Rue/Warp: Dear Diary

Life, Failure / Mishap

Following the events of the day  , Rue finds themselves having an uncomfortable conversation with Warp after he takes a peak at their precious notebook.

[26/07/2025 21:34. Frank receives a phone call from Rue.]   Frank starts as the sound of the Ghostbusters theme tune coming from his phone. Closing the notebook he’d just finished reading for the 3rd time and reaching for his phone, “Hey Rue, how’re you holding up?”   ''Hey...'' Rue stammers, their nervousness evident in their tone, ''Better, thanks.'' They stop pacing around the room, the line going silent for a moment as they consider their words, ''I'm sorry about... earlier. I was wondering though - did you... Have you seen my notebook anywhere?''   Frank feels his stomach knot as a mixture of guilt and shame fills him, “Yeah” he clears his throat, suddenly dry, “I found it in my car, got it here in front of me now, I’ll bring it round if you want… though, if you’re willing, I think we’d best talk when I do.”   Rue's heart drops at the admission, their legs feeling wobbly once more as they slump down on the sofa, ''Actually, would you mind if I came by to collect it?'' They say quietly, glancing over at the bedroom Rachel disappeared into just a minute ago. ''I'd rather not have anyone else around if we need to talk...''   “Sure that’s no problem, see you soon”   ''See you soon,'' Rue sighs wearily when they've ended the call, running a hand over their face as they utter out a profanity. Standing back up and knocking on the bedroom door, they call out to their flatmate ''Frank's got my notes, I'm going to head over there now. No need to drive me.''   "You... sure, Rue?" They hear, accompanied by discomforting grunting as Rachel no-doubt tries to fit into the jeans that, at this point in her pregnancy, are little more than a torturous reminder of easier times, "I'll only... agh, fuck!" She shouts, before audibly sighing dispondently, "I'll only be a moment."   ''It's fine,'' Rue says, their anxiety for the upcoming talk with Warp dulling their amusement of Rachel's wardrobe struggles. ''It's not like I'm going all the way back to Sigarda.''   "Oh, he had it, did he?" She says, still calling through the wall as it seems she's given up and is just laying on her bed contemplating if this whole motherhood thing is worth it, "Good. Just, let me know if you need anything."   ''I will, thanks.'' With that, Rue heads out the door and towards Frank's apartment. It takes them a little over half an hour to walk there, giving them some time to mentally run through what they know is written in the pages Frank has read. It doesn't do much to ease their nerves, their heart racing when they reach the front door and gingerly knock on it.   Frank opens the door after a few moments pause, seeing Rue up and about again he smiles “Hey, come on in, I’ve got your notes on the kitchen island.”   Seeing some bandages sticking out from underneath Frank's shirt, Rue's eyes go wide for a moment, ''I really am a stupid ass...'' Rue utters under their breath, berating themself before they follow him into the house for the second time that day. Seeing the notebook on the counter, they realise with a heavy heart that the pending conversation will be inevitable, ''So...'' They say, actively avoiding Frank's gaze, ''You read it...''   Frank tries not to grimace “Yeah, I am sorry for breaching your privacy, I hadn’t intended to read it but it opened during my drive home, and after reading Mercy asked you to kill him, I couldn’t leave it alone.”   “Ah.” Rue awkwardly rubs the back of their neck, “Well I’m sure you also read then that it’s more of a ‘just in case he goes evil’ policy… but yeah. He did ask.” Pursing their lips, Rue crouches down to give Charcoal a quick scratch behind his ear, the cat having circled around their legs as soon as they walked in, “Is… is that all you read?”   “No, honestly? Once I started I couldn’t stop reading... sooo I read all of it,” Frank admits, looking ashamed, “Again I am sorry, I am not judging you for any of it either, so you can stop looking like you’re bracing for a scolding,” he continues trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.   ''Wouldn't be the first scolding today,'' Rue says with a wince, continuing to avoid Frank's gaze. The silence carries on between them for a moment, the only sound the soft purring coming from Charcoal. Eventually, Rue speaks again, their voice barely above a whisper, ''I don't know how to deal with this... With any of it.''   “You’re too young to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders Rue, you don’t have to deal with problems on your own” Frank picks up the notebook and walks over to hand it to them, “I need to apologise again for what happened at the prison, when I told you to put me down before I intended to take that deal, I hadn’t meant it as asking you specifically, like I expect killing to come easily to you, I meant for all the team to not hold back if I had become a threat.”   “That doesn’t really make it better.” Rue grinds out, their mood shifting suddenly, standing back up and meeting Frank’s gaze with unbridled fury, “It should never have been a matter of us killing whichever one of us took the deal. If that was the case I’d tell Mercy to go on his merry way now to take care of Harmony!” As they continue to ramble, the heat in the room starts to rise, Rue’s power responding to their anger, “If I wanted to keep killing people I’d have stayed employed by the Spider! I thought I joined a hero team, not a fucking suicide squad! I know I’m a hypocrite since you now obviously know I would’ve done the same in a heartbeat if I could’ve, but if the only way we can think of saving anyone is by sacrificing our team, we’re going to have a fucking short run at this gig!”   Frank holds Rue’s angry gaze without flinching, “I didn’t say it did make it better, and you’re right, we shouldn’t have to kill or sacrifice to do our job right, but this isn’t a Saturday morning cartoon where we come in, save the day and the bad guys just go to prison and stay there. Sometimes we’re going to have to make choices no one should have to make, sometimes people die.” Frank drops into his armchair, placing the book on an arm, “You care, Rue. That’s a good thing. And if things go well, go to plan, no one will die, no one will have to make that sacrifice, but if they don’t?”   Frank looks down, takes a deep breath and releases it slowly as if steadying himself, “Then I am prepared to do what’s necessary, whether it means my death or taking a life… I don’t see us as a family as Mercy apparently does, you’re not wrong for feeling differently on that either, we haven’t known each other that long, but I care about this team. I will do whatever is necessary to protect this team and that means you too, Rue, are not alone. If you want or need help, or even just to scream at the injustice of our situation without judgment for it, I will be right here. The team will be here.”   ''I know it's not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. I've killed before and I'm under no illusion that I won't do so again, but I'm not going to make it my go to plan like Mercy seems to,'' Rue growls, telekinetically grabbing the notes from the arm of the chair. The notebook flies across the room and into their hand, the pages fluttering and crumping a little when they catch it. They look like they're about to continue on their rant, but their eyes glance over at the bandages again and their mouth snaps shut. It looks like they are genuinely taking a moment to count down, the temperature slowly returning to normal, ''I... could do with some help, though.'' They pout.   Frank allows himself a smile, if small, "Whatever you need," he motions to the bandages, having caught their glance, "And stop getting such a sour look when you look at these, they weren't your fault, if anything it's a reminder never to try mud wrestling a one ton hagfish again."   “Father Torres could’ve healed them for you if you didn’t have to carry me out of there, though.” They say apologetically. They purse their lips in thought, their fingers running over the edge of the pages in their hands, “Can you promise me something?”   "That depends entirely on the request" Frank says matter of factly, "But, go on."   “The promise I made to Mercy is mine to keep,” Rue states gravely. “He told me I could say no, but I agreed to do it if I couldn’t see any way to save him, and I hope it never comes to that, but I intend to keep my word if it does, so please… Promise you’ll let me.”   Frank doesn't respond immediately, he simply looks Rue squarely in the eyes as he contemplates her request before speaking, "You think you can handle that? Killing a friend?"   There is a sadness to Rue’s eyes unbecoming for their age as they nod, “If there’s no other way…”   Again a pause but much shorter, "Alright, I promise to give you the chance to fulfill your promise, however," he says, holding a finger for emphasis, "If I see you hesitate in a way that endangers yourself, or the others, I will step in, does that sound fair?"   Rue smiles sombrely at Frank, “Sounds fair.”   Frank nods "Good, let us hope then, that it doesn't come to that."   “You can say that again.” Rue sighs, “Was there anything else you umm… read… that you wanted to talk about?” They ask awkwardly, most of the tension having faded with the promise made between them.   "There was one thing that interested me. You wrote that Jacob came to see you, how did he manage that when he's supposed to be under protection? And against his mother's wishes?"   “Ah, yeah, he did. I have no idea how he slipped away from the protection detail, he’s a sneaky little kid…” Rue actually chuckles a little, shaking their head at the boy’s chaotic nature. “His mum doesn’t want any of us near her kids…” There’s a flash of hurt as Rue carries on explaining. “After I went to the hospital and told her what had happened, I went to their flat to make sure the kids were okay… Harmony was there.”   Frank's face goes pale, "What happened?"   “I’d gone to speak to Ghost before I went to check on them, so at first I thought it was Jocelyn leaning over them whilst they were sleeping… that was until I saw her coming through the front door.” Rue says, remembering the immense fear they’d felt upon realising who it could’ve been. “I went up there as quickly as I could - kind of broke their door in the process. Turns out Zaebos needed to get close to them to keep up her part of the deal and remove the demonic taint.”   They look down at their feet, their shoulders slumping dejectedly, “I had to let her go again, there was no way I could beat her… I made sure Millie and Jacob were okay, but when I spoke to Jocelyn again she told me to stay away from her family.”   "I see... Don't beat yourself up too badly Rue, you were right to back off, it would only have ended in your death, and perhaps the family's as well," Frank leans over his chair to stroke Charcoal who has prowled his way over, "As for Mrs Green, it's understandable she'd want us to stay away, she's already potentially lost one daughter, she likely feels keeping us away will make Zaebos loss interest, or perhaps it simply helps her feel like she has some degree of control over the situation"   “I know, and I understand why she said it…” Rue sighs, smiling faintly as Charcoal hops onto Franks lap, clearly demanding further affection. “I just want to get Allyson back to them.”   Frank runs a hand under Charcoal's chin and begins to scratch gently, "I know, we all do and we will. We just have to be patient. Give them time, once Allyson is home and things allowed to settle, they'll come around"   “Yeah… I guess we will.” Rue says, reminded of the conversation with the Huntress earlier that day, “I should get going,” They say finally, “Do you think we could meet up again soon? I know we need to wait for that book, but I’d like to make sure we have everything else we could possibly need in the meantime, and then some.”   Frank nods, “Of course, the better prepared we are the better armed we’ll be.”   “Thanks, Frank,” Seeing Charcoal happily curled up on his lap and snoozing away, Rue chuckles once more, “I’ll see myself out.”   "One more thing," Frank says, speaking over his shoulder, "You ever been to Ireland?"   “Uhh, no?” Rue says, stopping in their tracks. “Why?”   "After this is over, care to see it?" Frank stands with Charcoal still in his arms, purring contentedly, "I think it's long past time, you start living for yourself again," he says with a smile.   Rue stares at Frank dumbfounded before the corners of their lips pull up in a playful smirk, ''Sure, I'd like that.''