INBOX;

[aintyourdad]

"This is Joel. Leave your message, I'll get back to ya when I can."

[ VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION | (text unavailable) ]

→ Ellie
→ Tess
→ Riley

Comments

[aintyourdad]

Come along with.

[unsparing]

That's all you're going to say?

[aintyourdad]

What else d'you want me to say? Riley's goin', I gotta keep an eye on her.

I gotta do somethin'.

[unsparing]

[ Here is where she mutters something about 'goddamn kids' under her breath and pushes out a sigh. She can't argue that. ]

What's her reason for going? Kid's got a death wish, I swear.

[aintyourdad]

I didn't ask. Probably the same as mine. Sick of Yao messin' with us.

Come along with, Tess. Let's hit 'em where it hurts.

[unsparing]

It's not... it's not as easy as you make it sound, going with you.

[ She'll never forget. ]

[aintyourdad]

[ There's a pause, while he thinks about this. ]

What d'you need?

[unsparing]

[ There's a helplessness to her tone, Tess hates being helpless. Weak. ]

For you to be careful.

[aintyourdad]

Hey. I will be. You know I will be.

[ He feels bad, but he has to do this. He has to do something. He needs to hit Yao, somehow. Fight back. ]

Come with, and keep my ass in line. When we get back - there's somethin' nice I can show you.

[unsparing]

[ Tess wants to tell him that they've been through enough here, all of the deaths, the nightmares, the horrors-- they might as well have not even left Boston. At all.

Kite knows her secrets, he knows what she could be potentially capable of. And Tess knows firsthand that he would use that knowledge, exploit it, put her loved ones in danger.

Strapped to that chair in his laboratory that day, it had changed her. The changes might not be so obvious but they're there underneath the surface and only come out at moments such as this.

Tess just doesn't want to lose him again, and after she had woken up and seen how he'd responded with such need, she didn't want for him to lose her again and be left on his own. ]

I'll go, if just to keep your ass in line, but Joel-- don't make promises you can't keep.

[aintyourdad]

[ Joel still doesn't know all that happened with Kite. He doesn't ask about those things. He doesn't expect Tess to ever tell him. It's just not something they do. It never has been.

But he can hear the plea in her voice, and he wants to comfort her as best he can. ]

I'm not makin' promises. I'll be as careful as I can, is all.

You know I wanna come back to you.

[unsparing]

We'll have each other's backs, I know. [ One day she'll tell him. She'll try to recall as much as she can about that day, or else give him the brief rundown of what she remembers.

Maybe when they get back. ]

You will come back to me, I'll personally Mame sure of it. So what was it, what are you going to show me that's so nice?

[ They have nice things in this place... ]

[aintyourdad]

There's a garden. An underground one. Not dangerous.

Mame sure of it, god bless you phone auto correct

[unsparing]

...a garden. What kind of a garden? The kind where you pick me some flowers?

lollll

[aintyourdad]

D'you want flowers?

[unsparing]

Do I look like a flower kind of gal to you?

[ Secret answer: yes, yes she would like some flowers. No one's ever given her flowers before and Tess never pictured Joel as the type of guy to give them to anyone. Or care for them or the sentiment behind them.

Huh. ]

[aintyourdad]

[ Is that a trick question? Because his first instinct is to say no. No she does not look like a flower kind of gal to him. He's not really a flower kind of guy.

But if she wants some flowers, he'll try to get her some goddamn flowers. It's the least he can do. ]

Hm. I guess we'll have to check it out and see what's there. [ Good evasion, Joel. Nailed it. ]

[unsparing]

So-- you're taking me on a date. To a flower garden.

[ Because that is totally what he's talking about here. She's got this. Nailed it.

Tess really can't help sounding amused by all of this, the earlier tone of frustration and worry and doubt gone from her voice. ]

[aintyourdad]

I didn't say it's a date, and I didn't call it a flower garden. It's just a garden. And it's nicer than the rest of this hellhole.

[ HUFF HUFF. Joel is getting his grouch on again. ]

When we get back, I'll show you.

[unsparing]

[ If only he could see the smile on her face right now. ]

Sure. All right. Not a date. Not a flower garden. Guess we're gonna just pick vegetables then, side by side.

I'm okay with that too.

[aintyourdad]

It ain't vegetables. It's a cave, it's just... plants. Green things.

[ Just a place where nothing will try to kill them for a couple of hours. ]

There's a pond.

[ It's totally a date. ]

[unsparing]

I like ponds. A date by the pond then.

[ Yep. Totally a date. ]

With plants nearby. Sounds perfect. And hey-- I doubt you'd find any flowers around here.

[aintyourdad]

You never know.

[ He might go looking now. Since she seems so keen on it. He'll just have to make sure he finds some that aren't deadly, because this place is like that. ]

[unsparing]

Oh I know. And so should you. This place is incapable of growing anything good.

[ Tess actually wouldn't put it past him to make it his mission to find her a safe flower or two.

And then her voice quiets, grows serious. ]

When do we leave?

[aintyourdad]

Raid leaves whenever Korra says, it's her circus to run.

We can go whenever we get back.