SEVENTY FOUR ✖ TEXT

[wedonot]

Just so everyone's aware, I'll be making myself available for anyone who feels that they're in need of counseling in light of what happened.

On a similar note, especially in light of Mark's disappearance, if anyone is interested in volunteering as a counselor to those who might need it, I'd be happy to discuss how to make that work.

[Unless you're a cannibalistic serial killer, in which case you will need to find somewhere else to hang out. :|]

[Filtered to various Friends & Family]

I apologize for not being in touch sooner. I'm alright, and I'd appreciate hearing from you when you've got opportunity.

[Private to Anya]

I hear some congratulations are in order.

[Private to Alex]

Can I come see you?

[ooc: Charles is unaffected by the flood, but if you'd like to be all cuddly and fond with him, I am def up for it. :]b If you think you should be on the filter, you are, and if anyone wants to backdate anything for post-MirrorBarge fallout, I am down!]

Comments

spam!!

[permutates]

[ Barely a cursory knock before she comes in. She's been constantly in a rush, it seems, since the flood. She remembers crying her eyes out, screaming her throat out. She remembers losing him, and it's with a closeness that just won't go away, no matter how she tells herself it wasn't real.

She remembers the rest, too.

It was me, she tends to think, guiltily, about the things she'd done then. It was her. Even if it wasn't all the same, it was her. That's what happens when Charles isn't there to make her better.

But she sweeps those thoughts out of her mind, compartmentalizes them the way she made Emma train her. Mental control. ]

How are you feeling?

[ She's coming in for a hug. Does not matter if you are upright or not. Prepare your body. ]

spam!!

[wedonot]

[He's standing up, and he hugs her back after a beat of hesitation that comes from surprise more than anything else. He still doesn't quite expect her reaching out to him like that, even though things are better now than they used to be.]

I don't know. I'm having a sort of frustrating day, in that regard.

[It had been easier, when he'd felt physically awful to ignore the longer term issues that would come with reintegrating to normal life.]

[permutates]

[ She holds on a little too long.

She can't not reach out. Not when she saw him dead. ]

I saw.

[ She lets go, finally. ]

[wedonot]

[He lets her go, and runs a hand through his hair a little self consciously.]

I should probably make that private.

[permutates]

Please. No one on the Barge has ever seen you argue like that?

[ Stubbornly, doggedly, for education above all else. Seems familiar to her. ]

[wedonot]

I don't usually like my more emotional outbursts being on display for everyone to see.

[His admitting that Iris pissed him off because he's tired of being the Barge punching bag is more embarrassing than him saying you need some background experience before calling yourself a therapist.]

[permutates]

They can handle it. You just d- [ died ] I'm sure they understand.

[wedonot]

[He's tempted to make a comment that he seriously doubts that. Things would have gone a lot differently if that was something people were keeping in mind.

But he's tired of feeling bitter and angry, so he tries to just ignore it, taking a breath and putting the frustration aside. It's not worth it.]

Are you alright?

[permutates]

[ Instead of responding, she just sinks into his arms again. She may not have been quite herself over there, but she loved him just as much. Maybe even more, without all of the troubles she has here.

She was so scared that he'd never come back. ]

[wedonot]

[He hugs her tightly, trying to be reassuring. He's already seen a lot of what happened after he died, how badly it shook up Erik and Raven, and he feels guilty about it, even if he shouldn't. He should have been more careful around Ben, should have realized there was no rationalizing with him, but he hadn't, and he'd died. And he'd hurt people he loved.

So he holds her and rubs her back, trying not to be too upset with herself or desperately relieved that she was here, that she actually did want a second chance, because he wants to do it for her.]

I promise I'm alright.

[permutates]

Good.

[ Her voice is a little muffled. Given that she's burrowed into his chest, more or less. ]

I'd miss you.

A lot.

[wedonot]

Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere for quite some time.

[It's not like he'd been planning on going anywhere before either, but considering how badly it had shaken up his family, he's not looking to have a repeat of it.]

[permutates]

I'll be okay, too. It just scared me. More than anything.

[ Meaning that it was the scariest thing that happened to her, here.

She pulls away, and settles on the couch. ]

Mind if I stay for a while? [ Cause she's hanging out. Here. Now. You don't really have a choice in the matter. ]

[wedonot]

No, I don't mind. [Honestly - and this by no means means that he's interested in dying again, or somehow happy that he was hurt and had this effect on people - it's nice to be looked after and cared about by two people who had once left him bleeding and paralyzed on a beach with no means to get home. And while that particular hurt between him and Erik had been patched up a long time ago, the same couldn't really be said for him and Raven, so no, he doesn't mind.]

Can I get you anything?

[permutates]

No. I'm perfect.

[ Which isn't entirely true, not all the way down, but right now she's good. She's fine. Things are in harmony, and Charles is alive, and she's started not to hate herself anymore. ]

[wedonot]

Good.

[He doesn't really believe her, obviously. No one's perfect, especially not after something like that, but if she's doing better, that's good. That's better than can be expected, in a lot of ways.

He comes over to sit down next to her and leans into the couch, closing his eyes and trying not to think about what happened.]