metalicarus: (His voice)
Jet Link | 002 ([personal profile] metalicarus) wrote in [community profile] makinglies2013-06-02 03:20 pm

You cannot change what you are, only what you do.

The room was too quiet. The only sound that accompanied his thoughts was the ticking of the clock on the wall and that was too loud. It reminded him that time would keep moving even if he sat here, nothing was going to change just because he didn't move and, most of all, time only ever moved onwards.

As much as he may want to, he couldn't wind back the clock and undo what had been done. He didn't regret his decision to fly into space and save his best friend, without him Joe would have drifted forever and none of them would have seen him again, at least now Francoise wouldn't have to cry anymore. But...maybe it would have been better if he hadn't been saved, if he'd just died like he'd been prepared to do. Of course, sitting there, alive, it was harder to find that kind of resolve again. But, in the end, what was the cost of his living?

He looked down at his hands and how his wrists ended in the crease of a panel, the first sign of a difference. His eyes followed up from his wrist to his shoulders and then back down his own chest, creases ran along the surface of his too-pale skin like a web. They were closed now, but he knew it only took a second, a thought, and nearly all of them could flair up, open, or even separate to allow him better maneuverability and speed.

He knew this was like Pyunma, the doctor had only been trying to save him, to make him stronger. But he wasn't like the eighth cyborg, he couldn't have plated armor to defend from hits; he needed to be fast and light and aerodynamic. What he now had in speed and evasiveness he had gained at the cost of the defense he didn't have much of to begin with. He'd always been light on defense and built more for the get in quick and hit hard tactic rather than the barrel through approach for Albert or G, but he felt fragile and he hated it. Logically, he knew he could still take a hit better than most people, but he would have to rely more on not being hit in comparison to what he'd had before.

It was frustrating beyond belief, he didn't want to feel like this...and he certainly didn't want to look like this. He understood now, what his partners had been through and how they felt about being mostly machine. And it sucked. But it was more than even that. He looked up and into the mirror across the room where someone unrecognizable stared back. Blue eyes, finer features, and blonde hair stood out like beacons and he couldn't take his eyes off of them. Part of him thought that maybe, if he looked long enough and hard enough, he'd be able to see something that told him yes this was still Jet Link...but he hadn't found it yet.

Everyone always said it was what was inside that counted, not outside, but when you couldn't recognize anything of yourself, it was like you were in someone else's body, like one of those movies where it's some mistake and by the end of it everything would be back to normal. Except there wasn't an ending like that waiting for him, only blue eyes, blonde hair, and panels.
silberfuchs: (forehead kiss)

[personal profile] silberfuchs 2013-06-18 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
The hug isn't unexpected, but it's one of the things he'd been avoiding in trying to keep this to himself. Outpourings of emotion are severely uncomfortable for Albert, a man who'd rather just discuss things plainly and move on. Jet was more prone to these displays of affection and support, especially since he'd returned, and while Albert was grateful for the motivation behind them, they made him distinctly uncomfortable. Perhaps it's an attitude left over from a bygone age - this was the twenty-first century now after all - but Albert always preferred to deal with things quietly and if forced to talk about them, he'd rather it be met with a curt nod and passed over.

Instead he received the open American arms of acceptance and protection. Not only that, but from he specific person who caused him the pain in the first place. Not that he blames Jet, not anymore. They'd been through and over that and though he's still embarrassed at having broken down, it had been cathartic and in some ways necessary. This wasn't. This wouldn't fix anything, and that's why it's so frustrating to have Jet's arms around him in sympathy, maybe pity, and definitely guilt. It doesn't change a thing no matter how much Albert wants it to.

He lets out a slow breath and reaches back to take the hand Jet had placed against his back, moving it to his lips and planting a light kiss against the knuckles. "It's really nothing to worry about. Just a dream."
silberfuchs: (tease)

[personal profile] silberfuchs 2013-06-18 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
"The Maltese Falcon? It's the epitome of the noir genre." Albert snorts at Jet, knowing the assessment came more from the blond's predilection to pass judgement before thinking than any actual value statement based on the subject matter. Once he has his coffee, Albert makes his way back to the couch and drops into the cushions heavily, still not quite having shaken the pall that nightmare had spread over his evening, but preferring to ignore it for the sake of conversation with his partner.

"Of course, the book is better." He always says the book is better.