Total Joe Schmoes

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brian_icon.gif veronica_icon.gif

Scene Title Total Joe Schmoes
Synopsis Brian comes to make up with Veronica with roses, diamonds, and pasta while she's drugged up on painkillers. Things are more or less "normal" — ie, on shaky ground.
Date July 28, 2009

Veronica's Apartment, Dorchester Towers


Knock knock

Brian stands out of the way of the peephole. Better that she isn't able to see him at first. Then he has a better chance of getting in. He's dressed much the same as when they met up for their date, which quickly went bad. And now he's here to make things right. Hopefully

Standing in front of Veronica's apartment, Winters is equipped with a bouquet of roses. His hand is tucked into one pocket, finger touching and poking at something. It took him an entire day to finally come crawling back to her, being as it is well into the evening now. But all he can do now is..

Wait.

It's a few moments before the door peeks open a crack, the chain still in place. Veronica leans against the door, only a sliver of her face visible, to see who it is. The golden-brown eye visible is dilated, a little unfocused. Painkiller. Her brow furrows and she shakes her head. "Go away," she mutters, pushing the door closed.

"V-" His mouth clicks shut as the door is closed. An irritated sigh flows out of his lips. This would be so much easier if he had a cool power like phasing, or teleportation or even flight. Reaching up again,

Knock knock knock

He'll play this game as long as he has to. He didn't buy flowers for nothing!

She leans against the door, her head leaning back heavily. The second dislocation did more damage, though the actual impact was less than her fall. Because the muscles were already "compromised," the doctor at the ER said last night. She really hopes the Company healers are back at work so she can get the thing taken care of once and for all.

"Go away." She hates painkillers. She can't think straight, and she can't come up with anything more original.

Knock knock Knock!

If knocks could sound angry, the last one definitely does. Or if not angry, very insistent. His flowers stay in front of him as he stands there. So when she opens the door fully, hopefully that's the first thing she'll see. Leaning forward he lets his head thud against the door. "Come on, Vee."

He's not going away. The pounding on the door hurts her head as it rests there so she pushes off the door and turns to stare at it. She opens the door again, chain sliding off so she can stand fully in the doorway, good hand on one hip. "Flowers? Do you know how much trouble I could be in, Brian? For the stunt you pulled? If that officer files anything… if it gets back to the Company…" her voice trails off for a moment. "Is that your plan? Are you trying to get me fired?" Her voice goes from its normal huskiness to a bit squeaky as she gets more upset.

Oh damn. He stands there for a moment, looking like a deer caught in headlights after she finally opens the door. Glancing over his shoulder to the hallway he looks again into the apartment. "Maybe I should come in.." He murmurs quietly, before skirting past her into the apartment. "No. I'm not trying to get you fired, Veronica. The officer won't file anything." Brian maintains, maybe a bit too confidently. "She screwed up, if she makes a report she would risk getting investigated by Internal Affairs. Why would she do that?" Winters asks, holding the flowers at his side.

Veronica blinks, realizing she was speaking into the open hallway about her job. Stupid painkillers. Her arm is back in a sling, this one a bit more serious looking than the last. "She says she won't, but only because I said we'd handle it." She goes to the couch and sits. Three prescription bottles sit on the coffee table with a glass of water. A still-life to augment his guilt. "I can't believe you used my job to help someone get away. How do I know that whole scene wasn't planned for? I can't trust you. I don't even know who you are anymore." Did she ever? She grows teary. Damn painkillers. She's not like this. Irrational and emotional.

"Veronica. Planned? You think I planned that?" Brian asks defensively, "I didn't.." Well it makes sense now. He did choose the location. "Veronica. I did not plan this. And you do know me. How is this one little incident a reflection on whether or not you know me. You know how I feel about the Company. Yet we're still making things work. Listen, I got caught up in the moment and I reacted. I'm sorry." The flowers are laid down on the table as he goes on his knees beside her. "I don't ever mean to hurt you Veronica."

"Maybe you didn't plan it," Vee says, but the vicodin makes it hard to think. "But you did hurt me. A lot." She shakes her head. "That woman was wanted. Not just because she's Evo but because she did things to other people. Did you hear the officer? It's not like they were arresting her because she might cause problems. She uses her power — body swapper. That's something that she needs to be able to control, and maybe she could learn to if the Company helped her, but no, now she's off somewhere running in the streets and she's probably going to swap with someone so she can be safe that way. And what happens to the person whose body she takes? That person's going to end up in jail and have a crappy life because of her and you let that happen."

He has Isis. Safe, and away from random someone's to be swapped with. But he can't tell her that. On his knees in front of her, he looks helplessly up at her. He has plans, reasons that might even justify his actions. But she can't know any of it. Not yet.

So Brian's shoulders slump, and his eyes go downcast. "I'm sorry." he says flatly.

5t She wipes her eyes then rubs them. "I can't even think right now," she says, her tone a little helpless. "I don't normally take the drugs because I can't stand the way they make me feel but I'm tired of hurting." The last is said softer yet. "What are we going to do? How can we do this? We can't even have one date out in public without it going all…" she gestures with her right hand to fill in the various words that might fit. Her feet come up onto the couch and she curls into the corner.

"I don't know." Brian offers quietly, sitting on his heels. He stares at a random piece of couch, becoming quite fixated on it. A long moment of silence passes as he simply stares. He had lofty desires of wrapping the city around his fingers, making contacts, doing what needed to be done to secure a foothold. To protect. Yet he finds himself wanting to break just at a few harsh words from her. Finally he goes to push himself up to his feet. And slowly he goes toward the kitchen.

She wipes her eyes again and sits staring at where he was. It's so hard to focus. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have … accused you of planning it. You wouldn't have brought me in for that, if that was the case. No reason to involve me." She rests her head on the back of the couch and stares at the ceiling. "I passed the psych eval. Good thing it was yesterday and not today."

He doesn't answer her apology, he simply starts rummaging through the kitchen. A pot is brought out and set on the counter. Then noodles. Water is poured into the pot before it's set on the stove. "Good thing." He agrees, his tone dull. While the water is set on the stove, Brian leaves the kitchen and goes to the bedroom for a minute. Returning he goes back to the couch, expression still somber. And a minute later another Brian comes from the hall, clothed. This one goes to continue cooking while the first goes to slide his hands soothingly onto her shoulders. Being mindful of her injury, he rubs gently.

Noticing the doppelganger from the corner of her eyes, she just gives a soft "huff" of a laugh and closes her eyes. "You know how that bartender kept yelling about being put in a test tube…" she murmurs. "The funny thing is… we're all in one, I think. I mean… the Company has engineered my whole life, I think, at least once I graduated. I have no idea what's real and what's not anymore. People from the future, people making illusions, people with clones. Is there such thing as normal? And how could we ever be normal, if there is?"

Abandoning his position at her shoulders, he winds around to her feet. Sitting on the couch, his hands go to take her feet and set them in his lap. Going to work her feet softly, and massage them he looks at her sadly as she explains the problems of normal. "I think this is normal." Them being together, with no guns going off, or people being arrested. Just being together. "Is this okay?"

She shifts, carefully, so her head rests on the arm of the sofa and her injured shoulder is to the open side. "Yeah," she says, eyes fluttering closed. "So does that Brian Fulk you're pretending to be have a girlfriend or anything? How does that work?" she asks, curiously. "Do you just pretend to be him, and pick up where he left off?"

"Had." Brian corrects. "Kameron Jackson. She's gone to.. who knows where. Maybe home in Florida." A little shrug is given. "I don't know. Are you jealous?" He asks, a faint smile playing on his lips. Reaching into his pocket, a small black box is retrieved and placed out on the table. Around the same time a bowl arrives, set down on the same coffee table. Spaghetti. Reaching out, the two Brian's touch each other and the standing one immediately vanishes. His clothes dropping to the floor.

"No. Just curious." Maybe a little jealous. But that would be admitting to caring more than she feels like admitting right now. She frowns at the box, and then at the disappearing clone. "That's creepy," she says, nodding to the abandoned clothing. "Going to remind me of my childhood nightmares of the witch in Wizard of Oz melting into nothing but a pile of clothes and a pointy hat." She doesn't reach for the box.

"Mhmm." Brian responds. Looking at the box he grunts. "It's a necklace." He offers. "You don't have to keep it if you hate it. I just.." He shrugs. Abandoning the attempt of explaining his actions he instead apologizes, "Sorry. I won't do it again." Leaning forward he pushes the spaghetti closer to her. "Eat." He insists.

She actually laughs a little at the grunt and explanation, sitting up and swinging her legs back to the ground. "Thank you," she says quietly. Whether for the apology or the necklace or the food or all three, it isn't clear. She picks up the box and opens it.

It's a diamond necklace, pretty, yet simple. Something Brian imagined would suit Veronica, beautiful yet tough. "You're welcome." He answers just as quickly, scooting over so that he's next to her, his hand goes to rest on her lap. Leaning over he goes to plant a kiss on her cheek, making sure that they really are reconciled.

"It's beautiful," she murmurs, softening a bit. She turns to kiss him after he kisses her cheek, lips soft on his. "Just… no more public heroics, all right? Not when I'm around. We either can't do the public thing, or we're total Joe Schmoes when we're on secret dates. Fair?"

"Fair." Brian agrees. No more 'heroics'. Wishing his actions truly were heroics rather than manipulation, his lips press firmly against hers. "Joe Schmoes. Mutts and Jeffs." He says with a grin, going to slide his arm around her.


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