open to all | a trip

[tresemme]

I’ve been thinking [ wow ] about all those worlds we saw.

[ it sounds as if he’s gearing up to gloat about the zenith victory, as if that isn’t old news compared to the upheavals they’ve all experienced since awakening, but that’s actually not what’s on his mind today. ]

Space is massive. I know those were dreams, but there’s no reason that some of those places couldn’t exist in fragments like the hunks of rock we’re stuck on now. It’s just that if you went looking for one, you’d never come back.

[ the vibes in the communion are unusually placid for the contention he’s previously presented. he even briefly seems yearning, with that last bit—but he quickly shakes himself out of it, eager not to seem too in his feelings on the psychic broadcast. ]

…anyway, I wanted to offer seeing the world from above. I don’t care what side you’re on. I can take you to look at the stars, and you’ll be able to breathe as long as you’re with me, so… just ask.

[ pause. ]

Oh, but if you’re annoying, I’m leaving you there.

Comments

[tresemme]

For something like this? Just one.

[ it will be an intimate moment with tony among the stars for anyone who asks to go, but tony doesn’t want to push himself by trying to take a ship full of people—metaphorically speaking, that is. unfortunately, as things are, he’s quite literally bound by whoever he can carry in his arms. ]

If it was something important, I could probably manage a few more, but I don’t feel like it.

[clockpunk]

So you're not runnin' a tour bus here, got it.

[ ... ]

How was waking up? I was kinda worried about you.

[tresemme]

About me? Why?

[ they haven’t spoken since everything went down, but tony tells himself that doesn’t mean anything. there’s no reason for them to talk, right? they’re on different sides, and nothing proves that more than an oracle.

…unfortunately, it’s really not that easy, or else tony wouldn’t have extended this unique opportunity to anyone interested. he worries, too, even if he’ll never admit it. ]

[clockpunk]

Huh? It's normal to worry about... people you know, ain't it?

[ he doesn't call them friends, but the hesitation says it for him. he doesn't mention that it's because two of the other people he'd have hesitated less on labeling so were suddenly gone, and he was too scared to reach out before now. ]

It's been difficult.

[tresemme]

[ tony is grateful for the hesitation. it means they’re in the same place, and tony doesn’t have to make any decisions one way or the other. they’re just two people who know each other, casually planning to take an intimate trip into space after going to the end of the world and waking up a century later. ]

…yeah. This stupid place really doesn’t want us catching a break. That’s kind of why I wanted out for a little while.

[ they’re still under the thumb of whatever is killing worlds, even in space, but it doesn’t feel so immediate. he can clear his mind when he’s not surrounded by people constantly talking about war. ]

[clockpunk]

[ it's just a casual hangout between acquaintances in space it doesn't have to be weird. don't make it weird!! ]

It's probably not great that this level of out seems way more comfortable than anything else right now, yeah.

[ there's a deep tiredness in that awkwardly worded statement, one which chrono tries quickly to divert from. ]

How long was your hair when you woke up, anyway?

[tresemme]

[ tony gets it. the tiredness feels like it could have come from his own soul; it’s hard to muster any sense of victory between zenith and meridian when dread is weighing over them all.

that’s why he tries to meet chrono’s question with a shade of humor. ]

Curious? I was too, so I measured it. You can’t imagine what waking up with an extra fifteen meters of hair felt like.

[ he had honestly considered cutting it short, but the people who had attended him during the repose seemed to mourn the idea. out of gratitude, and definitely not guilt, he decided to just restore it to the way it was when he fell asleep. ]