mysteries | i haven't posted in my musebox for so long the layout just broke

[ No, they aren't bickering, but there sure is something else going on.

And while Tidus is at least decent enough at hiding the awkward right now, other than the way his arm suddenly moves like that, Inigo.. isn't. As usually. His cheeks start to light up in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he's warm right now. Although he's little concerned at the way Tidus pulled that arm back so quickly.

It makes his hold on Taiki on the other side a bit tighter, like the way the other leans into him is an anchor to keep himself from falling down any negative thought spiral. Taiki kind of has that effect on him. Like the way a kid would have a stuffed animal to comfort them. ]

I'm fine. [ Does that say anything anymore when Inigo is the one saying it.. ] You're so soft, Taiki. This is much better already.

[ At least that's not a lie. He loves being this close to others, after all.

And maybe he just.. needs to get over himself a little. Maybe he needs to be bold for once.

So without saying anything and with the gesture completely hidden by the blankets, he moves his free hand on Tidus' side until it's on top of Tidus' hand.

The only indication of it is the way his cheeks are still a little red. And perhaps his uncharacteristic quiet. ]

[ What does it mean?

He knows he shouldn't think that any time Inigo touches him, but he's never been able to help it. Knows that's just how Inigo is, the same way that Taiki takes his hand out of comfort and support than anything else. And his hands are easier to accept, but for as equally he cares about both of them the same, they're different, and his feelings towards both skew differently despite what little sense it makes.

What does it mean? It doesn't mean anything different from Taiki's gestures. But then, taking his hand after he moved his--no, he's dumb. ]

Y-yeah, [ he agrees after Inigo, a voice catching on his breath before settling, his gaze turned out to the colder side of the cabin. He doesn't move or take his hand away. ] I'm fine.

[ But he'll need to do something to stay fine, to not feel like an embarrassment. The silence creeps with the seconds, loud with a volume more nagging than any sound. Quick, what's a distracting tale- ]

So-- I ever tell you two 'bout the time I had to climb a snowy mountain? I was travelling with Yuna and the rest of her guardians. And we had this guy following us who wouldn't leave us alone even after he was dead!

[ He's getting into Story Mode. Please feel free to remind him to tell the less violent version of this tale. ]

[He is okay with being held tighter and he leans into Inigo's side, tilting his head slightly to look at Tidus as he began speaking.]

After he was dead?

[To his credit, he tries to sound interested rather than horrified. There's still a note of deep sadness in his voice, even if he does his best to hide it.

Stories that start with dead people are always sad.]

[ The fact that Tidus doesn't pull his hand away is met with such a smile on Inigo's end. But it's not triumphant or gloating in any way - no, Inigo just seems very genuinely surprised and pleased at the same time by this development. He was half expecting Tidus to just jump up and run away or something, so this is great. He'll even be good and stay quiet about his handsiness under the blankets when Tidus starts on his story.

.. Though it's hard to miss that edge to Taiki's tone when he speaks up. And Inigo wouldn't be Inigo if he didn't try to act goofy to try and get rid of that edge of sadness. ]

He probably means like a ghost! [ He shoots a smile at Taiki, briefly leaning his head against the other's for a moment before pulling back and putting on a ~tone~ for the next part: ] A scaaaaary ghoost!

[ He'd wiggly his fingers for dramatic effect if he wasn't so content holding Taiki with one hand and Tidus' hand with the other. Those hands are staying where they are now! ]

[ Oh, Tidus catches that tone as well, and it's good that he can focus on that than the hand in his. Story time is always a great distraction! ]

It's not like your ghosts or whatever they're supposed to be, see-through and all white? He was an Unsent, looked real and alive except--he wasn't.

[ Duh, 'cause he was dead. ]

The scariest thing about him was how nuts he was. Wanted to destroy the whole of Spira. [ Said casually, but more for the reason of looking over to Taiki and nodding. ] So you shouldn't feel bad for the guy. He did a lot of bad stuff, hurt people--and wanted to hurt everyone.

We beat him up and got rid of him, for the time being. After that... [ ...ah, he didn't really think about where he was taking this story time at all, did he? Because after that were the fayth, discovering what he really was--what would happen to him at the end of his journey if they succeeded. ]

...I don't remember a lot more about it than that. [ It's sorta true, yet for the diversion it's meant to be, still his tone dips. ] Yuna was coming to the end of her pilgrimage, so... it was a strange time. I had a lot I was thinking about. What I would do.

[ To save Yuna. About himself. But Yuna was easier to think about then, though he couldn't truly bury the truth as he knew it. It was always clinging to him, a rapid heartbeat. An anxiety. ]

I'm sorry... [He sounds it. Both for the fact that someone had tried to destroy Tidus' land but also for the fact that... He does feel bad for the guy. He always will. Even if he was a terrible person Taiki didn't like hearing of people being hurt and killed.

He just watched Tidus, tilting his head from where he was sat at the other side of Inigo.] You don't remember?

[He sounds worried and he reaches out around Inigo to touch Tidus' arm.]

[ Inigo leans back just a tad to give Taiki some more room to reach for Tidus when he notices the other reaching out - though he's not removing his hand from Tidus', suck it, bro!

Granted, the reason for that is mostly since Inigo can tell what Tidus is doing here. He maybe stupid sometimes, but he's not a total idiot. Maybe it's since Inigo always covers up so much himself, but it enables him to be able to tell that Tidus is doing the exact same thing here. Tidus does remember. Or at the very least there is something he does know that he isn't telling them right now.

Inigo isn't sure if now is the right time to press him on it. Maybe Tidus is hiding something out of consideration for Taiki, with how sensitive the other can be.. And Inigo wouldn't want to ruin that. Nor does he want to ruin their nice proximity for now.

So he just stays quiet for the moment, gaze shifting over to Tidus, letting the other decide whether he wants to continue avoiding saying what he doesn't want to say or not at what Taiki is saying. ]

[ bro!!

The touch catches Tidus off-guard, not expecting it, making him turn into Taiki's worried expression in the dancing of the flames. He blinks at it before huffing sheepishly, head and gaze tilting away. ]

You know... when you've got so much in your head, you don't think about the lil' things in your journey! You just think about the destination. The end! [ And he looks back over at Taiki, up at Inigo and then back across. ] Have you ever had that? A big decision you had to make, and you knew the answer maybe, but--it'd change everything. There'd be no going back.

[ Does he even know what he's saying, or is he latching onto the first thing that comes to mind and rolling with it, just so the conversation is moving, farther away from himself? It's better if they're talking about each other, after all.

(Stupid snow. Stupid Seymour. There was no great story there at all.) ]

[Taiki spends far too much time agonising over every detail, replaying mistakes and worrying that he's done the wrong thing, said something he shouldn't or made the wrong decision. But he understands. Because sometimes the end result has to matter and you just had to... do everything it took to achieve that.

He nodded.] Yes. I understand. [He is about to ask, what the decision was. Why had Tidus been so fixated on a goal that he had ignored all else.

But then he realises that Tidus is trying to change the subject and he doesn't. He doesn't want to force Tidus to talk about anything he doesn't want to.]

[ Tidus is being so unsubtle here, it's almost as if he's Inigo or something.

But it's obvious that Taiki - as ever - is way too polite to press further on what Tidus is saying, or to ask him what's really up. And Inigo still feels a bit too rude to do so too when Tidus seems so obviously conflicted about it.

So he's quiet, listening to Tidus ramble and Taiki reply as he glances between the two, trying to focus on the now slowly growing warmth of their presence at his hands. ]

When my friends and I went back into the past to save the world, we knew we wouldn't be able to return to our future. [ He then slowly says. Inigo's voice is weird - casual, yet detached, like he's telling a fairytale about some fictional people rather than about himself.

But he figures that maybe if he throws something up for grabs first, Tidus and Taiki might feel slightly less wary about talking about themselves and their own problems. It's not like Inigo wants to keep his deal secret as much as he just doesn't want to seem as pathetic and pitiable as he feels. So maybe if he just presents it as something casual, or something he doesn't care nearly as much about as he really does, it'll be okay.

It's why he doesn't look directly at either of them, but instead into the flames. ]

And we knew there wasn't a place for us in the past either. Our parents already had us. Or-- well, not "us", but new baby versions of us. We'd just be superfluous doubles. But we went anyway, even though there was no going back.

[ The past?

It's the first Tidus thinks he's heard Inigo speak about that. He travels--world hops, that Tidus knows, but did he ever talk about going through time? His own time? Tidus trains his gaze onto Inigo, surprised, but surprised by more than just that singular info, but by all of it. ]

What... happened to you? [ Doubles? Why would there be doubles? Wait-- ] Did you disappear?

[ His mind jumps to it--does it make sense?--but he can't let go to the thought. Is that what happened? Why? And how? ]

[Taiki also looks shocked at this sudden mention of time hopping, of Inigo going to save the world even though he would never be able to go back to his own. His own time.

His worried gaze was very firmly on Inigo now and he squeezed his hand, and Tidus' hand. Both their hands even if he was in a bit of an awkward position to hold both their hands like this.

He was silent though, just listening. Tidus had asked a question and so he was quiet, waiting for Inigo to answer.]

[ Inigo shakes his head. For a moment he wonders why that's where Tidus' mind went first.. But then he figures that is not that weird of an assumption. Two of the same people existing in the same place.. It sounds like it shouldn't be possible, right. ]

Nothing happened to me. [ Or, well, at least no disappearing. The question only makes him briefly look at Tidus before he looks away from both of the others again. ]

I'm just.. just doing my best in the past to try and save the world. And once I have, I will just..

[ He pauses. Unsure. Then shrugs, trying really hard to not look as miserable as he feels about it. Just talk about it lightly, Inigo. Casually. Like it's no big deal. ]

Go off somewhere, I suppose. Change my name. Change who I am. I can't exactly be Inigo in a world where someone else is going to grow up to be just that.

[ Taiki squeezes his hand, and Tidus squeezes his back--once turning his palm upwards to wrap his fingers around his, hold him, give him the support he's looking for. It might be awkward, but Tidus doesn't become distracted by thinking about it; watching Inigo, as clear as it is that some part of the other guy is trying to avoid their attention.

But he speaks anyway. He never has before, but now... ]

Why not? I guess there's some stuff you can't go back to-- [ he tilts his head, looking away; thinking about Inigo's hand there, not sure what he should do with it-- ] but you're still you. Can't two guys be called Inigo?

Yes. [He agreed with Tidus full heartedly.] You can still be Inigo, even if there is another.

[Surely, though he can't imagine how strange it would be to live in a world where another you lived, with your entire life...

He held his hand tighter, both their hands, as if he could take their pain away. Both of them had so much sadness and there's very little he can say or do to help.]

Once you save the world... You should be able to enjoy it.

Sure, two guys with the same name can exist, I suppose. But it's getting kind of weird when those guys have the exact same faces and voices, isn't it? [ Sure, it might not be as much of a problem while the other Inigo is still a baby and there's a clear difference, but the older he'll get, the age difference will start mattering less. ] Not to mention that as long as I have the Brand in my eye, everyone is going to know who I am. It'd make things really awkward for the other Inigo.

[ He pauses, and it's as if in that moment he realises the contact he's having with the both of them - and that pulls him a bit more back down to reality. Back down to the realisation that he sure is making things gloomy around here, huh.

So Inigo laughs it off. ]

It's fine though! No need to be so serious about it. As long as I've fulfilled my duty, then that's fine with me. What happens after that doesn't matter. Maybe I can just keep hanging out with you guys like this?

[ He knows that can't be, he knows they all have to return to their own worlds at some point. But he can't help but joke about it anyway. ]

You can talk about it with us. [ And that, that gets Tidus to squeeze his hand, a reactive thing as he knocks his shoulder into his. ] It's your future! Why not think about it now? If you're stuck here doing these missions, helping others out--the thing you can do is think about you. The pair of you.

[ Yeah, he's not leaving you out of this either Taiki, sparing a look over at him from the other side, a huff of a chuckle escaping his mouth. ]

Someone once said, we don't remember what we do here, so it doesn't really matter, but I don't believe that. Whatever you do is always going to be a part of you. You don't remember every single day to the present, but-- it still led you there, you know? You still remember, in here.

[ He picks up his and Inigo's hands, knocks the place where his heart is--or means to, if it wasn't under the blanket, and when they rise in a tangle under it, he laughs sheepishly, sets them back down. Whoops. ]

Plus, I complain to Taiki all the time, about anything! What you're gonna do is way more interesting than half the stuff I talk about.

Of course you can. [Taiki nods at his other side. Completely ignoring the words about him thinking about the future. He has nothing to think about, he knows what they must do. Return to Tai, restore Gyousou to the thrown, save anyone who was left.

But Tidus' words worry.]

We won't remember?

[His voice is very small, horrified.

He wouldn't remember? Wouldn't remember any of this? Wouldn't remember Tidus or Inigo? Any of his friends here? Wouldn't remember these days with his king where, despite being far from home, they were together.]

Is that true?

[ Despite the fact that nothing about his facial expression seems to change, the smile that was at first forced grows genuine as he watches and listens to Tidus. It's the little things that help, like his hand being squeezed, and then Tidus's clumsy action to indicate his heart..

Not to mention that this is exactly what Inigo likes so much about the other. No matter how many times they mess around or yell at each other, Tidus is always supportive when it matters the most.

It's almost enough to make Inigo think of a way to cuddle up to the other more too, much like how he's gathered Taiki against him on his other side, but that thought is completely halted by Taiki's tone as he speaks up. Just hearing that horrified tone in his voice is enough to make Inigo's mind slam on all the breaks and instead just focus on that. ]

Come on, Taiki, we don't know that for sure.

[ His own tone is still slightly casual, but it's just his way of trying to keep the other from falling further down into that heavy thought. ]

It's just what someone told Tidus! I tell Tidus stuff all the time too, doesn't mean it's all true! [ He squeezes Taiki a little in his sideways hold. ]

Uh...well...

[ Tidus doesn't know how to answer Taiki. Is it true? He thought that it was--but maybe, true or not true, it's just not the right thing to say. He's coming up with a lot of those right now, but the end... he's had to think about it a lot. The end of their journey. The end of his, and whatever that means.

But Inigo speaks up for him, or for Taiki, and Tidus would be relieved if he wasn't now doubting his own know-how. He looks dumbfounded, confused. ]

I don't remember who told me... maybe I'm wrong. No one knows what happens, right? I guess I thought... er...

[ But it might be best for him not to finish any more thoughts, and he keeps his gaze on the floor, sheepish. ]

Forgetting is bad... We shouldn't do that.

[But he leans further into Inigo and reaches around to make sure he has Tidus in his arms as well.

It's tricky, his arms are not that long. How does he hold both of them?]

Don't worry Tidus... I don't think either of us could forget you.

[He knows that isn't true, that even the most important, precious things can be forgotten.]

[ Inigo is definitely noticing some things here. First of all there's the obvious way Tidus suddenly seems to be getting so much more awkward. He must be feeling bad for getting Taiki so worked up with a single throwaway comment, Inigo figures.. Though there could always be more underlying that tone, who knows. What's important is that Tidus seems sheepish, and it's not a good look on him. Not one Inigo is planning on keeping on the other if he can help it, anyway.

And then there's Taiki. What he notices about him isn't necessarily what Taiki is saying - it's more of the usual sweetness - as much as it's what Taiki is trying to do. He can notice the other struggling a little with trying to hug them both.

Thankfully Inigo knows that Taiki is so easy to lift up or move around. So even though it still takes up a bit of effort with how tangled up in this blanket they are, after a quick-- ] Careful.. [ He manages to scoot Taiki around until the other is not exactly between Inigo and Tidus, since their shoulders are still touching, but is more just leaning against both of their fronts. Even if Taiki may not be able to reach all the way around to hug them, he can at least easily cuddle with both of them like this. ]

Taiki's right. [ He then simply says with a smile, lingering on Taiki for a moment before turning his gaze towards Tidus. ] Is there something on your mind though?

[ It is awkward, in a few ways. With how badly his mouth is working tonight, how desperately Taiki is trying to tug and reach for him on that other side, and then-- and then the solution Inigo comes up with to fix the latter problem. A Taiki on both their laps. Whatever Tidus was thinking of is paused with the sudden weight; light, but no less puzzling when it's on him. ]

Bw-uh?

[ And now Inigo's questioning him, both in expression and voice. Tidus lingers on him for a second before ducking his head aside, not capable of looking elsewhere with a Taiki in the middle, little to no leeway. A few short and baffled sounds escaping him, just to let him delay in responding. ]

...did you just lift Taiki up like a kid?

[ It's a valid question to ask, thank you very much. ]

[He makes a small, surprised noise at suddenly being lifted. He's used to being carried, but not by Inigo and he is still as he is settled between them.

Tidus sounds confused too and as happy as Taiki is to be here between them, where he is not needing to reach around Inigo to comfort Tidus, he also doesn't want the other to feel awkward.]

I can move... if you want...

[ Thankfully Inigo can see the misunderstanding playing out in front of his eyes as clear as day. He's not 100% sure about it, but at least 95% sure that Tidus is asking that just to avoid answering Inigo's question. And then there's Taiki, who quickly takes it not as confusion, but instead a sign that he should get away.

And Inigo here is having none of that. All of his own worries from a moment ago seem to be completely forgotten, considering the smile on his face and the natural confidence he suddenly radiates. It's easy to push everything else to the side when he's busy helping two people so important to him. ]

Don't worry, Taiki. He doesn't want you to move.

[ Inigo moves a hand up and down Taiki's back, as if to reassure him, even as he glances at Tidus, his smile widening. ]

And yes, of course I did! What, did you doubt my strength? This isn't even the limit of it yet! [ It's not that, it's just that Taiki is extremely light.. But Inigo feels like it's not his place to share that fact with Tidus, and making a dumb joke about it is a better way to lighten the mood anyway. ]

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