jin character piece #10

[bipolyjack]

alright so here's the rest of these that i have right now, they were up on my tumblr but i want 2 have em all in one place lol

 

“Ben, pick up your fucking phone! You can’t - fuck, dude - whatever bullshit you’re tryna pull right now, there’s no way you’re gonna pull it off on your own. We gotta take NutriTech down, and we gotta do it together, remember, we’re a team? You gotta meet up with us so we can get a plan figured out, and we can’t do that if you won’t pick up your goddamn phone!”

It takes Jin three tries to hang up, jabbing at the end call button with a blunt, shaking fingertip. Their hand is huge, muscular and veiny and crawling beneath the skin with nanobots and stress. They grip the phone in a bulging fist and pace to the front of the diner, breathing fast and shallow and tight, shoulders humped up around their ears. No searchlights outside this time, thank fuck. But this is an abandoned diner, not a secure bunker underground. AEGIS will do a more thorough sweep at some point, and that will be it for them.

What was he doing at the museum? Where was he taking Belle? Where was Belle taking him, if she wasn't unconscious? Jin runs a shaky hand through their hair, fervently wishing for a smoke. Fuck, how long has it been since they had one? Ben brought some to the AEGIS infirmary, and then they busted the fucking walls down to escape. Fuck. They should have at least gotten dressed and pocketed the cigarettes first. They should have at least said one of the dozen-odd things they wanted to say before he walked out.

“Hey, uh - Ben?”

He stops in the doorway, turns back. “Yes?”

Thanks. Thanks for the clothes. Thanks for the cigarettes. Thanks for having my back. Answer your fucking phone. Don’t leave me. Call Jori, you asshole, it’s been three days and she keeps asking me if you’re safe, if you’re okay. You know I’d be a real mess without you, right? I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hit you on the beach, but you were being a dick. Stay until I fall asleep. Why are you still with her when you couldn’t give less of a shit about her? God dammit, why didn’t you text me back? I -

“Nothing. I - nothing. Never mind.”

“Alright.” And he leaves.

Jin pushes their glasses up their forehead and muffles a groan in their musclebound palms. There’s a citywide manhunt in progress. Astin is gone. Ben could be gone. He almost hurt Soul. Soul did get hurt, badly enough to regenerate. And Jin couldn’t stop any of it.

At least, thinks Jin miserably, I’m not actively bleeding out anymore.