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Techno's steps are heavy and tired, but he's moving fast, returning back. His hands are covered in blood almost to the shoulders, and with those hands, he lays a gentle, but a very, very genuine tight hug, locking Redza in. His fingers grip the cloth of his haori a little, not too much not to come off as threatening, but enough to give out the broken heart of his.
Redza raises his eyebrows.
"Oh ." He smiles with a hint of mockery. "How sweet of you!"
"Shut up."
Techno's voice wobbles slightly, if he wasn't careful enough it would break even saying something so short.
Silence interrupts the moment, making air stiff. Redza's eyes elegantly shift to Techno's side.
"Please, I beg you, be quiet just for a moment ." He tightens his embrace a little, resting his weary head on his past friend's shoulder, closing his eyes. " Please ."
Redza doesn't say a word. His conciseness has a rare moment of not rushing anything, of not creating chaos, so he has a very brief moment of feeling one of his primary driving forces.
Sorrow.
He doesn't say a word, but his face does. Ghost of a grin escapes his face, and his eyelids tense a little, giving out a small sparkle of being hurt somewhere deep in his rotten heart. His gaze shifts again, but now looking away from Techno, his eyebrows tense slightly with sadness.
It's genuine.
Even if Redza feels like he gets joy from every horror he brings to everywhere he goes, the emotion apart from fury that he was born in was misery. It's maybe hidden by himself from himself in a mask of living in ecstasy, but the motive for his hideous actions is very, very simple. Much simpler than just being angry at everything. It's born from self-pity.
He leans his head ever so slightly and raises his hands to return the hug without any threat. Moving his hands like a caring parent. He would rather them both slowly fall to the ground so he can hang his head on a mighty shoulder too, to let his hair flow without a care expressing his regret, to have even one minute to rest, but no. It's not the love that's moving his hands, but the closest he has to it. Something that would bring tears to his eyes if he allowed himself. He won't. It would crumble the foundation of staying so strong in Phil's mind. In his own mind.
But it quickly vanishes.
"Was this moment enough?"
He doesn't get an answer. He rarely does. All he can feel is the slight trembling in Techno's arms. He knows for sure it's just from being deadly tired, after all, Redza doesn't let his own personal warrior rest. He knows for sure that Techno just won't let his emotions overtake him now, even though it already kinda happened. But something leaves a hint of doubt in his mind, making him smile, giving him a sign to continue.
"It's nice, y'know?" He lets out a quiet laugh, teasing. "Being needed. Being loved ."
He can instantly feel Techno's grip disappearing, but not letting go just yet. It makes his grin even wider. Words work so well that it's surprising that is in fact the blood god everyone was so afraid about. Maybe he kindly allowed a moment without any of it, but now it's his turn again.
"You are very transparent and easy to read even if you think otherwise. I know you think you miss him. But the best part of this is that it's still me ." He takes a moment to let that sink in, leaning his head and hands even closer, lowering his voice a little. "I'm flattered that you miss me."
Techno slowly, like a titan rising from the ground, collects himself back, standing in front of Redza, looking him dead in the eye with all his exhaustion.
He's grinning.
Of course.
The usual.
The moment is long gone.