h2no | IC contact

...I see why you came here now. You gotta calm down.

[he shakes his head. he barely understands what's going on, but it sounds incredibly familiar to the odin thing, just - and he's glad no-one will ever know he thought this - with more meaning.]

He will have to work out how to deal with this himself, you understand. Frankly, if being unable to act on those feelings means he's liable to have a complete and continual emotional breakdown, they weren't healthy to begin with.

[exhaling through his nose, archie leaves the towel over crobat's head. it hops away, using its wings to finish the job.]

How is, uh. He doin'? [can't be good if poe ejected himself so thoroughly so quickly.]

He didn't want to say anything. [ He rubbed at his eyes, face nearly in his palm. ]It's this - this stupid power, Arch. I can't even tell when it's going to happen, and I just drag things out of people simply by existing near them.

He- I don't know. He said he wanted space, and I owe him at least that, right?

Yeah, you do.

[he sighs.]

Us imPorts are collectively a bit fucked up emotionally, eh? You considered a power dampener?

[ Even though it was the conclusion he'd also come to - having it verified still hurt. He didn't want to give Bodhi space - not because he wanted to go against his wishes but because he was just point blank afraid that he was losing him. How could he fix it if he wasn't there?

But respect had trumped desperation, which is why he was here, instead.

The suggestion, though, made heavy lead settle in his chest. ]

... And give up flying?

[ You might as well be asking him to stop breathing, Archie. ]

...Right, shit, that's a power too, huh?

[to archie, it just seems like poe'd just be going back to normal; only flying when he was able to get into the cockpit of his jet, but... the way poe says it, the way he looks at him-- hell, just what archie knows of him indicates it would be far more than that.]

Guess the other alternative would be to look for people with similar powers or experiences, see how they can help. Maybe you'll be able to control it. Hell, maybe you can straight up switch it off when you know how. [that's... reaching, though. archie knows nothing of poe's power, but having it on and constant wouldn't be something that surprises him. it's the sort of ironic cruelty that exists.] Or just use one during parties, or somethin'.

[he makes a face for the briefest of moments. what a terrible choice to make.]

All I can say is stay here a few days or wherever so you both get a chance to calm down, then see where it's going. Take it as it comes. That's all you can do.

[ Maybe a year ago it would have felt normal. But Poe had been living with this power for a year and a half - able to take to the sky with barely a thought. It was one of the best things he had here, and honestly, one he took the most for granted. He hadn't even thought of losing it before - if felt that integral to his being.

The idea that he might have to choose between it and his friends' happiness was a horror he hadn't imagined before. ]

I-- do you know anyone with this kind of thing? Because I don't. I don't even know where to start.

[ His shoulders sink. ]

Thanks.

I won't -- I'll make sure to get of your hair as soon as I can.

... I'm going to have to talk to 622 about this, too, and I have no idea... [ He just trailed off miserably. ]

Edited 2018-12-01 21:16 (UTC)

No, but you start by asking. Maybe it's a psychic thing. Maybe it's some kind of emotional manipulation. Maybe it's a reverse empathy thing. Maybe it's just straight up magic.

[there must be a way around it. there's always a way around things. hope? or denial? he's not sure.]

You don't have to rush. [...] Why does 622 have to know? Wouldn't that make it more complicated for you both?

[Ask, huh. Guess it's not the worst thing someone's gone to the network for. ]

It's either that or avoid him until I'm not upset anymore, which - I really don't think is going to work. But I swore to him that I wouldn't lie to him ever again, and I'm dead set on keeping that promise, I just --

[ He sighed, rubbed his face. ]

Need to figure out how to put it in a way that I don't end up hurting him, too.

[he's still not sure how 622 factors into this.

...]

Do you want to tell him because this is something he needs to know, or because you want to punish yourself for something you think you let happen?

[ Poe groaned. Was that what he was doing?

Probably. A little. Maybe.

But there was logic to his thought process. ]

Lying by omission is still lying. And he's damn well going to notice that something is up, and he's going to ask, and I'm going to have to tell him. Better to do it by choice than try to hide until until I can't.

It's up to you what you tell him, but going into it expecting he'll be hurt or that you'll say something that'll make it even more of a clusterfuck will just become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[archie feels, suddenly, very fortunate that jonathan was perfectly fine and understanding when he'd said he didn't want anything more than a friendship. nothing's changed between them. he has some lingering confusing feelings himself, but now that conversation's been had, they're fading pretty quickly.]

If this confession was forced out of him by your power, it'll probably take a little while for everything to calm down between you. Maybe wait until you two have worked stuff out before you tell 622? Which...

[he rubs his chin.]

Does that mean you two are a thing officially, now?

Well I don't want to, I just - want to do the right thing, for once.

[ To the question, he swallowed. ]

Not sure. Maybe? Enough that I don't want to - I don't want to lose it, just because I can't help but get my damn feelings everywhere.

But we haven't actually - laid it out like that, no. Not sure if he'll even want to. But in the end it doesn't really make a difference to Bodhi, I don't think...

I don't doubt you try, Poe. I never have. It's just too bad the nature of this place doesn't encourage... doesn't allow... [he trails off, not sure how to word that without it sounding overly negative. he's sure poe gets the gist of it, anyway.

he powers on:] One problem at a time, yeah?

[ Archie doesn't have to finish his sentence, Poe knows how the rest of it goes. Doesn't allow for permanent things. For stable things. For deep things. Archie knows that just as well as Poe does. It sinks over him like a weight, his shoulders sagging.

Yeah. One futile problem at a time. ]

... Yeah. Sorry. I probably just - just need so sleep. [ He swallowed. ] Look, I know it's a lot, but - can I crash wherever you are, tonight? Maybe that way I might actually sleep.

[ Usually when things were bad he'd crash at Bodhi's to stave off the nightmares. But that wasn't an option, now. ]

Yeah, sure. Mightyena and Crobat'll probably cram themselves into my room. Fair warning.

[maybe he'll sleep too. it was easier with maxie when matt had gone, but they had something else. maybe he'll just feel better having a good friend who he hasn't managed to hurt in some way nearby, though that thought makes him feel a little guilty; like he's taking advantage of poe's situation to make himself feel better. he pushes the thought away, though. poe asked, not him.

he makes a face.] S'too bad Sabrina was Ported out. Hypno woulda been a good guy to have around about now.

[god does he miss the little goblin.]

Hell, they can even spoon with me, I don't mind. Just - not so great at sleeping alone, all the time.

[ Sympathy spreads across his face. ]

... Damn. Yeah. You mentioned her before. Didn't realise she'd been ported out. Sorry.

I get it. They probably will.

[he shrugs. it hurt, but it wasn't the worst port out. he misses her and her team, sure, but it happens. after being flattened by maxie, matt and angela's port outs, archie feels like he can take juts about anything, now. he doesn't want to believe that his future could hold something that hurt so much again.]

S'fine. Blue an' Red found it a lot harder to handle. [he reaches out and nudges poe.] You go up and get rest, alright? I'll come up soon.

...Yeah.

[ Poe mostly looked utterly drained, and despite the word, took a while to actually start to get up. ]

[ He swallowed before he left the room. ] I didn't do it on purpose. I wouldn't- I would never want to hurt him like this, not for every star in the galaxy. You know that, right?

[ Not that it mattered. It was already too late. ]

I know, [he says, tone softer than just about anything else he's said in the conversation.] I never doubted that, alright?

[poe could use his power on archie and he'd say the same thing, though not in the same way. he sighs.]

We can talk more tomorrow, if you want.

[ Poe just swallowed again, nodding slowly. ]

... Yeah. Maybe.

Night, Arch.

[ And he padded away up to Archie's room to collapse. ]

[he gives poe a little smile as he leaves-- mightyena follows poe up straight off, gets comfortable on the bed with him. archie stays down a little longer, about an hour, finishing up with crobat.

predictably, when he's actually with someone whose company he actually enjoys, archie passes out pretty quickly. same as it was with matt, same as it was with maxie, same as it was with angela.

mightyena will even let them sleep in. walkies can wait, it thinks.]

[ Poe doesn't sleep well, for the first couple of hours. Even with Mightyena. He's too dead to notice how his sleep evens out once Archie joins them - doesn't even remember the man coming to bed. After sleeping in, he wakes slowly, and he feels very warm. In a pleasant way. There's a good, solid body against him, and he's -

Oh, he's tangled himself right up around Archie. Woops.

He tries to detangle himself very slowly and gently but he's just - his limbs had wrapped around Archie like a baby fucking sloth, so he's a bit stuck. Oh, that's why his arm is numb. He lets out a sigh, but he's not actually that upset by the turn of events, just kind of settling in to wait until Archie wakes up too. ]

[here is the chain of events: poe wakes up. this wakes up mightyena, who sits up on the bed and wags his tail, sniffing at the pilot. after a few moments - offered pets or not - mightyena gets up and walks over the bed to get onto the floor. he walks across archie and stands on his side. this wakes up archie.

dogs, man.

archie sits up when he wakes up, then looks over at poe. it's clear in his expression he's still half asleep and evidently forgot he had company. with a shrug, he gets up out the bed. honestly, when the memories of the night before come back, he feels a little guilty-- like maybe he'd been a bit too harsh and judgemental of how bodhi was responding to his feelings for poe. a habit he's prone to-- he will forever wonder why people come to him for this sort of thing. his own personal life is a disaster.]

Feeling better?

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i hope this is worth the wait lmfao

SHO WAS