donkeyballs | Reverie: IC Inbox

[ He gave her a hard look for a few seconds, but her response was telling, so eventually he just clicked his tongue and turned away. ]

Bet it was Frank. [ Who he was going to have some Words with. ]

Yeah, maybe. What difference does that make?

Because someone thought goin' and gettin Amos all riled up would be doin' anyone a god damned favour. [ He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice, but it wasn't working. ]

Or thought that they needed another person to hammer their damn point home, as if I didn't already get the god damned memo. And I prefer to know who exactly I'm supposed to be pissed with.

[Bobbie's quiet for a moment, considering that. As far as she's concerned, Alex is a grown man, and he can make his own decisions. That doesn't mean that she won't worry about him or make her opinion known, but she does see where he's coming from. If their positions were reversed and she had three people pounding down her door, she'd be mad, too.]

Maybe. Maybe he was worried. What did Amos say?

[ He didn't look at her, glaring off at a point on the wall, instead. A slight dent in the metal where Amos' fist had hit it.]

A whole lotta bullshit. [ There was no way he was going to tell her about being called a coward. No way that he could. ]

He just -- he said he shouldn't have had to hear it from someone else, but it ain't like anyone is willin to even give me a god damn minute to breathe, let alone find a way to tell Amos about somethin that I know is going to get to him no matter how it comes out. I was gonna tell him. [ There's a decent measure of guilt in his voice, because unlike Amos, he is a liar. And he was lying now - to himself, most of all. If he was honest, he'd admit that he was hoping it would just never come up and get swept under the carpet.

Amos was right. He was a coward.]

Edited 2018-05-31 19:39 (UTC)

[Yeah, there's definitely something he's hiding there, even if she can't pinpoint what. She doesn't respond right away, just tries to study his face, figure out what he's thinking.]

Were you going to tell him? Were you going to tell any of us?

[It's not accusatory or aggressive. She just wants to know.]

It ain't like it was a secret - the post was public.

[ He says it bluntly, but it isn't really an answer. ]

And I already promised I'd talk to the rest of you first next time.

[ Yeah, still not an answer. ]

[Yeah, that makes her scoff.]

Outstanding evasive maneuvers, pilot

[ He gave her a look. ]

I didn't think it was a big enough deal to require a report. [ A little testily. ]

I've since been informed otherwise.

You say that like you wouldn't be upset if the situation was reversed. What if Amos or Naomi let some kid drink their blood and never told you?

[ The guilty look on his face was enough to make it obvious that h hadn't actually thought about it like that. But he was still mad. ]

I sure as hell wouldn't barge into their room yellin' about "kinky shit".

What? Is that what he said?

[Admittedly, if Alex wasn't clearly so upset she'd find that kind of funny.]

It was part of it. [ His voice is dark. Honestly, it wasn't even the part that bugged him, but again. That wasn't something he was willing to talk about. ]

I get that I made a mistake but I don't need t' be raked over the coals multiple times for it.

Hey, I'm not raking you over anything. Look, as far as I'm concerned, you can do what you want. If you want that kid to snack on you again, fine. I'm not going to be happy about it, but it's not like there's anything I can do.

[ He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, still looking at the debt in the wall. Still with Amos' voice rattling around in his head. He didn't really get it. Maybe he was just stubborn. Or maybe he was too used to the fact that his crew was made of broken people - that he just hadn't thought any of them would be this honestly worried about him. Guilt twisted in his gut, his expression turning a little more miserable, as he wondered if that was why Amos had been there in the first place. Worried, with no way of showing it save anger. And he just fed anger right back into it.

God damn it.]

I'm just tryin' to help, Gunny. [ The fire was leaking out of his voice, replaced by a bone depth exhaustion. ]

An' I don't think that makes me an asshole.

[ Or a coward. Even if everything else did. ]

[The shift in tone is obvious, and Bobbie can't help but feel a sudden rush of sympathy for him.]

I never said you were an asshole either. I get it. You really care about people, even if they're complete strangers.

[Like her, she thinks. He'd reached out to her the second she stepped foot on the Roci, and he'd done the same thing here, even though he didn't remember her.]

I just... We just want you to take care of yourself, too.

I'm fine.

[ Other than the emotional distress, anyway. The fights had taken far more of a toll on him than the actually blood loss had. ]

And I'll be fine. Promise.

[She nods, weighing that.]

I don't think I've ever seen you this upset before.

[Which might not be saying much, considering the short amount of time they've known each other, but she's trying to understand why Amos getting angry has made Alex this angry when he'd always struck her as the type to stay calm and mediate.]

[ He lets a breath out through his nose, then drops his gaze and grunts a little. ]

Amos is like a brother to me. [Matter-of-factly] But damn if it don't mean he knows just how to press my buttons when he wants to.

He gets this - this idea in his head that I'm somethin' he needs to protect - as if I ain't perfectly capable of taking care of my own damn self and him.

[Yeah, that would drive her nuts, too. Bobbie thinks she gets it, even though she doesn't know Amos very well.]

Yeah? Why's that? Is he like that with everyone?

[ He shook his head. ]

No. He certainly ain't like that with everyone. Pretty sure most people he don't even give a damn about. He just--

[ He rubbed at the back of his neck with his good hand. ]

Look, there's no point talkin' in the doorway. You might as well come in.

[Yeah, she might as well. Bobbie steps inside, slipping past him, and then just shoots him a curious look, waiting for him to continue.]

[ He presses the button on the console and the door slides shut, before he turns away with a sigh and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. ]

He thinks there are three types of people. Bad people, who he ain't got any qualms about shooting; people you follow, like Naomi and Holden; and people you protect. Told me point blank, once, that I fell solidly into the final category. But I've saved his ass just as often as he's saved mine. Hell, I - I let 25 people die, just to save him. I thought we'd sorted that out already.

[She crosses her arms, head tilting as she considers that. It's easy to tell that something with Amos is... off. That "apology" to Alex with the flag is proof enough of that, but this is new insight she isn't expecting. Well... insight might be a stretch, honestly. Bobbie's not entirely sure how to take it.]

So you're sick of people coddling you, and Amos is the worst of the crew?

[That's what she's assuming, anyway, based on his reaction to her and Frank.]

We should be equals. [ He mutters it, almost bitter, but there's a sadness to it, too. Because he thought they had been.

But the word coward rattled in his head again and he grimaced. ]

It's fine. I wouldn't be half so worked up about it if I had something to god damn do.

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