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Glitch TXT: Do you want me to swing by?
Teagan TXT: No we had a fight
Glitch TXT: Are you okay
Teagan TXT: no
Glitch TXT: do you want to be alone right now
Teagan TXT: no I want to turn back time until Johnny hadn't made the dumb decision to date Jane like we need more connections to that fucking Scooby Gang
Teagan TXT: But apparently we can all just decide to throw bombs into our shared home without talking about out
Glitch TXT: I was ready to stick my neck out with Devan if I had to. but only to keep him away from our home
Teagan TXT: 
Glitch TXT: should I pick you up
Teagan TXT: yes please I'm so sad
Glitch TXT: send location
Teagan sends their location. Moments later, there's a loud high pitched whine around the corner. From Teagan's vantage point, they can see what used to be an expensive black electric car slide into view, covered with huge gashes and scratches and cracks all over. It hauls ass down the street and then comes to a firmly stuck stop right in front of the building, in the middle of the street.
The invisible Teagan gets to see Glitch fling the driver side door open and hop out dramatically, slamming the car door behind him. He looks up at the building, seeing if Teagan can be spotted. When they can't, he looks at the car, and awkwardly reconsiders getting back into it to properly park.
They appear about ten feet away from him, arms wrapped around their stomach, leaning against a wall. They climbed down to wait for him. Their eyepits are all swollen up, their nose is all puffy.
He's seen Teagan cry exactly twice. Once after sex, and now. They hiccup twice, and push away from the wall.
The moment they appear, any concern over the car blocking the street fucks right up. His eyebrows appear over the rim of his shades, his most obvious tell that he's shocked and concerned at what he sees. The sprite rushes over, chin dipping as he checks them for actual injury, making sure the scene isn't even worse than it appears. "Jesus fuck," he says, his own fallback shorter than Teagan's favorite. "P2. Come here. Let's get you home."
Glitch winds them up in his arms for a tight hug, practically hauling the taller Mirrorskin down half a foot to himself if they allow it. And unless they insist on staying outside or moving at their own pace, he helps them right into the passenger seat of the car.
They're not physically injured. They're just a mess, in a way that Teagan isn't usually a mess. He rushes over and they just stand there, looking miserable as hell. Gutted. And when he puts his arms around them, they lean down - sort of slumping down into his embrace. "P1." And then they nod numbly, allowing him to lead them and put them in the car.
Glitch helps them in, adjusts their seat back to give them more room, and even buckles their seatbelt. Then he shuts the scraped up door and moves around to the other side of the car, hopping into the drivers side.
The car is the Mystery Machine to the earlier Scooby Gang drama. Teagan has never seen Glitch drive it before. He had a van several cities and Freeholds ago, which hasn't been seen since. He may have found this car today. It looks like it autopiloted itself off a cliff and hit everything on the way down, with the interior shredded up and wrecked grossly as well. But despite the huge scars inside and out, it's still functional. The wounds are all cosmetic, and the DC motor thrums to life as they take off down the street.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" It's a simple question, posed as flatly as a box with YES, NO, and a little arrow in it. Teagan should know by now that Glitch doesn't usually mess with loaded questions, he just wants to know what to do to help. One of his hands fusses with the smashed and flickering touchscreen display, pulling up the music interface.
They are passive in letting Glitch bundle and buckle them in, which says more about their current mental state than anything else. They unhook Baby from their waist and wrap their arms around the machete in its holster. They stare blankly out of the car, not even questioning the car.
Maybe they assume that Glitch stole it.
"I need to tell you about it. Because we're family. Because I need you and the rest of the family." They take a deep shaky breath then.
"Johnny started telling me about Devan. And how he went on a ... hunt with him and his group. And he asked me where the lines lay after I said we needed to watch him but not get close." A low shuddering breath. "And I said if I had my way we wouldn't have any normal humans in the extended polycule. It's too dangerous. Johnny doesn't THINK! He's still more Story than Person. It's so dangerous to them." Hiccup. "And to us. Oh my God, so dangerous to us."
"And then he does a little more dancing around and finally explains that he asked 'someone' to date him and then found out they're dating Devan. I pushed him because he wasn't using his new partner's name. And it's Jane. And I'm like what the fuck am I supposed to say? Because what I really wanted to say to him was break up with her you stupid fuck, what the fuck is wrong with you bringing a human into our polycule? But you can't just say that. That's bad. I don't have control over any of you. But I don't want any humans in our one degree polycule. At all. How hard is that?" Another tiny, shuddering sob.
"And he didn't tell me, I got it as part of something else, which... what the fuck. And then I'm like what do you want me to say and he's like "well I need this person so I can not be the scary Wyrd guy" and I'm like great so now you've made it so that the rest of us just have to accept this thing because you need this person... what am I supposed to say? But then he's like "I'll figure it out myself, it's not your responsibility to figure it out or help me, I can't put that on your shoulders, blah blah, I'll figure these people out so you don't have to." And I... lost my shit. Because of COURSE it's our responsibility. That's... that's the point of a motley."
Glitch listens. When Teagan decides to talk, the music stays paused, simply ready if they had chosen not to speak. Something flat and melodic with a simple beat and no words is finally tapped on. Glitch doesn't look at Teagan when he drives, eyes dutifully on the road, but he keeps turning his shoulder as if wanting to look in concern and merely remembering at the last minute.
"That sounds like a fucking mess," he beeps. "I don't...know Vorpal as well as I know you. Or as well as you know him. But I see a lot of myself in him. The same mold. The same circumstance." He's quiet a moment, collecting his thoughts and trying not to trail off or drag the conversation into being about him. "If he's anything like me...he probably doesn't think he deserves the motley. Or something...like that."
Glitch shakes his head. "I don't think that now. But it happens. It's...he wasn't abused. He was just...neglected. Ignored. At least a kidnapper...cares. It's still stupid shit he's doing and it hurts you. But...he's just flailing. And he's afraid."
They just wave their hand absently in the air. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with this, Glitch? Clearly I don't know him anymore at all. I thought I knew him. I didn't think he'd... what's gotten into him? A whole group of Scooby Doo humans, and he thinks dating one of them is smart?"
They drag their hand down their face. "He's made it impossible for me to say 'I don't consent to the danger you're putting our family in'. And honestly I'm really glad that we're bound by an Oath but I'm also hating that we are, because... I don't want to be anywhere near him right now. I don't want to be with him."
"Right now, right this second, I wish I had the option of breaking up with him and never seeing him again." A deep breath in. "I don't think I've ever felt this betrayed. Not because of her. But because he said that taking care of this wasn't our business, wasn't fair to put on us."
"If he isn't part of us, then let him leave. Let him go kiss his humans and leave me alone to not be FUCKING STUPID."
Glitch listens, hands on the steering wheel. His knuckles tighten a bit and his eyebrows raise once more, not in anger but just in sheer reaction to just how bad tonight's situation was. "Fuck," he says again for lack of a better response.
He gives Teagan a moment, driving quietly, hoping they don't notice he's sort of meandering. There's cheap motels to be had everywhere, and their Hollow can be reached from many places. "You don't have to do...anything right this second. You're...Angry," he says, without judgement. "You have every right to be." He shakes his head as that thought trails off.
"I barely know my own fuckin' anger, I'm not gonna lecture you on yours. I wish I knew what to say." He's quiet again a moment. "This shit sucks and now I'm getting kinda mad at him too." He pulls into the parking lot of a cheap chain-brand motel, low frills enough to be familiar and safe-feeling but just nice enough to make sure the rooms will be clean and there won't be more than a few gunshots at night. "...sorry." He puts a hand on Teagan's knee a moment. "But...I'm gonna keep listening. Just don't even know how to deal with my own feelings, me telling you how to work with yours is...backwards." He squeezes them and gets up to go pay, the front office feet away and cash in hand. It takes less than a minute for him to return with the keycard to room 34.
The normally rude Sprite, who just got done saying he's totally useless in helping feelings, opens Teagan's door for them, unbuckles their seatbelt, and helps them into the room. If he wasn't so small, he might actually carry them in his arms.
"I'm not just angry," Teagan answers, sort of deflating in their seat. "I'm ... empty. I'm fucking betrayed. I... I want to hit him. I want to scream. I ..."
"... I want it to never have happened. But it happened. And he doesn't... he doesn't seem to understand that it doesn't matter whether or not he's fucking her."
When Glitch unbuckles them and opens the car door, they follow obediently. Just... totally deflated. Like someone stole their spine and all their fire.
Glitch is doing a good job of not freaking out as he leads around the empty mirrored shell of Teagan, the person who taught him control and strength and so much. He's determined though. This is the time to give back. He guides them to the bed and sits them down. Pulling out his phone, he taps it a few times, then starts puttering around the room, closing the doors, pulling the blinds, checking in all the corners for anything gross or dangerous otherwise unseen.
"I ordered a pizza." Somehow, at some point, probably with those rapid phone taps. He keeps puttering a moment, then sucks in a breath and sits down next to them on the bed, reaching out to take their hand and squeeze it. Then he slides his arm around them fully, and with a slightly awkward lean, gently pulls Teagan down to rest their head on his shoulder and cradle them sideways. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."
For a long time, they were totally self contained. No one hurt them because no one really touched them. Their body, sure. That was just a physical function, like eating food or sneezing. Sometimes, it was work: a place to crash, cash, a favor.
For a long time, no one could really hurt them because no one was allowed in.
And now...
They sit down on the end of the bed, hugging their machete like it's a woobie (it is) and just keep staring across the room. "No it won't," Teagan answers, defeated. "Even if I get what I think is right for our family, Johnny won't forgive me. And it'll cause drama with... people who don't matter to me, but we gotta deal with."
"It's broken."
Glitch tries to calmly fuss Teagan into his lap, attempting to rest their head there and cradle them and pet their hair the same way they cling to Baby. He's ready to pause or back off at any moment, moving feather-soft, knowing that being tugged around like a pet isn't what they need right now, but making sure they get the affection he knows they need.
"He will. He's the one that hurt you. He knows it. I'm...sorry that the men in your life keep fucking up." He sighs, trying to find the words. Knowing, at least in part, just how that raw wound inside Teagan's heart feels. "It's not broken. We're not broken. We're fucked up and damaged and it hurts like hell, but...it's like that car," he says, gesturing to the door. "It's scarred up. Still runs. It's going to take...more than Vorpal making...really bad relationship choices to break us."
His voice is flat, calm. He's not trying to sugarcoat this, just nudge them away from the catastrophic edge of the void he knows all too well. "It still fucking sucks."
"That doesn't mean anything," sighs the Mirrorskin, curling into the lap they're being pulled into. "Just because you hurt someone doesn't mean you suddenly stop hurting someone or stop putting yourself in front of the rest of us. And that doesn't mean he won't resent me even if he stops seeing her."
Their head leans on him. "He's going to either break up with her and resent me or he won't and I'll know my safety is secondary to him chasing tail, and I won't feel safe anymore."
"There isn't a third option where I'm suddenly okay with us being connected to that group of humans, or that close to humans period. Not after Amanda and her crazy ex and all the hurt and terror and drama that caused."
"Maybe the rest of us will be okay."
Glitch listens, his static-laden fingers slowly stroking through Teagan's hair, petting. "There's...more ways for it to go down than that. He might...actually realize he fucked up. Hard to...resent someone when you realize you were the wrong one." He's going slow, cautious. This is not what he is Good At and definitely not what he was Made For.
But Glitch does not back down from a challenge, and this is a doozy of one. Not to fix it, not to Make Teagan Convenient Again, but to soothe them and support them and be there no matter how upsetting or scary it is to see them like this. Just like they did for him.
"He's wrong," he finally says on top of that. "And if you can't make him see that...I will. We will. We DON'T need people like that near us. They're...a hot mess. We don't need their problems too." He blinks, frowning. "I'm guessing Vorpal is bad at...the whole...boundaries thing."
Teagan can actually turn back time, and that's the part that's getting to them right now. They've been able to save people in their life from making dumb decisions, three seconds at a time.
But only three seconds at a time, and only if they've just happened. "He was the one who helped me figure out that Amanda was not just really bad for me, but abusive, and I -- and that we couldn't be near humans. Not like that. Him and June." There's something very distant and unfocused in the way that Teagan's talking, a thing that's familiar to Glitch, now that he's not driving and can actually listen to them talking. "No, he's going to resent me. It's going to explode. I... "
"It's not like -- " And then they stop, because they don't want to bring up The Iron Sword Incident again. But it isn't like The Iron Sword Incident. That was clear-cut, with two parties, one of whom hit the other with an iron sword. This is messier, with multiple parties, some of whom are not at all at fault but will end up hurt anyway.
"I don't know. I don't know if I even know him anymore," they whine, burying their face into his shoulder. "I'd say I feel like a hypocrite, because I'm easy like Sunday morning but ... I only fuck Lost. Ever. I stay in the community. I don't... I don't bring humans near us. And as dangerous as he is -- as Story as he is -- it's dangerous to us. To him. To her." Yeah, they're kind of rambling and repeating themselves. That's what happens when your Clarity takes a hit.
Glitch seems actually relieved when Teagan starts rambling and repeating. It's familiar. He knows that. He does it himself. He can handle it. It also means they're getting it out, instead of keeping everything locked away in a mirrored strongbox. He keeps stroking them. "Maybe you don't. But...maybe he doesn't even know him. He was gone for years, Teagan," he says. "He doesn't know what...he's doing."
He sighs and taps at his phone briefly before putting it not just down but on the other side of the bed from him, not even giving reflexes a chance to interrupt them. "I'm not making excuses or telling you how to feel. Just trying to keep things...clear. Giving you another set of eyes on it, P2." There's a soft pause. "I did something like that once. Was...on the street, flat out. No couch surfing. Just running from monsters and myself, cutting people off and saying I was protecting them, eating burgers out of trash cans." He frowns. "It fucks you up. This isn't...the vorpal you knew, making a nice clear good decision to be stronger, saying he doesn't need you anymore. This is...a relapse. A misstep. He. Fucked. Up." He keeps saying it, lest Teagan think there was the right move or choice that could've been done, lest they blame themselves for not somehow preventing someone else's decision. "And I feel bad for Devan and his party but for fuck's sakes that isn't our problem. I refuse...to let it be. I would do terrible things before letting that shit tear us apart just because people wanted to be nice. You understand?"
Their sense of what is real and what isn't are not very clear at all right now. They're just curled up on his lap like they're the little one and he's the tall one. Hugging their machete like it's a teddy bear. Clinging to it. Baby will never betray them, right? Baby can't.
A small breath in, a tiny shudder. "I know. You are not telling me my perception of the world is wrong. You are giving me another perspective which is also right." One of those things would cause more Clarity damage, the other does not. Their broken-mirror eyes dim the way they do when their eyes are actually closed. "I don't know what to do."
Glitch heaves out a sigh of relief when he hears Teagan understands. His hand slides down to pet the back of their head and neck. "I'm glad you understand that. Because I fuckin' don't. I don't know what to do either. I can't tell you you're wrong, because I don't think I'm right. I'm just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, here."
He laughs, in his dry way. "Like a reading, right? You're just laying out cards. Hopefully the person on the other side...finds meaning in them." It's more an attempt at levity than cleverness. "It's okay," he says again. "It's....okay to not know what to do. You don't have to know. You don't have to do. Just...wait. Rest. Recover. If you want, I can help, I can try to talk to him, we can work a plan out, but...not now. This isn't the time to lab out new strats or plot a new route. It's downtime. It's neutral reset. You...or me, or anyone, even, nobody's going to figure this shit out in the next five minutes, or hour."
He leans down to kiss their forehead as gently as he can. "It's okay. You can just lay here and breathe. You're safe. I won't let anything else hurt you. Neither will Baby."
Their eyes close entirely, and Teagan lets out a long, slow breath. There's nothing more to say, really. They just close their eyes and lean in to Glitch. He can move them, put them to bed, take off their boots, as long as he doesn't try to touch the machete. He knows better, after all this time, than to try to touch Baby. They're caught in a spiral, and they know it.
They also know that Glitch is here to take care of them, so they can just close their broken-mirror eyes and relax. "Cards can say whatever you want them to say," they answer, exhaustedly.
"I love you, Player One."
Glitch knows not to touch Baby. He knows he can just move Teagan, and that Teagan will move Baby, or put Baby where Teagan wants. "I love you, Player Two," he mirrors to them, any irony dissolved into pure gratitude. There's symmetry here, and it warms his heart, newly relieved that he was able to help the person he loves after all.
"You're my Player Two. Only you. Just Teagan." He takes off their boots, and dutifully undresses them from their street clothes, and puts them to bed. He takes a moment to walk around the room, hand trailing the wall, turning off lights and locking the doors, checking the windows. When he's sure their space is as safe and secure as possible, he wriggles out of his clothes and slips into bed as well. Winding the bigger Mirrorskin up in his little spritely limbs, he just clings close, closes his eyes, and hopes for at least a few hours of blissfully dreamless sleep.
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