fuelthefire | Victory Road IC Contact

Mngh...

[Somehow, that doesn't seem like the end of it. While he does believe that she's accepted his advice - such as it is - something's still not right. Damned if he knows what it is, though. Maybe it's just the fact that she's brought it up at all that's got his stomach knotting uncomfortably. He doubts he'll be able to forget it the way he - inadvertently - forgets most things, though, by sleeping on it and starting fresh the next day. He can wish her good night and shut off the device and go back to sleep, and...Well, maybe he can go back to sleep. Somehow this feels like the kind of conversation that's going to stick in his memory and probably keep him awake, and he won't even be able to blame the voice in his head because this is something that bothers both of them.

His brows draw together and he frowns slightly at the sight of her shaky smile, and he abruptly drops the device on his rumpled blankets and gets to his feet, crawling expertly over Torch Dragon to get up off the bed. Separated as their bedrooms are by a mere wall, Angel can probably hear his heavy footsteps as he stalks to his door, opens it, and then continues the few steps further to stop in front of Angel's door. Likely at that point she'll be expecting his knock, too.]

[And hear his steps she does. Though she was grateful for their close proximity for a number of reasons, today she was glad for the warning. She picked up her gear and quickly closed out of the messages that she had been exchanging with both Jack and Manaka. Staring at her device a little longer, she decided to nix the thing entirely, stuffing it under her pillow.]

[Across the room, Skagbait shifted just enough to shoot a reproachful glance at her. She returned the look with a guilty expression of her own, before shuffling over to the door. He wouldn't need to knock, as the second his steps drew close enough, she opened the door and peered up at him, then quickly looked away once more.]

[She needed to work on her poker face.]

Hi, Krieg. Come in.

[Oh, hey, he didn't even need to knock, she's already opening the door -

- All it takes is one glance at her face to confirm his gut feeling, and he's glad he came to see her. He reaches out to her as he steps over the threshold, pulling her to him even as he moves closer to her, wrapping his arms around her slender shoulders and hugging her snugly. He's not sure what else to do. He definitely doesn't know what to say.]

The bloody glutton won't feed on you today.

[...Nailed it.]

No, he won't. [Whether he meant it or not, there's only one bloody glutton Angel knew, and it was the one they were talking about. Her cheek settled in against his ribs, sigh escaping her lips. Rail thin arms wrapped themselves around Krieg's torso in the meanwhile, squeezing them as tight as her frame could.]

I am sorry for worrying you. Waking you. You should sleep, Krieg.

[He responds to her apology by shaking his head and hugging her even tighter for a brief moment - he's getting the whole hug thing down, bit by bit, and by now he's finally worked out the maximum amount of pressure that's tolerable for a "relaxed" hug - and it's a surprising amount to him, given her slender frame - but that's where he defaults now. It's a very strong, very secure embrace, and he'll maintain it for as long as she clings to him.]

Never be sorry. Don't wanna sleep if you can't.

[Friends have to stick together, Angel! He's got your back!]

[A small 'oof' escaped Angel at the increase of pressure on her frame, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. She did what she could to return the gesture, knowing full well that her attempts would come nowhere near the level of Krieg's own.]

[He wouldn't have to worry about letting go any time soon. It wasn't just because she enjoyed having his arms around her, either. The longer she was hidden like this, the less time he would have to see the grief and distress that lined her face.]

You are... very silly. [Putting himself out in such away, all for her. It made her feel uneasy. She knew it was normal for Krieg, just something he did. Any other time, perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad. But with everything else that had happened...]

[Her hugs have grown stronger over the months, just as she has. His memory still isn't the greatest asset he has to his name, but it's improved somewhat in his time here, regardless. And it's definitely at its best in regards to Angel - she's such an important, powerful figure in his life, he holds tightly to every interaction they share, and can recall those better than anything else. He remembers the very first time she hugged him. Her limbs at that time had been no stronger than a newly hatched birds, and while the hug itself had been an unexpected surprise, he can still recall what had seemed a feather-light pressure as she'd wrapped her arms around him. Compared with that, the hug she's giving him now is actually quite solid.]

Mnng...You're still upset.

[He can tell by the way she has her face pressed tightly against his ribs; normally she would have shifted to look up at him by now.]

Need company?

[It would have been easiest to refuse him, to send him away and let her suffer alone. But she knew just what her presence meant to him, just as she knew that refusing him was next to impossible. She may have felt deeply guilty, standing there in his arms, but it still wasn't enough for her to be brave enough, could enough to cast him away.]

Come in...

[She stepped back, instead placing both of her hands on one of his and leading him into the room. While most of the Pokemon were away in their balls and sleeping, the three usual suspects could be seen about the room. 'Dora continued sleeping both peacefully and heavily, while Mari stirred just enough to move over on the bed to make room for both of them to sit.]

[It was only Skagbait who seemed conscious enough to trouble over her master. She remained in her corner, watching the girl. It was worth noting, however, that she relaxed considerably the second Krieg entered the room.]

[Even the Riolu knew what comfort the psycho brought to the siren.]

[Leading him to the bed, Angel plopped down and motioned for Krieg to do the same. The second he did, she leaned against him once more. It was a position that was becoming all too normal for her.]

[Not that she would complain.]

Edited (Code + melatonin = Death) 2017-02-15 10:11 (UTC)

[He spares only the briefest glances for the Pokémon in the room - his attention, as always when she's nearby, is focused on Angel. He follows her lead easily, hand in hers, and sits when she motions him to. As soon as she's leaning into him, he wraps an arm protectively around her shoulders, anchoring her close and snug.]

I'll stay for as long as you need me.

Thank you.

[For a long while, Angel remained quiet. Her breathing was slow and steady, enough so that she almost hoped he might think she was sleeping. Now that he was here, she didn't necessarily want him gone. The guilt in her throat was almost choking her, however. There were only two ways she was going to out of this -- Krieg leaving or her telling him the absolute, unbridled truth.]

[Angel wasn't nearly strong enough to shoo the man away. That left only one option, one that lodged in her throat for a long period, but eventually tumbled out gracelessly]

I still feel guilty. I know I shouldn't. Jack doesn't deserve my forgiveness, I know that. But I still want to believe him. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. [She looked to the man almost helplessly.]

Why is that, Krieg?

[He's content to sit quietly with her, for as long as she needs. After a while he's unsure whether or not she's just gone quiet or if she's actually fallen asleep - she's done both before. In any event, Krieg is wide awake for now, so he remains still and upright, very conscious of his important job of supporting Angel.

He twitches lightly when she suddenly begins talking, having grown accustomed to the quiet sounds of just their breath, but doesn't otherwise react until she looks back up at him. He looks down at her when she speaks, meets her gaze when she raises her head to look up at him, and frowns - thoughtfully - as he wonders how to answer her question.

You know why. You heard the ECHOs. She was robbed of her childhood and stripped of her humanity by the man who was supposed to love her and protect her. She wants her father back.]

Your heart hurts for something you lost and can't ever get back.

[That's pretty close to what the voice in his head said, right? Right.]

Mng...

[He makes a surprisingly quiet, thoughtful noise as he ponders on that just a little more.]

...Looking back hurts, so I stopped. And now you're in front of me, so what's past doesn't matter.

[And that's an unusually nice way of saying, "let the past rot where it belongs."]

[Angel had once kicked herself for thinking of Krieg as a monster. Now, she found herself issuing a mental scolding for having believed he couldn't comprehend this sort of dilemma. Time and time again, the man had surprised her with his complexities, especially his ability to understand and comprehend the troubled thoughts churning around in her head.]

[She looked up at the man, and then away once more. He had a point. What she wanted was something that would never be restored -- if it had ever existed in the first place. There was much she wanted to say to that, but it all got cut off by Krieg's second statement.]

[Angel would never claim to understand every facet of Krieg and his personality. She didn't think she ever would understand, simply because she didn't want to push him. There was plenty she had never told him either -- what had happened to her mother, the slow decline of Jack's treatment. It wasn't exactly a secret, but it was the sort of conversation she did not want to casually have with her best friend, and she figured it went both ways.]

[His admission that it hurt too, and yet he had moved on... Angel had looked to friends and people who she had thought had suffered similar things, yet somehow she had missed the most important friend of all.]

Does it make me a bad person, wanting him when I already have all of this? [She sought out his hand, squeezing it tightly between two of her own. There was a lot Angel had to be grateful for, but at present, 'all of this' meant what was between them.]

[It's a strange and uncomfortable dichotomy, talking about his least favorite person to his favorite. He hates it, hates it, that even after all of these months, and after how many years before that, Jack still has this power over her. The fact that he can still make her question, still make her hope, when there's nothing left to question and no hope left to be had, has Krieg seeing red. He wants to rant and rage - she doesn't deserve this, she deserves better than this. How can she move forward when Jack refuses to stop dragging her back?

He focuses on the slight weight of her slender form, pressed snug and close against him, and on the pressure of her two small, delicate hands holding carefully to his large, calloused one. Screaming and shouting won't do any good, here; there's no one to scream and shout at. He takes a long, deep breath and lets it out slowly, letting his gaze drift downward to their joined hands.]

No.

[It's natural to want your family, isn't it? He's pretty sure it is. That doesn't make anyone bad, it just makes them human.

He curls his fingers - carefully - around hers, applying the lightest pressure in response to her tight squeeze.]

...But you deserve better.

[Better than slavery and abuse, gaslighting and manipulation and imprisonment and slag and starvation.]

I know.

[Her doubts often seemed all-encompassing, but never once did she believe she didn't deserve better than what she had been given. Yes, those thoughts drifted often to wishing her father was better, but at least the sentiment was there. She may have gotten caught up in believing a great many of Jack's lies, but the one she couldn't swallow as the one that insisted that her pain was a necessary one.]

I have better.

[The rough skin against her own, the warmth against her side... Even if Athena and Janey hadn't shown up and rescued them, even if she hadn't met Anders, Angel would automatically have better. The favoritism in their relationship was not one-sided, of everyone she had met in Johto, Krieg was her most beloved. She had a great number of doubts about what had happened to her over the years, but the one thing she didn't question was the psychos devotion to her.]

[Nor did she question her own devotion to him.]

[Adding in the women and friends she had come across? There was no question that this was what she needed. Perhaps she longed for a time when Jack was part of her life, but if she had to choose between the two, she would pick the family that she had made.]

You are better.

[He's quiet for several moments as he allows himself time to process her words, though even before he's fully taken their meaning one corner of his mouth is edging upward in a crooked smile. Then there's a warmth in his belly and a tightness in his chest, and it feels so good it actually hurts just a little...which only makes it all the better.

There had been a time in his life, back on Pandora, when he'd known himself to be incapable of anything approaching normal human emotions - his past was gone, and in the present there had only been anger and violence and bloodlust.

But then he had met Maya, and her beauty, and strength, and kindness, had broken the rage machine, had cracked the wall in his mind and let the voice of reason through just enough so that he began to feel other things - worry, humor, happiness, sadness, hope, regret. Whenever he'd begun to feel overwhelmed by those emotions, there had always been a nearby bandit clan or some Hyperion toadies to slaughter, and so he'd managed to keep everything on a more or less even keel.

But then, inexplicably, he had been pulled here, away from his comrades into a strange land where very little made sense. The presence of the small chicken had been a blessing, had provided him somewhere to focus his easily distracted attention, and had allowed him to keep his feet on the ground even if he wasn't sure where to go. Before Angel had followed him, there had been far too many stretches of quiet where the voice in his head was far too loud. Once she'd arrived, however, and offered her friendship, her voice had been louder than the one in his head, and had immediately been the one one he preferred to listen to.

And when her voice says things like that...well.

He pulls his hand gently from hers so that he can turn toward her to wrap both his arms around her again. Maskless as he is, he presses his cheek to the top of her head, and wrinkles his nose very slightly at the gentle tickling sensation caused by her hair.]

Love you.

[It's not the first time he's uttered that phrase, although it is the first time he's said it to Angel. He's crooned the words before, jokingly, to all of the other Vault Hunters, but this is the first time he's said them with the conviction and intent they normally inspire. It's likely Angel knows already, but there's no reason not to say it aloud anyway, especially in the face of their preceding discussion.

It never hurts to be sure, after all.]

[The embrace was a welcome one, though certainly all she expected out of him. It was one of the many charming quirks in their relationship -- she could talk for hours and he would listen patiently, while he would say little and Angel could interpret volumes. Words were virtually unnecessary between the two of them.]

[It was why when he spoke, what he said came as no surprise. They'd never said as much aloud to one another, but you simply didn't travel across foreign lands with someone you didn't feel strongly toward. Likewise, didn't trust someone you felt lukewarm about with your life. Their feelings, their mutual feelings were obvious enough.]

I love you. [She nestled her cheek against his chest, feeling the heavy pounding of the bass drum therein against her skin. This was safe. This was home, more than Pandora, more than the Inn itself. Whether they were beneath a strong roof or towering, dripping trees, she knew she would be safe.

[It was the kind of friendship she'd spent hours dreaming of.]

Thank you. [It was hard to choke out the words, between the wad of emotions gathering in her throat. She sniffed, hoping that the warmth in her eyes wouldn't spread down to her cheeks, and potentially onto Krieg's chest.]

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