if you're looking for someone to pull you outta that ditch,

[thingpuncher]

WHO? bruno shaw thingpuncher & jiaming shou dipolar
WHAT? a misunderstanding leads to (gasp) more misunderstandings.
WHEN? A lil' bit after landing in scenic Gallipoli.
ANYTHING ELSE? rated p for tsd

Ever since Noctis mentioned tracking vitals, he's been keeping track. It's not that he wasn't checking before, but now? Now, he's definitely keeping an eye on it, every hour, nearly on the dot if there aren't distractions. Gunfire or shells make for a great way to miss his schedule, but the computer makes it hard to fuck up for very long, and then he's checking again.

So when Hei's vitals indicate a spike in heartrate, one that lasts longer than can be excused by almost getting shot. No, this is more along the pattern of 'definitely shot'. He's location is public, thank fuck, so Midnighter makes his way through the trenches, rushing with all the ridiculous speed Bendix gifted him. He can make it there on time. He can fix this.

His own vitals spike, but those have been private since he got there. His location, private for the last few hours. He's not thinking on that now. He's just worried about Hei, quite possibly dying fucking alone.

Comments

[dipolar]

"I don't give a damn if you use your powers on me," snapped, head bowing on a tight grind of his jaw. "I don't care. I don't care."

It all really took its time overwhelming him, but the realization that he's more attached to M than he thought drops hard into the pit of his stomach and nauseates him. It's happening all over again, now. M's his friend, Hei's worried about him and it works both ways. This is the first stage and he recognizes the pathetic desperation in him that wants to cling onto it so he won't have to be so goddamn lonely anymore.

The frustration with himself makes it difficult to tolerate the fact that he's trapped in this body, stuck as this monster when he'd rather be anyone but. Li, Lee, Nanashi, Shou, Low Thel, anyone. Anyone else.

"Why are you fixating on this? We're in the middle of a war-zone and what you find unusual is that I don't want to hurt you? Look around you, look at where we are...!"

[thingpuncher]

Anybody who says anything that much, that vehemently, can't be telling the truth. Midnighter chews on this, the thought of Hei's worry and anxiety, the way he's lashing out. It's obviously Midnighter's fault, which means it's his job to fix it.

Midnighter leans down a little, so they're slightly closer in height. Tries to put a hand on Hei's shoulder, gently, like reaching out toward a scared animal. He's never tried to be comforting or trustworthy, not except for... the last time, the first time, also with Hei.

Well, then... that's just the way it is.

"I'm sorry," he says. He's working on instinct, not sure what else to say. Subconsciously, he's parroting Andrew, the way Andrew would give him a gentle hand when he was in the middle of some deep shit, but consciously? Midnighter only knows the path he's chosen feels vaguely familiar, right in a way he can't put his finger on. "I'm sorry I scared you."

[dipolar]

Watches the cigarette he holds pinched between two fingers shake with the rest of his hand, allowing the gentle touch at his shoulder. He wants to slap it away, but he doesn't have the strength anymore. This kind of touch is something he's grown dependent on, in a previous life, and it's happening again.

God, he hates it.

"Are you?" He asks with a waver to his voice, swallowing it back with a bullish snort and a long drag from the cigarette that burns and burns and gives him something to focus on that isn't his own stresses, "Fine, maybe you are. Just, fuck— forget it all... I have to get back to work..."

[thingpuncher]

The way his voice is almost... confused? Midnighter feels his throat tighten again. He lets his hand drop from Hei, realizing they both need their space. Hei needs to regain some sense of composure. Midnighter needs to process why this keeps happening.

"Stay safe," he says, and then, "I'll be."