maskormenacelogs | Use my head alongside my heart [Closed]

Entry tags:

Use my head alongside my heart [Closed]

WHO: Manolo Sanchez, Joaquin Mondragon, Hermann Gottlieb, Newton Geiszler
WHERE: Heropa and De Chima
WHEN: January 2nd
WHAT: In response to the strange happenings in Heropa, Joaquin decides he needs to leave Manolo elsewhere before attending to his Hero duties, and Hermann and Newton seem like the best choice. Once Manolo discovers the cost of Peter Pan's curse over Heropa, though, he'll feel compelled to help a friend settle the score.
WARNINGS: None at the moment.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Evacuating, huh? Considering they'd probably just get caught in a cross-fire it might have been better if they just stayed quiet and hunkered down rather than running outside. But Joaquin wasn't going to worry about that. There wasn't time.

He kicked the bike into gear and took off, ignoring speed limits in favor of getting them across town. With the warnings having already gone out people were either staying indoors or trying to head out of the city, though there were a few who seemed intent on acting like nothing bad was happening. Going about their daily lives like nothing else mattered...

They arrived at the Municipal complex in record time and Joaquin killed the engine once he had the bike pulled up to the curb, ignoring the fire line that warned it to be a tow zone should he leave it there. Right now his bike hardly mattered. He pulled off his helmet and grabbed Manolo's hand, intent on dragging him into the building housing the porter if necessary.

The Municipal complex was not where he expected to end up, but Manolo didn't have to ask. He knew it housed the Porter, and now their sudden exit from the house was starting to make a lot more sense. They hadn't left to go help people.

They were running.

"Wait, hold on a second--" Manolo glanced back at the bike, distressed, as Joaquin pulled him along. "Where are we going? You didn't say anything about this!"

Of course I didn't! You wouldn't come otherwise!

"Manolo, I need you to listen to me and understand," Joaquin said, still pulling him along. There seemed to be a lot of traffic in the building, but that was to be expected. Some people were likely petitioning to use the porter to get out before things got too far out of hand.

"There is someone out there turning people into stone! I don't think even your, er, other form can protect you from that! And I'm going to protect you, even if you don't like it!"

Neither of them knew whether Manolo's form could withstand that sort of magic, it was true. But they didn't know whether his own powers could somehow help return victims to their original form, either.

"My music might be able to help people, Joaquin," he said. There were people all around them, and though Manolo wasn't yelling, he didn't exactly bother keeping his voice down. "You could at least let me try before deciding I'm completely useless, you know?"

Joaquin didn't care if others were staring either. He didn't give a damn about anyone else at the moment, really.

"I don't think you're useless but you are a distraction and you're not registered," he replied sharply. They would be able to by-pass all the people waiting to get paperwork processed to use the Porter if Manolo would just MOVE IT!

"What does not being registered have to do with anything?" Manolo asked, his own tone taking a sharper edge to it. "You said so yourself that I shouldn't let other people choose what I should do. I didn't agree to this!"

Joaquin let go of Manolo's hand, his forward progress stopped. Then he slowly turned around to face his friend, brows drawn together in a scowl.

"Manolo. I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission to bring you here, but I'm not going to take you into that danger zone. You know how I feel about you throwing yourself into harms way!"

Manolo drew back a little, large eyes fixed on Joaquin's face. He hated seeing his friend look at him like that.

"I appreciate your concern," he said, voice suddenly growing softer. "I do. It's just...this doesn't feel right, Joaquin."

"You understand I just want you to be safe and live a happy life and not be so quick to die anymore, right? I mean... you get that, don't you?"

Seriously, what was there to feel about this that was right?

"This situation is terrible, I know you want to help. But you would help me a great, great deal if you could just... not involve yourself. What if there's an ambush again? I can't always be around to protect you, even if I want to be..."

"I'm not gonna..." Die, he almost said, but thought better of it. He knew he lost credibility in that area a long time ago.

Instead, he grew quiet, his gaze flickering toward the floor as he wrestled with himself. "I know," he murmured. And if staying behind honestly helped make Joaquin's job easier, it was hard to argue with that. And yet...

"You know I worry about you too, though, right?"

Joaquin's mouth tightened into a thin line when Manolo began to speak. Good on his friend for thinking before he finished that sentence.

But the rest of his words caused Joaquin to blink. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. The words that came out were soft. "No, actually, I didn't."

No one had been around to worry about him for a long time. God only knew if his parents had even worried about him all that much before his father had died. He knew his mother hadn't cared after that, not in the way she should. And his abuela hadn't lived long after all that falling out either.

It had always just been him, and that was why he could go out there and fight and never have to think about causing anyone else pain. Or at least, that's how it had been before now.

Sighing, he moved closer and put his hands on Manolo's shoulders. "Hey, I've got my training. I've got my swords. I've got my experience. You don't need to worry about me, on top of worrying about everyone else out there."

Hearing Joaquin admit that he didn't know anyone worried about him broke Manolo's heart just a little bit. "Ay, Joaquin," he sighed, unable to hide the ache in his voice. "How could I not?"

The weight of Joaquin's hands on his shoulders brought a sense of security that Manolo wished he could keep with him whenever they were apart.

"I know you're a professional soldier, but..." He wet his lips as he tried to find the right words. "When we were separated, back during that ambush...I couldn't stop thinking about you, about your eye, about the medal. Isn't it difficult for you? You usually fought alone back home, but...you didn't actually need anyone's help back then, either."

He averted his gaze for a moment. "No one has been concerned about me in a long time, Manolo..."

It was true, things weren't the same here as they were back home. Here, he could feel pain, get injured, die. But he wasn't afraid, even if he was vulnerable. Sometimes he was afraid but this was something he had to do.

"I understand. It was different, and I'm not as protected here as I was before, but don't think I don't get that either. I have... a constant reminder that I'm not invincible anymore." One hand left Manolo's shoulder to reach up and touch at his left temple. "Don't think I'm going in recklessly. I know I give a good show still, sometimes, but I'm not stupid Manolo. And this is my job. It's what I'm good at. And it gives me peace of mind to know I can protect you here just as much as I did back home."

Manolo placed a warm hand over the one still resting on his shoulder. "That's not true," he murmured.

He might have been the least traveled out of the three amigos, but he still knew how dangerous things could get beyond the relative safety of San Angel's walls. Though Joaquin might insist he hadn't deserved anyone's concern on account of the medal, Manolo shuddered to think about what might have happened if, instead of stupidly choosing to pick a fight with the entire town and the Sanchez clan, Chakal and his men had caught Joaquin alone while en route to his next destination, armed with the knowledge of what made him invincible.

It was good to hear Joaquin acknowledge his lost immortality, and he'd be lying if he said those words about protecting him didn't warm his heart a little, but Manolo still looked concerned. "Do you really have to do this alone?"

It was hard to say whether he agreed or didn't with Manolo. Even if someone did care, no one said anything. There were cheering crowds that met him at the gates after he became a well-known hero. Before that, all he had left to come home to was an empty mansion full of bad memories.

"I'm not really going back alone, there are probably some heroes already there, taking care of things. I just need to get back to offer them whatever backup I can, and hope things don't spiral out of control before then." Hell, things might even be finished up by the time they got Manolo settled, who knows? But for now, Joaquin didn't want Manolo stuck in that situation. Nanities might bring someone back to life, but how long would it take for them to turn someone back to normal if they were frozen in a stone prison?

Manolo looked at his friend with a rueful smile. "I'm not gonna try to convince you to stay out of it," he told him. "Seeing you do what you love makes me happy, and you know I'll always support your fighting for what's right. But...that doesn't make it any easier for me to watch you go."

"Yeah... I know." That couldn't be easy for Manolo, not when he wanted to be helpful.

"I understand that you would like to help, but... if you could, please, just... let me get you somewhere safe? I'm afraid what might happen if we did both go, and we got separated, and you got backed into a corner again." He'd almost been choked to death. Joaquin made it just in time.

He wanted to tell gently tell him no, to reassure him that he wouldn't let that happen again. But the earnest look in Joaquin's eyes weakened his resolve, and suddenly he couldn't bear to upset him.

"Isn't this...where you were going to leave me?" he asked instead, growing a bit more uncertain. "This is where the porter is, right?" His question was punctuated with a soft chuckle. "I think I can take it from here, amigo."

As simple as it would be to just up and leave, that wasn't what Joaquin was going to do. Because he wanted to make sure Manolo would be safe! And he didn't fully trust him not to just step out after Joaquin had driven away and hail a taxi.

"No, you're not waiting in line to fill out that godawful paperwork. You're getting VIP clearance because I'm taking you to... uh, De Chima." And that was that. "Newt and Doctor Gottlieb will give you some company while this stuff gets taken care of."

"What, really?" He may have been drunk during that new year's video, but Manolo still remembered the two men sharing a passionate kiss. "Won't I just...I don't know, be in the way? I don't wanna intrude."

"Manolo, this is a state of emergency." He let go of his friend's shoulder and began to lead him past the Registered clearance area. "I think they can handle a little short notice. They won't want me going back either, but that's just how it has to be."

Manolo sighed, trailing behind him. There wasn't any good way to insist he stay -- not without throwing a tantrum, anyway, and he was more conflicted than he was angry. "I sure hope so..."

The last thing he wanted was to upset them too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Use my head alongside my heart [Closed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject