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that one time travel psl
sad bad end s5 jon and tim on a monster road trip
[Algric had given the trio a fair warning of what was happening. Not the specific details of what he was coming from, but he was from a little further along Algric's timeline, and came through Hilltop Road. Never pleasant, but he's here now. IT took a few days of settling, readjusting, and putting some firm self-imposed boundaries on himself before Jon felt comfortable enough to see the others.
After a few minutes of surprise and staring, Jon ends up sitting alone with Tim for a few minutes; the others having some things to take care of themselves. He sits there, fiddling a bit with his fingers, trying not to be self conscious. He can't do anything about the myriad of different, newer scars, nor about his black sclera or so many other things about himself now.
But god... Tim. Alive and not shouting at him right this second. How novel.]
Tim... I.. [Where does he even start.]
[Algric had given the trio a fair warning of what was happening. Not the specific details of what he was coming from, but he was from a little further along Algric's timeline, and came through Hilltop Road. Never pleasant, but he's here now. IT took a few days of settling, readjusting, and putting some firm self-imposed boundaries on himself before Jon felt comfortable enough to see the others.
After a few minutes of surprise and staring, Jon ends up sitting alone with Tim for a few minutes; the others having some things to take care of themselves. He sits there, fiddling a bit with his fingers, trying not to be self conscious. He can't do anything about the myriad of different, newer scars, nor about his black sclera or so many other things about himself now.
But god... Tim. Alive and not shouting at him right this second. How novel.]
Tim... I.. [Where does he even start.]
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"She hasn't been well for a long time." He knows he's saying this in vain; if he was in Algric's shoes, surely he'd be blaming himself, too. "It wasn't your fault."
So he says, but there's a seed of agreement that lodges somewhere in the dark recesses of Martin's mind.
"Maybe it had already started when she-" Martin's hand reaches up to gesture at where the vase had-- Oh. It's caked with dried blood. He'd completely forgotten about it.
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"For being so frail, she really...has a strong arm."
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"She really does," he murmurs. "And even when she doesn't, she has a way of - of keeping you weaker than her."
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It's...nice. Odd, to be on the other end of his own kindness, but really nice. Warm. It's brotherly, in a way. Even if Algric has been with him the entire time, Martin has felt, in some ways, very alone from start to finish. Ready to fade away. As it is, though, his edges get a little less fuzzy.
(If he was in a much, much different frame of mind, Martin might have a quiet joke to himself about a Persona Social Link RANK UP!)
Suddenly very aware of the sensation of fabric against his back, Martin nods mutely.
"Even when you feel like you should've grown beyond it."
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It's kind of nice being able to do this for himself? It really is brotherly, isn't it. What a thought that is...
"R-right. I - we - I thought that once I got tall enough, or old enough, I'd be strong enough. Good enough." A faint laugh. "She's good at making you feel like you're eight again."
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And it's the home. So he might as well get it over with.
Reluctantly, Martin forces himself back into existence. Some patrons give him odd looks for appearing so suddenly, had he been there before? But people are very good at pretending that they haven't seen anything.
Martin picks up.
With sympathies, the nurse informs him that his mother had passed from a sudden and unexpected heart attack. At his earliest convenience, he can come fill out the paperwork and settle final fees. Do you have any questions, Mr. Blackwood?
"No. N-no, no. Thank you. Thank you very much."
He hangs up before the nurse can continue, and allows himself to fade out again.
"...So. That's it, then."
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That's it, then. He's killed her. Denied Martin his last year with her, yanked her away. He lets out a shuddering breath, an exhalation of chill. Focus, Algric. He knows beating himself up in front of Martin will surely make this worse for his alternate self.
"I - I can help with arrangements," he says, numbly. "Having done this once already."
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Is it strange that the phone call is what makes everything final? Not being there watching it happen, not walking out of the care facility. Martin's throat tightens.
"You don't have to put yourself through it again."
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Putting Martin's feelings first is too kind of Algric, to the point that Martin has no argument despite good cause to refuse: to spare Algric's own.
"If that's what you really want to do..."
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Given he caused this.
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"Okay. It...doesn't have to be now. We could go back and do the paperwork now, or...head back to the others, or...just. Stay here a while. Whatever's easiest for you."
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"Can we stay? For a moment."
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Reaching up to his temple, he feels that most of the blood is gone.
"...Thank you."
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He doesn't finish. Martin just spends the next while burying himself in disassociating and silence between them that manages to be both companionable and painful at the same time. He says nothing until there's an unspoken agreement between them that they're ready to leave, to return to the relative comfort of being in the others' presence, or at the very least to find their own ways to continue processing the day as they need to.
It's helped, being with Algric. Yet he still feeling horribly, almost unbearably alone now.