heyfreemagic | Take a Walk [Closed]

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Take a Walk [Closed]

[It had been a few days since Greg had come back - long enough for him to recover a bit, as far as Wash could tell, and long enough for Wash to reacclimate to Freesia. He'd headed by Greg's apartment early in the morning (but not as early as usual) to get Greg up for a morning walk. They'd work back up to the jog - for now, this was routine for the sake of normalcy.]

[It had been once around the high rises, and then into the park. About halfway in, Wash stopped in the shade of one of the larger trees.]

How're you feeling?

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[...oh yeah. He takes a few moments to really think about it - to really do some searching - and...]

Believe it or not, I'm actually okay. I mean, war is hell, there's no denying that, but...I think I handled it better than I did being here. On Chorus, I was capable; here, I'm at square one. When you've spent half your life fighting - when it's what you're good at - that's...not easy.

[He shrugs.] Aside from that, as long as I can get back and make sure my team is okay, I'll be fine.

[It's a little surprising to hear... but it certainly puts a few things in perspective about Wash.]

You're not too bummed about being back here, are you? Away from your team?

Even if I was, there's nothing I can do about it. Plus, they can handle themselves. They've always been good at that.

Yeah... I guess you just have to trust them, at this point.

[He's sure his own friends back home are more than capable without him. They don't really need him at all, honestly. But he misses them.]

I do. [It's calm and level - he means it.]

Plus, I'll wind up at the exact same moment when I left. Either way, I'll be there when it plays out.

[He's going to get through this, get back to Chorus, and fight his way through as much of the staff of Charon as he needs to to extract his team. Step one is getting through the war in Freesia first.]

Right... weird time junk.

[However long all this took, they could count on not missing anything important. It wasn't wholly a comfort, but it was certainly worth something.

Greg stretched, thinking over his words.]

Hey--for what it's worth... you're great at way more than just fighting.

Yeah, pretty much.

[That takes him by surprise, and he snorts. 'Having conversations' is probably not on that list of things he's good at that aren't fighting.]

Yeah?

Yeah... you're real determined. One way or another, you never give up. That makes you good at pretty much anything you're up for, in the end.

Exercise... ukuleles... [He grinned, elbowing Wash gently.] ...or whatever.

[...oh. He's always just thought of it as stubbornness, an inability to know when to stop, a survival tactic - stopping meant death, so don't ever stop. But to hear Greg frame it like that...]

[He's smiling before he knows it, and he laughs when Greg elbows him - a small laugh, sure, but it's there.]

Coming from a guy with that much potential, that means a lot.

[That gets its own look in return, and a weird laugh.]

Hah. See, that's another thing you never give up on.

[He's still smiling, but it's a bit toned down - even he can hear that something is off about that laugh.]

Well, yeah. I'm not in the habit of giving up on my friends.

[He really doesn't get what it is Wash sees in him, though the kindness is nice. Nice, but hard to know how to respond to.]

So, uh. Should we get moving again?

[Hang on, the second they start talking about Greg, he wants to leave? Wash raises an eyebrow.]

You're changing the subject on me.

[Greg blinked. Was he? He hadn't even been thinking about it.]

What subject? I'm just changing the pace, hah.

The minute the conversation turns to you, you change the subject.

[He folds his arms. This is stubborn territory.]

You do have a lot of potential, you know. Whether you believe it or not.

Uh. Well. [ He shrugs, glancing away. ]

Sure, I guess. Thanks. [There, it's acknowledged. Good enough, right? ]

You don't believe me. [It's not an accusation; it's a statement of fact.]

It's not that! I just... [think he's mistaken.]

I dunno. Maybe when I was younger. It's all pretty dried up by now.

I don't buy that.

[Namely because it's not true.]

I don't buy that the guy who was using magic from the moment we met and who currently has one of the best balances of power and control in the city has no potential. I think he just...can't see it in himself. But that doesn't mean it's not there.

[He had to hold back an exasperated sigh. Wash can't keep talking him up like this, or the raised expectations are going to get someone hurt. ]

Look, you keep saying that, but... every time you've seen me do anything, it's been an accident, or luck, or whatever. When I actually try, I'm lucky to make grass.

It's appreciated, Wash, seriously. But I'm not balanced or controlled or whatever else. You shouldn't go putting more behind me than I've got.

When you actually try, you raise foot-long spikes straight through the pavement. That wasn't an accident, and that wasn't luck - that was you knowing what you wanted and making it happen.

And you could do it again - bigger, more, without exhausting yourself - if you work at it. I'm not looking at what you've got - I'm looking at what you're capable of. You just have to work for it, and you'll have it.

[Wash isn't sure if he can get that breakthrough - that first step, to get Greg to realize that he could be more -that he already is more than he thinks himself to be - that he just has to reach out and grab it - but he has to try. The potential is there, and he knows it - he just has to get Greg to see it too.]

[With the thorns again. He keeps trying to say it was just luck, that the plants do what they want without his knowing, but they were too impressed by that one time to hear it.

Well, it was like Greg had said: Wash was determined, and wasn't planning on giving up on him. If that was the case, he'd have to go at it from a different angle. Greg sighed, and gave him a weary smile.]

All right. Let's say I'm all that. Where do you suggest I start?

[Getting exactly what you need by sheer luck is something that only happens to the Reds and Blues, as far as Wash is concerned. The thorns didn't fall under that. Greg has something else going for him.]

You can start by believing us when we tell you you're capable.

I'm not your CO or your drill sergeant. I can't order you to do training, and I'm not going to try. I'm your friend, and I want to help you. If go along with it just to humor me, then it isn't going to work.

[ Right. Like he said, Wash was sharp. He wasn't a little kid. Even if the whole thing felt absurd on Greg's side of things, it wasn't playing at building a space ship, it was looking out for someone Wash cared about. Just like Steven did.]

I've nearly lost Steven to magic more times than I can count. More times than I probably know about. Messing with this stuff... it's dangerous.

[ But now he'd messed with it. He didn't have a way out. Things were so much easier when he could play the unaware dad, hiding in his van. That option was gone, just like everything else he knew from back home. ]

I've already died from it. I... the last thing... [ He swallowed, hard. ] I nearly did to Steven what I've been scared he'd do to me.

I'm... Wash, I'm scared.

[They hadn't talked about this.]

[When Wash had died, he'd had an immediate breakdown. Greg had gone through the same thing, a few days ago now, and-]

[And they hadn't talked about it. How did he not think about this?]

Well...yeah.

[It's quiet and a little uncertain; Wash is still bad at these sorts of talks, but he can't screw this one up.]

What happened...it's terrifying. I'd honestly be more worried if you weren't at least a little scared.

But-

[His hand tightens on Greg's shoulder, just a bit.]

You don't have to do this alone. We're here for you, Greg.

[It's the best he has right now.]

Take a Walk [Closed]

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