[ it's at least 10 minutes before ray finally shows up, bag of baked goods (none of which are actually gluten free) in his good hand. ]
You know I'm not vegan.
[ his face lights the fuck up and he deposits the bag where a nice little table used to be before cruising headlong arms outstretched and ready for a big ol bear hug. it's probably nice to hug people your size, y'know? no bending. no trying to be delicate. just a manhug. a hug for men. a friendly hug of affection and camaraderie.
Every time he gives Ray an inch, he takes a mile and does shit like this. As soon as those arms are out stretched and coming at him, Mick's fists are raising and he takes a massive step back, holding one forward as a threat
He will punch you in the chest if you close that gap.]
Don't you dare hug me! This is not a hugging moment. We don't hug. We're men, you wuss. Touch me and I'll kill you!
[Mick growls. Why is this the price he pays for delicious pastries and being nice to Ray?]
[ ray hits the brakes in a feat of near-cartoon physics. his feet almost dig into the concrete under them and if you squint you might see a small furl of smoke curl up from beneath his heels. he overbalances when he shoots his arms up instinctively in a surrender and just wobbles there for a bit.
eyes wide, mouth caught between smile and grimace, he just nods. a lot. ]
Right. Yeah. No hugging, yeah. Of course. That would be ridiculous.
[ it turned out that standing still did not fool gertrude. it seems ray thinks that perhaps it will work on mick, though. weeble. wobble. weeble. wobble. ]
You ever so much as try to hug me, I'll do twice what Chronos did to your ass. You understand me?
[Mick backs up warily, not unlike a dog who's tail keeps getting pulled by a hyperactivity toddler. There is a lot of uncertainty as he sort of loops around Ray to get to the food. Do not sneak hug him.
He will break your nose.
Once he has his hand on the food, he grunts a little and pulls out a cupcake, distracting himself with that and trying to give Ray a moment to compose himself and stop trying to get cuddly.]
[ once mick's past him, ray relaxes, and he lets out a laugh that's half stress-relief and half genuine. his casted wrist swings up in front of him on display. ]
He didn't touch my ass, actually.
[ the laugh turns to a smirk that's far too cocky for the situation. ]
[Mick pretty much shoves a whole cupcake into his mouth and chews it a few times before it's entirely gone, swallowing hard and feeling very content with himself. Cupcakes were always the best.
Idly kicking some of the rubble, Mick looks around this place for anything still salvageable.]
He is Chronos. Just cause he's a mirror, doesn't make him any less me. He's the sum of his parts. It's like they always say in sci fi movies where a guys brain gets uploaded into computers and stuff like that, clones and androids, it ain't about whether they lived it. If they have memories of it, it's like they were there.
[If Chronos was here for that specific reason and he knew what Mick had been through, if he felt a tenth of the pain and the suffering, then he wasn't unlike Mick. He was him in a way. Just differently made.]
I doubt he cared. It wasn't a devious plan with other motives or a big event to make distraction, he just wanted to hurt you. All of you.
[ ray starts to tend to the decluttering, forgetting the coffee he'd brought himself, and the pile of treats besides. ]
There's nothing of us in them, not really. They might walk like you and talk like you and maybe even do what you think they would because you're similar but you aren't. Not even a little.
[ the person he trusts when it comes to wonderland how-to had taught ray this less than a year ago. it's something he believes implicitly. he has to. ]
I don't think my mirror is much different to how I was once. Only he didn't get his closure, I did. I see me in him and I can't help that. I ain't as much of a bastard but I got it in me.
[Mick has a feeling there's a bigger story here, Ray doesn't even seem to want to entertain the idea. Mick shakes his head a little.]
Look, buddy, I ain't saying every single one of them is like us. Some of them are far out there, I can't even recognise them. I'm just saying that Chronos is like me. I was Chronos. He feels how I felt.
[ he continues cleaning, but he's shaking his head through every word mick says. he can't entertain the idea, not a moment of it. he won't ever let himself think of them as worth the air they breathe. ]
That's just ... really dangerous to think that way about them. He can't come back like you did, he's just a bad copy.
[ not that they'd deserved mick back, after everything. but that was the point. mick was good enough to offer up forgiveness where it wasn't warranted. ]
He was a lot like me. He looked like me, he hated you idiots like I did and he was packing the heat gun. I'm not saying I'm in love with the fact I got to deal with this shit again but he's a lot like I was.
[Mick shrugs his shoulders.]
Once I was like that. Once I would have killed you without hesitation and we both know it. We've seen it. Don't deny what my nature once was.
[ and to ray, whatever that thing over there is, it's not a version of this mick. not from any time.
and that makes ray remember his own place on the team, and in his dynamic with mick. he forces a smile and walks past mick to pick out the one flourless cupcake in the bunch. he wedges it in his broken hand and peels the paper back with his good one. ]
If you were, you'd have killed me just a moment ago. I'm just glad to have you back, buddy.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ unless it guaranteed him another shot at a very particular real. ]
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So the workshop is a bomb site. You want a hand sorting it? It's a one time offer.
[It pains him to tidy anything but he does feel a tiny bit bad. Just a tiny bit.]
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but this isn't your fault, you know. you don't owe me anything for what mirrors do.
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I don't owe you and I'm not sorry. Not even a little bit. I didn't do anything wrong.
Now get your ass here, let's clean some of this shit up.
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wait do you want some coffee? i can go back.
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wait
aren't the gluten free ones gross as hell? get me a normal one.
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just hurry your ass, I'm hungry now.
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You know I'm not vegan.
[ his face lights the fuck up and he deposits the bag where a nice little table used to be before cruising headlong arms outstretched and ready for a big ol bear hug. it's probably nice to hug people your size, y'know? no bending. no trying to be delicate. just a manhug. a hug for men. a friendly hug of affection and camaraderie.
this is gonna be such a good hug~! ]
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Every time he gives Ray an inch, he takes a mile and does shit like this. As soon as those arms are out stretched and coming at him, Mick's fists are raising and he takes a massive step back, holding one forward as a threat
He will punch you in the chest if you close that gap.]
Don't you dare hug me! This is not a hugging moment. We don't hug. We're men, you wuss. Touch me and I'll kill you!
[Mick growls. Why is this the price he pays for delicious pastries and being nice to Ray?]
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eyes wide, mouth caught between smile and grimace, he just nods. a lot. ]
Right. Yeah. No hugging, yeah. Of course. That would be ridiculous.
[ it turned out that standing still did not fool gertrude. it seems ray thinks that perhaps it will work on mick, though. weeble. wobble. weeble. wobble. ]
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[Mick backs up warily, not unlike a dog who's tail keeps getting pulled by a hyperactivity toddler. There is a lot of uncertainty as he sort of loops around Ray to get to the food. Do not sneak hug him.
He will break your nose.
Once he has his hand on the food, he grunts a little and pulls out a cupcake, distracting himself with that and trying to give Ray a moment to compose himself and stop trying to get cuddly.]
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[ once mick's past him, ray relaxes, and he lets out a laugh that's half stress-relief and half genuine. his casted wrist swings up in front of him on display. ]
He didn't touch my ass, actually.
[ the laugh turns to a smirk that's far too cocky for the situation. ]
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[Mick pretty much shoves a whole cupcake into his mouth and chews it a few times before it's entirely gone, swallowing hard and feeling very content with himself. Cupcakes were always the best.
Idly kicking some of the rubble, Mick looks around this place for anything still salvageable.]
Chronos really did a number on this place.
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[ not in ray's opinion anyway. mirrors aren't something you give any sort of empathy. ever. ]
Think he would've cared that I had some data from the experiments responsible for all this?
[ it wasn't the best reason for chronos to trash the place, but it's on ray's mind. that was data that hurt to lose. ]
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[If Chronos was here for that specific reason and he knew what Mick had been through, if he felt a tenth of the pain and the suffering, then he wasn't unlike Mick. He was him in a way. Just differently made.]
I doubt he cared. It wasn't a devious plan with other motives or a big event to make distraction, he just wanted to hurt you. All of you.
[That was the motive of Chronos. Always.]
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[ ray starts to tend to the decluttering, forgetting the coffee he'd brought himself, and the pile of treats besides. ]
There's nothing of us in them, not really. They might walk like you and talk like you and maybe even do what you think they would because you're similar but you aren't. Not even a little.
[ the person he trusts when it comes to wonderland how-to had taught ray this less than a year ago. it's something he believes implicitly. he has to. ]
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[Mick has a feeling there's a bigger story here, Ray doesn't even seem to want to entertain the idea. Mick shakes his head a little.]
Look, buddy, I ain't saying every single one of them is like us. Some of them are far out there, I can't even recognise them. I'm just saying that Chronos is like me. I was Chronos. He feels how I felt.
[And Mick has accepted that.]
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That's just ... really dangerous to think that way about them. He can't come back like you did, he's just a bad copy.
[ not that they'd deserved mick back, after everything. but that was the point. mick was good enough to offer up forgiveness where it wasn't warranted. ]
He's nothing like you, or like the real Chronos.
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[Mick shrugs his shoulders.]
Once I was like that. Once I would have killed you without hesitation and we both know it. We've seen it. Don't deny what my nature once was.
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[ and to ray, whatever that thing over there is, it's not a version of this mick. not from any time.
and that makes ray remember his own place on the team, and in his dynamic with mick. he forces a smile and walks past mick to pick out the one flourless cupcake in the bunch. he wedges it in his broken hand and peels the paper back with his good one. ]
If you were, you'd have killed me just a moment ago. I'm just glad to have you back, buddy.
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