Participants:
| Scene Title | Same Damn Side |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | The aftermath of Aric meeting Graeme's boss, and not particularly the answers Graeme was looking for. |
| Date | April 21, 2011 |
Blue Moon Cafe: Aric's Apartment
Thursday night, it's just before curfew when Graeme gets back to Aric's apartment. It's been a long and tense night at work before he left, after having talked with his boss after Aric left. But when he enters the door to the apartment, leaning on the door frame as per usual to take off his work boots, he's quiet. And his thoughts are quiet, too, though for his boyfriend it should be obvious that this is deliberate, because it consists of nursery rhymes and soccer playbooks. "Hey," he calls out, quietly. "I'm home." And then before any further warning, comes the message he promised Melissa he'd deliver. "And in the future, be quiet about your ability in public, would you? I'd rather my boss not find reason to shoot you."
Aric walks out of the bedroom dripping wet as he just has gotten out of the shower tying a towel around his waist. Watchout Mcdreamy!, "And you don't find it a bit alarming that before she has gotten a chance to know me that she thinking in that…dark mind I might add…shooting me dead?" He shakes out his hair like a dog and moves to his dresser and opens the top drawer to pull out a pair of sweat pants.
"I know that it was most likely a passing thought," Graeme says, "borne of things that are painful for her, those dreams." There's a continuation of the nursery rhymes in his head, on to Little Bo Peep now. "You didn't help any by advertising that you could hear it. She doesn't like telepaths to start with. Advertising like that ain't wise," he says, soft southwestern drawl as he continues to speak. "Especially these days." Still, there's a smile on his face, and shoes off, he moves over to land a gentle kiss on Aric's cheek.
Aric narrows his eyes slightly as if he was a little offended, "It was not a passing thought. She and I are linked in a possible future I think…maybe…I don't know and she honestly felt in her thought shooting me might stop but and then they shifted very quickly to affection of her bar. She seems rather bipolar in some senses with her thought pattern." Aric drops his towel and begins to pull his sweats on as he moves to the edge of the bed to sit down.
"I think it is time you hear some things Graeme. Liz might shoot me herself but to understand me and where I am coming from…well I can't keep it from you any longer…and besides. I shouldn't keep anything from you any more."
Graeme grimaces for a moment. The only reason… The thought is repeated, aloud, carried to completion. "The only reason Liz'd shoot you is for being so damn blatant in the wide open space there that you're a telepath, damn it." The frustration clips his words, and Graeme stares up at the ceiling. He's not going to be easily distracted, tonight. "Let's not keep things from each other, though." Beyond that, though, Graeme would rather major revelations wait for perhaps when Liz isn't going to get more reasons to be mad at Aric. "Liz is going to be mad at you because she asked the both of us to practise discretion, and all." Another sigh. "Not for telling me things." Then Graeme leans over, resting his head on Aric's shoulder. Almost tired.
Aric shakes his head, "Liz doesn't know the feeling I got from that dream it was as if it was a memory." He places his hand on Graeme's face, "And when you have been what I have been…anyone who thinks what Melissa thought…she is lucky I didn't shoot her myself. I wasn't carrying, yet I should have been…no one will ever harm me again like that Graeme." His voice grows cold and distant, "You're right discretion is something I usually have known yet over this past year has not gotten a chance to understand as much."
He sighs and says, "I am part of a group Graeme. This group is called "Endgame" and I have devoted my life…literally to ending futures like the ones I have seen. These group of people mean a lot to me and I have…" His voice grows soft and dangerously sincere, "I have killed…I will kill again if it protects you…the future…me…Liz. This group might be called a terrorist group. Some might call it the last defense. The reason Liz wants you and I to lead normal lives because the DHS's eyes are off me right now thanks to an Agent Pak. Who at this time thinks I am an electrokinetic…not a telepath."
"So now you know the tip of the iceberg."
"I know what Endgame is," Graeme says, quietly. "Liz explained a lot to me, a while ago. A little after Remi got shot. The same day I told her that if the day comes, I'll fight, because I'm in this too. I didn't get a choice to choose sides, but hell if I don't believe that Liz is doing the right thing here." There's a pause. "Do me a favour, please. Discretion, in the future. And don't you dare shoot my boss. I need that job. Elisabeth and Jaiden and Ygraine need me to have that job at the moment. It's letting me do for them as much as I can."
There's another pause, before Graeme slips his arm around Aric's waist. There's no space for a response given, as Graeme instead catches the other man's lips in a kiss. Perhaps despite his resolve that he wasn't going to be distracted by things, he is. At least, a little, even if his thoughts have gotten through the entire repertoire of nursery rhymes and the soccer playbook and started over again.
Aric is able to read the surface thoughts much easier when he is touched, and when he relaxes his own mind opens up completely. He takes the kiss and leans into it gently as he lets out a hmmm. As he keeps his lips close to Graeme's he says with a sigh, "Graeme, you're trying to hide your thoughts from me. I do know discretion. Trust me the things I have heard from Liz…Elle…Cardinal." His eyes look slightly hurt at the thought of Cardinal, "Please don't think I would use my ability to harm you. I won't…" He moves away from Graeme and flops back into the bed and puts his arms behind his head, "And why don't you work for me? At least I know you will be safe here…she is a part of Messiah. This group is much more dangerous then you know. I would be so much more at east if you were here and not there."
Perhaps it's not entirely deliberate. "Sorry," Graeme murmurs. "I'm used to living with telepaths, remember?" And from Remi, hiding his thoughts was generally more important. "I like a small degree of privacy, even if I know you wouldn't, I just … it's habit as much as anything."
And even as the deliberate nursery rhymes fade, there are very few surface thoughts unrelated to the conversation at hand, or ideas of distractions and what he would be doing if they weren't having a conversation right now. "And really, I'd be useless around the bookstore," he stresses. "She's on the same damn side as we are, right now. She's useful to know. I'm used to working security in nightclubs and bars, and as far as those go, Tartarus is a damn good one to work at. One where I'm not about to potentially lose my job for my ability, or run into problems because of it." Still sitting on the edge of the bed, Graeme sighs, reaching up to rub his forehead. "I'm not incapable of taking care of myself, although it's sweet that you worry."
Aric looks down towards Graeme and nods slowly, "I never said you couldn't Graeme. I just do not want to see you harmed. I don't trust her right now and I won't trust her until she gives me a reason to trust her." He turns on his side and places he props himself on his elbow. "Yet she and I will need to speak about that dream. If she won't I will come back to her."
"I'd rather you not. At least, not for a while," Graeme says. "Look, she's not going to trust you, because of your ability, regardless, and if you go see her again, you're going to end up putting me in a difficult position. She meant the threat about shooting you if you use your telepathy again on her." Graeme sighs, finishing stripping off his shirt and undershirt, before laying down next to Aric, closer slightly than before. "I'll be fine." Unspoken, and then pushed away, comes the thought that at least he can deal with being hurt better than most, but then, Graeme's turned to catch Aric in another kiss, all desire for conversation lost and pushed aside.
As he smirks softly he enjoys the kisses and pauses, "If she hurts you I will kill her." Aric returns to the kissing as he pulls himself in closer to Graeme.