Fragments | Open

[beforeblue]

Who: Agent Washington and You!
Where: The gym, the bar, the grounds
When: Post-event
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Wash is not coping well after encountering Epsilon
The Story:


The Gym/Training Rooms
[If Wash was dedicated about training before, he's bordering on obsessive now. He heads into the training rooms and fiddles with the equipment until he's got a setting that presents a suitable challenge. He has to keep going. It keeps him occupied. Keeps him from thinking too much so he can almost drown out the parts of his mind he doesn't want to acknowledge.

By later in the day though, it's obvious that he's struggling. Slowing down, missing hits that he should have been capable of, taking hits that he should have been able to dodge. Weeks of barely sleeping, of pushing himself to the limit, finally catching up.]


The Bar
[There is a sullen determination to his visits to the bar. He is a man with a purpose when he heads in, and the only reason he's drinking there instead of in his room is because it feels slightly less wrong. Plausible deniability, right?]


The grounds
[His morning runs are the most relaxing time, a routine he sticks to unflaggingly. Helps him to blow off the last remnants of whatever nightmare he'd had. He feels almost normal. He stretches outside the mansion, standing on the steps and watching the morning sun spread across the land. He stands there for a few minutes, letting the sun warm him before he heads out for his run.]

Comments

[howkickassiam]

Delta was always worried about the damage Epsilon had caused. I mean, I was too, but Delta was the one who was able to tell me more about what it all meant. He's the one that worked out Epsilon had the memories.

...That's what it was, right?

[ He's never actually had that confirmed, so he does realize he's talking out assumptions. ]

[beforeblue]

[Of course Delta would have figured it out. Delta was logic. All of the pieces must have fitted together once they had enough of them.]

Yeah. All of Alpha's memories. And then Epsilon, he- it was too much.

[howkickassiam]

Yeah, I mean. We picked up some stuff from transmissions over the years. Seemed like you recovered okay, though, in the end?

[ He doesn't know if Wash is from far enough along in the timeline to be able to confirm that. They haven't really...talked about this. Any of it. They just fell back into their old pattern where York would tease him and he would take it as it came. ]

[beforeblue]

...I don't know. Last thing I remember, I was on the MoI, alarms were blaring and North told me you'd gone AWOL.

[howkickassiam]

Oh.

[ That was definitely before whatever York is talking about. York also realizes in that moment that Wash can't remember that York never came back for him after that situation. Well, that's a small blessing. ]

We left before we knew much about what happened to you, but we knew you weren't doing so well. They tried to put you in among everyone else at first, but that didn't last very long. When they took you away again, that's when Tex showed me the evidence she had for what was going on behind the scenes, and we left.

[beforeblue]

I don't remember a whole lot. North said I'd been unconscious for days. And Epsilon was gone.

[howkickassiam]

So I guess seeing Epsilon is kind of dredging up the issues you were having with him back then?

[notyourrookie]

Yeah. That's a nice way of putting it.

[It doesn't account for the moments when he was pretty sure he hadn't been himself. When he forgets what his own name is.]

[howkickassiam]

[ York doesn't know that much about psychology, especially when it comes to what influence an AI would have on it, but he is going to do what he can to help Wash ground himself in reality. And as far as York is concerned, engaging in some creature comforts can only help in that. So when they return with Wash's bacon and eggs and orange juice, York nods. ]

Okay. You can tell me anything you want about that—as much or as little as you want. I'm here for you, okay, bud? Having Delta was a lot different from having Epsilon must have been, but I will do my best to relate to you if you need me to, too.

[beforeblue]

[Part of him wants to talk. He could spill his guts about how he can't sleep, about the nightmares and waking up thinking he's someone else.

But the thought of doing that, revealing his weaknesses, makes him cringe in discomfort. Habit. The Project hadn't been very tolerant of weakness.]

I'm fine. I just need to work it off. Distract myself.

[howkickassiam]

[ York doesn't think that will actually work, but he did just say he'd support Wash in any circumstance. ]

Yeah, well, I guess I'm here to make sure you don't kill yourself in the process, then. You need to eat and sleep somewhere in there too, okay.

[beforeblue]

[He stares down at the food in front of him and pokes at it with his fork before taking a bite.]

I do those things. See, I'm eating.

[howkickassiam]

Yeah, because I physically dragged you here.

[beforeblue]

You gonna physically drag me to bed too?

[He shoots York a smirk before turning his attention back to his food.]

[howkickassiam]

[ York catches that look and laughs. He's usually the one making those types of jokes with Wash. At least he knows Wash isn't too far gone now. ]

Probably not like that. No offense or anything, you're just not my type.

[beforeblue]

[He likes York laughing better. It feels less like he's going to try to ask hard questions.]


Pffff, I'm everybody's type.

[howkickassiam]

Everybody? That's a pretty big dating pool. I wouldn't want those kinds of odds, myself.

[beforeblue]

Better chance of finding someone good though.

[howkickassiam]

Better chance of ending up with some kind of stalker focusing on you, too.

[beforeblue]

I can handle stalkers. Not like anything was gonna happen at home in a secret project anyway.

[howkickassiam]

[ York tilts his head a little, watching Wash eat. ]

I'd get into the mechanics of dating, but I feel like you're trying to distract me from the real issue with that stuff.

[ Because right now Wash isn't really in a place where he should be thinking about dating. ]

[beforeblue]

[He keeps his gaze firmly on his food as he eats, avoiding looking at York.]

I know how to date. I'm a damn adult.

[howkickassiam]

[ York shakes his head subtly. ]

I just said that's not what I'm interested in talking about.

[beforeblue]

[Yeah, he'd been ignoring that part. Talking about dating is much safer. He gives a soft sigh and leans back in his chair.]

What then?

[howkickassiam]

[ York starts to speak, then stops himself and sighs. ]

Like I said, you can tell me as much or as little as you want. I'm not going to pressure you into talking if you don't want to say anything specific. Just don't deflect like I don't know that's what you're doing, okay.