hopecaged:
“You did?”
In spite of himself, he buried a laugh in his hand. It was so stupid. It was so… sad. Everything they’d–everything he’d worked so hard for was threatening to unravel at the seams, and here they both were thinking the other person had the pieces they were missing. If only it were that simple.
Even so, it was reassuring not to be the only person who didn’t know what the hell was going on. More reassuring still that it was Frank, who exuded such effortless calm even now–enough that Egor’s hands had stopped wringing, simply resting in one other as he watched Frank light his cigarette, his eyes drifting awkwardly between his face and the open seat next to him.
“…Yeah.” He finally sat, shifting a few times to adjust the distance between them. More, then less. Then more. Less. They had always had a hinge between them, be it Aleksis or Colt–not until now did it occur to Egor that he wasn’t sure how to interact with Frank on his own. He set his hands on his knees, fingers drumming nervously. “So… what do you think?”
Are we going to die?
“I think–I mean, it’s Colt, not some–” He made a vague twirling gesture with his hands. “–it’s Colt. He’ll listen to us, right? This doesn’t have to end in… well. It doesn’t have to end.”
Tucking the zippo back into the inside of his jacket, Frank let out a smoky sigh as he looked ahead at nothing in particular. Egor’s question was a difficult one to answer. In all honesty, Frank didn’t know what to think. He was angry, of course. Disappointed and confused, definitely. But none of it made any sense. He knew Colt—or thought he did anyways. But there was no way all that happened between them was bullshit. Frank’s had his fair share of experience of two-faced assholes trying to get all chummy with him. Colt wasn’t that. There was no way.
So why?
“…It won’t end.” Frank sniffed before hunching forward to rest his elbows on his knees, neck twisting to glance over at Egor, “Listen, I dunno exactly what the hell’s got Colt possessed right now, but there’s no way he’ll break the Loop.” The conviction was feigned perhaps, but it was said with such certainty that Frank nearly believed himself.
“Now, whether or not he’ll listen…” Frank pursed his lips and shrugged with a little shake of his head, “…I’ve no fuckin’ clue. Julianna made it sound like he’s beyond reason and Charlie didn’t hesitate to nuke his account on the minicoms. So there ain’t any real way of knowing that he’ll listen without getting all up close and personal and crap—and ya know, probably at least one of us looping by the end.”
