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 Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:14 am
Ilya had made his way into the kitchen; he didn't insist that Yu take off his shoes like he ordinarily would. Nothing about this was ordinary. The coffee was hot and steaming; he pulled down two mugs and poured them perfectly, not spilling a drop.
"Do you take sugar or cream?" he asked, giving the coffee a few seconds to breathe and cool before he passed it over. He took the opportunity to try and read Yu's expression, like somehow he could uncover whatever revelation he'd just had by looks alone.
A silence permeated the air and he couldn't derive an answer on his own, so he asked, "Did you figure something out?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:19 am
“I would drink battery acid right now if I thought it would wake me up a bit.” He responded absently. “However you’d take it, I’m not here to be a pain in the a**. He shook his head, distracted. “Um… I… I might have…” He reached up absently and rubbed at his neck, the bandage on his neck. “I just… realized I… how much was in my, file?” He stammered. “I need to know how detailed it is. Like not, the police records, how much else… I just, I'm not sure." He rubbed his face again trying to grasp that moment of surity. "I, did something, and I don't think anyone who wasn't there would know, but the thing this ******** did... what they said. What HE said."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:52 am
"Don't drink battery acid," Ilya said, in a tone reminiscent to polite scolding. He picked up his mug of coffee even though it was still far too hot to drink. It was a good distraction, something to look into so he didn't have to meet Yu's eyes.
...Except, that was rude.
Yu deserved respect, and Ilya wasn't going to just pretend like he hadn't looked into it.
"It's...detailed enough. Enough that it set off some red flags. I would have handled some of the reports differently if it were one of my kids," he said, and pressed his lips tightly together for a minute.
"...I wasn't trying to pry. It's your personal life. I'm sorry. I don't know why I thought I could get some answers out of it, to help find you. But." He didn't look at Yu with disgust, or pity. "I don't know what you're asking for, exactly. A lot of the reports look half assed, if we're being honest. A lot of them have just enough information that I can tell they needed more investigation or intervention. You had a lot of incompetent people in your life back then, I'd bet. Between your families, and the people who were supposed to have your back. You think it was someone you knew from back then?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:23 pm
“I... it might be.” He murmured. “I just... they keep... one of the things they said was uh... ‘finish what, I started.” He grimaced. “Was um, it’s the last foster report, did it detail ... um, this?” He tugged the edge of the bandage off. “Not the X, they... nicked me when I was, well I think the ******** drained my energy.” He sighed. It sounded so stupid saying that even if he knew it was a thing. “It’s just guessing though. That was... states away, and it’s been ages.” He ran a hand though his hair and yanked his way past a tangle. “I don’t think they know about Sterling. They seem to be attacking when everyone is a civ. I’m the... I’m the one to blame for Sterling.” He admitted and stared hard at his feet. “Someone needs to tell Sterling his magic is -mean as hell.” He said with a humorless laugh. “If he doesn’t just, hit me with it again for hurting him that way.” He wouldn’t blame him for it if he did.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:04 pm
Ilya focused on the bandage, on what was underneath it. A scar he'd never seen before, but then, Yu had so many it was almost hard to keep track of what he'd come to associate with him.
It was a scar he didn't want to see.
"...There were a lot of details," he said slowly, and he took a step forward to look at the scar.
A scar that looked less like a haphazard attack in a street fight and more like it was carefully, deliberately, desperately planned.
"...I'm suspecting not all of them were correct."
His eyes traced the scar and he took his time to put the pieces together. "...I'm guessing that's not from a street gang you upset a few years back," he concluded.
He didn't need to pry. He wasn't stupid. He could connect the dots, and stepped back out of Yu's personal space. The coffee was still too hot to drink, but he held it close anyway.
"...I didn't see anything that said you started that. Just a fight with the group who did it to you. So if you think there's anyone who might suspect otherwise, I'd start there."
It hadn't escaped him that Yu had confessed to hurting Sterling, he just wasn't sure how to process it. If he hadn't read his file, if he'd only known that he was a little rough around the edges, maybe he'd have found some way to blame him.
But, he knew. He knew how much Sterling was willing to fight for him, too, and he couldn't just forget that.
"...Or, rather. I'd start by talking to Sterling, at least. You know he'd forgive you. You know he'd try to save you. That's just who he is. He thinks he can fix everything, and he'll give everything he can just to try. You can tell him you don't like his magic. And you can tell him you're sorry. I don't think he'd doubt you."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:33 pm
“No... not a street gang.” He admitted. “I tried... pretty hard to make that one fade too, didn’t work, not really but, it’s better than it could have been. Most people don’t catch it.” He gave a wry turn of his mouth. “I’ll... talk to Sterling when I can.” He said softly. “If I’m right, it’s ... maybe Michael. He’s the only one I can think it would be who knows what the ******** this was from. He’s always been a malicious b*****d too.” He sighed and thumbed his cheek. “He did this too, if he joined the Negaverse, that’s ... that’s not good. He could do some bad s**t to them if he... ********.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:44 pm
Ilya nodded, taking every scrap of information he could and filing it away for future use. "'Bad s**t' like throw them off of buildings and burn down houses?"
And tear up gardens and key cars and who knew what else?
"Do you know his last name? I can probably get someone to look him up and find out any information about him. If he's in Destiny City, that's a good sign at least. He might have an address, if it's listed it would make talking to him easier."
Ilya opened his mouth and then closed it, looking at Yu. "...What are you planning on doing once you find him?"
...If it was him, even if they had proof, how do you send someone in the Negaverse to prison when they could just teleport out anyway?
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:52 pm
“Knowing what he likes to do? I’m surprised he hasn’t gone full serial killer s**t on them.” Yu replied shaking his head. Things were bad, but it could be so much worse. “Uh Michael Holt.” He said after a moment trying to make sure it was the right last name. He looked grim and determined when Ilya asked that last question though. “... Honestly? I’m going rip his ******** star seed out and hand whatever is left to the Cinnamon b*****d senshi who keeps trying to strangle me just to be sure the mother ******** stays gone.” He was braced to be judged... but how many options were there?
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:07 pm
For a long moment, Ilya watched him. He was completely unreadable and his eyes had settled on Yu like he was looking for cracks, looking to see through them and right into his thoughts on the matter.
He was processing this.
What did you do with a man so hell bent on hurting someone that he was willing to attack everyone related to him just to get to him?
People could have died.
People had suffered.
No prison would hold him, not when he could just teleport out. The resources of the Negaverse were at his disposal, and even if Ilya was new, he knew that was already more than they had to fight with.
He didn't tell him not to do it.
"If it is him, do you know why he's so fixated on ruining your life?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:20 pm
It was damn unsettling to be under that cool gaze, he found himself wanting to shrink away from it, the fault, his part in all of it just made it harder. “I… “ He started and stopped. “…His… they,” the words just hung up and he wasn’t sure… but he could guess. Sharing was the hard part though. Ilya said he would have done many things differently, but that didn’t make his experiences any easier to work around. “If I had to guess…” He said carefully. “I’d…say the handsy people in his family, didn’t have me to turn to after I got away. I… don’t know one way or another if they adopted anyone after me. I… know Michael used to brag what he did to kids who came before me.” he said softly. “The mom was the nicest, she didn’t touch anyone.” She didn’t stop anyone either, she watched, she looked disappointed sometimes. But she never stopped them. When she died… when she had her… accident, he wondered a lot if she’d done it to herself, or if she might have been surprised that all those things had turned back on her. He understood the need to stay quiet so that the predators didn’t come for you, it was a skill he’d never properly mastered. But she was proof it didn’t save you he thought. <********…” he said after a moment later. “If it is him, he sent me an Obit on his old man. I…thought it might have been because I fought back that last time, I thought…” He shook his head, glassy-eyed. “But if it was after that, I don’t even know the dates….” Michael might have made sure his Father had an accident too. It wouldn’t mean he blamed Yu any less, and he’d loved taking things out on things, objects, animal… people. Not all people, just the ones that ‘didn’t matter’, like himself. “… I fought back, I cut the old man, I think it was his hand, and I ran… I just ran. But that means I left him there. I don’t know… It's the best I’ve got.” He offered.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:00 pm
As Yu spoke, Ilya's gaze softened into something more comfortable, something almost kind, despite the fact that his face hardly seemed to move. There was never any judgment, only a silent understanding.
Yu had his undivided attention and, when he finished, Ilya nodded.
He turned to one of the cabinets without any explanation, and pulled out a bar of chocolate. He passed it over. "...Sterling says you like sweets."
He held it out with the visible expectation of Yu to take it without complaint.
"...You deserved better," he said, also indisputable. It was a fact, not delivered out of sympathy. He did not look down on Yu, he did not think him weak or irrelevant.
"You deserve better. We'll take care of this and you'll get a fresh start. I can't undo the past, no one can. But I wish you'd had someone step in and help you back then. More than just because I wish you didn't have to deal with this now."
He was quiet for a moment, still holding the chocolate out.
Yu looked small and fragile, and regardless of age, Ilya could imagine a scared, hurt child trying to deal with that darkness of the world. His jaw clenched and his shoulders relaxed a bit.
"...Yu." He wanted his attention but remained gentle, still cool and collected. "...You look like you're one breath from falling apart. Do you need a hug?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:31 pm
He blinked at the chocolate- in that moment it felt like the most alien thing in the world. Like if someone random in the street just walked up and handed him a jack fruit without explaining. “I... thank you?” He blinked and took it carefully, he thought he’d probably expected any reaction but this one. Anything but ‘you deserved better.’ More than that, Ilya, who didn’t even get dirty when he gardened, offering a hug. “I, I’m ok....” he stammered. “B-besides ummm, I’m sorta gross. “I’ve been in worse spots. And, no offense y-you don’t seem the hug sort. I ... appreciate it though.” The worse spots were close, no one magical had been out to kill him before. “I’m... sorry you got dragged into this.” He added.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:47 pm
"I'm not the hugging sort," he affirmed, but added, "You could be covered in vomit and I'd still offer. And the offer is still open," he said, expression still somehow soft. He wasn't very emotive, he hadn't been for a while. He seemed too tired to express any pure, raw emotions, and yet what fatigue he had he masked with a layer of professionalism, and most of the time he just came off indifferent.
He wasn't.
"I'm not sorry I got involved. If I hadn't, I won't know how to help. I don't want you to blame yourself for this. I'm involved, and that's that. This isn't the most stressful situation I've been in."
Or maybe, the last one had just prepared him better.
"If you need a hug, I can give you a hug. If you need a blanket, I can get you one. If you need a drink, a meal, don't beat around the bush. We're in this together. Forget your pride, tell me what you need. No one's here to see anything, and no one will hear about any of this from me."
Ilya was quiet. He could keep a secret.
He was offering anything Yu needed help with.
Even if it was hiding a body.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:56 pm
Yu hesitated. “…. I’d… I promised I’d eat something.” He said lamely. He’d kill for a shower honestly, but he left his bag…somewhere. He wasn’t going next door for clothes. Food sounded the best, and simplest option, and sharing that sort of thing, well, it meant a lot in his mind. “….I’m… I made you a stupid meat pie, I never gave it to you. It’s probably gone bad. I’ll… make another if this all sorts out. I mean… if you eat that sort of thing. I didn’t ask.” He was rambling. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have a lot of free time. He’d walked out of his job. Hell, if he left the Negaverse, he probably had to start from scratch anyhow. He looked down at the chocolate like it was a lifeline, a tired smile flicking at the corners of his mouth. “Thanks, man…” He said softly. “I… bet it’s a lot better for the kids who got you.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:11 pm
Ilya nodded but there was something curious about his expression. "Did Sterling mention the meat pies?" he asked, and then clarified, in case he hadn't, "They're my favorite."
Had he ever mentioned them? Had he ever had the chance to?
He seemed more gentle again, like Yu had weakened the walls he'd built up so long ago that he'd forgotten to take them down.
He hoped it was better for his kids. But, it didn't sound like it would be too difficult to beat Yu's experience.
"...Let me heat something up for you. I did my meal planning for the week. Can you eat pierogis, kielbasa, and potato pancakes? It'll take me twenty minutes."
Yu had mentioned twice about not being clean enough.
"You can take a shower while you wait. I don't expect you have clean clothes. But I've got something that should fit you. Might not be your style. But you can use my washer and dryer, too. While you're here."
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