VICTORY ROAD IC CONTACT

[zukeini]

"Hey, uh, you just reached me and I wasn't around. It's Zuke. Leave a message or a text and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Comments

[vrdantwind]

[It's still hard to say. It's still hard to see the words in text. But Claude pushes past it, with difficulty. This is important, too. Zuke is important, too. It's not just who he's lost that matters, but who he still has.]

Yeah. We just woke up one morning, and...he was gone.

Also, we've done a lot of never minding you up until this point. That's why I'm talking to you now. We've had plenty of time to wallow in misery without anybody pushing us to communicate like human beings, but it's time we actually got back to functioning again. At some point it stops being reasonable and starts being actively unfair.

And yeah, we're together now. After it first happened, though...Felix ran off for a bit. He actually left before the rest of us even knew it had happened. He was gone for...around a week, I think. Maybe a little longer. Honestly, my own sense of time until he got back wasn't the greatest. I...didn't hold it together as well as I would have liked.

[zukeini]

I'm so sorry, I didn't know at all if I had I would've held it more together.

[No, Zuke promised Dimitri and Claude he'd stop apologizing so much. Despite his desire to want to, as the guilt was really settling in that everything was messed up and now it was extra messed up with his confessions. It hurt him in the gut and everywhere else, thinking about his effect on Felix and others in all of the times he spoke to them before he knew.

The guilt was far too hard to shake. Especially how close they are and Zuke had to get confident and bump his head inside.

He honestly felt sick.]

I'm sorry again. [D'oh.] Felix was alone with just his Pokemon so I felt something was wrong but it felt disrespectful to pry. I can't imagine how it felt because you're all so close to each other and all function as a unit. I wish I knew what to do...

Just I’m so sorry Claude, I really am.



But. Wait so, does...everyone know now?

[vrdantwind]

That's something neither Sylvain or any of us want, you know. I know the timing's unfortunate, but that's not on you, and none of us want you to feel like you have to hide things from us at your own expense. I get the intent behind your sentiment, that you would've kept quiet out of consideration of us, but...telling us the truth is its own consideration, Zuke, and hiding it is its own problem. Both choices had their upsides and downsides, so let's just focus on the choice you went with instead of you sitting there fretting about whether or not the other one would've been better. That's not going to help anyone.

I appreciate the sympathy, though.

Does everyone know what? That Sylvain's gone?

[zukeini]

Yeah


Yeah, I guess you're right. It just seemed like it was another headache to everybody when you all didn't deserve it. But you're right, it's not lying more or less to anyone but myself. But it doesn't mean I'm not leaving you guys hanging.

It's just none of it feels like I'm being good to you guys. Whether I spill or not.

Like, does the group know about all of this?

[vrdantwind]

You're no headache, Zuke. You're someone who means a lot to us. And you having such deep feelings for us could never be anything but a compliment, regardless of any awkward timing involved. So don't ever think otherwise.

I know if our positions were reversed, you'd be horrified at the idea of me feeling guilty for having feelings for you, or regretting being honest with you about them - maybe even feeling like I shouldn't have those feelings at all. Right? So treat yourself the way you'd treat me. Sweetly. Like I'd given you a gift, and just because the timing was bad and you aren't exactly ready or in the mood to open it yet doesn't mean you resent the gesture, or that it has no meaning to you.

You keep being too vague with your question. What 'this' are we talking about? Sylvain's disappearance, or your feelings? I guess context clues might hint at the latter.