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[synthedick]

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[voice] 5/7th

[circumitus]

Nick.

[Wait. What's the deal with calling your roommate when you're on the same side of the city now? Because reasons.]

There's something we need to talk about. When will you be home?

[voice]

[synthedick]

I'm passing the Colosseum now, and I'll swing that way when I'm on the other side. This important?

[Because why would she call him otherwise when he'd be home tonight?]

[voice]

[circumitus]

Yes, but it can wait for you to get back.

[No pressure or anything, man.]

[voice]

[synthedick]

All right. I'll be back soon.

[He's not sure he likes the sound of that, but when Rey is involved, he can't help that slight feeling of urgency when it comes to requests like this. He turns off the communicator for now and picks up the pace on his rounds, making it home within the hour. He might have skipped going all the way around the arena today.

As he steps inside, he takes a cursory look around the place, just to make sure nothing is immediately wrong. So far, so good.]

Rey?

[circumitus]

[Rey is feeding Wellingham when Nick steps through the door. The stupid little fish is swimming dumbly in its bowl, catching stray flakes drifting downward into the water.

[Closing the cap of the food jar, Rey sets it aside and looks to Nick once she sees the door shut behind him.]

Hey. [Casual, cool, calm. Nothing wrong here.]

You still doing that thing about Danse?

[By "that thing", she assumes that Nick will assume what she means.]

[synthedick]

[Oh hey, Rey is feeding the fish. At least that's something good, but he can't help but wonder why she'd call him home about something important, only to make chit-chat. At least that chit-chat is about a topic that does give him concern.]

I'm just keeping an eye on him, trying to figure out what it is that's happened back in the Commonwealth, and more importantly, what it is he has against me... other than the obvious.

[But the way Danse had spoken, looked at him, attacked him -- it was personal. But why? What is it he doesn't know?]

[circumitus]

[It's somewhat relevant chit-chat, okay.]

And I think there are better ways of going about keeping an eye on him than what you're currently doing.

[That is, getting a personal spy to do it for him. One that isn't very well-balanced, at that.]

[synthedick]

[Nick raises an eyebrow. He's not sure what brought this on, but he'll get to that next.]

Yeah? You got any suggestions?

[circumitus]

I do.

[She doesn't even miss a beat.]

Don't spy. If anything comes up that I think you should know, I'll tell you -- but I don't want you to have anyone tailing after him anymore. Least of all Shadow.

[synthedick]

There a reason for this change of heart?

[Because if she had objections, she could have voiced them before now. That means there's a reason.]

[circumitus]

You mean other than the fact that he just showcased beating a man bloody over the network?

[Huff. There's more to it than that, though.]

He's got problems; so does Danse. If their shit ever collides, Danse would see you liable.

[synthedick]

[Yeah, that was a post even Nick couldn't ignore, especially given the way Shadow had been arguing with Maketh. Shadow might not be with the Guard in an official capacity anymore, but Nick isn't about to let him talk to one of their leaders like that, certainly not after all she does for the city.

He sighs, his tone more resigned.]

I told him to keep his distance, but he can be a bit of a loose cannon. I get the feeling Danse is never going to be okay with me, no matter what I do.

[But this isn't about Danse.]

[circumitus]

Maybe, maybe not. I came around, didn't I?

[The situation is more similar than she realizes, but right now she understands that things are different from her own situation, not knowing what Danse is himself right now. Sigh.]

And if it's one thing I know from personal experience, it's that it isn't always a good idea to keep poking a hornet's nest. [Sans has learned that the hard way from Rey.] These things take time.

[synthedick]

[She certainly did come around. She's no Danse though, even if neither of them realizes just how similar they all are.]

It might make a difference that that hornet's nest hated me before I ever even learned his name. He's got some personal beef with me -- not just synths, but me, Nick Valentine -- and I just don't know what it is.

[Yet.]

[circumitus]

And if that's the case, then you're less likely to find out why from someone like Shadow. Not only is he unstable, he's hard to be likely one to get any answers out of someone like Danse.

[And Rey doubts that that is information that Danse would leave just lying around. She isn't trying to gain his trust for Nick's answers, though -- she's doing what she can for both of them.]

[synthedick]

Like I said, I just wanted Shadow to keep an eye on him. Make sure he didn't go ballistic on someone else.

[Like Shadow would be one to talk about that. Nick's brow furrows as he steps further inside, sliding out of his coat to hang it on the rack.]

I get it that Danse is an acquaintance of yours, given the guy called me, of all people, to find out if you were all right after that bout with Rosie, but what is it that really brought this on? Is it just Danse? Or is it something more with Shadow?

[circumitus]

And relying on someone who's just as prone to going ballistic isn't a much better alternative.

[She folds her arms over her chest, her expression screwing into an uncomfortable one.]

Sorry, but I'm not going to trust the judgment of someone who got pissed that I didn't incapacitate you over "letting" you go on with a bum leg for a while.

[A fact that she wasn't all too happy with herself, but that was Nick's choice. Nick, who specifically told her not to go to the gods for his sake. Even if she didn't agree with it, it was what he wanted. That meant more to her than anything else.]

[synthedick]

Hn. That does sound like something he'd suggest.

[Which is why Nick has no doubt Shadow actually did just that. He knows Shadow has a good heart under all that, but damn if he doesn't know how to put it to use sometimes. It shines when he does, but any other time...

He stifles another sigh, his brow wrinkling further as he looks Rey up and down, the gears in his head turning.]

All right. I'll tell him to back off Danse. I can find some other way to keep him busy, but I get the distinct feeling he's going to get in over his head with the wrong people one of these days.

[circumitus]

[When even Rey thinks you're being too much, it's a problem. Nick's well-being is important to her, but his right to choose how he lives it is another matter. It isn't something she's okay with just taking away from someone, let alone someone she cares about.]

If he does, he does. But at least that'll be on him.

[And not Nick, no matter how much he likes to blame himself for things.]

[synthedick]

[For just a moment, Nick's eyes flick away from Rey in a way that says he'll absolutely be blaming himself should anything happen to Shadow. It's in his nature to care, and he's the one who put him up to this, after all.]

Honestly, I think I'm trying to keep an eye on him as much as I am on other people. He might not be a part of the Guard anymore, and hell, he didn't really have the temperament for it to begin with, but he's got a lot of potential for good if he'd just see it.

[You know, like someone else Nick knows.]

[circumitus]

[Of course Nick would blame himself; that inevitable result doesn't surprise Rey. But if it's between Nick and anyone else, she has to consider Nick's well-being at any cost. He's worth more to her than most. Like him, that's just how she is.]

Even so, he's got to want to make use of that potential, not just let it sit there while he goes around starting shit and harassing people. I can't trust someone whose screwed up judgment means more to them than someone's right to choose. I would never try to take that away from anyone.

[For instance, she might not have agreed with Nick's decision not to go to the gods for spare synth parts, but that was his call. The situations vary, but Rey would rather make someone see eye to eye with her than to force them, kicking and screaming against their will.]

[synthedick]

[That Rey didn't go back to the gods for parts and respected Nick's decision in that is something he appreciates, even if Shadow wouldn't do the same. He knows that there are just some lines you don't cross, though.

His voice is low as he responds.]

I know you wouldn't. Not after all you've been through.

[His hand lingers on the coat on the rack, his eyes going to the metal fingers that compose it. Does he want to keep Shadow safe because he sees potential for good, or because he's worried that if no one steps in, he'll cave to whatever it is that makes him so prone to violence? Is he suspicious of Danse because the Paladin is from his world? Because of what he said about the future of the Commonwealth? Is it just that former-cop nature coming into play, wanting to protect and wanting answers, or is it something else he can't remember?

And is he more worried about all this because what Sorrow said?]

[circumitus]

[Exactly. Rey doesn't feel that it's necessary to hammer the point home for Nick, because he already gets it.

[She sighs in silent agreement.]

I'm not saying you shouldn't put him to use. I just think it's a bad idea to involve him with someone like Danse. Considering how Shadow sees you, and what Danse did, back home you could have called something like that a conflict of interest.

[Not to mention Shadow doesn't seem like the type who needs a sound reason to go after someone. If not for Rey's personal experience with synthetics, she'd have probably been right on the same boat as far as Danse is concerned. But he has his reasons; she knows he does.]

[synthedick]

The other folks I have him watching should be enough to keep him busy.

[Though given Shadow's temperament, he's bound to get too close to any one of them at some point. Nick has a hunch he already has. While he generally trusts the hedgehog can take care of himself in most situations, his cockiness is a problem. Nick just hopes he can learn to tone that down before it's too late.

If only he knew what was coming.]

You and Danse get a long pretty well these days, huh? He still hang out at that bar of yours?

[circumitus]

Good.

[Rey can't say she's all that surprised to hear Nick has other persons​ of interest in the city to keep an eye on, and while she would rather he not use Shadow for any of it -- period -- that's Nick's call to make. He saw what Shadow did, so he knows just as well what he's capable of.

[Then he flips the subject back to Danse, and she gives a reluctant nod.]

Guess so. And he's been helping out a bit there, yes. Figured it's better to give him something to do, since odds are he's going to stay clear of the Guard.

[Which is expected, if not a little sad, considering how he was when she first told him of the place. Then he met Nick, and things just went downhill from there...]