station72 | sometime after day 5

[ Sam’s never really reached out to the Nest in general like this before, but at this point - well, he’s running out of options. The work he’s done on his mental walls has paid off, and nothing escapes his thick cloud layer except his words, and the soft hint of wind and feathers that flavors his mental link. ]

( Seems like we got a bit of down time, and I’m looking to put it to good use. I’m getting better with my symbiote ability, but I need someone who’ll let me practice it with them.

Simple explanation is that it’s healing, with a side effect that means it’s gonna hurt. Most likely for me. I can get into specifics if you’re up for it. ) [ If it doesn’t bother them or they’re willing to overlook that it means Sam getting hurt, he means, but seeing as he’s communicating with the Nest in general, he’s not gonna say that.

He already knows more than who person who is bothered by it and never seems willing to let Sam use it on them. ]

( I’ll take as many as I can get, more training can’t hurt. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(All right. Then tell me when and where I need to be.)

[He's going to be there. Wherever he's needed. It's important to train, of course. But there's a nagging worry -- what if Sam goes too far? Pushes himself too hard?]

[And they lose him like they lost Rey.]

( Easy, just give me a heads up when you're hurt. )

[ Of course, Sam'll probably notice either way, considering how much time he seems to be spending with him, but still. There's a long pause after this, as Sam briefly focuses his attention on another mental conversation, and when he refocuses, there's an almost hesitant quality to their connection. ]

( Actually, can I ask for a favor? )

(No, Sam. You have that backward. It's going to be the other way around.)

[No arguments here, Sam. A sense of steel behind the words. Or something bigger. Deeper.]

(Sure. What's up?)

[ Yeah, he should have seen that coming. Sam really wants to argue that - but he can't. Not right now. Shiro's tone makes it pretty obvious that he's not gonna be successful at the moment, and he doesn't have the time to pursue it more - so he lets it go, focuses on the other thing. ]

( I'm gonna heal someone that might be pushing my limits a little. I'm gonna be careful, but just in case, I wanted to let people know what I was doing. )

(... all the more reason you're going to call me in.)

[He still doesn't leave any room to argue. Because he hates hearing that. He hates the thought of someone he feels responsible for doing this.]

[Someone important to him, potentially pushing themselves too hard. In something he can't help with.]

(If it's too much, do what you did on the shuttle. When it grabbed your wrist.)

( I will, I promise. That's why I'm letting you and Steve know; I trust you two. I know you're not gonna let me find myself waking up passed out in a hallway here. )

[ There's a hint of a joking tinge to his words, but that actually is what he's concerned about. ]

( That's my plan. I'll call you in if it starts going bad. )

(You'd better not.)

[There's no joke in his, though.]

(I've lost enough friends. I'm not adding to that score.)

( I think we're a little more than friends. )

[ He's not sure if he'd meant that to come out joking, but it definitely doesn't. Instead, there's something soft, almost tentative to it. Despite the fact that they'd had this conversation about Shiro, Sam... hadn't actually been sure if it would be the same the other way around. ]

( I'm not gonna promise I know exactly what I'm doing, but I'm taking precautions. )

(I... look. You know what I mean.)

[Sam, don't play him like this please. He's trying to make a point here. Not mince words about it. He's not disagreeing, just not up for this conversation in the middle of their other one.]

[We are, but that's not the point, in other words.]

(Please do. That's... all I can say.)

[ It's the same conversation to Sam. Or maybe not the same, just... similar. Maybe it's more what they mean to each other than what, specifically, they are to each other. He'd been trying to ask what he means to Shiro, if he should offer to do for Shiro what he asked Shiro to do for him, it just hadn't come out right. Maybe he doesn't know how to ask, maybe he isn't ready to hear the answer.

But he's already on his way to meet Zhukov, and he doesn't have time to try to figure any of that out. So instead he just hums acknowledgment, letting a final flow of warmth cross their connection before he starts to pull back. ]

( Yeah. I will. )

(Thank you.)

[There's a lot in those two words. A lot he's not really sure how to put into words, all things considered. But hopefully, it's felt.]

[Because these are two totally different conversations, to him. And one needs to be specific and timed appropriately. It needs to be serious and calm. Not caught up in this other situation.]

sometime after day 5

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