IC CONTACT

[blueser]

"Hello... Whatever... Don't worry about me. I'm doing peachy over here! I was just looking for something to do! Wanna battle me again?"

[telepathy | Pidgeot-mail]

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[blueser]

[He keeps trying to put distance between himself and others, and that distance keeps trying to close itself. He swears Red off, and Red comes reappearing into his life. He disappears into the woods, only to be drawn back out again by kindnesses. Guzma terrifies him, and then miraculously calls to apologize. And Killua...]

[Blue's resolve crumbles as Killua earnestly pleads- no, not pleading, but earnestly preferring his presence. Wanting him to be there. It was the same as the first night with Gon, except more desperate, somehow. Blue anger hadn't been quite so directed.]

[Even now it isn't like Blue can help noticing how carefully Killua speaks. Maybe it's better that he isn't begging him to stay. There's something Blue feels from that, something unfamiliar that he yearns for nonetheless. It's respect, he realizes with a well of self-disgust and discomfort. Respect for Blue's wishes- for his feelings. Killua was unselfish, even now. He winces.]

[These are dangerous and highly coveted sensations for Blue, and he even recognizes them as he feels himself falling weak to it in a way he can only blame on himself. Being wanted. Being respected. His jaw sets, and finally his gaze drops to the floor in front of his feet, and he sees the damage he's done. As if this night couldn't get worse...]

[For a long moment, he's quiet, like he's reluctant, or contemplating, but eventually he takes a step back- like he's going to leave.]

[Then he directs a look back over his shoulder.]

Let's... take a walk?

[Talking about it in here is just going to cause a lot of commotion, he thinks, and he wants them to be able to speak freely- together, not at each other.]

[trypanophobic]

[in the pause, in Blue's deliberation, even then, Killua is hard bracing for the worst—he's of two minds. he doesn't get why Blue is this upset, and doesn't understand the full nature of the damage... but it's true: Killua does respect it. he hurt Blue's feelings, and that's what matters. there's no greater grievance than the betrayal of a friend's feelings; he was taught so, both by his father and by his own experience. it's tantamount to the various forms of torture that Killua has endured.

it was true, what his family said, though Killua hadn't heard it himself—he was better off with that needle in his head, less feeling, less harsh on himself.

so when Blue cautiously invites Killua out for a walk, he's surprised. he whips his head up, feeling a new glossy wash over his eyes, a fat set of tears rolling down his face for it. he reigns it in, tightly and suddenly, dropping his head. discreetly, in the shadows, he wipes his eyes.]

Okay.

[he exhales a shuddering breath, standing, trying to brace himself. he already had a difficult talk with Gon, tonight—with success. it seemed unlikely he could be so lucky twice in one night, but challenging his fears had already proved to be rewarding. at Blue's behest, at the very least, Killua could try again.]

Lead the way.

[vocalizing his gratitude would be too lame...]

[blueser]

[Blue catches it, though he wishes he hadn't- the reflection of tears in the moonlight, and he glances away, feeling embarrassed and ashamed to have seen it and caused it, and he averts his eyes from Killua's face as he stands and follows after. Blue, pushing his hands into his pockets, shuffles back out the door and lets it hang slightly open for Killua behind him.]

[As they walk out of the apartment, Blue mulls over what he could, should, wants to say in the uncomfortable silence, until they exit to the outside onto the deserted street. Verens was a city, so there was still some life here and there even this late, but in this part of town it was mostly quite silent.]

[Blue ambles along with Killua in tow, not quite sure of where he's walking to yet; he figures maybe they'll make circles around the neighborhood.]

How was my punch. [He starts, neutrally. He knew Killua must have been rather shocked, and to be honest, Blue had been rather shocked with himself, too. But all he could think about was Red knocking him one, embarrassing him in broad daylight, and revenge had filled him.] Don't worry, it was payback.

[trypanophobic]

Lousy, to be honest, [Killua answers in immediate, sincere candidacy. he was shocked, absolutely. but he wasn't surprised that Blue's form was all wrong. he can't help but smirk a little when he says it, but that dries up before long. it still feels like this is ticking down to something horrible and inevitable, but Killua tries to be optimistic.

it's not like he's being fucking taken out to parish, but... it feels grim.] ...But I can't lie, it was surprising.

[he glances at Blue uncertainly.] You mean... he hit you, before?

[blueser]

[Blue dryly chuckles, though his mouth hardly curls into a smile.]

Before he up and disappeared again. I can't believe he did it..... Reserved lil' Reddy. Well.... that was because I took his hat, though. I know all his little peeves. But I had my reasons for doing that, too.

...Even if it didn't work out... [He mutters something curse-like under his breath, and rubs his jaw as if in memory. A few more moments of silence pass as they walk, and Blue's eyes narrow as he tries to steel himself once more.]

It's none of your business and it never was.

[trypanophobic]

[Killua blinks when Blue says this, but doesn't flinch. his gaze drops, though, in guilty knowing. it still hurts, for some reason. but Killua knows that even if it's something he previously enjoyed, he probably has to revoke it now. all's fair in love and war, or whatever.]

Yeah.

It's not.

[Blue says that, but here he is volunteering this personal information anyway. something as crazy as someone as soft as Blue exchanging blows with his...mute? rival. the rules of friendship are confusing and harrowing. Killua's eyes narrow, his brows tightening.]

I didn't—realize all of that was...because of the fog.

I know I was wrong. I... [his arms visibly tense, shown by the rigidity in his muscles, hands curling anxiously and invisibly into fists within his pockets.]

I didn't mean to. The truth is that I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry.

[blueser]

Haven’t you ever had someone, [Blue abruptly begins, voice raising a little with his temper] who you wanted to learn a lesson on their own? Sure, if someone doesn’t understand why you’re mad, you can just tell them. But that doesn’t really solve anything, does it.

[Blue stops, eyes narrowed and tense looking, as he looks back at Killua.] What I want or whether I want something, that’s totally separate from the reality of what needs to happen to get it. Understand?

[His gaze drops for a moment, still turned to face Killua. Whether he wanted to talk to Red. Whether he still wanted to be friends again. All of that was pointless if he didn’t even realize- or get why- he’d hurt Blue.]

It isn’t that simple... [His brow pinches sorrowfully.]

[trypanophobic]

[when asked if he understands, Killua nods once. his steps still when Blue's do.

he watches Blue, heart twisting. partially because he feels for him, and partially because he feels bad. but the truth is that he can't relate. he probably hasn't even had enough close relationships outside of his own family to run into such trouble.]

...Mm, I haven't.

But I understand things being more complicated than people seem willing to accept. I didn't realize... but I know that's annoying.

[apologizing again is pointless; Blue will either accept it or he won't. all Killua can do now is listen, and accept the bed he's made.]

[blueser]

[Blue's mouth presses tightly, seemingly working through his feelings here. Maybe he's just spitballing at Killua; maybe he's already decided to forgive him, by the time he asked him to come walk with him. Or at least, had decided to consider it.]

[Honesty, respect, empathy. Those were all Blue was asking for... And Killua was giving it, without being defense, that kneejerk anger that Blue would have in this same situation. That has to be worth something.]

[Things being more complicated than people seem willing to accept. Blue's mind hangs on this, with a bit of recognition, a guess- but he isn't in the mood to bring it up at the moment.]

...So, what did you think? [Blue mumbles with a heavy breath, and leans against the side of a building tiredly.]

[trypanophobic]

[Killua watches as Blue settles the way he does, ruminating on his question, wondering if he's even parsing it correctly. is...Blue asking him what he was thinking, when he did something so clumsy and insensitive? it seems needless and maybe even cruel to elaborate that far, so Killua... hopes that isn't it.

he glances away for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck, then shyly peeks back at Blue.]

...What do you mean?

[blueser]

Mm? [Blue glances up at him again, a light twitch quirking his brow--]

...Of Red, obviously. [He says, not obviously at all.]

[Maybe his motivations for asking are rather blatant, but he's going to pretend they aren't. There's tension in his body still, tension that's been here that whole time, and it tightens ever further.]

[trypanophobic]

...I dunno. It's hard to tell. His presence is small next to yours, [Killua admits candidly, shrugging a shoulder. he wasn't given much time to really glean a true, honest assessment.]

He seems... reserved, I guess.

[maybe it was too many people. Killua thinks about it, though—he didn't realize they were friends for so long, that their mothers knew each other, that they did something as silly as name their kids like that.]

[blueser]

...Hm.

[Blue's mouth ...twists, thoughtfully. So the same as most people thought of him, from the outside.]

[He had wondered if Killua would pick up on anything else, but he supposes most people haven't seen Red's other sides. Even around Blue.]

I make sure it is. [He finally scoffs, chin tilting up a little.] Like I'd let a pushover like Red outshine me!

[trypanophobic]

[Killua glances at Blue, wondering how to correctly parse and respond to this—it's a pretty tenuous topic, especially given the nature of their walk anyway... but it's funny, right? Killua knows he doesn't have all the information to feel this way confidently, but can they continue their rivalry in a world that doesn't care about their talents as trainers? but of course, like Blue said, it's more complicated than that.

it seems like a trap neither of them can get out of, or something.

pushover is an interesting choice in words, Killua thinks. he also thinks that Red is strong in his own way; they're from a world where they don't really settle stuff like that, right? but Red was undeterred by Blue hitting him.]

...Mm. Well, you just have a pretty big personality. But you did say you were rivals, I guess.

[it might be obvious that Killua's being cautious about what he says...]

[blueser]

[Even despite his attempts to navigate this carefully, Blue turns a sharp, maybe even a little irritated look on him.]

[It's hardly Killua's fault for sidestepping, but that only seems to annoy him more.]

'Big personality', huh. [Whether he's internalizing this or what, he seems to take it badly. Like he didn't know himself, all the negative things that could mean. What other people said about him. For starters.] I wonder what that means.

[There's a bit of a reluctant flex in his jaw after he says that, but he doesn't apologize, either. Like he knows he's reading too much into it.]

I'll be less annoyed if you're honest with me, you know.

[trypanophobic]

[Killua scowls sorely at Blue when he of course takes that the wrong way, but he's not gonna stand here and embarrass himself arguing what positive things it could mean. things have reached a "money where your mouth is" point with their tension he thinks, anyway...

then Blue reads him so well, it kind of startles him. mostly because it's a confrontation of the fact that... well, they're close enough that Killua can't just casually lie around his own feelings so easily.]

...Fine.

He seems determined, I thought. How he didn't turn away in a bad situation, even when you hit him.

[he scratches his cheek. strong recognizes strong! but when it comes to more emotional matters... Killua thinks he might actually be more of a coward than that. the tension would have been too much, maybe?]

...Still wasn't enough exposure for me to say anything that means anything, anyway.

[blueser]

[Blue watches him work through his thoughts with a little bit of annoyance, and he thinks to himself that maybe they’re a little too similar, sometimes. Being called out on your obfuscation was annoying, wasn’t it? But there was no point when both of them now were close enough that keeping at arm’s length was maybe no longer an option...]

[That realization sort of startles Blue, too.]

[As for his impression of Red, it’s of course accurate. Red was always the strong one- in whatever capacity you measured by. ‘A strong personality’ meant nothing in regards to Blue but how fake he was. He wouldn’t take that at face value from someone like Killua.]

He’s stupid. He’s determined, even though he doesn’t even know what he wants. [Blue scowls into the darkness, kicking a loose cobble on the road.] An idiot that just goes running into things without thinking first.

I told him if he doesn’t have anything to say to me, get lost. I have nothing to say to him if he doesn’t.

[Sharply, his eyes land back on Killua’s.] That’s why. So don’t think just cuz you know one half of it that you can talk for me.

[trypanophobic]

[Killua's shoulders hike, giving Blue a withering look.]

Sheesh, I got it, [he reiterates tensely. he of course feels bad, but is also getting tired of repeating himself. it's embarrassing. he pinkies his ear.] I don't think I can talk for you. I didn't mean to. Haven't I already said so...? [he understood, he was sorry, it wasn't his intention. cyclical.

the description of someone determined who charges into things without thinking... well, Killua supposes those types are everywhere, maybe. his posture deflates out of its defensiveness, the emotional exhaustion sinking in. mostly because he's thought of Gon now, too.]

Sorry. About that, and that things didn't go well.

[blueser]

[Blue’s mouth presses together hard, trying to be firm in his insistence- but it melts away. Both from Killua’s obvious exhaustion, and because......]

[With that out of the way, there’s nothing left but his own exhaustion, his own frustration, and the pain the encounter dug up and left behind.]

[They mirror each other, but maybe not for the same reasons, the way rigid defensiveness deflates and leaves them raw and hurting. Blue wants someone he can talk to. He wants to trust Killua with himself in this delicate state, because otherwise, it’s just himself alone and angry and spiraling in his despair, just like he had that month. It isn’t like he ever wanted to face things alone that way- there just wasn’t any other option. There was no one.]

[The feelings, buried down all this time, bubble up out of him, eyes swelling and threatening to spill over in the darkness, and they bubble up around him, too. A puddle nearby them at the side of the street begins to roil, and turn black, boiling ichor containing all those negative emotions within him, and rivers of it run out between the spaces in the cobblestone.]

...Why doesn’t he ever understand... [He mumbles softly, voice thick and cracking with sorrow, and he quickly brings a hand up against his eyes, a useless hold against the breaking dam.]

[trypanophobic]

[Killua's a little surprised—by the boiling puddles, at least, and it takes him a moment to realize exactly what's happening there. he's less surprised, however, by the creeping despair and the culmination of Blue's frustration.

his jaw sets a little, remembering in NGL when Gon had broken down in front of him, a wreck of tears in frustration and failure. how he'd cried off and on for a couple of hours as they were transported to their destination together, Gon on the floor, and Killua on the bench they were intended to sit on in the truck back, simply watching him. his heart hurt for his friend the entire ride, but he didn't want to slight his stinging wounds due to the nature of his state. affirming someone's pain too directly is like calling out someone's weakness, sometimes...

but Killua feels like this might be a little different. to his question, Killua of course has nothing to say. he's familiar with that frustration, too—but Gon also understands him plenty, and they'd finally worked out that miscommunication tonight anyways... and even if he could impart some indication of relating, Killua's not trying to make this about himself.]

Hey...Let's—sit down for a minute.

[blueser]

[Blue is too worked up in his own worries to see the way Killua’s brows pinch looking at him, or the way his discomfort seeps through either at whatever it is he recognizes in him, or having to deal with it. Maybe if he wasn’t so stuck in his own spiral, but as it is, he breathes in deeply and glances up at Killua, his jaw wobbling, tears trying to spill out... and he just takes what’s being offered to him at face value. He’s too self absorbed to examine it, at the moment.]

...Okay...

[He feels emotionally tenderized. Now that his guard is down, he’s more agreeable... relatively.]

[He pushes off the side of the building he’s slumped against, and hands in pockets begins to wander off towards an area of stonework walls around a nearby building low enough to sit on. The rivers of ichor slow, chasing their heels a little, bit eventually die out as they walk away from it.]

[Blue slumps down on the stone fencing and lets out a slow, shuddered breath, seeping down into his exhaustion in quiet.]

...Sorry.... Sorry, I can’t control myself when.... [He trails off, jaw setting and muscles tending again.]

[trypanophobic]

[as they settle, Killua actually begins to relax a little bit. it feels like the tense, conflicted part is over—even if Blue has his own aspects of turmoil, that as a solitary factor is a little easier to deal with.]

Don’t worry about it, [Killua responds almost immediately, his palms against the stone of the ledge they sit on, eyes politely on nothing in particular on the darkness before them. but he does soon after glance at Blue—briefly.]

...It’s unfair to expect perfect control from anybody when they’re in pain. It doesn’t bother me.

[blueser]

[His jaw works at the dismissal, but he still seems unsatisfied, somehow. Still, he doesn’t prod at it again. If he was so bothered, he wouldn’t dismiss it so easily, right?]

[Blue sits in quiet for a little bit, rolling thoughts over in his head, but he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what he wants to say- he’s never been in this situation before, where there was someone he could talk to, someone he really wanted to talk to about this. And even then, there’s so much to him and Red that he wouldn’t know where to start anyway.]

[He squirms a little, rubbing one of his arms, as he gathers thoughts.] ...You can ask me. [He decides, stealing an awkward glance of his own.] Whatever you’re wondering about all that.

I don’t.... really know what to say about it. It’s hard to know....

[trypanophobic]

[Killua isn't anticipating being put in this position. he blinks, almost catching Blue's eyes when he turns to catch his glance just as he looks away. where to begin? especially since it's a touchy subject—even if he could narrow it down to just one question, which one does he pick??

he leans back on his palms a little bit.]

...How long has it been? Since you guys were friends, I guess.

[blueser]

[Blue leans his head back to stare up at the sky, and gives a little scoff of amusement. Of course a difficult to answer one, right away- but then, most of the questions he could ask were difficult.]

Red would probably give a different answer from me. [He muses, eyes squinting as he considers it.] ....I guess I would say we were about 8 or 9 when-- around the time that things began to ....change.

[His mouth twists, a considerate pause-] Things had begun to change for a long time already.... But I never thought they would change between us until then.

It's not like you have to take a test or anything to get your trainer's license- that's on your 11th birthday- unless you plan to enter a trainer's school, those have entrance exams. But it's pretty normal that before then you start sort of studying things to prepare for your journey, if you plan on doing the League challenge. [Blue swings his feet idly as he talks.] Obviously cuz of gramps-- since I am who I am, none of that was necessary. I knew more than most experienced trainers twice my age when I was starting out. And of course Red was preparing for his too, so it was both of us hanging around the lab all the time....

[The bitterness becomes apparent immediately, in his tone and his expression.]