Voicemail

[weldedtomyspine]

"Oh, hey! I was hoping you'd call. What's up?" There was a brief pause, a wait for an answer. "Oh, sweet. Yeah, I'm doing pretty good, too. Or... at least I was when I recorded this message. Because, yep, this is my voicemail. But leave me one and I'll call you back!"

[This should have gone up a while ago... oops?]

Comments

[heromaniac]

As soon as Jaime's voicemail message began, Momoko hung up. The call connected, so he was still there. That... That was enough, really; she didn't need to leave a message. What could she say anyway? And what could he do, so far away?

In so many more ways than just distance.

[weldedtomyspine]

After talking to Dinah the day before, and considering the content of that call, a missed call from Momoko almost had Jaime completely flipping out. Because it was possible (even if he constantly tried to calm down by reminding himself that it was unlikely) that she'd been interrupted before she could leave a message.

So he was calling back. And trying to convince himself that everything was okay.

[heromaniac]

Fuji-san was calm and strong and steady, just what Momoko needed. But then, it was a mountain. Pure earth, rock. Solid. Here. And, since it was also a recently active volcano, there was boiling lava below her. Fire.

Like Warren.

"Hi," Momoko said, recognizing the ringtone but really too tired to pretend to be cheery right now. She turned away from the edge and found a place to sit.

[weldedtomyspine]

Jaime's immediate sigh of relief was probably a little bit too loud.

Okay, it was definitely too loud.

"Hi," he managed after a moment or two to take a few deep breaths and get his metaphorical feet back under him.

Then: "You called."

[heromaniac]

Momoko managed a small smile at that. She totally hadn't expected a call back when she hadn't left a message. "Ah. Yes. Sorry. I was just checking on you. More people are disappearing and..." she blinked a few times. "And I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

[weldedtomyspine]

Of course he'd called back. She'd called him. What else was he going to do?

"I'm fine," Jaime said quickly, hoping that he sounded reassuring. "Everyone here is fine. No disappearances or anything."

He fell silent for a moment.

"Are you okay?"

And he didn't mean had she disappeared. That she hadn't was obvious. But he knew Momoko, and he heard a lot in her tone that he didn't like.

[heromaniac]

"Still? That's totally awesome to hear. I really hope it stays that way."

Even more now than ever.

"And I'm... Let's see, I could tell you the truth oooor..." she tried for perky and cheery, but even she could hear that it failed. She took a shuddery breath. "Nnn. Sorry Jaime. I'm totally not in the mood to make up anything right funny now. I'm not doing very well at all."

[weldedtomyspine]

Jaime scowled. He'd known it, but hearing Momoko admit it only drove home how bad she was feeling. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

He paused. "You do know I'd hop a portal out and be there within the hour, right?" If he could. Portalocity was still giving him the run around about his attempts to get to New Gotham. He didn't doubt they'd do the same thing if he tried to go to Momoko instead of Dinah.

[heromaniac]

She took a moment to close her eyes and pretend. Just a moment.

Then,

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Jaime, but I totally don't want you here. It's just not safe. If your world is okay, please please please stay there. Okay? I don't..." She choked, trying not to start crying again. "I can't lose you too."

[weldedtomyspine]

He almost asked 'who', but caught himself just in time.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"You could come here, you know," he offered quietly. And even though he knew she wouldn't, couldn't, he had to offer. Because she might say yes. And so that she'd know he cared.

[heromaniac]

Another deep breath. "Ah ah. I wish I could. You know that, right? But I can't leave when people are in trouble. No matter what happens, how bad it gets, I have to protect them. Even if it's just me doing it." And it was really hard to fight all alone like this.

Okay, she'd let the silent tears fall.

"But I do totally want to."

[weldedtomyspine]

"I know," Jaime sighed softly. That she couldn't leave, no matter what.

"You're not alone. You know that, right?"

[heromaniac]

"I am, though. Really." Momoko was not in her happy place, sorry. "The others are trying to help but they can't. Not really. They don't know what to look for. People, countries, animals." Ex boyfriends.

"Places thousands of years old are gone, Jaime. Not just from memory - Totally gone! History books, maps, video feeds, photo albums... I'm the only one who remembers or notices. The only one."

[weldedtomyspine]

"I remember," Jaime pointed out.

He wasn't sure that helped. Since he wasn't there, and since he didn't remember everything. After all, there were plenty of things from Momoko's world that he'd never known at all.

[heromaniac]

But you're not with me.

Momoko pressed a palm against her forehead. She really really wished... ah well.

"Thank you. That helps. I'm just tired, sorry. I know I'm not alone in my heart, just... just in the fight here. Dinah's trying to help her world, Karla's world has started missing people, the Fandom Reserves are meeting today to try to help... But for now, Blossom is all I've got."

[weldedtomyspine]

"I wish..." Jaime sighed. So many things. And not just about right now. This situation. Momoko's stress.

About so many other things, too.

But this wasn't really the right time to say any of them. If there eve was such a thing as a "right time".