Inbox;

[flaredo]

"Heeey, you've reached Yang! Well, actually, you didn't reach far enough, 'cause I'm not here right now! But don't yang up! Just leave a message on this baby, and I'll get back to you soon enough, okay?"

[ Please specify VOICEMAIL, TEXT or CALL. ]

Comments

[cryptologic]

There's this mango-flavored one that's pretty good...

[ About as exciting as it gets. He tosses her the can. GO LONG. Or short, because he doesn't toss it very well. ]

[flaredo]

[ sure, she'll do an elaborate lunge to keep the floor from catching it instead. ]

You can't really go wrong with mango!

[cryptologic]

[ ...Nice. ]

...Er, yeah, I guess not.

We can go...sit at the table. Or living room. Or...wherever.

[flaredo]

Living room's fine! C'mon, take a seat.

[ TELL HER YOUR WOES OVER PIZZA. ]

[cryptologic]

[ He loads his plate with a slice of pizza before settling into a seat in the living room.

He doesn't start talking. Not yet. He may need a little nudge. ]

[flaredo]

[ AN ACTUAL NUDGE-- ]

So the actual reason for skipping...?

[cryptologic]

[ He swallows a bite of pizza, glancing down at his plate instead of meeting her eyes. ]

...One of my...friends went missing yesterday.

[flaredo]

... A good friend, huh?

[ Well, she's been there before. ]

[cryptologic]

Yeah. [ A beat. ] I guess she was...kind of...more than a friend to me. Not that it...really matters now.

[flaredo]

Sure it does.

[ REACHING OUT TO PLANT A HAND ON HIS HEAD. ]

We're going to see them all again anyway.

[cryptologic]

[ Aw man, the head pat... ]

How can you be so sure? She's not even from the same world as me.

[flaredo]

Neither is my boyfriend. But right now, your friend's probably in that weird... code-y place, and all we have to do is bust her out of there, like everyone else.

[cryptologic]

If it were really that simple, wouldn't someone have done it already?

[ Even Hiro hadn't figured it out, though he'd said he would try. ]

[flaredo]

No one said it'd be simple. But I don't think it's impossible, either.

[cryptologic]

...I don't know. I mean, maybe it is possible, but...what then? Whenever we get our home worlds back, we still have to say goodbye to everyone we met here.

[flaredo]

So would you rather not have met her at all?

[cryptologic]

[ His reaction is immediate. ]

No, of course not!

[flaredo]

Then let's get them back first and worry about goodbyes later. I don't regret meeting any of my friends here, even if we're not from the same world.

[cryptologic]

...I don't regret meeting any of my friends, either.

[ A small smile, finally. ]

That includes you, too, you know.

[flaredo]

[ That gets an arm around him. C'mere, you. ]

I hope not! I don't get too many little brothers here.

[cryptologic]

[ Aw man... ]

And I don't get too many big sisters.

[flaredo]

Then aren't we both pretty lucky?

[ EATING POTATO CHIP PIZZA... ]

[cryptologic]

Heh, when you look at it like that, I guess we are.

[ The very best pizza, thank you very much. ]