prettycoolguy | Legion Inbox

[ The acknowledgment light next to the Chief's name on Wash's HUD flashes, and soon enough he's there.

Despite this deck being secure (for now at least), there's still a fretful energy in the air. No one has had a moment's peace since the Brainiacs began their attack, every nerve on Legion World is pulled tight. Even now, though, the Chief manages to seem almost serene. He's at home in desperate chaos. ]

Wash?

[ It's only when he comes close that Wash can pick up that he's tense, it's subtle in his body language even by fully-armored-person standards. It's not quite as easy on him as he likes to make it appear. ]

[It doesn't take long for Chief to arrive, but that doesn't stop Wash from fretting in the meantime, because awful things happen when people are out of his sight and-]

[And Chief's here already.]

Here.

[It's barely there, but he can still see the tension in Chief's movements. Well, that makes sense - they're in hell, and Chief is about to go face down the fucking wrath of God.]

[And Wash won't be anywhere near him - odds are he'll be neck-deep in zombies again within the hour.]

[For what it's worth, Chief wears the tension a hell of a lot better than Wash does.]

I saw you were shipping out.

[...he doesn't actually know where he's going with this.]

I am.

[ Because of course. If you want to find the Chief in a crisis, look for the most dangerous part.

He stands closer to Wash than is casual, almost wanting to touch him but not sure if he should. He lowers his voice. ]

You alright?

[ He knows. John is bad at reading people in general, but he knows Wash well enough to see the strain on him. Wash worries about others before he worries about himself and everyone is in danger now. ]

Yeah.

[It's a baldfaced lie, but a calm one. At this point, he's lying to himself more than anything: he's okay, because he has to be, because the alternative is unacceptable right now.]

[But being okay doesn't make him any less worried. He hesitates for a moment, then closes the space between them, throwing his arms around Chief. Hugging in armor is awkward at best, but that's not going to stop him.]

Come back in one piece, okay?

[ The Chief lets his shields down for just a moment so he can hold Wash, resting the jaw of his helmet on top of Wash's, giving him a firm but gentle squeeze through the armor between them. ]

I always do.

[ Well. He hasn't lost any limbs yet, anyway. He's nervous about what they're about to do, but they're familiar nerves. The team is as ready as they can be, and the Chief believes they'll find a way through this mission. He trusts his abilities and theirs. It's not cockiness, but it is confidence.

Maybe he can't give some of that confidence to Wash through contact, but it's not for lack of trying. ]

Hold down the fort until I get back.

Edited 2017-08-27 05:26 (UTC)

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