ArchivedLogs:Fooling Around

Fooling Around
Dramatis Personae Anette and Pedro
In Absentia	2015-11-23 "Not sure if I should feel free or heartbroken" (Takes place morning after Campfire)
Location <BOM> The Spatters - Ascension Island
A comfortable three-bedroom cabin, sturdily built if inelegant. The front door opens up into a cozy sitting room with small bathroom; it is adjoined by a kitchenette with room for small table. The three bedrooms here -- two off the sitting room, one on the other side of the kitchen -- are not uniform in size nor layout, with the considerably smaller kitchen-adjacent room having its own screened-in porch. The sun has only been up for an hour, the island is quiet and a morning chill lingers in the air. This particular cabin especially as only one of its residents has spent the night. The other is still missing but the third is just now slipping in the door. Dressed in yesterday’s clothes, Anette tries very hard to be quiet and avoid notice, slowly closing the door behind her with a gentle click. Once inside, she slips out of her coat and throws it over one of the dining room chairs before making her way to a cabinet and carefully reaching for a tall, glass bottle. It looks like the place was thoroughly cleaned up at some point recently, with the exception of a plate on the ground near the couch. The remains of several orange and bananas are piled neatly on this plate. Several action-y DVD cases are set next to the plate, and the TV itself is on, but whatever was sending a signal to it is off. Leaving the TV dark, but with several LEDs glowing. A blanket covers most of the couch, with a pair of batlike feet sticking out the bottom, and the tips of batty ears sticking out the top. The mutant seems undisturbed when Anette slips inside. But when the bottle is moved, his ears flick, and a loud yawn can be heard. At the yawn, Anette suddenly looks up. The bottle of vodka already in her hand, she decides not to try for a glass and before carefully stepping, keeping as quiet as she can towards her bedroom. This doesn't stop her from unscrewing the cap to the bottle though. Pedro sits up then, yawning once more and then glancing at the woman heading for the bedroom. "Hola.", he says sleepily. "Anette!" Wrapping the blanket around him, he stands and stumbles in her direction to attempt an intercept. "Wait." Anette freezes instantly once again, cringing as she hears her name. Dammit. "Hey," she says, straightening up and trying to play it off coolly. She turns toward Pedro and offers a thin smile. She really did not want to be spotted. Pedro's ears raise up a moment as he notes the cringe and the wan smile she gives. He blinks then and squints. "Should you be speaking English with the disease?" The young mutant claps a hand over his mouth. {Shit.}, he mumbles in Spanish. "It's been a long day. I'm cured and as long as you're not sick, I don't give a shit," Anette says, lifting bottle to her lips and taking a large swig. "Besides, you spoke it first." Pedro sighs, looking down at his feet, and nods. "I did. Accidentally." He looks back up, to her, and grins brightly. "You're cured?! That's awesome!" He shuffles forward and stretches a wing out, to half-hug her with it. "But uh, isn't it a little early to drink? And wouldn't it be better in a glass?" "Yeah...cured. It's great," Anette says, not sounding all that excited. But she doesn’t react much to the hug, either positively or negatively. "Still late for me. Just grabbing a night cap before I get some sleep. Didn't grab a glass because I was trying not to uh...wake you." Pedro blinks, and ohs. "Sorry." The wing removes itself, and he steps back a little, the ears lowering noticeably. "May as well grab one now, I'm up." He steps over to where the plate lays, and picks it up. "I'll let you be then, if you want to get some sleep. Glad you're cured." "Stop, wait," Anette quickly says as Pedro begins to walk off. She reaches up and begins rubbing her eyes. "It's just been a weird night and drinking alone sounds really depressing right now. I just...have a lot on my mind." The bat pauses, the ears raising up a little, and he turns to walk into the kitchen. The peels are dumped into the garbage bin, and the plate left by the side of the sink. From there he promptly disappears into his closet-of-a-room. Moments later he steps out, sans blanket but wearing pants. Two glasses are retrieved from the cabinet, and he moves to the couch. "So allow me to drink with you.", Pedro says, holding up the glasses, "And talk about what is on your mind. Even a little bit might ease your worry a bit, si?" Anette makes her way over to the table and sits down, talking a few more gulps of vodka while she waits for Pedro to return. "I uh...I was with Killian. We were hanging out by the beach. I promised him a game of fetch and there was something I needed to talk to him about. And I think I may have ruined our friendship. So naturally...we kissed." This requires another gulp of vodka though this time she pours it into her glass before she drinks. "It was a really confusing night." Pedro listens attentively while she speaks, his ears perking up when talk of friendship being ruined. He holds up his glass for some of the vodka she's greedily gulping down. "Why do you think you may have ruined the friendship? Changed it, yeah, but it's not ruined. I suppose the real question is, what of Daken?" Anette gives a chuckle. "No...what I had to talk to him about. /That/ ruined the friendship. The kiss just complicates everything." Another swig of vodka before she continues, "And yeah...Daken. I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." She leans forward and begins rubbing her eyes. "I mean...we didn't do anything more. But I wanted. God I wanted to." Pedro looks curiously to her, and nods slowly. He reaches for the vodka and attempts to pour himself a glass. "How long has Daken been gone for? And to want to do... things, is natural." The mutant shrugs then. "Not that I would know. Aside from possibly wrecking what you have with Daken, what would be the harm? You two aren't married, are you?" "No, no we aren't. But we...he's talked about it. And Daken has almost murdered Killian just for flirting, what do you think he'd do if he found out about this?" Anette turns and glances towards the door, her face falling subtly. "Almost two months. He's never been gone this long. I just...I love him. But I'm also hurt and angry and furious with him." She turns back and looks down at her glass, not taking a drink but just swirling it in her hand. "I'm just really lost right now." Pedro hmms, finally getting himself some vodka, taking a large mouthful and swallowing. He makes a face, as one who has not had much alcohol before. "Oof. How do you drink this?" His second mouthful is smaller, and slower to go down. "Don't let him find out about it then." The batty one rubs at his cheeks as they've started to flush brightly. "I can't judge you, but I don't think you're a horrible person. You've been sick and scared, and you're missing Daken something fierce. And Killian is there, warm and alive and eager. You're going to break something, no matter what you decide at this point. So it can be love, or it can be lust." "You've clearly never met him. Daken's got the nose of a bloodhound. I've been Febreezing the apartment every day just to hide Killian's smell." Anette can't help but give a smirk as Pedro questions her drinking. "Years and years of practice." Pedro's last comments gets a bitten lip as she looks back down into her glass. "Yeah, I can't really win, can I? For all I know...Daken might not be coming back. Hell, he could be dead. But I...I don't /know/. And if he does come back, should I even take him back? After he...after he wasn't here when I needed him?" Now she finally takes a large gulp, shuddering as it goes down. Pedro downs the rest of his glass in short order, quivering as it burns its way down. "I have only had enough to know that I can drink this stuff." He reaches for the bottle again, and refills his glass. "I saw him, once or twice, I think. But never properly introduced. And at least now there's another set of smells to add extra confusion." He lets out a long breath and looks away. "Do you think that he didn't want to be here in your time of need? If he is a proper man, he'll be pained to find out that you needed him and he wasn't here to help you. I mean, we all know what we may be asked to do, as part of the Brotherhood. You can't blame him. He might like doing missions, being useful for the cause, but I would bet you dinner that he would much rather be here with you." He gestures with his wings before taking another gulp of vodka, and making another face. "Most people would, I think." Anette smiles, though it takes a dark turn. "It might not even be for the Brotherhood. Could be for someone else. He could just be chasing after one of his personal vendettas. Wouldn't be the first time he left me in the dust for his own sake." This requires several gulps of vodka before she can continue. "Did you know I was getting my ass kicked once and he stood back just because she had information on his father?" She gives a faint chuckle, looking up as Pedro adds to his comment. "Most people would what, want to be here with me?" Pedro blinks at her a few moments and takes another slurp of his drink. "Oh. That paints a different picture of him. I understand your anger better now." Another sip. "Well. Uhm. Shit. I think that it is, in light of what you have said, unfair for you to wait. Again, you're not a horrible person. If you are willing to live with the decision you make, choosing to be with someone who's there isn't a bad thing." Pedro looks to her, his ears standing straight up. "Yes. I think most would choose to be here with you. For what it's worth, I would choose you." The vodka seems to start kicking in, which of course shuts down the little voice in Anette's head that would tell her she's had enough, which of course prompts her to drink more. A vicious cycle. "Oh honey, you really haven't been here that long. There aren't many on this island I haven't pissed off. The fact you like me says way more about you than it does about me." Another gulp of booze and she leans back against her chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Daken and I are a couple. We're exclusive. It would be cheating. That's what makes me a horrible person. The fact I'm even /discussing/ this." Pedro grins then, finishing off his second glass of vodka and shrugging. "As I said, you would be breaking something one way or another. Do you have to stay a couple if you're mad, and upset, and how dare he make you wait?" He reaches for the bottle again, and pours himself another. The young mutant leans a little too much, and it seems to take a little bit of effort to right himself. "The worst you have done, in your own words, is kissed Killian. If you want to remain with Daken, then don't go any further with Killian. Maybe it's easier said than done, but that's what you have to do. If you're mad and you want to leave Daken, then do so." Anette nods absent-mindedly as she pours herself another large glass of vodka. "Yeah...yeah, you're right. It's such a...such a tough decision though. Because as mad as I am...I still love him. As many times as I've been hurt, I love him. Hell, he might come back and have a damn good excuse." She takes a large gulp, no longer shuddering or making faces at the taste, before mumbling, "Don't know what it could be." She looks up to Pedro and gives a faint chuckle. "It'd be a hell of a lot easier to fool around with you. No need to hide your smell." "I don't envy that decision. And as much as it will hurt, and hurt someone else too, you need to make it. Maybe it is horrible to leave someone for someone else, but that is better than trying to play both sides." Pedro sucks back more vodka, his ears and cheeks both flushed a rosy pink colour. "And you know, if you keep going back to Daken, and Daken keeps accepting you back... who's to say that it won't happen again after Killian? But, that's not something you should bet on." Another sip has him pondering his glass. "I do see why people drink this stuff now." His eyes raise up and he glances at Anette. "Uhm. Well. I wouldn't say no to that. Though it'd be kind of daring to fool around right under Daken's nose, wouldn't it? But what I meant, you could use my scent to cover Killian's. Could be explained away like... oh, Killian and Pedro hang out, you're smelling Killian's scent off of Pedro." "It's hardly fooling around under his nose when he isn't here," Anette grumbles. "Right now, I won't say no to it either. And...that's not a bad idea actually. Tell him Killian's been hanging around you. Hell, tell him Killian hangs around here with you. Yeah, if you don't mind lying to someone who's mutation is immortality and claws...go for it." Anette suddenly grins and takes another gulp of vodka. "Fuck it, he's not here. As far as I'm concerned, he left me. If he comes back...well, we'll fight it out then. Until then, I'm doing whatever and whoever the fuck I want." She holds her glass up with a playful smirk and a shaky hand towards Pedro for a toast. Pedro's ears stand up straight once more, and he chuckles. "But we do hang out, a little. It wouldn't be hard to hang out more frequently. I'd happily do that, if it helps." The young mutant looks a little wary and he looks away. "Well, it doesn sound like he would turn me into mincemeat." He grins and carefully, if shakily, lifts his glass up and gently taps hers with it. "Here's to you doing whomever and whatever you want." Pedro drains the rest of his glass and sighs. "He'd only turn you into mincemeat if he found out. How's he going to find out?" Anette asks with a playful wink, draining her own glass of her vodka. "Hmm, I haven't been single in months. Not sure if I should feel free or heartbroken." She grins and leans back against a chair. "I'll figure it out in the morning."