[Riz had known Rainer too, and yet it hadn't hit him as hard when she had gone home. Maybe it was because while she carried a certain sense of familiarity --being one of the few other people who seemed to come from a world like his-- in the end, she felt mostly like someone he could've gone to school with, someone who could've fitted in so easily at Aeguefort.
Boober though. Boober was weird and anxious and liked odd things that nobody else liked and Riz had felt a kinship with him; the kind of kinship that can only exist between two people at the edges of any friend group, always slightly out of step with everybody else.]
Nothing. I guess. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were still here.
Which is stupid, isn't? We should be happy for anyone who manages to find their way home.
It isn't stupid at all, Riz. Not the least bit stupid. [Especially since... well, going home isn't always a great thing, in the case of war or death, but she won't bring that part up.] Thank you for checking on me as well.
[Riz's world isn't all roses, not with the Nightmare King and Kalina out there, but it is a world in which his mom exists, in which the Bad Kids exist, which makes it infinitively better than any other world out there.]
You don't have to thank me. It's not like I could've done anything if you weren't.
Well, no... [She pauses a minute to try and find the right words.] But it means something, knowing that someone would miss me if I left, besides the people from my own world.
[She won't go on and on about how having someone mourn her absence used to feel like a luxury after she woke up and Altea was destroyed, one she wasn't sure she would be able to obtain outside of Coran and the mice. But she's glad, to make strong enough bonds to be missed, to miss them.]
I'm sure Boober would appreciate it too, if he was here. And... I would miss you very much, if it had been you. I know it's a little selfish of me, but I am glad you're still here too, Riz.
Okay. Okay. I'm not really... used to the idea of anyone missing me.
I mean, my mom, yeah. [Said in a tone that drips with 'obviously' because she is a mom and that is what good moms do, and Sklonda is, frankly, the best.] And the Bad Kids. But... nobody else.
[And even the bad kids was a pretty new (well, year-and-a-half-ish) development.]
I know the feeling. [Okay, maybe she can share this.] After Altea was destroyed, all I had left were the mice and my advisor Coran. The humans were complete strangers from a totally different planet, while they already knew each other and needed a strong friendship to form Voltron.
[Starved for connection as she was, she thought she was the most expendable member of the team, the one that would be missed least strategically or emotionally if something happened to her.]
[This was a good conversation to have, but also, rather emotional. And Riz still isn't very good at any of this. It takes effort for him to open up, and though he allowed Allura a glance at what is inside his feelings safe (this is absolutely a healthy way to think about feelings), leaving it open for too long makes him antsy.]
Uh. Listen. Good talk but I-- I have to go now. I heard Mando calling. He's on fire. Mando is on fire, Allura, I have to go.
[This is a very real situation that is happening, do not question this.]
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Boober though. Boober was weird and anxious and liked odd things that nobody else liked and Riz had felt a kinship with him; the kind of kinship that can only exist between two people at the edges of any friend group, always slightly out of step with everybody else.]
Nothing. I guess. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were still here.
Which is stupid, isn't? We should be happy for anyone who manages to find their way home.
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[Oh... her heart aches a little as she smiles.]
It isn't stupid at all, Riz. Not the least bit stupid. [Especially since... well, going home isn't always a great thing, in the case of war or death, but she won't bring that part up.] Thank you for checking on me as well.
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You don't have to thank me. It's not like I could've done anything if you weren't.
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Well, no... [She pauses a minute to try and find the right words.] But it means something, knowing that someone would miss me if I left, besides the people from my own world.
[She won't go on and on about how having someone mourn her absence used to feel like a luxury after she woke up and Altea was destroyed, one she wasn't sure she would be able to obtain outside of Coran and the mice. But she's glad, to make strong enough bonds to be missed, to miss them.]
I'm sure Boober would appreciate it too, if he was here. And... I would miss you very much, if it had been you. I know it's a little selfish of me, but I am glad you're still here too, Riz.
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[He says this like it's a very novel concept, the idea of being missed.]
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[A quiet little nod.]
I don't say that lightly, Riz. You've become a very good friend in our time here.
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I mean, my mom, yeah. [Said in a tone that drips with 'obviously' because she is a mom and that is what good moms do, and Sklonda is, frankly, the best.] And the Bad Kids. But... nobody else.
[And even the bad kids was a pretty new (well, year-and-a-half-ish) development.]
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I know the feeling. [Okay, maybe she can share this.] After Altea was destroyed, all I had left were the mice and my advisor Coran. The humans were complete strangers from a totally different planet, while they already knew each other and needed a strong friendship to form Voltron.
[Starved for connection as she was, she thought she was the most expendable member of the team, the one that would be missed least strategically or emotionally if something happened to her.]
It's different, now, but... I know the feeling.
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Uh. Listen. Good talk but I-- I have to go now. I heard Mando calling. He's on fire. Mando is on fire, Allura, I have to go.
[This is a very real situation that is happening, do not question this.]
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[.... Okay, not QUITE a Natural 1 this time, but enough that Allura shakes her head with a totally serious and convinced smile and raised eyebrow.]
Of course, Riz. Please take care and let me know if you need anything.
[Like putting out space-dad fires... or more talking about feelings.]