☀ VOICE

[errandry]

[ SLAM.

the groan of a drawer pulling open. tap tap. tap. tap tap tap. tap. tap.

and SLAM again—before the drawer creaks open one last time. ]

Che, figured. [ ... ] Uh. Sorry ... about that.

[ a slightly overlong silence before the feed switches off. ]



PRIVATE ][ attn: long-haired jerk vigilante #4503

... hey. You there?

[ pause, some shuffling. ]

I wanted to ask you about something.

Comments

private;

[vesperian]

What about him?

private;

[errandry]

He... I dunno—he does dumb stuff, right?

private;

[vesperian]

[A low laugh, a shake of his head.]

Yeah, he does.

private;

[errandry]

But you'd still back him up against anything, huh...

[ ugggh, staring at his comm, and he's quiet for a little while. ]

You ever think you cover for him more than he covers for you?

private;

[vesperian]

[Yuri takes a moment to consider this, doing his best not to make a big deal of Kazu's little pauses and his little faces.]

To be honest, he probably covers for me more than I do for him. I'm the common criminal - and he's the upstanding Commandant. I do what I want because I know he's watching out for me.

private;

[errandry]

Common criminal... So what, you'd stop if you didn't have him backing you up?

private;

[vesperian]

That makes it sound like I'm taking advantage of him-- I'm not. He's watching my back because he wants to, not because I ask him to.

private;

[errandry]

That's not what I meant. I guess... it's not like you need him looking out for you to do—whatever you do, right?

private;

[vesperian]

That's right.

[Flynn's not his keeper, after all.]

private; - 1/2

[errandry]

So what if he—

[ ... ]

private;

[errandry]

[ ................ ]

Fuck, this is too complicated. Rewind!

private;

[vesperian]

[An amused smile]

All right, then. Back to square one.

private;

[errandry]

I don't even know what I wanna ask anymore, man.

private;

[vesperian]

If you don't spit it out now, what're the chance you'll be able to later?

private; - 1/2

[errandry]

... yeah, yeah, I've got it. But—it's probably not gonna make a whole lot of sense to you. So just go with it, all right?

private;

[errandry]

You ever met somebody who was, you know, just way out of your league?

private;

[vesperian]

Plenty of times, but I'm not sure meeting princes and nobles are what you're talking about.

private; - 1/2

[errandry]

Nah, not that kinda league! It's like... fuck, I don't even know—it's like they oughta be able to do anything. Maybe they couldn't crack the universe or smash a god just by thinking about it, but they could get it to happen. Just 'cause they're too big a bastard to stay down.

Somebody like that.

private;

[errandry]

Except—shit happens, or something. And it's kinda like everything falls apart on 'em. They keep thinking they've gotta handle everything on their own, and—I dunno, it's not like they can't take it, but—

[ excuses, excuses. he exhales in a burst. ]

Fuck it—when the hell do you let somebody deal with his own shit and when're you supposed to kick him for being a dumbass?

private;

[vesperian]

[Yuri listens attentively, taking in the emotion and the fervor. Yuri isn't one for giving general, wise advice, but he hopes his personal opinion would suffice.]

If there's one thing I've learned- it's that no one can shoulder things on their own.

[His own friends have made that clear. Multiple times.]

Sometimes I think being a friend is all about kicking a few asses around for being stupid.

private;

[errandry]

[ silent while that sinks in. ]

... guess so. Just kinda feels like breaking trust sometimes.

private;

[vesperian]

There's not much trust to begin with if they're trying to do this alone.

private;

[errandry]

[ .......... ]

Yeah, well, like I said—he's in a different league.

private;

[vesperian]

And that means what other than you need to stand a little straighter and make yourself measure up?

private; - 1/2

[errandry]