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Post by Gabe Alabaster on May 2, 2022 23:20:33 GMT -5
Gabe let out a small, awkward laugh and rubbed his neck. “Both of us, I guess?” He shrugged. It would be a lot to explain, especially in a public area, but he could do his best.
“It uh, had to do with The Thing that happened,” he settled on saying, referring to kidnapping incident. “I can tell you more if you want. Might be a bit of a mood killer though.” Not the best conversation topic for a date, but Fei had a habit of keeping him guessing when it came to her reactions.
Then again, this could lead to letting Fei know that there were other people around in the city that also came from New Tokyo (specifically, one’s that weren’t COMPLETELY unapproachable.) Knowing that could give Fei the support system she needs.
Gabe made sure to keep that at the front of his mind; if he didn’t bring it up now then he would definitely do it the next time he had the chance. Fei deserved to have that.
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Post by Fei Yen Takeda-Fujimoto on May 3, 2022 18:59:24 GMT -5
Fei's face darkened ever so slightly, but she recovered almost instantaneously and returned to her typical playful demeanor. She worried, obviously. Clearly whatever he had been through... well, it was bad. Really bad. And she couldn't fix it. Make it better maybe. But she couldn't undo it. And Fei hated having to accept that.
"Hm..." She tilted her head back and forth, smiled, and planted a kiss on Gabe's cheek. "Burgers first. Harder to kill a mood when the mood is powered by grease."
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Post by Gabe Alabaster on May 4, 2022 19:59:32 GMT -5
Gabe smiled, “Yeah, you’ve got a point. Well, it was a better response than he was expecting, that was good. After all, what had happened was terrible, and yeah maybe he hadn’t shaken it all off like he wanted, but what was coming out of it was better than he had imagined at first. Learning to shoot, it was giving him some sort of control, and that was a good feeling.
But right now wasn’t the time to think about that; Fei deserved all his attention right now.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long to place their orders and find a place to sit. Gabe didn’t realize just how hungry he was until he smelled the food sitting on the tray he was holding.
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Post by Fei Yen Takeda-Fujimoto on Jun 30, 2022 15:28:21 GMT -5
Fei popped a few fries into her mouth as they sat down, debating the best way to open the conversation. "Okay so..." She paused, shifting slightly in her seat. "Whatever you feel comfortable with saying, I'll be listening."
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Post by Gabe Alabaster on Jul 17, 2022 14:04:30 GMT -5
Gabe had been trying to think of where to start since bringing it up, it was a lot…
Eventually, he decided. “So, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for awhile, but there wasn’t really a time for it to come up,” because really, when was New Tokyo ever a great topic for conversation? “But my stepdad and aunt are from New Tokyo, like you. Unlike you, though, they were actually raised there…”
Gave didn’t know many details of Toru or Kiyo’s time in that hell hole, and he doubted he ever would. “Needless to say, you can imagine the kind of people Satoru was involved with. When he eventually came here, he started to make a living by using the connections he still had.” He wanted to stay vague, both because he wasn’t incredibly knowledgeable on the whole story and because he didn’t want to risk people overhearing. It was tricky.
“Anyway, he stopped at some point before I could really remember; I think my dad made him or something. But someone remembered him from back then and thought they could… convince him to get back in.” Gabe took a deep breath. “And, well, that’s where I came in.”
He paused both to let Fei process what he’d said so far, and so he could take a break from talking to eat. He was hungry, and this next part wasn’t gonna be fun for him to get into.
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Post by Fei Yen Takeda-Fujimoto on Aug 10, 2022 13:55:10 GMT -5
Fei's expression darkened slightly. She didn't remember much about New Tokyo, only enough for occasional nightmares, but what she did recall wasn't good. She also knew Satoru was a rough-and-tumble kind of guy. Not concretely, mostly just from the general atmosphere that followed him around like a looming thunderstorm. Guy had seen some shit, that much was apparent. Add in New Tokyo, the fact that Gabe had just disappeared for ages, and all the scars she'd seen...well, it wasn't good.
She spoke as softly as she could. "They grabbed you to get to Toru?"
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Post by Gabe Alabaster on Aug 10, 2022 16:27:59 GMT -5
Gabe nodded as he ate. Once he swallowed, he continued. “Toru, my dad, and their friends came, but Toru had to go in alone first to be safe…”
There was a long pause, but to Gabe it only lasted a couple of seconds as he recalled the events of that day, at least what little he was conscious for. The shootout, all of the pain, his stepfather trying to cover them, and then…
“Things went south fast,” he finally forced himself to say. “I wasn’t awake for much of it, but at some point he was shot in the back. He can’t walk anymore.” Gabe’s voice got quieter the more he spoke.
He sighed and looked around for a moment. No one was paying attention to them, no one had even been close enough to listen it. Good. “So, afterwards I decided I didn’t want something like that to happen again while I was around.” It was a long explanation for why he was spending so much time at the shooting range, but Fei would need to know all of this eventually.
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Post by Fei Yen Takeda-Fujimoto on Aug 10, 2022 17:30:11 GMT -5
Every nerve in Fei's body began to prickle with unease. Badbadbadbadbad. This was dangerous. She didn't like dangerous and Gabe being mixed up together. But then again it had already happened. It was happening. And totally out of her hands. If there was one thing Fei hated it was not having any control. She was working through it, sure, but in more of a "being in a serious relationship for once" way, not a "accept the reality of your boyfriend having to learn self-defense for legitimate reasons" way.
She ate a few fries to buy herself time to think. Out of her element didn't even scratch the surface. But that probably was nothing compared to how Gabe was feeling.
After a moment, she slid her hand over his. "I'm not going to pretend I know much about any of this kind of stuff, but I trust you, and I'm here. Whatever you think is the right way to... well I'm supportive is all I'm saying."
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