Things Unspoken Meme

[ironwood]

things unspoken meme► 1. post with your characters ► 2. Other characters respond and comment ICly with something they'd like to say to them (or a question for them) but haven't. Or, things they have, but would like to say again. ► 3. It can be something incredibly minor or something incredibly serious or something incredibly goofy! e.g. "I was the one who strangled your father with a sausage link" / "I actually hate whiskey and you keep on giving it to me because I said I liked it that one time to impress you" / "There's always a booger hanging from your nose and it makes talking with you REALLY DIFFICULT" ► 4. React ICly. SHENANIGANS. ► 5. have fun!! meme from etcelsior

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[simulsimul]

[There shouldn't be Yuan literally did something no one else did before just because people said he couldn't and that's just. That's just typical, really.]

What's the difference?

[This is weary, but also not dismissive. He honestly does not know the answer to this question.]

If I live, it's only because I have duties to perform. To the seal, to Lloyd, to the world. Where's a right to die in that?

[lasergrenades]

[More bemused blinking. The fact that Kratos can't tell those things apart is a little sad.]

Well, it's like... [Oh, she knows what to draw on, but it's going to hurt.] My mom got sick when I was little. I was six, but I was old enough to know that she was going to die. She fought really hard, and she went through all sorts of awful treatments to stay alive as long as she could, but we all knew, eventually, that she was going to die. [Deep breaths, try not to cry.] She could let go, knowing she'd done everything in her own power to make sure I had a mom for as long as possible. [Her voice is shaking and she's looking at the ceiling, unshed tears in her eyes.] So we knew it was over but-- but we just wanted her to stay, Kratos. We didn't want to lose her, and we would have done-- anything for another day, much less the lifetime she was supposed to have.

[Pepper takes a little while to collect herself again, closing her eyes briefly.]

If you live, then you can just live, Kratos. Fine, Lloyd has a father who raised him, but you can still take some joy in getting to know him, in being a part of his life from here on out. Just-- just live. No pivotal world-saving duties, no seal. Just living, like you haven't been able to. Give yourself a few years just to be.

[Aaaand she's crying again, dammit. It's barely there, at least, and she's not sobbing at him, thank goodness.]

[simulsimul]

[The fact that Pepper goes so far as to dredge up something so clearly painful to her is -- humbling. Humbling in a way Kratos has rarely seen, and yet for all that more frequently now than ever before.

[Lloyd has barely known him for six months, aside from when he was very young. Could it be possible that Lloyd would want him to stay that much, just as Pepper wished for her mother? Could it be possible that Lloyd might feel for him the things Pepper felt for her father, in the memory they'd accidentally shared? It's the kind of hope he hasn't dared entertain.

[Kratos lost the capacity to weep a long time ago -- but that doesn't mean he's incapable of being moved, no matter how he presents. Wordlessly he takes the step between them to pull her gently into an embrace. She's hugged him often enough that he doesn't think she'd mind.]

I'll try.

[He still doesn't completely understand the difference -- and the situation at home is far too complicated for him to rely on having complete freedom to just live. But here, he'll try.]

[lasergrenades]

[Pepper is not at all expecting the hug, and so she makes a quiet, surprised noise. Not unhappy, just startled by the uncharacteristic show of comfort. The hug itself means as much as the words, and Pepper returns the embrace and tries not to sniffle too much into his shoulder.]

Thank you. That's all I can ask.

[All she can reasonably ask, anyway, and it's a huge step in this context.

Kratos is going to have to be the one to let go first, because Pepper won't until he does.]

[simulsimul]

[Then they have a problem, because Kratos can stand in place for quite a while. After all, only Pepper knows when the comfort will no longer be necessary. To that end, though he rests his hand on the top of her head, he also doesn't move to let go.]

[lasergrenades]

[There are worse problems to have.

She kind of figures out what he's doing after a moment, and it's a tough choice between leaning into the solace of what can only be described as a parental embrace, or trying to force herself back to being calm.

Somewhere in the middle is what actually happens, a single quiet sob and her shoulders come down from up around her ears, as though that little release was enough to relax her. Pepper had talked more about her mother in Keeliai than she ever had at home.]

I think this calls for hot chocolate, [she says eventually, drawing back only far enough so she can look him in the eyes and offer him a small if watery smile.] Living's worth celebrating.

[simulsimul]

People are worth celebrating.

[Kratos isn't so sure on the 'living' part, yet. He doesn't try to hold her close, but doesn't step back entirely either, if she doesn't feel the desire to actually break the hug; instead his only hand drops from her head to her shoulder to squeeze it reassuringly.]

Alright. Lead the way.