Let's Be Friends

Participants:

claire_icon.gif magnes_icon.gif

Scene Title Let's Be Friends
Synopsis Claire reveals she has her memories and both agree to be friends.
Date November 20, 2010

Redbird Security


It's late, after curfew really, but Magnes is out anyway, flying and flying until he gets to Redbird. It's around 10PM when he lands on the roof, having changed out of his costume and stuffed it all into the small black backpack he's wearing. He has on a zipped up black leather jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and black sneakers, just crouched down and staring out over the neighborhood, what he can see from one small building at least. "So this is it…" he mutters to himself, not very alert in his current state, so he didn't even check to see if anyone else was up there. "By myself again."

"Only as alone as you allow yourself to be." The voice is familiar, if a bit bland. Closer look around the roof would find a figure sitting on the edge of the building. Claire Bennet sits there, legs dangling over the edge. Dark hair has been left free, instead of pulled up in that severe ponytail, strands shifting in the cold breeze.

She's bundled up in a dark leather jacket to keep warm, hand resting on the ledge, she looks back at the other, "Hello Magnes." Claire is silent for a moment longer before she asks, "You having a bad night I take it?"

"Ah, uh, Claire." Magnes stammers a bit, not expecting to see her there. He heads over to her, remembering that their last encounter ended in yelling, he's in too much of a mood to mention it. "My girlfriend broke up with me. I kept expecting her to be like you, to be alright with me going out there in a mask and risking my life, or getting called to save the world every few weeks. But she finally hit the end of the rope, and she ended it today."

He moves to sit on the edge next to her, smiling a bit sadly and shaking his head. "You set a strange standard for girlfriends. I know you can't remember, but there was a time when you actually approved of me trying to be a vigilante."

Magnes get a pained look, "If you compare every woman to your ex-girlfriends…. you'll never be happy." Claire shakes her head slowly, looking down at the street, watching the occasional car that drives by. Hands fold in her lap and she glances at him again, brows furrowing.

"Are you sure I approved?" Eyes narrow slightly, "Or was it a case of… I knew I couldn't stop you, so let you make your own mistakes?" Claire shakes her head slowly and sighs heavily. "Damn," is murmured in disappointment.

"I told her I'd give it all up as best as I could manage, but there's only so much I can do. There's always going to be someone who needs my help, somewhere I end up needing to be. I can't have this ability and then ignore when something happens that I can stop. I can stop being a vigilante, but I can't turn people away when they need my help." Magnes sounds almost sad about this fact, looking over at her with a concerned gaze. "If I ever made you feel that way, even if you can't remember, then I'm sorry. I'd have done anything to make you happy. I always had this plan to somehow gain a regenerative ability so you'd never have to be alone. You told me not to change myself, but secretly, I always planned to do it anyway, because I couldn't stand the idea of us being together, but you having to watch me grow old and die."

A lop sided smile pulls at her lips as she studies him as he talks on, Claire seems almost amused. "There is no guarantee that I'll live a long life." Her life isn't exactly an uneventful one, it's full of peril from outside sources and her own making. "Better to just live your life… you know?"

Shoulders shrug a little, letting her gaze move to watch the scenery again, thumbs tapping together thoughtfully. "That's here nor there, but you really need to stop comparing woman to me. I am not the perfect woman, by far. Not to mention, no one is the perfect somebody. Just setting yourself and them up to be hurt."

"It's not that I directly compared her to you, I'd never do that to any girl, it's just that you were my first girlfriend, you set the template for everything I expect, so I guess I just didn't adapt to everything being different suddenly. I just… I guess I just thought having a girlfriend again would be just like dating you. But now I know, every relationship is different." Magnes closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as his legs dangle. "I thought my relationship with Elaine was great, because she wasn't going to get set on fire or try to prove that she wouldn't die by making me shoot her."

He pokes her in the shoulder, suddenly getting a playfully skeptical look. "Which, I might add, is one of the most ironic things you've ever done. You made me shoot you to prove that you'd be fine, and then a gunshot takes your memories and ends our relationship. Way to build a false sense of security." He calms down a little, mostly just remembering things now, for no particular reason. "But this breakup taught me something. There's no one I can date, no one who'll be alright with the life I live, not even you. Even a regenerating action cheerleader doesn't want her boyfriend getting shot at every other week."

"In my defense… I didn't know that would happen." Claire gives him a matter of fact look and a sad smile. "I shouldn't have even survived that." She really doesn't know how she did. "It should have killed me, but somehow I lived through it."

Carefully bringing a foot up to rest on the roof, Claire circles an arm around it, "But… there is someone out there for you Magnes, just have to have patience. The best things in life are not easy." The regenerator, leans out a little to look down at the sidewalk below.

"Elaine wants to be my friend, she still wants to hang out with the band, and I'm alright with that, but… what about when she gets a new boyfriend, what about when I have to see him? I'm not even sure how well I'd handle seeing you with a new boyfriend, let alone a girl I've been living with for all these months." Magnes lays back, arms spread as his legs continue to dangle over the ledge. "Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't relationships be simple?"

"I dunno," Claire admits blandly, "I've been avoiding relationships since we broke up." Sending him a sideways glance, she suddenly adds, "Not cause of you, but mainly cause I had no interest in getting involved with anyone new… and I had other things on my mind."

Resting her cheek against the raised knee Claire goes silent for a little bit. "Besides… nothing in life is truly simple," she feels the need to point out.

"As selfish as I am, and as much as I just wish you'd forget guys even exist because I'm always going to have feelings for you, I don't want you to be alone." Magnes looks up at her, pulling his legs up from the ledge so his knees are bent and feet planted against the roof. "I know your life is hard, I wanted to drop Peter out of the sky when I heard Messiah had you suicide bomb, and god knows what else, but you don't need to shut down. You're still a girl, you'll always be a normal girl to me, and I believe you deserve some shred of that through all of this madness."

"Normal girl." The words are whispered with a touch of amusement. "I haven't been that for sometime, even before I met you." Claire trails off, going quiet again. "One day maybe, for now I'm content." Her head turns where she can watch Magnes.

"Just like you'll find someone, eventually." Claire gives a huffed chuckle. "Not that I'm anyone to take relationship advice from."

"Yeah, really. You dated West, and me. I don't think we were dating when I first met West, it was after the breakup. I don't think there was a greater penis swinging contest." Magnes reaches over to take her hand, staring up at the clear sky. "I really miss you. I know you're a fugitive and all, but we've thought about having concerts for the Ferry some time. Maybe you could see my band play, you've never seen me perform. I really want to be your friend again, I want you to know my friends. You can't remember our relationship, but I'm sure you and Elaine will have catty things to say about me." he grins, extending the offer of renewed friendship.

"Are you capable of only being friends?" Claire asks more amused then anything, studying Magnes where he lays there. He can probably tell the difference in her, she doesn't seem as stressed as she had been, or as distant. Her hand covers his, for only a moment before she extracts both from his grasp.

"I'm — still not interested in any kind of relationship — at least for now." Claire admits with a furrow of her brows. "If you can respect that…. then yeah… we can be friends." A tight smile is offered before she looks away.

"I had some really bad days, but — I think I'm okay now. Dad and Richard got Matt Parkman to fix me… well… what he could." Claire hazards a look at Magnes again. "I remember, by the way."

Magnes didn't question it, a part of him was so used to how she'd always been, he'd almost completely blocked the bad things they went through. But now it all hits him when she says it, and he sits up, eyes wide. "You remember? You remember me? I… you know I didn't give up on you, right? I left you, I moved on so you could be happy without worrying about a guy you couldn't remember. I wanted you to be my first everything, it just didn't work out that way…"

He takes a deep breath, looking down at his legs as he crosses them. "If I knew your memory loss wasn't permanent, if everyone didn't keep saying there was no hope, I'd have waited for you, I'd have put everything on hold until you came back. I'm not asking to date you again, that'd just make you a rebound girl in my current state, that's not what I want. I'm just… apologizing… for the second time tonight."

There is a heavy sigh from her and she gives him a look, "Magnes…" Her mouth pulls down into a disapproving frown, brows furrowing. "I — " she can't find the words she wants to say, looking frustrated. Fingers comb through her head expressing that frustration.

"We did have a good time when we were dating, but… " Her words are carefully chosen, spoken softly, "… you are not the right one for me. So even if you waited, I think the results would be the same."

Eyes on the street below, Claire shakes her head slowly, and says, "Just cause my memories are back, doesn't mean I'm not still a different person, Magnes."

"I know, it's alright, like I said, I'm not asking that we get back together, I have a pretty long relationship with Elaine, that doesn't disappear just because your memories are back. I just needed to get this all off my chest, so you know that I didn't just abandon you." Magnes offers his hand, nodding to it. "We had our relationship, and I'm always going to cherish and miss it. I don't know what'll happen in the future, with me or anyone else, including you, but I really do want you to be my friend, and meet the band, and Elaine. Being a fugitive won't matter, they're all more or less Ferry. Elaine's at least affiliated."

Eyes fall to the offered hand and she studies it thoughtfully, Claire seems almost hesitant. After what seems like a long moment, her smaller hand rests in his, giving him a small smile. "Alright, I'll give friendship a try, but I warn you…" A matter of fact look is given to Magnes.

"… you make me uncomfortable and I will put you back at arms length," she points out and Claire looks serious about it. "But yeah… " She gives his hand as squeeze.

"Let's be friends."


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