ic contact;

[orangehoodie]

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[pheromonecoffee]

Saturday. It's been almost a week that you've been here.

[orangehoodie]

...!!

I missed school!

[biggest. concern.]

[pheromonecoffee]

... The city is half destroyed, Ken.

[I doubt they had school at all.]

[orangehoodie]

[It's a lot to take in. He's absolutely confused. He's trying to push himself up again even though his arms are starting to get shaky now and he's dangerously close to yanking out the IV in his arm.]

My dad didn't get hurt did he?! You said he's been here but-- is he okay?

minato and fuu being right next to each other is a problem.

[pheromonecoffee]

[He takes Ken's shoulder in a firm grip, pushing him back to the bed. Lie down child.]

Your dad's fine. But you shouldn't move so much. You've been asleep for a week. You need to eat and rest and I'll call him while the nurses check on you if you want.

[orangehoodie]

[His hand flies up to grip Matt's sleeve. He's shaking badly now, but he forces himself to take a breath and shakes his head.]

Y-You don't have to.

[pheromonecoffee]

I'm pretty sure he wants me to. He's been really worried.

[orangehoodie]

[He frowns. He really wants his dad here. But he doesn't know if his dad's in a meeting, or maybe he's busy. He'll come here regardless, and what if that gets him in trouble?]

... After we call the nurse.

[pheromonecoffee]

[It's Saturday, Ken, calm down. Matt will call the nurse, though, because Ken needs to either relax and keep the IV in or get it out so he doesn't hurt himself.]

[orangehoodie]

[When the nurse comes she'll take it out. But Ken is burying into the blankets and looking upset because he wants his dad here but what if dad is mad?]

How bad was the damage?

[pheromonecoffee]

They're fixing it right now, but it was pretty disastrous. [Matt's absolutely sure dad won't be mad.]

[orangehoodie]

People outside the city know?

[pheromonecoffee]

My parents called to make sure I was okay, so yeah, they know.

[orangehoodie]

... My dad knows?

[pheromonecoffee]

About the snake? Yeah. About you? I didn't tell him.

[orangehoodie]

Do you want me to tell him?

Are you going to tell your parents?

[pheromonecoffee]

Depends. If I have something worthwhile to say about it, I will.

But they'll try to make me go home.

[orangehoodie]

[And at that Ken's face falls. Just a little, but the change is obvious and he's too late to look away. Of course. If Matt's parents knew, they'd probably want him back. They wouldn't want their son staying in such a dangerous city with a bunch of people so far away from them. And it's the right way to think.]

It'll be better for you. This city's dangerous...

[But if Matt moves again, what'll he do? He finally had someone he could try to call a friend-- and it's a selfish way to feel and he frowns deeply at it but he can't help but wish that Matt would never say a word to his family.]

[pheromonecoffee]

[He puts his hands in his pockets, thinking.]

I won't go. I'm the leader, after all.

[He's the one, in that other life, who made the hard decisions. And he can't abandon that post he never asked for and doesn't technically have.]

I won't leave my teammates to fight alone.

[orangehoodie]

... We're not teammates.

[He hates that it makes him happy to hear that.]

It'll be better if you were somewhere safer.

[pheromonecoffee]

I won't leave my friends, either. I'm not going anywhere. [He's very stubborn on the matter.]

[orangehoodie]

... Why?

It'll be a lot safer, probably.

You won't have to deal with any of this.

You hardly-- you haven't even been here that long--

[Please don't leave please don't leave please he doesn't want to let go of the feeling that you might care about him.]

[pheromonecoffee]

Isn't it weird that I got sent here for a year and it was right before things fell apart? Pretty much as soon as I got here I met Phillip, who was in my last life. And then I met you. You got numbers almost right after I got here, right? I got here beginning of January.

Don't you think it's weird that we're drawn here? I'm not saying it's fate or destiny or a higher power, but I am saying I got here right on time to lend a hand. I have friends here now. I have enough people here--and I want to find things out. I had an echo when the snake attacked. I need to know why.

[He might as well give Ken the full list of motivations.

He's here. He has to keep fighting. So long as he can help people, he's going to fight.]

[orangehoodie]

...

[He sits back up. The nurse isn't here yet. He sits back up and he's wearing ugly hospital scrubs and he misses his usual stupid orange jacket because it was too large and made him feel a little safe.]

... I don't want you to get hurt or die.

[pheromonecoffee]

I'm not going to die. I have colleges to apply for.