white freezes in shock, just for a moment. then, he turns bright red, stumbling back a step as he unconsciously presses his free hand against his forehead.
heart thumping in his chest, he stares at mineo.
he opens his mouth—and then closes it, mortification flooding his face when he apparently thinks better about whatever he was going to say. as if to make sure, he moves his hand to cover his mouth,
... It's the name my parents gave me, apparently. That's it. [a beat.] Don't actually call me Charles, though. I don't know why they had such shitty naming sense.
... Well, you just proved that people probably think White's my real name. If I say it's not, they're going to wonder why I went by something else in the first place.
[he presses his partially melted ice pack against the back of his neck.]
... Not much to say.
[he shrugs, trying to look casual.]
Figured—again, until recently—that my parents abandoned me when I was born. I don't remember them at all.
Worked at a factory, until Ares and Caleb came along, killed all the adult workers, told us kids to fight to the death if we wanted to live, and took me in for winning. [that's a nice way of saying they kidnapped him. it's fine.] They called me White since that was the colour of my uniform tag.
[so, honestly, it's more of a label than a proper name. but, well, it was an upgrade from being called a number as he was in the factory, so white couldn't complain. it's what he's used to, by now.]
I said it before, right? What usually happens to the monsters? —This isn't about calling myself one, so don't start.
[but in the end—]
It's not that I left, but that everyone else died. Ares was killed... well, I'd killed Caleb myself before that, but anyway, the rest of us were wiped out along with Ares that day.
Not that we didn't have it coming.
[given... everything. he's not torn up over the demans' loss.]
[ . . . it's hard for mineo to say one thing or the other. because in a way - that's what's to be expected. murderers will meet their end. if you're part of a terrible group of people who oppresses others, then you're going to face some sort of punishment. he doesn't want to say justice, because he doesn't think that's always right.
but.]
.... what have you been doing since then?
[at least white made it out.
and selfishly mineo thinks that's better than if he ended up dying with the rest. maybe it's unequal, and maybe mineo's wrong for picking and choosing his sentiments.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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before mineo leans over to press a kiss to his forehead.
it just - feels like an appropriate token after white listened to him pour his heart out.]
There. Feel better.
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white freezes in shock, just for a moment. then, he turns bright red, stumbling back a step as he unconsciously presses his free hand against his forehead.
heart thumping in his chest, he stares at mineo.
he opens his mouth—and then closes it, mortification flooding his face when he apparently thinks better about whatever he was going to say. as if to make sure, he moves his hand to cover his mouth,
...
glancing away, he instead blurts out—]
Charles Frederick Shaw.
[what.]
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Is....
Is he a cool dude....?
[whose mans is this.
he can't even enjoy white's flustered reaction?? he does wonder if this is how people during trial felt though. wow. the power.]
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he mumbles something.]
... th name...
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Whose name....?
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[shoot him now, he looks like he wants the floor to swallow him whole.]
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White wasn't your real name?!
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Forget it.
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he realizes he did something wrong at least, reaching out to nudge white gently where.....ever he didn't hit him earlier.]
I -
Come on, don't give me that.... That was a big thing to trust me with, right? I was paying attention, promise.
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... It's the name my parents gave me, apparently. That's it. [a beat.] Don't actually call me Charles, though. I don't know why they had such shitty naming sense.
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.... just 'White' is fine then....?
[he figures if
he's been trusted with his real name then there's no real point is putting up any more honorific barriers between them]
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[... just that his real name, for all that he thinks it's a lame one, holds a lot of meaning to him.]
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Okay.
.... thanks for trusting me with it. I won't forget it, even if you aren't a fan of it.
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... A secret for a secret. Don't get too mushy.
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Is there a reason why...?
For it to be a secret.
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... Well, you just proved that people probably think White's my real name. If I say it's not, they're going to wonder why I went by something else in the first place.
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Related to what you did before?
[his criminal job?]
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Didn't learn that I did until pretty recently.
[the only gift the parents he never knew left behind.]
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.... you don't have to, if you don't want to -
But if you want to start from the beginning... I'll listen.
[to white's whole story, rather than the bits and pieces they've given each other]
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... Not much to say.
[he shrugs, trying to look casual.]
Figured—again, until recently—that my parents abandoned me when I was born. I don't remember them at all.
Worked at a factory, until Ares and Caleb came along, killed all the adult workers, told us kids to fight to the death if we wanted to live, and took me in for winning. [that's a nice way of saying they kidnapped him. it's fine.] They called me White since that was the colour of my uniform tag.
[so, honestly, it's more of a label than a proper name. but, well, it was an upgrade from being called a number as he was in the factory, so white couldn't complain. it's what he's used to, by now.]
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.... and you stayed with them? This Ares guy was your old boss, right?
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[he does the airquotes.]
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And then -
You left?
[mineo at least got the sense that white didn't do that anymore]
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I said it before, right? What usually happens to the monsters? —This isn't about calling myself one, so don't start.
[but in the end—]
It's not that I left, but that everyone else died. Ares was killed... well, I'd killed Caleb myself before that, but anyway, the rest of us were wiped out along with Ares that day.
Not that we didn't have it coming.
[given... everything. he's not torn up over the demans' loss.]
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but.]
.... what have you been doing since then?
[at least white made it out.
and selfishly mineo thinks that's better than if he ended up dying with the rest. maybe it's unequal, and maybe mineo's wrong for picking and choosing his sentiments.
he doesn't know how to do anything else, though.]
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