Inbox: Mask or Menace

[megabytes]

"You've reached the comms device of Megaman.EXE. I'm not available at the moment, so please leave a message and I will respond as soon as I am able! Thank you!"

Comments

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Like you even care...

[microbrobotics]

Of course I care! I wouldn't be upset if I didn't care!

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Maybe about what you want, but you sure don't care what I want!

[microbrobotics]

Yes I do! What about all of this makes you think I don't care about you?

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Because you're not acting like it! You keep making it all about you!

[microbrobotics]

By asking about it? By reacting to it? I -

[ Now he's getting angry. He can feel the heat of it making his mind muddy with a strange amount of clarity. He's never been angry in dataspace before. He sucks in a breath, trying to calm himself. ]

What do you want?

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I want you to stop acting like you have some kind of right to know!

[microbrobotics]

Fine! I don't! I'm sorry for being kind of upset anyway!

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Is that all?

[Now that Megaman's mad, he's not willing to let the way Hiro acted earlier slide. As far as he's concerned, making him feel trapped and pushing him on a topic he did not want to talk about sure wasn't just "asking" or "reacting."]

[microbrobotics]

What else do you want?

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An apology for earlier would be nice!

[microbrobotics]

Wh - for what? What did I do?

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You tried to force me to talk about it, and you pinned me so I couldn't get away!

[microbrobotics]

I asked! I was worried! And - and like there's any way I could pin you in your own comm when you know way more about being data than I do--!

[megabytes]

That's not what my combat systems thought!

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro's anger is draining into confusion and mild alarm. ]

I can't hurt you! I'd never hurt you!

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I know that, but it doesn't make you any less threatening when you act like it!

[There's a reason Megaman doesn't like being trapped by people bigger than he is, and it's that he can't escape or retaliate if he needs to. It doesn't matter who's doing it, because his combat programming doesn't care. Hiro is bigger than he is, he was trying to keep Megaman in place, he was being a source of distress; therefore Hiro was A Threat that had Megaman completely at his mercy, and that's not an analysis that he'll ever not be scared of.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro, meanwhile, is flabbergasted - and horrified by the very idea of it. He's been smaller than everyone for so long that he can't conceive of actually being taller than someone, much less threatening.

He shrinks back from Megaman - literally reimagining himself smaller in the digital space, closer to Megaman's height. As someone who'd been bullied endlessly as a kid, had been scarred by the terror of facing bullies even when it wasn't followed up by physical violence. This time, his apology is quiet and heartfelt. ]

I'm sorry. I didn't realize - I'm sorry.

[megabytes]

[He sighs, soundless, and glances up. He's still upset that Hiro pushed him to talk and isn't apologizing for it, but he's at least acknowledging he'd done something wrong.]

Well, at least you get it now.

[microbrobotics]

[ He keeps curling in on himself, his gaze focused downward as he continues to hold himself away from Megaman. He'd only wanted to know. Clearly he hadn't considered how Megaman might feel about it. ]

Do you want me to leave?

[megabytes]

[Clearly not. He's quiet for a bit, looking Hiro over.]

...are you going to act like that again?

[microbrobotics]

[ He shakes his head, hard. ]

'course not. I - I don't want to make you feel like that ever again.

[megabytes]

Then you can stay.

[He gently nudges Hiro with a foot. They've both had enough moments of thinking the other hated them, he's not going to start another one.]

...you know, Tadashi's the only person I've ever told.

[That means exactly what it sounds like.]

[microbrobotics]

[ That gets Hiro to look up, finally. With a slight wince - Megaman hadn't told him, had he? Hiro had just forced it out. ]

Because of him being dead? And a big brother?

[megabytes]

[Megaman just nods quietly. There's more to what he meant, but...he's not sure he can say it. There's so much emotional baggage there, and honestly he's still not entirely sure how he feels about it, let alone how to explain.]