un_gloved: (pic#1717450)
[personal profile] un_gloved
If she'd been paying closer attention to the lightening and darkening of the room, Rogue might have known what day it was. She hadn't, though, and so she didn't. The first day had been a misery, and everything else was too vague and surreal to feel like it mattered.

She'd gone to bed happy, wrapped up in a particularly lanky embrace, and woken up to an empty bed. That wasn't cause for immediate concern, but after she'd wandered down the halls of the townhouse and the emptiness of the place had set it, then she'd become worried.

She went through all the closets, and all the drawers, and there was nothing.

His clothes were gone. He was gone. Everything was gone, except a Jericho 941 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

So she'd climbed into bed with it and stayed there. First, she'd wept, the kind of sobs that hurt, that moved so tight in her chest she barely made any sound, and pressed her face against the sheets where he'd been lying beside her a few hours earlier and tried desperately to keep the smell of him in her mind. Eventually she exhausted herself and slept, and awoke groggy and with her hand on the Jericho.

She got up a few times, to drink a little water and use the bathroom, or to sit in the shower until the hot water turned icy, and then she climbed back into bed. Eventually the crying stopped- she was drained, and even though her thoughts kept turning to what had happened, to who was gone, her body had stopped responding. By that point, she had lost any interest in getting up. She kept her hand curled around the Jericho, finger looped against the trigger, and drifted listlessly into and out of awareness, and decided she was done.

She was just done.

Date: 2012-01-08 05:32 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
A brand new year.

Sure. Says who? I keep a different calendar, in my head, and while this doesn't mark another year ticking over, it's still too long. And it was still a milestone that got celebrated, a few days ago.

Even the idea that the place may help Laura relax, be easier, something, doesn't change my desire to personally be out of here. It might be for her, maybe, and it wouldn't be my pick, but it definitely isn't for me.

But while we're here, I might as well see what can be done. But when I get to Rogue's to run it by her, my mind moves off the subject. Place is locked up, dark.

I think about kicking the door in. Step up and listen close, instead. Lock's not forced. So I figure what the hell and knock.

Something comes at me, I could do with the surprise.

Date: 2012-01-08 05:47 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
In for a penny, I guess.

"Rogue?" I call, stepping back. Harder to tell if she's in or not if I can't use my nose. But it doesn't feel like the place is unoccupied. You get a sense for it, you do what I do long enough.

Date: 2012-01-08 06:32 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"If you're there, open up, or I'm gonna assume I need to kick this door in," I say.

That should do it.

Date: 2012-01-08 06:39 am (UTC)
exweapon: (and what I do isn't pretty.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
Nothing.

Maybe she's not in, and this is just going to get her pissed at me for breaking her door.

Or she is, and something's wrong. Hurt, captive, there are a lot of options. I've run across pretty much all of them. Not risking any of them.

It takes a single kick. A single, satisfying crunch of wood as the old-fashioned lock tears off and it swings inwards, splintering, and I step past it to see what I can see.

Date: 2012-01-08 07:09 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
It looks like someone ransacked the place.

I'd be more suspicious about that if it weren't for the fact that Rogue is home, and looking a lot less riled than she'd be if that's what we were dealing with.

"What happened?" I say, slowly crossing the room, keeping an eye on the corners, the exits.

Date: 2012-01-08 07:49 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"$#%@," I say.

It would be that. The thing I can't hit, or track down. Can't beat into submission or eliminate entirely. This place. I'm good at what I do. Everyone knows how it goes. But here I'm only ever coming up against problems that aren't what I do.

"Alright, get up." Have to start somewhere.

Date: 2012-01-08 08:14 am (UTC)
exweapon: (I really like beer.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Sorry, darlin'," I say. "Not taking that for an answer."

Because it isn't one. It's not an answer.

It's a reflex.

And it's not going to do her any good.

Date: 2012-01-08 08:21 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Get up and make me," I suggest.

Not that I plan on leaving even if she does get up, but I don't think she's in any state to fight, and I don't want her to fight.

'cept in a more general sense. Fight the urge to just give in and give up, that's what we need.

Admittedly maybe she'll just shoot me. I'd prefer it didn't come to that, but...

Well, she's hardly likely to leave me bleeding on the floor.

Date: 2012-01-08 08:33 am (UTC)
exweapon: (I really like beer.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Right now, darlin', I'm having trouble believing you'd even bother to lift your arm," I say, walking right up to the end of the bed and crossing my arms.

"You can go ahead and prove me wrong."

Date: 2012-01-09 08:37 am (UTC)
exweapon: (walk away)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
Not that I want to get shot, but it'd be a damned sight more promising than this dull malaise. Act dead inside long enough, it starts to stick in ways you'd rather it didn't, if you were thinking about it clearly.

"Not happening," I say. "Unless you're coming with. Scratch that. Until you're coming with."

Date: 2012-01-16 09:39 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"It all matters, Rogue," I say, taking one end of the bed spread and yanking it away, because some extra measures are called for. "People go, wherever they are, but if you think I'm going to let you go while you're still here, you've got another thing coming. Up."

Date: 2012-01-17 07:49 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Get up and I won't have to," I say, releasing the bed spread and straightening. Figuring out the next step in getting her up and around, since provocation hasn't worked so far.

Maybe it'll kick in in a second or two. Looks like she's getting mad, which I'm for. Anything that isn't empty works.

Date: 2012-01-17 07:58 am (UTC)
exweapon: (I really like beer.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"I'll get off your property when you come with me," I say, not moving an inch.

I've stared down plenty of barrels of plenty of guns. Plenty of them were in hands as steady as this.

Used to have a healing factor backing me up, though.

"Otherwise, go ahead. Dragging me to the clinic would get you up and about, at least."

Date: 2012-01-17 08:21 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
I look her over, and then I look the apartment over.

"Alone, maybe," I say. "Alone like this? Not even close. If I'm going, I'm coming back tomorrow."

Date: 2012-01-17 08:44 am (UTC)
exweapon: (the best there is.)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"You could, too," I say. "Maybe right after I leave. Isn't going to stop me showing up tomorrow."

Date: 2012-01-21 01:52 am (UTC)
exweapon: (walk away)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
I'm already turned, started out, but I turn back a little at that.

"Sitting around hoping you'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be fixed never works," I say. "But you don't need me to tell you that. We both already know it."

Date: 2012-01-21 01:56 am (UTC)
exweapon: (walk away)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Gone's as bad as fixed," I say. "You can wish you're somewhere else, you can wish you're someone else, but it's never going to get you out of dealing with the here and now."

Date: 2012-01-22 03:19 am (UTC)
exweapon: (walk away)
From: [personal profile] exweapon
"Yeah," I say. "It ain't."

Nothing I can do here. Not right now. Someone else might be able to get through to her, but all I can do is hope time'll do some good. And that maybe even if this kick in the pants doesn't do any good, the next one might.

"See you tomorrow."

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Rogue

May 2024

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