[i know koby wisely refrains from saying. there's a teeming mustard-and-sunbleached yellow mess of emotion emanating off tim, like looking directly into an angry sun. instead:]
I have a clean handkerchief in my pocket, just in case.
[koby settles down next to tim, back pressed to the same tree, close enough that their knees bump together as he copies the scrunched-up posture for a moment in silence. then, leaning closer, elbow-arm-shoulder touching:]
He's wrong. Hawk. What he said about you is wrong.
[koby leans forward enough to brush the pine needles away, then settle the phone on his knee, balanced in parallel to his own, because these stupid shorts have itty-bitty pockets that don't hold anything.]
I think all of it's wrong, yes. You're only a bitch on purpose. [it sounds alarming coming out of his mouth, still, but he says it warmly.]
You love each other. Something's compatible, on some level, otherwise do you think you'd have come here together? [arching an eyebrow, genuinely curious.]
[ Tim leans to the side, putting enough weight on Koby to calm down, just a little. Anger, hurt, and white hot, searing humiliation roil in his gut, have him fleeing to the edge of the woods, like a coward. If it were anyone but Koby to text him, he probably wouldn't have answered - he doesn't want to face them all, own up to the absolute foolishness of having to put distance between himself and Hawk for the third or fourth time since they've been here. ]
Maybe it's to torture us. Maybe love isn't enough.
[this time koby doesn’t mute or soothe the edge of the emotions, just lets them roll outward, waves crashing against the shore, the smooth sand, a safe place to feel every tangled, tumultuous thing tim’s got running through him. koby exhales, reaching out and finding one of tim’s hands to hold onto, ground him to here and now.]
Well, it’s not everything. Or – the only thing. You can’t do everything out of love. You have to do some things out of…I don’t know. Responsibility or faith or determination. [a little shrug, gentle so he doesn’t jostle tim too much.] Love’s just part of it.
[ He feels like he spends more time tangled and stormy than otherwise, these days. Every moment of happiness countered with two steps back. New love punished with spikes through his hands, getting to feel useful only to run headfirst into Hawk’s public humiliation. The wild, unpredictability of this place is taking its toll. Where else would they be arguing whether to prioritize a vampire over the woman actively bleeding out because of him? ]
And what if we aren’t aligned on any of those things?
[koby's quiet for a moment, looking down at their joined hands -- hands he bandaged, hands he's held, hands that have held him and touched him and kept him safe. he squeezes tim's fingers gently between his, once.]
Then you have to decide if what you are aligned on is worth it. If you can -- live with all the other parts.
[ Tim has (mostly) let go of his purgatory theory, but what that means is that more of his thoughts are focused on the future. He can’t believe that all that waits for him is Saltburnt, nothing but more death and confusion and torture. Someday, they’ll find a way back. Someday, he’ll have to figure out what he’s doing when he gets back home. He always had an idea – but Teo made it feel real, confirmed for him that it was the right thing. His methods were extreme, but he was so fulfilled by it, moreso than Tim would have ever been in Washington or the army.
He doesn’t just want to fight, he has to. So where does that leave them, if Hawk can’t handle him putting himself in even the slightest danger? ]
I don’t know. This is the same as it was last year, him thinking he’s protecting me by treating me like I’m an idiot. At this rate we’ll keep having the same fight until we die. That’s not what I want for myself.
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timeasmymeasure
post-vampire murder breakup
Date: 2025-08-25 11:34 pm (UTC)Or need to smash something first?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-25 11:39 pm (UTC)Harry's still busy, so I don't know yet.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-25 11:43 pm (UTC)I'll come find you. I don't have the right blood to be of use right now. Think loud thoughts, okay?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-25 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 12:10 am (UTC)I'm on my way. You're alone?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 12:14 am (UTC)[ Back to a tree, knees pulled up to his chest, with a white-knuckle grip on his phone, seething. Or crying. Or both. ]
Last time I complained to you about Hawk, I got the stigmata. You think I should chance it?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 12:24 am (UTC)[koby settles down next to tim, back pressed to the same tree, close enough that their knees bump together as he copies the scrunched-up posture for a moment in silence. then, leaning closer, elbow-arm-shoulder touching:]
He's wrong. Hawk. What he said about you is wrong.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 12:58 am (UTC)[ Bitterly, dropping the phone on the ground before he breaks the case in half. ]
Or the part where our values aren't compatible, and I've been wasting my time for years? You think that's a lie, too?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 01:53 am (UTC)I think all of it's wrong, yes. You're only a bitch on purpose. [it sounds alarming coming out of his mouth, still, but he says it warmly.]
You love each other. Something's compatible, on some level, otherwise do you think you'd have come here together? [arching an eyebrow, genuinely curious.]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-26 02:21 am (UTC)Maybe it's to torture us. Maybe love isn't enough.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-27 03:01 am (UTC)Well, it’s not everything. Or – the only thing. You can’t do everything out of love. You have to do some things out of…I don’t know. Responsibility or faith or determination. [a little shrug, gentle so he doesn’t jostle tim too much.] Love’s just part of it.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-27 03:50 pm (UTC)And what if we aren’t aligned on any of those things?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-28 04:11 am (UTC)Then you have to decide if what you are aligned on is worth it. If you can -- live with all the other parts.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-28 03:45 pm (UTC)He doesn’t just want to fight, he has to. So where does that leave them, if Hawk can’t handle him putting himself in even the slightest danger? ]
I don’t know. This is the same as it was last year, him thinking he’s protecting me by treating me like I’m an idiot. At this rate we’ll keep having the same fight until we die. That’s not what I want for myself.