week 8; monday

[scythegun]

[Monday's a dreadful day for Yeager, but he's got a pretty good idea of how awful it is for some of the others as well. Everyone has someone important to them held captive and sitting around feeling sorry for himself isn't going to do anything.

Top Dollar's the one he's really concerned about, though. After all, Myca is very dear to him and she's supposedly dead.

He shows up at Top Dollar's door after checking most of the other rooms for anything interesting. It's late at night, but he figures Top Dollar won't be getting much sleep either.

The knocking isn't as obnoxious and loud as usual, but it is persistent and he'll keep it up until Top Dollar answers.]

Comments

[scythegun]

Oh absolutely! It was dreadful. You didn't make it easy on me at all!

[devilsnight]

Of fucking course I didn't. I usually don't have to tell people multiple times that they're boring the shit out of me before they get the hint.

[...i mean he usually shoots them after the first time, but anyway]

[scythegun]

[see you knew you were destined to become friends with him!!]

You're making it sound like it was stupidity, but I can assure you it was persistence!

[no it was stupidity]

[devilsnight]

Persistence in a stupid thing is still stupidity, friend, I don't know who told you otherwise.

[scythegun]

Framing it as persistence sounds much better, though!

[devilsnight]

Well, whatever it is, it's good that you kept at it, I guess.

[scythegun]

We wouldn't be where we are now if I hadn't~!

[Which is definitely not something he's going to think about!!]

[devilsnight]

Probably not - I'm pretty sure I would have done something stupid a while ago otherwise.

[...and yeah, you know what, that is weird to think about. huh.]

[scythegun]

I probably would have as well.

[It's definitely not a pleasant thought, so he shakes his head as if to dismiss it.]

But thankfully our luck held out!

[devilsnight]

"Luck" is one way of putting it, I guess.

[Putting it any other way sounds kind of stupid, though, and for a moment he's not too sure what to say beyond that.]

...You've done a lot for me, I owe you.

[scythegun]

You don't owe me anything. You've done quite a lot for me too, you know!

[...]

I don't think I could have faced today at all if it weren't for you. I have never had to explain my blastia before. If anyone from Terca Lumireis saw it, they knew what it was and what it presumably did. And then I killed them, because no one was allowed to know about it!

[This only happened like once or twice, but uh. Uhhhh. Okay. Anyway!]

Thank you for... that. Your reaction, I suppose? It's a bit difficult to explain, but you didn't gawk or ask hundreds of stupid questions or...

[...]

Treat me any differently. Ah, that sounds so silly to say aloud!

[devilsnight]

[...]

Nah, I know what you're getting at. I never really saw any reason to, I guess - thinking any less of you would be fuckin' stupid and it's not like I'm gonna treat you like you're made of glass or anything, either. You're fuckin' important to me and I'm gonna act like it - it's doing you a disservice otherwise, yeah?

I'm a pretty straightforward guy like that; glad to know that it could do you some good, though.

[scythegun]

...I don't think I can ever manage to express exactly how much that meant to me. Thank you.

[He's still not sure he can face the others and actually talk about it, but this is a much-needed step in the right direction.]

[devilsnight]

[...]

...Well, you actually gave me shit to live for when I didn't have anything, so. Consider it even, yeah?

[God, and there he goes, fussing like hell with his gloves again.]

Ahhh, I'm bad at this...

[scythegun]

I know exactly how difficult that can be, and I wouldn't wish that on most people!

[he tried??? he would totally wish this on alexei though, fuck him]

And don't worry about it! It's not as though I'm doing any better. We're lucky we've gotten this far before I've made some horrible joke to try to redirect things!

[devilsnight]

[don't make him laugh, asshole]

...I would punch you. I would absolutely punch you.

[scythegun]

[YOU'RE WELCOME]

I'd probably even deserve it!

[devilsnight]

Oh, you'd definitely deserve it.

[oh my god]

[scythegun]

How cruel! What did I ever do to deserve that?

[devilsnight]

Well, shit, a few days ago I decided you needed to be dropped to the ground in a laser tag arena for the grave sin of losing track of me for twenty seconds.

So give me long enough and I'll come up with a reason.

[scythegun]

[. . .]

I still haven't forgiven you for that.

[devilsnight]

Didn't expect you to.

[scythegun]

And I still have the bruises! You're terrible...!

[devilsnight]

Yeah, and you wouldn't like me half as much if I weren't.

[scythegun]

Ja, that's certainly true, I'll give you that! Though I can't imagine you being any other way~!