Honestly, it should have been his first sign that he needed to stop reaching out so quickly after Meryl had been hurt. The signs had been there for a while, now, and the tendency had just gotten more dangerous as time went on.
At least the last time he'd seen her, she'd seemed to have bounced back well enough from what she'd been through because of him. At least he hadn't broken her, too. She was such a good person, he didn't know how she could stand to even look at him again. The amazing resiliency of humans, perhaps.
He obviously didn't feel any sort of trepidation with letting the other him poke around with the little device. It was more amusing than anything, he'd been the same way when he'd finally managed to get ahold of the thing. He'd even walked face-first into a building the first day, he'd been so fascinated! Not just any building, a house owned by an older version of their brother! He grinned, a bright, genuine look, no less amused for the shame he'd felt a moment before, and instead perhaps glad for the chance to enjoy the distraction from his own worries.
"Isn't it great? Here, you press this button-" he reached over and pointed at a tiny icon that looked like a small wire frame of a solar system. "It'll bring up this satelite network they have that relays off of the Earth ships and sends information back and forth through the...whatever it is they use to communicate that far. I still haven't figured that out, yet."
He was too preocuppied as he took the device back to see the man through the window, though that in and of itself was probably telling. Even a few months ago, he would have noticed him the second he'd stopped to stare. Instead, he turned the thing around so that he could poke at it for a moment before a small video feed popped up and began to play as he turned it back so it was the right way up for the other man, letting him see the kind of thing the humans did with it.
A series of short clips of cats trying to do...whatever cats do and then failing in increasingly elaborate ways began to play as he glanced up, suddenly curious what he was talking around. What was 'out and about' that he might be hesitant to-...
Oh. Did he know about Rem? It had been obvious that she wasn't shocked by the way he looked, the one time he'd been out there. She had seen his face before, the way they looked now. His smile faded a bit as he glanced away, trying to think about how to respond, knowing why something like that would be information that would be best played close to the chest, but also wanting to know that he was understanding what was being left unsaid.
"Hmm. Yeah, I'd thought about that, too. A bit. You know how much-..." His expression barely shifted, but the worry lines around his face visibly deepened as he glanced away, all to the sound of a little black cat with big green eyes angrily meowing "No no no no no no no!" played through the air between them. When he continued, his voice had dropped to barely a whisper. "mom worries. Now that she's got the house all to herself. Empty nest syndrome, right?"
He tried to smile again, but it was strained as he looked back down at the device, poked at it, and then glanced back up.
"They've got a shop set up not far from-...oh, you know, that ship with the broken gravity plant, the one everyone says was sending out the distress signals all these years? Just on the edge of town. I heard they'd taken in some of the refugees on the way here, so I thought to see if any of the rest of the family were there, but the Feds seem to be treating it like a bit of an embassy right now. They're careful about who they let on. I saw the place selling them when I gave up. I could show you later, if-..."
The sight of movement in the background finally caught his eye, and his eyes darted up just in time to see a group of men pushing their way through the crowd outside, armed to the teeth and covered in Terran armour as they marched toward the cafe.
Oh. Shit. Oh shit.
He hid the way his eyes widened with a broad, panicked grin as he stood, walking toward the back of the counter as he called out to the back of the cafe.
"Hey, Sig, looks like some of those Terran soldiers are hungry! Gonna have a rush!" He stood next to the register, slipping into character and looking back at his red-coated brother before nodding his head behind him, to a short hallway. "Oh yeah, bathroom's that way. Careful with the window, the lock's busted and sometimes it pops open when a good breeze hits it and it might conk you on the head. You know how it is."
And then voices were ringing out around them - first from Signey as she stormed up from the kitchen, "Wait, what? Val, you serious?" And then from the first soldier as he charged through the door. "Under the authority of the Earth Federation Security Forces, everyone freeze with your hands in the air where we can see them!"
Too late! He froze, eyes widening as he lifted his hands in the air, laughing loudly, obnoxiously, and grinning like an idiot.
"Oh, hey guys, what's the problem? There's enough food to go around, why don't you take a seat?"
"No no no no no no no" meowed the device, still from it's spot on the table where he'd left it.
no subject
At least the last time he'd seen her, she'd seemed to have bounced back well enough from what she'd been through because of him. At least he hadn't broken her, too. She was such a good person, he didn't know how she could stand to even look at him again. The amazing resiliency of humans, perhaps.
He obviously didn't feel any sort of trepidation with letting the other him poke around with the little device. It was more amusing than anything, he'd been the same way when he'd finally managed to get ahold of the thing. He'd even walked face-first into a building the first day, he'd been so fascinated! Not just any building, a house owned by an older version of their brother! He grinned, a bright, genuine look, no less amused for the shame he'd felt a moment before, and instead perhaps glad for the chance to enjoy the distraction from his own worries.
"Isn't it great? Here, you press this button-" he reached over and pointed at a tiny icon that looked like a small wire frame of a solar system. "It'll bring up this satelite network they have that relays off of the Earth ships and sends information back and forth through the...whatever it is they use to communicate that far. I still haven't figured that out, yet."
He was too preocuppied as he took the device back to see the man through the window, though that in and of itself was probably telling. Even a few months ago, he would have noticed him the second he'd stopped to stare. Instead, he turned the thing around so that he could poke at it for a moment before a small video feed popped up and began to play as he turned it back so it was the right way up for the other man, letting him see the kind of thing the humans did with it.
A series of short clips of cats trying to do...whatever cats do and then failing in increasingly elaborate ways began to play as he glanced up, suddenly curious what he was talking around. What was 'out and about' that he might be hesitant to-...
Oh. Did he know about Rem? It had been obvious that she wasn't shocked by the way he looked, the one time he'd been out there. She had seen his face before, the way they looked now. His smile faded a bit as he glanced away, trying to think about how to respond, knowing why something like that would be information that would be best played close to the chest, but also wanting to know that he was understanding what was being left unsaid.
"Hmm. Yeah, I'd thought about that, too. A bit. You know how much-..." His expression barely shifted, but the worry lines around his face visibly deepened as he glanced away, all to the sound of a little black cat with big green eyes angrily meowing "No no no no no no no!" played through the air between them. When he continued, his voice had dropped to barely a whisper. "mom worries. Now that she's got the house all to herself. Empty nest syndrome, right?"
He tried to smile again, but it was strained as he looked back down at the device, poked at it, and then glanced back up.
"They've got a shop set up not far from-...oh, you know, that ship with the broken gravity plant, the one everyone says was sending out the distress signals all these years? Just on the edge of town. I heard they'd taken in some of the refugees on the way here, so I thought to see if any of the rest of the family were there, but the Feds seem to be treating it like a bit of an embassy right now. They're careful about who they let on. I saw the place selling them when I gave up. I could show you later, if-..."
The sight of movement in the background finally caught his eye, and his eyes darted up just in time to see a group of men pushing their way through the crowd outside, armed to the teeth and covered in Terran armour as they marched toward the cafe.
Oh. Shit. Oh shit.
He hid the way his eyes widened with a broad, panicked grin as he stood, walking toward the back of the counter as he called out to the back of the cafe.
"Hey, Sig, looks like some of those Terran soldiers are hungry! Gonna have a rush!" He stood next to the register, slipping into character and looking back at his red-coated brother before nodding his head behind him, to a short hallway. "Oh yeah, bathroom's that way. Careful with the window, the lock's busted and sometimes it pops open when a good breeze hits it and it might conk you on the head. You know how it is."
And then voices were ringing out around them - first from Signey as she stormed up from the kitchen, "Wait, what? Val, you serious?" And then from the first soldier as he charged through the door. "Under the authority of the Earth Federation Security Forces, everyone freeze with your hands in the air where we can see them!"
Too late! He froze, eyes widening as he lifted his hands in the air, laughing loudly, obnoxiously, and grinning like an idiot.
"Oh, hey guys, what's the problem? There's enough food to go around, why don't you take a seat?"
"No no no no no no no" meowed the device, still from it's spot on the table where he'd left it.