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[on_repeat]

[It starts with a short sigh and the shake of a head.]

We've just received the information and already...Like herding tookas...

[Despite the vocal filter, he sounds mildly annoyed as he tosses a stick aside. Ignore the small piles of rubble and rock with lines drawn around them in the background. That's not important right now. It's Bizness.]

Before anyone else does anything, I suggest we all take the precautions necessary like organizing other groups to see who wants to go an' who's staying in Temba.

Because having an actual plan in case of emergency is preferable.

Comments

[hooliganstatus]

Depends on what you intend on doing while you're here.

[she can't ignore it, not at all, and gives him a wink in response.]

[on_repeat]

The same things I've been doing. Patrolling, maintenance, training...

[He tries not to laugh, but it's hinted in the short sigh that follows.] Boring routine, really.

[hooliganstatus]

Extremely boring. You have to keep your armor on for every single one of those things. We should fix that. Change up your routine.

[on_repeat]

What? The armor's important. You never know what to expect when wandering about out here.

...And maybe an open frequency's not the place to discuss this.

[hooliganstatus]

So many people here, so many new taboos. Where are you now?

[on_repeat]

Guess that's what happens when they're brought in from other places...I was about to head back to the outpost. Why?

[hooliganstatus]

Well, if you don't want to talk about it over the network, I can just ... come to you.

[on_repeat]

...I'll meet you there, then.

[hooliganstatus]

[she gets there first via aerial shortcuts and that handy grappling hook of hers, perching herself above the doorway. when Echo arrives, she swings down to face him upside down and plants a kiss, not caring if it's on his helmet or his face]

I win.

[on_repeat]

[Since Echo wasn't expecting her to be there first, he isn't prepared for the kiss. Even with the helmet still on, a surprised noise catches in his throat, stepping back once his view isn't obscured by Aeon's face.]

I didn't know it was a race.

[hooliganstatus]

That's not why I win.

[she flips down to the ground and smiles at him, reaching up to pop off his helmet so she can see his eyes]

I win because I have you.

[on_repeat]

[The seal breaks and the helmet lifts off easily when she does this, catching Echo mid-blink because he's still processing what she says.]

Me? And how do I figure into all of this?

[hooliganstatus]

[she realizes that they're going to have to actually Talk About All Of This. ugh. well, even if she's horrible at it, she needs to be able to say she tried. she holds his helmet out to him]

How would you like to?

[on_repeat]

[Falling silent, his brow sets, gaze shifting onto his helmet while gently taking it out of Aeon's hands.

There's a lot that comes up in the span of a few seconds - things he never had to think about before. Things he can't deny happening between them. Things he compartmentalized shortly after returning to the 'normal' he was still getting used to.]

...I'm not sure. [It's not an answer he's proud of, but it's a truth he's been sitting with. Finally meeting her eyes again, he tips his head toward the door, inviting her inside.] But I'd like to understand what's going on.

[hooliganstatus]

[she enters the outpost at his silent invitation, finding a place to perch where she can pull her knees up to her chest, wrap her arms around them, and lean her chin on one arm to watch him. she's not used to talking about feelings, only bantering about attraction and layering it with innuendo and metaphor. Echo isn't the only one having a hard time with this.]

I like you.

[no. that isn't nearly enough. she shakes her head a little, scowling at herself]

You understand so much. What it's like, being a copy of someone just like you, but still being so different from them. That you have to fight for things, not just because someone tells you to, but because they're important.

[Aeon turns her head to the side, resting her cheek on her arm in a self-soothing sort of maneuver]

And that there isn't a straight, thick line between what's right and what's wrong. Sometimes you have to do something wrong to make things right. ... I can always come and spend time with you. And we don't need to talk about what's going on to feel better about any of it. Because I get the feeling that you ... know. That you see a lot of things the way I do.

[on_repeat]

[He says nothing else after they go inside, giving her the time she needs to settle and compose her thoughts. While the tower has several perches available, the furnishings are still pretty sparse - a recliner Cayde helped him drag over from the furniture place, a side table, an extra crate from Coruscant, an ottoman or two. He's still working on it, but it's better than being completely empty.

Going through the motions of a practiced wind-down routine is what she sees unfold, his back facing her as he sets his helmet down on the side table.

'I like you'

He freezes midway through removing the outer chestplate with its blue hand print from his armor, almost dropping it when Aeon starts with those three words. Slowly, carefully, he sets it down over the winged pauldrons and the munitions pouch, resting his hands along the table's edge as she speaks, not saying anything until another long pause falls into place.]

...I suppose I do.

[Initially, he wasn't sure how he should respond to all of this. She's being honest, and he does understand what she means.

They've seen combat. They had their directives.

But here, in this place, they didn't have any of that to worry about.]

And...it is kind of nice. Not focusing on what we're used to doing.

[hooliganstatus]

It is, but ... it's also ...

[she sighs, slowly, and doesn't like the strange pressure building in her chest. it's making her eyes sting, and she really doesn't want to cry in front of him. she doesn't cry in front of anyone. ever. it's a sign of weakness and vulnerability. Aeon breathes in, filling her lungs in an effort to try and keep the tears at bay.]

If I don't have a mission to focus on, all I can do is think about the past. And I'm not liking what I see. ... The only things I'm finding I really do like are ...

[her voice nearly breaks. there are other good moments, from her life before. she needs to start with those, to remember that not everything before now was an Aeon Flux she doesn't want to be.]

The moments when what I was doing really was for good, times no one innocent got caught in the crosshairs. The time I spent with my sister, Una. Moments when Trevor and I weren't fighting, just ... teasing each other. But more than any of that, lately, when I look back ... there's one night I keep coming back to. Something that makes me feel like I might actually know what I'm doing. A night I did what was right, instead of what I was being paid to do, and ... got more than I think I deserved.

[on_repeat]

[Thinking seems to be a common enemy. It's something he quickly relates to, hitting as if to remind him that it can't be escaped. Reminding them of what they've done up until they arrived, what they've been pulled away away from, what they cannot easily return to.

But his thoughts aren't important at the moment.

He doesn't turn right away, silently waiting as Aeon tries to keep it together. The near break of her voice forces him to look, his brow touched with concern. And he stays quiet for a little longer.

It's not an awkward silence - it's the kind he falls into when things get serious. And this deserves his attention.

When she speaks again, he pushes away from the table, walking over to where she perches. A boot hooks around the ottoman, pulling it up a bit so that he can sit down in front of her, one arm resting on his thigh, letting his gaze drop for a second before glancing up at her.]

...What happened?

[hooliganstatus]

[she looks up at him. under a normal situation, she'd be smiling, but there's a hint of fear in her eyes even as she tries to]

You know. You were there for the whole thing.

[on_repeat]

[If he notices the underlying fear, he doesn't say anything in regards to it, holding her gaze as he processes what she means by that.

And once he does, it hits him.]



[That night.

And a lengthy pause draws itself out.]

...Oh. [According to the way he briefly averts his gaze and the tinge of color darkening his cheeks, he hasn't forgotten.] I was, wasn't I?

thought this was a 2/2 when I saw it but there was only 1 in my inbox. SO CONFUSE.

[hooliganstatus]

[Aeon nods.]

I haven't felt like I connected with anyone like that, not here. Even Chairman Goodchild ... we had chemistry, we had something, but ... we were on opposite sides. One day I'd enjoy flirting with him, we'd toy with each other. The next day we were trying to kill each other, and meant it.

This is different. This is --

[Aeon halts]

-- you're -- a good person. Better than me.

Hahahah I got lazy and cheated the system XD

[on_repeat]

Aeon...

[Echo hears how difficult it is to open up about things of this nature, eyes slowly watching her face as he tries his best to understand the dynamic of her past relationship.

A confusing world with complicated rules of engagement, to be sure, but whose world -- whose galaxy -- isn't?

Upon being called a good person, his brow creases slightly, tone softening as he places a hand on her arm.]

Ever since we've all been brought here, things have been different. For every one of us. And it hasn't been easy trying to break away from what we've known -- from what I've known my entire life. And I may not know the reasons behind your actions, but I don't want to hear you putting yourself down like that.

If I'm considered a good person, I feel like you can be good too.

[hooliganstatus]

[she looks down at his hand, and all the uncertainty she'd been feeling about her past in that moment drains from her in a single breath.]

You're not the only one who's said that.

[she looks back up at him, meets his eyes, and reaches up to rest her fingers on his cheek carefully, as though he might break if she touches him wrong]

But I only feel like this about you.

[on_repeat]

Then that's something worthwhile...

[He trails off. He doesn't move when she touches him, skin warm, jaw setting because there's a lot to think about.

The emphasis on his part in all of this is new -- a feeling he's never dealt with before.]

Is it going to be a problem? Feeling this way?

[hooliganstatus]

[she takes a slow breath in]

I've ... I'm not sure.

One of the previous versions of me, she ... she fell in love. When she really wasn't supposed to. It ruined our plan. It was the only time there've ever been two of me at once, and she had to die to fix her mistake. The look in her eyes ... I've seen it in the mirror.

[she looks up at Echo, biting her lower lip. he is, for certain, no Trevor Goodchild. a far, far better person, and someone who respects her a great deal more. the only games they play with each other are the kind where no one loses anything but time.]

I don't want it to be a problem. But I don't want to lose myself either...