[PRP] a pack of smokes (sonny & jeremiah)

[shibrogane]

"It's not," agreed Sonny. "But it's not their fault either." They gestured with the cigarette, its cherry-red tip encircling the town in the distance. "They shouldn't have to be afraid so I can wander around outside. They deserve to live their lives happily, and safely. So... I stay inside."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

His head tilted, somehow wondering how this Sonny seemed more mature and yet was younger all the same. "That is awfully grown-up outlook and better than how most adults behave."

Jeremiah was slow with smoking the cigarette, making sure to not cough though it was rough on his throat. "... but," he said after he let out another breath of smoke, eyes cut to look at them, "if you were outside with the Chief of Police, perhaps that would be alright."

shibrogane

when em gets distracted from purpose of visit because jeremiah has feels

 

[shibrogane]

"I'm a lot older than most adults," said Sonny.

They slanted a glance at Jeremiah. "Maybe. But I don't want to bet on it, or scare anyone. Sometimes they can see. Like Aleksy can see me."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"You are but that doesn't always equate to acting like one," responded Jeremiah. His fingers tapped against his leg a moment before he finally spoke again.

"If you truly want to go out sometime, let me know. I can arrange something." Mostly because they did not need to be cooped up all the time.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Thanks," they said. "I'll remember that." They smiled, a small and angelic little thing. "So what do you think? Am I doing alright?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

The smile was something different altogether and one Jeremiah was quite sure he had never seen before, not from Sunny and definitely not from Sonny. He just inclined his head a little, smiling back at them.

"You are doing more than alright, I think, though I do wish there was more freedom for you." Jeremiah paused, thinking of it. "You're safe, but not free."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"But everyone else is safe because I'm not free," said Sonny. "It's a fair trade. It's balanced."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah was quiet, watching them, and he gave a small nod. "That is the case but it does not mean that there are not those who would not want to see you just as free."

... except then he thought of Sunny, breaking and glitching. Sunny who laughed and called him a coward. Sunny who was in the- Jeremiah sighed.

"I am glad you are doing alright. I was worried." Yet she wasn't and having met Sonny, he could tell they were two different people. "There are things happening at the moment that are unexpected after everything."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Like you?" They laughed, but it wasn't unkind. "What's happening that you're concerned about? I can lend a hand if you need it. I've got all the time in the world."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah huffed, laughing a little himself a breath later. Mostly because it was funny when they said that. They were all caged but it was bigger, the entirety of their world, but a cage all the same.

"Aside from the tree rot? There is a matter of a seal that is potentially broken and the Court being in a state of potential change. For all that I know, they could be one and the same problem." There were other oddities but at least one of them he could not talk about.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Sonny scowled, and said, "Yeah, well, I don't care if--" and then they choked, curling in on themself as they tried to gasp for air: "If--"

They were turning rather blue.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah was up almost immediately, a hand going to Sonny's shoulder and trying to steady them. "Sonny!" Genuine concern was on his face, worry about the fact she was turning blue.

"If it's- Bloody ******** hell-" Why was it around Sonny that expletives came out? "Don't talk about it if it's causing this." If it wasn't, then he had no idea and she was only a blink away from him taking her to get help.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Sonny's mouth moved without sound, and then they stopped, and after a few heart-stopping seconds (their lips had gone an unattractive shade of blue) they inhaled, all at once, a sustained whoop that led to a coughing attack.

But they were breathing again. Their eyes teared up and there was something awful and hateful inside them, the same look Sunny had had moments before wrapping her hand around his heart. "I hate them," they gasped between coughs, "I hate them so much."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah knew that look too well but there were no warning bells in his mind, nothing that told him he needed to bolt. Instead, he squeezed Sonny's shoulder and went to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket for them to dab their eyes.

"I know," he said. "I understand. The tree rot is likely tied to-" His tongue felt thick, the next words not wanting to come out. Jeremiah bit the inside of his cheek instead, though no blood was drawn.

"I understand," he repeated instead.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"I hate them," repeated Sonny, their words weak and childish now, "so much, so much, so much."

Tears dripped down their cheeks, but they made no gesture to move their hands from their own throat. "I wish they were all like Shiloh and America," they said. "I wish they all were. I could make that happen. I could make it all happen."

azuredreams