[ACTION]

[raced_god]

[IT'S SATURDAY. IT'S SUMMER. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and this dude is out on the quad. Like, right in the middle of the quad.]



[He is accompanied by a cooler of something that is definitely not soda and seems largely unresponsive to most things. Probably (definitely) he's thinking about how all y'all are nerds.]

Comments

[icequeen_aran]

[She exchanges another look with Falcon, easily knowing the next subject matter wasn't as lighthearted as the one currently going. She knows Ian and military life is what he knows, so it doesn't surprise her he'd probably thinking of his occupation here along the lines of:

hiatus

temporary

as in

not permanent...

She's heard tales of some people literally being unable to leave Smash Academy, but so far (thankfully) she's never had a problem with it. If she wanted to jet out into space and sign a contract with the Feds, she could. Not that she would and for more reasons than Ian could ever suspect.]

The Galactic Federation has... changed.

[She cautiously and vaguely starts, not sure where to start on that or if she even should more than what she's already said.]

[raced_god]

[Falcon sort of

coughs

in a way that indicates he knows exactly what Samus is talking about. Maybe.]

[redshirted]

[WAIT NOW YOU'VE GOT HIS ATTENTION.]

What'd you mean?

[icequeen_aran]

They're... not as altruistic as you might remember.

[redshirted]

[Ian's eyebrows furrow just a little at her words. The idea that the Federation would be anything but a force of good was foreign and alarming, especially with his brother climbing ranks...]

What's Adam think about this? He's probably at least commodore by now, right?

[icequeen_aran]

[She's aware they just went from boyishly discussing cars and probably having a great time (???) to talking about dead brothers but she's also aware this conversation was inevitable and needed to happen at one point or another. That didn't mean she was looking forward to this, and her discomfort is probably obvious with how she looks at the ground briefly and crosses her arms tightly over her chest.]

He died, Ian.

[Staying dead by multiple technicalities was another thing entirely, but one bombshell at a time.]

He sacrificed himself to save me in light of a Metroid Militarization Plan conducted by a faction of the Galactic Federation. The rest of the Federation was quick to cover that, and Adam's death, up.

[redshirted]

What?

[His brow is pulled into a look of disbelief, and his mouth falls slightly as if he wants to ask again. He wants to object, like this is some impossible fact. He wants to yell at Samus for lying to him. This is cruel and it isn't funny.

But Samus, even years from when he knew her, didn't joke especially about this. His chest tightens and his brows furrow together tightly. When he finally manages to make any sort of noise, it's just a pained, sort of quiet wheeze from the back of his throat.

He looks down, almost ashamed that he can't hide this visceral reaction, feet shuffling as if he might try and run away. Maybe if he ran he could go back to the reality he was supposed to occupy. It was a world without his own presence, but at least that maintained Ian's perception of his brother's invincibility.]

He-- [He can't even make himself say the words. He doesn't even catch all of what she's saying. The world might as well went fuzzy after her initial statement.] to save you--

[That part was very much Adam, he thought.

It's only when he reaches up and touches his face that he realizes there were tears on his cheek. Ian was never particularly good at being stoic.]

[icequeen_aran]

[Contrast Samus who was good at being stoic... had to be good at being stoic. She's long since come to terms with Adam's death, with Ian's death--with seemingly every death that's occurred in her life and those were many. It was plenty enough to jade her from ever expressing herself with the openness and sincerity he currently was. She envied Ian in a way; that it was probably much more liberating not being emotionally constipated your entire life, but, watching him now...

It was more gut-wrenching to watch than watching him die.

Samus is not good at comforting, not good with tears and she knows that. The only brother he knew is gone. The Federation was different. The Platoon was survived only by Anthony and even that was extremely questionable at this point in time. Ian... Ian probably felt like he had nobody left now.

Her brow furrows but she finds her legs moving of their own accord towards him and closing the gap. She pulls him into a hug, stiff and awkward at first but soon it felt natural enough--like she'd had some practice getting used to it (which probably said a lot). She said nothing.

Loneliness was painful, Samus knew that so much.]

[redshirted]

[It's Ian's turn to be less than receptive to the physical contact. He's numb, still reeling from the news of his brother's death, and doesn't immediately reciprocate.

But the gesture means a lot to Ian, especially when it comes from a woman he remembers who would balk at the slightest physical contact or jump when he threw an arm around her shoulder. He tentatively wraps his arms around her and is soon pulling her tightly into a hug. He isn't quite sure how long they stay like that, time seems to be standing still. Maybe surprisingly, he is the one who ultimately breaks the contact. He pulls away, but keeps his hands planted firmly on her shoulders.]

He, uhm-- he cared about you a lot.

[It was an obvious statement, but he's still processing. This helps make sense of it all.]

[icequeen_aran]

[Her hands drift up to rest over the tops of his hands, content to stand there. She offers a smile though it is the epitome of bitter-sweet. Her voice is barely just above a whisper.]

...I know.

[She doesn't have the heart to mention who uploaded his mind into a computer. Even that was long gone in her timeline now.]

He cared about both of us a lot.

[She sincerely hopes he doesn't take that the wrong way, considering it was Adam who ultimately caused Ian's demise. She didn't suspect Ian begrudged his brother for it, knowing his personality, but she supposed she would soon find out if that was not the case.]

[raced_god]

[After trying really hard to hold it in, Falcon sneezes.]

[redshirted]

[Ian squeezes Samus' shoulders. He offers the same bittersweet smile back to her. Who knows, maybe Adam will find his way back here some day in the same manner he did.]

Yeah, I kn--

[And then Falcon SNEEZED ALL OVER THEIR EMOTIONAL REUNION Ian's face sort of screws up and he shoots a look at Falcon.

And then he lets out a loud snort and starts laughing because all of this is just really damn absurd. He drops one hand of her shoulder and uses the other to turn and pull her into a side hug while he's still laughing at Falcon. There are still tears to be shed over this, but at least Falcon's broken the tension so Ian can deal with them in a more appropriate place: in private. In the meantime he mockingly chastises Falcon in between these fits of giggling.]

Hey, we were having a moment.

[raced_god]

Sorry.

[Falcon is kind of good at making things, like, super awkward. It has just happened, though he does seem to be genuinely apologetic.]

I tried to hold it in.

[icequeen_aran]

[Samus permits the side-hug, but very awkwardly and such that it would probably remind Ian of her younger self.]

...That was quite a moment you ruined.

[Said dryly of course, but it was accompanied by a look of mild forgiveness--at least it broke some tension and maybe Ian needed that. She wants to let Ian know it's okay to grieve but the words don't quite come out. If he wanted to grieve another time, (privately, she suspected) she could respect that.

Samus seems to be struggling most with trying not to reel too much from mood whiplash.]

[redshirted]

[He shrugs, both laughter and tears subsiding for now. Ian's far from being done grieving, but he's happy to leave that somber moment for now, quite possibly motivated by being in front of Falcon.

He gives Samus' shoulder another good squeeze before letting her go. She may not be quite up to his level yet, but it's eons above what she was comfortable from when he knew her, which was essentially just a few hours ago for him...]

S'alright. I should, uh, probably get going anyway. Figure out where I'm staying.

[raced_god]

Get settled in. If you want to come down to the autoshop later, I can show you around.

[LOOK HE'S STILL BEING SO NICE SAMUS ARE YOU NOTICING.]

[icequeen_aran]

[She's so proud.]

If you haven't seen the headmasters yet they can offer you room and board.

[The thought of also offering the firehouse as a place of SAFE SMASH-SHENANIGANS FREE SANCTUARY does admittedly cross her mind for a hot second but on reconsideration Ian has only just arrived and really needs to settle in on his own, nor is she sure she'd be able to handle his company in a prolonged manner without settling to the idea that he's alive and well herself.]

It's free, there's plenty of food here, and you won't be alone.

[redshirted]

[A nod.]

Sounds like a plan.

[He does that awkward shuffle where he really should try and leave, but it's hard for him to pry himself away from Samus. In a way, she's really all he's got left.]

I'll see you guys around then.

[Time to go try not to cry more about Adam and probably cry a lot.]

[icequeen_aran]

We'll see you around.

[That's a promise, no matter how long-term or short-term that ends up being.]