ic contact

[14thcommander]

It's Hange, Hange, Hange! Were you looking for me? I'll get back to you posthaste. Or when it's convenient.

[ communicator & actionspam it's all good ]

Comments

[beejfu]

Heyy, uh.

Thanks.

Thanks for helping me graduate. I didn't ever thank you for it before.

[14thcommander]

Of course, Betelgeuse. I'm sorry the adjustment has been... rough. And that being human maybe isn't everything you thought it would be.

[beejfu]

It's not your fault. You, uh. You saved me.

[14thcommander]

I helped. You saved yourself, given the opportunity. I know it wasn't easy for you.

[beejfu]

You charmer.

No, it sucked ass. Don't know why I was even allowed back but now that I am, I wanted you to know I'm committed. In it for the long haul, same as you.

[14thcommander]

[oh, this is such early days still, and such a big promise to make... but she wants to support him, so.]

I'm proud of you, Betelgeuse. And the rest of the barge and your fellow wardens are here for you.

[beejfu]

[he gives a wide, goofy, embarrassed grin]

[14thcommander]

I'm glad you came back.

[beejfu]

You are?

[14thcommander]

Yeah. Of course.

[beejfu]

That makes me feel like crying.

Is that normal? I haven't been human for very long.

[14thcommander]

Strong emotions can leak out as tears, yeah.

[Hange realizes suddenly that she hadn't told him that, and that of course it would mean a lot to Betelgeuse to hear that. In all the complicated emotions and the drama and stress of his return, she'd just never mentioned it.]

I'm sorry I didn't say that earlier.

[beejfu]

Shit. Yeah. Wow, okay, that makes sense. Because I'm not sad but I'm also crying.

Hey, no worries, you've only been human for what, 30 years? You didn't know.

[14thcommander]

[Hange lets out a soft snort of amusement.]

Yeah. I'm... well, I look forward to seeing you work.

[beejfu]

You're the first one who's ever said that to me.

[14thcommander]

I'm...

Look, Betelgeuse. This job is hard in a lot of ways that aren't immediately apparent at first. I'm worried about you, but I'm worried about Jean too - it's not specific to you. [His feelings about her perceived lack of confidence in him haven't gone unnoticed.] And you're really... new to being human, and adjusting to a lot right now, and I'm worried about you getting taken advantage of or being hurt.

You don't have to talk to me about all this. But I hope you'll find someone.

[beejfu]

[His brow creases in confusion, as he tries to work out what he's being told]

But I like to talk to you about all this. I mean. Unless it's too much. You've got Jean and all.

[14thcommander]

It seems to stress you out and agitate you, though.

[beejfu]

I think it was back when I thought you didn't believe in me. And also I kinda...fucked things up when I left and a lot of that guilt turned into anger.

Eesh. Philosophy 101 I guess.

[14thcommander]

[Does she believe in him? There's a lot of good in Betelgeuse, but also... she just worries. Hange would not have picked that moment for him to graduate.]

It's - hard to explain. There's so much that could go wrong! There's things that are dangerous here... I don't want you to get messed up. But you'll never succeed at it if you don't try, and part of your eventual success might be some failures along the way. It's complicated.

Of course you can talk to me about it if you want though. I'm here for you.

[beejfu]

I know. I know I know. Some days I just wanna demote myself. But that wouldn't be fair to Loki and I LIKE the guy. I wasn't expecting to like him so much.

[14thcommander]

I'm glad you like him! I think that's good. I think it's important for a warden to find something they like about their inmate.

Anyway - I can't always be here to guide you. I'll have my own inmate again eventually. But I'm here for you, for brainstorming and coming up with ideas, and talking about problems, okay? And for being friends, and the band...

[beejfu]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Hey, can you tell me about your world some more? Like I don't know if I'd fit in there or not.

[14thcommander]

That's hard to do, because I don't doubt my world will drastically change after I relocate us to a new planet. And I myself... might not stay there permanently. I'd like to imagine my people won't need my help, eventually.

[beejfu]

Gotta let the baby birds leave the nest, huh?

Where would you go? Back to Earth?