Felt as though my own kind were all that mattered, and kept me sane (SPOILERS FOR FMA.)

[explosivecombat]

Who: Frank Archer (determinator); Solf J Kimblee (explosivecombat)
Where: Olivine City
When: 07/31, evening
Summary: After an incident with powers in which Kimblee tried to kill Archer, almost three weeks' separation, a very small inbox war in which Kimblee started with the irrationality this time, and a stupidly awkward conversation that can only end in butthurt once they actually test this Magical Notebook theory of theirs out, these idiots are actually going to try to talk things out like adults, without getting into heaps of "no u."

TL;DR - LOOK AT ALL THIS MANPAIN.

Rating: PG? PG-13? One day I will learn how to rate appropriately idk
Log:

If there was one thing Johto seemed to enjoy, it was taunting Kimblee with those notes.

Mustang is back in Amestris by now, surely, and while none of his Pokemon had been entrusted to Kimblee's care upon his departure, that damned book had found its way back to him eventually. Following Winry's post to the network regarding Mustang's disappearance, Kimblee had gone through his possessions, and sure enough...

This is the second time that's happened, and the second time he's travelling to another city to give it to someone else. If the notes within it do contain some way to get home, Kimblee certainly doesn't know for himself; the circumstantial evidence is great enough for him to know not to chance it. Mustang hadn't seemed surprised by Kimblee's assertion that he had no use for the information himself, and there had been a silent moment of understanding in which it was plain that they both knew; however, Archer is still completely unaware that Kimblee has nothing to return to.

He'll avoid telling him if he can; it's not anything they need to discuss.

He had told Archer that he would send him a message when he arrived in Olivine City; however, upon his arrival, he finds that he doesn't believe that to be necessary. There's really only one thing that tended to draw Archer toward it here, the reason they had both been so fascinated by this place to begin with; if Archer isn't there, he'll try to send him a message through the 'Gear.

He recalls his Togekiss immediately and makes his way toward the ocean.

It takes a moment of looking, but he eventually finds Archer near the lighthouse - close enough to the ocean to be able to enjoy it, but not close enough to get sand all over that military uniform he always wears, and certainly not close enough to invoke the ire of the jellyfish.

The air is cool this evening, some of the passing showers having taken the edge off the heat, and the breeze coming in off the ocean is pleasant. Kimblee's hair is getting long, as he hasn't cut it at all in Johto; it's almost waist-length by now, though it's still thin enough for the wind to pick it up a bit, playing lightly through his ponytail and pulling one or two more strands loose to join the ones at the front.

He's holding the book to his chest, arms folded lightly in front of it; the position serves two purposes, really, the second being that it makes it decidedly less obvious that he's still shaking. The electricity has played with his nerves quite a bit; he's starting to relax overall, but his motor skills are still suffering, and he still shocks people on contact. The manic periods come and go; they're starting to get a bit less frequent, and he's had Isaac watching him, keeping him controlled.

He seems calm enough when he approaches Archer, though it quickly becomes fairly obvious why he had used text when contacting him earlier; the stress of the day has been agitating his condition. His voice is shaking a bit when he speaks, and he's still twitching quite a bit, almost to the point of appearing to have some sort of physical tic; he's still coherent, however, and much more sane-sounding than he was last time he and Archer tried to have any sort of verbal conversation.

"I know I said that I would contact you when I got into town; you'll have to forgive me for not doing so." He smiles a bit, though the expression is more distant than welcoming. "But somehow I thought I would find you here."

Comments

[explosivecombat]

Kimblee recognizes the statement, of course; it is incredibly familiar, and it seems to actually calm him down quite a bit - not the odd, dissonant calm that he was displaying just moments ago, but something genuinely relaxed.

"Of course, Archer."

He keeps his grip on Archer's hand, though it's partially to keep himself from shocking him again; he reaches out with his free hand, running his fingertips gently through Archer's hair, tousling it a bit before repeating the light stroking motion again. It's something he normally avoids in public, but he's reasonably confident that there's no one around.

"As I've said before, you've been good to me."

[determinator]

That certainly pleases him, if the happiness vibes are anything to judge by. Archer relaxes immediately, moving to rest his head against Kimblee's shoulder. He doesn't exactly latch on, but it's obvious he's thinking about it.

"I do what I can. You know that." He's already apologized for the misunderstanding and almost offers it up again - but why remind Kimblee of that and ruin things? Things are finally going back to normal despite everything he's just heard from Kimblee. He's still in a state of shock and he's not fully processing just what Kimblee said, but this is nice. It's good to have something normal for a change.

[explosivecombat]

Out of all the emotions Archer has been sending to him over the last little while, Kimblee supposes it's probably telling when the happiness vibes are the most difficult for him to recognize. He's never been completely devoid of positive emotions, and he's certainly familiar with contentment and pleasure; at the same time, happiness in any genuine sense is strangely foreign. He knows it's counterintuitive to find it unpleasant; at the same time, it's overwhelming to a point where he finds himself feeling more overstimulated and oddly uncomfortable than all right with it.

"Yes, I'm aware."

He's also aware that what happened earlier needs to be addressed; the thought of doing that is even less comfortable than dealing with whatever Archer is sending him, but he's never really been one to shy away from things like this.

"...I understand what you were trying to tell me earlier, you know. And what you were trying to do at the time. I didn't...it wasn't handled very well."

[determinator]

Archer certainly doesn't like the shift in topic any. If they start arguing again... But he finally draws back a bit, still keeping hold of Kimblee's hand and once again glancing away.

"Understandably so. As I said, we both made mistakes and it was ridiculous of me to assume you were following the exact same train of thought. Again, I apologize."

It should be fairly obvious that he doesn't want to discuss this at all, but Kimblee isn't attacking him or blaming him for anything. It's possible that they can fix things and move on, right?

[explosivecombat]

Kimblee tips his head a bit at that; he can tell that Archer is bothered by this, but he can't exactly tell why he seems so anxious about it. This is a positive understanding to be coming to, isn't it?

"Something else on your mind?"

[determinator]

"I had hoped we wouldn't get into this argument so soon, that's all." Archer sighs and shifts a bit, once again directing his gaze out at the ocean. "I don't want to fight with you, Kimblee."

[explosivecombat]

...wait, wait. Did he miss something?

"We aren't fighting, last I checked."

[determinator]

"Not yet, no. But this conversation ended so well last time."

...Uh whoops, he didn't mean to kill your brain there. Though he's starting to get the feeling he's missing something here too.

[explosivecombat]

"...I just said that I understood what you were saying earlier. I don't see how you're interpreting that as being argumentative."

...however, that statement is sounding rather argumentative. Oh dear...

[determinator]

"You are now." He knew this was a terrible thing to talk about...! Why do you always insist on pushing him, Kimblee?

[explosivecombat]

He would like to know how the hell he was pushing you to begin with, Archer, but that is an argument for another...thirty seconds or so.

"After you claimed I was when I wasn't."

[determinator]

"Because I knew it would come to this. It always does." Great. Just great.

[explosivecombat]

Wh...

"And it legitimately didn't occur to you that senselessly accusing me of fighting with you would cause me to actually argue that point? What do you expect me to do, Archer?"

[determinator]

"That's not--! You always manage to turn things into an argument somehow - what am I supposed to expect when we get started on a topic like this, one we've already had a major blowup about?"

[explosivecombat]

And for a good long moment, he just...stares.

"Archer, I have no idea what you're even trying to say with that."

So much staring. So much.

"I genuinely have no idea."

1 /.3

[determinator]

"Well, I would think that it's obvious--!"

2 / 3

[determinator]

...Actually... now that he's thinking about it... there really isn't any way to explain his thought process there, is there?

...

...Well. This is awkward.

3 / 3

[determinator]

"...What were you trying to say, then?"

And like a cat, Archer attempts to pretend that's totally what he meant to do.

[explosivecombat]

"...I believe I already explained that to you."

Kimblee's voice is cold; it's fairly obvious that it's taking literally all of his restraint to keep him from storming off once that statement is out there.

[determinator]

...Okay, hang on, are they arguing about this whole... issue with locking Kimblee up or are they arguing about Archer assuming things that aren't there?

He hates arguing with Kimblee.

"Then humor me. Please."

[explosivecombat]

"No."

Kimblee pulls his hand away at that, abruptly, trying to break Archer's grip in one quick movement.

"Clearly, I can't say anything without you making some sort of assumption as to my motives. If you don't do that, you assume I have the reasoning skills of a child. This was a mistake; if you have nothing further to say to me, I believe we're done."

[determinator]

Archer is too stunned to react at first, and by the time he's gathered his wits Kimblee has already broken his contact. Archer's expression is blank for a moment while he tries to process that. Then the emotions give way and suddenly he's projecting far too much at once - pain, anger, hatred even - and for once he doesn't bother trying to crush the feeling down or control his expression or tone.

"So that's it? You expect me just to deal with the fact that you're dead? You think you can just... tell me something like that and then decide that this is a mistake? This is not a goddamn mistake! It has never been a mistake! If it was a fucking mistake you would have left months ago and you fucking know it!"

Archer hasn't had a shrieking fit in quite some time. It seems he's a little out of practice.

"I am sick and fucking tired of catering to your whims! You didn't want to deal with things earlier, fine, I let you go. You suddenly want to act like everything is fucking fine, then great. But now we're going to separate again because I made another fucking mistake? Do you realize how fucking manipulative you're being?"

Archer jabs a finger at Kimblee's chest, heedless of the shock he's bound to get. "Not everything is about you! I have tried to deal with your fucking selfishness for months and this is the thanks I get? Guess what? I make mistakes. If you're going to threaten to leave every single goddamn time I make a mistake then fine! Fuck! You!" The last two words are accentuated by pointed jabs to the chest. The entire time the emotional vibes Archer's been giving off have been increasing to the point where they're nearly as powerful as what he's actually feeling. Needless to say, he's furious.

[explosivecombat]

Kimblee doesn't move while Archer screams at him, though judging from his expression, he's incredibly displeased; he allows the strikes against his chest, even, though after those final two, he doesn't seem too inclined to allow Archer to continue with it - he grips Archer's wrist firmly, the motion quick, not caring that he's going to be shocking him in the process.

He isn't yelling when he addresses him; to the contrary, his voice has gone very, very quiet.

"If you want to discuss mistakes you've made, Archer, then fine. We'll discuss mistakes. I can acknowledge that you've made plenty of mistakes. Right now? You're going to consider exactly how many times I've threatened you, in all seriousness, with leaving since that incident in February. Figure out exactly how often it's been. And after you've worked out a number, you're going to tell me what was happening when I threatened you with it.

Because I can guarantee that number is not as high as you're claiming it is, and that I've held to my word of not threatening you with that unless I had a very valid reason to want to leave."

[determinator]

Archer flinches a bit at the shock, but he doesn't pull away. He is silent after a moment to take Kimblee's words into consideration before shaking his head. "That's not the goddamn point! You don't have to actually threaten to leave; you know that as well as I do! You just have to look ever-so-slightly displeased and I immediately work to correct the behavior. You know that's how I work and you can use that to your advantage! You never have to go back on your word that way!"

He finally moves to try to break away from Kimblee's grip, still glaring. "You're still focusing on only one issue here. You're a manipulative bastard and I'm sick and fucking tired of dealing with it! If you're going to keep being this way and expect to always get your way whenever you're even slightly displeased, then you have another fucking thing coming! I'm not going to deal with your shit anymore, Kimblee. Either this relationship is going to operate under your ideal "Equivalent Exchange" or I'm done. I'm not putting up with this anymore!"

[explosivecombat]

Kimblee usually doesn't respond to these sorts of things with yelling; his voice has always been quiet, higher-pitched, and so yelling never really carries very well.

"Will you listen to yourself?!"

He's certainly yelling now.

"You're telling me that I'm not allowed to react to anything - I'm not allowed to express any displeasure at all - without you taking it as me trying to manipulate you!"

He pulls back a bit, though the motion is more defensive than anything; he clearly isn't sure what to do with himself, physically, but it's unusual that he withdraws at all, rather than attempting to confront - it's obvious that this is getting to him rather badly, but he's not quite finished with it, either.

"Have you been listening to yourself at all during this entire argument? You didn't acknowledge that I might want some distance from you; you 'let me go.' It's selfish of me to not just shrug off any mistakes you make, regardless of how they affect me. Expressing that I might not like something is manipulating you. If you don't give me permission to do something, and I pursue it because I want to, you order me to tell you what I'm doing. Do you think you own me?"

He closes his eyes for a moment then, trying to get his breathing under control; when he speaks again, his voice is quiet, though it's definitely shaking again.

"Answer that honestly. Do you think you own me?"