(no subject)

[fifth_garde]

[He'd drove all night, habitually remembering to drink from the cold flask of cheap coffee he'd picked up from a diner and even more habitually to chew on aspirin. He had to keep the pain in his arm at bay, occasionally it would spasm causing him to jerk the wheel to one side. His eyes were aching, and either that was because of the exhaustion or the emotions which were rattling around in his head, both of which weren't things he was able to take care of right then.

He'd eventually caved in and put on the radio, listening to some random popular music station so he wasn't left with just his own thoughts. He didn't exactly enjoy the music but it was better than utter silence, every now and again he'd press a wad of napkins against his temple, which had crusted over but wasn't entirely finished bleeding yet.

Finally reaching the town he'd left Owen in earlier that day, or actually the day before considering it was now five in the morning, he could've simply ran but he'd either end up running into a wall or phasing half way through one and winding up dead.

He parked the car in the same car park he'd left the BMW and transfers the chest from one trunk to the other, after all he'd rather ditch Al's car for the stolen motor, regardless of the convenience of having a car with actual insurance papers.

Finally he drags himself into the corridors of the hotel, it seeming deadly quiet for the fact it was so early, he vaguely remembers Owen's room number having only seen it once before and slumps against the doorframe, tapping lightly on it and hoping Owen would hear.]

Owen? 's me... I mean, Five, y'there?

Comments

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

It's not that I need a break from you, honestly. 's just 'm not sure I'd be comfortable sleepin' in a buildin' absolutely full of strange people. 'n obviously you wouldn't have a spare bed 'n 'm not ready for the floor.

[He laughs.] 'm still a bit stiff.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

...Isn't that exactly what a hotel is?

We should see if there's a masseuse in the airline lounge-- the proper kind, before you start. The sort of one you can have in public and keep your trousers on.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

Yeah but in a hotel y'get all sorts of characters, 'm pretty sure a dorm is just full o' kids... 'n especially in your kind of school

[Yes, he practically did just say 'I am not sleeping in your dorm of ponces']

I prefer the kind where y'get t'take 'em off. But I'll be fine.. just need a good release if y'know what I mean?

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

The horror. Don't worry, I won't inflict my dorm-mates on you. ...You know, you continue to make perfectly horrible assumptions about me. I'm not sure I like it. [Though his amusement says otherwise.]

Well, your subtlety was almost too much for me, but I think I figured it out. That can be arranged later, too.

[Much later. When he's not worried about it making him cry. But obviously, Owen has better sense than to say that last part out loud. And it's not a lie, it just has multiple interpretations.]

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

'm not makin' assumptions. Maybe 'm just a really good judge of character. [He didn't mean to say these things, he just wasn't good with those social barriers.]

Okay, we're not doin' anythin' if it needs t'be... arranged. Y'make it sound like a military operation. [Yes, Jason did find that incredibly creepy. He was far away from crying at the moment though.]

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

[Owen doesn't mind nearly as much as he's pretending.] Maybe. Maybe you're just cruel.

Things always have to be arranged...! Although maybe not... Those things. [To be fair to Owen, this is about the closest to a relationship he's ever come, so he doesn't quite know what he's doing. And he is quite worried about Jason's state of mind at the moment, he's just waiting for the right time to address it-- that's one thing that really does need to be arranged, since he's pretty sure that happening in public would go down even worse than anything more... fun.]

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

Oh, 'm definitely cruel. [He smirks.]

'n no, those things can't be arranged. [A frown plays over his lips before he looks out the window.] It's passion 'n love. Y'can't arrange an emotion, it just happens whether you like it or not. Same with every feelin'.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to learn that. [Though it's clear he doesn't seem to mind.]






If I told you that you can absolutely control your feelings, you'd throw the sugar bowl at my head, wouldn't you.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

Of course y'can control 'em. Everyone does that, or at least try to. It's a bad idea, 'm talkin' from experience. Lettin' all that shit brew inside, bottlein' it up, well, the bottle cracks eventually.

[Which is why he knew that he had to deal with his own damage soon. He'd take some time to himself in England to think things over and come to terms with Al's death, after all he knew in his heart it was inevitable to begin with.]

'm a firm believer in takin' stock of your emotions, at the end o' the day I guess they keep me human. Weird expression considerin' Loric people feel emotion a lot more purely than you guys do.

[He shakes his head and goes back to eating. It was true, being from their planet meant that everything Five felt was heightened than most humans, especially in matters of the heart.]

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

I don't quite mean bottling them up. I mean just... Managing them.

[Owen raises a brow.] There's... Pretty much no chance at all of you elaborating on that comment, is there?

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

I prefer to feel 'em, let 'em burn out if they're those kinds of emotions and then move on.

[He takes a drink of his milkshake and leans in.] 's somethin' he always used to warn me about when I got worked up, a gift if y'want t'call it that. We feel emotions in the most raw way y'can. Take love for example, once we love someone that's it, nothin' influences that love until, well, death.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

Well, that's certainly better than bottling things up. [Which Owen sort of does, even though he knows better, and tries not to.]

That's... That sounds very... Well, there are two sides to everything.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

[He nods.] 'm not even sure how to take it, just another weird alien thing.

[And he's not at all bitter, either, instead he just finishes eating and orders a cup of coffee. Might as well perk up a little.]

Every cloud, I guess.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't be alien to you, though...

I'm convinced there are two sides to everything. Nothing's exclusively positive or exclusively negative, although sometimes the other side is... Harder to see than others.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

's still alien. Y'forget I was pretty much raised human, not exclusively 'cause of obvious reasons..

[He sighs, resisting the urge to start smoking.. damned laws.]

Not everythin' can be black 'n white, obviously.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

Did you... Did you always know?

I think in a lot of ways, life is the ongoing discovery of millions of shades of grey.

[Serious conversations, conversely, make Owen crave tea. So he'll flag down a waitress and order one.]

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

[He laughs lightly.] Of course I always knew, he'd have been a pretty messed up guardian if he'd have let me think I was human. 'n One died when I was like two years old so the first scar appeared.

'n then that had t'be explained. Then the moment I was old enough training started so everythin' was pretty obviously not normal.

[He still has a faintly amused expression on his face.] How profound.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know...! It's a difficult thing to explain to a child, it's... Those are big concepts. A lot of... A lot of Watchers didn't explain the truth to their children until they were ten or eleven.

[He is resolutely not asking about the scars, although given what Jason's already said, he can pretty much put the pieces together.]

...Don't be a git.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

I used t'think it was cool 'n that I was some kind of superhero. [His laugh is a little more dry.] I guess Al... I guess he indulged that a little to keep me interested while I was still young.

[He smirks.]

That's like askin' me not to be hot.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

Cool or not, the fact remains the same-- you sort of are. Well, minus the tights. So far as I've seen, anyway.

Maybe. But that wouldn't be in my best interests.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

I could get the tights too, if that helps. [Aaand he's back to just flirting, again.]

'n yeah, 'm pretty sure that's the only reason you're keepin' me around still. My stunnin' looks and charmin' personality.

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

[Owen can do that.] Really not my thing, but I appreciate the willingness-- and I'll keep it in mind.

It's a factor.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

Damn, there was me thinking I'd finally found the right guy, ready t'indulge my deepest darkest fantasies behind a bedroom door.

[He fakes an exasperated sigh. Really, dressing up and pretending to be a superhero did sound kind of fun.]

[magicalmishaps.livejournal.com]

You can always wear a superhero costume that doesn't involve tights. They mostly just look uncomfortable and create an... access issue.

[fifth-garde.livejournal.com]

That's why there'd be a hole. C'mon seriously, tights make the costume. [Okay was this a bad time to mention just how much Jason liked superheroes.] I mean, Superman 'n The Green Arrow wouldn't look as attractive without 'em.