glaciates | IC CONTACT

It's been two years.

Funny, isn't it? I never really used to pay much attention to these sorts of things before coming here; the lack of things to observe was a factor there, of course, but it never really struck me as terribly important. Even now, I'm not really sure it's important so much as it is something I feel like I should be doing - not an obligation, per se, but more like habit. I've been here for almost a year now since my return, and I always feel like I should be doing something on the thirteenth of the month; this is the first time since we started on this little adventure that I've been here for April's.

So I suppose this is as good a time as any to write, even though I imagine I'll just get some sort of failure notification from the device in a second; this is something to do with myself, anyway, even if it's pointless and oversentimental. Believe me, I feel stupid about it, even though you would likely tell me that I shouldn't.

Ah, well.

I don't exactly miss you, simply because I don't miss anyone; you know better than to think that you're an exception. That doesn't mean I don't notice your absence, however.

Happy anniversary, Isaac.

[Well, the message does go through, but there isn't a response right away. It isn't that Isaac is avoiding Kimblee, he's just getting reacquainted with the world and figuring out what's happened since he was last here.

...Okay, and maybe he's been kind of nervous about what to say to Kimblee. Maybe.

The message is a bit of a surprise (a pleasant one, of course) and Isaac reads it over and over again before finally coming up with something to say in response. He's not sure whether to send a text back or switch to video or audio, and that takes another few minutes for him to puzzle through.

It's nearly an hour later when Isaac texts Kimblee back.]

Of course you shouldn't feel stupid about it. It's something most people experience, I think. Dates tend to hold some sort of importance for people, whether it's a specific date or a certain time of the year. Surely you've felt something like that before, even if it's toward something that isn't pointless and oversentimental?

I'm pleased to hear that you do think about this sort of thing though. I mean, I could lie and say that it would have been better for you to move on with your life and not dwell on the past and all that, but you know me better than that. You're very important to me and coming back here only to find out that you've moved on would be... Well, I'd rather not think about it.

[.............you know he should probably add something on to that uh...

The next response comes in as a video, with Isaac looking more than a little awkward. He's seated in a nondescript but probably very familiar room.]

I guess it's pretty obvious, but uh... I'm back. Again.

[He tugs on the one strand of hair hanging in his face, glancing somewhere off-screen for a moment.]

I'm uh, sorry about leaving. I know it's not my fault but...

[He shrugs and then after a moment, Isaac brightens up.]

...Happy anniversary, Kimblee.

[It's all well and good that it takes a while; he hasn't forgotten about what he'd sent - after all, he doesn't forget anything, much less in an hour - and it's still nagging at the edges of his mind when the ping comes back, but it's something that he dismisses almost as soon as he hears it. Of course it's a failure notification; when he picks up the device the motion is an idle one, something he does simply because he dislikes having notifications just sitting there, and there's also an off chance that it's Archer messaging him from literally a room away because people have a way of doing that when they're in the middle of something and don't want to pause long enough to work out where someone is.

...That said, seeing two active notifications from Isaac's device, one video at that, is more than enough to make him jerk back so hard that he's fairly sure he can feel his brain make contact with the inside of his skull.

He doesn't hesitate before flipping the device back on and starting up a video feed in response, once he's got his bearings and has actually been able to sit through the damn messages; there's a chance that somebody's fucking with him, but it's a slim one, likely taking more technology than most here have access to - and if it's someone in the labs he is going to raise hell.]

Isaac...?

[Hesitant or not, his expression is still incredibly open; it's that wide-eyed staring again, though he doesn't seem terribly aware of what he's doing with his face.]

Obvious or not, it's still completely unexpected - when did this happen?

[Oh come on, what's that look for? He didn't do anything incredibly stupid, right?]

Um, earlier today, I guess.

[...]

Someone's either got incredible timing or really awful timing, depending on how you look at it.

Well, I don't see how it'd be awful timing, unless there's something you're not telling me.

Huh? I literally just got back here, what do you think I could have done?

Says the man used to working from the shadows.

[All right, all right, he'll let up a bit, you're staring.]

It is rather good to see you, you know.

Well yeah, but it's not like I tried to take down Amestris in a day!

[That would just be silly!!]

...Thanks. I'm really glad to be back. ...Even though it doesn't feel like any time has passed...

[orz]

Oh, believe me, I know; I wasn't appreciative of falling asleep one night and waking up six weeks later when it happened to me, so I can just imagine what it's like in your case.

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out what all I've missed...

But uh, how have you been?

I can't complain, really.

Forgive me for not returning the question, but it's likely a bit of a moot point.

[Ouch...]

Yeah.

[...]

So did anyone else come back? Like Mustang or Armstrong or Hughes?

[OH LOOK A WILD TOPIC CHANGE APPEARED]

They haven't, no - whether you consider that fortunate or unfortunate is a matter of personal opinion, but the fact of the matter is that no one from Amestris has returned.

[...well. That's technically true, anyway. Greed's shown up, but we don't discuss the Homunculi.]

[It's sort of a shame; he didn't really hate any of them. Hopefully things are going well for them back home.]

I'm guessing no one new has shown up?

[Things are presumably going rather well for everyone that isn't Hughes, yes...]

No one that we know, at any rate.

[WOW DID YOU JUST]

Huh.

[...]

So uh, you said you were returned home at some point? Did you get any of your Pokémon back?

[...too soon?]

Ah, that's right - I verified for you during one of those three-day periods but you likely don't remember. I have Carmen and Bellatrix with me, if that's what you were leading up to.

Three-day periods? Wait, you mean I was here for those? Why don't I remember that?

[He figures Kimblee doesn't have an answer for that, so he shrugs it off.]

That... wasn't what I was getting at, actually, but I'm glad to know they're with you. Have you gotten all the badges? What kinds of Pokémon are you training now?

[...Look, he's missed a lot okay!!]

[...Oh, goddamn it, you had to ask about the Pokémon...]

I still rather like my ground-types and things that are capable of making some rather lovely sounds if ordered to do so, but I've raised some other things as well this time around. I haven't raised too many new things recently, however.

I don't have all of the badges again, either, but I have the ones I require.

[Surprisingly enough. But then, he's been hit rather hard by disappearances over the last few months for some reason he can't quite work out, and instead of catching everything in sight he's focused himself on more...productive means of work.]

[Yeah, if you call working in a florist's "productive"...]

Oh yeah? Then what have you been doing? Just training?

[And not assisting Team Rocket hopefully?]

[He can send declarations of war via flowers now, Isaac.]

Training and work, primarily.

Don't worry, I haven't been gambling too much.

[Literally no one is going to get that. No one.]

Well that's good...

[He feels like he's missing something here. Was that supposed to be a joke??]

I'm glad you're doing okay. And uh, that you're still here. Obviously.

[...you know, one of these days Kimblee is going to look back on this point in his life and wonder exactly when he got so sarcastic.

And then he'll probably claim it was Archer's fault.]

Of course I'm all right, Isaac. Why wouldn't I be?

[Well hanging around him isn't exactly doing wonders for you...]

Ah, I'm not trying to say you wouldn't be! It's just good to know that everything's okay, if that makes sense?

4/13; he's not exactly expecting an answer, so.

1 / 2

2 / 2

[video]

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