Participants:
Scene Title | A Slumber Party |
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Synopsis | Nick won't be alone for Christmas after all, he finds, when he heads to Redbird to find Delia's body — and a reluctant Brian keeping guard. |
Date | December 25, 2010 |
This area of the city is quiet on Christmas night, which makes it all the easier to skulk around and peer in the windows of the building. The lights were out in the business part of the building, and Nick doubts that Delia's body would be kept in the offices, which leaves the apartments upstairs.
It may not be the smartest thing to prowl around on the fire escapes peering into the windows of the apartments, but then Nick has an Interpol badge in his pocket to help him get out of any hot water it lands him in. He looks, however, less like a spy and more like a common thug in his dark coat and his knit cap pulled low over his head — a cat burglar perhaps, with rather low standards in the building he's picked to rob from.
He moves quietly, from one fire escape to another, but he can only rely on his own stealthy nature so much — the rusted metal creaks under his weight, and he stops, moving swiftly to the side of the window he was peering in, hoping to avoid detection.
"You don't know.. What we can find~"
For now, Brian is blissfully unaware that there is a prowler trying to get into the apartment. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Brian is doing what he does to pass away the time best. He studies. When you can learn different things all at once, learning loses all boring facets. It's kind of like a competition with himself to gain more skill sets, to know more things. And with a recent run in, Brian is studying Russian. With a laptop propped on Delia's stomach, Brian is hunched forward watching the screen.
"Why don't you come with me little girl on a mmm dum dum dum~" Placing his hand in the bowl next to him he takes a handful of cheetos and stuffs them in his mouth. "Nyet." He practices. "Vaail..Vaailk.. Fuck." Licking his fingers, he glances down at the woman under his computer. "I think it might be rolling over time soon Delibeli."
There is the slightest kink in one of the blinds of the window, Nick discovers after a few moments plastered to the side of the building before he turns to peer through the window again. And through that little kink he can see two people on a bed — one with red hair. And one that looks like the asshole that was going to shoot him last night.
Nick growls, tempted to leave, but reminded of his promise to the girl in his dreams, the girl in his mind, and he lifts a gloved hand to wrap on the glass, sharp and urgent.
Even though he has Delia, Brian is very much convinced that he's alone. Taking another handful of Cheetos, he peers closely at the laptop. "Das ve.." And then there's an urgent knock. Swinging his hand up at the sudden shock, the bowl of Cheetos is upturned and left to spill out on Delia's lap. Then the orange hand flings to the dresser of the bed where he has let his gun rest.
Popping to his feet, the gun.. now with cheeto residue on the grip is leveled at the window. Walking forward cautiously, the blinds are slowly lifted. And when they are, his brows shoot upward. You. "What the hell? What the fuck are you doing here?" He didn't get to shoot at him at the party. But maybe he'll get a chance to now. Despite the window being shut and Nick's ability to hear him diminished, the mouthing of 'WHAT' and 'FUCK' are very clear.
Nick's hands go up, black gloves empty of anything at the moment, his lockpicking supplies in his pocket. His dark brows dip in a scowl and he makes a beckoning gesture to suggest Brian should open the door and let him in — then follows it by pointing at himself and then to the door.
Scowling, Brian raises up one orange hand and goes to unlatch the window. Pushing it up with one hand he gives a little shake of the head. "What the fuck are you doing climbing out there? Get away, or I'm calling the cops." At a security company, that seems kind of silly. The gun remains trained on him. "Get out of here, now."
"Yeah? You're gonna call the cops, when you have a girl in there that should probably be in a hospital except that, you know, she doesn't want them to know where she is, maybe?" Nick says irritably, not wanting to play nice with the man. "I fuckin' got her off the island — Brian, right? I was one of the people who did that. And I'm here to help her."
Nick juts his chin toward the gun. "So can you put the fuckin' gun down and quit trying to shoot me when I'm trying to do the right thing, maybe? It's getting old and I'm kinda having a crappy month." Make that life.
"You're the idiot who took her off the island?" Brian growls. "If she wouldn't have been taken off the island, I could have had her better weeks ago." Just for that Brian feels like reaching out and pushing the man off the fire escape. Or maybe it's that Nick caught him eating cheetoes unawares.
"People crawling on fire escapes aren't usually here to help." Brian says warily, keeping the gun trained on him. "And people who have ties to Humanis First aren't welcome in here." The gun stays on him. "I know that they were looking for someone special to do the job. If they wanted any mutt off the street they would already have one." One he knows. "I don't give a fuck. Give me a reason to listen to you, or I make your month a twenty foot fall worse." He's not really sure how many feet there are. It's a guess.
Nick's jaw sets angrily. If he were in a better place emotionally, he might be able to reason with Brian, but everything the other man says just pushes at the raw wounds, rubbing salt into them.
"Jaiden and the cowboy and me. Some ghost bird named Hokuto told us to, I don't know, all right? And I'm not Humanis First. If I were, would I have been fuckin' drugged out of my mind? Would I have been trying to get away from you all so I could get out in the open and blow to fucking pieces alone rather than destroy the building?" he hisses. "Look, this girl, Delia, right, she's been in my head the last few nights, and she's refusing to leave. She said to find you at Redbird, and here the fuck I am."
Nick's jaw sets angrily. If he were in a better place emotionally, he might be able to reason with Brian, but everything the other man says just pushes at the raw wounds, rubbing salt into them.
"Jaiden and the cowboy and me. Some ghost bird named Hokuto told us to, I don't know, all right? And I'm not Humanis First. If I were, would I have been fuckin' drugged out of my mind? Would I have been trying to get away from you all so I could get out in the open and blow to fucking pieces alone rather than destroy the building?" he hisses. "Look, this girl, Delia, right, she's been in my head the last few nights, and she's refusing to leave. She said to find you at Redbird, and here the fuck I am."
Jaiden and the cowboy and him. Sounds like enough assholes to do a stupid job. But when he mentions that Delia told him to find Brian. That has his features twisting up a little bit. Sounds like something DreamDelia would do. Alright.
"All your parries aside. I don't trust you. You had to know them somehow." Brian dismisses, bobbing his head a little bit. "Come in." He pushes the window all the way up. The gun goes away. For now. Though Brian still watches Nick warily. Scooting deeper into the apartment, facing Nick at all times he goes to shut the laptop hasitly and set it on the dresser. Bowl of cheeto's is moved. "You tired?"
Nick climbs in, scowling as he moves closer to Delia, peering down at her face with worry for a long moment before he finally turns to face Brian again.
"Not particularly," he admits, his pale eyes darting back to Delia's face. "I slept earlier today. She reminded me where she was."
He pulls off his gloves, shoving them into the pocket of his black peacoat. "And I ain't Humanis. Someone took advantage of my bad luck. Their mistake was that they don't fuckin' know me well enough to know I don't ever finish a job without fuckin' it up," he mutters, nodding toward Delia. "I'm hopin' to break that streak now, all right?"
Brian's lips flatten. "Well.." He muses idly, glancing this way then that. "Want to play cards?" He lets out a soft sigh. "You have to sleep. And I have to sleep as well." He gives a light shrug, tensing somewhat as Nick hovers over Delia. He may only have a handful of interactions with her. But spending a lot of time with her body over the last few weeks.. Like twenty four hours a day has made him a little protective of the body. Delia. Delia's body. Who knows if he'll still like her when she wakes up.
"Well.. That was their mistake." Brian dismisses. "I'm stocked full on drowsy sleepy medication and stuff." He murmurs, heading for the kitchen. "I'm not totally sure.. But she described me as a bright light. I'm not exactly sure what that means. But I think I can transport her to her body. So.. we'll all just have a slumber party." He smiles brightly.
He can't really remember a happy Christmas — but this one might be among the more surreal he's spent. Nick shakes his head with a humorless chuckle as he pulls off his coat to throw on the couch. "Yeah, hit me up with some Ambien or something, I guess."
Despite the fact that Nick looks like crap with a bruised head and pale skin, even dark circles under his eyes, he doesn't look in the least bit tired. It might be a long night for Brian.
Peering over at Nick, he frowns a little. "I mean. Ambien or. Alcohol. It's up to you. I do not reccommend both." He gives a solemn nod. Maybe he already tried that. Nick doesn't look tired. Brian's exhausted. But his other copies are having a hell of a Christmas eve on the other side of town. It's just a bad night for all of him.
But maybe it's redeemable. "We could drink and play cards until we pass out." He gives a little shrug. Before glancing over to Delia. "I need to roll her over though. And.. She might need a bath." He frowns lightly. "It's been a couple days."
Nick's brows lift at the mention of bathing Delia and he lifts his hands. "I ain't touching her like that, all right?"
Wait a moment.
"You've been touching her like that?" he demands, looking like he might punch Brian before he growls and strides away toward the window, closing it with a rattle and slam. "There's not like a girl who could do it? I don't like the idea of you seeing her naked, kid."
Like Brian's any younger than he is.
"Alcohol, whatever you have. Just don't expect me to crash before you do. Pretty sure I can drink your ass under the table," Nick mutters, pulling off his knit cap and throwing it on the couch with his coat and gloves.
"Yeah. I'll give her the bath." Brian frowns slightly at Nick. "Sometimes Peyton or Elizabeth come in. But I'm here most of the time." He starts pouring drinks, and while Nick is busy being angry. Brian's putting a little more water in his than Nick's. "Listen. I try to take my penis out of the equation, alright. I don't get any sexual satisfaction out of it. And if she does, she hasn't woken up to smoke a cigarette or call me a champ. I have a girlfriend and I'm happily… Boyfriended. And besides. Once you clean the feces off a woman.. Physical attraction."
He brings his hand up and gives a little 'eh' motion. "It's kind of gone. You ever want to hump an old woman? With diapers? I didn't think so." Winters tilts his head at the other man. "Do you even know her?" No matter. Nick's drink is slammed on the counter.
"Drink up, boss."
Nick glares at Brian, picking up the drink to toss back swiftly before slamming the empty back on the counter. "Another," he says tersely, before turning to look at Delia's sleeping body.
"Yeah, I know her. Met her, before she was asleep, that is. She's a good kid," he says, eyes dropping before lifting back up to study Brian's face. "Whatever piece of shit I am, I'm here to help her." There's something pleading in his look, something that says helping Delia is the only chance he has to help himself.
"I hope you can." He pours another drink, pushing it over to Nick. "You drink up man.. I'll get her bath in and.. Make sure she hasn't gone to the shitter. Get her feed tube and iv stuff already and then we can drink the night away." Another drink is poured in preparation for Nick, pushed in front of him. His own drink sits there untouched.
Rounding the living room, he smiles. "She is a good girl." He won't tell AngryNick that Brian's girlfriend is who got her stuck in the first place. Walking over to Delia he glances back to Nick. "I've been trying to get her back for weeks. I told everyone a couple days. I was wrong. So.. Let's hope this works right?"
Nick takes the drink, turning his back on Delia and Brian so that he won't see the girl disrobed.
His free hand moves to his temple, thinking of Delia in his mind, seeing his secrets through his dreams, perhaps getting trapped by what he is sure is a corrupt and evil place.
After all, his mind could never beget anything but trouble.
"Yeah," he says, tossing back the drink. "Let's hope this does."