That's why I came here to see you. [That's only half-true as Minato would prefer to talk about this outside and help Dipper walk out his stress, but in the end he almost always defaults to what the other person wants.
He tilts his head to look down at Dipper, expression giving away nothing about how he feels right now.] So you're alone in the apartment right now?
[A nod is all Dipper will get, but Minato's glad for once that no one else is around- he prefers one-on-one conversations after all, and for how effective someone like Yu could be he imagines that his poor friend must already be strained enough as is.
He ambles in casually when Dipper opens the door, walking straight to one of the sofas so that he can take a seat with his hands comfortably stuffed into his pockets.
And that's all that he's doing at the moment- sitting quietly with hands in his pockets. Oh, and looking at Dipper.]
[ He heaves a sigh and makes no move to mask it. Objectively, he can appreciate what Minato is trying to do for him. It's just...
Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if none of them were so worried about him?
He shuts the door behind Minato and reluctantly makes his way over to the living room and drops onto a chair. ]
So...what now? [ Ah, the epitome of a gracious host. Hope you're comfortable and don't want anything to drink, Minato, because Dipper is not being particularly forthcoming with that kind of hospitality. ]
[Minato's properly settled in by now, looking as if he's at home in spite of only having come over once. The truth's anything but- he's not quite sure what to say to Dipper himself having reacted somewhat poorly to his friends leaving and there's a momentary lull before he speaks.]
You said you didn't feel like going out...it's because Xion left, isn't it? [A lull in which he decides beating around the bush isn't his style, and that Dipper's smart enough to know why he's here.]
Got it in one. [ His tone is unusually brusque, and he stares at his hands. They might as well get into it. Not like hold off is going to somehow bring her back. ]
Nothing, if you don't want to. [Minato takes this chance to lean back further against the sofa, subtly adjusting his arms so that they're resting well against its back.
What doesn't change is the way he looks at Dipper, calm and collected like a quiet day at the sea.] A friend of mine left soon after I returned to the colony...it'd be odd to me if you had a lot to say right now.
[ With a cursory glance at Minato, Dipper draws his knees up to his chest and worries at his bottom lip. He hates this. He hates losing people he loves. He hates that he couldn't do anything to stop it.
He's quiet for another moment. ]
It's been two months since Mabel disappeared, and I still...I don't...
[ How many people do I have to lose before it stops hurting so much? ]
She's your sister, isn't she? [Minato's never had a sibling before, and he can only imagine how much worse it must be to be the one left behind.]
I didn't talk to Xion much, but I thought of her as a friend too... [He smiles wistfully, knowing as he does that he's left so many more people behind in his passing.] It always takes a while for the pain to heal, but it's not so easy to look at it that way when people might disappear from here any time.
[ Dipper squirms in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position - or maybe he's just giving himself an excuse not to speak again yet. ]
Then...isn't it better to just...not get close to anyone? You can't get hurt that way.
[ Logically, it makes sense, doesn't it? Dipper willfully ignores the fact that he fold Yu the exact opposite of this sentiment so he would decide to ask Minato out. ]
... [Minato doesn't respond immediately, knowing all too well that there isn't an easy answer to such a question. People come and go more abruptly in Cerealia than they do in real life, and with the amount of loss Dipper's been subjected to he can hardly blame his friend for having his doubts.]
It's true that you won't get hurt, but would you prefer to spend your life being lonely even when you return to your own world? [He knows choosing not to get close to anyone is the wrong answer, but in his own way Minato's simply nudging Dipper to find his own answer by questioning what he thinks.]
I... [ He shifts again in his seat, planting his chin on the palm of his hand and staring idly out the window as his mind works. ]
That'd be a lot easier to answer if I knew how long I was going to be here. But that would kind of defeat the point of the question, wouldn't it?
[ He won't pretend at anything but the truth. ]
I don't want to be lonely. I care so much about all my friends, both here and back home. But that's the problem. When they're gone...it hurts just that much more.
[ Back home he hasn't experienced such devastating loss, though he knows at the end of the summer he'll have to leave Gravity Falls behind and everything he's made there. Would he take it back, then?
Yeah, it would. [Minato turns to face the window too, catching a glimpse of the blue sky outside.
It's the color of the sky he had seen last before closing his eyes and there's a brief but sharp pang in his chest as he mulls over Dipper's words recalling how Aigis had once said that people build relationships only to be left behind.
It's true, of course. Relationships like everything else are ephemeral, except for the bonds that link people together long after they're gone. That's the truth he's come to learn over a year, and there's no hesitation in how he replies.]
The people you care for are never truly gone. ...I used to think that way too, but now I wouldn't let go of the people I care about even if it hurts.
[ After a few moments pass, Dipper nods. This kind of loss...it's a part of growing up, isn't it? It's a part of life. It's a part of being human, and as much as it might sound like a nice idea to shut off his heart entirely, he knows he can't do it. Or rather, he won't do it. ]
...I wouldn't, either. Even if you, and Hiro and Yu and everyone else I care about here were suddenly gone, I wouldn't take it back.
[ It's just like with the memory gun. It might have been easier without his painful memories, but he wouldn't give them up for anything. They are a part of who he is, just like his friends are. ]
Don't mention it. [Loss to Minato was and will always be a frightening part of the future, but he believes in the strength of the bonds he's made and he'll never want for the coldness he's allowed himself to be enveloped in again, even if that means getting hurt.
He smiles subtly, the corners of his mouth just slightly tilted upward with genuine warmth in his eyes.] It's just like that post before, isn't it? You already know the answer to your problems...you just needed to hear it from someone else too.
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cryptologic) wrote2009-09-09 09:39 pm
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He tilts his head to look down at Dipper, expression giving away nothing about how he feels right now.] So you're alone in the apartment right now?
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...Yeah. Do you want to come in?
[ He's not asking to be polite. He honestly just wants to know what Minato's plan is here. ]
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He ambles in casually when Dipper opens the door, walking straight to one of the sofas so that he can take a seat with his hands comfortably stuffed into his pockets.
And that's all that he's doing at the moment- sitting quietly with hands in his pockets. Oh, and looking at Dipper.]
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Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if none of them were so worried about him?
He shuts the door behind Minato and reluctantly makes his way over to the living room and drops onto a chair. ]
So...what now? [ Ah, the epitome of a gracious host. Hope you're comfortable and don't want anything to drink, Minato, because Dipper is not being particularly forthcoming with that kind of hospitality. ]
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You said you didn't feel like going out...it's because Xion left, isn't it? [A lull in which he decides beating around the bush isn't his style, and that Dipper's smart enough to know why he's here.]
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So...what do you want me to say about it?
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What doesn't change is the way he looks at Dipper, calm and collected like a quiet day at the sea.] A friend of mine left soon after I returned to the colony...it'd be odd to me if you had a lot to say right now.
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He's quiet for another moment. ]
It's been two months since Mabel disappeared, and I still...I don't...
[ How many people do I have to lose before it stops hurting so much? ]
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I didn't talk to Xion much, but I thought of her as a friend too... [He smiles wistfully, knowing as he does that he's left so many more people behind in his passing.] It always takes a while for the pain to heal, but it's not so easy to look at it that way when people might disappear from here any time.
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Then...isn't it better to just...not get close to anyone? You can't get hurt that way.
[ Logically, it makes sense, doesn't it? Dipper willfully ignores the fact that he fold Yu the exact opposite of this sentiment so he would decide to ask Minato out. ]
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It's true that you won't get hurt, but would you prefer to spend your life being lonely even when you return to your own world? [He knows choosing not to get close to anyone is the wrong answer, but in his own way Minato's simply nudging Dipper to find his own answer by questioning what he thinks.]
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That'd be a lot easier to answer if I knew how long I was going to be here. But that would kind of defeat the point of the question, wouldn't it?
[ He won't pretend at anything but the truth. ]
I don't want to be lonely. I care so much about all my friends, both here and back home. But that's the problem. When they're gone...it hurts just that much more.
[ Back home he hasn't experienced such devastating loss, though he knows at the end of the summer he'll have to leave Gravity Falls behind and everything he's made there. Would he take it back, then?
Not for anything in the world. ]
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It's the color of the sky he had seen last before closing his eyes and there's a brief but sharp pang in his chest as he mulls over Dipper's words recalling how Aigis had once said that people build relationships only to be left behind.
It's true, of course. Relationships like everything else are ephemeral, except for the bonds that link people together long after they're gone. That's the truth he's come to learn over a year, and there's no hesitation in how he replies.]
The people you care for are never truly gone. ...I used to think that way too, but now I wouldn't let go of the people I care about even if it hurts.
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...I wouldn't, either. Even if you, and Hiro and Yu and everyone else I care about here were suddenly gone, I wouldn't take it back.
[ It's just like with the memory gun. It might have been easier without his painful memories, but he wouldn't give them up for anything. They are a part of who he is, just like his friends are. ]
...Thanks, Minato.
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He smiles subtly, the corners of his mouth just slightly tilted upward with genuine warmth in his eyes.] It's just like that post before, isn't it? You already know the answer to your problems...you just needed to hear it from someone else too.
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[ Dipper's great at rationalizing, he just isn't always sure he's rationalizing for the right thing. ]
It'll get...better. And who knows? Maybe I will see her again someday. [ A beat. ] I'd like that.
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It might take a while, but I'm sure things will get better too.
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[ And he really will. That sort of mentality doesn't come easily to him, but he'll try.
It's probably what Xion would have wanted. ]