[Phone post]

[tidalwaves]

[Riiing, riiiing...

Send Marie a text, or leave him a voicemail. Put the time and date in the subject line.]

Comments

29th Dec 2012 / 12PM

[tidalwaves]

its ok

[tidalwaves]

me neither tbh esp b/c u dont need it....?

[tidalwaves]

yes u r

[tidalwaves]

its ok tho u probably need the exercise

[tidalwaves]

omg

[tidalwaves]

dont text me if ur gonna be weird

[tidalwaves]

uh-huh

[tidalwaves]

well like anyway
wat do u have to do in gym or w/e?

[tidalwaves]

should have taken something else and just went swimming with me instead

[tidalwaves]

probs
u should come tho anyway

[tidalwaves]

in a minute yea

Few days after prom

[punchtheflowers]

[It had taken Vinnie a while to recover from his confrontation with Red - even though he tried to convince himself he was okay with the results, he was still undeniably shaken from the whole thing. He knew he couldn't put off talking to his (former) teammates any longer though. After much consideration, the Venusaur bit the bullet and decided to get the hardest talk over with first.]

i havnt seen u around. can i talk 2 u?

[tidalwaves]

[It took Marie roughly 15 to 20 minutes before he replied. Although he read Vinnie's first text the second he got it.]

no im busy sorry

[punchtheflowers]

[That wasn't normal. Marie lived on his phone, he always replied instantly. There was a anxious, sinking feeling in Vinnie's gut, one caused by his worst suspicions.]

ur avoidin me

red talkd 2 u didnt he

[tidalwaves]

yep

[punchtheflowers]

[Ha ha ha wow. If Vinnie had a little less restraint, he would've just thrown his phone at the wall right then.]

m... hes not actin normal

whatevr he told u wasnt rite. can i plz just talk 2 u in person

[tidalwaves]

r u saying he lied to me?

forget it vinnie i dont want to talk

[punchtheflowers]

im saying hes not himself somhow!

plz tell me ur in ur room and not reds

[Because he really, really didn't want to run into Red again if he was still... like that.]

[tidalwaves]

im not telling u

[Here's a hint: he was not in his room or in Red's room. Some place sunnier. With a shore, perfect for brooding on. Maybe a Kraken used to hang out there at some point.]

[punchtheflowers]

[Well god fucking dammit.

Vinnie burst into Marie's room. No one. He tried to eavesdrop on Red's room in case there was any noise from inside, before very carefully peeking in. Nope. He even tried Voile's. Nothing.

He ran to the swimming pool. He ran to the cafeteria. He ran by the classrooms, the library, the courtyard. He ran by the parking lot to see if maybe the Wartortle had taken his scooter into the city.

Where was he?!

It might not have been as gruelling as one of Max's workout runs, but he was he was fuckin' worried out of his mind the entire time. Every second that passed, the Venusaur's heart hurt more and more. By the time he passed the lake and spotted his younger brother, Vinnie felt exhausted.]

Marie...!

[tidalwaves]

[As soon as Marie heard Vinnie's voice, he stood up and turned around to face him. He knew there was a possibility that Vinnie would find him there; there weren't a whole lot of places he could go on campus, and it wasn't like he was really hiding.

More than anything, he looked angry. His face was flushed like he was embarrassed, but he looked absolutely furious. He held himself in such a way that it looked like he was ready to push Vinnie away if he moved close enough to Marie.]

I said I didn't want to talk. Just leave me alone!

[punchtheflowers]

[Vinnie stopped himself several yards away, nowhere close. He didn't have that right anymore. But Marie's expression ripped a hole in his chest, one even bigger than what Red had managed to do during their conversation together.

Helplessly, he stood there, trying to catch his breath. The hurt was visible in his face, it was palpable in his voice.]

Marie... J-just listen to me!

I know you're not gonna forgive me, but please!...

[tidalwaves]

[Ordinarily, Marie's expression might have softened when he saw how hurt Vinnie looked. At that moment, though, it just made the Wartortle more irritated. He had a lot of nerve looking hurt, considering what he'd done.]

Why? If I'm not gonna forgive you, then why does it even matter if you get to say what you want to say?

You can't have everything you want. Go ahead and talk, but I really don't want to listen.

[punchtheflowers]

Because... Because I need to know I at least said it t'you, even if you decide I'm lying.

[Vinnie's shoulders drooped, and his hands fell lamely at his sides. Butterflies made of razor blades were trying to fly their way out of his stomach, and cutting up everything on the way.]

Even if I'm not part've the team, I still care 'bout you.

And even if I go my own way, I'll always think of you as my little brother.

And even if Red doesn't want me anymore, I'll still love you.

[His voice had started to crack, but it didn't matter anymore. It took everything he had, but he said his piece - and now he waited in dread for Marie to throw it back in his face.]

[tidalwaves]

[As much as Marie didn't want to listen, he did. He paid attention closely, letting every word sink in. That he thought he was still his brother, and that he loved him. Cared about him. If all of that was true, then why was he doing this to him?

Marie wanted to scream at him. Cry and yell that he was not his brother. That he didn't get to leave his family and still think of them like that. That he was selfish, that he was stupid. That it wasn't fair. That he hated him so much right then.

Instead, he looked away from Vinnie. His angry expression looking much more troubled- more sad. He blinked hard, trying not to cry.]

... Is that all?

[punchtheflowers]

[Vinnie had been bracing himself for screaming, so when it didn't come, he was visibly taken aback. He hadn't mentally prepared to say anything else, so his mouth just hung open for a second, before he remembered to close it. Swallowing nervously, he balled his hands into fists and just let his mouth run away with everything on his chest.]

I thought... once, I thought I just needed to be strong enough to protect everyone. But I couldn't protect Sis, and I couldn't protect you from yourself, and... blaming myself only made me weaker.

I'm still not strong enough. I need to figure out what it means for myself. But I know... part of it means being strong enough to trust you. So I will.

Because you can be so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Marie. And...

And if you want, if you stay angry at me, then... I won't come near you if you don't want me to. I don't have that right, I know.

Just because I left doesn't change what we've been through together. Or what you mean to me. So... to me, you're still my brother. Even if I'm not yours.

And...

And I'm sorry. That's all.

[tidalwaves]

[Slowly, Marie brought his arms up and hugged himself, trying to feel as small as possible. He briefly thought about how nice it would be if he could make himself so small he'd simply disappear, but his loud and angry thoughts took over.

His name sounded wrong on Vinnie's tongue. But he wasn't M anymore. No matter how much Vinnie wanted to insist, Marie knew he wasn't the Venusaur's brother anymore. He had other brothers. Real brothers. Brothers who could understand him and comfort him on a level that Marie would never have been able to compare to. No matter how many years he spent pretending they were actually brothers.

His throat burned, his head ached. Marie told himself Vinnie wasn't worth the tears. He could tell himself that all he wanted, though, it didn't stop Marie from choking out a sob and crying. For a split second, he imagined how nice it would feel to have Vinnie hug him. Thinking that just made him angrier, and made him cry harder.

And I'm sorry. ...]

Yeah. You should be.

[punchtheflowers]

[Vinnie bowed his head, and his gaze fell down onto the grass. He didn't have words to express how sorry he was right now, that he was the one responsible for Marie's tears. That being close to him right now would only make things worse.

But he steeled his gut and held back, forcing himself to hold fast onto the conviction that brought him to this point. Leaving the team was something he had to do. He had to keep moving forward, or he'd just keep falling down the same pitfalls over and over.

It was a long and hard journey to overcome the pitfall of misunderstanding strength. Maybe... in time, Marie would grow to understand him.

He could only hope - though right now, it was not a strong one.]

I really am.

[Recognizing the stinging feeling in his eyes, Vinnie took a step backwards and blinked, hard. In a gesture that was not nearly as inconspicuous as he would've liked, he sniffed and rubbed his runny nose with the back of his wrist.

Another step, and then another, he backed away. Then, after a small glimmer of hesitation, the Venusaur ran off - desperately trying to keep his eyes from watering.]

[tidalwaves]

[Marie was spending less and less time in their dorm. The silence was painfully uncomfortable, and whenever there was any conversation, Marie ended up wishing they hadn't exchanged words at all. His trainer was hostile and aggressive. Completely unlike himself. Marie assumed Vinnie's departure was just taking its toll on Red. That didn't mean he wanted to be around him while he acted like that, though...

By the time the end of the month was rolling around, Marie really only came to the dorm to sleep. Even then, he occasionally slept under the bed, rather than at his trainer's feet.

Marie stayed in the room while Red got ready. He was in human form, sitting on the edge of his trainer's bed playing a game on his phone when Red spoke. He looked up. Tired and irritated.]

Not today.

[tidalwaves]

[Heck no.]

[tidalwaves]

[Lucky for Red, it is unlocked. But maybe it would have been a better idea to just slip the note under the door...]

[tidalwaves]

[The click of the handle had caught Marie's attention right away. He assumed it was his roommate. The hesitance, though, gave it away. And as soon as the handle was released and whoever was at the door walked away, Marie had narrowed it down to two people.

Once he sat up to see the envelope on the floor, he was almost positive it was Red. With some reluctance, he got off his bed and retrieved the envelope. And... set it on his bedside table.]

[tidalwaves]

[Maybe...

Maybe later. Maybe, like, late at night, he would open it. And maybe he would read it.

Ugh.]