Regrets they shine like candles

[hackeralastair]

WHO: Alastair and Saitou
WHERE: Bachelor Towers
WHEN: a day after Saitou's return from death
WARNINGS: probably not
SUMMARY: debriefing! Hopefully not ass-kicking but probably yelling
FORMAT: quickpara idk whatever

Having taken a couple of days off to deal with Saitou's death, Alastair worked a little longer to start making up hours, but he still came home around dinner-time. It was getting harder to avoid Kiryu, unless they were both at work, but he really needed to talk to Saitou - if for no other reason than to explain what had happened, to clear the air. And maybe, just maybe, find some way of making his life suck a little less. He was really starting to like the stoic swordsman as a friend, and wanted to help, but he couldn't help but feel a little responsible for everything.

He changed and then poked his head out of his room, looking furtively around. Was Saitou home from the precinct yet?

Comments

[wolfofmibu]

The first day back had been hard. He'd tried to ignore the stares, murmurs, Lassiter, and had spent most of that first day alone, sometimes escaping to the roof for some quiet and a chance to smoke without anyone making a fuss. Which could really summarize his day all-in-all. Well, except for that lovely chat with Maza, and he was still grumbling over that...

Saitou stepped out of the elevator with a disgruntled sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose before heading toward his room to change-- though he stops in the hallway at the hacker boy peeking his head out.

"Alastair."

[hackeralastair]

"Good timing." Alastair edged out of his room and leaned on the door frame, still plainly serious and quiet in mood. "I was just checking to see if you were home yet."

[wolfofmibu]

He tilted his head a little at that, but said nothing for now. Instead he went on ahead to his room to at least drop off his jacket, before stepping back out into the hallway and leaning against one of the walls (and maybe not really noticing the cat at his feet watching his every move).

"So."

[hackeralastair]

"So," Alastair repeated with a sigh. "I guess if there's anything you wanted to know, about how it all went down...I'm the guy to ask. I went to Stark with it, and he helped me find you." He bit his lip briefly to hide the fact that he had to consciously change which name he used to refer to... "Kiryu came in later, after I called him."

[wolfofmibu]

Alastair's hesitation only seemed to confirm what Saitou had already theorized in his head. So they were having problems.

He let it slide for now, though, as there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Stark, hm?"

[hackeralastair]

"I didn't know who else to trust," Alastair admitted. "He's got the best network for information in the city, no doubt about that. But...I didn't think the cops could get to you in time. I don't even know any of them, or whether I can trust them - and Kyosuke doesn't at all." It slipped out that time, but he plunged on regardless. "The two of us tracked down that hideout in an hour or so."

o.o forgot to hit 'post comment' psssh /fails

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou remained silent at Alastair's explanation, as what he said made sense. Stark wasn't exactly an obscure resident of the City by any means. And he hadn't exactly given Saitou a bad impression - yet.

He almost wanted to quirk his eyebrow at the name change, but left that alone for now as well. That could wait.

And then perked up at that last bit. "An hour." Not bad, really. Though he really had wished they'd found him sooner...

But enough on that. Alastair wasn't as bad as Kiryu disliking the cops, but he should at least know a few to trust. "Maza-san is all right."

*pats* XD

[hackeralastair]

"Yeah...give or take." Alastair reached across and rubbed his shoulder idly, even though he'd gone to Bakura to have it healed. It was merely a nervous fidget. "Helps that Stark can fly, in his suit. I just...I wish I hadn't waited. There was a post from the police, so I figured they were on it, but..."

He took a breath and then let out what he had been actually stewing over. "I feel partly responsible. If I hadn't tracked down Cavil, none of this would have happened. Everything would be all right if I'd just kept my nose out of it."

this'll prolly be my last tag for tonight ^^; /falls to bed

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou let him tirade for a little while, assuming he needed to get that out of his system anyway. It was probably better.

... Though he frowns at that last part.

"Don't. It was my mistake, not yours. And in the end he got caught after all."

is fine! tag whenever :)

[hackeralastair]

And that, Alastair thought to himself, was exactly the problem. "If you say so," he murmured, looking away. "I guess that means...I should probably turn over all my tracking records to the police. So they have evidence, right? And I was there, so I can tell them what he did to you..."

He scowled and added, under his breath, "...bastard threw me into a wall, too."

o/

[wolfofmibu]

He perked up a little at the prospect of some new information, especially since it was on Cavil, and took on a more business-like tone. "I'd like to look them over before you do that."

And he ended up blinking a bit at the idea of Cavil making such a fuss. Considering Tony Stark had likely been in his suit (or at least Saitou assumed), Cavil had probably not much of a chance. Vaguely he wondered what condition that 'bastard' was in now...

"So he didn't come quietly."

[hackeralastair]

"...yeah, all right," Alastair assented. Much of it Saitou had already seen, in a way - the streams of digital information that he had been using to decrypt and trace, and the map of the location, but Alastair understood. The original message to Kiryu was on there, too. He relished the idea of just writing down his statement on what happened instead of having to tell someone in person, so Alastair considered doing that before letting Saitou have his look.

He shook his head slowly. "Not really." His face suddenly darkened with a scowl. "He wouldn't let me near you. I just wanted to make sure you were still alive, and he tossed me aside. It got ugly after that."

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou skimmed the paperwork a bit slowly, as he was still getting used to the English alphabet. Speaking it had been easier, but writing the characters was... still a work in progress. Which made police paperwork all the more difficult.

Though he smirked humorlessly at that admission. "Not surprising--" But the mention of 'ugly' made his eyes narrow. "What else happened."

[hackeralastair]

Alastair did his best not to lurk too obviously in the background; he liked being useful for once but he was also uncomfortable about the whole affair. He forced himself not to pace by leaning against a wall.

"I missed bits of it," he replied, "but...Stark and Cavil got in a scuffle. And then Ky...Kiryu showed up, but...by then Cavil was good and caught, so..."

[wolfofmibu]

He noticed the pacing, but said nothing on it for now. He'd rather have the rest of Alastair's description than watch him fumble and stutter. He looked down moments later.

"... I see."

Saitou didn't have to hear the rest. He knew what happened after that. The pain had been... almost comforting, in a way. He could finally close his eyes for once and control his actions. It was a refreshing feeling.

[hackeralastair]

After that was screaming and struggling...after that, Alastair had done the thing which had him at odds with Kiryu now.

"I don't think there's a lot after that to tell. Stark took care of Cavil, and I left Kiryu to take care of you. That's that." He breathed a quiet sigh. "But now you're back, so."

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou only gave a vague nod, letting that summary pass a few moments. He didn't want to think on that - and his mind blanked on what else he could possibly say, anyway. It wasn't normal to be told what your death was like by someone else.

"Mm."

[hackeralastair]

"How secure is the prison these days?" Alastair asked warily, almost out of nowhere. "I mean...the stupid Joker's still running around loose and all. What's the chances Cavil gets out sooner or later, too?"

[wolfofmibu]

... Yeahhh Saitou's face definitely turned sour at that idea. Although the police should already know, if Cavil were ever freed or to escape, Saitou would get to him before anyone else. So in some ways he doubted Cavil would want to escape, if Saitou was waiting for him the minute he left secure walls.

"It's secure. And if not, he'll be running into me again his first step outside."

[hackeralastair]

"When is this going to stop?" Alastair threaded his hands through his red hair for a moment. "You're all just going to keep killing each other, back and forth, until one day one of you doesn't come back. It's ridiculous. I just want it to stop...but he's never going to leave us alone, is he?"

[wolfofmibu]

Alastair actually raising his voice startled Saitou for a second or so, simply observing his tirade. ... He did make a valid point, as much as Saitou didn't like to admit it. He would rather this finally got settled once and for all - and he was used to that happening upon an enemy's death. Saitou ran a hand through his hair as well. This City was quite possibly the most frustrating location he had ever set foot in.

... And he replied in a quiet tone after Alastair had finally finished, a hand idly resting on his sword handle. "I'm not going to kill him. I'm simply going to render him helpless and make certain he never has the capacity to escape." Because like hell was Saitou ever going to allow Cavil to set foot near Kiryu ever again.

[hackeralastair]

Alastair straightened up from the wall and moved around to face him, his face deadly serious. "I trust you, Saitou. I have to - because now Cavil knows I had a part in this. But I don't know how much longer I can deal with this...if Kiryu doesn't want..." He flinched and shook his head, trying a different set of words. "You're my friend, really. But...oh. Never mind."

Either he confessed to the fight or just buried it forever. He couldn't have a conversation without it coming up anymore.

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou's face was a careful blank, as he crossed his arms in minute irritation. Trust. If Alastair really trusted him he wouldn't need to worry. He'd take care of this. This was his mistake and
he was responsible and he would fix this no matter what it required.

"But nothing. I'll settle this," and then he stared at Alastair pointedly, "And you need to settle whatever is going on here." Translation: 'Explain this ridiculous behavior to me or there will be consequences.'

[hackeralastair]

Alastair scowled at him. "Tell that to Kiryu, not me. He's the one with the problem. If he wants to throw away our friendship just because I did what I thought was right, then..." He sniffed and looked away. "Then fine. I'll leave and neither of you have to worry about what happens to me. I'll be out of your hair."

[wolfofmibu]

That scowl was returned, which elevated to a scoff at Alastair's course of action. No one was going anywhere or leaving or any of this nonsense, and Saitou closed the space between them to whack him over the head.

"Ahou. No one involved in this mess will be making logical decisions for some time," and he was including himself here, "And considering the effect Kiryu must have experienced afterwards, he likely wasn't whatsoever." He gets another whack for emphasis, his tone firm and with finality. "No one is going anywhere, this experience has been tiresome enough."

[hackeralastair]

"Stop it!" Even though the smacks could be taken as somewhat affectionate, Alastair hated being rebuffed as though he were some child. He shoved back after the second hit and faced Saitou with more bravery than he'd shown in the past week to anyone. "I don't need you patronizing me! It doesn't matter how much or how little he was thinking, Kyosuke's thrown me aside and doesn't want to have anything to with me anymore and you have no idea how much that hurts!"

It all just slipped out, really. Alastair had no idea whether Saitou had ever guessed what the two of them were up to behind his back. It didn't matter. Alastair was angry and depressed and Saitou would probably just punch him if he said the wrong thing.

[wolfofmibu]

What was it with everyone being so emotional these days. For the most part Saitou just stood there blankly, though his irritation was definitely showing. And honestly if Alastair and Kiryu thought they could hide that for how long that had been going on, maybe he'd put too much faith in them for intelligence.

"If you want to indulge yourself in sulking and self-pity, then go ahead and do it somewhere else. Or perhaps maybe an idea will get through that thick skull of yours to actually talk with him about this." Honestly. 'Patronizing' Alastair could call him until the end of time, but it didn't make Alastair's tantrum any less childish.

[hackeralastair]

Saitou was actually the best person to talk to, about this. He wouldn't put up with any bullshit or pat Alastair on the head and tell him it was all right. Of course, Alastair would never admit this to himself.

For now, he simply seethed. "You can't talk to somebody who's avoiding you and glaring at you every time you happen to catch sight of each other," he muttered. "This isn't totally my fault. He has to want to talk, too."

[wolfofmibu]

... Was everyone on this floor such an idiot all the time? "Then if you're not brave enough to get him to sit down, I'll make him." And he knew Kiryu would comply, or, well, Saitou would probably tie him down and/or beat the shit out of him until he relented. "Do you always give up on matters so easily?"

OHOHO. Nice one!

[hackeralastair]

Alastair recoiled as if he'd been slapped in the face. It was one thing to get that from Kaiba, but Saitou? "I'm not," he protested feebly. "It's just...well, what do you know?" He backed up a step or two, calming down. "If you can get him to be rational for two seconds, then..."

He hadn't even though of what he wanted to say, in the past couple of days. Of course he had already given up, old habits die hard. "I already apologized," he offered. "I don't know what else he wants."

BITCH DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT I WON'T HAVE IT

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou merely scoffed. Alastair definitely wasn't persuading him to believe otherwise. "Rationality I can manage. As long as you think you can manage to get this settled, hm?"

/bratty teenager oh wait he's turning 20 soon

[hackeralastair]

Alastair was silent for a moment, and then lowered his head slightly. "I want to settle it," he murmured. "I want to fix things...honest. I don't want to spend the rest of my time in this goddamn city avoiding him and thinking 'there goes my former best friend. Wonder what he's up to.'"

He almost thanked Saitou for his efforts right there...but he didn't. Not yet.

ffffff that means nothing

[wolfofmibu]

Well at least he was gaining enough of a nerve to say what he wanted again. "Good. And don't hold this off. Fix this before the end of the week; preferably today."

XD

[hackeralastair]

"Hmf." Alastair avoided Saitou's gaze again. He didn't think that likely, but at least he was willing to give it a shot. If Saitou thought it was possible...

Dammit. Saitou was becoming like Raphael to him, wasn't he? Great. Alastair couldn't escape it no matter how far from home he was.

"We'll see what happens," he said noncommittally. "I want to check up on Bakura sometime tonight. Someone got ported in on him, he's probably freaking out." It also made a good excuse not to have to address his issues right away tonight.

[wolfofmibu]

Saitou's gaze remained skeptical for a few minutes, but it went away as he shrugged his shoulders lightly. If Alastair didn't confront Kiryu on his own, he'd just force him into a room together and lock the door until they came to terms. "Don't try and make an excuse for every time you have the opportunity." Though he was going to leave the conversation at that, he'd had enough today. And Aome was probably making a fuss wondering where he was at this hour, passing by Alastair without another word.

[hackeralastair]

Alastair heaved a long, tired sigh. "Thanks," he whispered, so quietly that anyone but Saitou might not have even caught it. But the need to look in on Bakura was real, even if it meant he couldn't track down Kiryu that night.