Oh, right. The old man’s not supposed to know about all this. Quick nods in understanding, sitting up and swinging his legs over the table, careful not to accidentally kick his brother. His hands grip the edge lightly, as though he’s about to hop off, but he’s forced to stay put when Flash continues talking after his initial ‘Physically, you’re fine’.
…Geez, the overload had been that bad? Quick has the good grace to wince and look appropriately bothered by the news, though in all honesty he’s not really surprised. It’s not like he’d been running for a few months. It had been years since this plan in particular; Years of shoving all the emotional data related to it into this little compartment in the back of his processor— And that went double whenever Mega Twerp showed his face around Light Labs if he was over. With that much time between him and the incident, it was only a matter of time, Quick supposes.
What does surprise him is how Flash is reacting to the whole situation. He’s seen his brother annoyed and angry with him before — that was frequent back when they were both fresh off the repair table post-beating by the kid — but usually it was in reference to something Quick had done to him; Never what Quick was doing to himself.
And as much as Quick isn’t really willing to sit down and have this huge therapy session with Flash of all people — ironically, the one person he actually could — he’s not seeing much choice here. Flash would probably keep him in place until he admitted to something, after all…
“Heh, and to think at one point years ago you probably would’ve gotten the popcorn and watched me go,” he murmurs, more to himself more than anything. As little as he showed it, the DWN in red was glad his relationship with Flash had improved so much over the years, “I just… Yeah. You’re right— This… This has taken a pretty big toll on me, I guess. I— Don’t even know where to start, Flash. I mean, that whole thing was so messed up, and— And—”
He lets out a shaky sigh, hands gripping the table ever so slightly. “At least… At least I saved Time Man. That’s… Probably the only thing I’m glad I did in a long time. Can you imagine how upset Oil would’ve been if his little brother died…? I— Ah.”
He pauses, willing the pink to die down from his cheeks and quickly switches topics. This was about Quint, not his mess of a love life. Granted, this whole adventure had taken its toll on his feelings for the DLN, too. He could never confess now, could he? Not with this looming over him like a dark cloud… Suppose Oil found out someday about how he’d ruined a future version of his younger brother’s life? Everything would be over in the blink of an eye, and… After how long they’d been friends, Quick wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle it.
“I just— Flash, I was married in that future,” Quick finally manages, “The kid was my brother-in-law. And I did that to him…? It… It doesn’t sit right, the fact that I lured him outta there with that connection, not when… Well. I… Ruined his life, more importantly, and for what? Nothing, the plan failed anyways. And all those people back in his time are suffering, and— And— We can’t fix it. No matter what we do, it’s all over for them. For him. Flash, they all seemed so happy in that time… Dad had everything he ever wanted. He was respected. He was loved by everyone. And I— I ruined that, and I can’t DO anything to fix it—! I…”
The younger of the brothers finally buries his face in his hands, taking a deep, synthetic breath. “I ruin everything I touch, don’t I…? It’d be better for everyone if I hadn’t been created. Better for you, better for our brothers, better for the kid… I’m— I’m such an as— Jerk. I’ve always been, and it’s all I’m ever gonna be, isn’t it?”
Overdramatic? Maybe, but at least Quick was finally, finally opening up. Finding the words to describe exactly how he’d been feeling for years had been no easy task, and several times he’d considered clamming up right there and insisting that was all that had been on his mind.
