thoughtformed | (no subject)

Welcome to the club.

Make your peace, but don't blame yourself, okay?

By the way, I have something to ask you. I could catch you after work.

Sure.

Thanks for covering my shifts, by the way.

Buy me a soda and we'll be even.

Done.

[Letting out a long breath, Souji hangs his apron on the hook. He had a lot of questions for Tim, but he figured he'd give him a day of good rest before began asking too many questions.]

Do you have anywhere in mind?

Not really. I just wasn't ready to go home to my surprise husband quiet yet.

[Tim is still feeling a little worn, but between caffeine and endurance training, he's been able to make it through his shift. Being around Souji is... relaxing, though. It isn't just the rescue. Knowing there's someone else working behind the scenes to save this city from itself is a big relief. And... it's good to have people to talk to.]

We could always hit the food court.

[It's an easy suggestion. It was where he spent a lot of time with others, anyway. Plus he was looking forward to that soda.

There was no part of Souji that was going to judge him for this. Actually, the gray-haired boy seemed to know exactly how this whole thing went. He didn't blame him, and he didn't patronize him. Everyone had that part of themselves.]

Food court sounds good.

[Tim's mind stayed relatively blank as they made their way to the food court, which was... unusual. But the confrontation with his Shadow had done more than tire him out. It had... calmed him down, and given him a perspective he hadn't let himself see in a long time.

He placed his order, and passed Souji and extra couple of dollars for the promised soda, and then let the gears in his mind start turning again. What was Souji planning on asking him?]

[The atmosphere was anything but tense. Souji's friendly mannerisms seemed not threatening, like he was just trying to solve the mystery like anyone else. And he was, honestly. Despite keeping a lot of his personal life to himself, he was a surprisingly open person when it came to everything else going on. People had a right to know, after all. In Inaba, even though he believed that, no one believed him, and it turned into a setback for everyone.

Once they find a seat and get settled, Souji gives him a more serious, yet curious look.]

Do you remember anything when you got kidnapped?

[Tim frowns. Actually, come to think of it...]

Honestly, I don't really even remember being kidnapped. I walked out of the dance to get a breath of fresh air, and next thing I knew, I was in Wayne Manor, being taunted by my Shadow. It didn't even feel like I was there for two weeks.

[He stares off into the distance, squinting, trying to concentrate.]

I'm missing something. I don't mean I've forgotten, the way people usually seem to in the Dark Hour. It was actually very... vivid. There was something important, something that happened first. I just can't put my finger on it.

[Souji's brow knit, but only slightly.]

You don't remember at all?

[No clues here. At least, not unless Tim remembered what he was missing. It was hard to tell whether or not Souji was disappointed, or if he expected this kind of answer.]

[Tim closes his eyes a moment and rubs at his temples, thinking.]

I saw something outside the dance that made me suspicious. Not a person. It must have been right before the Dark Hour started, or a moment after. I remember looking across the street, and stepping away from the building for a closer look...

So it was during the Dark Hour?

[Souji pauses, and something about him seems curious.]

Hey, I haven't been keeping up with the TV here, but you haven't been featured on the news or any other TV programs, have you?

Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was. As for the news... no. Definitely not.

[Now Tim's voice is certain, though he's frowning curiously at Souji.]

I monitor... I always watch the local news, and I have a bad habit of googling myself. If I'd been on the island news, I'd know.

[It was worth a try, but it's out, and he knows it's out. Things weren't the same as they were in Inaba, and if Tim said something was inhuman, well, Tim was observant enough for him to believe what he said.]

So you know about the Dark Hour.

I didn't know it was called that until the other night, but yeah. I've been awake for it all along. In a way, it reminded me of...

[Tim snaps his fingers and looks first surprised, then triumphant.]

I was going to say it reminded me of Gotham, a little. When the moon came up across the bay, seen through all Bludhaven's pollution...

I remember what I saw outside the dance. A gargoyle on the side of a building. Just a bit of sculpture, but it looked like someone had imported a piece of Gotham to New Moore, and I hadn't seen it on the way in to the dance.

A gargoyle?

[Okay, not something he expected, but Tim recognized it, right? I guess that they were on the right track.]

What do you remember after that?

Nothing.

[Tim lets out his breath, slowly, and clenches and unclenches his fists in frustration.]

In between stepping off the curb and arriving in the mansion is just... a blank. A blur. Seeing my own face sneering at me. I tried to fight my way out, but... I couldn't land a hit. All those bruises you saw me with, I more or less gave myself trying to get past it to escape... he'd dodge in such a way that I'd fall, or run into a wall or a piece of furniture...

He was you.

[Souji pauses, his voice unaccusing.]

Or is.

I guess that might be all we're going to have to go on. It might be a good idea to revisit the scene, it might jog your memory.

Is.

[Tim smiles ruefully.]

I'm more aware of it now, and learning my lesson, but I'm still always going to be a secretive person. That's part of me, too.

[He finishes eating with an almost disturbing speed and efficiency and pushes back his chair.]

Right. One crime-scene investigation, coming right up.

[As he stands, he staggers a little, then straightens. While his bruises have healed, he still looks pale and sleep-deprived.]

Ready when you are.

[Souji brings his soda along for the ride, following Tim to retrace his steps back at the formal.]

I wonder if they knew this would happen.

[Tim's eyes narrow. He has a pretty good idea of what Souji means, but he'd rather not assume, and jump to a false conclusion.]

Who?

The people who run this place.

[He clarifies without hesitation. Souji was never one to really with hold information, even when giving it seemed detrimental to his cause. Shouldn't everyone have access to the truth if he could give it?]

There's still a few things I don't get. You saw us when we saved you, right? The power that we used?

I saw.

[It's been very hard not to ask questions about that. But after the way he pried into their secrets -- both as his shadow and... more quietly, before that... he's been trying to restrain his curiosity. He's not sure, exactly, whether his own secret identity was completely blown or not -- he hasn't been able to bring himself to ask what Steph had to tell them. Reconciling with his Shadow... the parts of him that hate all this lying and skulking and digging... hasn't cured him of his secrecy, exactly. His problems aren't done. But he's learning not to worry so much, and to focus on bigger problems than who knows what about him.]

Persona. I know the idea from Jungian psychology, but... nothing like that.