Billy Cranston (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
morphitudinous) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trans_92010-09-03 12:17 pm
morphitudinous) wrote in trans_92010-09-03 12:17 pm
Things We Never Said [Open]
Billy could see it clearly in his mind's eye:
Billy, Cassie, and Jamie would be wielding the new and improved Slop Immobilizer Gun, wearing their brand new non-stick safety uniforms, and presenting the project with triumphant smiles on their faces. They finally built something that wouldn't stick when it wasn't meant to. With that great weapon, they could trap their opponents non-lethally and be considered heroes for finding a use for the almost universally loathed slop.
It was now a scene that would never come to pass. Oh, Billy was still there, and Jamie was, and the gun was, and of course the slop would never ever go away, much to their dismay, but nothing remained of Cassie Lang but their memories.
Their partner, their friend. Dead. Billy thought back on all he knew of her: her family life, developing as a hero, her friends, her spirit, her contributions. All of that culminating in one of the better people he'd known, never to be seen again. Never to be thanked for all she'd done, and even he saw this. Comparatively he hadn't known her extremely well, but she was one of his own. Like B5 had been.
It was that thought that drove Billy into another version of the attack simulation, wielding the gun from his fantasy once more. He'd thought he was going to call Jamie and Cassie for the victory after the crisis, but he would now be running the test alone. Soon enough, the moving targets were in place and the first shots were fired.
Blam. Blam. This time, it worked exactly as intended, but there was no joy left in Billy's heart to celebrate. Instead, he found himself lowering his gun arm and starting to cry.
"Cassie..."
((Open because he'll be mourning here for a little while, even knowing that everyone knows where he is. Renne's last chronologically for now, but I'll work out some semblance of chronology at the end. I don't wanna leave anyone out.))
Billy, Cassie, and Jamie would be wielding the new and improved Slop Immobilizer Gun, wearing their brand new non-stick safety uniforms, and presenting the project with triumphant smiles on their faces. They finally built something that wouldn't stick when it wasn't meant to. With that great weapon, they could trap their opponents non-lethally and be considered heroes for finding a use for the almost universally loathed slop.
It was now a scene that would never come to pass. Oh, Billy was still there, and Jamie was, and the gun was, and of course the slop would never ever go away, much to their dismay, but nothing remained of Cassie Lang but their memories.
Their partner, their friend. Dead. Billy thought back on all he knew of her: her family life, developing as a hero, her friends, her spirit, her contributions. All of that culminating in one of the better people he'd known, never to be seen again. Never to be thanked for all she'd done, and even he saw this. Comparatively he hadn't known her extremely well, but she was one of his own. Like B5 had been.
It was that thought that drove Billy into another version of the attack simulation, wielding the gun from his fantasy once more. He'd thought he was going to call Jamie and Cassie for the victory after the crisis, but he would now be running the test alone. Soon enough, the moving targets were in place and the first shots were fired.
Blam. Blam. This time, it worked exactly as intended, but there was no joy left in Billy's heart to celebrate. Instead, he found himself lowering his gun arm and starting to cry.
"Cassie..."
((Open because he'll be mourning here for a little while, even knowing that everyone knows where he is. Renne's last chronologically for now, but I'll work out some semblance of chronology at the end. I don't wanna leave anyone out.))
no subject
The most eloquent reply he could manage was "..I'm sorry, I don't speak your language."
no subject
"I suppose that was not the most intelligent question for me to ask, either. Of course you are not, but it was...rhetorical?"
Maydril shook her head, and squeezed his shoulder again, gently. "I grieve your loss, Billy."
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Explanations were so much easier than emotion. He sighed, turning toward her. "Thank you, but there are others who have lost far more than I did. I worry about them too."
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"I would not be averse to a bit of direction, though, perhaps. You are compassionate, to think of others when you yourself are hurting." It was not meant to be flattery by any means, simply a statement of fact.
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He was simply speaking fact too. "I wasn't Cassie's best friend by any means, simply a colleague who was hoping to become her friend. She had a boyfriend, another close friend who had pined for her, and a best friend who probably need support much more than I do."
no subject
"You are probably right, but you are simply the one I found first. And I could not simply walk by and ignore your pain, once I did."
Maydril shrugged, and gave a sort of half-smile. "Besides, if I help you, you have been here longer. You know these people better than I do. Sometimes a stranger is unwanted, in a time of pain, you know? You might be more helpful and consoling to them, than I could be."
no subject
Billy gave her a grateful look. "Thank you, though."