rckins·:
“well, unfortunately, i can’t argue with that logic.” he lets out a sigh of defeat, looking over juan who has the hat. “it is a nice hat, though.”
-/-
when juan sits, rokin follows, ordering his drink and seeing a rather colorful one arrive in front. he gives a smile and starts to sip. the topic of his family being brought up makes it a bit hard to keep up with this new found upbeat attitude he’s trying to grasp onto. “it was perfect for a while there. i had everything i wanted. i spent so long traveling, life was always on the move. kind of nice just to stop and be there and see life grow and change, maybe even make a life myself.” he sits up, playing with the straw in his drink. “i spent years bed ridden, juan. my teenage years i developed this disease that’s common on my planet. for a long time, moving hurt too much and my family watched me suffer, unable to live, unable to function without their help. then i got another chance, and they encouraged me to live my life. those fifteen years traveling were what i needed to make up for that time i spent thinking about my own death. then your mission happened.” he turns his head, looking at him. “and i got real fucked up, man. coming home wasn’t easy. then i had to say goodbye to them again, walking right back into the very thing which broke me. and we were all unsure if it’d be the last time i’d see them.” there’s a silence, and he sighs. “none of this is your fault, and i know that. i’m just trying to say, you shouldn’t be expecting a holiday card from them this year.”
juan did not expect the conversation to take this turn. he wants to feel hurt. he is, yes, he’s hurt-- hearing that he shouldn’t expect a holiday card from a very nice family hurts and he’ll admit that any day. juan has always envied those families, which is why it only hurts more to hear that this mission, his second recruitment of rokin, inflicted pain on that family.
it’s his first time hearing about rokin’s illness. he had been meaning to ask for some time why it was that rokin traveled-- what was he looking for, where was he trying to get ? he understands now, though. his eyes only lower because it’s hard to look at rokin and not feel guilty about what he’s telling him. juan knows trauma. he knows that you don’t walk away from difficult experiences, not really. physically, yes, but the encounters stay with you even if you’d rather forget them.
rokin is part of his crew, though. juan is supposed to expect this. he’s supposed to expect difficult things and deal with them head-on. he casts a glance at his own hurt but it’s rokin’s hurt that matters, the one he wishes he’d be able to help with but knows there’s not much he can do. after it’s all said and done, juan brought rokin back into this.
“ well, i won’t, ” the frown is evident on his lips and his tone is discouraged but there’s an understanding there. after a long pause, a long drink, he speaks again, “ i’m glad you tell me this. you know, it’s not, uh, easy to respond to-- but i hear you. i hear you and i’m sorry. i am. ”











