khajidont | MoM IC Contact: TAKE TWO

MoM IC Contact: TAKE TWO

Jaime's cell phone is more or less plugged riiiight into his brain, so he tends to pick up like 99% of the time! If not, however...

"Hey, Jaime here! Leave a message, and I'll get back to you ASAP."

[If you want to find his previous inbox - it hit captcha! - please go HERE.]

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I know, that's not like him. I'll do a fly around of all the Porter cities and see if I can pick up his DNA, okay? That way we know for sure.

[He pauses, then clears his throat, quietly.]

But, Mom... you know what this usually means, right?

[There's only a sigh before she replies.]

That he's probably gone, I know.

This- we talked about it. We knew this was a possibility.

I know. I just didn't think it'd be so soon.

[There's a familiar sound of his armour locking into place, a quiet, oddly organic sound, and then the whistling of the wind as he soars through the air. He's going to be thorough, because he's made this mistake before, thinking someone ported out when they were actually desperately in trouble.]

Or that it would just be one of you.

[He figured that this was temporary. That maybe after a few months, both of his parents would vanish all at once, and then he'd be missing them again. That's always how it winds up going, isn't it? Him going home... it's been so long that it didn't even cross his mind.]

Mijo...

[She drifts off for a moment. Berto's always been much better with this sort of thing, with these kinds of moments, especially with Jaime. He's the one that steps in with the calmer words and reasoning; she can do it too, when it's needed, but they always balanced each other out.

And now it looks like he isn't here.]

I know, Jaime. I didn't think it would be this soon, either.

We'll find out for sure before jumping to conclusions. I'll call you back soon, okay? Just let me do this.

[And upon her assent, he'll hang up. It doesn't take him long to do a quick patrol of all the cities, searching vainly for his DNA, but of course, it's to no avail. He's nowhere to be found. And maybe that's a good thing, all in all. His dad never belonged here -- neither of his parents do. They belong at home, where they have their community and their jobs, the lives they've worked so hard to make for themselves, their family, their friends, not this alternate Earth full of little more than deceit and danger.

But even if his Dad's gone, his mother's still here, and there's no erasing that. In lieu of calling, he simply flies back to his neighbourhood in Heropa and lets himself into Heropa #016, shutting the door quietly behind him before calling out, tentatively:] Mom...? Are you still here?

Right here, Jaime.

[Bianca's sitting in the living room with the communicator on the table when Jaime enters, and springs up from the couch at the sound of his voice. Her eyes are puffy and the skin tight from crying, but it's been long enough that it's started to ease off.]

Did you...

[She can't finish asking the question. She already knows what the answer will be.]

[When Jaime was flying around, he was able to numb himself. He's done this flight, searching and hoping and waiting how many times now? For Shinji and Akihiko and Minato, for Wally, for Armin, for Traci and Ellie and Isaac. This is just another flight, routine as any other, only this time? He knows he'll see his father again. He doesn't know when, or how, but he knows. So that means that this isn't a big deal. He can cope, just as he's coped so many times before. He'll tell people that no, he's gone, and he'll say it gently, but he'll be okay. He always is.

But then he comes home, and his Mom's been crying, and he thinks to himself: Oh shit, this isn't like the other ones.

(He's allowed to swear in the privacy of his own mind.)

He should have thought more about his mother, how hard it would be for her to be separated from Dad for the first time in... god, how long have they been married? That long.]

Mom...

[He looks at her, forehead creasing (he's going to have wrinkles by the time he's twenty-five), eyes softening in sympathy, swallowing past the lump in his throat that always appears whenever he sees any of his family in distress, no matter the reason. What does he say to this? He can't say much, not really, so instead, he reaches out and pulls her into a big, warm hug. If nothing else, she has him. She'll always have him. He's been here for so long now, so he's not leaving, right? As long as she's here, she'll have someone.]

I'm sorry. He's gone back home.

[She tries to avoid crying in front of the kids, even with as rare as it is for it to happen in the first place. Things like that only upset them. And with this, well, it's a reminder that maybe she should have gone and washed face, to make it look less obvious. But she doesn't have it in her right now to pretend.

And she can tell that Jaime noticed, with his expression, the way his brow creases, before she comes in for a hug. He'll probably always be on the shorter side, but he's grown here. She still can't resist brushing her son's hair away from his face and giving him a kiss on the cheek.]

I'll be fine, Jaime.

Thank you for looking.

[Jaime hugs her tightly, tighter than normal. This time, however, it's not him seeking comfort, but offering it, a quiet demonstration of the fact that he's here, and he's not going anywhere -- at least he doesn't think he's going to. He's sad, regretful even - he didn't spend enough time with him, not for the short time he was here, how was he supposed to know that his Dad was going to leave so soon - but it's not the same hole in his life as it will be for his mother. After all, she decided long ago to spend her life with him, and Jaime had long since gotten used to being on his own.

He pulls away from her eventually, hands moving up to her shoulders.]

Okay. But... it's okay if you're not too?

[He doesn't mean it as a question, but this isn't familiar ground.]

Having people just disappear on you without even being able to say goodbye isn't easy, Mom, and if you need company, or something -- you'll tell me, right? You won't just pretend that everything's okay?

[She can only give him a bit of a watery smile at that.]

Jaime, mijito, I know how it can be hard. I promise you I'll let you know. I won't pretend everything is just fine.

[She'll probably make sure she keeps herself extremely busy for the next few weeks, but she was already doing that this last month, with everything that was going on.]

Okay. Well... that's all I can ask, right?

[He smiles at her. And for once, his eyes aren't the ones that are watering.]

Why don't you go sit down for a bit? I'll grab something from the kitchen.

[Some coffee or tea, probably. A hot drink and a sweet can't cure everything, but it can cure a lot.]

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MoM IC Contact: TAKE TWO

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voice --> action!!

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