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[lightmyfire]

A-alright I don't know who decided to take the joke this far but the crack about me being an insignificant character hasn't been relevant for at least four plot arcs! Come on! If this is just another weird virtual A-T training, I get it. It wouldn't be the first time I've woken up in some weird-ass place... but this full-immersion shit is really pushing it. Calling a guy fictional really isn't funny when... well, it's just not. Just because someone exists in a different reality or medium or... whatever. Doesn't mean they're not real...

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[lightmyfire]

Oh.

[and just like that he deflates again, hurriedly throwing himself in a chair and consciously keeping both feet off the floor as he leans over, bent almost double so his face's hidden, to start unlacing them]

[flameregalia]

[ Spitfire brings the water to him, sitting one on the counter that will host an array of hairproducts. Standing over the boy, his presence somewhat towering given Kazu's current slump. ]

So they've taken the Regalia from you before. That's why you didn't want to take them off.

[ That hardly needs to be said, but far be it from Spitfire not to make the blatant, obvious admissions. Also anything that might've happened after his death is still pretty unclear to Spitfire. He's letting Sicma tell him what she wants to at her own pace, but he can glean well enough things did not run smoothly. Spitfire has a feeling Kazu might be a bit more forthcoming, although it could potentially damage the kid, given his current state of mind. ]

It's just me now, Kazu-kun.

[ Although the kid might not have much reason to believe Spitfire is who he says. ]

[lightmyfire]

Th-they were stolen. Probably by that asshole, Aeon...

[still mumbling at the floor. when he gets the regalia off he takes them and puts them wheels-up in his lap, arms wrapped around them]

You don't... want them back? [his arms may tighten reflexively a little at the question]

[flameregalia]

[ Well, that's surprising. He and Simca didn't play catchup with specifics, not so much, so there are going to be lots of instances like this, revealing obvious things Spitfire doesn't know. This one seems particularly jarring, although the only indication he was affected is the rattling of ice in his glass. ]

Of course not, I'm retired- Aeon's alive?

[ The first part of the statement is an instant response, dismissive, like an other obvious statement Spitfire might make. There's a dead weight in his stomach at the second half of it however. He has few regrets about how his life ended, and taking Sano down with it was one of them. Still, the weight was accompanied by dread- why would Sano go to such extreme actions against Spitfire's wishes if he'd died (as far as Spitfire knew) defending them earlier?

He takes a quick drink of water, debating if he shouldn't have fetched something stronger. ]

[lightmyfire]

... He was.

[and his voice definitely cracks a little on the next part]

H-he died--again--when we were fighting Nike, after he tuned the regalia for me.

[flameregalia]

[ Spitfire's expression twists like he smelt something rotten, before his mouth presses back into a thin line. Tumbler drained, he debates if there's any scotch leftover in his apartment. ]

That's very accommodating of him.

[ Deliberately forces his voice not to sound so heavy, he barely recognizes it that way. ]

The Regalia is yours, Kazu-kun, I have no right to take it from you. I was only the spark.

[ Sets the glass aside. Leans over the other boy to examine the Flame Regalia, I need to remember more stuff about A-T cause forgot what to even say here, flying roller blades, they look good right? sure. ]

[lightmyfire]

[they are in fucking excellent condition like Kazu obsessively does care and maintenance]

I'm still not... m-much of a fire.

[flameregalia]

[ THE SIGHT OF WHICH WARMS SPITFIRES HOT LITTLE HEART. Smiles and straightens up, but doesn't ask the boy to put them back on again. The floors, after all. ]

I doubt they'll let you wear those in school. You'll need to think of somewhere to store them.

[ He knew when he gave Kazu the title that it would change his regular human life, that he might have to dismiss some earlier, youthful indiscretions to keep up with the road. Not might, it was a definite. But that doesn't stop Spitfire from wanting Kazu to retain still some of that normalcy. While the others had sometimes disparaged humans for the banality of their lives, Spitfire always held a nagging interest in the ordinary. Of course, beauty and skill were important. But Gravity Children barely knew anything normal, like work or school, or anything beyond the heavy handed dangers of their destinies. It's part of Kazu's appeal, that simple, ordinary youth Spitfire wanted for himself and the others. Maybe we would't have been so terrible to one another if we'd be born the same.

The comment about not being much of a fire snaps Spitfire from that line of thought. He's smiling again, happy to state the obvious. ]

But you've been training.

[lightmyfire]

Er, they're not technically allowed at my school either, so I'm kind of used to it...

O-of course! Even after... All that stuff... I still train every day!!