Silence like thunder

There was a second in which Victor thought he might finally get some answer, but the moment didn’t last long as it became clear Mingze was just as stubborn as he was on this matter. “I’ll eat anything and I like my coffee black,” he answered in a huff. If the other wanted to play this game with him, they’d see who’d win.

But despite the frustration of the situation, Victor had become worried about Mingze the moment the other opened the door. The wounds had left their marks and the man looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. Despite the resistance he was putting up, he seemed almost broken. Victor let out a sigh. “You look like shit, Mingze. Whatever is going on, you can’t keep refusing my help. I saw that darkness. You can’t face it alone.” Victor was scared of that darkness ever since he’d encountered it, but he couldn’t go on knowing others had to confront that danger, especially now he knew his friend was involved.

Victor had answered Mingze’s question about what he wanted for dinner and how he liked his coffee in a huff and hadn’t expected that the other was serious about it. That realisation only came when his friend announced they’d be having chinese for dinner then. Mingze had to be kidding. The other had to answer him eventually, right?

The loud slam caused Victor to jump a step back, but once the initial surprise had dissipated, his anger grew. This was spinning out of control. Yelling was probably the stupidest thing he could do now, yet Victor couldn’t keep his reaction in check as Mingze kept shouting at him. “All I want is to know what’s going on!” The neighbours could probably hear them by now, but Victor didn’t even think about that. “What’s wrong with me?”

All he wanted was to know what was going on so he could help. His nightmares were filled with the artefact and the darkness that surrounded it. If only he knew what it was, maybe he wouldn’t have to look over his shoulders anymore and he could prevent his friends from experiencing the same. Mingze looked exactly how Victor’d felt after his encounter in the temple. The other couldn’t do this alone. The darkness was too strong and would consume him.

But once again, information was held back from him. It made him wonder what was so wrong with him that people couldn’t trust him. An image of his father flashed in front of him when Mingze shouted that he’d only make it worse. He’d always tried so hard to do good, to help people, to make up for his brother, but it would never be enough. The only thing he’d ever be able to do was hurt people.

“I understand,” he yelled. “I always make everything worse.” That was very clear to him now. No matter what he’d try, he would never be able to do anything good. “I wouldn’t want myself around either.”

He turned around. Mingze hadn’t wanted him here from the start. He’d thought he could get the other to share with him, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. “You’re better off without me.” For a moment he stood still, somewhere still hoping his friend would do something that would keep him from having to storm off.

The sharp words cut through him. “I don’t,” he replied. “Isn’t that exactly what you said? That I’d make things worse?” There was still anger in his voice, but there was hesitance in there as well now as he wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Inside, voices were screaming at him that he was useless, worth nothing, but then there was Mingze who told him that wasn’t what he meant.

Victor stopped as Mingze continued. “Gods?” he let out in disbelief. Turning back around, he saw the other’s eyes had grown wide and knew that hadn’t been some sort of metaphor. “Xerneas and Yveltal?” He’d been researching the mythical pokémon ever since his visit to Xerneas’ temple. The link between them and the artefact was easily made, but he’d thought, or maybe hoped, they were up against heralds of these pokémon, not the gods themselves.

Victor was used to always messing things up, whether they were in his control or not, so when Mingze told him he hadn’t meant it like that, he eyed the other unsure of what to make of this. An explanation came that it wasn’t because of him but because anyone would make the situation worse. That… made him feel a bit less worse. His father’s voice was still screaming at him that Mingze just didn’t want to deal with him right now and was only saying this to get rid of him, but he knew the other wasn’t like that and that gave him enough strength to silence the voice a bit.

For a moment Victor still hoped he’d misinterpreted Mingze, but it soon became clear that wasn’t the case. Victor sighed. “I’m already involved.” He’d already encountered one of those artefacts and the darkness clinging to it. Mingze might be trying to protect him, but it was too late for that. “And what about you?” The other was in horrible shape. He might think he could take this all on himself, but that would only end badly.

How did Mingze expect him to just turn his back on him? Whether Victor’d encountered the artefact before or not, he was involved simply by seeing the man like this. There was no way he could pretend the other was alright and just go home. On top of that, he couldn’t get that darkness out of his nightmares ever since he’d encountered it. He needed to know what that artefact was and why the fortune teller had sent him to it.

Victor looked at Mingze at his next words. “Then why don’t you?” Here he was offering to take some of the burden on him and still Minze refused to tell him anything. He didn’t want to die, but what use did he have if not to get his friend out of this?

He should’ve known that Mingze wouldn’t want to endanger him either, but it was still too ingrained in Victor that he was only good if he could be useful for others that he was surprised by the answer. “I don’t know,” he muttered, feeling somewhat ashamed that he’d even considered his friend would want that.

Victor’s eyebrows scrunched together when Mingze explained his wounds hadn’t been caused by the artefacts nor by the darkness he’d come across. “That’s not less worrisome.” If it had been neither of those things, there were even more threats that he didn’t know about and that Mingze had to face alone. “It only means you’re in even more trouble than I thought.”

“How is that a misunderstanding?” Victor let out without thinking. Mingze’s clothes hid most of the wounds, but Victor could see bandages sticking from underneath them in different spots and he’d seen a sliver of hurt in the other’s expression when he’d moved before. Whoever had done this to him hadn’t just hit him once, they hadn’t been able to stop.

Mingze assured him that it wouldn’t happen again. “Are you sure about that?” Victor raised his eyebrows at the other. What was stopping this person from coming back and hurting his friend again?

Victor sighed. “Fine, you’re not going to tell me anything,” he spoke defeated, though still slightly annoyed. “I still don’t like anything about this.” Now that they’d calmed down a bit, he could see he wouldn’t be able to convince Mingze to tell him more. He didn’t agree with it, but he also realised now that arguing further wouldn’t help.

Victor looked at Mingze sharply. These weren’t just scratches, that was very easy to see. “Don’t lie. If you don’t want to tell me things, fine, but don’t lie.” It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to change the other’s mind and get him to explain what was going on. He could try to make peace with that, but he didn’t want to be lied to.

At the mention of a ‘her’, Victor wanted to ask further, but for once he shut up. It was futile anyway: Mingze wouldn’t tell him anything.

A sigh escaped Victor. He didn’t want his life to take a turn for the worse again. He was finally finding some happiness now he was away from home. His affinity was already throwing a spanner in the works and making things more difficult. Adding something else on top of that… He didn’t really want to get involved.

Still he didn’t like that Mingze had to deal with this. “If there are things I can help with, you do know you can ask me, right?”

Victor looked up when Mingze started speaking, half surprised that the other was telling him more. At the mention that the friend who’d attacked him might not be fully human and had claws, he thought back to someone he’d met in the park. Could this be the same person? “I met someone like that a while back,” he noted.

Mingze shrugged and said it wasn’t as bad as it looked. “It looks pretty bad.” Victor said quietly, worry still sounding in his voice.

But while he couldn’t help but be concerned for his friend, he realised now that he wouldn’t get the other to tell him anything. With the last of his reluctance, he told Mingze that he could always tell him if he needed help. He didn’t think the other would take him up on the offer, but he needed his friend to know he was here for him.

Victor looked around for a moment. Now that he’d calmed down, he realised what he’d done. “I’m sorry I barged in here like that,” he apologised. He’d been so angry when Mingze didn’t want to tell him what was going on that he hadn’t thought anything he’d done through.