Participants:
| Scene Title | A Mess To be Made |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | What a mess that I make of my days Then there's you, you're a mess to be made… |
| Date | February 16, 2019 |
Bay Ridge, Robyn and Dirk's Apartment
Your eyes, I say your eyes
May look like his
Yeah, but in your head, baby
I'm afraid you don't know where it is
There are some things that never change in the world, in any world. The sky is always blue. New York is always abuzz with activity. Fire burns. And, no matter what, Robyn Quinn loves to sing. It is one of the few musical elements of her life that she still dabbles in, still gives any attention to - even with her renewed interest in music, small as it may be, singing remains her main way of expressing her interest.
Don't you want somebody to love?
Don't you need somebody to love?
Wouldn't you love somebody to love?
You better find somebody to love
She's spending a lot of time by herself, barely talking to anyone at Fort Jay, not talking to Dirk as she packs for hre move across Bay Ridge to her new building. Singing is the most that's come from her lips most of the last few days, putting on a record as she continues packing what few things she has outside of her gallery.
Tears are running
They're all running down your dress
And your friends, baby
They treat you like a guest
Needless to say guests are the last thing on her mind, busily sliding the parts of her computer into a box as Jefferson Airplane fills the apartment. The door is paid no mind, but at least she isn't wearing any headphones.
Elaine had a different plan when she first left Yamagato Park, but the run-in with the universe traveling Magnes Varlane had caused her to alter direction. There was only one person she could sort her thoughts through with. That person was Robyn. Given the fact that she had a key (not that it did much good with Robyn leaving soon), she lets herself in.
Greeted by the sound of music, she’s immediately more at ease as she shuts the door behind her. Making her way inward, she announces her presence verbally so as to not startle her by a sudden appearance.
“Robyn, it’s me. Got a few minutes?”
Don't you want somebody to love?
Don't you need somebo-
Despite having given Elaine her key, that doesn't seem to cross her mind as she hears the door open. Her voice cuts out as her eyes suddenly snap to the door, a stoney glare offered in it's direction as her hand slips into her purse. Even once she sees Elaine, she stares with that same cold expression for a long moment.
At least, until suddenly her features soften and a wide smile spreads across her face. "'Lainey," she starts with a small laugh. "You should knock next time. Never know what's going t' happen if you don't." It's an odd way to chastise her given that she's told her to just come in before. Slipping her hand back out of her purse, she makes her way over to the other woman.
"Sure. I always have time for you. What's up?"
“Hope I didn’t startle you,” Elaine says as she makes her way in. “I guess I should have knocked and then unlocked the door.” She tucks her keys away in her purse and makes her way over. “I had an interesting run-in today. I heard Magnes has been to see you, all back from universe traveling and all.”
The redhead watches Robyn carefully for a reaction. Not just because off Magnes, but because of the universe traveling. She knows full well how the different versions of herself had affected Robyn.
Elaine can see how Robyn's posture stiffens, staring ahead at the redhead silently as she considers her response. Her jaw clenches for a moment, turning away from Elaine and making her way over to another one of the boxes - this one closed, at least until Robyn pries it open. "I see," she remarks in a low voice. "Yes. He stopped by. I told him to go see you. Even said I would come with. Has he?"
Out of the box, a tumbler is pulled out. After it, an expensive looking bottle of cognac. She doesn't wait or listen for any comment or protest from Elaine before she begins to pour herself a glass. A second tumbler is pulled out, and similarly filled up. "It was good to see him," Robyn admits. "Hard, though. He…" She trails off, shaking her head. "He's certainly still Magnes."
“He has.” Elaine moves to take the tumbler without question, the slightest hint of a nod as thanks. “He started crying the second he saw me. He just let the words spill out, he just… I dunno, it was just a torrent of things best said in tiny chunks. He never was very good at his timing.”
She rubs the back of her neck. “He tell you about Addie?”
Blinking as Elaine takes the tumbler, Robyn furrows her brow and looks down at the box. "Oh," she says quietly. "I didn't realise you wanted one." A third tumbler is pulled out, the cap screwed back off the cognac. It's clear this discussion puts her in a mood. She takes sips as she listens, occasionally glancing over at Elaine.
That lingering question, though, that earns a barking laugh from Robyn. "Yeah, he did." Another long sip of her drink, and her lips curl into a smirk. "Hell of a thing, that! I'm pretty sure that Eileen took her is the only reason he's even here now." That isn't true of course, and she knows it, but she wouldn't be surprised. "I'm waiting to see what he does about it. The way he talks…"
While Elaine can tell that Robyn’s in a mood, she doesn’t want to sit on these thoughts alone. Not when they were so personal, in a way. Maybe it wasn’t her involved but it was certainly someone who was genetically like her. A twin sister, in a way. She’d never had a sister, but right about now she was certain she knew what it felt like. She sips from her own glass before she stops, mid-sip and stares at Robyn.
“I’m sorry, what was this about Eileen taking her?”
The tumbler is set aside in order to give her both hands to rub her face. “For fuck’s sake do I not deserve to be told the whole truth for once?” She scrubs her face vigorously, hiding in her hands for a few moments before removing them and taking up her glass again. “Okay, so what is this about his daughter being taken?”
There's a long moment of Robyn giving Elaine the flattest stare she can. "Seriously." Not a question, but a humourless statement of disbelief. "Christ, this old chestnut." And then she laughs, taking a long sip of cognac from one glass. Wincing, she sets it aside an picks up the other one as she rises up from the couch. "It's a complicated story, because… you know, nothing is ever uncomplicated. Ever! It's kind of amazing, honestly, how the law of averages just ignores things like this!" Arms spread open in a theatrical manner, she offers Elaine a toothy grin.
"Eileen Ruskin's alive. Or well, an Eileen Ruskin is, because Magnes isn't the only one hopping across timelines. I can't remember if you knew that, 'Lainey, but she has other you's kid. To hear Magnes tell it, Kazimir took over her and made off with their daughter for fuck all know why, but I'm sure Magnes did something to piss someone off." All of this presented in a similarly theatrical manner with exaggerated facial expressions, vocal mannerisms, and hand motions that are careful to get the point across without spilling her glass.
"It tracks with what I know about this Eileen. She's from the same world you and I were married in, because that reality is just the good old gift that keeps on fucking giving, isn't it?" Arms come back in, hands clapping together around her glass as she points to Elaine with two fingers. "Wanna take bets on if he does something about this that's going to get him arrested?"
Because she'll do it.
“Oh fuck, so you’re basically saying that there’s a little girl out there that’s being held by… well…” Elaine doesn’t know exactly how to express the topic that is Kazimir. “So she’s in trouble. It doesn’t matter who all her parents are, there’s a little girl that probably has no idea what is going on.” She’s upset about that, that’s for damn sure.
But there’s something else. There’s Robyn. She stops, mid-anger, and looks at the other woman. She sets her untouched tumbler down. She bridges the gap between them so she’s much closer to her probably a lot quicker than Robyn might realize. “Hey,” she says, trying to meet her gaze and catch her attention. “Hey,” is said again, this one more forceful, the tone of voice that one might use to try and get the attention of someone daydreaming.
“Look at me.” Elaine continues, regardless of if Robyn complies with her command. “Fuck the world. It’s nothing you need to get upset over. Magnes is not your responsibility, Kazimir, Eileen, whatever the hell happens with them is not up to you and you don’t need it to affect your world. If shit gets serious and all hell breaks loose and it comes across our table… so be it. But right now, this…” She gestures to the apartment around her. “This is your world and you don’t have to take that shit.”
There’s a small smile as Elaine continues to look at Robyn. “That little girl matters in my world only because she’s a little girl that needs help and she happens to be genetically similar to me. A little sister in a way. A niece. I don’t like to see any child caught in the middle of something like this. So I’ll find a way to help somehow. I doubt I’ll do something directly but I’m sure I know someone who could step in who isn’t Magnes.”
“But I want you to focus. Focus on what matters to you, what’s relevant to you, what you can handle. Me, music, your new apartment, your job… that’s all shit that’s in your control, stuff you can handle. So don’t let the world get to you.”
"Yes, mon chéri!" Robyn proclaims with sudden excitement, taking in another long sip of her glass, mostly emptying it. "Fuck the world! That's what an ceann eile dom would say, and I couldn't agree more!" It's rare to hear Robyn invoke Irish in her vocabulary anymore, and never is it mixed with French in almost the same breath. "You think I care about Magnes or what he does? Nah, he isn't my responsibility, and I plan to keep it that way."
That toothy grin returns, before she turns away from Elaine and finishes off her tumbler. More surprisingly, though, is how she then casually - but elaborately - tosses it halfway across the room. Thanks to the thick carpet, it doesn't break - it just hits the ground with a soft thud.
Her own little way of putting emphasis on that previous comment.
"You know what he said to me, after I told him I work for SESA and I wouldn't hesitate to arrest him if I needed?" She snorts, as if what she's about to say is comically unbelievable. "He wants to get the band back together! That band that's been dead for eight years! God, I don't even begin to know where Sable is anymore!" Crossing her arms, she laughs again. "As if I would need the band if I wanted to get into music again. I didn't the first time."
Never mind that she's working on opening a studio soon.
"If you think Magnes is taking any of my focus?" Quirking up an eyebrow, she leans in towards Elaine. "Then, 'Lainey, maybe you missed the mark for once."
Elaine watches the tossing of the glass, the spouting of the language, the way that Robyn moves about the room. “For someone not focused on Magnes, you sure seem to talk about him a lot.” She shrugs, then moves to try and put her hands on the other woman’s shoulders, though lightly in case Robyn feels the need to pull away.
“Something’s sure taking your focus away. No offense but you’re acting erratically. You aren’t acting yourself. And I’m worried. I don’t want anything or anyone to take you away from my life again. So what are you thinking? Don’t give me the spiels you gave me a minute ago about other people and things that aren’t about you. Tell me about you, Robyn. What’s going on?”
There's a roll of Robyn's eyes, pulling away just as Elaine had anticipated. "Oh come on, 'Lainey. Can you blame me?" Turning away from Elaine, she shakes her head. "He just finished crossing a multiverse, and has made a point of making both our lives complicated. 'Course I talk about him a lot. Doesn't mean he's got any of my attention," she notes, her accent slipping from her put on French to something a bit more neutral as she looks back over her shoulder at Elaine.
"Why do y'think somethin's goin' on?" It's a question asked just a hair short of accusatory. Her shoulders rise in a slow shrug. "I feel more like myself than I have in ages, 'Lainey." A hand reaches up and runs through her hair. "Or at least somethin' resemblin' it." Spreading her arms out again, she takes a lyrical tone with the words that follow.
"Welcome to the end of eras, ice has melted back to life." A finger reaches up and taps at her chin. "Y'know? Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but…" Robyn trails off, making a circular motion with one hand as she tries to think of the right words. "What I'm thinkin' is, maybe I start taking some life lessons from everythin' I saw these past few months. Only the good ones, though."
Not that Elaine knows the full depth of Robyn's visions.
Turning back to the redhead, she brandishes that same grin again. "I mean, hearin' all those voices has got t'be worth somethin'."
“I think something’s going on because you aren’t acting like I’m used to. And you’re switching accents and languages so erratically. Trust me, I’m an expert on these things at least. I dunno if it’s maybe the alcohol or if you’re just stressed but… I worry, Robyn, because I love you.”
Elaine looks at the other woman seriously. “I know things have been tough and that you’ve seen some shit. I wish I could help. But the most I can really do is be here for you to try and ground you.”
Something about what Elaine says gives Robyn pause, the fingers on one spread hand curling back into a fist before dropping down to her side. Her expression evens out significantly, before taking a slighly forlorn turn as her shoulders slump. "Yeah," she says a bit quietly. "I know you do." No further commentary is offered on the rest of Elaine's observations however, scratching at her neck as she looks towards the kitchen.
"Maybe we could go out. Y'know, rather than stay here. I haven't left the house much except for work lately." A weak smile is offered towards Elaine, before she starts towards the kitchen.
“Going out sounds good,” Elaine replies with a smile, trailing after Robyn towards the kitchen. “Let me treat you to a nice meal, whatever you’d like, wherever you’d like. I know all kinds of places… places open at the most random hours of the night. I even know one of those cute 24-hour diners that have shit coffee but amazing eggs.”
The smile Elaine has lingers a bit. “Almost like a date or something…”
"I work for the government," is said in a small voice as Robyn turns and starts to walk away. "I live in those kinds of diners." With a roll of her shoulders and a sigh, she disappears into the kitchen, though she keeps talking.
"Whatever works for you," is the response she offers, still quiet - reserved almost. Elaine can hear some clinking of things around, the sound of water presumably from the sink. There's no further remark, even once Robyn emerges back from the kitchen wringing her hands a bit. "There's better restaurants in Rochester." Which isn't where they are, nor can Robyn charter a flight or a drive up there on a moment's notice anymore.
“So let’s have an adventure. Let’s go out, right now, and see where the best place to eat in the Safe Zone is. And if we don’t find it tonight? We’ll just have to go on another date to find the best one. We’ll try everything until we find the best, how’s that?” Elaine chuckles, looking from Robyn back towards the door.
“You don’t have to accomodate me, though. There’s two of us. We both decide.”
"Whatever," is Robyn's half muttered response, moving over to a bag so that she can pull out a jacket to wear. "You lead the way this time." Normally that's not a bit of control Robyn would cede, but she suddenly isn't feeling up to it. "Adventure, dinner. As long as there's food involved." On account of the fact that Robyn's been drinking mostly.
A fact not lost on her as she moves to recover her two glasses of cognac, throwing one back with a choking cough following it up. She holds up the other one, staring at it for a long moment as she considers, before setting it back on the coffee table.
It'll be here later.
Elaine’s gaze follows Robyn’s imbibement. Her expression is stern, holding. Her concern was clear, not that she was sure the other woman would notice it at the moment. The pressing matter was food and “adventure”. The even more pressing matter was to make Robyn remember who she is. She gestures for Robyn to follow, then she steps out the door, glancing around her as she lets out a slow breath.
This was a mess she didn’t trust anyone else to clean up.