Three-way Communication
I had not expected to encounter Chrome again so soon, and certainly not under the circumstances which I did last night.
Vincent and I had decided to go for a walk in the city a few hours before sunrise. As much as I enjoy solitary excursions, I do like the company of others once in a while. I have fond memories of walking along the harbour with Joss, strolling the beach with Vincent, now even of talking to Kaoru and Chrome while talking a walk. There is a quality to walking that makes silence comfortable and conversation sometimes easier to overcome. - But I digress. We were walking through a pedestrian street, almost empty at that time of night, when Chrome approached us.
It took Vincent few moments to register that I was reacting to something, but I had no need to tell him who it was approaching us. “Chrome.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. At that point we were still so far from each other that we may have avoided the encounter if we had taken a detour down another street. Chrome appeared not to have noticed us. He was walking with his mobile phone in his hand, typing something and looking at the display. “We can turn …”
“No,” Vincent all but snapped. We stopped, and Chrome looked up. He put his phone away and smiled as he stopped right in front of us.
“Well, what are the odds?” he said. “Heya Grae. Vincent, I assume? Nice to meet you.” It appears that Chrome (like so many others, it seems) has been reading my public journal.
Vincent’s lips curled up in an unpleasant smile and ignored the hand he was offered. “Chrome.”
Chrome cocked his head. “No shakin’ hands then. Fine. So, what are you doing here?”
“We are taking a walk,” I replied.
“I think we should be asking why you are here,” said Vincent coldly, “Were you planning an attack on us?”
“I’m on my way home from work, thank you very much!” Chrome retorted. “And you seem to be a little behind here, I have no intention of attacking anyone.”
“Well, perhaps not at this point. But who knows how long time that will last? You might just decide to assault G.R.A.E. again when you see fit.”
It was a ridiculous situation. “Please,” I started, “Perhaps we should all just …”
“Shut up, Grae. This ain’t any of your business,” Chrome told me.
“I think that is the only sensible thing you have said so far. I should very much like to talk to Chrome, G.R.A.E.” Vincent agreed.
I blinked. That I had not expected. “Well … would you care for me to leave you alone?” I suggested ironically. It was absurd.
“I don’t mind you around. But Vincent may not like you to hear what he has to say to me,” Chrome said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring up at Vincent.
“Oh no, by all means, do stay,” Vincent replied, not taking his eyes off Chrome.
“Well then. Hit it. Or me. Because that’s what you really want, isn’t it? That’s what it’s all about, right? I bit Grae, and you can’t stand me for that.”
“I have no intention of making any public displays of violence.”
“So would you like to go somewhere private?”
Vincent took a step forward. His glare was coldly furious. “You may very well have high thoughts of yourself and your own strength, but you are just a youngster. Now tell me, what do you want of me?”
Chrome snorted. “Oh come on. I don’t want any-fuckin’-thing from you, Vincent, and you know that. I’m not a threat to you. Grae’s my little brother, of sorts, and you’re his good friend. If I … If I had wanted anything, which I don’t say that I did, it would have been to tell you that I’m not one of the bad guys. I’m on Grae’s side. Your side. ‘Kay? But if it will make you feel better to have kicked my ass, then go ahead and do that or yell at me.”
I think I have never felt quite as sympathetic to the idea of staring at one’s shoelaces as during that conversation. I was very aware of people passing us and staring. Two men in expensive suits, apparently arguing in low voices, and a third standing awkwardly almost between them. I wanted to suggest going somewhere else.
“You are an insolent whelp!”
“Well, that stung. Seriously, upgrade your insults a century or two. Look, I don’t want to argue with you. I really don’t. How do I convince you that I’m not a threat?”
Vincent said nothing for a while. “I am not sure that you can. You have given me plenty of reason to distrust you. You are a nuisance, a character with no obvious loyalties, unpredictable and erratic at best, deadly dangerous because of your recklessness at worst. You may not intend to bring any harm to G.R.A.E., but I don’t really trust that you will not accidentally cause him more trouble,” he finally stated.
Chrome looked away for a short moment, then back. “Okay. In that case … all I can really say is I’m gonna have to prove you wrong. That and … I trust you.”
“What?”
Chrome shook his head and smiled. “Just that. You earned my respect and trust a long time ago, but I’ve yet to earn yours.”
Vincent searched his face for an explanation, and, strangely, seemed to find it. “I see. So - I believe we were all going somewhere, then?” He offered Chrome his hand, and Chrome shook it. I must admit I felt oddly left out when they smiled at one another.
Chrome and I bid each other goodbye, and we separated again. Vincent and I walked on in silence for a while.
“So, Chrome?” Vincent finally said. “He doesn’t look much like you.”
Vincent and I had decided to go for a walk in the city a few hours before sunrise. As much as I enjoy solitary excursions, I do like the company of others once in a while. I have fond memories of walking along the harbour with Joss, strolling the beach with Vincent, now even of talking to Kaoru and Chrome while talking a walk. There is a quality to walking that makes silence comfortable and conversation sometimes easier to overcome. - But I digress. We were walking through a pedestrian street, almost empty at that time of night, when Chrome approached us.
It took Vincent few moments to register that I was reacting to something, but I had no need to tell him who it was approaching us. “Chrome.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. At that point we were still so far from each other that we may have avoided the encounter if we had taken a detour down another street. Chrome appeared not to have noticed us. He was walking with his mobile phone in his hand, typing something and looking at the display. “We can turn …”
“No,” Vincent all but snapped. We stopped, and Chrome looked up. He put his phone away and smiled as he stopped right in front of us.
“Well, what are the odds?” he said. “Heya Grae. Vincent, I assume? Nice to meet you.” It appears that Chrome (like so many others, it seems) has been reading my public journal.
Vincent’s lips curled up in an unpleasant smile and ignored the hand he was offered. “Chrome.”
Chrome cocked his head. “No shakin’ hands then. Fine. So, what are you doing here?”
“We are taking a walk,” I replied.
“I think we should be asking why you are here,” said Vincent coldly, “Were you planning an attack on us?”
“I’m on my way home from work, thank you very much!” Chrome retorted. “And you seem to be a little behind here, I have no intention of attacking anyone.”
“Well, perhaps not at this point. But who knows how long time that will last? You might just decide to assault G.R.A.E. again when you see fit.”
It was a ridiculous situation. “Please,” I started, “Perhaps we should all just …”
“Shut up, Grae. This ain’t any of your business,” Chrome told me.
“I think that is the only sensible thing you have said so far. I should very much like to talk to Chrome, G.R.A.E.” Vincent agreed.
I blinked. That I had not expected. “Well … would you care for me to leave you alone?” I suggested ironically. It was absurd.
“I don’t mind you around. But Vincent may not like you to hear what he has to say to me,” Chrome said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring up at Vincent.
“Oh no, by all means, do stay,” Vincent replied, not taking his eyes off Chrome.
“Well then. Hit it. Or me. Because that’s what you really want, isn’t it? That’s what it’s all about, right? I bit Grae, and you can’t stand me for that.”
“I have no intention of making any public displays of violence.”
“So would you like to go somewhere private?”
Vincent took a step forward. His glare was coldly furious. “You may very well have high thoughts of yourself and your own strength, but you are just a youngster. Now tell me, what do you want of me?”
Chrome snorted. “Oh come on. I don’t want any-fuckin’-thing from you, Vincent, and you know that. I’m not a threat to you. Grae’s my little brother, of sorts, and you’re his good friend. If I … If I had wanted anything, which I don’t say that I did, it would have been to tell you that I’m not one of the bad guys. I’m on Grae’s side. Your side. ‘Kay? But if it will make you feel better to have kicked my ass, then go ahead and do that or yell at me.”
I think I have never felt quite as sympathetic to the idea of staring at one’s shoelaces as during that conversation. I was very aware of people passing us and staring. Two men in expensive suits, apparently arguing in low voices, and a third standing awkwardly almost between them. I wanted to suggest going somewhere else.
“You are an insolent whelp!”
“Well, that stung. Seriously, upgrade your insults a century or two. Look, I don’t want to argue with you. I really don’t. How do I convince you that I’m not a threat?”
Vincent said nothing for a while. “I am not sure that you can. You have given me plenty of reason to distrust you. You are a nuisance, a character with no obvious loyalties, unpredictable and erratic at best, deadly dangerous because of your recklessness at worst. You may not intend to bring any harm to G.R.A.E., but I don’t really trust that you will not accidentally cause him more trouble,” he finally stated.
Chrome looked away for a short moment, then back. “Okay. In that case … all I can really say is I’m gonna have to prove you wrong. That and … I trust you.”
“What?”
Chrome shook his head and smiled. “Just that. You earned my respect and trust a long time ago, but I’ve yet to earn yours.”
Vincent searched his face for an explanation, and, strangely, seemed to find it. “I see. So - I believe we were all going somewhere, then?” He offered Chrome his hand, and Chrome shook it. I must admit I felt oddly left out when they smiled at one another.
Chrome and I bid each other goodbye, and we separated again. Vincent and I walked on in silence for a while.
“So, Chrome?” Vincent finally said. “He doesn’t look much like you.”