#belovedwaters

"I feel quite the same." He agreed with a small nod of the head. "I've tried. Oh, many times. But, no matter what, it's always me that seems to have to bend to the whim of the other." he shrugged, "You get to my age and you just don't see the point of bending quite so much. I'm happy in my own company. Perhaps you'll grow into your own too."

(Jace & Rocket)

"Oh yeah, real frickin' sweet deal you got here, tough guy." Rocket grumbled from his spot on the floor. He was surrounded by bits and pieces he'd scavenged on his travels. "You get to go for a little nappy nap and when you wake up, I've done all the hard work." he shook his head, although really it meant he could take all the glory if he managed to pull it off. "Well, sweet dreams, but, I hope you don't snore. 'Cause, if you do, I'm gonna start screamin' until you wake up all frightened that the world's endin'."

"I mean, yeah. Of course!" Tim urged, worried now that perhaps he'd been too enthusiastic about wanting to help her experience the joy that came with her new life in London. "Look, if I overstepped the mark, I'm real sorry. I was just excited for you, ay? Everyone's so worn out around here. It's just really amazing to see someone with light behind their eyes." Having spend his whole life in big cities, finding someone who wasn't standoffish was like finding a diamond. He didn't want to lose that so foolishly.

"Probably because y'aint very intelligent." Rocket answered bluntly. He wasn't trying to offend the other. As far as he was concerned he was just being honest. "Don't take it personally or nothin'. It's humans, they just ain't all that smart. At least, not as smart as they think they are." he shrugged, "Watch any grown man try and put a bedsheet on a double bed. It's enough to make you want to burn the entire city to the ground and start again."

It was a serious debate in Kurt's mind. Find a way to leave and get back home. The homesickness that overtook every time he returned to an empty apartment, hearing neighbors enjoying the festivities together while he was left to deal with the silence surrounding him at the same time. Could it be done? He hadn't tried it yet, but desperation called for drastic measures from time to time, right?

Leave it to Ricky to call him out, causing him to pause in the build up to a total meltdown. His focus was coming and going, blurring around the edges where the tears threatened to fall but had yet to break past the barricade of his pure stubborn nature. "Leave you alone?" Kurt finally asks, voice cracking, gaze flinting up towards the other. "Is that what you think I'd actually do to you, mon cher?" Maybe he did. That was what all of this conversation was. But maybe he had just needed to vent. Needed to know he wasn't alone himself.

"It's a testament to what makes them kind, doesn't it?" Kurt hums, thoughtful where he's disassociated to the far wall. Kind people in his past life were still rooted there, and he would be a liar to himself if he pretended even for a moment he didn't appreciate it in some form. "My step-mother is a great example of this. Truth be told, I had manipulated my dad into asking her out for my own agenda. And she wasn't dumb, she knew the agenda." It makes him cringe at his younger self the more he thinks about it, gaze dropping to his hands instead with a big inhale. "She still thinks positively of me, and treats me like I'm her son despite the whole selfishness of it all. If it wasn't for her kindness, my dad probably would still be single and wouldn't be half as happy as he is now."

(Taylor and Rocket)

"If I were here to kill you, you'd be dead already." he bragged, "Some of ya would be dead over here, and the rest a ya would be dead over there." he pointed in two different directions as he spoke. "Why would you think I was here to kill ya anyway? Is it the blaster? It's probably the blaster. Don't worry about that, it's under construction. I just bring it with me so nobody goes stealin' it." He sighed and tried to adjust his posture to be more professional. "Forget all that. What I'm actually here for, is to know if you wanna sign up for a sponsored explosion? I'm gonna explode some stuff, and you give a little financial contribution to a good cause. What'ya say?"