/Nate. Buddy. I say this with all the love in the world, truly. But are you stupid?
I just tethered an insanely powerful telepath with unstable powers to the part of my brain that controls whether or not my heart keeps beating. And then I told him how to find that tether and fuck with it. You really think having a macro that automatically pings me if you get stabbed gives me any kind of control?/
[There's a faint sense of feeling hurt or disappointed from Quentin's end. He doesn't think he did anything particularly shady or weird to deserve this? But who knows, really.]
/It's just a shorthand way for me to keep an eye on people so they don't get dead, but yeah. If you want it gone, I'll make sure it's gone. Scout's honor./
( He can feel it and it wasn't his intention to make the other telepath feel that way, but. )
I just needed to know.
( A beat, he glances down where he is. )
I don't like being lied to or left without a choice. I'm not saying you would. But I was curious what your stance on someone wanting to break away was.
/My stance is "my friend thinks my way of keeping him and all these other morons I care about from getting pulverized is actually a thinly veiled machiavellian scheme to collect a bunch of minions or whatever, and that really fucking sucks."/
I don’t think I’m really minion material in the first place. I’m a bit too difficult for that.
( Partly said as a joke, but. At that, he projects himself to Quentin telepathically. Because he can. Because it’s better to talk “in person” than through thoughts, he thinks. )
I’m sorry. I’m not… used to this. Linking up. Teamwork. Being around so many of you so much. ( Mutants, he means. Especially ones who aren’t trying to chase him down. ) I know you’re not looking to have minions. I would have felt it from you. I’m just… like I said. If I hurt you somehow, even by accident, I’d feel bad.
( It’s more him and his own hangups with others and control of his powers than Quentin. And yeah, sure. He knows Quentin has said it won’t happen. But he’s accidentally hurt people before. Even brought some back to life which he doesn’t even know about yet, but. That’s for the future. Right now, he reaches out with his pinky finger. Something he’d done with Sophie. )
You said we’re friends. That you care. I promise to look out for you, if you do the same for me.
Edited (an injection of sweet suddenly ) 2025-05-22 00:05 (UTC)
[There's a spark of irritation from Quentin's side as Nate appears
in front of him and makes all of his apologies and stuff. Nothing major or
anything—Quentin is easy to irritate. More of a "seriously?" vibe. It
doesn't get much better when Nate holds out his pinky finger.]
/Is that... Are you doing a pinky promise? Are you seven years
old?/
[That said, he does reach out and loops his finger around Nate's.
He's gonna roll his eyes about it super hard, though!]
/Literally what I've been saying this whole time, but sure./
[A beat.]
/You and Keller, by the way? Definitely bottom tier minions. Absolutely terrible choices./
( Let him stumble a little, Quentin. His hesitation with everything comes from bad experiences and feeling like he’s just better off alone per Alice Deejay. It’d be a real shame to get close to you all - to make memories and have actual people- friends who want to support him in ways he’s so briefly had and some that were nothing more than lies, only to lose it all.
But the pinky promise seals the deal and he smiles some at Quentin’s eye rolling along with his thinking he’s above a pinky promise. )
As if you’d be any better.
( He gets the feeling none of them would be.
With the pinky promise made and a slow shake of their hands, he lets go of the other’s pinky then and drifts back a little. )
That means this goes both ways you know. I know you can handle yourself power-wise. But you ever have too many balls to juggle in anything else with your life, I can take some of them. Give you a bit of a break.
/Sure, sure, a friend in need is a friend in deed and all that crap./
[Quentin squints at Nate's sudden cheery turn. Hold on, wait, no. He's still salty!]
/Hold up, let's rewind just a second./
[He folds his arms and gives Nate a Very Stern look.]
/Look. You don't like people making choices for you, right? Well, neither do I. So do me a favor and don't decide for me what's gonna hurt me. I'm a pretty tough cookie, I promise. I know what I can handle, and if I miscalculate and get fucked up that's on me. Got it?/
[He pauses, thinks, then makes an addition.]
/And for fuck's sake if you doubt my intentions or whatever then man up and go rummaging through my skull like a normal intrusive telepathic bastard with trust issues./
( Not to say he hasn't or won't do it again himself, but. He's also just saying. )
But fine. If you really want me to give your brain a wedgie, I suppose I always could. ( At that he shrugs, still drifting there, smile faint on his lips. ) I don't doubt you though. I just wasn't sure. But that's on me and my own shit.
/Like I said, intrusive telepathic bastard with trust issues./
[He shrugs. Quentin's not saying Nate's whole "I just needed to know" stunt was as bad as Xavier. But he's also not saying it isn't the kinda shit Chuck would pull.]
/All I'm saying is you either trust me or you don't. This "I wasn't sure," testing me bullshit? Deciding for me when you need to save me? That ain't trust, dude. That's control./
[Quentin sighs, shifts his weight, and shoves his hands in his pockets.]
/Looking out for one another, that's one thing. But guys like you and me? We can't get into trying to control one another. With our powers or without them. That's a no-win scenario./
[He takes one hand out of his pocket and holds it out. A handshake and not a pinky promise because he's not seven years old.]
( Cut him some slack, Quentin. This is the first time he’s really choosing to play nice with another telepath so closely connected to him. The fact he even goes along with it says something, but. He figures if Quentin does cross a line or lie to him, he’ll break it off without so much as a second thought. He can’t deal with more people lying to him he thought he could trust and care for. )
Oh, and here I thought I was being considerate.
( Sarcasm, yes. It’s said with a roll of his eyes in regards to his not wanting to drag the other down with him if things go bad, but. In the end, he takes the other’s hand in his own and eyes him with a tilt of his head. )
[Quentin eyes Nate skeptically. Sure, the guy's acting like he's in full agreement with what Quentin is saying, but... well, call it a hunch, but he's not so sure the message is sinking in. And it's not like he doesn't get why. There's a certain stubborn idiocy that comes with having the type of power at the magnitude that he and Nate share. The urge to control people before they control you. The moral superiority of having the ability to scramble people's brains but choosing to just manipulate them with your own behavior, like that makes it better. Quentin had quite a few slices of humble pie shoved unceremoniously into his gob over the past few years, but Nate? Nate seems like the type of guy who's used to throwing his weight around. Because nobody's been around who could stop him. So far.]
/Good. And seriously? Never be considerate to me. Fake-ass bullshit./
[In case Nate was wondering about Quentin's whole... everything. He lets go of Nate's hand and crosses his arms.]
/Oh, and you are seriously linked directly to my brainstem. So I'd really appreciate you not, you know. Frying me in some way./
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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( He's been around too many others who have been in control or wanted control over him. )
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I just tethered an insanely powerful telepath with unstable powers to the part of my brain that controls whether or not my heart keeps beating. And then I told him how to find that tether and fuck with it. You really think having a macro that automatically pings me if you get stabbed gives me any kind of control?/
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[There's a faint sense of feeling hurt or disappointed from Quentin's end. He doesn't think he did anything particularly shady or weird to deserve this? But who knows, really.]
/It's just a shorthand way for me to keep an eye on people so they don't get dead, but yeah. If you want it gone, I'll make sure it's gone. Scout's honor./
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I just needed to know.
( A beat, he glances down where he is. )
I don't like being lied to or left without a choice. I'm not saying you would. But I was curious what your stance on someone wanting to break away was.
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[Sorry, Nate, he's a bit salty.]
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( Partly said as a joke, but. At that, he projects himself to Quentin telepathically. Because he can. Because it’s better to talk “in person” than through thoughts, he thinks. )
I’m sorry. I’m not… used to this. Linking up. Teamwork. Being around so many of you so much. ( Mutants, he means. Especially ones who aren’t trying to chase him down. ) I know you’re not looking to have minions. I would have felt it from you. I’m just… like I said. If I hurt you somehow, even by accident, I’d feel bad.
( It’s more him and his own hangups with others and control of his powers than Quentin. And yeah, sure. He knows Quentin has said it won’t happen. But he’s accidentally hurt people before. Even brought some back to life which he doesn’t even know about yet, but. That’s for the future. Right now, he reaches out with his pinky finger. Something he’d done with Sophie. )
You said we’re friends. That you care. I promise to look out for you, if you do the same for me.
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[There's a spark of irritation from Quentin's side as Nate appears in front of him and makes all of his apologies and stuff. Nothing major or anything—Quentin is easy to irritate. More of a "seriously?" vibe. It doesn't get much better when Nate holds out his pinky finger.]
/Is that... Are you doing a pinky promise? Are you seven years old?/
[That said, he does reach out and loops his finger around Nate's. He's gonna roll his eyes about it super hard, though!]
/Literally what I've been saying this whole time, but sure./
[A beat.]
/You and Keller, by the way? Definitely bottom tier minions. Absolutely terrible choices./
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But the pinky promise seals the deal and he smiles some at Quentin’s eye rolling along with his thinking he’s above a pinky promise. )
As if you’d be any better.
( He gets the feeling none of them would be.
With the pinky promise made and a slow shake of their hands, he lets go of the other’s pinky then and drifts back a little. )
That means this goes both ways you know. I know you can handle yourself power-wise. But you ever have too many balls to juggle in anything else with your life, I can take some of them. Give you a bit of a break.
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[Quentin squints at Nate's sudden cheery turn. Hold on, wait, no. He's still salty!]
/Hold up, let's rewind just a second./
[He folds his arms and gives Nate a Very Stern look.]
/Look. You don't like people making choices for you, right? Well, neither do I. So do me a favor and don't decide for me what's gonna hurt me. I'm a pretty tough cookie, I promise. I know what I can handle, and if I miscalculate and get fucked up that's on me. Got it?/
[He pauses, thinks, then makes an addition.]
/And for fuck's sake if you doubt my intentions or whatever then man up and go rummaging through my skull like a normal intrusive telepathic bastard with trust issues./
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( Not to say he hasn't or won't do it again himself, but. He's also just saying. )
But fine. If you really want me to give your brain a wedgie, I suppose I always could. ( At that he shrugs, still drifting there, smile faint on his lips. ) I don't doubt you though. I just wasn't sure. But that's on me and my own shit.
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[He shrugs. Quentin's not saying Nate's whole "I just needed to know" stunt was as bad as Xavier. But he's also not saying it isn't the kinda shit Chuck would pull.]
/All I'm saying is you either trust me or you don't. This "I wasn't sure," testing me bullshit? Deciding for me when you need to save me? That ain't trust, dude. That's control./
[Quentin sighs, shifts his weight, and shoves his hands in his pockets.]
/Looking out for one another, that's one thing. But guys like you and me? We can't get into trying to control one another. With our powers or without them. That's a no-win scenario./
[He takes one hand out of his pocket and holds it out. A handshake and not a pinky promise because he's not seven years old.]
/We gucci?/
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Oh, and here I thought I was being considerate.
( Sarcasm, yes. It’s said with a roll of his eyes in regards to his not wanting to drag the other down with him if things go bad, but. In the end, he takes the other’s hand in his own and eyes him with a tilt of his head. )
I don’t know what gucci is, but we’re good.
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/Good. And seriously? Never be considerate to me. Fake-ass bullshit./
[In case Nate was wondering about Quentin's whole... everything. He lets go of Nate's hand and crosses his arms.]
/Oh, and you are seriously linked directly to my brainstem. So I'd really appreciate you not, you know. Frying me in some way./
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( He's kidding, but. He gets it, buddy. He'll keep it in mind and do his best to not let that happen. )
But fine. Neither of us will do something to endanger the other intentionally. If it happens by accident, well. I'm sure we can handle it.
( Omegas and all. )