[CLOSE] Never thought I'd see the day--

[abeator]

Characters: Abe Takaya, Mihashi Ren
Content: Mihashi's in the Fierta. Abe is surprised. Meeting of the ex-partners for the first time in a while.
Setting: Hangar
Time: Around noon
Warnings: Nothing, really.

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[ace_pitcher]

'Go straight...big doors...' He kept going through the last directions he was given in his head. But he couldn't concentrate with the excitement of meeting Abe in his mind. Eventhough they were simple directions...he still got lost. Though only slightly. "Uhh...there aren't any big doors here..." He looked down at his journal and sent Abe another message. "I-I, um...I think I turned somewhere...I wasn't supposed to..." He paused, thinking of what else to say. Something that wouldn't make Abe mad. "I'll go b-back! Hold on!" He ended the message before turning back around. He stopped quickly once he saw the doors Abe was talking about and almost ended up falling on his face. He took a pause to catch his breath before opening the door, peeking in nervously. "A-A...Abe-kun?"

[abeator]

Hold on? Abe frowned at the journal, sending the undeserving thing much of his ire before he climbed out of his plane to reach for it. "Did you get to---" he was just saying, when the door to the hangar creaked open and Mihashi poked his head inside.

Well.

"You found it," he said briskly, unnecessarily, for the lack of a better thing to say. Mihashi was... Mihashi. He didn't look much different from when he last saw him, all those months back. Maybe thinner? He might not have eaten as much without Abe nagging him to.

"How are you? Did you have a hard time getting here? This town's dangerous, you know, did you get in trouble?" Nagging was such an automatic thing to do for him, he hadn't even noticed he was doing it.

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi smiled as he saw Abe. He was real and right infront of him. He could touch him. He could see him. He could talk to him face to face. He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in. But then Abe started nagging him and he shrunk back, almost going back outside the hangar. "I-I, ah," he stuttered, thinking of how to explain himself. he eventually just decided to answer one question at time. "I'm h-happy now that I've found you. I got enough money before l-leaving...so I got to town fine...I didn't spend much t-time in town, though..." He paused and stepped further into the room, more towards Abe. "I joined this crew...i-in the hopes to find you out there in the sky. B-But...you're on this ship! I got lucky."

[abeator]

"Oh..." That sort of backfired on him, now that he had to sort through the answers to his questions. Mihashi was safe, that was certain. Didn't spend much time in town, which was a relief. And he was...

"You were looking for me?" he asked, dumbstruck but not angry yet, pointing at the floor next to him for Mihashi to sit.

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi scurried over to Abe and sat down next to him. For a while he glanced around nervously at anything but his former partner. "I-I was looking for you," he said with a few nods. "I knew you joined 'sky pirates' b-but I didn't know who you joined..." He finally looked to Abe, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he did. "Why did you join this crew?" He looked away from him as he could no longer keep eye contact and he glanced to the planes. His eyes were drawn to one with "Catcher" on the side. That had to be Abe's.

[abeator]

Abe crouched down next to him, fiddling with his journal a little to turn it off, waiting for Mihashi to spit out whatever he appeared to have trouble saying. When Mihashi finally did...

His gaze snapped up to his ex-partner's face, positively scowling. "Were you even thinking?" he demanded, voice rising. "What about your parents? What did the team say? Sky pirates are dangerous! Were you just going to join them for the sake of looking for me?! Not that the Fierta is a pirate ship. This is a mercenary ship, Mihashi, which is a step different!"

As to why he joined this one, he left that for another conversation, distracted as he was by his irritation that Mihashi was Mihashi as usual. Really!

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi yelped as he was suddenly being reprimanded again. He shrunk back, having to balance himself on his arms as he leaned back. "I...I-I - !" He tried to explain, but Abe wouldn't let him get a word in. Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes and he hiccuped. "A-A-Abe-kun!" He closed his eyes, sniffling. "I just w-w-wanted to s-see you again! Th-The t-t-team encouraged me t-t-t-t-to find you!" He opened one teary eye. "I kn-know it was d-d-dangerous...but...ngh!" He wiped at his eyes.

[abeator]

"Encouraged you?!" he echoed in outrage. Encouraged him! What were they thinking! Mihashi could have died ten steps into the Badlands, and how did he even get there?

He was so angry that he barely noticed that Mihashi was crying again, but he eventually did in the middle of his internal tirade. The pilot could have slapped himself.

"Look, I'm not angry at you," he snapped, even though he truthfully was. "I'm just worried that you put yourself in danger for the stupid reason that you wanted to see me!"

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi jumped and shrank back again, almost laying on the floor now to escape Abe's wrath. True not everyone on the team encouraged him...but most of them did. He looked back to Abe with a quivering lip as he continued. "I-I-I-I'm sorry!" he was finally able to stutter out. "I just...j-j-just missed you...a-a-a-a-a-and..." He paused, when Abe said his last sentence. He gasped and looked up at him. "It was n-n-not a stupid reason!"

[abeator]

"YES IT WAS!" he roared, getting up on his feet and practically looming on the smaller boy. "Couldn't you have just sent letters or journal messages?!" he demanded, abruptly turning away to vent his frustration on pacing instead of the mechanic. Mihashi was being as thoughtless and simple-minded as always, something that nothing anyone could change, probably. And now Abe felt that he was his fault that Mihashi was in the Fierta, and getting himself in danger.

[ace_pitcher]

"Aah!" Mihashi yelped again and covered his head, afraid Abe was going to hit him. This sure wasn't the happy reunion he was hoping for... "A-A-Abe-kuuuuuuun!" He sat up on his knees, tears running down his face. "W-W-Wanting to see your best friend...is a p-p-perfect reason!" He looked up at him, sniffing. "I didn't w-w-want to be on the t-team...if you weren't there!" He shook his head then hid his face in his hands. "Hngh...guhh..."

[abeator]

"IDIOT!" Abe exclaimed, his voice more of a roar than normal. It was a flattering thought, really, and he was touched enough by the gesture, but... This was too much. "I'm not worth that kind of thing!" he railed, his pacing increasing in speed. "Go back home, Mihashi!"

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi shook his head as Abe spoke, disagreeing with every word he said. "Abe-kun!" He suddenly stood and grabbed Abe's hand. His own fingers and palm were clammy and ice cold, quivering as well. "I d-didn't know what t-t-to do...when you left," he was able to get out between sniffs and little hiccups. "For a short time...I-I-I even forgot how to r...r-repair an engine. Because you weren't there! I-I-I lost weight without you...t-telling me what I should eat...and wh-wh-when..." He looked down, his tears dropping to the floor. "I'm pathetic...what I j-j-just told you was pathetic...but...true."

[abeator]

Mihashi's hands were ice cold. And he was babbling unintelligibly again. When was he ever going to fix his lack of self-esteem? It had worked out for Abe in the past, when they were newly acquainted with each other, but he had honestly put effort into changing the mechanic's shitty personality later on in their partnership. Had his leaving made everything for naught?

The pilot sighed and, with supreme effort, reigned his temper. He shouldn't be so pissed. Maybe the shock and worry had overwhelmed him. "Calm down. I'm not angry anymore, see?" he said in an even tone, allowing Mihashi to keep a hold of his hand. "How many times do I have to tell you, you're great with or without anyone?" He'd say it a million times if it that was what it took. He was more worried about getting white hair from the stress.

[ace_pitcher]

Mihashi kept a tight hold on Abe's hand, and after one long moment he was finally able to look up at him. "A-Abe...kun..." He looked truly pathetic with tears running down his face, flustered cheeks, and sadness in his eyes. "I kn-kn-know you told me that," he said with a slow nod. "And I th-thought I really could be o-okay with...without you. But...b-b-but..." He stopped to wipe at his eyes. "...but then you left! And...I-I couldn't do it...without y-y-you..." He looked into Abe's eyes once again. "I f-felt lost."

[abeator]

"Idiot," he sighed, resigned and without heat in his voice. It was tiring to repeat the same things without Mihashi really understanding. His patience had never been anything special, after all. Lacked it, in fact. How was he to drive in the point that Mihashi was fine without him without resorting to yelling? He didn't think he had it in him.

He couldn't pretend that he wasn't happy to see Mihashi, either, because he sort of was. He wasn't very sociable and hadn't made any friends, Kamina and maybe the other pilot aside, and he was starting to get tired of talking to himself. "I can't convince you to leave and go home?"