(open) there's got to be a morning after;

[hypoxic]

Who: Leo Fitz and anyone else who really needs a beer right now
Where: The bar
When: August 9th, during that very still period between the end of the event and the return of everyone's powers.
Rating: PG-13, will note if anything escalates
Summary: Everyone got to live different lives and be different people! And then they woke up with the realization that they might have said or done some things that maybe shouldn't have happened. Beer is the solution to this problem. Come commiserate.
The Story:


[People talked about it, of course. They mentioned that events could change more than just parts of the mansion. But this was the first time Fitz had the chance to experience it. He'd lived an entirely different life, and it was... Pathetic. He'd become a person so steeped in published dogma that he lost track of common sense and self-awareness. He let people perform atrocities on him, all because he "knew" he was adhering to science.

And ever since waking up with his true memories restored, he's felt absolutely sick about it.

He settles down at the bar at just before noon, nursing a beer and brooding. He's not an expert drinker, and lets the beverage sit long enough for condensation to bead along the exterior of the glass between sips. But the sips do come eventually. How else is he going to wash away an alternate lifetime's worth of horrible choices?

Occasionally, he'll glance to whomever's settled down nearby, seeking comfort in shared misery.]

If I never hear the word "mutant" again it'll be too soon, yeah?

[This might be the most social he's been in the four months since his arrival.]

Comments

[rosswood]

[Alex has been here since morning. He didn't think he'd be one to sink back to the habit after he returned here in the first place. He didn't think anything could catapult him back to this, back to plunging uncertainty and fear and doubt.

He'd thought wrong.

If he'd felt like everything he did was justified then, what does that mean for him -

No. The two are completely different.

Alex is on his fourth beer and is no closer to achieving clarity. He looks to Fitz wearily.]

Jesus. Whoever's event that was, I kinda wanna strangle 'em.

[hypoxic]

I think it might do well to consider the opposite.

[He tries to smile, but it only weakly creases his face.]

Someone has to live in that world. It's more than a week for them.

[He raises his drink in a distant cheers.]

[rosswood]

[Alex takes a swing from his beer in solidarity. God but he feels exhausted. It was a damn miracle he didn't kick the bucket during that whole business, but he's not sure if the end result is much better.]

So. What were you, then? Human? Mutant? Resistance? Whatever the fuck?

[hypoxic]

Human. [He scoffs bitterly.] Worshiped every bloody word of that announcement the Queen made. It was disgusting. You?

[rosswood]

Human.

[No different from normal, at least. Har.]

Pretty rampantly anti-mutant. Like, domestic terrorism levels.

[hypoxic]

Sounds like you've a bit less to regret, then. At least your heart was in the right place.

[rosswood]

[Alex huffs. Yeah, sure, he doesn't regret it. Not one bit. Keeps telling himself that. Didn't regret killing two people he'd actually liked - well, maybe "like" is a bit of a stretch with River. She's probably back by now. He hopes she's back by now.

He doesn't know what he's gonna say to her.]

Wasn't all smiles and sunshine, trust me.

[hypoxic]

[He frowns, tilting his head to regard this person more fully.]

Did you hurt anyone?

[It seemed like most people were either hurting or being hurt.]

[rosswood]

[The corner of Alex's mouth tightens, and he looks away.]

I've got plenty of memories of hurting people, dating back to way before this mess started. Still don't know how many of 'em actually happened.

[hypoxic]

That sounds unfortunate.

[There are a lot of reasons to kill someone. As long as it wasn't in cold blood, there's no reason to judge him for it just yet.]

At least we can enjoy the reprieves we get while they're here.

[rosswood]

[Definitely not in cold blood. Cough cough.]

Yeah, sure, until the next event rolls around with a fifty-fifty percent chance of brainwashing us again.

[hypoxic]

It's not your fault if it wasn't really you.

[He's firm about that, because he can't stand the alternative.]

[rosswood]

[Alex snorts into his drink. Getting back to his room is gonna be a nightmare. Good thing he doesn't plan on doing that anytime soon.]

Yeah? You sure about that? 'Cause I don't think everyone here is gonna agree with you.

[hypoxic]

It's fine if they don't. Not everyone has to. What matters is the things that help you sleep at night.

[His eyes drop.]

At least, that's what I think about it.

[rosswood]

[Alex shakes his head. That sounds either like wishful thinking or naivete for him, but maybe he's too far removed from the scope of anyone's optimism to recognize a genuine hope when he hears it.]

I've never slept well. Never.

[hypoxic]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'd hate to say the solution to anything comes with drinking more, but. Well, cheers.

[rosswood]

Only thing that shuts stuff down long enough.

[He says it wryly, toasting the other man in solidarity before taking a long draft from his bottle.]

Alex.

[hypoxic]

It certainly seems that way sometimes.

[He'll drink alongside Alex, using the length of his draft as a social cue regarding how long his own ought to be.]

Fitz. I'm sorry we didn't have the opportunity to meet under more ideal circumstances.

[rosswood]

[He thinks he's met him before, taunted him over the network or something - but that feels like forever ago, and in any case, he was a different person back then. Four years makes a hell of a difference, even if that all took place back home instead of here.]

"Circumstances" here are never ideal.

[hypoxic]

[a fair number of people have gotten into heated online discussions with Fitz since he's been here. It's an amorphous blob of trolls and tryhards, as far as he considers it.]

We have some moments of quiet, at least. Wonderland seems fond os repairing itself between attempts to destroy us.

[rosswood]

This place enjoys taking memories so badly. How 'bout it takes ones from the shit events instead of the ones from home, huh?