'Separate Ways' (both, I would have just done Tempo but if Kalinka ever finds out what she did to Time Man then she might actually do this.)
"âŠ" Oil Man sighs. He guessed it was kind of inevitable that she would eventually find out what sheâd done, how sheâd destroyed the closest person to him⊠and it was hard. Heâd never really forgotten what sheâd done to Time Man, with it being a lurking, haunting fact in the back of his processor. He knew that sweet, kind little Kalinka would be horrified to learn of her own crimes. So Oil Man had gone along with Dr. Cossackâs suggestion of pretending it never happenedâŠ
That didnât last long, clearly.
He knelt down to the girlâs height, pulling her into a hug. He was very aware that he was hugging his brotherâs almost-murderer, but more importantly, he was hugging a friend. Despite the gesture, he was careful about how she was positioned in his arms; with hers tucked in, given no space to move them. As if he were subtly aware that she could try what sheâd done to Time Man on him.
"Donât do anything rash, kiddo," he said, softly. "I know you feel awful about what happened, but we donât hate you, yâknow? Weâve all done bad things. Youâre still welcome⊠anytime you wanna go for forgiveness."
Just as long as Time Man didnât show up, he supposed. At least, not alone, so that Time Man didnât go yelling at her or something. Oil Man wouldnât forget his brotherâs near-death, but he wouldnât begrudge Kalinka forever.
He held on for a bit longer before letting go and standing up to let her leave. He pulled his scarf over his face, to hide as much of his expression as possible. It wasnât outwardly strong, emotive-wise, but there was certainly an underlying sense of pain there.
"Wh⊠hang on, what?" Oil Man was confused, stunned even. "What are you talking about, baby? How can you be any threat to me?"
In any other context, that would sound a little like an insult to her strength, but he meant- why would she want to hurt him? At all, ever? He didnât understand why she was insisting on leaving forever. It just didnât seem right. What brought her to that conclusion? âŠWhat was going on?!
"Whateverâs going on- you canât face it on your own, yâknow? Youâve got the rest of us if you need us, and it would help if you told us what was up!" He certainly wasnât going to just let her leave, either. He had no interest- she was a friend! She was a great girl, Tempo, he wouldnât let her suffer alone!
He took her by the arm, urging her not to go- not without knowing why. He wasnât harsh about it by any means, but he did have a sure grip that suggested it would take a bit of force to get him to let go. Nobody was better off dealing with stuff alone- he believed that wholeheartedly.
