Milliways: Reo and Mark

[remindmeofthepups]

To say that the last couple of days have been overwhelming is an understatement. Reo has just barely begun to process half of what's happened, and now it's time for his first practice as a member of Seirin.

He is not the tiniest bit sorry to see Milliways on the other side of the gym door. He's been hoping for it in the back of his head all weekend; he needs more time to come to grips with the fact that his entire life has turned upside down, and Milliways is the only place where he can get all the time he needs.

He considers his options before heading to the fireplace. The comfort of the fire's warmth and squishy couches is the most appealing thing he can imagine right now.

Comments

[unmarred]

The door opens, and a short man takes a step inside and immediately freezes in place. It should be damn near impossible for a human to be this still.

[showyousomethingnice]

He's so still that it catches Reo's eye (and probably the eye of half the current population of Milliways).

Reo considers for a second as to whether he's up for dealing with a newbie today before deciding that someone else's problem is in fact exactly what he's up for dealing with right now.

"Excuse me," he says politely, waving a hand to catch the man's attention. "You may wish to move out of the doorway. Whoever's coming in next may not take well to being blocked."

[unmarred]

He unfreezes after another second, takes another half-step forward, and can't seem to decide where to look - at Reo, around at the other patrons, up at the ceiling, back to Reo, over to Bar, the stairwell, the Security office, the bathrooms, the back door, and finally Reo again for several more seconds of too-intense staring.

[showyousomethingnice]

The staring makes Reo tense up; there are a few things it would mean at home, and a lot more it could mean here.

(Milliways isn't safe.)

He sounds calm, though, when he says,

"Would you like to sit?" and gestures to the rest of the couch he's occupying.

(He's good at sounding calm. He should be. He's had practice.)

[unmarred]

Processing... processing...

"Yes," he says, and blinks and shakes his head and drops his eyes. In the entire process of coming over to the fireplace and tucking himself into the opposite corner of the couch, he does not once look directly at Reo again.

"Want to tell me what the hell's going on?" he asks, his voice low and even, his posture outwardly relaxed but with a core of humming tension that suggests he may be ready to bolt at any moment.

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo has given his share of introductions over the years. He feels it to be an obligation, a way of paying back Milliways's kindnesses, and he also thinks he's a better choice than a lot of other people here. And in that time, he's found that the most direct way is best. There are some blows you just can't cushion.

"This is Milliways," he says, "restaurant at the end of the universe. It's picked you up out of your reality for a little while."

[unmarred]

"How rude of it," the newcomer says dryly.

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo gives a wry smile.

"It doesn't always worry much about being polite."

Wait'll the first time you see someone grabbed fresh out of the shower.

[unmarred]

"Why does it do this?"

[showyousomethingnice]

"I don't know," Reo says honestly. Being anything other than as honest as possible during an introduction never does anyone any good. "I'm not sure anyone does. I think mostly it means well, but I can't prove that."

Is this guy actually taking the idea of being in a reality other than his own well, or is it just too much for him to face right away? Both reactions can be identical.

[unmarred]

"What about it gives you that impression?"

He doesn't exactly look calm - he still looks like someone covering a strong fight-or-flight reaction almost but not quite perfectly, and he's directing his questions at the empty couch cushion between them - but he's not questioning the premises as given.

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo is unconsciously holding himself still as well, looking as un(provocative)threatening as possible.

"It usually shows up for me when I need it," he says. "When, when I feel so overwhelmed I can't take another second without a break. Um, time freezes on the other side of the door, so you can spend as much time as you need here and still pick things up where they left off at home whenever you're ready."

[unmarred]

"Useful," he comments. "I'm sorry, am I frightening you?"

[showyousomethingnice]

"I -" Reo blinks. "No?"

(The tension he's carrying is so familiar that the lie isn't even deliberate.)

"I'm sorry, I've had a difficult few days."

(True. Very true.)

[unmarred]

"So have I," he says wryly.

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo recovers himself and smiles.

"That must be why we're both here, then," he says. "To catch our breath."

[unmarred]

"Mm."

He looks at the fireplace, for something to look at.

"What's that like, I wonder."

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo is quiet for a long moment.

"Sometimes I'm not sure I know."

Then, with a smile that isn't quite as bright as it's meant to be:

"But Milliways always reminds me."

[unmarred]

"Want to trade upsetting life stories?"

[showyousomethingnice]

Ordinarily, Reo would say no without a second thought. He's just met this man. They haven't even exchanged names yet; getting so intimate so soon is hardly appropriate.

But this is Milliways, and Reo discovered quickly enough that putting his usual rules of behavior aside now and then here can be rewarding.

And Mako-chan called last night, and Reo made the mistake of answering, and the mistake of not hanging up when Mako-chan said that he'd wanted to tell Reo the full truth in person, but this would have to do.

He knows, after all, that Mako-chan only uses the truth to hurt.

He's certain suddenly that Milliways brought him in here to talk to someone about it, to to start dealing with it instead of walking into Seirin's gym with it all threatening to topple over him at any moment.

And this man must need to talk, too.

So Reo takes a breath and says,

"My best friend turned boyfriend never cared about me. He just wanted something and making himself important to me was the easiest way to get it."

He's kind of distantly proud that his voice doesn't start wavering until the second sentence. He has cried so much in these last few days; he'd rather not start doing it again right now.

[unmarred]

Mark absorbs this, and thinks for a few seconds about calibrating length and comprehensibility, and returns with:

"The man who raised me was a revenge-obsessed sadist who wanted me to impersonate my twin brother and kill his - our - entire family."

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo pauses.

There is certainly something to be said for being given a bit of perspective.

Then he pauses a bit more, because there is an extremely rude question he really ought to ask for the sake of his own safety.

". . . Please forgive me for asking, but - did you?"

[unmarred]

"No," he says, with a slight smile. "He handed me a weapon meaning me to kill my brother with it, and I killed him instead, and that is the only murder I have committed. I don't mind the question; it's perfectly reasonable."

[showyousomethingnice]

Reo is unperturbed by the news of that murder, as it was probably the only sensible way to handle the situation.

A short, humorless laugh escapes him as a thought occurs to him.

"Some people only respond to one thing," he says, his tone laced with a sour twist.

Mako-chan isn't - wasn't wrong about everything.

[unmarred]

"Yeah. He used to say that too. Usually when he was about to hit me because I'd annoyed him."