Jedao's arm moves, grabs his comm again, and Quentin's voice rises tinnily from behind Fives, a little bit choked, starting to cry.
"I told him to leave because I was starting to cry and I am not his problem. And you can tell him so? Fuck, you can play him this if you think it'd help. But I'm so fucking mad at all of you jackasses who don't believe I give a shit about you when you're the most important people in my lives. It keeps happening and it's such a horrible feeling. Spending months doing the math and magic to, you know, save all the clones, but he's prepared to believe on a dime that I'm a piece of shit who doesn't care about him at all? I didn't do it so he'd owe me but I thought I deserved the benefit of the motherfucking doubt."
Jedao, deftly, cuts it off there, skips half a minute along, and it's his own voice, low and tender.
"I probably will, at least pieces. But, darling - he wants you to be his problem. That's what family is. Fuck your propriety, and fuck your useless fucknugget parents who didn't teach you that, and cry on him already."
And Quentin answers, echoing Fives' own fear - "I really, really don't think he wants that right now." He blows his nose loudly, plaintively. "I mean, ask him, and if I'm wrong I'm wrong and I'll apologize again, but he was so mad at me, Jedao. And I'm not okay enough right now to just keep running head first into that particular brick wall."
"I don't know," says Jedao, from his own mouth this time. "What do you think?"
Fives turns his head so he can rub his face against his arm, and sniffles quietly for a moment before answering. "I didn't think he was doing that for me," he mumbles, because that seems important to make clear. "I never did. Wanting me or... or not wanting me. For family. It doesn't have to have anything to do with that." Anymore than Jedao's determination to free them has to do with him, he knows Jedao will do it with or without him, because he wants to see it done for the vod'ike's sake.
"But... I'll call him. If you don't think it's too soon," he finally whispers.
"I know you didn't. And I know why you didn't think so. But...he cares, darling, he really does. And I think you should talk to him if you're ready to talk to him. If you're ready to...listen, and be a little more vulnerable even if both of you are still mad about some things. But he loves you and he wants to figure things out and he doesn't want to be alone. So - no, I don't think it's too soon."
Jedao elides, for the moment, that Quentin promised him he was in touch with both Credence and Harry, which seems fairly well corroborated. That's not the point.
Fives is quiet for a few long moments, just breathing, slow and even, letting all the pieces settle in his mind. "Okay," he finally answers. "Okay, I... I should do it now, or at least soon." So there's plenty of time to sort things out one way or another before he has to show up for dinner shift.
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But it is - as he said to Quentin - Fives' turn to try.
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"I told him to leave because I was starting to cry and I am not his problem. And you can tell him so? Fuck, you can play him this if you think it'd help. But I'm so fucking mad at all of you jackasses who don't believe I give a shit about you when you're the most important people in my lives. It keeps happening and it's such a horrible feeling. Spending months doing the math and magic to, you know, save all the clones, but he's prepared to believe on a dime that I'm a piece of shit who doesn't care about him at all? I didn't do it so he'd owe me but I thought I deserved the benefit of the motherfucking doubt."
Jedao, deftly, cuts it off there, skips half a minute along, and it's his own voice, low and tender.
"I probably will, at least pieces. But, darling - he wants you to be his problem. That's what family is. Fuck your propriety, and fuck your useless fucknugget parents who didn't teach you that, and cry on him already."
And Quentin answers, echoing Fives' own fear - "I really, really don't think he wants that right now." He blows his nose loudly, plaintively. "I mean, ask him, and if I'm wrong I'm wrong and I'll apologize again, but he was so mad at me, Jedao. And I'm not okay enough right now to just keep running head first into that particular brick wall."
"I don't know," says Jedao, from his own mouth this time. "What do you think?"
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"But... I'll call him. If you don't think it's too soon," he finally whispers.
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Jedao elides, for the moment, that Quentin promised him he was in touch with both Credence and Harry, which seems fairly well corroborated. That's not the point.
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"Hey, Mister Vanilla Bean. I've got somebody here that wants to try talking to you again after all. Is now good?"