IC Inbox/Answering machine

[oncedevil]

Hey, not around. Leave a message, I'll get back to you.

Comments

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[oncedevil]

[At least Tony thought to add another to his pile?]

Can't imagine things have slowed down that much without me. [Ah, right, he's not there to distract Nux. And Nux is probably taking it pretty badly, come to think of it...

Wow he really is an asshole.]

Looking for someone in the states. No luck.


Say uh... sorry about your birthday.

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[solvethepuzzle]

[He does appreciate that.]

[He wants to say something about all this, but at the same time doesn't want it to sound like he's trying to guilt him into coming back. If he returns, it shouldn't be out of guilt.]

I hope you manage to find them.

My birthday is not that important.

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[oncedevil]

[So far Nathan's the only one who's been that thoughtful. He's feeling guilty enough without the extra help, and returning on the merit of guilt alone will only make him resentful.]

Thanks. Me too, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

It's pretty important. Heard I basically ruined it.

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[solvethepuzzle]

[When you don't know what to say, just say nothing. That tends to be Nathan's default strategy.]

I honestly do not care much about my birthday. Please don't feel guilty about it. [The gesture had been nice, or would have been had the circumstances not been what they are, but. He wouldn't have minded not having any acknowledgement.

[It's the situation that's upsetting, not the timing.]

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[oncedevil]

[Tony has a bad habit of the awkward silence filling nattering that just makes things more awkward.]

I know, but still.

[Too late he already does. He knows he screwed up, but knowing and owning up to are two very different things.

Especially when he doesn't feel as though he's the only one at fault.]

Say uh... thanks for contacting me. All the same.

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[solvethepuzzle]

[Prolonged silence frankly isn't much better in that regard. When things get awkward around these two, the awkward pushes on like a freight train.]

I'm sorry I took so long.

[They're going to get into another apology spiral, aren't they?]

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[oncedevil]

[They are pretty good at compounding each other's awkward. It's a talent.]

Don't worry about it. You didn't have to, after all. Kinda didn't think you'd want to, all things considered.

[Probably. He's expecting everyone to hate him at this point.]