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]

[ 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.

[saints]

I know where my limits lie. Blood doesn't scare me.

[ It does, but on his own terms. He knows how much he can give to the water before he's done, he knows how far he can go without muddling a session with personal desires and dreams and the pain that shoots through his head when it's too much--there's the real warning. ]

I'll rest now, alright? Pick up in the morning. And I'll rest more. I don't exactly live a life of grandeur and adventure, Max. Better me than you right now. Maybe I'll find something you can use.

[burnination]

Don't push right up to the line.

[ knowing your limits is nice, but it also means you know how far you can push, and most, like max, like tris, like to go right up to the line and kick it repeatedly now and again. that's asking for bad shit to happen to your mind and body. ] I can't lose you either.

[ which is not something he says out loud much, but losing any of them wrecks him, if this last month or so hasn't made that painfully apparent. ]

Maybe. Okay. I'll let you sleep. [ he wants to be there, to hold on to him and pet his hair and rub his back until he falls asleep, but max knows well enough he can't. ] Call if you need, okay?

[saints]

You won't. Don't tell me what to do. I'm not the one with foul stars overhead.

[ His voice is firm, quick, dismissive. He means it and he's going to do it whether you pull the same "can't lose you" bullshit or not. He's not wrong to say it though, he knows exactly what Tris will do, he knows how long he'll sit for and he knows how badly he'll try because he wants it. ]

Yeah, I'll call, but something tells me you'll be a little busy.

[ This is not said unkindly, but moreso to ease the mood back. ]

Dani'll keep you busy. You won't even notice three days go by.

[ A soft beat. ]

So goodnight. I'll talk to you soon.

[ Tris doesn't wait, just pulls the phone back and hits "end" on it and tosses it onto the nightstand on silent. Getting the last word in is what he tries to do, particularly when he's in a defiant mood. He won't let the slack stay unpulled, undriven. He'll take it for now. ]