(no subject)

[rulingrowe]

[He doesn't regret it.

Concrete climbs up over his neck, his ears, his eyes. It freezes his arm extended up toward Delsin, blocks out the whistle of the wind as he falls, so all he hears is his heartbeat pounding and his ragged breath and still, in those split seconds as he falls, as he turns and vertigo and darkness and his crushing mortality flip his stomach, still Reggie can't regret it.

He's going to die...but Delsin'll make it out.

Reggie hits the water and the water hits back.








Reggie wakes up like clawing his way out of quicksand. His first breath is gasping, but when he expects to choke on water or rock there's nothing. He's in a bed, he's clean and not cuffed to anything, which doesn't seem right at all.]

I rescued you.

[A conduit- a kid, couldn't be more than thirteen, hugging his knees as he stares at Reggie from across the room with sunken eyes. The walls are cracked and peeling, and the bed he's on is just a mattress on the floor. Reggie yanks the blankets aside.

No concrete.]

...what happened?

[What happened is that Delsin did it. The D.U.P. has since been disbanded, the military moving in to clean up their mess. The Coast Guard arrived first and while people had wondered if it would just be a repeat of seven years ago, of massacres and manhunts, it didn't turn out that way. Maybe because of Delsin, because of the others, but the military worked with them to bring Augustine in and release the prisoners from Curdun Cay.

The boy tells him this with mistrustful eyes, squeezed back into a corner of the room. Now that Reggie looks at him he can see he's drenched, puddles of water pooling around him, constantly dripping. The fishy smell from the room must be coming from him.]

You're a Conduit, [Reggie breathes, Delsin's exasperated voice muttering, thank you, even as he tries to catch up.] ...you did save me. I owe you.

[The boy is a runaway, scared of being rounded up and even more afraid of his own parents. Horror stories about kids being turned in by their own families aren't anything new, though Reggie usually heard them in reference to murders and assaults, first. Parents who didn't know how to help their children, trying to find a solution to keep themselves and their families safe.

This run down shithole of an apartment the kid's squatting in doesn't look safe.

Before Reggie leaves he gives the kid a soggy business card from his equally damp wallet. The lettering is still legible at least.] Call the police office in Salmon Bay. Leave a message for me; they'll be sure to get it to me. You can't live like this, but I get that you're scared; I'll make sure Delsin hears about you, so you can get somewhere safe.

[The boy looks down at the card, face unreadable.]

Call me. Sheriff Rowe, Salmon Bay. All right, kid?

...my name's Alex.

Alex, then.







[His phone's a lost cause, and all calls going to Delsin's phone hit a disconnected wall. Must be past the bill date; Reggie usually pays it, after all.

Once he convinces the local precinct that he is, in fact, alive, Reggie gets a boat to head across the bay. With the bridge out his only option is to follow the channels as close back to Salmon Bay as he can get, get in touch with Betty and see if Delsin's there. God, he hopes he didn't go to far; he'd seen the reports, the footage, even heard first-person accounts from Conduits holed up in the precinct of Delsin saving them and while his heart had burst with pride, it had twisted with just as much worry.

Shit, if he watched Augustine kill Delsin in front of him, he'd be a goddamn disaster.

Once across the bay he rents a car, makes a beeline for Salmon Bay and the longhouse near the cannery. He's about to rush in, to check on the tribe (but Delsin must've helped them already, he knows his little brother, knows that his first stop would've been Betty and the others) when the billboard above the cannery catches his eye.]

Ah, shit...Delsin...

[It's good, too.

It's great work. Delsin is talented, after all.]

Comments

[rulingrowe]

-and it wasn't your fault! [Reggie grabs for him again, his arms, to hold him there in front of him. He has to make him understand because Delsin, god damn him, for all his passion and openness of heart, he internalizes all the worst things.] It was Augustine. You know it was her- look at me. Hey, [he takes his face again,] look at me, Del. It wasn't you. I made that call. It's on me.

[incitive]

[ Reggie grabs him, but Delsin's gaze keeps dropping to the ground when he's not closing his eyes. He's listening, and he gets what he's saying - he really does - but it's not just that, damn it! He looks when Reggie tells him to, though his expression is still sharp, all the relentless winding of his thoughts clear as day on his face. ]

But if I just-- You shouldn't have had to-- Damn it, Reggie, there was probably something I could have done different!

[rulingrowe]

Yeah, maybe there was! Maybe I coulda done something different, maybe Augustine, but that doesn't. Matter. I'm fine, and I'm here.

[When Delsin pulls from his hands he grabs his arms again, hands at his elbows to keep his brother from closing himself off.] I know you did- everything you could. I know, brother. I didn't let you go because I didn't believe in you.

I let you go because I did.

[incitive]

[ That did it. He's finally quiet, finally still - aside from the shaking of his shoulders as everything Reggie's saying actually starts sinking in.

"I let you go because I did." ... Fuck. He wasn't sure he'd believed in himself after all that, but here was Reggie, saying that. It was hardly fair. It wasn't like he'd asked his brother to die for him - wouldn't ever, he'd rather die first - but that's how it had happened. And he was gonna have to live with that.

But now it turns out, they both get to live with that. Because Reggie is alive. Delsin has to admit, maybe his big brother is right. Again. And it doesn't matter, because he is fine and he is here.

Delsin's right hand curls into a weak fist, and he raises it, presses his knuckles into his brother's shoulder like the most pathetic damn nudge of a "hit" ever. He stays quiet for a moment, just... nodding his head. And when he speaks again, it's much less frantic - finally - even if his voice still shakes a bit. ]

Don't... do it again. [ It's a ridiculous thing to say, and he knows it! Even gives a huff of a laugh through his nose. But... still. ]

[rulingrowe]

[Finally.

Reggie sighs, a smile finally creeping onto his face as he reaches out and pulls the edge of Delsin's hat over his eyes.] C'mon. You healed the tribe up, right? I wanna go say hello.

[incitive]

[ Yeah, finally. Especially with the tug of his hat, which makes him crack a semblance of a smile, too. ] Tch, hey--.

[ He reaches up and fixes the thing, taking one last deep breath. C'mon, Delsin, get it back together. ]

Okay, gotta admit... can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces. Hey, try not to give Betty a heart attack though.

[rulingrowe]

[Betty doesn't have a heart attack, but it's a near thing.

There are tears galore, on both sides; of course Reggie never could keep it together when Betty cried, which is why he suspects she tries to hide her face when she sees him. He tears up just a little, thankfully, but when the rest of the tribe rush over to see the fuss and throw themselves at him, it becomes a little bit harder to hold back.

He'd thought his people would die, and they thought he'd died and really, Delsin saved them both. Would that Conduit kid- would Alex have saved him, if there wasn't someone like Delsin out there doing good? Would Reggie have ever made it back home?

After a few more tearful reunions Reggie dries it up and turns to look for Delsin, who had wandered off during all the fuss (though thankfully, not out of sight). Reggie makes his way over, hands in his coat pockets, giving Delsin's bed a nudge with his knee as he tries to peer over his shoulder at his sketchbook. It feels too normal for everything they've been through, all the fear and pain and exultant jubilation...but this really was always how Delsin worked through things. Just by scribbling out the contents of his heart, in a corner by himself.]

Hey. I need to go down to the station, get some things in order. Up for a drive?

[Delsin hasn't wanted to go with him into work in years, maybe almost a decade, but he doesn't really want Delsin out of his sight right now and he suspects that for him, the sentiment is the same.]

[incitive]

[ Tears galore? Yep. Even Delsin finds himself tearing up when Betty starts (as if he could help it, seriously) and it just gets worse when everyone else shows up. He watches from just a short distance away, hands stuffed in his pockets, leaning against the wall. Everyone's happy, of course - the surprise and the absolute relief on all sides is so damn intense, it's hard not to get swept up in it all. It's a miracle. A series of miracles. But the tribe is okay, Reggie's fucking alive...

Delsin does wander off, as expected. He sits on his bed, sketchbook flipped open, and before he even gets to a fresh page, he takes a minute to look back at the last few pages - at everything that came from when Reggie was dead. All dark lines, heavy-handed and fiercely almost-scratched into the paper. Broken bridges, turbulent waters, shrapnel and debris. All of it just as broken up as he was, as his thoughts were. ]

Guess it's time for something new, [ He says quietly to himself, and finally turns the page.

It's still pretty blank by the time Reggie gets to him - just a few curved lines, nothing more just yet. He's a little surprised at the question, but then figures, he really shouldn't be. And yeah, the sentiment is the same. It's true, he hasn't wanted to go with him into work in years. And he especially didn't actually want to go whenever he was, you know, arrested. Tends to put a different angle on the whole visiting your brother's workplace aspect. But you bet your ass he's up for a drive this time. ]

Only if I get to pick the music.

[ Nice try, Delsin. He's standing up, anyway. ]

[rulingrowe]

[yeah ngl it's kind of nice to take delsin into work without shoving him in the back of a squad car]

Oh sure, if you pick up the rental tab. [IT'S A JOKE. Because he knows you won't because you never have any money because you don't hardly work. It's okay, you've worked real hard lately buddy, he won't get you on about a job for like, AT LEAST a couple months.

Still listening to CCR on the way in though.] So that Conduit kid...his name's Alex. Not living in a great situation, so I gave him my office number and told him I'd pass his name on to you. Think he might do better hearing from you than me.

[incitive]

Oh, yeah, just add it to my tab.

[ Hey. He's got his hands full with being awesome which is totally a job it just doesn't pay. Womp womp. So... thanks for the couple months reprieve from the job reminders. He super appreciates it.

The Conduit kid - the one that saved his brother's life... Man. "Not living in a great situation" could mean a lot of things, but no matter what, there's gotta be a way to do something, right? ]

Alex, huh... You think he'll call?

[ He hopes so, which is pretty clear in his tone. ]

[rulingrowe]

I think so. [Which brings up something else Reggie's been worrying about ever since he left Alex's place and got a good look at the city of Seattle. It hadn't stuck with him too hard before, too focused on saving the Akomish and keeping Delsin alive, but with everything done and over with he really got a look at the place.]

...Have the military come sniffing around looking for you at all?

[incitive]

[ Man... Reggie's question drives home just how much happened in what has been, despite feeling like forever, not very long at all. From the concrete island, to the showdown with Augustine... Saving the tribe, and then heading right back to Seattle to clean up, keep tabs, make sure history wasn't about to repeat itself in all the worst ways... ]

Uhhh, Yes, [ he answers on a heavy, exasperated sigh. It makes him uneasy. Obviously. He starts ticking off on his fingers as he continues: ] God. First they showed up to clean up Augustine's mess, then they kept running into problems, or wanting to know more about what happened, or to "just talk," [ air quotes~ ] about the same shit over and over again...

But it has been a little longer since the last time they came around. Maybe they ran out of questions, or brilliant ideas [ hand-waving! ooo. ] or whatever. Maybe they finally found something better to do. Like keeping everyone safe.

[ Emphasis on ev-ery-one. Look, anyone with a brain would know that progress is going to take time, but that doesn't stop Delsin's impatient ass from getting antsy and indignant about it. ]

[rulingrowe]

Ahhh, I wouldn't count on it. [Well, this is better news than 'no haven't heard anything at all' actually. At least the military isn't as gung-ho about busting in and taking what they want as Augustine was.] I wouldn't be surprised if they came back and wanted to take you into custody. We might have to leave for a little while, if that happens. I'll look into it.

[incitive]

[ Yeah, he wouldn't count on it either, but damn it, it would be nice.

His eyebrows go up. ] Taken into custody?! What the hell for! That's bullshit! I'm the one who exposed Augustine! I practically gave her to them!

[ ... Delsin that's exactly why you would get taken into custody, he didn't say arrested, please learn the difference. ]

[rulingrowe]

Yeah, and that's probably the only thing keeping them from rounding you up for about two dozen charges up to and including vigilantism! [Reggie sighs, reaching up to rub his forehead.] I'm not saying what we did was wrong. But the military isn't exactly part of the Conduit fanclub either, Delsin, and we need to be very careful. Someone with your kind of power- there's no way they'd want you running around unchecked. No way.

[incitive]

[ He hears all of that, he really does. The military is still bad news - don't have to tell him that twice! - and they should probably find somewhere else to go for a bit. Which... is gonna be hard, with how much Delsin wants to stay wrapped up (in his own way) in everything that's gone down.

... But, first things first, because... what does he also get out of all that? ]

So... more like Batman than Superman. [ He considers that with a squint... then nods, a grin spreading across his face. ] Okay, I can work with it.

[ Oh my god. ]

[rulingrowe]

[Reggie rolls his eyes and groans, but he can't help the fondness on his face even with how exasperated he is.]

Better fess up if you're secretly a millionaire. Some of that cash could come in handy with falling off the grid for a while.

[incitive]

[ Yeah, Delsin's just gonna keep on grinning, though for a second, it does soften. Considerably. Because this, his making brilliant and wonderful (ha) commentary just to have Reggie roll his eyes and make that exasperated face? ... He gets to have it again. And he didn't think he would.

But... right, time to back up and address the other point of the conversation: the "we might have to leave" part. ]

-- Okay, yeah, about that. Off the grid? Reggie, what if something else happens here?

[rulingrowe]

After what Augustine did, the military's actions here are going to be under serious scrutiny from activist and civil rights groups. It's probably one more of the reasons why they haven't tried to cart you off.

I'm not saying we leave now, just that we should be prepared to. [Reggie pulls into his space at the precinct.] We'll talk to Betty about it, but if it ends up being safer for the tribe...

[incitive]

[ He opens his mouth to say something about getting carted off, but Reggie goes right into the "I'm not saying..." bit, so there goes that. And besides, he has a point. A damn good point. Delsin's already saved them from a mess of concrete-flavored trouble he caused in the first place, he doesn't want anything to happen to them again. He sits back in his seat as the car comes to a stop, relenting, with a nod. ]

Right. If it ends up being safer for the tribe, then yeah. We'll go. [ Of course. ] But! [ He holds up a hand! ] If we're needed here, then no.

[ Sounds fair enough to him, tbh. ]

[rulingrowe]

Of course not. I don't wanna leave any more than you do. [Pockets the keys and opens his door.] C'mon.