|
This corner of the park is decently-lit, and the evening is nice enough that there are plenty of people out enjoying the cool night air - walking with their families or out by themselves, perhaps. A couple college students have an LED flashing frisbee and are playing a rather rambunctious game of... well. It's somewhere between frisbee golf, catch, calvinball, and tequila, but they're mostly keeping it contained to one corner of a field so far.
Nevermore sits on a bench, smiling and glancing around. They hold their notebook and their beplumed bic pen, and they periodically pause to sketch something out.
Alex is out just enjoying a walk in the park, headphones in, not looking too concerned anyone might bother her. In some ways its nice to be able to do that in relative safety, even if it's only because the use of Obfuscate makes it incredibly unlikely that anyone who wants to bother her is going to see her.
Not that there aren't things in the night that might be able to see through that. But when are there not things in the night for someone to be afraid of?
When she gets close enough to see Nevy sitting on a bench she pauses and looks around, then takes her headphones out and tucks them away in a pocket of the messenger bag that also holds her laptop. That done, she lets the Obfuscate fade as she starts getting near, and the aura of creepiness comes with her. "Hi!" she exclaims as she starts to get closer still, and she waves enthusiastically.
Nevy starts at the unexpected creepy, but when they see Alex, they smile. "Hey!" They wave back. "How goes?"
Mearcstapa has a bad habit of wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, but that doesn't quite seem to be the mood tonight. He's pensive, certainly, walking with hands tucked in his pockets, his expression cloudy with a chance of heat lightning, but no rain. Still, when he spots Alex and Nevermore, his path alters to bring him in their direction.
... and meanwhile, Sturm spotted Mearcstapa passing by about two minutes ago as she was pacing back and forth - and decided to alter her path to follow him. The Jotunn is currently wearing her usual streetwear - jeans, boots, 80's metal band tank top. She's not very quiet at this moment, so it's probably rather easy to notice her on approach...
Nevy's smile broadens and they expand the wave to include Mearc and Sturm, too. "Two-Face! Sturm! Hey!"
Alex is starting to say something when Mearcstapa and Sturm show up as well. What happens instead is that she laughs and comments, "it's turning into a sudden party, isn't it?" Since the other two are still approaching she offers Nevy a hug, and then when Mearc gets near she does the same to him, because she can't not, right? "I'm glad to run into you! I haven't seen you since before... everything, and the vacation. Hi Sturm!"
Mearc gives Alex a very solid hug when she offers. "Yeah, I'm...very glad things are quieting down for everyone mostly now. I've had a few weird dreams, but if they'd come in the middle of everything, I think my head would have exploded."
Or maybe that was "wyrd dreams". Maybe.
"Yo," Sturm offers a grunt - and her hand leaves her pocket for long enough to give Alex and Nevy a little wave. The homonym at play in Mearcstapa's words is not lost on Sturm, and she quirks a brow at her fellow Lost. "You, uhh." Another unintelligible grunt. "You get a new haircut or something?"
Oh, yeah, and it looks like somebody's got new ink - though this probably isn't a surprise, considering the barbarian-sized blonde has face tats - and there's a little saniderm patch on the underside of her forearm - but at the moment it's in that hella hasty stage, so you can't quite see what the new tattoo looks like.
Nevy takes the hug, chuckling. "I hope not. I've never been much for parties." They offer one to Mearc - and, for good measure, look to Sturm with a you want in on this? expression.
After that hug is concluded or declined, Nevy looks to Mearc. "Weird dreams? Something you can talk about, or...?"
"I can only imagine. I was stressing out enough, and I wasn't as close to the epicenter of all that," Alex says with a wince. "I'm glad that's died down a little bit, or at least that the urgency has faded. Not that there's any shortage of work still to do." She looks at Sturm and Nevy and asks them, "how have things been for you two?"
Mearc definitely takes the hug from Nevy. Squish! "Can't say much, just that it's a casual mindfuck."
His attention shifts to Sturm, and he offers her a broad, toothy little grin. "Besides, I'm not the only one changing things up. What did you end up getting? You didn't go for the guard symbol without me, did you?"
Sturm rejects the hug with a little wave. She doesn't really do touching strangers at random. Sorry, Nevy! "Things have been calm enough," there's a nod to Alex. "Been spending some time with the family - Teagan and I got to go on our date. Which was great. Finally," she adds the latter bit more for Mearcstapa who actually knows Teagan. "Been meaning to ask you how the line is doing? Were you able to get things up and running with the shit I gave you, Alex?"
... and then she wordlessly reveals her forearm for Mearc. It's very hard to see - even after she squishes the blood and ink out of the way - but there's a viking targe shield with an emblazoned image of Yggdrasil. There're also some runes around the edge, but they're too hard to read right now.
Nevy grins, not seeming offended by the denial. "Ooh, new art! Very nice!" They look to Alex. "Had a bit of a fright a little bit ago with some rats, but things seem to be dying down." They tilt their head. "Unless... you guys don't know anything about bus 6614, do you?"
"I was, and I've been working on compiling that information for everyone else's consumption," Alex explains to Sturm with a nod. "Through an app that will make it easier for people to track who is doing what." Then she leans to get a better look at the art. "Very nice," she says. "Bus 6614? No."
Mearc leans in to look at Sturm's fresh ink thoughtfully, before shaking his head at Nevermore. "What's Bus 6614?"
"Dope," she gives Alex an approving nod. "Remind me later to text you about some related shit - I have an offer you may be interested in." There's a beat. "6614? What route is that?"
"It's not, that's the thing. There's a weird phantom bus that's picking up people, aging them about 40 years, and dropping them off again a couple weeks later. I... don't think it's from your... uh... neck of the woods, but I wanted to check if any of you had heard anything. I'm still doing research on it myself."
Mearc shakes his head. "Any theories in your pocket? It sounds...yeah, that's a thing."
"That's... creepy," Alex says with a frown that furrows her brow. "I'm also kind of curios what that would mean for someone like me, but not curious enough that I'm going to try it. I hadn't heard anything about it, though."
"Dunno what neck of the woods you're talking about," Sturm grunts. It's reflexive at this point, probably, given that there's nobody here left to deny her community affiliation to considering Mearc and Alex are her neck of the woods. "I figured," there's a shrug. "... but nah. I ain't heard shit. Sorry."
Sturm gets a raised eyebrow, but no verbal reaction. Instead, Nevy looks to Mearc. "Something about it felt... more like a spirit thing than anything else, to me. That's just a theory, though. There's a couple people looking at the problem." They give a lopsided smile. "I'll let you guys know if it turns out to be, y'know, you guys' problem."
"Mm. Spirits are very not a me problem, yeah. Okay. Other than that, are you being safe, staying out of trouble?"
"Definitely not my problem either. I don't know anything about spirits except that they exist," Alex admits with a shake of her head and a little shrug. "Well, that and some very vague generalities about them."
Sturm strokes her chin for a moment, and them her hand falls to a sapphire choker around her neck. She brushes her thumb along the gem's face and then shrugs. "Yeah, sorry." Her hands disappear back into her pockets. "Spirit-y shit's definitely not my shit."
Nevy gives a winsome smile. "Trouble? Me?" They chuckle. "Well, thanks anyway."
"Nevermore Annabelle Lee Usher, I know exactly how much trouble you can find if you want. And I love you anyway." Mearc lifts an arm to offer another side hug to the medium, as you do.
"So... no, not at all out of trouble?" Alex asks with a laugh. "I might know some people who could help out with spirit stuff, but it sounds like you've got it covered. If you need me to ask around, let me know." She glances at the choker and then flashes Sturm a smile, but she doesn't comment about whatever she might think about it.
Sturm's brow furrows at Alex's reaction, and her shoulders slump inward. It doesn't do much to make the Jotunn seem smaller, but it certainly makes her look grouchy.
Nevy lifts a hand to their chest with an expression of affront. "Why, I never!" Then they drop the act. Nevy chuckles and does the cuddle thing on Mearc. "Honestly, I'm doing fine. I've been learning a lot from the, uh," They glance at the three. "The other side of the street. Which has been refreshing. And I'm putting together an expedition combining ghost-seeking with art, which has me just... absolutely giddy. And before you say anything, Mearc, yes I'm planning for what I might run into first. I'm dramatic, not daft."
They notice the interplay between Alex and Sturm, raising a quiet eyebrow.
"If you've already played that lecture in your head, I'm not going to repeat it. I don't have it in me this week, to be honest." He shakes his head slightly, and brushes his cheek against Nevy in a gesture not 100% unlike a cat marking territory.
Alex just looks apologetic at the reaction she causes, because it was not at all her intention to cause discomfort. Instead of saying anything she lets it go, since her impression is that Sturm probably doesn't want to talk about it. "Ghost-seeking and art? Are you going to look for ghosts and then get them to do art for you, or art of the ghosts?" she asks.
The reaction (of course) causes a small feedback loop - and Sturm looks embarrassed at having provoked it. She reaches up and scratches the back of her head - on the buzzed undercut part of her hair - before grumbling something quietly to herself.
Ahh jeez what's a social situation, anyway.
Nevy's eyebrow lifts further at Mearc's kittyrub, then snickers and scritches him behind one ear. "Probably the latter, unless they worked art therapy into prison way earlier than I thought." They glance between Sturm and Alex, purse their lips, and decide it's probably best not to get into it.
He leans into the scritching, then seems to catch himself at it and takes a step back with an awkward little cough. "Anyway, uh...Alex, how're you doing? Got Atalo up and computing yet? How's that?"
"I did!" Alex says with a grin. "With a minimum emergency tech support calls, too. Fortunately, the system he got set up with is designed for people to be able to use without specialize training, which means it's almost Atalo proof." This is all said with affection for the old vampire, not with any disdain or insult intended. "I don't think they likely had art therapy in prison very long ago, but maybe you could dip ghost's hands in finger paints and give them paper or something? I doubt it would work very well."
Nevy looks at Mearc curiously, then chuckles and shakes their head. "Only if they had the power to veil themselves in false flesh, and if they wanted to do it for the purposes of finger paints, which... I mean, if that ghost is out there, I definitely want to meet them." They grin. "But what I'm really hoping for is to coax someone into telling me their story. Help memorialize them in a new way."
"Are you sure there's people you'll find at a prison worth memorializing in that kind of a way?" Mearc's voice is soft.
There's an obnoxious sound from Sturm's phone - like a battalion of soldiers banging weapons against their shields. She reaches back into her back pocket, and stares at the screen for a moment before grumbling. "Shit fire," Sturm grumbles, slipping the phone into her back pocket. "That's Sigrun. Shield Wall time."
The taps her new tattoo with her index finger, and then offers the group a wave. "I'll be in touch - and I hope you figure out what's up with your weird-ass bus!" She said, unable to do more than offer well wishes because Leta is participating on that plot.
Nevermore frowns. "Even monsters deserve to be remembered - if only so people know why it's a bad idea to wander around the woods east of the village on full moons. And being in prison is far from an assurance that you're a terrible person, even today."
They wave to Sturm. "Have fun... shield walling?"
"I don't know much more about ghosts than I do about spirits," Alex admits with a laugh. "Sorry. But a finger painting ghost does seem like it might be up your alley, right?" She looks with worry at Sturm when she goes rushing off to get into a fight and calls after, "stay safe, good luck!" and then returns her attention to the conversation at hand. "I'm sure there were people in prison who didn't deserve it, whenever they were thrown in. Maybe they'd even feel most likely they had unfinished business."
Mearc gives Sturm a stern little look. "Hey. Watch Sigrun's back, let her watch yours. Call me if you need an emergency mom on deck." To her eyes, his freckles dither and shift green, and he definitely seems more tense once she's gone. On-duty Mearc is back, it seems.
Nevy looks at Mearc, their expression concerned. "Do you need to go?" They look slightly forlorn at the idea, but don't argue against it.
"Will do," Sturm nods - already turning to leave. "... and I always have fun standing in a shield wall with my girlfrien-. Errr. Complicated... relations-... frien- Fuck it, I gotta go."
She's probably blushing quite a bit, but you can't see how blue she's turning because she's already jogging off.
Alex waits until Sturm has left before laughing softly at their attempt at explaining what the relationship is. "What an interesting woman," she remarks with a smile. "I hope everything's alright." She looks at Mearc too, waiting for the same answer.
"No, I don't have to leave, but I am 'on call' now. If Sturm has an emergency problem, that means there's probably a bigger problem." He huffs. "But. I don't need to run now. Until I'm needed, I'm not necessary. I don't need to make every situation mine to handle. I can trust other people to handle things, too."
Weird mantra, but okay?
Nevy smiles and hugs him close again. "Good. Because I haven't really hung out with you in way too long." They glance around. "I've been doing some people-watching. Sketching people, trying to come up with some fun stories, you know?"
"Same," Alex adds with a slightly crooked grin. "But it's good to see you, and it's good to see you not taking everything on your own shoulders. You're right that other people can handle things sometimes." She hugs him from the other side. Ganged up on!
And he sighs, closing his eyes and allowing himself to be sandwiched. It is a familiar sensation.
"Like I said, I've got enough going on. Alex, if you want to look, look, it'll give you more questions and I can't answer those right now. Tell me about your people-watching, Nevy? What's the coolest hairstyle you've gotten to sketch lately?"
Nevy smiles and pulls out their notebook, flipping to the back page and proffering a page. On it is a man who looks as though he used to have a giant fluffy mass of hair sticking almost straight up from his head, before the meteor struck. Now, his scalp is bald, but the fringe of hair around it sticks out like the rim of a crater. "I have no clue if he uses gel or if that's somehow natural, but I was impressed!"
Alex steps back, extends her senses, and sees through the Mask that covers Mearc. She takes a moment to look the changes over the same way that she might admire a new haircut, like it's not that big a deal but she's taking it in, and then she smiles. "Huh. Not what I would have expected, but it seems to suit you, at the same time." She glances at Nevy and says, "sorry. What were you..." she gets a load of the haircut and laughs. "That's actually impressive."
He leans in to look at the sketchbook as well. "You know. If I went bald like that, I probably would find interesting ways to gel the rest. Just for fun." After saying that, he gives Alex a bit of a shrug, seeming ambivalent about how well it suits him.
Nevy glances between the two, sighs a bit, then flips to another page. "Here, you should see this other guy's tattoo. It looks like he had someone do Pikachu, but it was... ridiculously bad..."
"Oh no," Alex says, turning to look away at the suggestion of what's to come with sketches, and she covers her eyes. "I can't with terrible tattoos. Like part of me finds them really fascinating but part of me is also mortified by that other part. I can get sucked into looking at them online." She's kind of laughing when she says it, though.
"I think that might actually be a Sonichu tattoo." He grimaces. "Which is worst, a lot worse, than a badly done Pikachu."
Nevy grins. "No, see, he went back afterward, and had a better artist turn it into a self-portrait! Here!" They turn to a new page and show the design
Alex has to turn around and uncover her eyes to see this, and when she does she laughs. "Okay, that's actually delightful!" she exclaims. "What a great recovery. I think I love it."
"I never got into Pokemon, personally." He makes a gesture with one finger, a U mid-air, sort of illustrating that his timeline went around it without saying that aloud.
Nevermore nods. "It's not my favorite - I lean more toward Junji Ito, myself. But Pikachu's cute."
"I didn't either," Alex admits to Mearc. "Even though the reasons are different. I just got into other things. "But I do love someone poking fun at themselves, finding humor in failures, turning them into wins. That's something that this person managed pretty well."
He nods a bit quietly. "Pikachu is shaped like a friend, I can agree with that."
Nevy chuckles. "Pretty much, yeah." They flip through a couple more pages, then purse their lips. "Can I sketch one of you two?"
"Friend shaped," Alex repeats with a laugh. "I love that phrase. And of course, Nevy!" Alex exclaims. "I would love it if you sketched me. Or both of us, for that matter." She looks at Mearc.
He hesitates for a moment, giving Nevermore an almost uncertain look. "...yeah, you can sketch me, if you want, I guess."
Nevy barely pauses. "Alex first, I think," They say, pulling out their pen and giving a wicked smile. "Now. How would you like to be remembered?"
That actually hits a bit of a tender spot for her, and Alex hesitates for a moment before saying, "I don't know, really. I'm more curious to know what I look like through your eyes now. It's always hard to know how other people see you, you know?"
Mearc nods slightly, falling into a thoughtful sort of silence, putting an arm around Alex's shoulder.
Alex leans against Mearcstapa and says to Nevy, "don't worry about it. Seriously. The question just made me think about people I had to leave behind, and makes me wonder how they remember me." She smiles. "It's not your fault, though."
Mearc's hold shifts, wrapping both arms around Alex's waist, his chest to her back. It is very clear just how comfortable he is with her, here, humming softly and beginning to rock.
After just a moment, Nevermore gets absorbed into the art, intent on the lines and hatched shading. It takes them a minute or two before they have the sketch finished, and then they let their breath out. "Okay. Here we go."
Alex contentedly leans against Mearc , as relaxed as he is, and the dancer in her can't help but sway a little bit as he begins to rock. The whole thing makes her smile, easy and content. "Remember to breathe," she reminds softly. "I might not have to, but you do."
Mearc continues to rock Alex. Not quite dancing, but inching toward there, still humming. His eyes shift to look at Nevermore's work, to see how they see Alex.
Nevy proffers the drawing. The page has a clear picture of Alex, so detailed that it almost seems ready to pull off the paper. The drawing is lovely - deep, clear eyes glint with intelligence and humor, the curve of the lips show a wry and pleasant amusement, and the hair floats around the face as though moved by the wind - or by a dance.
Alex had put her arms over Mearc's, but when Nevy offers the drawing out she lifts one of them to reach for it and turns it so that she and Mearc can see it, which does possibly involve tilting her head so that he can see around the sheer quantity of curls she has. "Oh," she says, a bit breathless, and she looks up from it with some of that same clarity and humor in her actual eyes. "Nevy this is..." she trails off when her voice cracks a little with emotion. "Is this really how you see me?"
None of the details seem to focus on the creepiness, which is probably part of why it seems to mean so much to her.
"It's who you are, Lex. That's...pretty damned accurate to how I see you. Perhaps a hair less wizardry in it, but Nevy's never seen you shut down a whole Youtube channel in under a minute in a Starbucks." When she tilts her head, he rests his chin on her shoulder.
Nevy smiles. "A good artist draws what's there," They say in a mysterious tone. Then they blink. "What, did Mearc tick you off enough that you dropped Marchwalker for a minute or something?"
Alex turns a little to glance over her shoulder, then tilts her head to bump it against Mearc's, probably giving him a brief faceful of hair. "Thank you both," she says. "And no, it wasn't his channel. It was someone trying to use videos to infect people with magic or something. Bad news. Please don't dig into it, or at least be very careful and don't watch any of them, if you can't help poking around?"
Mearc sputters at sudden hair, and then pulls away to give Nevermore a brief very direct look. "It's bad. It is a bad that is my past, and I don't want it to be your future. I'm not saying don't poke, but Do Not Watch The Videos."
Nevy looks intrigued as Alex speaks, then blinks and looks surprised, then horrified. "I... that's... Right. Okay. Not watching the thing. Got it." They look a little sick, the longer they think about it. "How many views?"
"Too many. I haven't checked in a bit. Unfortunately, the channel went back up," Alex says with a grimace. "I'm sure that if I got the channel taken down completely, or just stole it, they'd move to another one. If I took down YouTube they'd move somewhere else." She says it like she thinks she might actually be able to take YouTube down. At least temporarily. "We'll figure out who's behind the whole setup. At least that we can reach. Let's talk about something else?"
"Mm. So Jack and Lux and I are renovating a house."
Nevy smiles. "That's exciting! Putting in all the amenities? Big screen TV, indoor heated swimming pool, chamber for unspeakable rites...?"
"Yeah? Where at?" Alex asks curiously. "I'm still living at the Bellevue, which I should really do something about at some point. I've had a bit of money coming in, I could probably afford to get an apartment somewhere." She tells Nevy, "don't forget the dungeon."
"We don't need a dungeon. Taking prisoners is bad for the head." He grimaces. "But it will mean not trying to share a bed on muggy summer nights all the time. We're out in Richmond. There's room for each of us to have some 'introvert cave' space."
Nevy nods. "Introvert caves are good. Can I bring you guys a housewarming gift sometime?"
"Wrong kind of dungeon," Alex says as squeezes her arms against the ones around her. "Don't forget that I used to be Spring. I definitely need my place to hole up and focus on some work and avoid people from time to time. As much as I'm not really an introvert."
Mearc...well, Nevy sees him blush, and Alex sees his freckles dither to brilliant red.
"...yeah, okay, maybe we do need a dungeon."
Nevy blinks at that. "...I... don't think I can get you that as a housewarming gift, sorry."
Alex laughs and says, "neither can I." She lifts up the paper a little and asks Nevy, "can I keep this? I really love it."
Mearc grins. "A proper housekeeping gift might be to help with our renovations and repair work and painting and helping me convince Lux that not every room needs neon pink and..." He laughs. "Or something. Really, a lot of the point is to make a space we can feel safe in, after things happened at Jack's place. Which reminds me, Alex. Lux fixed that personal problem you noticed the last time you talked to them."
They smile. "Sure! I'm glad you like it." Then they look puzzled. "I... you probably can't answer this, but what does spring have to do with... y'know... dungeons?"
"You know, I'm happy to come help. I can paint all night. One nice thing about being me these nights is that I don't really get tired, or a sore back, or anything like that," Alex says. "Plus I look cute in paint-splattered overalls. And they did? That's... a big relief. And something I guess I should have a talk with them, and you, and Jack about." They glance at Nevy, start to say something, and then tell Mearc, "I should probably let you decide how much you're comfortable with explaining about that. Sorry."
Mearc thinks for a moment. "Self-chosen Hogwarts houses based on coping mechanism. It's the reason one of Alex's acquaintances calls us her 'seasonal friends'. Because we self-divide by seasons. Spring is for Desire, so..." There's a two handed 'extrapolate from there' gesture in the air.
Nevy blinks, then nods. "Ahh." They roll their eyes good-naturedly. "Spring, the season when young folks' minds turn to the delicious, forbidden thoughts of hot fudge brownie sundaes."
"It doesn't have to be sexy desire, but for a lot of us--" Alex corrects herself with a visible wince. "A lot of them, it's sexy desire. Not only, but often enough, because allosexuals will be allosexuals. I say as an allosexual." She pats Mearc's arm with her hand and breaks away from the hug. "I should get going, but it really has been nice to see you both again. I don't want to, but I have some things I have to get done tonight. I'll come around and help with some of the renovations this weekend, if you'd like?" She starts offering hugs to both and sundry.
She totally gets a hug from Mearc. "Text for the address, do not try to open the front door without one of us present. We're...making a place where we feel safe, after everything. That means booby traps."
Nevermore purses their lips at that. "No unexpected showing up to prank you, got it." Alex gets a hug there, too. "Have a good night, K?"
"I'll just stand outside and play sad music on my boom box outside your windows," Alex promises. "You too, Nevermore. Thank you again for the sketch. See you soon, I hope." She waves goodbye with one of her brilliant and slightly too perfect smiles and then goes.
Mearc watches Alex go, and then turns to Nevermore. "I'm...not Spring, for the record. Not that I'm against desire, it's just not my primary drive."
Nevy nods, considering that, then gives a little smile. "Let me guess. Responsibility? or Worry?"
"...close. Close. Fear." He shrugs. "Which is something you delight and dabble in yourself, babybat. Something you face and overcome and engage and explore."
Sometimes, you just gotta go for an evening run after work. And so Jack's in short running shorts and a tank top, earbuds in, jogging along one of the well lit paths. He's certainly an eyeful, for those inclined to look, though a few instead glance at the night sky, like they're worried it might start to rain. It certainly starts to smell like it, as he passes, though there's something metallic undercutting that scent of an oncoming storm.
That draws another smile. "Sounds like you approve." They nudge him, grinning. When they notice Jack, they nudge Mearc again, then wave to the jogger.
Jack notices the shift in Mearc's freckles looks different, less of a slow fade-in/fade-out and more of a sort of digital dithering effect. He goes warm red at the sight of Jack, perking up. "I'm half-tempted to chase him. But I might catch him, and that'd be rude to you."
That makes Nevy snort. "You sure you're Autumn House?" They wave again.
Jack holds up a hand to wave at Nevy, and then flashes a wide grin when he sees Mearc. He pulls an earbud from his ear as he jogs over, and fiddles with his phone to turn off whatever music he'd been listening to before pulling Mearc into a slightly sweaty hug.
"You look..." he pulls back to give his boyfriend a very appreciative look over. "Good. Hey, Nevy - how've you been?"
"I'm sure. Trust me, I'm sure." He seems almost uncertain about that look-over from Jack, his humor dimming a hair. "Thanks."
Nevy glances at Mearc again, looking thoughtful. "I'm guessing we're not talking about the hair decs?"
"I'm...changing. Becoming more. It comes along with...some memories I didn't have before, about myself, about what I've been through. Those weird dreams I mentioned. Alex saw. I'm still figuring out what to do with how I feel about all of it, in practice. It's...big and heavy and a bit of a lot, realizing the timeline I'd constructed for myself was missing a pretty-fucking-big chapter." He brushes his hair out of his face.
Nevy winces and hugs him again. "I'm sorry. That sounds... pretty scary."
"Well. Yes. But as we've established, I should be good with fear." He lets out a crooked little laugh.
"Any more clarity in those dreams?" Jack gives Mearcstapa a soft kiss on the lips before he pulls away. "You're better with fear than a lotta people I know."
Nevy frowns. "Should is a subjective term, Two-Face. You don't have to be super comfortable with everything that scares you right away."
"Mm, comfort has nothing to do with any of it." He shakes his head. "There is no way any of this will ever truly be comfortable, memories of that part of my life. Settled, perhaps. Something I take in stride like I take the rest. Perhaps."
"Still - Nevy's right. Doesn't matter what you 'should', matters what you are. Yeah?" Jack settles next to Mearc.
"Yeah, I guess. I think I'm just lucky Glitch isn't mad at me." A sidelong glance at Nevy. "Have you met Glitch yet? Short, nerdy, gamer?"
"Told you he wouldn't be." Jack grins and kisses Mearc on the cheek.
They raise their eyebrows. "The name doesn't sound familiar. A friend?"
"...I think the facebook version would be 'it's complicated', right now, but usually a friend."
Jack's eyebrows go up, too. "'S usually reserved for someone you're kinda dating but not always...?"
"Right. No, not dating Glitch, cross-pollinating polycules would get weird probably still. But it is complicated." He sighs.
Nevy shrugs one shoulder. "'Complicated' describes... a good portion of our friendship by now, too. I think we're doing okay."
"I'm not sure simple relationships exist...'m sure some people would like to think so, but eventually everything gets kinda complicated, doesn't it?"
"...I mean, once upon a time, you and Lux were just fuck buddies." He gives Jack a crooked, toothy smile. "Look at where that's led."
"Once upon a time, you told me flat out you weren't interested in a romantic relationship with me." Jack drapes an arm around the other Darkling. "And here we are."
"Look, you couldn't manage to tell me what you wanted well enough for me to feel safe in a relationship with you." A poke at Jack's side, before he looks at Nevy. "And you..."
Nevermore lifts an eyebrow. "Yeeeees?" They say, leaning back on the bench and looking at Mearc expectantly.
"..." Jack looks between the two of them fore a moment before raising his eyebrows. "...Oh?"
He stands, walking over to stand in front of Nevermore and kiss them on the forehead. It's slow, gentle, cautious.
Nevy smiles, taking his hand and squeezing it briefly.
"...Huh." Jack smirks a little as he watches Mearc and Nevy's interaction. And he waits a bit before speaking again, letting the two have their moment. "What've you been up to lately, Nevy?" He finally asks quietly.
Nevy takes a moment to consider Jack's expression at that, then chuckles. "Not what I think you're thinking. There was some... situation... with weird rat monsters that I helped some folks clear up. Lately I've been doing some research on Eastern State Penitentiary, in anticipation for a ghost-seeking art project."
Mearc tilts his head to one side thoughtfully. "I've been there. The person I was there with said she didn't think there were any ghosts there. 'It's all interesting architecturally, but otherwise rather mundanely grotesque.' That's how she put it."
Nevy looks interested, at that. "The person you were with - did she know or did she suspect, if that makes sense?"
"Suspect. She said hadn't asked her expert on the matter." Mearc scratches his neck lightly. "Once again, my best advice is to be careful."
"Ghost-seeking art?" Jack raises his eyebrows. "That sounds like an experience. Good luck - and yeah. Watch yourself. Not gonna say I know much about ghosts, but messing with any of that shit can't be easy."
Nevy gives a grin. "Aren't I always" They blep. "I will be," They say more seriously. "That's why I'm holding off on the trip while I do some research." They smile. "This won't be my first trip like this, but it'll be the biggest. And I'll have backup."
"Good. Very good. If I can learn to delegate, you can take in solid backup. That's fair."
"Has he told you how well he's been delegating?" Jack grins and reaches out to catch Mearc around the waist.
"Not much. You know Two-Face and infosec." Nevy bleps at Mearc and chuckles. "But he mentioned that he's doing it. And we probably shouldn't be talking about him to his face while he's right here."
"They have a point, you know." As he moves to sit back down right on Jack's lap. "But I'm also reading up on things like how airlines use Cockpit Resource Management in crises, stuff like that. No concern about infosec telling you that much."
"I just wanted to give you the chance to brag a little more." Jack shifts to get more comfortable under Mearc and kisses his shoulder. "'Cause it's a big deal."
"What, me falling down an information vortex on United 232 is a big deal?" He lets out a warm laugh. "I'm trying. That's all I can do."
"The trying is important, yeah." Another shoulder kiss.
Nevy nods. "Yoda had it completely backward."
"Exactly." Jack's jaw cracks as he yawns. "Babe...I gotta head home and sleep - and you should, too." Jack nudges Mearc off his lap. "Even give you a ride if you want."
"Lewd remark about riding you goes here." Mearc laughs.
Nevy laughs. "And with that, I think I'll hit the hay, myself. You two have a good night, okay?"
"Hey, I mean I'm down." Jack suqeezes Mearc's butt as he stands. "See you 'round Nevy."
"See you. Say hi to Lux for me!"
|