Contratvertueux - Execute.

Why did I pick up someone worse than No. 6

Who do you think you’re pointing those guns at?!

                  you were so pure before they  

                       d r a g g e d   you through the flames

                               now, you’re all charred remains 

                                       and  s h a t t e r e d  bones

                                     choking on ashes and smoke

                                          begging for the fire back

leviamusesinpurgatory‌:

“Understand, or end the conversation.”

There was more emotion in his tone, far more than he should have held, and every syllable sounded angry–upset. Black wasn’t a man who hid. His feelings were far more in the open than No. 4′s were, and that wouldn’t change. Once they spoke here, his would still be the main topic of conversation.

Black stared up at the Gunner as immense pride swirled in his chest, combating the melancholy and sadness that had made his entire being their home. No. 4 would always be the one to see, the Instructor knew that nothing escaped him.

Even now, what No. 4 saw before him couldn’t remain unchecked. He couldn’t allow the android who was meant to teach them be in this out of sorts state forever. 

It was because he knew that, how bad this must have been for the ex-Attacker to actually speak with him about it, that Black refused to allow the subject of No. 4′s feelings be left alone. For them to fester, to swim in his chest without ever knowing the light of day.

However selfish that may sound, he didn’t want that for his student. For someone he saw as family.

“You came to talk about how I am. To do that, I need you to be honest with me, No. 4.”

Their positions blatantly gave the Gunner power. He was taller like this, the longer Black remained sitting No. 4 would have a latent sense of control. At least that was the theory from books. Black’s body stalled. It felt like a motion was skipped, a moment in his memory lost. Books would always have him think of her, it just happened to be that the conversation they had that lead to their confessions had been instigated by her. For her. She had made a comment on him looking up old texts to justify what she was going through.

While he had these memories he still found himself looking for older books, just for that.

“We have things we’ve left unspoken.”

At that, the Gunner’s jaw locks a little more. Of all things, the Instructor’s angry with him, and for what reason? To address his own feelings, which were hardly relevant at this point in time? This situation wasn’t about him, and seldom were there any circumstances that involved addressing him or what he thought and felt. He bites back the urge to click his tongue again, out of respect for the man seated in front of him.

I’m not the one with regrets here, you are.

He bites the words down, it isn’t fair to throw such harsh words at Black when he’s already so blatantly raw.

“Understand and be honest about what, Instructor. This isn’t about me, it’s about you being so out of it that you didn’t notice that lessons ended.”

No. 4′s voice was flat as ever, and as per usual he remained curt. Someone had to maintain a sense of normalcy here, and if Black wasn’t up to the task: It fell to him as one of the eldest in the M Unit. If No. 3 had noticed the Instructor’s state, he can’t imagine how unfocused and uneasy that he would have become, had he not taken charge of drills today. 

If No. 20 were here, she would have smacked him and chastised him for being caught off-guard--

--Damn it, he shouldn’t have thought about her. It caused a momentary delay in his thought process to let his mind wander and center itself in her memory. At that, he inhaled and once again refrained from clenching his hands into fists. Shoulders squared, the male unit turned his gaze back onto his mentor without much of a second thought. He won’t fold his arms, that would imply he was guarded, that he had something to hide.

There’s nothing I have to discuss because there was never any room for me to begin with.

“What we’re discussing concerns you and you alone, not me.”

Because it’s beautiful and one of my favorite songs.