a_meebo | IC Inbox

[ Mmnn. He knows Mikleo wouldn't leave him. He feels the same. And he knows that the longer he prolongs this, the more time he might give Mikleo to worry about it. He's been conflicted on telling people things about their loved ones in the past — it's hard.

So he nods in response to that. He knows.

And he closes his eyes, speaking very low and quiet. ]

Then ... Mikleo. [ He pauses for a moment, hesitating as the pain wells up in his chest. ] It's — It's about Gramps ...

[ Breathing a little heavier, trying to keep himself collected. ]

[Mikleo's heart seizes in his chest. He tenses, but keeps his hold on Sorey.

Something happened to Gramps. Something bad. Seeing and remembering the pain on his friend's face....]

He's...not with us anymore, is he?

[His throat tightens after saying that. The only reason he's holding it together right now is because his thought hasn't been confirmed. He only prays he's wrong, but something tells him that he isn't.]

[ He can feel Mikleo tense up, considering how close they are, and he feels awful. His heart drops into his stomach almost immediately, but he's not going to cry. At least, not yet. He's trying his best to stay strong for Mikleo's sake. But he knows full well how Mikleo took it back in their world — he knows how they both took it. He can hear his best friend's agonizing sobs like they happened seconds ago. It hurts.

His response is to grip the back of Mikleo's clothing — both a gesture to let him know he's here, and something to help himself stay grounded. And he nods his head — yeah, he's gone. There was no other way, and Sorey accepts this, but he doesn't have to be happy with his loss.

Quietly: ] I-I'm sorry ...

[ That there wasn't any other answer that could save him. That he's telling him. He's just so sorry this had to happen. ]

[It's surprisingly immediate. At least, to Mikleo it is. As much as he wants to be strong and not cry, to help Sorey get through the pain, it's just not going to happen. He has about as much chance as a reed hut surviving a hurricane.

The water seraph rests his chin over Sorey's shoulder and the tears just fall. His shoulders shake as he tries not to sob or wail like a dying thing, but soft, high-pitched whimpers escape him involuntarily. He grips at Sorey like a life preserve and only barely manages to get out a sentence with any semblance of being understood:]

Sh-shut up and grieve, damn it.

[His tone is harsher than he intends it to be, but it's hard when he's fighting to keep from waking everyone else up with his weeping.]

[ He can feel his everything fall apart when he hears Mikleo begin to cry. It's like he's back there all over again killing one of the most important people in the world to him. He can see it repeating in his head, clear as day. He feels terrible, and it doesn't take long for him to start shaking himself.

He's a little startled by Mikleo's sudden words, but his reaction to them is almost immediate. His eyes widen at them, and then he's crying right afterward. He's been trying to grieve on his own for the past few days, quietly, but it's difficult when you're trying to be secretive about it and all you want to do is cry.

So he gives in to it, crying and burying his face in the side of Mikleo's hair as he tightens his own hold on his friend. He sure has held this in for a while, despite how hard he's been thinking about it for the past few days. It hurts — it hurts so much, both because he knows Mikleo's in pain, and he is too.

But all he can do is cry for now. ]

[Mikleo isn't sure how long it is until his tears and shaking subside. At the same time, though, he doesn't really care. The both of them have every right to take as long as they need. Still, he feels hollowed out by the end of it. The pain remains sharp, and he knows he'll start crying again if he thinks or talks about Gramps.

The water seraph runs a hand through Sorey's hair. His hold is still tight, not wanting to leave the embrace quite yet for his friend's sake. There are words he wants to say to Sorey in an effort to give him some peace of mind, but finding them is hard, especially when Mikleo's afraid he'll dissolve into tears again in the middle of saying them.

'Gramps would be proud.'

And then there are some he feels might sound hollow in the wake of all this.

'We'll be okay.'

And there's some Mikleo isn't even sure why he wants to say them, taking him by surprise. They're something to ponder and reflect on later, but he won't say them here.

'I love you. I always will.'

Eventually, he decides on:]

I'm still here.

[His voice sounds rough and thick, but he doesn't care.]

[ He hasn't had much time to properly cry over Gramps, not even when it happened (especially not when it happened), and letting it sit like this for the past few days hasn't gone well, either. Rather than moving past it, it's just sort of welled up inside him instead. He's always been good at getting past hurdles, but none have ever been like this, and he's certainly needed time on this more than anything.

Having Mikleo with him helps, but there's of course that pain in his chest from having upset Mikleo, too. The last thing he wants to do is drag him down with him, but he knows how Mikleo feels about secrets being kept from him when Sorey's pain is involved. And nothing about that felt right — keeping it from him when it's so heavily on his mind all day.

He's glad when he can hear Mikleo's crying calm down, and he continues to take great comfort in having him here like this. ]

I-I know. [ A pause. ] I'm sorry.

[ For upsetting him like that, and all. He can't help it. He just has to say it again, okay. ]

[Mikleo pulls away only so that he can look Sorey in the eyes. His hands reach up to cup the sides of his face. His eyes are red from crying, but that's not stopping him. The shadow of sorrow and grief is still in his expression. At the same time, though, Sorey can see affection, sympathy, and a hint of fierceness.]

It's not your fault and I'm glad you told me.

[Even if it hurt and upset him, he's still grateful to know.]

This isn't something you should suffer alone. We both loved him.

[ ... Ah. Hearing from Mikleo that he's glad he told him — that eases the pain in his heart a little. He won't question that, or think much on it — he'll believe his words. He trusts him.

Sorey's eyes are equally as red and puffy — it feels good to let his feelings out, at least. This is one thing he was having trouble pushing down and moving past quickly — while he could do it for the sake of fighting Heldalf, it's more difficult to just try and move past it when he's being given so much time to think.

He looks right at Mikleo, eyes still watering. ]

Yeah. [ He's always tried to work through things on his own, and he can admit that this particular thing has been difficult for him to do alone. And his expression changes to a sad smile — optimism is his specialty. ] Maybe ... they'll bring Gramps here to be with us, too.

[ He knows people can come from different points in time, so what's stopping them from bringing Gramps here, too? ]

[Gently, he rubs under one of Sorey's eyes with his thumb. His heart aches for his friend being in this pain, too, and for suffering with it alone for so long. Mikleo wishes that there was more he could do for Sorey, but this will have to do.

Mikleo's own smile in answer is small and equally sad.]

Maybe. There are a lot of possibilities.

[Truth be told, though, the water seraph isn't sure he wants that. Maybe to apologize to Gramps that there was nothing more they could've done for him, but if the old seraph ever left...he's not sure how either of them will handle losing him a second time.

For now, though, Mikleo thinks it's a harmless enough hope to have. It's better than seeing him in despair.

Still, there's another issue that occurs to him.]

Promise me you'll wake me up if you can't sleep or you have a nightmare about it. Okay?

['Don't keep this to yourself.']

[ Sorey would honestly just be happy to see Gramps again, no matter what. He'd love nothing more than to be able to talk to him again. And if this place could give Gramps a little more time to live and be together with them, he'd be able to peacefully let him leave if he ever left the place, too. Even if he'd be sad to see him go. He loves Gramps, afterall.

But he looks at Mikleo at that question. Ah ... he'd feel bad waking him up over that, but ... he has Mikleo to rely on with this, and Mikleo wants him to. So. ]

... Okay. [ A pause, trying to be strong and not let his eyes water anymore as he continues to give him a small smile. ] Thank you, Mikleo.

[ Even if he doesn't have to say that, he still wants to. He appreciates his best friend more than anyone else. ]

[He nods. It doesn't have to be said, but the words are appreciated nonetheless.]

Anytime.

[Mikleo takes his hands away from Sorey's face and lightly smacks his arm. He's trying to be nonchalant despite the pain, and maybe distract them a little bit from it by doing something normal.]

Alright, let's clean our faces and get some water before we try sleeping again.

[ He lets out a soft, breathy laugh from that. He's glad Mikleo can still act like this even after learning about what happened to Gramps. It's a relief, even though he knows Mikleo must still be hurting from it and probably will for a little while. Still, they're here for each other, and the burden feels a little less burdensome now that he shares it with Mikleo.

And he nods. ] ... Right.

[ And so he'll quietly move to get off the bed, wiping at his eyes a little with his sleeve to make sure they're good and dry now, sniffling. ]

[It's going to be a raw wound for a long time, but Mikleo knows that the two of them can get passed this hurdle in time. The water seraph will make sure that at least Sorey will have all the time needed to heal from this blow.

He follows after his friend, and grabs a couple of tissues from the box on Sorey's nightstand. Mikleo catches up to him to give his friend one of them to blow his nose. He makes no comment as he does, heading out into the kitchen to grab the both of them a glass of water while blowing his own nose. Mikleo plans on letting Sorey wash up first.]

[ Ah. He appreciates that tissue, and he puts it to use as he watches Mikleo go to get them water. So he'll take this as a sign he should go wash up first, moving to the bathroom and splashing his face a few times. He gets a towel afterwards, drying his face off and pausing for a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His ... eyes are still relatively red and puffy, but at least they're not filled with tears anymore. That's a step! Ah ... he'll just have to try his best to be strong with it.

And he exits the bathroom, flashing a smile for his friend. He doesn't feel he needs to speak right now. ]

[No, the smile is all Mikleo needs. Both glasses are on the counter as he uses the kitchen sink to wash his own face. He dries off by using his magic to flick the excess water back into the sink, and takes one of the glasses to hand to Sorey. The other he'll start drinking from.

They'll be fine. Mikleo's never been more confident in that.]

[ He's glad they can communicate without words like that. And he quietly takes his cup and sips from it, before starting to move back into the bedroom, and looking back at Mikleo to see if he's coming. He'd kind of rather drink the water from the comfort of their bed, rather than in the quiet open kitchen area. ]

[Mikleo absolutely follows after him. He'd follow Sorey to the end of the earth without hesitation.

Though, the seraph doesn't expect to get much sleep tonight. He has some things to think about.]

IC Inbox

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;