deercountry | (closed) march catchall

[ He exhales. ]

You were really brave back then.

[ Or-- well, it's more that the boy had clearly been in shock, or so Daniel had interpreted Robby's behaviour back then. The weird stoney silence, only interrupted by the bare minimum that had to be said. The total lack of emotion. Maybe that part wasn't necessarily good, but.. Robby got through a really hard thing.

That's being brave, even if it might not be the typical kind.

And Daniel is still glad he insisted on taking both the kids to places where someone could take a look at them. Fix them. God knows whether Robby's hands could still have been fixed this much if he had taken his time on bringing the poor boy to a doctor.

It makes Daniel want to run his thumb over the hands, but that's kind of hard with the way his own hand is trapped between both of Robby's own hands. So he instead moves the hand that's around Robby, still thankfully against the back of the other's head, which means it's very easy for Daniel to slowly move Robby's head just a little bit closer until Daniel can plant a slight kiss against the top of his forehead, since he can't really move his own body closer on his own accord. ]

I'm very proud of you.

[ Was this about Daniel's back?

Yes. But he's not even really avoiding any talk of that as much as Daniel just can't resist passing up a moment to tell Robby these things. They're too important not to. ]

[ Someone wants a distraction from himself.

Robby might have a few things to say about his so-called bravery. Or talk about another, 2B, who fought on and reacted in every way better than him. It's not quite a typical awe that he feels--felt? no, feels--for her: because she had no choice but to fight, to be a warrior, a protector. It was a part of her down to her program, and the life she knew. 2B was skilled, but he liked her for who she was, though that was a being trying to learn who she could be.

He'd miss her, if not for the kiss planted on his forehead to distract all those thoughts, a fluttering shyness fuzzing his brain with a special kind of white noise.

(He wouldn't mind a kiss on the cheek...

He could give Mister LaRusso a kiss on the cheek...

Should he give him a kiss on the...?) ]

What do you think happened to 2B? [ --nevermind distracting thoughts. They weren't there, and he'll ask his question like the easy one it is to find, relatable to the subject; because Mister LaRusso might want to make it about his bravery, but Robby sure knows who he'd rather talk about instead. ]

[ It's a question he didn't quite expect, though it is relevant to the topic. Still-- lying here with his back slowly hurting a little less, but still not inclined to move a whole bunch, he didn't quite expect to think about the girl.

Though he has. Many times since she left. Just like with every other student who returned to the ocean. ]

.. I don't know.

[ None of them technically know for sure, after all. What happens when people go back into the ocean - whether they go home, though it doesn't seem to be too likely, or to some other place, or whether they just.. swim around indefinitely.

Still.. Maybe it's the heaviness of their own current situation, but he doesn't want to linger on a note like that. Instead Daniel closes his eyes for a moment, but then opens them again as he speaks on. ]

Whatever happened, I hope that she's somewhere with plants right now. [ There's definitely a fond note in the man's voice as he speaks, even if his tone is still a little weak. ] She always seemed the happiest when she was dealing with the plants.

[ It's not the answer Robby wanted. It might be heavy right now, asking, What do you think happens to us? under the guise of asking it over a single person, but--Robby would prefer honesty to hope. Except Mister LaRusso might rather cling to hopes than what he worries to be the truth, when hopes lead to family. ]

...Yeah, [ is all Robby can give in turn, acknowledgement or agreement, maybe both. ] A guy told me...he still feels someone who left. Someone like a son to him. [ Wasn't it? Robby can't recall the conversation clearly, he thinks it was when he made the anonymous post, but-- ] There's plenty of plants in the sea.

[ Usually, there are. But the comment feels like a compromise to Mister LaRusso's own answer. Because if Robby were to rely on hope, well--he'd prefer her to be somewhere that was away from war, fighting. A selfish desire, really, when she probably wants to see her partner again.

Still. Maybe she'll find him there in that sea that they find themselves in--that Robby thinks finds them. ]

[ There is something more to this.

It's not like Daniel can't tell. Even though his brain feels a little bit more foggy now the pain is instead replaced with a faint haze that numbs it for the time being, he can tell as much, especially when he's still holding Robby relatively close to him.

And yet he doesn't dig into it right away. Maybe he's a little worried about discussing something so potentially sad at a moment like this. On the other hand - he also doesn't want Robby feeling like he has to hold in anything around him.

So after a moment of quiet, Daniel slowly speaks up again, not realising his cradling hold on the back of the boy's head. ]

What are you thinking about, Robby..?

[ You can ask him a little more directly, bud. Or just vent at him. He doesn't mind. ]

[ does he have toooooo, sensei dad.

Because Robby feels reluctant. It's not like it's a situation they can do anything about, and talking about the sea and people leaving is just a miserable side of reality nobody wants to really touch. They have to deal with it, live with it, and that's it, and trying to examine it never goes anywhere pleasant.

So he wonders if to say anything, or let himself be pressed into speaking. But, reluctantly: ]

...I wish we knew. What happens--where they go. Maybe she's out there in the sea as a squid, and she's okay, but...she had a lot she never got to experience.

[ He's let his hands drop from Mister LaRusso's over the time, and he looks at the man now, a sad tug of his lips. ]

I just miss her. That's all.

I miss her too.

[ Even if his tone is soft, it's an easy admission for Daniel to make under the current circumstances. It might not be the sort of thing he'd bring up first, since it's the sort of burden he'd want to shoulder himself - but this is different. If he can show Robby that Robby isn't alone in this emotion, then.. well, that's better than nothing.

Even if it doesn't fix a thing. ]

.. she was one of the first to join the dojo when I asked. Even though it's not like she needed it. [ Not the karate, anyway.

But the balance, the companionship -- it's especially for the latter that Daniel invited her in the first place. ]

I think it's since she really cared about you.

[ Nothing can be fixed, but hearing that Mister LaRusso misses her as well--it's what he wants to hear, or what's comforting than any niceties about what her situation might be. Their emotions, their feelings on it.

She really cared about you. Robby's eyes are fixed on their hands, though not touching now, but in that space between them that allows him to lean his head slightly on Mister LaRusso's chest/shoulder area. ]

...You were good, too, looking out for her like that. She never got to be a person. [ ... ] Seeing herself like that really meant a lot to her. She told me someone saw that she had a spirit, and she never knew if she did. Stories like that were just for humans.

[ Which isn't strange, really. But it's not about what it means to them, though they can understand if they think about it. Why someone like 2B might see herself different, that she was--but there was nothing inhuman about her, to Robby. Not in the way anyone cares about humanity. ]

She... the way she was, you know, Mob reminded me of her. Trying to be someone, a lil' quiet. [ And awkward. A small huff. ]

They could take down anything that got in their way, but they never want to hurt anything. I would've protected them any day.

[ Just so they didn't have to. ]

[ At least it's something nice to be reminded at a moment like this. Not even necessarily the memory of 2B, sad but in a bittersweet sort of way, but what Robby follows it up with. Something he says so naturally in this little moment between the two of them - I would've protected them any day.

Isn't that the reason Robby stuck up for Mob in the first place? Why he keeps dragging kids over to the dojo? Robby is a natural protector, fierce and devoted, and it's a knowledge that always fills Daniel with appreciation for the boy - with pride. ]

.. did you meet her Omen?

[ It's the thing Daniel says instead after a tiny quiet moment. Maybe he doesn't want to steer the conversation too close to Mob here - just in case, since he knows Robby still has to be worried.

Daniel is still worried too, after all. ]

It was a little funny how different that tiny thing was compared to her. I always kind of wondered if it was saying the stuff she couldn't say herself. Or if it was just looking out for her.

[ The reminder of the omen gets a small huff, surprised and amused at once, a 'Yeah' that follows through on the former--because he does remember them, and what Mister LaRusso's saying, it tracks.

It's the reason the humour returns, if softly, in Robby's voice. The grasshopper(??) that was always messing with its attenae. ]

Both? ...it told me things 2B didn't wanna talk about, or think about. [ Which, he kind of wonders if the omen did the same for Mister LaRusso, but Robby doesn't want to say what--snitches get stitches, you know. ]

It told me she always wanted to go shopping. [ ...okay, this kind of snitching is safe, okok. It even warms Robby's voice, himself to recall. ] I took her and some friends, made a whole day outta it. I know she liked it. Even if her idea of dressing was, well...

You remember the gi.

[ And her wearing just the top over her regular clothes............. ]

Oh, I remember a lot of her..

[ Look at the way that voice trails off. It's not even because Daniel is having a hard time thinking because of his current state or anything, it just takes him a moment to find the right word. ]

.. eccentricities.

[ Nailed it. Clearly. It's said in the fondest way possible though. Sure, 2B was strange, but.. she was trying so hard to live. What's more admirable than that? ]

If she ever does come back from the ocean, we'll need to throw her a big celebration. [ Just like how Robby threw her that big shopping trip. ] I bet it'll catch her off guard.

[ Yeah, that's such a way to phrase that, Robby's smiling. One that grows at the following idea. ]

She'll be stuck. She won't know what to do. [ Some might even say such an idea is cruel. But can't they be cruel to 2B, as a treat? It's a nice thought that Robby can picture behind his lowering eyelids--or maybe it's just that comfortable right now. ]

Like when we gave her the gingerbread house? [ Haha. ] You picked a good one. I should've invited her over for the Christmas dinner.

[ An afterthought, one given rather lazily, drowsily. ]

[ That would absolutely be 2B's reaction. Her getting the Christmas presents really was telling - and just proof of how little the girl was used to. It was nice to be able to give her those things when no one else had done so before, but.. also a little heartbreaking, knowing that simple things like those were so foreign to her.

He considers making a remark about the Christmas dinner idea - probably something about it being a better idea to not put 2B anywhere close to Robby's dad - but then lets it go, opting to focus on something else.

Something that's obvious in Robby's voice, especially with the two of them being so close right now. ]

Are you tired?

[ He wouldn't blame Robby, considering everything. Sure, they did sleep for.. quite a while, probably.. in fact, Daniel isn't even sure what time it is right now, or what day.

But they've been through a lot. Even if Robby isn't the injured one here, he still seemed so stressed, so feverish. His body has been bearing a lot. ]

Maybe.

[ He doesn't want to admit to it, though doing so doesn't feel as bad as it could. Even if he feels tired, it doesn't mean he has to sleep, though Mister LaRusso will fuss because he always does. But-- ]

But I don't want to sleep. [ --but with that fondly stated, he'll say it anyway, doesn't care too deeply what Mister LaRusso will say. Because he likes the man regardless, fussing and all. ] I like talking to you.

[ He likes hearing him, is the thing. He wants to keep that up, feel the touch of him against him, his fingers on the back of his head. ]

It's nice.

[ This is nice. ]

[ See, Robby is right. Usually Daniel would tell Robby to sleep anyway, even if it's just a little bit. Especially under the current circumstances, and especially with how feverish the other seemed before, even if Daniel is unable to tell whether or not Robby has a fever right now due to his lack of sensing any temperature.

But that's usually. Robby saying stuff like this? Well, maybe it's a little more common nowadays, but still not usually. Him being so sweet that it makes Daniel even pause for a moment to try and process it. It's not even something he hears from his biological son, after all.

.. even less usually, anyway. ]

Yeah?

[ Daniel tries to hide the surprise in his voice, but there's a touch of it anyway. It's a fond sort of surprise though, something that happily catches him off guard, leaving him unable to not continue to play with Robby's hair a little if the other finds it so comforting. ]

Are you happy right now then?

[ That's more important than anything, after all. Daniel can even forget his mostly-numbed pain in favour of that. He can even forget about his own back for a moment. ]

Yeah.

[ No other answer crosses his mind. Of course he's happy right now--Mister LaRusso is speaking, he's close enough to alright than Robby worried he wasn't, and they're together. But he doesn't take the question for doubt or surprise; he doesn't think about it too deeply at all, other than he feels, and what he feels is-- ]

I care about you a lot. You're important to me. [ His brushes his hand again against the one of Mister LaRusso's that on the bed, fingers touching to skin. A loose hold if anything, around the side of it. ]

...You wanted to be family.

[ He speaks it meaningfully, not a question, but a statement. What could be a We said we'd be family, if shy, or still working around the idea, but touching around its edges.

If he were a better person, maybe he could commit better; if he wasn't someone who saw a ring and felt guilty.

But Robby knows what's better for the both of them than the part of him that reacts that way, sometimes. ]

Want. [ Daniel gently corrects.

Or-- well, it's not entirely a correction, is it. Daniel is pretty sure that Robby knows this too, if not just because Daniel quite literally putting himself in the way of danger to ensure that Robby would stay safe makes his point on that pretty clear, he's sure.

But he wants to say it anyway. Maybe because they're all cozy like this, one of Daniel's hands still in Robby's hair, the other now being crowded by Robby's hand. Maybe because he wants to make sure to keep reminding this boy that he's wanted, when Robby must have felt otherwise so many times in his life.

Just the simple confirmation that it's still very much a present tense thing. Even though Daniel knows it's a lot for Robby.

But it's okay. He can wait. He wants to be a patient man, doesn't he? ]

The same counts for me, you know? I'm not exactly in the best shape right now. [ That's underplaying it severely, but for once it's not just Daniel doing it because it's Daniel, but also a little bit for Robby's sake in this moment, not wanting to drag the warmth down with heaviness. ] But knowing you're alright, knowing you're happy.. It makes this moment bearable.

[ Please don't make him feel things he doesn't know how to handle, Mister LaRusso. It's very rude.

Because want is a strong correction--or not a correction, but a reminder. One that makes Robby's body warmer than the low flush he's been inflicted this with this entire time; not over his skin, but deeper. Sure, sometimes Robby questions the validity of that want to himself, privately; that risk he doesn't want to gamble with, least he gets hurt. And it's not just because of the past, of what's happened between the two of them before, but--doesn't it make sense? That a family man without one present would want to fix that.

Robby wouldn't blame him, if things fell apart.

But that's not a thought for now. There's only the giddiness, the warmth. The soothe lull of Mister LaRusso's voice, where thinking is a task for a more awake person, when the blood missing from his body is less noticeable.

But it's a happy kind of drifting off, where at least, Robby does manage to say: ]

Then you'll be okay.

[ There's an implication there, on purpose, despite being sappy--that if his being happy and alright can make this bearable, then there'll be nothing to worry about.

Such is the conclusions a sleepy mind can come to. ]

[ It's a nice sentiment. Not that Daniel is thinking about it too hard. Rather than thinking about Robby's words, he's more just observing his reaction. His face, his tone - trying to make sure Robby means it.

It sounds like he does. He really.. does sound happy.

And that's what matters most here. Daniel does kind of feel like he's okay as long as he knows that Robby is happy. If he managed to protect Robby's smile in the long run by taking this hit, then it's all fine with him. ]

I know you said you don't want to sleep. [ It was only a few moments ago, and thankfully it seems the impact didn't do anything to the memory part of Daniel's brain.. ] But maybe you should. Just for a little bit.

[ Robby seems happy, sure, but he seems tired too. And Daniel figures a nap migth be good for Daniel himself in this moment too, considering it seems like his body has a long road to go. Maybe he can try to see if he can talk to Chozen once he's awake again, try to see if the other guy can get a doctor to visit. ]

You know I'm not going anywhere.

[ Mostly because he literally can't go anywhere right now.

But, sssh.. ]

[ Robby would like to argue, but it's more of an urge than a feeling or true want; that he's not the one in the same state as Mister LaRusso. In pain, part of a building thrown at him--he should stay awake while he is, or be urging the older man to sleep.

But he doesn't have even that much of an argumentative spirit in him to go along with. Instead, though it's not immediate, he shifts to tuck himself more against Mister LaRusso, as if acquiescing to the plan. He wants to say one last thing--not good night, but not something as strong as I love you. Something in-between, or some good positive thought, as if the last of what he said wasn't good enough.

Sleep finds Robby before those last words do, a light nodding off that will soon enough deepen.

At least sleep will help him get some of his blood back. Certain others will have a longer trip to recovery... ]

[ Even without a single word from Robby, Daniel can feel his heart growing a little softer all the same as he feels the boy moving even a bit closer. That's all he needs in this moment, despite his own condition. As long as he knows Robby feels safe and happy here with him like this, enough so to stick this close to Daniel..

.. nothing else feels more important.

It's why the man stays awake for a little while longer. Just to watch Robby sleep, just to make sure the sleep the boy is having isn't too fitful, that he isn't having a nightmare..

But his body is too weak to keep that up for too long. After that litle while Daniel finds himself slowly drifting off to sleep as well, still holding Robby close the best he can. ]

(closed) march catchall

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