（ although, she would be correct to suspect he would say no. but he does after a moment wrap an arm around her and draw her in close — resting his cheek comfortably against the crown of her hair. he does not like the proximity, the nearness nor her inherent lethality — this close, she could kill him. the only thing that prevents it is her own nature and the relationship they have built back from betrayal.
the hug is enveloping, but brief. he releases her, and turns back to collect the cups of tea steaming gently on the small formica countertop, and then he hands one to her. ）
〈 —after careful consideration, the council has voted, and she will feel endeared. even if the request only came about because of the orbs. he thought of her, and that is practically a declaration that they're besties.
his awkwardness, in full fairness, is also pulling double-duty. there is something about watching itachi turning into a real boy that tugs at the heartstrings. she accepts her tea with an amused curl at the corner of her mouth. 〉
Thank you for the tea, and thank you for the very early birthday present. 〈 he is excused from getting her a gift in december. 〉
as in she actually does finger guns. someone come collect her, she’s out of control. 〉
Honestly, 〈 she begins in the same tone she might use to talk about an okay show, 〉 it’s a sign of my spectacularly bad luck that even my birth date sucks.
〈 when being born on christmas would have been an improvement. at least then she could crack jokes about being holy. 〉
（ he remembers the school, the way her history had curled in around them like a closing fist. not the same timeframe, he knows — but he can imagine that the difficulties of her life in that period did not abate. ）
〈 she arches an eyebrow. 〉 You're scary sometimes, you know that?
〈 says the girl playing host to spider creature from another solar system. 〉
And no. At least not the way you're thinking. Though my dad turning himself in to protect my secret identity and expose corruption in the force could be considered an issue so…I'll give it to you.
he doesn't comment or correct her — it has always seemed to him that gwen and her father had a strong relationship. the genuine love she's spoken of him with does not suggest direct strife between them beyond the usual sort between parents and children.
(his concept of 'usual sort of strife' may be a bit extreme, however.) ）
Any group tasked with policing another eventually succumbs to corruption. Power is intoxicating. It was brave of him to do that.
（ everything he sees now is done through his father's eyes. they blink briefly closed, and when he opens them again he moves to refill her cup. he would not wish to be a poor host. ）
Supposing we are successful, will you be able to see him on your return to your world?
〈 if anything, she looks more uncomfortable. phrased differently, but she has been turning over that very question for months now. if she is successful, what world will she return to?
she takes the cup again, but does not drink. 〉
Depends on what universe I get back to: mine or the one that branches off mine with the orb’s influence.
Little changes can have big consequences, and we’re talking a pretty big change.
That’s the problem. 〈 her smile is rueful. 〉 I don’t know.
〈 she studies her outline in the dark liquid. 〉
I didn’t know what deal I made until Viveca told me before we shipped out to Scorpion’s Bend. I don’t know if I would have accepted it I had been asked at any point other than when I was asleep. But now that I’m here, it feels like I’m killing him twice if I don’t play along.〈 she shrugs helplessly. 〉 It’s great fun. Highly recommend it.
his expression remains neutral, but his eyes follow the sightline of hers, settling on her newly filled up. a brief pinch between his brows, immediately smoothed out, is the only sign of his awareness of the weight she carries with this.
he does not excel at this manner of comfort, but he slips one hand across the table and touches the inside of her wrist. it's the barest ghost of pressure, there and gone. the whisper of suggestion, that she is not alone. ）
Gwen — but what occurred with your friend... that was his choice, more than yours. You were not responsible for his actions, nor his jealousy. I understand why you feel as you do, but it was not your fault. And if you choose not to fulfill your regret, or you wish to change it... if he was ever a true friend to you, he would be able to examine what occurred between the two of you, and accept that.
〈 gwen's eyes settle briefly on her wrist, lingering even after itachi removes his hand. nothing he says is new or surprising. much of it she has been telling herself for years. 〉
I know.
〈 her hard fought breakthrough—arriving as a furious harry was angling to break her head through. she certainly has timing. he blamed himself, she blamed herself…but what peter did, he did alone. she had to see it and so did harry before they could even attempt to follow the threads of their lives. trauma was a knot that they could neither cut through nor climb back over. it was just there—an ugly reminder, a gnarl in the thread. she has moved along enough that, looking back, it does not dominate her field of vision as it did.
it is still too big to ignore.
with a sigh, she looks up. 〉
If it were only reason involved, I’d have my answer. Death’s a part of life. It’s not cruel or fair—it just is. We live; we die. Matter transforming. Trying to stop that…it’s hubris. It’s wrong.
Then I remember my friend.〈 she pauses, her throat tight. 〉 I’ve met so many Peters. All of them versions of him. And none of them the one who used to follow me around everywhere, jabbering my ear off about some dorky show on the Syfy channel. 〈 her chest now is the one too tight. bands wrap around her ribs until her heart aches. 〉 There’s a really selfish part of me that just wants to see my friend again.
（ saving shisui was not his priority, when it came to making his deal with the orb. but... in that same selfish way, he hopes that his goal can save him just the same. the uchiha are a cursed line.
chaos will follow you all of your life.
one finger twitches faintly, and he finds himself studying his ring in lieu of her miserable, hunched countenance. ）
I understand the desire. But the only one who can weigh it's worth is you.
〈 it is. an understandable desire, and a selfish one. what else can gambling a universe be? once they collect all the orbs, they will be able to make perfect deals. still, she remembers welford and the town of scorpion’s bend. her first mission. the sound of his crying followed them onto the station.
rather than answer—again, nothing she has not already repeated to herself—she drinks her tea while it is still warm. the true crime here: wasting good tea. only once it is newly empty does she speak. 〉
（ absently, he reaches up to the earpiece to indicate she should anticipate a message.
he sends her his findings, neat and exacting and precise and utterly devoid of personality, as with all his mission reports. details on the house, the rooms, the cooper family, and his inevitable dead end with the university secretary. he should have attempted to visit in person, where he could have used the sharingan. careless of him, to rely on charm.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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（ although, she would be correct to suspect he would say no. but he does after a moment wrap an arm around her and draw her in close — resting his cheek comfortably against the crown of her hair. he does not like the proximity, the nearness nor her inherent lethality — this close, she could kill him. the only thing that prevents it is her own nature and the relationship they have built back from betrayal.
the hug is enveloping, but brief. he releases her, and turns back to collect the cups of tea steaming gently on the small formica countertop, and then he hands one to her. ）
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his awkwardness, in full fairness, is also pulling double-duty. there is something about watching itachi turning into a real boy that tugs at the heartstrings. she accepts her tea with an amused curl at the corner of her mouth. 〉
Thank you for the tea, and thank you for the very early birthday present. 〈 he is excused from getting her a gift in december. 〉
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（ he will, of course, be doing something rather more thoughtful than this!!
but in the interim, he sits down beside her on the bed, and raises his tea for a drink. ）
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〈 that’s not a flex, gwen. that is emphatically not a flex. 〉
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（ when the b-side killers track mr. genocide over here is reading you for filth.... girl... maybe get some standards. ）
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as in she actually does finger guns. someone come collect her, she’s out of control. 〉
Honestly, 〈 she begins in the same tone she might use to talk about an okay show, 〉 it’s a sign of my spectacularly bad luck that even my birth date sucks.
〈 when being born on christmas would have been an improvement. at least then she could crack jokes about being holy. 〉
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（ he actually has no idea of the specifics. birthdates weren't something he tended to care about — his own, or anyone else's save sasuke's. ）
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Four days before that.
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still wore that ugly sweater tho. ）
I fail to see the correlation. What about the date is terrible?
（ people just don't care about holidays the same way in his world, and birthdays are rarely — if ever — a big deal to anyone. ）
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A lot—especially when your life has gone up in flames during the most wonderful time of the year.
〈 of which the school was all too happy to remind her. 〉
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Issues with your father?
（ a guess, albeit an educated one. ）
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〈 says the girl playing host to spider creature from another solar system. 〉
And no. At least not the way you're thinking. Though my dad turning himself in to protect my secret identity and expose corruption in the force could be considered an issue so…I'll give it to you.
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he doesn't comment or correct her — it has always seemed to him that gwen and her father had a strong relationship. the genuine love she's spoken of him with does not suggest direct strife between them beyond the usual sort between parents and children.
(his concept of 'usual sort of strife' may be a bit extreme, however.) ）
Any group tasked with policing another eventually succumbs to corruption. Power is intoxicating. It was brave of him to do that.
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〈 apple real vocal about the tree.
she exhales a quiet sigh. 〉
I miss him. 〈 which the orb’s schoolhouse of horror readily exploited.
she sets the cup down on the bedside table. her fingers twist together. 〉
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（ everything he sees now is done through his father's eyes. they blink briefly closed, and when he opens them again he moves to refill her cup. he would not wish to be a poor host. ）
Supposing we are successful, will you be able to see him on your return to your world?
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she takes the cup again, but does not drink. 〉
Depends on what universe I get back to: mine or the one that branches off mine with the orb’s influence.
Little changes can have big consequences, and we’re talking a pretty big change.
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（ he sets the pot down in a very exacting manner, precise as all his actions are. ）
Which would you prefer?
（ he knows his own preferences on the matter, but it would only upset her to learn. ）
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〈 she studies her outline in the dark liquid. 〉
I didn’t know what deal I made until Viveca told me before we shipped out to Scorpion’s Bend. I don’t know if I would have accepted it I had been asked at any point other than when I was asleep. But now that I’m here, it feels like I’m killing him twice if I don’t play along.〈 she shrugs helplessly. 〉 It’s great fun. Highly recommend it.
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his expression remains neutral, but his eyes follow the sightline of hers, settling on her newly filled up. a brief pinch between his brows, immediately smoothed out, is the only sign of his awareness of the weight she carries with this.
he does not excel at this manner of comfort, but he slips one hand across the table and touches the inside of her wrist. it's the barest ghost of pressure, there and gone. the whisper of suggestion, that she is not alone. ）
Gwen — but what occurred with your friend... that was his choice, more than yours. You were not responsible for his actions, nor his jealousy. I understand why you feel as you do, but it was not your fault. And if you choose not to fulfill your regret, or you wish to change it... if he was ever a true friend to you, he would be able to examine what occurred between the two of you, and accept that.
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I know.
〈 her hard fought breakthrough—arriving as a furious harry was angling to break her head through. she certainly has timing. he blamed himself, she blamed herself…but what peter did, he did alone. she had to see it and so did harry before they could even attempt to follow the threads of their lives. trauma was a knot that they could neither cut through nor climb back over. it was just there—an ugly reminder, a gnarl in the thread. she has moved along enough that, looking back, it does not dominate her field of vision as it did.
it is still too big to ignore.
with a sigh, she looks up. 〉
If it were only reason involved, I’d have my answer. Death’s a part of life. It’s not cruel or fair—it just is. We live; we die. Matter transforming. Trying to stop that…it’s hubris. It’s wrong.
Then I remember my friend.〈 she pauses, her throat tight. 〉 I’ve met so many Peters. All of them versions of him. And none of them the one who used to follow me around everywhere, jabbering my ear off about some dorky show on the Syfy channel. 〈 her chest now is the one too tight. bands wrap around her ribs until her heart aches. 〉 There’s a really selfish part of me that just wants to see my friend again.
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（ saving shisui was not his priority, when it came to making his deal with the orb. but... in that same selfish way, he hopes that his goal can save him just the same. the uchiha are a cursed line.
chaos will follow you all of your life.
one finger twitches faintly, and he finds himself studying his ring in lieu of her miserable, hunched countenance. ）
I understand the desire. But the only one who can weigh it's worth is you.
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rather than answer—again, nothing she has not already repeated to herself—she drinks her tea while it is still warm. the true crime here: wasting good tea. only once it is newly empty does she speak. 〉
Have you found anything?
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he sends her his findings, neat and exacting and precise and utterly devoid of personality, as with all his mission reports. details on the house, the rooms, the cooper family, and his inevitable dead end with the university secretary. he should have attempted to visit in person, where he could have used the sharingan. careless of him, to rely on charm.
then: ）
I trust the others have had better luck.
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（ his expression betrays nothing, but there is a faint twitch to his hand. ）
It was... unpleasant.
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tardío fin.