The slide of green eyes away from their encounter disturbed Jr. profoundly. Mouth dry, he stared at his brother over Albedo’s shoulder, swallowing against the disquiet choking him. To see his youngest sibling behaving in this way, the sweet promise of Gaignun’s last words to the twins fresh in his mind, left Jr. at a devastated loss. Nigredo had always been the one Jr. had depended on, the one he had leaned so heavily on, the one he had gone to for guidance, for a clear and logical approach to any situation. Now there stood a child with but the echo of the man he would become, a child who seemed unable to bring himself to meet Jr.’s gaze. Then, as if this was not foreign enough for Jr. to digest, there was his twin. He had grown accustomed, in a weary, resigned manner, to always being taken aback by Albedo’s actions; his twin’s mind was a convoluted book Jr. could never hope to read, never mind actually process. Even so, for Albedo to take up a defensive stance, for Nigredo’s sake no less, with what appeared to be genuine concern written across his features — this was equally unsettling and just as jarring. Who were these children that wore the faces of his brothers? What was this place that created such strange caricatures?
Jr. would not allow himself to linger down that train of thought for long; brows furrowed, he began examining explanations for why his brothers would react to his presence like this, why they —
Albedo’s questions startled Jr. from his reverie. Dimly, he saw that his twin was shaking. There was a sudden urge to reach out yet again, to offer some form of comfort, but Jr. was sure now that this would not be tolerated, for reasons he did not yet know. Slowly, to keep them from bridging the gap between him and his brothers, Jr. crossed his arms across his chest stiffly. Mulling over how to respond, he glanced at Albedo, taking note of the childlike body language exhibited and comparing it to what he remembered of the adult. As he regarded his brothers, Jr. realized that he felt very uncomfortably old in his skin.
“I remember Asgard,” he replied, shifting his wrist to give the communicator bracelet a light shake. “I had just left my room when…” The details weren’t necessary. His brothers had not been in that place.
The fact that Albedo had factored in Jr.’s age was, ultimately, not as shocking as it would have been, had Jr. not met KOS-MOS in Asgard. Lips quirked in a weak smile, he tossed his head, showing off the earring. “I doubt dad would have allowed me to get this if I was still under his foot.” It wasn’t a direct answer, but it was all he was willing to give until he knew how exactly his twin had gained access to such information.
“Listen.” The word tore itself from his throat before he could help himself. “This isn’t…this isn’t a prank, right? Someone from Loki’s House using me as a guinea pig for their experiments? Because this isn’t how…”
no subject
Jr. would not allow himself to linger down that train of thought for long; brows furrowed, he began examining explanations for why his brothers would react to his presence like this, why they —
Albedo’s questions startled Jr. from his reverie. Dimly, he saw that his twin was shaking. There was a sudden urge to reach out yet again, to offer some form of comfort, but Jr. was sure now that this would not be tolerated, for reasons he did not yet know. Slowly, to keep them from bridging the gap between him and his brothers, Jr. crossed his arms across his chest stiffly. Mulling over how to respond, he glanced at Albedo, taking note of the childlike body language exhibited and comparing it to what he remembered of the adult. As he regarded his brothers, Jr. realized that he felt very uncomfortably old in his skin.
“I remember Asgard,” he replied, shifting his wrist to give the communicator bracelet a light shake. “I had just left my room when…” The details weren’t necessary. His brothers had not been in that place.
The fact that Albedo had factored in Jr.’s age was, ultimately, not as shocking as it would have been, had Jr. not met KOS-MOS in Asgard. Lips quirked in a weak smile, he tossed his head, showing off the earring. “I doubt dad would have allowed me to get this if I was still under his foot.” It wasn’t a direct answer, but it was all he was willing to give until he knew how exactly his twin had gained access to such information.
“Listen.” The word tore itself from his throat before he could help himself. “This isn’t…this isn’t a prank, right? Someone from Loki’s House using me as a guinea pig for their experiments? Because this isn’t how…”
How I remember you two, but his voice failed him.