adds-- ]
Long story.
Longer'n we have time for.
[ There're things he can make into fun stories, but I might've killed my brother, and I definitely fucked him over isn't currently one. But Kyna's looking at him, waiting, and even he's only known her a month or two, that's long enough to know she's not going to let it go. The best plan he can think of, in the moment, is offering her a different tale. ]
Y'know I almost got picked up for murder when I was seventeen? Not a murder I did. Wasn't even a real murder, just...y'know, a real inconvenient death.
[ There're things he can make into fun stories, but I might've killed my brother, and I definitely fucked him over isn't currently one. But Kyna's looking at him, waiting, and even he's only known her a month or two, that's long enough to know she's not going to let it go. The best plan he can think of, in the moment, is offering her a different tale. ]
Y'know I almost got picked up for murder when I was seventeen? Not a murder I did. Wasn't even a real murder, just...y'know, a real inconvenient death.
[ Mission accomplished. ]
Me and Nathan, we kinda broke into an old lady's mansion.
Me and Nathan, we kinda broke into an old lady's mansion.
Not right away? We had a conversation first. [ And with a puff of a laugh: ] She nearly shot me.
Maybe a heart attack? She was sick. [ Thinking of that makes his ribcage tighten a little. ] We didn't exactly stick around--the cops were already showing up when she, uh. Y'know.
[ A very vague gesture with his free hand, one which clearly means "seized up and died in front of us." ]
[ A very vague gesture with his free hand, one which clearly means "seized up and died in front of us." ]
She had something that belonged to us. [ Despite himself, there's a tiny edge of defensiveness to his voice. He never would've cased the place, let along broken in, if not for that. ] Had to get it back.
[ Doesn't matter, he wants to say, but Kyna's Kyna. She'll punch him in the leg and make him answer anyway. Normally, her stubbornness is a big part of her charm, but he's managed to talk his way into a corner of this story he isn't wild about revisiting.
Great job, Sam.
After a too-long silence, his fingertips tapping idly against her side, he gives up. ]
Our mother, she, uh. She was a historian. Left behind a lotta unfinished work when she died. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure out who got her stuff after Dad sold it. [ Is that enough detail? It's more than he wants to say, possibly less than makes sense. ] Should've been ours, so I figured we could get it back.
Great job, Sam.
After a too-long silence, his fingertips tapping idly against her side, he gives up. ]
Our mother, she, uh. She was a historian. Left behind a lotta unfinished work when she died. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure out who got her stuff after Dad sold it. [ Is that enough detail? It's more than he wants to say, possibly less than makes sense. ] Should've been ours, so I figured we could get it back.
Books--journals. All the stuff she wanted to write about.
[ That ache in his chest is back, a boy's indignance hiding inside a man who pretends he's beyond it. They escaped with one book from one box. Sam's spent almost thirty years trying not to wonder what else they had to leave behind. ]
And I'll have you know, she was ready to let us have 'em. Problem is, you can't just tell the cops she decided it was okay you broke into her house after she called 'em up.
[ Not when she's dead. ]
[ That ache in his chest is back, a boy's indignance hiding inside a man who pretends he's beyond it. They escaped with one book from one box. Sam's spent almost thirty years trying not to wonder what else they had to leave behind. ]
And I'll have you know, she was ready to let us have 'em. Problem is, you can't just tell the cops she decided it was okay you broke into her house after she called 'em up.
[ Not when she's dead. ]
Edited 2020-11-08 16:48 (UTC)
Page 56 of 108
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