2023-12-07: Make Friends, Find Love, Share Joy, Shed Tears
- Log: 2023-12-07: Make Friends, Find Love, Share Joy, Shed Tears
- Cast: Alma Stirner
- Where: OCU Japan - Fujinomiya
- Date: U.C. 0097 12 07
- Summary: Alma Stirner has a phone conversation she's meant to have for nearly six months. It's not the happiest thing in the world, but it's at least some kind of forward motion.
"I... wanted to wait to have this conversation until I could do it without getting angry," the redhead says, sitting in a small apartment in Fujinomiya. "But... you still see me as a child, don't you?"
She waits. Her expression sours a little, and her head hangs a bit.
"No, I don't -- I'm not saying that that's... I don't regret it and I don't think you're a predator or anything. I phrased that really stupidly... it's just... to you, I'm always going to be someone you first saw as too young to be fighting." She shifts uneasily in her bed, pulling her knees in.
Her eyes shut for a few seconds, as she lets the woman on the other end talk. "... I think we should break it off. I want to be your friend, and I don't think I can be your friend and your lover at the same time..." After a few seconds of talk on the other line, Alma starts to tear up.
"... Of -- of course! I mean -- Barbara did something worse and I still want to see her more than anything!" Swallowing hard, Alma says, "I'm not -- rejecting you. You'll always have a special place in my life. I just... it can't be that specific special place."
She pauses for a long time, listening. "... I don't think it's healthy for us to talk about what you could have done differently," she says, head slumping forward a little. "But if there's a next time... reach out to her friends instead of acting like you have to solve everything, okay?" With a hitch in her breath, she adds, "Or reach out to your friends! Reach out to me, even! Just... what you did wasn't..."
After a few more seconds' silence (during which the voice on the other end of the line speaks, instead), Alma lets out a sigh and closes her eyes. "... Yeah. I don't think you're some monster or anything... you saved my life! I just... well... anyway..."
She takes a breath. "Yeah. Okay. We can talk about something else. I'm thinking of retiring from active duty... I think at my age I'd rather be teaching pilots than on the front lines. I always thought it was smart that Killy moved into that kind of position. What about you?"
Alma pauses, takes a deep breath, and nods. "... That's good for you. I think you'll do really well with that, even! ... I'm glad. I don't want you to be somewhere you're unhappy."
She smiles, though it's with a bit of a wince. "Yeah. And... yeah, actually, I am still kinda mad Yuliana threw out those pans." A beat. "No, you don't need to replace them, it's just... ehehe, I don't know. It's not like I want to burn and bury your memory, is all! You gave me a few really great years..."
With a slightly shuddering breath, she affirms, "... Yeah. I met Mia and Killy, but... I'm still looking. If you hear anything... let me know, okay?"
"... And of course you're invited, too."
Flopping backward into her bed, she says, "... Thanks, Lilith."