I would break the laws of gravity

[hypoxic]

Who: Leo Fitz and OPEN (log is for all, some closed starters in comments)
Where: Checkerboard Hills
When: August 9th, just past midnight
Rating: PG+
Summary: Man returns to Wonderland after two months at home under heavy stress. Man throws toddler-level tantrum in public space. As adults are wont to do.
The Story:

[Apparently, the stories are true. When one leaves Wonderland, one is thrust back home without memory. There's nothing to prevent the mistakes he should know to avoid, no way to apply the emotional developments he's earned. It's just the harsh progression of time, doing what time wishes. And there's no way to stop it from bringing them back before they're ready to come back.

When Fitz arrives, it's facedown into a patch of eternally-manicured grass. The memories hit all at once, but they're not memories he wants. He doesn't need to know about a ridiculous fantasy dimension holding people hostage. He was kind of in the middle of something a little life-or-death...!

It's too much to hold, and far more than he can process. Instead of wandering back to the mansion and settling back into his personal space, he stays where he is, pulling himself up to his hands and knees and tearing at the grass in open distress, shouting out at nothing and everything all at once.]

Not now! There's no time for this!

[Some people hit pillows. Right now, he's technically landscaping. And he's definitely not tearing up. That's probably all the dirt he's dislodging.]

Comments

[bravejemma]

[Too late, she's already worrying. But she'll satisfy his curiosity before looking to quiet hers.]

We're all in one piece -- and no more deaths. [Well, that she knows of.]

[hypoxic]

[He lets out a breath and holds her tighter still then.]

I can't stand the thought of losing you again.

[bravejemma]

And you're not.

[Right now, its the best she can do, to promise him that much.]

'm right here.

[hypoxic]

[He pulls away slightly, just enough to squeeze her shoulders and stare into her beautiful, flawless, unmarred face. Her voice isn't raw from screaming. There's no new scar from the torture.]

I was on my way to see Will.

[It slips out even though it shouldn't. It hangs over all of this. He never would have managed to hold it in for long.]

[bravejemma]

[That wasn't the news she'd been expecting, and it shows. Her jaw goes slack for a second.]

O-- oh.

[They haven't mentioned Will in a good, long while. Just the sound of his name brings up confused feelings and old worries -- and new ones. She can't imagine that anything good is leading to a return to Maveth.]

Why?

[hypoxic]

There are a lot of reasons. For one, you felt quite strongly about it. [That was how it started, at least.]

[bravejemma]

[And that makes it her fault. It's not a rational thought, but she feels guilty anyway -- if he were going after Will, did he believe there that she was in love with him? Maybe she was, or had let him think that. She doesn't precisely trust herself to have the courage to tell the truth, or in her ability to make Fitz believe it -- that he was the only choice.]

I should be going. He's -- he's my friend, I--

[I promised him.]

[hypoxic]

[She'd told him so in as many words. It's complicated, to be sure, but the facts are still there. She might love them both, maybe even differently, but that doesn't mean it's okay to leave him where he is.]

It isn't that simple. But I intend to make sure he comes back safely.

[bravejemma]

[She wants to protest again, but finds she doesn't have the voice for it. She puts her forehead against his, and sighs. She almost wishes he'd get angry, like that would be easier to handle than the perpetual understanding he gave her.]

I can't imagine any circumstances that would make going back a good thing. But -- thank you.

[Personal feelings aside... Will deserved to come home.]

[hypoxic]

[He nuzzles her quietly. He should tell her the rest. He should let her know about that monster of hers and its connections to Hydra. But it would just upset her. And for what? She'll tell him to let her die. That's just not an option.]

We can talk more in the morning, Jemma. Go back to sleep.

[bravejemma]

[An actual rest would be nice...

She kisses him first, stroking his face.]

I'm glad you're back. And you'll tell me everything later?

[hypoxic]

Absolutely everything. [It's just that he'll be very creative about what "everything" should entail.]

[bravejemma]

Mm. Good. You sleep, too. You sound like you need it...

[She has no confidence he will do any such thing, but her eyes fall closed, so she won't be checking up on him.]

[hypoxic]

[He's already up and out of bed when she wakes; given their normal sleep schedule, it's probably that he hadn't bothered going to sleep after she did. He's spoken to Klaus and Daisy, gathered his bearings and started making plans. It's been a busy night.

He looks toward her when she stirs, already brisk with the urgings of news.]

I've been in touch with Cisco and Caitlin. We don't have the means to get anything done under these arrangements. They've got room to spare. It'll save us the trouble of setting something up from scratch.

[bravejemma]

[She breaks mid yawn, and lifts herself up on her elbows. Good morning to you, too, Fitz.]

Cisco and Caitlin? What for?

[And wasn't there... a thing with Caitlin? She'd never been clear on the details, but it has fallen to the bottom of the list of questions after lots of things.]

[hypoxic]

Well we'll certainly never be able to get any proper work done out of our bedrooms, Jemma. We need reasonable space.

[And they don't have a team of interns here to move furniture around for them.]

[bravejemma]

[That wakes her up a little more.]

Lab space?

[hypoxic]

[He taps a pencil against the pad in his lap.]

Of course lab space. There's not a problem with that, is there?

[bravejemma]

[Honestly, she couldn't have been happier if he'd proposed right at that moment. Maybe. It would have been a close thing. Probably terrifying.]

No, I'm glad. I think. You seem troubled.

[hypoxic]

Troubled? Mm -- no. There's just a lot going on. We've learned a lot in the last few weeks. Some of the theories we've accumulated may be useful here.

[bravejemma]

Well, you're going to have to fill me in on what it is you know. Since I... well, I wasn't technically there.

[She pushes herself up and out of bed, towards him. She isn't going to forget to get the story out of him.]

[hypoxic]

You must've already theorized much of it. The first thing you did when you could tolerate sitting in a lab was to start researching a way back. We never would have managed it without your firsthand knowledge...

[bravejemma]

Doesn't mean I had half a notion of what I was doing.

[To say nothing of the fact that was quite awhile ago -- nearly a year now. After all, it was really more his wheelhouse than hers.]

[hypoxic]

[He gives her a pointed look then.]

Have you found much difficulty trusting me since you've been here, Jemma?

[bravejemma]

I've never found you difficult to trust.

[Of the two of them, it's usually herself that she opts not to trust.]

But of the two of us, I'm also not the one who's been secretive about what they're doing.

[She's not throwing it in his face, or blaming -- but he has a pattern of not telling her things. And it's hard to feel as though the pattern is going to continue, now that he knows things she doesn't.]