#Is just briefly mentioned like a bare minimum to check off a box of sorts. Which ties with the idea of the Dawn of DC (Inter-connectivity)

[angstandhappiness]

VERY INTERESTING

One thing I did like about the ending of Gotham War is that I feel like there's some potentially interesting analysis of Bruce's character to be had here, because I find this whole thing 1000% more interesting viewed through the lens of Bruce backsliding on his core classic issue: He's terrified out of his mind at how much he loves these people around him and he struggles with having relationships with people who have fundamental differences to him. I keep thinking of that Tini Howard quote about this arc and about how it's not about whether or not Bruce and Selina can get together, but that he doesn't really know how to agree to disagree with someone he loves when it comes to something deeply foundational to him. And I think that's the entire point of including everything with Jason--that it's Bruce at a low point, after too much stress coming too quickly, too many major psychological pummelings over the last several arcs, and hitting a point where he can't deal with shoving aside his fundamental disagreements with Jason anymore. But he can't just write Jason off either, because Jason is his son, so his ten simultaneous mental breakdowns all get together and decide that the only option he can live with, is to try to force Jason out of this life. That's why he tries to talk himself into forcing Dick and Tim and Damian to be caught by the police, so they'd be forced out of this life. That's why he crumbles in an alley and tries to talk himself out of loving these people. Because he doesn't know how to agree to disagree with them and still keep loving them, keep having a relationship with them.

Because everything that happened with Selina, that he really let himself believe that he could be with her, marry her, and still be Batman, that really fucked him up and I think Gotham War is more of the aftermath of that. That's how I'm (admittedly doggedly) interpreting the bit about Selina and him being the "parents" of this group, despite that Selina was never in that role--I think Bruce wanted them to be the "parents" of the group and let himself believe in it and, when it went pear-shaped, something in him backslid terribly and now we're all here. "I'm okay with me not having happiness." is a direct call-back to Bruce in the car with Alfred on the way to the wedding, asking with surprising vulnerability, "Am I allowed to be happy?" He opened his heart and got hurt again and it's been stewing for awhile and so much has happened since then--Zur-En-Arrh, Tim getting his throat cut, Dick coming to cheer him up after Selina and getting shot in the head and Bruce almost losing him, Failsafe, Insomnia, everything that's going on over in Gotham Nocturne, etc.--that it fractured something in him and the cracks have finally grown deep enough that it fell apart in this story. So now all of this is just mounting tragedies to him. Which means he can't stay connected to it because he's too afraid of losing them and he's unwilling to try after what his fracturing led him to do. He can't stop them from living this life, despite everything he tried. He can't stop loving them, despite how hard he tried. So, all he can do is walk away before he gets hurt again, trying to leave everything in Dick's hands. Dick who is "better than Batman", who is better than Bruce. That he wants Dick and Barbara to be the "parents", because that's what he was trying to be and felt he failed at it, like to me this ending isn't really resolution, this is a low point for Bruce as a character in his bigger arc, because I think Batman's character arc always has to come back to his trauma of losing his family when he was young, working to let a new family in, coming to love them, and struggling against how much it terrifies him that he might lose them, too, because he doesn't think he can survive that kind of pain again. He'll still be in Damian's life, still be Batman and Robin there, but I think he's making an exception there because so much of it comes back to being able to live with fundamentally disagreeing with someone--Dick and Jason and Tim are adults, he can't tell them what to do anymore. Damian is young enough that, even if they clash, he's still directly in charge of raising him.

Zur-En-Arrh does hang over this entire storyline, he's part of what's taking up too much space to allow Bruce any mental breathing room, but fundamentally I see this storyline as part of Bruce's issues: That he's terrified of losing those he loves, but he can't control them, he desperately tries to and it doesn't work, and he can't live with them taking different paths from his ideals, so he walks away, rather than get hurt further. Bruce is probably going to dig himself further down into this hole and he's being incredibly dumb about it, but I can see how this fits all things that he has always struggled with--and sometimes he loses that fight against himself. This event wasn't really about fighting with Selina or Vandal Savage or even his kids--this was Bruce's love versus his fears, and today his fears won.

[shou-aizawa]

attention [dadmight]

pairings: toshinori yagi & daughter!reader

warnings: angst (:

summary: growing up with your dad being the symbol of peace was hard, and you were finally done trying to be enough for him.

word count: 1.7k

a/n: i’ve had this idea for a while,,, and just got hit with the inspiration to finally write it. even though i love angst, i hurt myself with it, this was pAinful to write but still fun (: i’m considering writing a part 2 but who knows

Being the daughter of a pro hero was hard. 

Being the daughter of the number one hero, the symbol of peace himself, was even harder.

Y/N’s mother died not long after giving birth, leaving Toshinori with a daughter to raise on his own, whilst keeping up with the hero work that needed to be done. For a while it was good, it worked out well; Y/N’s earliest memories are of her birthday parties where her dad would show up and brighten the entire event, the day she got her quirk and how proud her dad was of her, the occasional movie night whenever her dad got some free time.

However, things changed. The fond memories were overshadowed by sour moments; her dad missing the occasional birthday, parent-teacher meetings, holidays and the like. Sometimes days would go by where Y/N didn’t see her dad save for the live footage she’d spot on TV screens. It had been fun to see at first, to watch her dad save people and beat villains down without an issue, but the novelty of it wore off eventually and left her feeling something she couldn’t describe properly.

She didn’t realise for years that the feeling was jealousy. Plain, bitter, jealousy.

She basically had to grow up without a dad, all because he was busy with his job. Of course, it was a noble job, it was an important one, it had to be done! But can anyone really blame Y/N for feeling as if the villains her dad fought got a lot more attention from him in their brief fights than she’d ever gotten in her life?

Y/N didn’t give up though. She worked hard in school, got near perfect grades, and eventually got accepted into her dad’s alma mater, more specifically into the hero course. If she was honest, her heart wasn’t really in it for the right reasons, she just thought that if she could excel.. If she could prove herself to be worth the attention, maybe her dad would finally spend some time with her again.

After getting her acceptance letter for UA, she did get that bit of validation. Her dad hugged her, holding her tight and telling her just how proud he was of his little girl and how much she’d grown. They’d had a movie night to celebrate, watching some of Y/N’s favourite movies from when she was younger.

That one night had given her hope. And the fact that her dad now had to patrol less, and was teaching at the same school Y/N now attended only fuelled that hope. Seeing each other would be unavoidable, maybe there would be more movie nights, more hugs.. Maybe she would get her dad back.

Her hopes were dashed, however, when she met Izuku Midoriya.

Y/N had a vague understanding of how her dad’s quirk worked, and despite everything, she’d occasionally entertained the possibility that he would pass the power on to her, but of course, that didn’t happen.

He gave it to Midoriya instead. And Y/N was stuck watching from the sidelines as the two of them got closer, her chest aching with bitterness and jealousy.

When she’d first been introduced to Midoriya, she had tried to be sweet, push her own emotions away in favour of not making a fool of herself, but the smile she would give the boy soon faded into a barely-concealed frown. She didn’t bother correcting it. Midoriya, being one of the only people who actually knew that Y/N was All Might’s daughter - apart from the teachers - had obviously wanted to befriend her, and would always look a little confused at her sudden closed-off expression, but at that point, Y/N was past caring.

He had what she didn’t, and it hurt.

One afternoon, a burst of optimism hit her. For a little while it all felt so simple, as if the right puzzle piece finally found its place and Y/N could look at the whole picture. She just had to talk with her dad, explain how much it hurt to not have him around, how much she wished he would notice how hard she was working, how much she just wanted to spend more time with him.

She used that newfound optimism to form a plan, a good plan, one that would fix things for sure. She baked her dad’s favourite cookies whilst he was out, packing a good few into a small box, then hiding both that and the cookies in her room in preparation for the next day. Dinner that night seemed a little less tense, and Y/N had even told her dad about training, how much progress she’d made with her quirk, and he’d smiled softly, praising her greatly which made a warm feeling sprout in her chest. 

When lunch came the next day, she set her plan into motion, fishing the box of cookies out of her bag and making her way to the teacher’s lounge with a bounce in her step, the cookies were to act as the excuse as she didn’t normally drop by the lounge just to talk with her dad and felt awkward doing so without some sort of excuse.

She knocked on the door then poked her head in for a moment before stepping in, a small smile on her face. Aizawa was in the corner, napping in his sleeping bag, Present Mic, Midnight and Cementoss were the other teachers present, and Y/N frowned very briefly at the absence of her dad.

“Y/N! What can we do for ya?” Present Mic asked brightly, and she gripped the box a little tighter, smiling politely.

“I was just looking for my dad-” she held the box up a little and nodded at it, “-I baked some cookies last night but he didn’t get a chance to eat any so I thought I would bring some along today... do you know where he is?”

Present Mic glanced at Midnight, and the two of them shrugged. “Not sure, lil’ listener, maybe if you check-”

“I think he may have mentioned something about eating lunch with Midoriya,” Cementoss interrupted, tilting his head slightly. “But I’m not sure where exactly, unfortunately.”

“Oh!” Y/N said, doing her best not to lose the smile on her face. “Well.. I still have to go eat my own lunch so I’ll just leave the cookies here for when he comes back, if that’s okay?” She asked, swallowing thickly and trying to ignore the familiar pang of jealousy in her chest, one that successfully eradicated the warm feeling she’d had for a little while. 

“More than okay!” Present Mic said with his usual grin, “Can’t promise he’ll get all of them, though..”

Y/N forced a chuckle, setting the box down on the closest desk and fidgeting with her hands. “There’s quite a few in there so I’m sure there’s enough for everyone to have some!” She said, then waved a little.

“I’ll be going now.. uhm thank you!” She added, then turned, quickly making her way out of the teacher’s lounge and down the hall, not even sure where she was heading, just letting her feet carry her away.

Her dad was eating lunch with Midoriya. Y/N couldn’t even recall the last time her dad had asked her to join him for lunch.

Did he really care for Midoriya more than he cared for her?

That’s what it felt like. And Y/N decided she wasn’t going to stick around if all she got was the bare minimum, and even less than that most of the time.

She spent the rest of lunch in the girl’s restroom, face in her hands as she cried quietly. She attended hero training, choosing to talk to basically no one. Her lack of effort was obvious, and she earned herself a short scolding from Aizawa.

Not like she cared anymore.

All she cared about now was getting away.

As soon as the day was over, she rushed home, already having decided what she was going to do now. She went to her room and locked the door, despite the fact that her dad probably wouldn’t be home for another few hours. Even if he was home, Y/N doubted he would’ve bothered to talk to her anyway. 

She pulled a duffel bag from the back of her closet and set it down on her bed, opening it then going through her clothes and choosing what she was going to bring with her.

A strange sense of calm settled over her as she did this, she pushed her emotions away and focused on the task at hand, gathering essential belongings and setting them down on her bed next to the bag.

She picked up her piggy bank, opening them bottom and pulling out any money that she’d saved over time, setting that down on the bed too.

When everything was set out, Y/N took a step back, eyes scanning over the things she’d collected. A sliver of doubt made its way into her mind. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to run away?

She indulged the doubts for just a moment before pushing them away again with the shake of her head. This was best for her, she couldn’t stay where she wasn’t wanted any more, it hurt too much, and she deserved better!

Working carefully, she started packing her things into the duffel bag. A change of clothes, a hairbrush, toothbrush, small packet of toothpaste, couple of hair ties, a notebook and pen, and lastly her wallet. She zipped the bag up once she was done, breathing a sigh,

She got changed next, tossing her uniform over her chair without much thought, pulling on some leggings, a loose-fitting t-shirt and a hoodie on instead. She stuffed her feet into her trainers, then picked the duffel bag up and swung it over her shoulder.

She hesitated by the door for a moment, glancing back at her desk and considering leaving a note or something, but deciding not to, realising she wouldn’t even know what to write, and figuring it would just be easier to simply leave.

So that’s what she did.

Y/N left the house, not dwelling too much on where she was going, just following her instincts. Once a safe distance away from the house and anyone who might recognise her, she broke into a run, feet thumping against the pavement rhythmically.

A grin broke out on her face as she ran, realising that she could go anywhere and not give a single damn about what people thought of her, about standards she had to uphold.

She was free.

[diziar]

The end of a Legend: part 2

Guess who is back on her bullshit writing fucking sad shit for the modern AU! If you dont remember part one here it is, go read it first before this part

Once again this deals with very real and depressing situations and Im so sorry if you’ve had to deal with anything like this before. This is based loosely off of my own feelings.

“Legend? Oi, Legend?!”

He hadn't moved from that seat next to his uncle's bed. He still held tightly onto his hand, never wanting to let go as he knew it would be the last time. Soon he would have have to leave, discuss whatever was needing to be discussed and then go home to the empty house so full of memories.

Not yet.

He couldn't.

“Legend! What the fuck, dude?”

He held his phone in his other hand, rested on his lap, the muffled voice coming from there but still sounding so pissed off. Finally he managed to tear his watery and blurred gaze away from his uncles face, inhaling a shaky breath and sniffling his runny nose, and looked down to the device that was lit up.

“Legend, what the fuck is all that noise? I can-”

More quickly than any movement he could even register to make in his emotionally dulled and mentally exhausted brain, he brought the phone to his ear and cleared his throat from any signs of a wavering voice.

“Sorry, I must've accidentally rang you. I would never do something like that on purpose.” Even when feeling so down, the sound of his friends stupid voice still managed to pull a quip out of him. He was glad his voice hadn't broken or cracked though, last thing he needed right now was to break down again.

“Did you butt dial me? I am not your booty call!” Warriors scoffed dramatically over the phone, causing Legend to roll his achy eyes, wiping them with a tissue afterwards.

“Even if you were the last person on Earth, you would still never be my booty call, Warriors.” Legend retorted, squeezing his uncle's hand one last time before standing up and grabbing his bag to sling back onto his shoulder.

He still felt awful, absolutely dreadful, torn apart in every which way and it was only because of Warriors’ insistent need of constant attention - being the reason he probably hadn't hung up the phone after the first minute or so after hearing nothing but silence from the other side - that Legend was able to hold it together at this very moment.

Finally he stepped out from behind the curtain, giving one last look back to the man in the bed, the only part of him on show from under the blanket were his head and hand, both of which Legend could still feel in his grip. He swallowed thickly, his head drooping as he let the curtain fall close again

“Mr Goldsmith? Link?..” One of the nurses from before walked up to him calling out to him several times, obviously still giving him some space but with the intention to continue the conversation elsewhere.

“Yeah? Sorry.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, turning his attention to the nurse and then back to the phone call. “I gotta go, Warriors. I'll see you and that ugly scarf of yours at school on Monday.”

“Wait wait wait, hold up there. You called me and now you're hanging up on me? No way. Anyways, what's up? You sound and looked like shit today, and did I just hear someone refer to you as Mr. Goldsmith? Where are you right now?” Of course there was no way Warrior was going to let this go right now.

Legend felt his throat close up again and suddenly everything had just struck him again all his quickly. Everything that had just happened. The day and night before.

He was being dragged under the waves of despair again and he felt sick. The tears returned to his eyes, hot and big, already causing blurring in his vision.

As hard as he tried to hold on strong on the phone, he couldn't hold back the sniffle and the wavering in his voice.

“Yeah… yeah. I really need to go, I I have better things to be doing than talking to you on the phone right now.” It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time, that Legend avoided answering on of Warriors questions.

Guilt washed over him in heavy waves, dragging him under the sea of anguish. He couldn't do this. No matter how much he tried to keep his head above the water, he was pulled back down by the ever lingering feeling

'I should've stayed at home.’

‘I left him alone to suffer.’

'He must have been so terrified. He died alone and scared, and I…’

“Legend, where are you right now?” Warriors tone was strong and true, and it was evidently clear that he wasn't going to let up. He was going to get his answer from his friend.

Legend couldn't tell whether he hated it or appreciated it.

'Why did I not stay with him?’

'He needed me by his side.’

'I shouldn't have listened to him…’

The nurse had given him some tissues once again as he took a seat further down the hall, giving him a few more moments alone in his phone before they had to discuss what came next. Silence permeated the air between him and Warriors through the phone, and he shook his head forgetting that the motion couldn't be seen.

“Legend-”

“I'm at the hospital…” Admitting the words out loud made him feel light headed. Made him feel weak. It was like another heavy rock stacked upon the others already on his chest, the pressure making it impossibly hard to breathe.

Soon enough he'd be completely crushed under all the weight.

All of what he was, had been, and ever would be, was stripped to the bare minimum, to the very core of everything.

All too suddenly had the strong feeling he hadn't felt in some time returned.

In some way it was nostalgic.

In another, haunting.

A bittersweet memory that made him feel sick to his stomach.

Loneliness.

But he was never alone when she was around… A part of him could even swear he could hear the faint sound of singing somewhere in the back of his mind.

A melancholic melody, and as he closed his fist he could almost feel the familiar feeling of ceramic brush against the tips of his fingers...

“Hey? Hey! Are you still there? Is everything okay? Why are you at the hospital? Are they back? Have you not been taking your-”

“I'm fine.” A lie. One that tore itself up from the ground and wrapped itself so thoroughly around him.

His uncle wasn't fine.

He wasn't fine either.

“Oh come on, I can smell your bullshit from here. I'm going to come over there and meet you.”

“NO!-” The outburst caught him by surprise, and judging from the silence from the other side of the phone, it surprised Warriors as well. “I mean, there's no point is there? You refuse to come inside and I don't know how long I'll be. You'll just be waiting outside”

He could just feel Warriors physically recoiling, the detest and disgust all over his face as he would have grimaced at the prospect of entering the hospital.

Legend heard Warriors sigh, and then his voice started to echo as he could only assume he had been put on loudspeaker, the rummaging and noises from the other side giving it away.

“Yeah yeah, you're so right, as fucking always. I won't go inside, but I can still wait outside for you to come out.” It wasn't often that Warriors legitimately sounded so pressed and fed up. Obviously what Legend had said has ruffled his feathers just a little bit.

Legend couldn't help but the the intrusive thoughts return to him as only the sound of Warriors sorting himself out registered in his brain. For what seemed like too long did the quiet and tense feeling settle between every crack and joint in his bones, and behind his eyes as once he felt the tears fill his vision once again and to fall down his face as he blinked. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them away, more would follow and his entire body started to shake as his breathing became more erratic.

Still, he stayed silent.

The realisation that even though he was on the phone to someone, he could hear them and they could hear them, he was alone. Just down the corridor did his carer, uncle, and father lay dead.

There was no one left.

Maybe…

If he…

He could still see-

“I'm going to leave now, which building are you in?”

Once again Warriors voice brought Legend out from his nightmarish thoughts. He wasn't a child anymore, he wasn't about to let a small thing make him freak out again, even if her soft voice echoed in his ears.

He was better now.

Legend cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and wiped his face again with the sleeve of his school blazer. He couldn't use anymore tissues, whilst they were soft, his eyes ached and nose stung. No more.

“Main building, east exit.” He couldn't see it, but he could just feel Warriors nodding in confirmation. More noise from Warriors side, and the brief pause allowed Legend to attempt to calm himself down again.

If he had been mentally, emotionally, and physically tired before, he was now exhausted. Every small movement ached and thinking of words for simple conversation was draining. Sleep was something he wanted, but he was well aware it wouldn't come for some time yet.

And even if his body was begging for sleep, his brain wouldn't allow it.

“Legend?”

All he could manage was a small hum in response, though after a few moments of Warriors not saying anything, he sighed and tried again.

It was an effort.

“What?”

“Will you tell me what's going on?”

“Piss off! ..I'm hanging up now.”

Before Warriors could get another word in, Legend had taken the phone away from his ear, hung up, and lowered it back to his lap next to the box of tissues.

Just a few minutes and he'd be okay.

He had to be okay.

There was still so much to do.

--

By some sort of foolish mistake, or by some lapse in concentration and planning, Legend had forgotten to check the time before he had started talking to the nurses about what was to happen with his uncle next.

In all honesty he couldn't remember much of the conversation, but he could recall then mentioning the morgue, and he'd briefly mentioned that there was no way he could afford a funeral - at least not currently.

Maybe by some sort of miracle, but he doubted it.

And what would happen if he couldn't hold a funeral for his uncle? That was the chance for the final goodbye…

When finally he left the hospital it was darker and cooler out that it had been when he had first entered after school. Still in his uniform and bag slung over his shoulder, Legend could feel every muscle screaming out in agony at him.

Whilst it had definitely hadn't been a very physical day; the constant switch of emotions, from being so hopeful that morning to bathing in despair just that evening, the lack of sleep before, and constant dreary thoughts inside of his head made him feel like he had aged.

All within one day.

24 hours.

1440 minutes.

86400 seconds.

His entire life had changed, and he had no one to ask for help.

No one to give him the answers he needed in the hard times.

The only man he could call family...

The only person who knew the true him, the real him behind the many walls he had erected over the years, who knew the young helpless and lonely boy and always tried his best and helped in any small way that was possible, was gone.

Gone forever.

“Hey Legend! Oh Hylia, you look like shit.”

The immediate reaction from Legend upon hearing Warriors voice was to groan, sigh, and roll his eyes. It hasn't even been a conscious thought or action in his brain, but he had done it.

At least after everything his brain was still awake enough for that.

He turned to face his friend, and tucked his hands into the pockets of his blazer. There stood Warriors in all his “glory” long blue scarf and all. Though Legend wasn't sure if it was because of how tired he was or because the evening was actually slightly chilly, but he was cold and envious of such a thing at that moment.

“Wow, good to see you too, you piece of shit,” he approached the other, kicking him in him back on the leg to emphasise his irritated response, “You look like shit too. But then again you always do, so nothing new there.”

Warriors wasn't blind, he could easily spot the puffiness of Legends eyes, and the redness of them and his nose. Everything about him looked messed up, from his hair to his face, uniform, and even his general demeanour.

For whatever reason that had Legend looking like death incarnate and visiting the hospital, Warriors couldn't even begin to guess.

He liked to think he knew Legend relatively well, all things considered. Both of them had their secrets, things which they found hard to share with anything excluding family, but they also knew some of each others deepest worries and fears too.

Warriors glanced from Legend and then to the hospital doors and back. Several times did he do this, the puzzle pieces in his head not fitting together no matter how hard he tried. There was too many things that it could, and couldn't have been, that there was no making any heads or tails.

He stopped upon hearing the heavy sigh escape from his friend, taking it as a hint to stop, get moving, but also as sign of the very evident fatigue Legend was feeling.

“Hey, you sure everything is okay?”

Legend's eyes rolled once again, his feet moving one in front of the other as he began to walk away and leave both Warriors and hopefully the awful memories and thoughts that the hospital had brought out of him.

Warriors huffed out in annoyance, but within a few quick and large strides, he had caught up to Legend and walked by his side as they headed back towards the centre of the city.

“If it's about… well you know who and what-”

“It's not.”

Legend's reply was curt and he had technically interrupted Warriors, but Legend was obviously not in the mood to be discussing such a thing right now.

The evening breeze was gentle, like that on a summer's day at the beach. Again, from someone, somewhere, he could hear and familiar tune.

One that told a story of a young boy and his friend.

And also told a story of loneliness.

With his uncle gone, that familiar loneliness tugged heavy at his heart, and it hurt.

It cut deeply into both pleasant and unpleasant memories.

Another sigh, one that held the weight of the world in it, and judging from Legend's wilted posture, he seemed to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulder as well.

A somewhat comfortable uncomfortable feeling settles over the two of them as they continued walking on wards for several minutes with no more words between then.

It was Legend who spoke up first.

“It was my uncle.”

His voice carried no evident emotion, but it was the things that weren't said or obvious which made things click into place more.

Warriors was stunned silent for a few seconds, all previous assumptions flying out of his head and new ones nestling their way in immediately.

If it was Legend's uncle, and he was acting like this…

It couldn't have been good news.

“Oh shit shit shit! What happened? Is he okay?”

The silence spoke volumes.

He stopped walking, his foot under him refusing to take another step as the news settled in.

Laughter bubbled out from deep within him, and he was only too aware of how unfitting it was for moment like this but it was the only thing he managed to do.

Legend stopped walking just in front of him, his shoulder shaking slightly, his hands clenched tightly into fists either side of him and his head hung long.

“Fuck... FUCK! Legend, why didn't you say anything?!”

When he didn't reply, Warriors found it within himself to finally move again, making fully well sure that he stormed just ahead of Legend and stood before him.

It was a times like this when the height difference was obvious, but that was not what Warriors was focusing on.

Instead all he could focus on was how Legend refused to look up, how his shaking arms and hands hid his face, and his erratic breathing.

He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again when he realised he was speechless.

He could remember helping Wind and Aryll after their parents died, but he was their big brother - adopted or not - but how was he supposed to help Legend?

“When?”

Somehow that one simple word, that one simple question had both pushed Legend off over the edge, and also grounded him.

Still, he refused to lift his head up, but his hands dropped down to his side in defeat.

“An hour ago? It was just after before call…” The realisation hit Warriors like a tonne of bricks. He had been wondering why Legend had called him and then proceeded to blank him for a few minutes until he finally answered.

“Warriors, I don't know what to do. Gods! I can't believe I'm even talking to you about this, but I can't go home… I can't. Hi-his stuff is all still there on the side and-” Legend cut himself off, obviously not wanting to go into detail.

“I can't the fucking thought out of my head that whilst I was eating dinner at yours, playing happy families, that he was at home alone suffering.”

“Hey, hey. Stop that! You can come back to mine tonight, the Fisher's would be happy to have you in their humble abode. And it's the weekend so there's no rush about going back home-”

“I don't have my meds.”

“Do you think you won't be okay without them for a few days?”

He stayed quiet.

Once again the familiar tune and soft singing voice filled his head.

Legend shook his head again, and his leg began to twitch in a restless way, his hands once again clenching and unclenching like he was trying to hold onto something.

Warriors began walking again, stopping when Legend didn't follow him at first but then resumed once they were side by side again.

“It's going to be okay-”

“No, it's not. Gods, you're a fucking idiot aren't you?”

“I'm sorry? Who was it that scored higher on the last test?”

“You cheated!”

Warriors gritted his teeth as another swift kick was delivered to his shin, but just as quickly did he return it and then ran up ahead to avoid getting struck again.

Somewhere deep inside, Legend begged for the tune to both stop and to continue.

He liked the familiarity it gave him. How it made him remember her and what she taught him.

But it also made him remember him and once again did he feel himself getting lost at sea in a small boat during a storm.

And this time he wasn't going to be there to save him.

He had no idea how he was going to cope after all of this.