GENERAL OPEN POST/IC INBOX/WHATEVER IDK

[burnination]

"Busy. Send a text."

[ that's right. it's been a decade and he still hasn't changed his voicemail message. ]

Comments

[burnination]

i'll see you at dani's

stop bleeding in the mean time

[saints]

4 days since our last work-related accident. Joy. I'll make sure to update the sign.

[saints]

Thank you.

And blue. Don't forget blue. Wear a lot of it, please.

You don't have to go near the Vatican. You just need to rest and sleep and go lay on the beach or something for three days.

Hell, stay inside and fuck for all I care, just don't go galavanting around looking for trouble.

[saints]

I care about you.

Stay safe.

[burnination]

thanks, dear, management appreciates it

[burnination]

blue shirt, blue jeans, blue shoelaces, blue gatorade, blue condoms. got it.

[burnination]

ich liebe dich [ easier for him to type in german, but he does still mean it. tris, marco, dani and james are the world to him. ]

take a nap, tristan. i'll be good.

asdfjlaksdfj ;a;

[saints]

Will you?

Please don't lie to me.

[saints]

I'll sleep soon.

I'm tired.

[saints]

I love your dick too, weirdo.






I'll be checking in with Dani to be sure anyways.

[burnination]

i will. promise promise promise. three promises.

[burnination]

do you need someone there?

[burnination]

you make the fatherland weep

if you want. take your nap first.

[saints]

Everything in threes. Good boy.

PS Your fatherland can cry more.

[saints]

I can sleep by myself. Don't make detours. I don't know if that'll change anything.

[saints]

[ no he can't but whatever. ]

[burnination]

see? good already.

no more beer gifts for you

[burnination]

[ he stares at the phone for a while, and honestly, he knows tris. this is the most freaked he's been in a while, not counting (or perhaps, in light of) marco's disappearance. he doesn't like leaving him like this, and the part of max that just wants to mama bear everyone in their circle is fighting the urge to go to tris' place instead.

no. he said no detours. fine. ]

i'm calling.

[burnination]

[ ring ring ring ring ring banana phone, answer ur shit. ]

Tucked in yet?

[saints]

[ Tris ignores the next few texts that come in, letting the phone buzz on the table softly as he gathers up everything. The cards will need to rest and he'll need to do the same. He feels it, a low and dull ache cradled in his bones and he knows sleep will come eventually, but only in shallow gasps.

He's halfway into more comfortable clothing (with less blood around the collar) when Max calls.

Tris hesitates a minute before picking up, sliding the phone unlocked and wiping at his mouth with a damp cloth. ]

Going. Promise.

Why're you calling? You have a trip to make.

[burnination]

I wanted to sing you a lullaby.

[ that is a joke, despite how flat it is. max has a bad habit of not changing tone when being funny. but no, he is not going to sing. no one wants him to sing. it's bad, okay. ]

I'm waiting on James to come get me. Takes a bit of him to set up. I already left the car - it's taken care of.

[ so hush. lay your face down and hush. ]

How's your head?

[saints]

If you're singing me a lullaby I hope you brought a lot of bass to lull me to sleep.

[ The deadpan is what makes Max... Max. He doesn't care and can tell the difference in just the context and maybe there's a smile there. The floor is creaking a little, and there's the sound of a bed dipping, pillows brushing the speaker on the phone as Tris gets himself adequately comfortable for a nap. The throbbing behind his eyes is soft, a pulsing like his heartbeat and there's still the vague taste of blood on the air from his mouth, from his nose. He wipes at it a little. ]

My head's had better days.

But there have been worse ones as well.

[ He closes his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. ]

I just wanted to be sure I didn't make a mistake.

[ I know you're working hard to find him. I didn't want to waste your time if I was wrong.

I wish I was.

Maybe I still can be? ]

[burnination]

Fresh out. You'll have to settle for my boring voice.

[ talking. not singing. but he knows tris never does well with loneliness. people like max, or james, can go wandering alone for ages and be perfectly fine, but that's them. tris needs connection, needs closeness.

his voice quiets some, soft, as max leans up against a wall of some random building out in a tourist zone. ]

Thank you.

You're never wrong about this shit. I'm glad you told me.

[ he's not going to be mad or annoyed over tris looking out for him, ever. and he knows how painful it gets for him to push his powers more than they want to be pushed. he is, genuinely, grateful for what tris put himself through to figure this out. ]

[saints]

I can be wrong.

I hope I'm wrong.

[ I hope I can make myself be wrong. Tris rubs his temples slowly in little circles, trying to stifle a noise of ease when he feels it coming on. Instead, he just rolls over onto his side. ]

I miss him. I really do. And I'll pick up the slack while you're laying low a couple days, okay?

[burnination]

[ he's not often wrong, but max isn't going to argue it. the point was that tris saw it, and awareness is half of getting around something shitty. ]

We'll figure it out.

[ at worst, he'll deal with it. if nothing else in life, max has learned he's incredibly hard to kill. the things woven into his being don't much like having their window into the physical world closed. ]

You need rest, Tris. [ not spending half the time you're worrying about this cards thing also worrying about doing extra work digging for marco. as much as max hates not doing it, tris is going to drive himself nuts. ] Just rest.