ArchivedLogs:Recovering
| Recovering | |
|---|---|
| Dramatis Personae | |
| In Absentia
|
2016-10-04 "Bet if I was still a ball of rage and murder we'd be out burning warehouses down and starting gang wars" |
| Location
<BOM> The Spatters - Ascension Island | |
Finally it's beginning to feel like autumn and in the spirit of cool weather and changing leaves, Anette is sitting back on the couch with a mug of cider watching The Exorcist. The apartment looks more or less the same, a tad cluttered but mostly clean though there is a food and water bowl sitting near the kitchen and a catbox near the bathroom door. The cat these belong to remain nowhere to be seen however. Akihiro hasn't been seen for a while either, but the moment he's back on the island he's making his way towards a certain cabin and knocking on the door. "Anybody home? Heard I could find out how many licks it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop here?" He looks a bit different. His hair has been trimmed further, he's actually got it slicked back into a pompadour. And with the cooler weather comes around, out come the leather jackets. "Just bite the damn thing!" Anette calls out, not bothering to pause her movie as she turns to glance to Akihiro. "Ooh, looking handsome," she says, grinning at his slick hair and the leather jacket. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks, sliding down the couch and making room for Akihiro to join her. "I was feeling nostalgic." Akihiro replies, shooting Anette a wink as he moves to take a seat on the couch. "Well I'm back from handling some business, so I figured I'd swing by my best friend's house." He rests an arm along the back of the couch, turning his head so he's looking straight at her. "So how's everything going?" "Best friend? Really? After everything we've been and gone though?" Anette asks, turning to face Akihiro briefly before giving a shrug. "I can live with it. It's been...quiet. I'm keeping clean, back with Killian, no disasters or messes to clean up. No more ex-boyfriends coming back from the dead. I don't know what to do with myself." She takes a deep breath. "I feel like I'm going to accidentally sabotage myself again." "Of course. I'd be in Asia somewhere learning to cook with the locals otherwise." Akihiro teases Anette lightly, turning to watch the Exorcist now. "Just breathe. Know that arguments happen to every couple, your happiness isn't a trap, and I heal /really/ fast if you need to spar with somebody to cool down." "This wasn't an argument. This was...me distancing myself from him until I can fix my life. So I didn't destroy his." Anette says quietly, turning back to the movie in time for pea soup vomit. "And I wasn't sure where my heart was. But now that everything's...safe, I don't know what to do. I don't do safe or normal or healthy." She casts a quick glance towards Akihiro, smirking faintly. "I haven't tried to rip your eyes out in a while." "You could. But only if you're both trying to be safe, happy, normal, and healthy. Because you know what happens to people who kill people for profit." Akihiro says, reaching up to pop his claws. "They usually run into somebody that's been doing it longer, and knows better." The claws retract and he lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "But you can't make a man's mind up for him." "We're just trying to be," Anette says, leaving it at that as she glances over as hears him extend his claws. "Aren't you hired claws?" she asks, frowning slightly as he critiques the situation. "At least he has a decent excuse. I just go on homicidal rampages for vengeance." She turns back towards the movie, corners of her mouth still turned down, her mood beginning to sour. "I have no intention of making up his mind. I have no problem with what he does. Actually, I want to join him." "I can tell you from experience, that it's not what it's cracked up to be. And no, I don't do that anymore." Akihiro reaches up to rub at the stubble along his jaw. "Think I'm done killing, to be honest with you. Helped a lot with that whole self loathing thing. Don't spend hours cutting myself open anymore, and I don't stay up for days at a time anymore. But, you're welcome to get out there and do it. Definitely capable."
"Well, sure if you tried other things you'd find something." Akihiro's good mood seems to be wearing thin also. "I think this may be why we really broke up. Bet if I was still a ball of rage and murder we'd be out burning warehouses down and starting gang wars." "I told you as much ages go but you wouldn't believe me," Anette says, still facing the movie even as she talks to Akihiro. "You wanted to change and I have no desire to. You spent all your time trying to rein me in and I did nothing but fight you." She pauses for a moment, letting the words soak in before speaking again. "The future, the world turned to shit. We were both fighting the same cause. We were united. This timeline? We're two different people." "I always believed in you. Hoped that you would like it if things were different. Guess I'm the only one of us that wanted to be normal. But then again, our experiences are different. I was forced into this life, and you chose it freely." Akihiro tugs a cigarette from a pack in his pocket, placing it between his lips but not lighting it. "Like I said, you can't make a person's mind up for them." "I'm not normal. I've never been normal," Anette says. "What did you believe in? That I could be June Cleaver? Mrs. Brady? Sit down to a nice, quiet life? Take up knitting maybe?" She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "No, I suppose you can't." "Normal is relative. Only boring if you make it boring. Really just wanted to make you happy." Akihiro pushes to his feet and heads over to the door. Rather than leaving he half steps out and lights up his cigarette, looking out at the island. "But I'll settle for letting Killian do that." "Happy...that's relative," Anette says, watching Akihiro get up and walk towards the door, waiting until he's lit up before she stands and follows him, standing a few paces behind and to the side of Akihiro. "Took me a long time to realize it, but he does," she says quietly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she glances towards the floor. "Not really. The things that make us happy maybe, but happiness is pretty much the same." Akihiro takes a drag from his cigarette, keeping his back turned to Anette, which is something he doesn't really do to anybody else. "All that matters is one of us is happy. Glad it's you." "Unless you count the terror that I'm going to fuck everything up like I always do," Anette says, chuckling as she shakes her head at the comment of her being happy. "You'll find your own happiness. Preferably with someone who's mentally stable." "I had it for a little while, and it was nice. But I'm a Howlett. Happiness isn't something we can hold onto for very long." Akihiro sighs quietly. "I was happy before I found out my parents didn't love me, and it took me meeting you to be happy. I know it was rough, but normal is something I'd never tried to be before. Kind of funny how it turned out normal was the last thing you wanted." "You think you're the only broken one? I know I've...blamed you for pushing me into things I didn't want to be in," Anette says, gently stretching out a wing across Akihiro's back in a hug. "But I needed it. I thought I could be happy on my own. I didn't think I needed anyone else. But having you, then Killian, always there when I needed someone. Thank you." And just when that touching moment passes, a large black hairball walks through the door. Mid-step, it looks up to Akihiro, yellow eyes angrily glaring at this intruder. The tail twitches and a low, rumbly growl pours from his belly before he makes his way into the apartment, completely ignoring Anette. "So that's where Vader went..." Anette mumbles, turning to watch the cat claim the back of the couch they both had just been sitting at earlier. "It's not a problem." Akihiro replies, eyes locking with those of the cat as he enters, returning the growl the way only one that's in touch with their inner beast can. "I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. Probably go out and live like it's the sixties again." "Akihiro, wait," Anette says, gently taking his arm and guiding him to face her if he will allow her to. "I still love you. Not in the same way I did before, but I care about you. I'm...here for you. If you need me. Just please, if you ever need someone to talk to. I'm here." Akihiro nods slightly. "I appreciate it. I'm here too if you need me. Just don't need me so much Killian tries to fight me." He shoots an easy wink and flashes a grin that could probably fool anybody else. But for the one person that really knows him, it's obvious he's hurting. Anette can't help but smile a bit, withdrawing her wing back to her body. "I'll try," she says, though she attempts to offer a comforting smile. "Hey, keep the moping up and I'll be forced to set up you and Pedro up on a date," she teases, giving his arm a gentle squeeze before taking her hand back. "I'd rather drown myself than go another date." Akihiro says seriously. "I've had enough emotional trauma to last another seventy years." He reaches up to smooth down his hair, even though there's nothing wrong with it. "Shit, I don't even want anymore /sex/. That's how done I am with all of that." "No more sex? Did you have a lobotomy while I was gone?" Anette says, her eyes widening as she can't help but tease Akihiro. Still, his mention of 'emotional trauma' does seem to kill her overall effort of trying to cheer him up and she takes a few steps back. "Well, whatever you want then." "Nope. I just want to make sure the last person I slept with was somebody I loved." Akihiro replies. "But...thank you." He steps forward to give Anette a hug if she allows it, "I'm just gonna need more time to really get over all this. It's hard, but I'm not going to push you away again. Just means I'm gonna get sad sometimes. But, that's better than sad all the time." Anette does, if hesitantly, accept the hug. "It does take a lot of time to recover," she agrees. "And I really do wish you the best." "Too long, if you ask me." Akihiro pats Anette's back before stepping away. "Well, I'll be around. You know where to find me if you want to chat or need anything." | |
