I'll See You Later

"I'll See You Later" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
[Write a summary of the thread's events here, including spoilers and important plot details. Check the Order of Threads to see if the thread you are placing already has a summary, to make less work for yourself.]
==Full Text==
It was hard to breathe.
He inhaled slowly, feeling the oxygen scrape his lungs as it entered, laboured and painful. His head hung so far back that he was staring at the ground, or what he thought was the ground… he couldn’t really tell what was up or down. 
“What the fuck happened, Akira?”
“I don’t know! He just collapsed all of a sudden while we were on patrol!”
“Took him straight to the hospital, but…”
“He’s breathing; but his pulse is very weak, and his skin’s freezing, like–like he’s dying…”
It tightened around his legs, crawling slowly up over his hips, little by little with each passing minute. He laid suspended in the air, chin tilted up and creating a smooth line down his jaw, neck, to his collarbone, long blonde bangs flipped over and exposing his forehead. His scars were nowhere to be seen. 
“It’s been two days– he’s barely hanging in there.”
“Do you know what’s caused this?”
“No, we have no idea at all.” 
“…I’ll come back tomorrow…”
Metal clinked and echoed, darkness swirling and crawling closer to him. It was up to his chest now, trapping his arms to his sides. It was dull at first, but soon his ears could pick up the sound he dreaded. His lungs expanded as he took another slow breath. It was getting closer.
Snap.
—
Jin’s eyes flew open, shooting upright in bed, sweat dripping down his back, drenching the shirt he was wearing. It was completely silent in the hospital room, save for the beeping of machines and the occasional flicker of a cheap bulb. The clock said 3AM.
He panted lightly through his mouth, staring blankly at the covers that were now twisted around his legs, tight and binding and constricting; it was disconcerting. He glanced around the room, thoughts running wild as he processed what had occurred. He had an idea, but he needed to make sure.
Jin slid off the side of the bed, running across the room barefoot and reaching quickly for the Library, then typed furiously on the keyboard. Soon the Golden Timeline appeared on the screen; he was right on time. Words scrawled across the screen as Juro wrote about the battle, the lock, and…
His knuckles went white as he squeezed his hands into a fist, blood running cold. He’s there.
foresight-botgd
Yun’s feet hit the ground way too fast and he almost tripped running down the softly-lit hallway, trying not to make too much noise, as it was purposefully late at night that he had arrived to see his friend. The familiar smells of the world he was used to–carpet cleaner, the slight dusty smell stirred by the A/C, the waft of cigarette smoke from a nearby door–made him tear up with relief. He’d already swiped through the silent timeline as fast as he could to at least collect the things he’d tied to himself, like a magnet brushing through a pile of washers, and now he was here.
He skidded to a stop in front of one of the apartments and quickly knocked on it, waiting excitedly to see if Jin would answer the door. A few long seconds passed, and he hesitantly knocked again, firmly enough that he would hope the agent could hear it in his sleep.
“Jin?” he said softly. The building hummed, cars drove by, dogs barked, as though nothing was happening. The reunion Yun was imagining crumpled around him, and he frowned in concern, fishing for his phone and rapidly swiping a number into his keypad. He held it up to his ear, tucking his free hand under his elbow nervously as he waited for it to pick up.
akkeyagentofhelheim
There was a harsh clatter from behind the door, a pause, then it was violently wrenched open, revealing a wild-eyed Jin, clutch the vibrating phone in one hand and leaning against the door handle with the other. 
He stared down at the time traveler for a heartbeat; Yun opened his mouth to say something, but before he could even utter a sound, Jin’s arm shot out. He grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him through the door so roughly that Yun thought the Helheim agent was going to hit him.
But it didn’t come; instead, Jin wrapped his arms around the younger man, sinking slightly to the floor, embracing him so tightly, one hand holding him behind the head. Yun could feel it shaking– Hel, he could feel Jin’s entire body shaking.
“Where–” his voice was hoarse, “It’s been a week.”
foresight-botgd
“Hey! Hey hey hey hey–”
Yun’s throat tightened and the guilt slammed into his lungs like a brick. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, if something happened, I didn’t know, Juro said you weren’t updating, and…I…I don’t know, I just got–I got busy–” As though “busy” were any approximation of the state of where he had just come from.
He hiccuped suddenly and clamped his mouth tightly as the tears welled up. But he growled a little, determined to not let himself be stopped. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok-kay–”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“If I was okay–!” he broke the embrace and shook him once by the shoulders, eyes roaming for any potential injuries as he lifted an arm here and there, as if he was expecting to find him bleeding at that moment, “You had your life force practically sucked from you by a fucking–demon–robot–kaiju! Thing!” He had an incredulous look on his face, mixed with confusion, fear, but mostly relief– dumbfounded relief.
“And there was nothing else about you in the Library after I woke up, but it’s not like Juro wrote anything other than the battle, so I’m just sitting here wondering why the fuck you haven’t returned, and just thought the worst–” Jin staggered backwards slightly, a slender hand on a wall, realizing he was rambling. He couldn’t help but laugh dryly; it was just so unprecedented.
He exhaled, and asked seriously, “Are you okay?”
foresight-botgd
Yun ruffled his own hair, grinning sympathetically at Jin’s reactions, and then it ran down the back of his neck and onto his shoulder as the smile faded. “I’m…um…”
In the near-silence of the apartment complex, Yun heard the ghost of a dying man’s lungs filling with blood. Tasha’s smashed face snapping back as the bullet landed in her head. The grating screams of thousands of metallic limbs in his ears. Juro’s fingers slipping away from his and disappearing into a red fog. The knock of Milae’s weapon against the inside of his forearms.
Lips trembling, Yun forced a weak smile, but his chest felt way too tight, moving too fast. “I’m–” His glasses were fogged up.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Whenever someone was asked to describe Juro Jin, it was always the same three words– calm, cool, collected. The easy, charming smile perpetually slapped on his attractive face.
But since he met Yun a year ago, in the shadiest, most mysterious way possible, he’s finally let himself express more, especially around the time traveler. That’s why he liked hanging out with him; he felt like he wouldn’t need to hold back, just for a while.
Jin heart sank as tears dripped down his face, his own panic forgotten, “Hey. Hey, you’re good. You’re fine…” He reached out and pulled him further into his apartment , swiping a bottle of water from the countertop as he lead Yun to the couch by the door, keeping a solid arm around his shoulders and not letting go, “You’re safe, I promise… I’m right here…”
foresight-botgd
The young seidkonur hadn’t even fully sat before the true waterworks started. For several paralyzing seconds, it truly felt like Yun was once more trapped in an ungodly ribcage with no way out, eyes blinded by red light and driving rain, and his hands seized up around his friend’s long wrists, the tattoos stark against his whitened skin. He managed to get his glasses off and drop them in his lap before his messy face was quickly buried into the front of Jin’s shoulder, and his thick, snotty sobbing broke the silence in a heartbreaking way.
“Oh god…I almost…I almost didn’t…I’m sorry…”
akkeyagentofhelheim
His blood ran cold as Yun said that; he knew what happened in the moment. Jin held him close, wrapping his slender arms around him as much as he could, if only he could make him feel as safe and secure as possible.
“Shh, don’t be sorry. You’re okay. There’s nothing here, you don’t need to worry…” Jin said softly, placing a hand at the back of Yun’s head as he continued to sob and shake, brows creased with worry, “You made it back safely, you did it.”
foresight-botgd
Jin was long, and Yun was small, and he folded right into the agent, his hands curled around the man’s back and loosely digging into his shirt as he slowly tried to snuffle back into coherence. It took a few tries, and several minutes; when he got close, another wave of extremely painful relief would hit him, seizing up every muscle in his body and force him to start all over again.
He finally managed to take several deep breaths, rubbing his wet chin and his flushed face, and feeling the pressure from crying build up in his temples. His tight, shivering shoulders loosened and he leaned into Jin, feeling exhaustion settle in. There was relative quiet for a minute, and then Yun’s muffled voice said, “I forgot to take off my shoes ‘fore coming in…”
akkeyagentofhelheim
The statement hung in the air for a couple seconds, before Jin registered exactly what he said. He let out a sincere laugh, his chest shaking, and Yun could hear his low timbre echoing within his lungs
“Well, then that just means you need to clean my floor,” The Bookkeeper lifted him a slightly off him, handing him a tissue to wipe his face, happy that Yun seemed to have calmed down a little, but amber eyes still concerned, “Are you feeling better? Do you need your inhaler? I got you water…”
foresight-botgd
“No, I’m–” He paused, rubbing the heels of his hands into his sore eyes, then accepted the water bottle. "Actually, yeah. Aidorin water tastes like crap.” Yun downed half the bottle and then took a steadying breath, using the tissue to blow his nose. “I think I’m okay. Juro did some healing stuff, or something. It helped.” He rubbed his ribs, remembering the awful, dizzying pain in his torso after the construct went down and how even Stonegit’s arms hadn’t saved him from the immense impact.
Jin had reached over to grab a spare shirt he had lying on the other side of the couch, intent on changing from the tear-soaked shirt he wore. He pulled the black garment over his head easily, but stopped in his tracks when he heard what Yun mentioned.
“Juro used… magic? Healing magic?” he asked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing; the Bookkeeper didn’t record that. He talked about the whole Battle, the bombs, the champion, the construct, even the red haze, but nothing about him using magic. He gripped Yun’s wrist gently, unintentionally stopping him from massaging himself, “Are you sure?”
foresight-botgd
“I think so?” Yun looked at him oddly. “I dunno, his hand was glowing and he did…” Still holding the bottle, he waved his own hand in the same way Juro had, over his face and chest. “I dunno, something like that. And I felt way better after he did. Is that bad?” Gods please I really don’t want to hear another piece of bad news about me and magic–
akkeyagentofhelheim
“No! No, no it’s not, it’s… great, actually,” Jin paused, placing a forefinger over his lips. The TV static was soft, its light filling the room as he thought quietly, “That means he must’ve really taken to you.”
Jin gave him the usual lopsided grin, “I get where he’s coming from,” He gave Yun a good natured shove on the top of his head, as if to tell him to stop worrying, and pulled the fresh shirt over him. He leaned his head back on the couch with a sigh, his head bare of any of his usual accessories; he looked younger, for some reason. So he’s unstable… 
He shook his head and glanced down at Yun, who was still clutching the water bottle, “It’s fine. At least it’s over and you’re back safe… You want anything to eat too?”
foresight-botgd
Yun was going to responsibly protest that he had to go back to the Golden Timeline to keep the multiverse from falling to an evil god, but in the several minutes he had been back, it was starting to feel less and less real, like a fever dream, decreasing the sense of urgency. Instead, he puffed out a cheek and nodded sheepishly, idly toeing off his shoes and scooting them closer to the front door. “I mean, if you’re offering…just, nothing crazy.” He pushed his glasses back onto his nose and stifled a yawn behind the sleeve of his jacket. “I still got so much to do.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Like what? You just got back, dude.” Jin stood and sauntered over to the fridge, popping some leftover chicken and pasta from a recent Helheim gathering –which he notably didn’t attend; he was too preoccupied and worried keeping an eye on the Golden Timeline to go to a party– into the microwave and setting it to reheat. The hum of the machine filled the apartment as he reached into a separate cupboard and pulled out an extra blanket.
“You look you’re gonna knock out in like the next two minutes, so if you’re okay with leftovers you can eat those quick then take a nap…” he placed the blanket at the edge of the couch as the microwave beeped.
foresight-botgd
The toes of Yun’s socks fidgeted together as Jin brought him the food. His thumb was tracing the thick lines of his tattoo. “No, yeah, I think I’ll do that…” But the food went uneaten for a few seconds as he fidgeted with the container. His eyes, lined and tired, were still sharp with thought. He hesitantly started bringing the fork to his mouth, finding his appetite.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Jin sat across from him, leaning his elbows and his knees, fingers linked between each other as he observed the time jumper, amber eyes following every movement that he made. The way Yun sat, the way he breathed tiredly, exhausted, and the way he had cried–Jin was not a stranger to. Many a soldier had passed through his ranks, coming back with the horrors of battle and death in their eyes; of course Yun would react that way.
He leaned down and tilted his head to get a better look at the shorter man’s face as he slowly ate, “Are you worried about Frigga…?”
foresight-botgd
His fingers seized up around the fork, and then he resumed eating. “Um…it’ll be fine,” he said with a cheek full. He made a half-hearted shrug. “They want me to go back to the Golden Timeline when I’m done… we’re going to try and play it by ear, I guess.” He sighed lightly and put the leftovers down, leaning over on his knees to mirror Jin. His hands returned to fidgeting, still running up and down over his seal.
“Jin?” Yun said after a moment. “Do you ever get asked to do stuff that…that maybe you don’t think is the right thing to do?”
akkeyagentofhelheim
He’s going back…? Why the fuck… he shouldn’t!
He blinked, letting the question hang in the air, before leaning back on his armchair and crossing one long leg over another, resting his fingers on his temple, “I mean, yeah…”
His blonde fringe fell sideways and he pressed his lips together in a thin line, “It’s kind of a prerequisite for Helheim agents. All our orders come from Hel herself, and there’s really nothing we can do about it, Some of them suck balls–I’ve killed many people that I don’t think deserve death, but like… there’s a bigger picture and a purpose that we don’t know about.” Jin stopped himself abruptly, realizing that he was speaking far too casually about such a topic that questions one’s morals. 
Don’t go back. He opened his mouth to say that, but thought the better of it, and kept his gaze steady.
foresight-botgd
“Yeah, that does suck.” Yun was pinching his hand tightly between two fingers, remembering how Milae had forcibly stopped him from leaving, for the sake of Yun’s safety.
But what about everyone else?
“I don’t…I don’t know where to go from here,” he confessed. “So much…of what happened to me…shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t ask to be a copy of Milae, I didn’t ask to be saved from literal oblivion. I didn’t ask to be given…all of this.” He held up his arms, and a teal flash traced up every individual line and rune in his seal. “I don’t want what happens next to not be my choice, too. They’re telling me it’s safer, that I have my best chance of beating Frigga if she finds me, and all that.” He teared up again, but pressed onward. “But also, if something happened to them…or anyone else…because of me…I don’t even know how to live with that.”
Yun bent his neck. There were tiny crescents in his skin where his nails had clamped down and refused to let go. The formation of his hands mimicked the white-knuckled grip he’d held on the pistol when shooting Vidar in the chest. “I brought the Rebellion to the Jaw. Everyone that died there would probably be alive still…maybe we could have held out and waited for another plan. But I don’t know.” He got to his feet, throwing his hands up. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t trust the Norns after what they pulled. I can’t trust anyone who doesn’t know how all of this works–which is almost everyone.” He put a fist to his chest, eyes wet. “I can’t even trust myself. I don’t know who to listen to. I don’t wanna go,” he blurted. “I don’t want to hurt people. I don’t want to put them in danger. I don’t think it’s right. I want to save them.”
He locked his jaw and met Jin’s gaze, eyes brimming. “I don’t want to make people need to save me any more.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Jin had to bite his tongue from saying what he was really thinking; he wanted him to stay, he wanted to tell him not to go, it would be safer in the modern timeline, they may not be equipped with old magic and elemental powers like the others were, but it was the farthest from where Frigga was and the hardest for her to reach. But that would just be him telling Yun what to do, because this feeling was out of self preservation too. Juro self destructing further would mean death for him and every other bookkeeper, and for once, it would be irreversible.
And, for the first time ever, Jin was afraid of disappearing.
“Listen, kid…” Jin said, sounding alarmingly much like Juro in that moment that Yun had to blink through his tears to make sure it was still the Helheim agent before him. He ran a hand through his hair, as if wiping away all thoughts that intruded, “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. But you have to remember that people’s deaths are not on you.”
“The world, all worlds, are shitty like that in their own way. Nobody knows what the best thing to do is, not even the gods. Danger, war, sickness, death–it’s a part of life. There will be things you can’t control, things you can’t predict. It’ll feel like everything is pitted against you, and every action is a mistake, that it’s your fault… but it’s just not, and you have to believe that with all your might.” There was a pain in Jin’s voice when he said that, like he spoke from experience, “All of this is just too big for anyone to be able to save everyone, so we just live to the best of our abilities within the time that we’re given.”
He rubbed his cheek tiredly, feeling like he would be regretting every word that he was saying, “Just… it’s not a burden for you to solely bear, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself so much that you end up losing yourself. They chose to offer you their help, and they know that they can do something about it, especially someone like Milae who was in the very same position you’re in now. You’re not making them do anything, it’s of their own volition. So you’re very much allowed to accept it. If you choose to.”
The corner of his mouth quirked into a grin, placing a firm hand on the boy’s wrist as he clamped it to his chest, “Like you did to me. That doesn’t make you anything else but human.”
foresight-botgd
Yun looked down at Jin’s slender hand around his, and a few more tears escaped down his cheeks, but this time, it wasn’t an uncontrollable release of trauma, just an overflow of emotion caused by his swelling heart. His advice was bolstering and soothing. And yet, it was absolutely tearing him every which way to consider his options, and seeing Jin so intensely relieved to have him back drove a wedge into his gut. It was overpowering any disappointment that he could predict from Milae or Juro.
I technically have as much time as I need…
“I’m gonna think about it,” he said softly. “Can I…can I stay the night, and figure it out tomorrow?” I don’t want to be alone right now.
akkeyagentofhelheim
His face softened further, and he gave his arm a little squeeze before standing, “Of course. Blanket’s already out, and– mm, you know what, you can take the bed.” Jin added as an afterthought. Aidorin facilities might not have been too comfortable, and a proper sleep is what Yun would need.
foresight-botgd
“Wait, what? No, I can’t,” Yun protested.
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Yes you can,” he said, smile growing further crooked, teasingly pulling him up by the collar as if he was about to drag him to bed if he had to, “It’s a bit of a mess but it’ll be better than my frickin’ couch.”
foresight-botgd
“Okay, okay, don’t hurt me,” he laughed, pretending to shield his own head. Secretly he was also relieved at the thought of getting to sleep in a regular bed before making do with wherever he would end up when he went back.
His stomach dropped a little. If he did go, he wasn’t sure when he was going to be able to come back. Maybe never crossed his mind and he immediately discarded the thought. He had too much to lose between Jin, Dario, the friends within the rebellion he’d made and the agents that had semi-adopted him into at least knowing who he was in relation to the Bookkeeper.
He looked wide-eyed up at Jin, still in the throes of realization and denial, and stood on his tiptoes to hug Jin around the neck, squeezing tightly. “Thank you,” he mumbled into the agent.
akkeyagentofhelheim
His face darkened for a heartbeat, hidden from Yun’s view, but he immediately returned the embrace, lifting him briefly before gently setting him down, “Anything I can do to help…”
He turned to open the door to his bedroom and let Yun in, watching him as he settled. Moonlight streamed through the blinds, illuminating their faces in a ghostly light that made them seem just a bit illusionary, a bookkeeper that can access all timelines, and a time jumper that can traverse them. Jin said, with gentle eyes, “Welcome home.”