Day 10ish

[shiro2hero]

(It's high time I did this.)

[Oh no, someone is gearing up for one of Those Speeches. Because one of their new arrivals ticked off a box in his head, and Sam's asking for training helped.]

[And he's tired of walking on eggshells.]

(I don't know how many of you were there when I found out what my Symbiote does. I sort of wish I hadn't. But. I can't change that.)

[Yeah apparently it made him the Space Hulk. And it took at least two people to keep him from ripping someone's face off.]

(What I can do is control it. I just need to know where to start.)

(So I'm taking a lead from Sam Wilson. Asking if anyone is willing to help. I... don't think I can promise no one will get hurt, but if we're careful, maybe it'll just be me.)

[And he can live with that.]

Comments

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ For once, Sam is off balance enough not to keep himself calm, and there's a healthy dose of frustration right back at her. ]

( I didn't even know what the hell was going on, why don't you ask yourself that? )

[shiro2hero]

(Both of you.)

(Step back. Calm down. None of this is going to help the situation.)

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ she's yours when she's like this you deal with her

It's not going to help, though, and Sam knows that. He and Pidge are just feeding off each other through the brood bond at this point, and he does need to step back. There's a quiet curl of acknowledgement before he pulls away. ]

[shiro2hero]

[She's my responsibility anyway.]

[He doesn't say it. But it's there, all the same. Just before Sam withdraws.]

[... some things he's fighting to keep close, in the wake of all this.]

[greentech]

[ Pidge isn't even bothering to make any of this "private". It's getting blasted to the rest of the brood. Hell, might as well drag in the whole station while she's at it. ]

( Maybe because I thought the adults would be responsible enough to handle someone with severe mental problems? Never thinking that again. )

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ There's a swirl of resentment about how goddamn unfair she's being right now. That she's the one who always insists she be included with the adults, that she's just as capable as them, that Sam's supported her there - that she was the one dropping all of this shit in a public place and then lashing out at the people who tried to wait until they had a firmer grasp on what was going on and were able to bring it up appropriately.

That damn near every single one of them has mental problems and Sam's doing his best, but he's only one person and he can't always handle this.

And then he realizes that except for that last bit, he's acting like a fourteen year old, and that maybe there's a little more brood bleed over than he thought. It's too late to take any of that back, but he pulls away a little, trying to separate himself. ]

( You're right. I should have handled things better. )

[greentech]

[ Unfair? Pidge doesn't think so. Shiro told her to wait and now they're supposed to be testing stuff and that's when they're supposed to bring it up? There's more than a hint of frustration, that doesn't really abide when Sam says his piece. ]

( Yeah, well, now what? )

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Honestly, Sam is still a little frustrated, too. Even aside from everything else, he's unhappy about the way she dropped someone else's issues all over the place. Especially after hearing that Shiro had talked to her about doing it diplomatically.

But he also knows that trying to discuss what they both could have done better right now isn't gonna go anywhere, so he keeps pulling back. ]

( Now I'm gonna see if he'll talk to me in private. )

[greentech]

[ As far as Pidge is concerned, it was pretty much an open secret anyway. So why tiptoe around it? ]

( Hopefully I didn't just blow up that particular angle. )