Participants:
| Scene Title | Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lexi returns home from her adventure in Vietnam and tries to not sound crazy explaining things to Seamus. |
| Date | October 26, 2010 |
Miss Aphrodisia's: Basement
One downside of being a spot criminals know about is, well… criminals know about you.
And apparently homeless, too.
Downstairs at Miss Aphrodisia's, the basement has been kept in the dark, with just a little desk lamp on. It doesn't really help to see, but it does help in throwing odd shadows around. Particularly around a figure in muddy clothes, untied boots and a blood-splattered skirt as said figure rummages through Lexi and Seamus' favorite bits of alcohol. For shame!
There's a reason why Seamus installed the silent alarm to the downstairs door. If you can't keep your eyes on the door, especially with the kind of people who come around, you have to have /some/ security. The door leading to the shop upstairs opens just a crack, and the wooden stairs creak as the burly Irishman descends. As he rounds the bend, eyes still adjusting to the dark, the front barrel of a shotgun leads the way, pointing at the hunched figure in front of the liquor cabinet. "Stealin' a man's whiskey is a good way t' get a few rounds of buckshot in the back of your head, asshole. Now move reeeeeeal slowly…"
Those first words get the figure to jump a bit, she hadn't heard his descent, it seems. But as for slow, she just looks over her shoulder, mud smudged on her face, too. And probably in her hair as well. Clearly, she stopped for liquor before she went for a shower.
"Last I remember, at least half've this is a woman's whiskey, namely mine. And if ya don't put that shot gun down, Seamus Lane, I'll have t' kick your daft ass from one end of the room to the other." And to punctuate it, Lexi yanks one of the bottles of Jameson out of the cabinet.
Seamus squints in the dimness as Lexi looks up, the end of the shotgun faltering for a moment. At that familiar, chastising voice, however, the gun falls away completely and Seamus' mouth gapes open. "Lexi!" The dirty, cranky, sober woman will have to deal with being hugged, because Seamus sweeps forward and wraps his arms around her from behind, drawing her into a tight bear hug. "Land's above! Where th' fuck have you been??"
"Oof, jaysus ya big lug," Lexi says, as she's grabbed and yanked into a hug. But she means it with affection. "Oi, have I gotta story for ya, ya won't believe a drop've, but I swear I'm not makin' it up this time. But ya gotta let me have a drink first." She blinks a bit, then looks back at him again. "What day is it?"
Seamus isn't letting Lexi go any time soon, and he just laughs at her complaint, arms around her middle and keeping her lifted onto her tiptoes. "Do not run off like that again, okay? I dun care if yer Evolved or not, y'r m' si…" He pauses partway through that familiar script, and she can feel his nose press against the crook of her neck and shoulder. "Don't run off again, arright? I dun wanna hafta find you again."
Finally, he pulls back a little, letting her down onto her feet again. "Day? It's th' 26th, Monday. Oh god…" Horror fills his voice. "Is y' new power makin' y' lose days. Are y' cut loose from th' time stream??"
"Hey! Now, that just isn't the least li'l bit fair. Ya knew? And I was gonna make a big reveal and everythin'…" Lexington pauses a moment to lean her cheek against his temple, just for a moment or two. Or three. And then she pulls away again to try to look at him. "Ya aren't… I mean…"
But she lets out a sigh and lets her question drop before she twists there in his arms so she can hug him back. At least the mud is mostly dry now. "I won't run off. I didn't… actually, I'll… it's… Maybe we better sit down so I can start at the beginnin'."
"Wha? Course I knew. Y'left th' test kit on your bed for me t' find, didn't ya?" Relief mixes with bafflement as Seamus loosens his arms to let Lexi pull away… oh wait, she's hugging him again. So he smiles, drawing her in for another tight hug. His cheek press to the side of her head, one hand of his sliding automatically up into her muddy hair, fingers pushing the dirt aside to hold her against him. He doesn't respond for a few long moment, just reassuring himself that she's actually /here/ again. "…yeah, 'course. Y' better bring th' whiskey with ya, I think we both need it."
"Well… I hadn't…" But Lexi just sighs again, and falls silent to hug him for a little bit longer before she does pull back, to direct him over to a chair. She doesn't sit, though, because she's got to pace.
The whiskey is grabbed, and even set in front of him, but she seems to think an explanation is needed at the moment. "So I was workin' the store b'fore and this guy came in and bought a suit." What that has to do with anything… "And when he's buyin' it he says… if I knock some off the price, he'll tell me how I find out what my ability is. And I'm thinkin'… he's lost it, right? Loony. Loopy. Thick. A mentaller. Off his nut. But he says to me… I should go get one of those tests to see. And he leaves me this paper bird. It's got a picture've soldiers on it." Where the hell did she leave that? No idea.
Seamus grabs the whiskey before he sits on the edge of the chair, popping it open and taking a mouthful straight from the bottle. Screw glasses, he's not patient enough for that right now. He grimaces at the burn as it slides down his gullet, though he leans forward with elbows on knees, watching Lexi pace. "What? How'd he know that…" Seamus cuts himself off with a shake of his head. That'll probably come up in the story. At the mention of the bird, Seamus glances around, like it might still be there. …nope, so he just looks to Lexi again, as baffled as can be in the dark of the basement. He takes another swig of the whiskey.
"He sees things. In the past. I guess. And he saw that I was in the past with this ability and so he knew, is the best I can figure it. But you're making me jump ahead!" Lexi steps over to take the bottle, too, for a drink. But she hands it back! Because she's still telling her story.
"So… I went and got the test. I had t' know, right? I mean, he was probably just a nut, but what if he wasn't. So I took it. And it was red and everything. And I sort've freaked out. So I went out for a walk. And a walk turned int' a drink, and b'fore I could make it back home this Japanese guy with a sword pops up and tosses me into Viet-Fuckin'-Nam in nineteen-sixty-eight, I shit ya not."
Seamus lets Lexi take the bottle with a smirk, running his fingers through his hair. "Shit. Da' said that Evolved could have crazy abilities and stuff…I never thought that… Wait… 'Nam??" Seamus reaches out, hooks a finger in the back loop of Lexi's jeans, and yanks her back closer to him, so he can steal the bottle back. "You're shitting me! You've gotta be shitting me! You couldn't've gone to 'Nam!" Back goes a swig.
"'Nam. I'm completely serious! Ya see this mud? This is war mud. I landed in it. It was rainin' and hot and gross and there was this chopper wreck. Dead soldiers, the lot. We were in VC territory, I hear. And Hiro — that's the Japanese guy — He tells us we've got t' keep this li'l kid soldier named Ben Ryans alive. And there were some others there, I didn't know them, but this guy controlled water and… and… Jaysus a lot've it was just so confusin'." Lexi takes a moment there to rub her face. "Anyways, so we're protectin' this kid… and ya know who wanders in? Daniel Fuckin' Linderman, all young and handsome. I could not fuckin' believe it. But there he was." And it was such a shock, she has to flop down into a seat of her own with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, once Linderman and his pal came in, Hiro came and grabbed us and tossed us back here again. A week later, just about."
"War mud… Damn. Think we could make any money off that?" Seamus taps his chin with the bottle neck, frowning thoughtfully. His eyes widen as Lexi goes on, just staring at her in disbelief. "This is all a bit mu—-wait, Linderman? As in, bought us this house, and I can't find hide or hair of him in the city, Linderman?" Seamus gapes, mouth wide open as Lexi falls into her seat. "…so you just got back from 'Nam. That's…wait, does this make you a veteran?" Somebody's confused.
"Probably not. Since it hasn't aged 'r nothin'." Lexi looks over at him, looking fairly tired, but also, there's that spark he's used to seeing after they'd just gotten out of some near-miss, a glimmer in the eyes, a little smile on her lips. "That's the one. And I'm not sure. Oh! But I forgot!" She sits up, leaning in his direction. "So we're getting shot at, and I had just tackled Ryans, because he kept tryin' t' run off… And I saw this… I don't know what t' call it. But there was some unexpected fire from the trees, like up top? And I saw everyone gettin' shot all t' hell. But then… it like… rewound. And I just turned and shot toward the trees? And there was someone there. I mean… I'm pretty sure that was it. My ability. I saw what was about to happen… b'fore it could actually happen."
It's the sight of that spark that has Seamus smiling in relief. Not a look of haunted fear, or self-loathing, or any of the emotions he's seen in his nightmares. At least in the ones where she returned. "Well, if we label it, any sucker'll buy it, won't they?" He nods firmly as she goes on, and his eyes slowly widen, mouth falling open again. Slowly, he offers out the whiskey bottle to her, blinking as he tries to parse all of this at once. "You can…see into the future?? This is some kind of crazy sci-fi epic, Lexi…"
"Hey, I run a respectable place. F'r the most part. Plus… I think I want t' keep it." As terrible as that skirt looks now, torn and stained and such. Lexi does take that bottle as it's passed her way, and she takes a much longer drink this time. "I don't know. Maybe? It was only a second 'r two…"
She lets out a breath there, leaning back in her chair again. "T' tell ya the truth… I don't much know what t' think've all this. This evolved stuff." Turning to look over at him, she tilts her head a bit and adds, "I'm sorry. About makin' ya worry."
Seamus's smile quirks sideways and he falls forward with his elbows on his knees again, slowly shaking his head as he looks over to Lexi. His hands rub together uneasily, like he desperately wants to do something with them. "Not like y' had a choice. Heh, y'know…it's silly now that I think about it. Y' runnin' off an' leavin' me, not trustin' me with this? That's what scared me more'n anything else."
That note makes her sit up again, and from sitting up, she stands to her feet and comes over to him. Muddy though they are, her hands go to his face and she shakes her head. "There's not a thing in this world I wouldn't trust ya with, Seamus." It's a rare moment of sincerity, frankly. "And hey, if I didn't leave ya in Africa, I won't leave ya anywhere," she adds in with more of her usual spunk.
When Lexi's hands go to his face, Seamus looks up at her with a firmness to his gaze. A low burn of determination. His jaw is set strongly, his confidence returned as she comes over to him. His arms slip around her waist, pulling her closer, so her stomach presses up against his chest. "That's good. Cause y'know I wouldn't stop lookin' for y', right? Only now I know to look for time travellers, too." He blinks, a lightbulb going on. "Oh, that reminds me. Y'may have some of Linderman's group asking after you in th' near future."
"Ya better not. Chances are, I'd need your help t' get out've a tough spot. It took a time-traveling samurai to take your place, ya know." Lexi doesn't seem to be protesting getting pulled closer, although she shift to perch herself on the arm of his chair. "Oh, yeah? Ya shook the trees, huh? Well. I think I can live with that."
"Time-travelin'…okay, are we in a comic book now or somethin'?" Seamus grins up at Lexi, keeping an arm around her waist and grinning mightily up at her. He takes up the whiskey bottle, raising it in a toast. "Oh, you'd better believe I did. Blackened a few eyes, made a few of the soft-hearted blokes break down inta tears from yellin' at 'em. I was in a right frenzy for a bit, when I couldn't find ya. You're just a passle o' trouble, no matter what happens, aren't ya?"
"I like t' think so," Lexi says to those last words, a crooked smile on her lips. "Glad t' see ya weren't bored sittin' here all by yourself." She leans over, her forehead resting against his, eyes closed. "I really should probably get a shower. It was not a clean place by any stretch've the imagination."
"Well, keepin' watch o' th' shop was certainly gettin' me to a point where my noggin felt like it was rottin' and my brain was leakin' out my ears. How ya spend all day behind that counter without going stark ravin', I'll never know." When Lexi's forehead rests against his, Seamus rubs lightly against her back, brown eyes open to look over her familiar, tired face. Her mention of a shower has his hand stillin', and a worried note coming to his voice as he thinks of sustenance. "Oh shit…how long did ya say you were there? A week? How much did ya get t' eat?"
"I never claimed not t' be stark ravin'." Lexi opens her eyes at his latter questions, though, and sits up to shake her head. "A few hours is all. But I haven't had much've anythin' for a while… after my Suresh Linkage Fairy stopped by." Which is a week. Or… a day. Depending on how you look at it. "I wasn't hungry until ya mentioned it just now." Her hands go to her hips there, as if it were all his fault.
Seamus smirks, happy to be the recipient from that accusing look from Lexi. He scratches lightly at her back through her shirt. "Well, how about while y' get cleaned up, I'll order a little Chinese? It's been pretty slow in th' shop t'day and…aw shit." Distracted, Seamus looks towards the upstairs and frowns. "No one's mannin' th' counter. Dammit…" His arm slips away from Lexi with a sigh and he rises to his feet, recorking that whiskey bottle and going to slip it back into the liquor cabinet.
"Oh… damn. Okay. I'll go get cleaned up while ya man the counter. And then when I get downstairs… I'll take over while ya get us something to eat." This is the plan. Lexi moves to stand up, then, ruffling her muddy hair a bit before she starts for the stairs. "If anyone's stolen anythin', Seamus, I'm makin' ya work it off," she adds with a smirk before she starts climbing the stairs, two at a time.