So when the Firebrand had mentioned Kamacite?
Albite had perked, dog called to heel, and he remembered the name. Remembered the bright flare of sunshine that had flowed through the rift. Remembered Faustite mentioning months ago - before the chaos, before his promotion - when he’d thrown out the title of eternal and a hint of whom to seek for more than scraps on that, because the youma didn’t know a Senshi’s inner workings any more than he knew his own emotions, but Kamacite? Name dropped with intent, let loose softly from a mouth that held fire as he’d fled his home. ********, Firebrand had left him het up and whining after him for more than torn corners of information.
He’d learned though, that pulling words from his General was like pulling teeth from tigers - one was just as likely to get bitten as to get anything better than teeth outta it. He was in fact, less likely to walk away without fingers when it came to dealing with the tiger. Faustite had a taste for him - blood and flesh - and so he treaded carefully when searching for more than that.
This though? An opportunity. To make good on something he’d said he would from the beginning, to make good on a task he’d been given from the start. Find senshi people, learn senshi things - tack onto that ‘upped quota into the heavens until you’re buried in starseeds’.
Seemed like the perfect time to hit up Kamacite…
To burst into his office - and he really had to work on having better manners with doors, but whatever - either the guy was there or he wasn’t.....
“Sunshine!! Sunbeam, Kamameleon? Hey, hi, lisssn...I’ve uh - Firstly? I brought bri-snacks! Snacks, not bribes, definitely not....I’ve got a quota problem? Senshi problems? Whatever! Firebrand, yanno him right? General who would burn the world, anyhow, he said to go here. Okay, he said that months ago, but he totally reiterated that I should be here, now, like, right now, sooooo…..” mouth on autopilot, brain on sleep mode, Albite held before himself a box of Axinites cookies, because the man had insisted he come to him - and so he ******** came to him - if only to seek to deplete his endles kebler elf supplied cookie stash, n the man musta had a godamned factory stashed away in his office to have produced so many…
Whatever…..
Kamacite was glad that he wasn’t holding anything breakable because he would have surely dropped it, and he was glad that his hearing was decent because he wasn’t startled nearly as badly as he could have been when Albite burst through the door to his office.
His new office. That he had only shared the location with four people -- Axinite, Cymophane, Roselite, and F-- oh.
Slowly, Kamacite lowered his hand from where it had risen to clutch at his chest. He rubbed it as well, hoping his heart would settle into something less like it was going to fall out of the conspicuous hole -- which he tugged his robes over to make sure it was better hidden.
He didn’t say anything to Albite, not while he was trying to understand why he was in his office, or why Faustite would tell him where to find him. Or that he should be there. At that very moment. When they had a million different things to do to prepare for a potential alien invasion.
His office was sparse. And small. He had purposefully picked it because it was small and had the necessities. A desk and chair, a filing cabinet, which he wasn’t looking forward to cleaning out. And a couch that he had already carefully tucked a new dust cover over because who knew how old it was or how much dust it had collected.
The cookies that Axinite made drew his immediate attention, but not necessarily because he wanted any of them. He hoped that-- whatever this was --wouldn’t last for very long. Maybe Albite would get bored of him.
Of course, there was so much that Albite said that it was taking a bit for him to understand if there was an actual question somewhere in there, or if he was just there to brandish Axinite’s cookies at him.
“Soooo….Uh...anyhow, I’m just gonna go on ahead and set this one right here for ya. Is that...are you okay? Is this okay? Like, I get that firebrand probably didn’t warn you beforehand, cause he’s like that, I mean, does he ever warn anyone of anything? Or maybe he does, actually, it’s entirely possible that I missed that s**t cause I’m busy, or talking? Busy talking. Definitely that, like, a lot of the time..” shrug that followed a grin that followed Albite moving into the space like he owned it.
Admired the sparse yet quaint little area. Wondered how someone so bountiful and bright could've gotten stuffed into a little shoebox of an office that made him long for the non-existent space of his own unit. Kamacite was an eternal right? An aspired to - Senshi at the top of the rank n file of alien-starseeds extraordinaire.
The hell had he ended up somewhere so….
“Quaint - that’s - it’s cute, your office that is - ‘n of course you, but that’s a goddamn given, yeah?” Albite flashed Kama a winning smile, and carefully set the box of pilfered cookies down atop Kamacite’s desk. Patted it gently, as if the box had done a good job surviving him, and stepped back. Tucked his hands into the sash at his waistband and rocked on his heels. All expectant gazes and want filtered Kamas way - bit his own tongue to give the poor guy time to play catch up to Albites request - though he wasn’t sure if he’d made a request…
Had he told him why he was there?!
Whatever.
Surely Kama would say something if he hadn’t, or had, or…
He could wait.
Kamacite still wasn’t entirely sure what Albite wanted. But he could feel his cheeks flush at the comment about his cute office, and of course you. He frowned and pressed his lips together as he tried to figure out if Albite was being sincere or, as he suspected, just talking.
In any case, he took a step forward to carefully reach out with both hands to take the offered box of cookies, as if they were something to be treasured. Not necessarily because they were presented by Albite, but because he knew the care that went into the cookies, and the stress that must have led Axinite to baking them. For that, he kept them carefully in his arms.
“Thank you for the cookies,” he said with a polite bow of his head, hoping that would be enough to satisfy whatever Albite wanted from him.
“You’re welcome Kamacite.” and maybe if he toned it down. Tried for softer, for all that Kamacite looked like he was going to take his time with things. Which was fine, Albite had time. Could spend it chatting, looking, smiling for the way the blush stood out under the long black strands of Kamas hair, flared across pale features. Cute.
“I think people should enjoy em, yeah? Whatever Axinite’s throwing into these things that makes ‘em so good. Still raises my hackles just a bit though, a former Spec Ops guy with a baking fetish, playing at being soft. Sept he’s not playing? He really does put all of himself into it..so..ah..I’m sharing the love.” Grinned down, played at tilting on his freshly granted heels. Felt like he ate the space in the nice little cubby hole the superior senshi had tucked himself away in.
Wondered if Kama would’ve liked potted plants? The green would’ve looked good against Kama's bright flare of color. Would’ve probably thrived in the neat little space. He was a solar senshi after all! Made perfect sense to come back bearing plants the next time he came by.
“Speaking of sharing...and...you can take your time on this. Deciding when we head out, or if we head out, to do the energy thing? S’not like I’ve got anywhere else to be, cause I don’t - I’m ah - banned from being ‘under heel’. Least for the next - Idunno - until I don’t feel like staying outta his space anymore? Is he like that with you too - like he’ll be warm one second, n’ then on fire the next? Moody.” that was the word for it, moody. When he wasn’t being fun, he was busy being stuck in a charred rut. Of course the injuries from the rift hadn’t helped, neither had the park fiasco - nor Albite himself?
Cavalcade of ******** - a whole avalanche of it between point A and point Z.
“That is - Firebrand - uh - Faustite? General Faustite? Like, you do know each other, yeah? You gotta - he doesn’t recommend I go to people for s**t all unless he thinks it's worth it. Real picky with the words that one - like he’ll run outta ‘em for speaking.” or like they were precious, or like he cared enough to pick them carefully and not to waste them. “Besides, I promised you I’d catch up after. If we survived the rift - n’ we did - and life got all sorts in the way of that, but I didn’t forget about you. I swear. I even remembered to put on a shirt!” Laughed for the joke of it, as if a corset counted as a shirt?
Whatever, he’d have to take it up with the tailor next time around.
He really hadn’t forgotten though. Couldn’t have, but then there hadn’t been time. Had been promotions and fights and park ventures. Endless barrage of new that had flooded his every moment full to bursting and prevented ohso many of his original plans from falling in line.
He had time now though. There were no offices to return to. Only spilt ash piles and shattered glassworks. Quotas stacked high, to keep him busy, he knew; not out of spite or meanness. His General knew he needed to be kept busy with something when he wasn’t busy cleaning up his mess.
He held the box of cookies a little tighter when Albite commented on them again, his flush darkening as he spoke about Axinite playing at being soft and his preference for baking. And the comment about Axinite being Spec Ops made Kamacite’s fingers curl just a bit against the box.
Perhaps luckily, the conversation -- if it could be called that -- switched back to Kamacite as the topic. He blinked in confusion about heading out and realized then that Albite must have intended for him to go collect energy with him.
That Faustite apparently recommended Albite go to him. Again the flush deepened.
No laughter was shared when Albite joked, nor did Kamacite attempt at smiling to make the interaction more pleasant. He remembered Albite’s introduction to him in the Rift, of course. He hadn’t known what to think about him at the time, but now that he thought back on it, introductions in the middle of a dangerous mission was irresponsible and could have caused more trouble than was necessary.
“Thank you for considering me to gather energy with you. I have a previously planned engagement, however.” It wasn’t a lie. He did have plans, and he hadn’t expected to go out and gather energy yet that day. “Perhaps General Faustite could offer another recommendation for the time being?”
Soft little ‘oh’, excited look that fell into something a little more somber, cause he’d hoped for - well - all sorts of things. It made sense though, he’d sprung up on the guy without warning or notice. Couldn’t really expect him to throw his whole night into the winds on a whim.
Maybe if he tried again, another time? A second, or third, or...
“Who would you recommend?” earnest beg for that, and he didn’t just mean for gathering energy with, but for everything that pertained to ‘senshidom’ as a whole. Albite knew he could find other Generals, that if he messaged Faustite - traipsed back with tail between his legs and asked ‘okay who's next on the list of people I should go keep myself busy with?’ that his boss would send him onto someone else.
They wouldn’t be like Kamacite though.
“Cause he wont. Not for another Senshi, doesn’t really know Senshi, and it’s not like there’s a whole slew of ‘em clamoring to throw lots in with a fire-youma?” slow change of that, and how Albite was glad to see it. To see Faustite’s team grow and swell beyond its beginnings. With Senshi of all things. To meet the ones sensible enough to see beyond flame-hungry grates and blackened, burning gazes that bore right into the core of a person.
“I wanted more than just the energy fetch quest - like - I figured we could kill three or four birds with one stone, but if we can’t? If you’ve got someone in mind until you’re like...free up?” apologetic wince that lay in asking for it, because he was trying.
Didn’t want to be the one to leave anyone on his team because he died stupidly, least of all Faustite. Promised to survive, to prove a point.
There were a lot of senshi out there - maybe - kinda? Albite wasn’t sure. He hadn’t met a lot of Eternals, and after everything that had happened in the rift, the aftermath of that? He wanted to be careful who he got his advice from…
Eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Who would he recommend? As a… guide for other senshi? Kamacite just shook his head. He couldn’t think of anyone he would suggest for Albite to go and bother with bribes of second hand cookies and insincere compliments.
“I am not familiar with many others,” he admitted, because he kept to himself. It was safer that way. And he was still recovering from the loss of those he cared for.
Once upon a time he would have of course had someone to recommend for anything and everything. Someone who knew what they were doing, was intelligent, could be stupidly selfless, no matter how gruff he was about it. The one who taught him almost everything he knew about how to be a Senshi. The one who showed him how to defend himself, how to braid his hair, suggested he cut his hair before big missions -- which Kamacite then passed to the rest of the Senshi. The only one who kept sunglasses with him, just in case.
Instead, Kamacite’s heart just ached, as if there was a hole that matched the one in his chest and forehead.
He swallowed back the wave of emotions that decided now would be a good time to appear, and he looked down to fuss with the box of cookies instead.
“Whatever recommendation General Faustite had about me… he was wrong. I apologize for wasting your time.”
Faustite was only recommending him because there were so few Senshi, and even fewer Eternals still around. And Faustite would have surely thought of another before reluctantly settling on Kamacite.
“I’m sorry for wasting yours, actually? Dude I’m like - Earth’s crust below you, yeah? It’s not a waste of my time if I’m looking for it. Especially since there is no one else-” sigh that fell on severity, and Albite could only stare. Rove honeyed gaze over the bright flight of folds and dark hair before him. Could only want - and Kamacite had places to go, and s**t to do, obviously.
Other people to see who weren’t him, and that was fine, but...
“I never see any other Senshi standing up there with them, don’t know anyone that won’t get me killed. That knows as much, who's survived and is like - functional? You had good s**t to say - before - and I heard it, and I listened.” he did, and he had, and he was alive for it.
A lot of that was Faustite, but the rest? His tiny tin brain had keyed in enough on the bright soft sparkle of the speaker to pick out the finer points, and then? He’d followed directions. Followed orders, from the only Senshi that seemed to have enough sense to have survived it all?
“If Faustite tells me to go to you? Then I go to you. If you’re telling me to wait, then I wait….’n if you’re telling me to ******** off?” Albite could’ve done that, that was always a reasonable thing to ask? Got it all the time even! Of course ******** off wasn’t the same as ‘******** off and go die’, meant come back later, meant leave me alone for ‘now,’ meant….
“You can tell me no, yeah? That’s like - that’s all sorts of fair - you’ve got rights n power n s**t, so you can have me leave. Can’t tell me you're not worth coming to though. Even I’m not stupid enough to believe that.” roll of muscled shrug, twist of frown that became a smile for it, because really? He didn’t know s**t all about ‘senshi’ but he knew people. Did people all day long. Faustite didn't though - and if he was recommending Kamacite? What kinda fool would he have been to discount the most people adverse persons word of recommendation.
Kamacite shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to being told he was in any way, shape, or form that he was better. That he had some kind of worth beyond just being useful and quiet and out of the way. He did his job. He did what he was told. He stayed alive. There wasn’t more he expected from his existence. He certainly hadn’t expected Faustite to recommend someone talk to him, much less actually try to follow through with doing it.
“Thank you for listening,” he said just as quietly as before, but even as his face continued to burn he was at least sincere. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, or--”
Or die. Or get lost in the Rift for years. Or disappear without a trace. Or be brainwashed by the White Moon’s lies.
He just didn’t know this Sailor Albite at all. He was loud. And talked too fast and too much and the words got muddled and it was overwhelming and--
Kamacite didn’t want him to be disappointed, nor did he want Faustite to be disappointed.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” he admitted, feeling embarrassed that he probably seemed pretty pathetic for an Eternal. He was not the strongest there was. He was just the only one who was still around, for whatever reason. Maybe some didn’t want to power up and help with missions. Maybe they had their own lives to deal with. Kamacite had never intended to be in any kind of spotlight, and even with helping Faustite with his mission, he’d hoped he was just another face in the crowd once it was all over.
What did he want - nothing - everything - a chance!
“Two things - your favorite color? And a time n date….which…ok, sorry if that’s three things? But a time doesn’t really work without a date..” made himself take a breath, because he could ******** - stop doing that!!
Could use three words to make a thing happen. Could simplify, cause Kama just needed to know what he wanted from him right that second - no need to drown the poor guy in an ocean of things when only one could happen at a time.
“Just - when you're free, on your schedule? Take me out.” that was how it’d worked with Faustite, maybe that would work with Kama too? He’d won his boss over with actions, not his mouth, not his ******** constant talking, but with what he’d done.
At least he thought so? Or maybe it was his ******** mouth? Except Kama seemed as likely to take interest in him that way as he seemed interested in taking up the queen's crown.
Yeah - no - and so it had to have been his actions; because once his firebrand had gotten over his mouth—-
Then the real teaching had started and everything he didn’t know was obvious in everything he did. Faustite had picked that apart; put it back together, and maybe Kama could add some vital glue to that on all things Senshi? Could pick up the pieces the youma wanted to devour outta him, n make those better too.
Fill in all the massive gaps that generals and youmas just didn’t get?
“Just - try me out, just once, yeah? If it’s s**t, I can leave you alone! Cause…uh - not everyone can learn well from everyone, or something?” drew himself up straighter from where he found he’d been leaning close, been crowding.
Gave Kama some space by backing up - cause even if the man liked being in a box, it didn’t mean he liked being in a box with company that didn’t know how to back the ******** off…
Which Albite thought was absolute bulshit, the learning thing, the idea that he could be bad at it, but he could give Kama a nice easy out. He could be kind about it. How his failure to grasp something the traditional way fell on people.
Cause Kama had other places to be, and other people to see.
Even when Albite told him what he wanted, Kamacite still wasn’t sure. What did his favorite color have to do with anything? And why were they picking a date and time? He tried not to seem too upset by the idea of just randomly picking something without knowing why, but he was.
Take him out? Try him, just once? What did that even mean? Maybe he was just making a big deal over nothing. Maybe something Albite was saying was getting lost in translation, or slang that he wasn’t familiar with. He was just… asking to meet up somewhere, right? To… talk? When he wasn’t busy?
Kamacite swallowed nervously, shuffling a little in place because he wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to be doing. Other than guarding the box of cookies with his life.
“Um,” he hesitated, and looked down at his uniform. “Orange,” he said without really thinking about it. It was a color he associated with warmth, although not necessarily because he wore predominantly on his own outfit. Not that he was going to share that with Albite.
As for the date and time issue. "T-tomorrow evening?" That probably wasn't specific enough, but every time he opened his mouth to try and clarify, the words got stuck. It wasn't as easy for him to just let them tumble out like it was for Albite.
Shift of expression that shifted with his stance, and Albite couldn’t tamp down the urge to bounce a little bit. All bright flash of white teeth, in a spread that crinkled his features with happiness.
Kama had said ‘yes’, orange, and yes, and he could do that timeframe. “You mean it? ******** yeah! Heh, you’ll see. We’ll have a good time, I mean, I’ll try not to overwhelm you with - uh - me, but like, I promise if you give me half a chance? I can show you I'm worth the time.” because Kama was busy, and Eternal, and surely he had all sorts of responsibilities that Albite couldn’t even begin to parse.
Which was fine. He wouldn’t take up too much of the guy's time even - they could go snatch some energy - snag a snack on the way back. He could needle him gently on - just - all the things, or maybe only some things? ********, he’d make a list of the most important questions he had about Senshidom, and the Negaverse. Planets, and cats, and upgrades, and how the ******** was it that Kama had made it as far as he had. Cause Albite had people to disappoint now, and that made all the difference. Having people he could fail, instead of just himself. A whole a** team of people even. So he had to do better. Had to tease out all the secrets that Kama clearly held buried beneath those bright folds and quiet gaze.
“I’ll be back tomorrow evening okay? With a surprise, uhm, a proper thank you present. N’ if it’s easier to message me over the com device thing….or text..do..do you text?” slow-slow blink and if he backed towards the door carefully. Backed out of the room before Kama could maybe take enough of a breath to decide to change his mind.
“Whatever, I’ll send my cat to send you my number if you decide you do text! Just uh - you be here - and I’ll be here - tomorrow evening.” nodding in encouragement, gaze leveled at Kama as he laid the emphasis on thicker than cement on a brick. Allowed the barest little pause of a moment as he fumbled for a door handle and gently eked Kama's door open enough for him to start sliding out of.
Guine
For if fin?