Participants:
| Scene Title | Support |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | It's what friends do. |
| Date | March 11, 2018 |
It had been a few days since Colette’s return to the Bunker and after the awkward run in with Robyn again, Lucille had taken two days to drive into the Safe Zone and check on some things. And to give Colette the time to breathe. Well she had four months of that but Lucille needed her own space, she had been thinking a lot lately. And a quick trip on her bike was just the thing.
Having arrived earlier that afternoon Lucille had tucked herself into her room for a quick nap before padding outside and down the hallway to her friend's door. Loose dark clothing hangs on her as usual but also covering every inch besides her neck. The scar that she's had for years still there. Her short bob hangs free and blue eyes are on the door after a quick peek out of the corner of her eyes towards Robyn’s quarters. She was always aware of the SESA agent.
Knocking softly, “Col?”
She shoves a crimson velvet gloved hand into her pocket and waits for the woman to answer.
“It’s open,” Colette’s familiar voice calls back to Lucille, prompting the biokientic to enter. The soft sweep of feet on bare concrete greets Lucille on her entry to Colette’s room, along with the familiar slap of fists on canvas. Colette’s quarters are spartan, with a narrow bed occupying one wall, wrapped in neatly tucked gray blankets and a single pillow. The night stand by the bed has one small single-bulb lamp that is off in the afternoon hours, when the room is lit by diffuse light spilling in front its east-facing windows. A wheeled clothing rack on the opposite wall from the bed is hung with uniforms and civilian clothes, all neatly organized. A single plant is set on the floor by the window, a white peace lily in bloom, that would take in sunlight during daytime hours.
Colette stands nearby to the door where a tall punching bag sways slightly from recent use. She is barefoot and in loose workout clothes, hands wrapped with tape. Sweat heads at bare shoulders, down tattooed arms. When Lucille comes in, she swipes a sweaty lock of black hair from her brow and offers Lucille a curt nod, before stepping back in and striking the bag with four more quick jabs.
“Sup?” Colette asks as if she hadn’t been gone on mandatory administrative leave for four months, as if she hadn’t been demoted out of her Lieutenant position, as if things hadn’t changed. “Just— ” she steps to the side, delivers a kick to the bag. “Trying to get a little work in. Been sitting on my ass a lot the last few weeks.”
Taking in Colette’s activity as she enters the room she smiles faintly, the two are alike in that training is something they both enjoy or rather need to stay grounded. Colette has Tamara and Tasha, Lucille had her meditation and training. There was Tahir.. but that was complicated. Lucille had to learn to cling to something different to keep her centered.
“You know. A live opponent is always fun,” She comments lightly and the invitation to go to spar is there but she's there to catch up with the woman so either option fits her mood. She's less afraid of sparring with Colette, the other woman had been around Lucille enough and had sparred with that Lucille knew she couldn't hurt her on accident. Colette was very well acquainted with the situation of her ability.
She flicks a auburn strand of hair out of her face and studies her friend. She recognizes her friends rank or former rank but behind closed doors it was different for Lucille and even out in public. The two went through a lot. “Wanted to see how you were. It's been.. a minute.” She looks at Colette with a relaxed look as she leans against the wall crossing her legs at the ankles.
Blind eyes flick to Lucille as Colette slams a fist into the bag again. She then steps back, rolls her shoulders and grabs a towel from off a nearby hook on the wall, throwing it over her shoulders. “Yeah…” she agrees belatedly, to both points, “yeah.” The slap of bare feet on concrete accompanies Colette’s approach over to where Lucille has leaned. Colette crosses Lucille’s reach, bends down and picks up a water bottle and unscrews the top.
“I um, need… some time before I think I’m good with live sparring again,” Colette admits as she straightens up, pausing long enough to take a long swig off of the bottle. “I’ve been a fucking mess the last couple of months. Better, now, but… I don’t want to accidentally hurt you, or get myself hurt.” Another swig from the bottle, and Colette folds forward into a stretch, setting the bottle down as she does. Hands clasp her ankles, legs straight and back curved.
“M’doing alright though,” Colette says as she holds the stretch. “Tam had a birthday, went… went really well. Spent the last couple of months with her and Tasha. I think… I think I’ve got us all figured out again. Starting to get my head back on straight.” Slowly, Colette straightens from the stretch, then leans to the side with one arm over her head, starting a few side ab stretches. “Started going t’fucking therapy, if you can believe that.”
The statement of needing more time before she can really see herself striking out at a live opponent is noted in the back of Lucille’s mind as she nods her head and shrugs, “Makes sense, you had a..” She trails off and shrugs again, that's been covered enough. At the news of Tam and Tasha she smiles, she likes the trio. When they have their shit together. “Good,” she sighs in relief and ends up on the floor not too far from Colette indulging in some stretching on her own. An old gymnastics coach words drilling into her head, if you're standing around stretch, if you're watching tv stretch. You always, stretch.
“Happy belated birthday Tam,” She says with a grin and thinks about a gift she could gift Colette for the kinda strange woman. People who see the future can creep her out. Just doesn't feel.. she doesn't know. Safe? And manipulating bodies and light is. Totally.
“I still have to give you props. I can barely understand Avery with.. ya know.” She waves a free hand as she leans her body forward to touch the tips of her toes. “It’s good to be in a stable place with your ladies.”
Her blue eyes track to Colette’s face as she mentions terrible and an eyebrows raises, “You're shitting me.” The notion had crossed Lucille’s mind to go. But she didn't like people in her head. She rather just calm herself and sit trying to quell the storm of emotions she had been dealing with during the war. “That's badass. There’s nothing wrong with talking to someone. Their not bias, if they’re good they can really give you tools to work out your shit.” She hated going but yes, she had been. A lot. And the memory of when she use to be on antidepressants crosses her mind. “You know I understand how big of a step that is, I haven't been in.. a decade but. I use too.” She offers sheepishly, old news probably but she wants her to know. You have support.
Blind eyes angle over to Lucille, and Colette cracks a fond smile. “I was scared shitless at first,” she admits, switching to work on her right side. “Tam talked me down from canceling entirely, said it’d be okay. First session was good, kind of… opened a lot of weird wounds. Shit I’d packed down. I’ve got a feeling it’s gonna be a long, kinda’ hard experience.” Watching Lucille in profile, Colette’s smile grows. “But y’know, I felt really good afterward.”
Finishing up with her right side, Colette pivots to face Lucille as she pulls the towel from around her neck and starts drying herself off. “Look, I know we went over this back in Utah but…” Colette’s head bobs to the side, “I’m just saying, if you’re having troubles with guys, maybe you’re barking up the wrong tree, ok?” There’s a flutter of laughter at that, face flush for a moment. “I’m just saying, I can keep an eye out for ya?”
Wrinkling her nose, Colette pops down onto the floor in a crouch, then folds her legs beneath herself and leans back, resting her palms flat on the floor behind her. “How’s… things been, since I’ve been away?” Like it was a vacation or something.
“It will be painful as fuck. But it's like you're chipping away at all the muck on you. Then you chip away enough and gee look there's a diamond. Just waiting in the rough.”
Lucille grins as she pulls her arms up to pull from her shoulders her head planted and face forward. “Ah ah look, it's not that I don't appreciate the female form,” she gives Colette a look, “But I just haven't been able to get deep with a woman like I have with men? Boys? Dumbasses? Maybe I'm not trying hard enough.” She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Fuck it, you find a nice lady for me to hangout with and I might not scare her off.” There's a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, she's never accepted before but why the hell not.
“I won't be able to get T to leave me alone though if he sees me with another woman.” She pulls her knees up to her chest before extending her legs back out and climbing to her feet to wipe strands of hair out of her eyes. The vein in her neck right below her scar twitches as she chews the inside of her cheek. “It's been, off.”
Since she's been gone, since Robyn arrived. “Like just funky as fuck Col. With Robyn gone, the weird ass way that Berlin and Rue came upon the intel leading to our next hunt.” Lucille waves her hand, “Something feels off.” So no, not a vacation at all.
“Hey no, look— if that little weirdo,” Tahir, “tries stalking you or something I will personally go tie him up in a basement for the rest of his life.” Colette’s joking(?) threat comes with a lopsided smile. She's quiet after that, though. There's a look on Colette’s face that seems troubled.
“I'm… sorry I put everyone in this mess.” There's a clunk of plastic as Colette says that, popping the cap of her water bottle open and closed nervously. “Robyn and— fuck. I fucked up so fucking bad, Lucy. I— I could still go to prison for this.” Brows furrowed, Colette looks up to Lucille with more worry than her friend has ever seen. “This is basically… purgatory right now. I don't know what's going to happen. I— I should be in prison, but I think I accidentally stumbled on to some serious shit.”
Taking in a slow breath, Colette exhales a nervous sigh. “I can't talk to anyone about this either. Tasha’s dad is in charge of the investigation. He— he told me not to even see her anymore. I couldn't— I— ” Bringing a hand up to her face, Colette hunched her shoulders forward and breathes into her palm.
“I could've gotten us shut down. I'm lucky I didn't, but— I— I'm scared, Lucy. M’scared one day there's gonna be a knock and— and then I'll— I'd be in prison for the rest of my life. No parole. In some federal penitentiary in the middle of nowhere.” Running a hand through her hair, Colette swallows loudly and looks down into her lap. “M’so fucking scared.”
A look passes between them as Colette makes her threat and Lucille outright laughs, “Careful, he might think it’s foreplay or something. He’s a smooth talker.” That’s one way to put her FWB’s ability. She shrugs though, time will tell on that issue. She goes to massage her neck rubbing a finger idly over her scar and cracking her toes as she listens to Colette, feeling for the other woman.
“What you did was reckless yes, but it was noble you couldn’t leave Avi behind. It was not an option.” At the mention of stumbling upon some shit Lucille debates whether to pry, rubbing her neck before going to fold her hands in front of her loosely, “What did you step in?” Colette can’t talk about it but there’s a lot of things they aren’t supposed to talk about so she openly seems curious. “If they come,” she stops and thinks. The ramifications of coming to cart Colette off to prison and then Avi and then shutting them down makes the woman shiver. “We wouldn’t allow that. Once they come for you, that’s the sign it’s over. So why would we let them take you?”
Her expression is angry at the thought and her lips press into a tight line. She won’t allow it. “For now,” she relaxes slightly with a wave of her hand, “You’re doing what you need to do, keeping your head down.” She’s not saying it’s gonna blow over but being on edge the entire time is going to wear Colette out and also Lucille from watching it happen from afar. At the mention of Tasha’s father being the head of the investigation, blue eyes narrow. “There are conflicts of interest all up and down the board.” From Robyn to Vincent. She reaches over with a gloved hand to grab at Colette’s bandaged hand. “There’s a reason you aren’t in prison.” The proverbial shit she stepped in probably being the biggest factor.
“You can be scared, I’m here to lean on.” It’s a serious admission and one that she knows Colette would recognize as truth. “Whatever happens, honest. I’m gonna be there.” She would have been there at the rescue but she’s expressed that already. “You aren’t in this alone.”
Colette squeezes Lucille’s gloves hand, other other free hand coming over to lay on top of it as she leans forward. There's a look of trust, but also one of admonishment. “Lucy, it— it wasn't noble. Avi… Avi killed somebody. He really did kill that SESA agent. He confessed. He was there willingly.” But then Colette gets quiet, though her grip on Lucille’s hand is right.
“Some shady shit was going on there, but— but that was just a coincidence. Hana had the same bad feeling I did, but I'm the one that went in there. I— I killed innocent people. People with families.” Teeth pressing into her bottom lip, Colette swallows dryly and closes her eyes. Never once letting go of that hand. “If the government comes for me, it's because I did something wrong. I— I fucked up. So massively.”
Exhaling a slow sigh, Colette brings Lucille’s gloves hand up and brushes it against her cheek, then just holds it in her lap. “I haven't told anyone other than Tasha, Hana, and Avi all the details yet. Tamara…” Colette waves a hand slowly, as if to imply you know how she is.
“You’re the only other person I trust enough. Not even Lin.” Blind eyes slowly open, and Colette looks up to Lucille with a faint, but earnest smile. “After Utah, I— I don't know what I would've done without you at my back. I know we promised to watch out for each other but… you can't follow me down this one. I'm not dragging you to jail with me if it comes to that.”
Noble? Okay maybe not but you've gotta try to make your friend feel good right? Confession or not, she knows Avi is.. boisterous but to outright kill a SESA agent? It seemed.. not that likely. Was it? He had to have a reason right? She keeps those questions to herself, ones she will seek answers too.
As Colette vents she listens and squeezes that hand back tight, she's here. She's reminded of the days in the Civil War when she took lives so easily.. at least at the time it was easy. Occasionally their faces haunted her dreams. Some nights were worse than others. She senses Colette will be having those nightmares.
“Col..” she trails off her eyes sad for her friend's anguish. There isn't much she can do but be there for Colette. Often her ear. The other woman isn't wrong in her analysis of the situation. She did kill people, she did fuck up. But Lucille knows how to fuck up so there's no judgement in her eyes.
Speaking of Utah makes Lucille smile. It was a rough road but they had each other's backs. That's continued up until very recently. But Lucille nods, “If something happens,” veins popping in her neck. “I'll hold down the fort.”
“But something is happening Colette.” Lucille doesn't know what but she feels it. “So just be careful.” And know that she's got her back but that goes without saying. There's another squeeze.
Colette nods, affirmatively, and gives Lucille’s hand one last squeeze before letting it go. Then, hand planted on the floor she stands up and offers Lucille a hand up. “I fucking missed you, Lucy.” Hauling Lucille to her feet, Colette leans in with hand still gripped and pulls her into a hug with a slap on the back, then leans away.
“Lets go to the training room,” Colette’s expression creeps up into a smile, “and beat the shit out of our feelings.”