[ which doesn't really answer any questions, but answers them all the same. Herc kept to the safe areas, because his partner should've been Chuck but the boy was with Yancy and the girl. it worked all the same— with everyone fanning farther and farther out, someone had to stay behind just in case. ]
[ it's all there's left to say about it, in the end. chuck hadn't expected to find him, hadn't expected anyone would- except maybe in the graveyard. but mori never got back to him, and there was a knowing in that too.
chuck doesn't reply, but he's back through the door in a matter of minutes. he doesn't have his coat, and the lines beneath his eyes are dark. another stint without proper sleep is a surprise to no one. he doesn't take off his boots. ]
[ Max is fast asleep on a bundle of fabric and tattered rags, stretched out on his side and snoring. he's in dire need of a good bath, but Herc can relate. he thinks most people here probably can, but those of them who get down and dirty more often get the brunt of it.
when the door clicks open the dog doesn't move, but Herc looks up with bruises that match. he meets Chuck's eyes but doesn't say anything. ]
[ there's a sentiment he's vaguely aware of from a life he only half remembers. chuck has never known how to talk to his father. they are and always have been relative strangers- planets that had orbited the same sun. when angela didn't make it out chuck had it in his head that the only thing left for them to do was collide.
he doesn't know if they have yet or not. if it matters.
chuck moves into the kitchen without a word and returns a short while later with two cups of coffee- holds one by the mouth at his old man's level. ]
[ he considers asking if the kid is going to get some sleep, but the question never makes it passed the thought. they would be words to fill empty spaces, and Herc has never been good at it— he doesn't do small talk. they don't do small talk, and even though he wants to offer a branch to mend that bridge, he knows there are ways to do it and ways to avoid.
Chuck hands him a cup of coffee. the steam collects in his boy's palm, curling into the concave place he's created. this, too, is it's own branch.
Herc takes it and shifts to his left, opens up space on the bench for him. Chuck may or may not take it, the coffee might be as far as they get tonight— but it's more than they usually do, and Herc has settled for far less from his son before. ]
[ the question goes unasked because the answer is the same for them both. chuck isn't any more likely to sleep than his old man is- which means they will. for a few hours, instead of having breakfast. there isn't anything to fill the void with the exception of porcelain mugs resting against the wood, or a slow swallow.
but chuck takes the seat beside him- where they're nearly folded into one another and simultaneously not near enough. ]
[ Chuck sits close enough Herc can feel him from ankle to shoulder, a strong hard line built out of years of training, of manhandling a behemoth into the sea to fight down the demons others couldn't face. built on top of tragedy and on a father who maybe didn't make the right choices, but did what he could with what he knew how to do.
Herc is proud of him, every day. was proud of him in that Jaeger with Stacker. still was.
he doesn't say it, couldn't say it when they were parting ways, but the thought clenches in his chest. this is the second time someone has gone missing in the time they've been here, and while he could come back, there was a chance tha the might not. it makes fear stick in his stomach, something cold as ice and forces his heart to beat faster.
Herc doesn't sleep so well these days. not since the Charon pulled in. he doesn't know if Chuck has noticed; hasn't tried to let it be obvious.
the quiet stretches, but between one swallow and another, Herc lets his hand fall to the boy's knee and squeezes it— grounds himself in the sensation, because they don't have the drift anymore. ]
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heracleidae) wrote2013-09-06 11:57 pm
( x i i : d 2 )
[ he would have heard otherwise; the fact that Chuck is coming in without news is answer enough. he doesn't need a response to the question. ]
Someone take her home?
( x i i : d 2 )
[ no, it isn't a surprise. but this wasn't ever really about finding clarke. it was about doing something for the ones left behind. ]
You?
( x i i : d 2 )
[ which doesn't really answer any questions, but answers them all the same. Herc kept to the safe areas, because his partner should've been Chuck but the boy was with Yancy and the girl. it worked all the same— with everyone fanning farther and farther out, someone had to stay behind just in case. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
chuck doesn't reply, but he's back through the door in a matter of minutes. he doesn't have his coat, and the lines beneath his eyes are dark. another stint without proper sleep is a surprise to no one. he doesn't take off his boots. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
when the door clicks open the dog doesn't move, but Herc looks up with bruises that match. he meets Chuck's eyes but doesn't say anything. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
he doesn't know if they have yet or not.
if it matters.
chuck moves into the kitchen without a word and returns a short while later with two cups of coffee- holds one by the mouth at his old man's level. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
Chuck hands him a cup of coffee. the steam collects in his boy's palm, curling into the concave place he's created. this, too, is it's own branch.
Herc takes it and shifts to his left, opens up space on the bench for him. Chuck may or may not take it, the coffee might be as far as they get tonight— but it's more than they usually do, and Herc has settled for far less from his son before. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
but chuck takes the seat beside him- where they're nearly folded into one another and simultaneously not near enough. ]
( x i i : d 2 )
Herc is proud of him, every day. was proud of him in that Jaeger with Stacker. still was.
he doesn't say it, couldn't say it when they were parting ways, but the thought clenches in his chest. this is the second time someone has gone missing in the time they've been here, and while he could come back, there was a chance tha the might not. it makes fear stick in his stomach, something cold as ice and forces his heart to beat faster.
Herc doesn't sleep so well these days. not since the Charon pulled in. he doesn't know if Chuck has noticed; hasn't tried to let it be obvious.
the quiet stretches, but between one swallow and another, Herc lets his hand fall to the boy's knee and squeezes it— grounds himself in the sensation, because they don't have the drift anymore. ]