re_alignment_logs | Just want to say

Entry tags:

Just want to say

WHO: Drill Boy & McCrane
WHERE: Police HQ, main branch
WHEN: Current
WHAT: After somehow missing a chance to notice McCrane's return Drill Boy finally gets to see him.
WARNINGS: Possibly over cute robots?

Drill Boy made his way back to HQ, still feeling tired, and still feeling very sensitive about McCrane. He kept hoping to see him around somewhere, a post on the link, or something, but it seemed like there no reward for his patience.

"Boss, Gunmax, Kagerou, I'm back." He called out as he entered the building, his voice a bit listless. His only plan at the moment was to go sit down, put his head on his desk and hopefully distract himself. He wasn't sure why McCrane being gone impacted him so much, much more then not having either of the other Build Team members around, but it did.

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The last half-day had been strange to him.

Always before, his memories had been crisp. When he needed to search for important data, it had readily been available to him.

Now...it wasn't. Events from the past week were fuzzy to him, ending with his journey to seek Overlord. It wasn't good news either, that he'd failed.

McCrane couldn't come to terms with failure easily on its own--much less failure he couldn't recall or learn from. How would he face Yuuta? How would he face Drill Boy?

How...

was...

How was now.

McCrane looked up from the desk he'd been sitting at, going through the previous week's Link transmissions.

"Drill boy..." He began, and couldn't say more.

At the sound of his name he looked up from where he had been staring, sulking, just a moment before. A moment of stunned silence passed as he stared, mouth slightly agape. It was... McCrane, just sitting there... like nothing had happened.

All at once he flew into motion, rushing forward, intent on hugging the other BP, and a mix of excitement and sadness crossing his face. "MCCRANE!"

It was almost normal, Drill Boy walking in and running toward him. Maybe it hadn't always been with this enthusiasm, but it makes him feel better, either way.

"Drill Boy..." He says again, softer, but does not manage more before he opens his arms to catch the other member of Build Team. He's not even sure what he would say.

Right now, it's more important for him that Drill Boy is here, and Drill Boy is safe, and he's safe, too. He's not dead.

Instead, he's simply quiet while he hugs the other tightly, and does not immediately let go.

Drill Boy clings to him tightly enough that not being let go right away doesn't even seem to register to him. He isn't sure what he want's to say or if he just wants to stay quiet and hope this really is real and not some dream.

"Missed you." He finally mumbles out, nothing big but it says everything that is most important in his mind right now.

He thought about blabing away about what had happened with the Brave Police while McCrane was gone, or how he had waited and watched for him. He even considered trying to tell him about the fight since he figured that, like Kagerou, he wouldn't remember it. But all those things were sad things and right now he just wanted to be happy to have McCrane back.

McCrane's head was already filled with enough sad things. Drill Boy, at least, was rarely one of them. He holds on for a moment longer, simply nodding to the others words because he understands them, even if he can't mirror them without remembering his absence.

"I will be more careful in the future," he says, finally, letting Drill Boy go but keeping a hand on the other's shoulder. "We've had to make so many changes since coming here. Looks like we've both had to take on more responsibility."

There would be more to come, as well.

"Did you..."

His lips purse, and he does not know how to ask.

"Did you get by, alright?"

Even once McCrane lets him go Drill Boy only loosens his hug, keeping his arms slightly encircling his torso in order to lean back a little and look up at him.

As he listens, waiting with an almost un-Drill Boy like patience for McCrane to finish speaking, his eyes seem to be either memorizing the others face, or reconfirming it's contours as being the right ones remembered.

"It was alright, I think... the hardest thing was when Kagerou came back and was missing memories. He got really upset and kind of scared, but I think enough people talked to him and comforted him. I've just... been trying to do all the things I knew you would want me to get done, and see about things so that you didn't have so much to worry about... for when you got back."

His expression is painfully naked, telling the older BP how he had to believe he would return and how hard it had been for him to wait and try to be so mature the whole time.

"It isn't surprising that he'd be upset." His hand stays on Drill Boy's shoulder, as if reluctant to let go of the familiarity of the other's company. "I hadn't..."

He trails off, still guilty about his silence.

"I hadn't even realized that I had died, when I awoke. It felt like any other day. When I figured it out..."

When he'd figured it out, he should have said something right then, but he hadn't. He hadn't known how to deal with the emotions that it brought out of himself, and he was afraid of the emotions that his failure might have evoked in others. It had been wrong to hide, but he had not known how to face the world.

"I won't do this again," he says, finally, and his hand squeezes once. "I'll make sure you'll be the first to know, next time."

"I'm just glad you're back." He wants to apologize for not being there, not protecting McCrane but he had been told to take Boss away. It was hard to know if he did the right thing or not.

"I hope you don't ever die again... it hurt to think about." Just like with Fae, he had clung to a desperate hope that it wasn't really the end... and he still wasn't sure what it really meant to die, but something in his Super A.I. sparked in a bad way when he thought of McCrane being dead.

"Thank you, Drill Boy." It meant a lot, to know he was forgiven. Just having the other around had helped, so much, and this was no exception. Drill Boy had a way of looking at the world so optimistically that it was hard not to see it a little from his point of view, as well.

"You need not think on it again, then. I promise." And he intended to keep that promise, pulling Drill Boy in for yet another hug.

It was important, being here for them as they were here for him.

"Now, lets get back to work. I would be happy if you'd show me everything I missed, and we can go on patrol together today."

"Thank you McCrane." He says, hugging him in return.

"Okay." He says, finally pulling away to start showing McCrane what he had done, looking forward to going on patrol with him.

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Just want to say

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We can probably end this here if you'd like

That works for me