damned_institute | Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

Cloud knew he should be taking the opportunity to check out the rec field during the day. The fresh air would be a welcome change from the crowded stuffiness the Institute usually provided, and he would have a chance to scope out the area when it wasn't all under the cover of darkness. When offered a choice, however, he remained in the sun room. He told himself it was so that he could watch the bulletin, him still being fairly new and needing all the information he could get, but the thought rang hollow.

The real reason he was here, he knew, was because he would be out there. Maybe it was weak of him, but he needed a chance to breathe. Ever since he'd arrived it had been nothing but one shock after another, and seeing Zack standing in the cafeteria that morning talking to Aerith had been the final card that caused his tower to crumble. He needed to just sit back somewhere out of the way and start rebuilding.

Being able to watch the bulletin from here was just a perk. Cloud made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, watching people come and go but not really paying attention to them. He took the time to try and rate this on a scale of the biggest messes he'd ever gotten thrown into.

(for Sheena)

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He wasn't sure exactly what had been wrong with him, but Kio found the nurse slightly irritating. She seemed to fuss over him like a mother hen, something he'd never really appreciated. Still, he supposed, it was better than the cool detachment of the everyday world he'd lived in, so he allowed her to check him for rashes, fevers and even stuck his tongue out when she asked him too. "You look much better, you know. We were afraid we'd lose you." Kio quietly quirked an eyebrow. Had he been so delirious?

Well, whatever disease they'd conjured up for him now, he was grateful to be out of that stuffy room. He found he could walk well enough and when the nurse asked him where he wanted to go, he immediately asked for the Sun Room. He could keep an eye on the board from there and see if they were around. How stoically he'd been avoiding both. It hurt to think that they could run around this Institute while he waited delirious and alone. If he'd been sick at all.

Sitting down on one of the sofas, Kio looked around. New faces all the time, replacing those who were gone. He hoped they hadn't vanished.

Still feeling positive after his breakfast, Brainiac 5 headed out into the Sun Room, pausing to place a note he'd written earlier on the board then check a few things before looking away. He didn't have any plans on how to spend the current shift, and was contemplating following the crowd out into the field outside when he noticed a familiar face.

The Coluan paused for a moment, trying to remember where he remembered the man from before it clicked. Of course, when he'd been... acting strangely. He felt faintly embarrassed about the memory and almost turned away in the vague hope of avoiding anything to do with it, but by then Kio had spotted him and it would be rude and suspicious to have been caught staring then suddenly leave. So he walked over and stopped close by, not certain if the older man was waiting for someone and not interested in a distraction.

"Do you mind?" he asked, indicating the seat.

No Soubi. Kio didn't really want to feel as disappointed as he did, but it was no point hiding it any more. He wanted to talk to his friend or really, anyone he'd talked to before, but they were all disappearing these days.

The sight of the young boy passing through his peripheral vision was enough to make him do a double take. Was he still here? It had been a while since the two had spoken and Kio couldn't help but feel bad about it. Some friend he was turning out to be. He seemed hesitant at first, but Kio decided to put on a brave face. He smiled as Brainy approached, trying his very best not to let his sadness shine through.

"Of course not. Please, sit down. I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" Kio could only hope they'd both been fine. Well, he wasn't fine fine, but hopefully his young friend was.

Brainiac 5 managed a faint smile as he sank into the seat next to Kio.

"Much better, actually. I've gotten some other things to work on that help somewhat." They gave him something else to focus on at any rate, which was better than how he'd been when he'd first meet Kio.

Which brought him back to the subject he'd been meaning to talk about.

"Actually, I wanted to... apologise. Not to mention thank you. I wasn't behaving particularly normally when we first met, but you were willing to try and help me regardless of that and the fact I was a complete stranger to you. It meant a lot to me."

He was glad. Above and beyond all that was happening around him, Kio was glad. He was glad that people could still be happy and find hope, when all around them, their lives were falling apart. However, he wasn't expecting Brainy to thank him. He felt somewhat out of place for it.

"Um... I am happy for you, really. I can't begin to imagine what had happened to you, but I remember you looked so sad... I had to come talk to you." Silence followed and Kio shuffled in his seat somewhat.

"I wanted to thank you, too. You don't know how much it meant to me to be able to talk to you. I'm glad to have met you." He smiled and for once, it was genuine. "How have you been surviving the nights, then?"

Now it was Brainiac 5's turn to show confusion. "Talking to me when I... wasn't myself... meant a lot to you?" he asked, trying to puzzle out what Kio was talking about.

In the end, he still couldn't imagine what the other man meant even with considering it from several different angles, so he gave in. "What do you mean?"

Being asked how he was surviving the nights was something else he hadn't really been expecting, though he supposed it made sense considering the circumstances of their meeting.

"I've been fine so far," he said carefully. He didn't want to give away too much about his actual activities after all. "I've been... keeping mostly to my own projects."

Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

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Backthread, yes? :D

Yes!

Re: Yes!

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