synopsychic | [Video]// backdated to the fridge liminal

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[Video]// backdated to the fridge liminal

I have the list of Travelers who have vanished. [Armin's face is serious, yet at the same time almost studiously blank - devoid of expression or emotion, much more so than usual.]

Tim, Phedre, Istas, Leonardo, Joscelin, Sansa, Ezio, Asa, Vilari, and Robin. [Even as controlled as he is, he can't help the slight tremble, and the tightening around the eyes when he mentions Sansa.]

...I'm sorry.

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Anyway, uh... my door's open. And easy to find. It's purple.

If you wanted to come over for a hug and... comfort food? Or something? Say the word and it's yours.

[He swallows, hard, trying to speak past the lump and the tightness in his throat.] I... I'll be over in a few minutes. If that's all right.

*****

[And indeed, about ten minutes later there's a quiet knock on the door.]

Edited 2016-11-18 07:57 (UTC)

[ The door opens immediately, almost as if Steph had been waiting near it. She waves him in, and the moment he's inside with the door firmly closed behind him, Steph pulls him into a tight hug. She needs a little comfort and a friendly face at least as much as he does. ]

I'm sorry.

[Armin isn't quite prepared for the hug, and as he wraps his arms around her in return he lets out a noise suspiciously close to a sob. After a moment, he buries his face in her shoulder, arms tightening as he trembles a little.]

[ Steph's breath catches for a moment, and when she lets it out, it comes a little shakily. She doesn't say anything else, just holds on until he seems like he's starting to loosen his grip. What else is there to say except me too... and that part is obvious enough. ]

[Armin holds on for a solid couple minutes - certainly longer than he expected to need - before he slowly pulls back. His cheeks are damp, and there are tears in his eyes, though he wasn't audible crying. He wipes them away unabashedly, before looking up at her.]

...Thank you.

[ She smiles, faint and sad but completely genuine. ]

No problem. Seriously.

[ She steps back a little, and gestures to the couch and arm chairs further into the room, all arranged facing a big bay window that looks out over an illusion of Gotham at night. ]

Um... do you want coffee or tea or something? Cookies? I like mashed potatoes when I'm sad, but I know that's... usually not the case for most people.

[Armin doesn't quite smile, but a twitch of his mouth hints at one, especially at the mention of the potatoes.]

Anything's fine. [He's never really been picky about food - probably a side-effect of growing up in poverty during a food shortage. You take what you can get.] I'm... not really hungry, to be honest. But I should probably eat something.

[Meaning it's been quite some time since he last ate - in truth, he can't remember exactly when it was. Has he eaten today? Last night, maybe? But he knows the lack of interest had more to do with grief and depression than it does with how much he should be eating, so he makes sure to do so whenever he remembers.]

[ Steph eyes him for a moment, and then sighs theatrically. ]

Yeeeaah, okay, sit down. Eat a sandwich, please.

[ There wasn't a plate of sandwiches on the coffee table before. There is now. Also a bowl of potato chips, which Steph grabs a handful of as soon as she's settled in a chair. ]

[His mouth twitches again, looking vaguely amused.] You needn't sound so long-suffering, I'm not that bad.

[Sitting at the end of the couch, Armin reaches for a sandwich without bothering to check what kind it is.]

It's not personal. Just... Tim forgets food is necessary too. So did Oracle, my, uh... mentor, I guess.

I think there's a fifty-fifty chance that if you put on a costume to fight crime, eventually you're going to forget that you have to keep doing normal human things to survive...

...I can't create food by myself. I mean, I still can't even open a portal. So I got a lot of my food each day from Sansa. Now that she's gone... [He trails off. It's not that it would be hard to find someone else to help feed him. It wouldn't. Thorne or Eren would do it only too gladly, if he mentioned it to them. But asking for help, asking someone to take her place... it would mean admitting that she's gone, not only from the Travelers but also from his life.

He can face that, when he has to. But it's still painful - and right now food isn't much of an incentive for him.]

Oh...

[ Her voice is soft, and she bites her lip for a moment while she tries to decide how to respond. ]

Maybe she'll be back. It's kind of a revolving door with some people, you know? But... while she's gone... you can totally come in here and grab some food any time. You don't even have to ask me, just...

[ She gestures to the fridge and a few cabinets, off in the corner under the loft area where she keeps her bed. She knows there are plenty other people who can make food, and would if he asked, but... well, she wouldn't want to ask, in his place. ]

Cass can't make her own food either, so I keep some in here already made.

[His gaze skitters away from hers at that - to be honest, it has been something of a revolving door with Sansa, and that isn't comforting for him. It hasn't been a good thing, for either of them.]

...Thanks.

You can pay me back by helping me figure out some of the psychic stuff sometime. If you want. I'm not as good at that as the liminal part, and the guy I usually ask for help just vanished on me...

[ If she makes a joke about it, it doesn't have to hurt. At the moment. It'll come back later. ]

[Armin actually attempts a smile for her, even though it's clear he's still hurting. And for all that he doesn't join in her joking, he knows what she's doing - his eyes are sad and understanding.

When he responds, his voice is muted but genuine.] I'd be happy to. I haven't managed any of the liminal stuff, but I'm very good with the network.

Heh. Yeah, I noticed that. It's a little bit intimidating.

Intimidating? [He's been called many things, good and bad, but intimidating has never been one of them before. He doesn't really know what to do with that - so instead...] What sorts of psychic skills did you want to learn?

[ She gives him a faintly amused look, lips quirked in a half smile. ]

You can go poking around in other people's heads, Armin. And you're stronger at it than anyone else here. Of course that's a little scary.

[ She doubts he'd abuse it, but still... ]

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