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Well... we're both here, aren't we? Without our parents or whatever forcing us to be here? That's usually how it works.

[ With people below the age of, oh, twenty-three or so. Jaime knows that he'd only gone to Church back home because he had to. Now? Not so much. He glances down at the ornate cover, then back up at Fortunato. ]

Or at least that's usually how it worked where I'm from.

[ Ah. Fortunato knows that's basically normal for most people his age- he's been in churches enough to have noticed. He feels the opposite way, of course, but it's not as if he hasn't had peers who made their own dissatisfaction with religious systems clear. Often very clear.

And as for the fact that most of his peers would be coming with their parents...well, he hasn't experienced that personally in a long time. He looks away. ]

Did you attend with your parents? Before this.

Uh-huh. [ He hooks his thumb into a thin chain around his neck and yanks it out from underneath his shirt. It's a cross, catching the glint of the sun in its reflection. ] This was my grandma's. It's always been, um, a family thing.

[ Most people assume by looking at him, anyway. The Mexican-Catholic contingent of El Paso is a strong one. It's only then that he notices the way Fortunato's looking away. ]

Did you decide to start going to Church on your own?

[ That's a nice cross, he thinks. Fortunato isn't the jealous type, really, but there's definitely a feeling of discomfort here. One of the very, very few positives of Morning Glory Academy: nobody has to explain they're orphaned, because most people are. ]

No. But I...continued to go, without anyone. When I could.

[ He couldn't always. ]

Oh.

[ Jaime can fill in the blanks. His thumb rubs along the side of the chain as he thinks that over, thinks over how little he truly knows about Fortunato, only that he seems solemn. Sad. A little lonely, at times. ]

Well... if you ever want to tell me about it, you can. I know this stuff can get pretty personal. Sometimes it's nice to talk about it.

[ That's half of why he started coming back to Church. He was never wholly honest with them either, but they listened. It was good. It felt right. ]

[ At least Jaime knows enough to understand what Fortunato's getting at. To some extent, he's unused to that kind of sentimentality; being an orphan is mostly a fact of life with the people he grew up with, not counting Vanessa as a rare and lucky exception. ]

...You should not worry about that. [ To be honest, this is just normal for him now, despite everything. ] It was a long time ago.

[ This isn't a good topic to change to, but he's been wondering about Jaime's current state. He looks around before he speaks. ] Is- is everything all right? After...what happened.

[ It's never a good sign when someone tells him he shouldn't worry about it. If anything, it tells him it's something he should have been worrying about in the first place. But he doesn't press it - and doesn't intend to, frankly. It's not his place.

Though now he's wishing that he did, because anything would be better than talking about himself. ]

Oh, um... yeah. It's just taking a little getting used to. [ He looks away, though the corner of his mouth twitches into a smile. ] Everyone at Church made sure I could still come. They won't let press in or anything. So... that was nice.

[ As it turns out some of them had already known. Who'd have thunk it? ]

[ At least he's smiling. Fortunato would rather Jaime be awkward but welcomed than anything; he appreciated having Jaime here. That, and he himself would be deeply affected by being cut off from a place of worship, even if it's happened in a roundabout way before. ]

That is good. I- I was glad, to see you able to come. [ Not that he's showing it, but he means it. ] And...that you are well, after that.

[ He'd hope that means Jaime's companion is alright, too. ]

Oh... yeah. You know, it wasn't as bad as it looked. I mean, it was as bad as it looked, but only for - for as long as that lasted, however long that was.

[ He's purposefully been avoiding the news. That would probably tell him exactly what he needed to know. Instead, he's relying on his own experience of the matter, as much as it seemed to drag on and on. It felt like days, but he knows it was probably a span of hours. ]

I heal, so it didn't take that long to get back to normal.

[ Fortunato notices Jaime's somewhat ambiguous wording, but assumes there's some other reason for it- rhetorical phrasing, maybe. He'll ask if Jaime brings it up again, but for now, he'll let it be.

At least there's something else to talk about. ]

Oh. That- that makes sense. For what you do. [ Being a superhero, he means. ]

So do I. [ Though he doesn't sound enthused about it. ]

[ Usually people sound a little more cheerful about being able to heal - despite Jaime's own strange relationship with it, it is one of the better powers out there. ]

And... that's a bad thing?

No.

[ And he actually sounds quite sure about that, more than he usually does. It's a gift, isn't it? That's all it could be, in his view of things. ]

I...would not be able to do many things, without it. But- it- it does not work like most do. [ Always hard to explain, in a way that's hard to pin down. ]

Sometimes others worry. They do not need to.

Um, no offense, but usually when someone says nobody needs to worry, that's when someone should probably be worrying.

[ Pot, meet kettle. He eyes Fortunato curiously. ]

How is it different?

You- you do not. [ He pauses. He still sounds sure, but a bit somber. ] It is better than- than other things.

[ It will always be an improvement over where he was before- no matter the trouble it gives him. ]

Things do not always heal completely. Or...something strange occurs. [ He motions toward his eyes, shifting his cane closer to him. ] Like with my eyes.

Like what with your eyes?

[ They heal completely, but not all the way...? ] It's gotta be more than just partial vision if you think it's strange.

They change. I cannot...control when I can see, or cannot.

[ That’s a major simplification of it, but he doesn’t like having to explain- pointing out flaws in a gift. Let alone the stress of finding the words. ]

I can handle it. It is not a problem, not- not as much as some think it is. [ He looks down at his cane, a little ashamed. He needs it, but to some extent he doesn’t like the trouble Magnus went through making it, or people fretting over it. Things could be far worse. ]

Huh. That's a hassle. But... I get it. It probably worries people when it changes all of a sudden, but that's not so bad. I mean, you got by fine without the healing, right?

[ There are plenty of blind people who make it just fine in the world. There's no reason Fortunato can't be one of them. ]

You know that when they worry about you, it's just 'cause they care, right?

I...

[ He’d say yes, but he really doesn’t know. Fortunato, in his own world, hasn’t been out of the cell he’s been trapped in since before being blinded. He supposes he’d end up learning the same way as he has here, but he can imagine he would have had far less support.

Support. And how has he ended up with that? How...inexperienced of him. ]

Never mind. I- I know. But there are other matters they can care for.

[ Jaime smiles at Fortunato, brow wrinkling. ]

Yeah, that's the funny thing about friends, dude. Somehow, they can care about more than one at a time. Sometimes we can care about up to three things. Wild, I know.

[ Okay, now Jaime is just embarrassing him a bit. He looks away, twisting the bracelet between his hands. ]

It...does not need to be priority. There are many other things they must deal with.

[ In some ways, that's directed at Jaime. He assumes Jaime has plenty to worry about as the Blue Beetle. ]

Sounds to me like that's their decision to make.

[ He eyes Fortunato, brow crinkling. ]

You really don't like it when people pay attention to you, huh?

[ Fortunato frowns, a bit embarrassed; his reaction's as small as a twitch, but it's still a reaction. He doesn't like being caught in something like this; it makes his contriteness seem inadequate.

He takes a moment to formulate what he considers a good enough response. ]

It is not- in this place, it is not always good to have it. [ Oh, that comes off as targeted, doesn't it. ] Even if...it is not always like what has happened to you.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. But there's a difference between, like - people in general paying attention to you and your friends doing it. One's definitely way better than the other. And, honestly, any friend of yours should be paying attention.

[ Hypocrite. Hypocrite. Hypocrite. ]

[ That could be either an insult or a compliment, couldn’t it? Particularly when Fortunato is starting to get a bit tired of the ways people feel protective of him. But he Jaime doesn’t seem like he’s being critical... ]

Uh. What do you mean by that?

Well... if you're really friends with someone, you pay attention to them, right? Like, if they really like something that you don't, you still pay attention 'cause even if it's not important to you, it's important to them. You remember their birthdays and favourite foods and the stuff they say.

[ Jaime shrugs. This all seems like common sense to him, but what does he know? ]

You know. Stuff like that.

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LISTEN FORTNITE, AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON HERE HAS TO HAVE PARENTS

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