2-17 Issue: This is Fine Too

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Slarti
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2-17 Issue: This is Fine Too

Post by Slarti »

Timelined after To Groveling.

Carol: Carol flew a loop around the grounds to check on the building and also to slow down gradually so she didn't spill her coffee. She landed at the foot of the steps leading to the front door and headed inside, debating doing some actual work but... she'd slacked off all day already so the rest of the day wouldn't make a difference. She headed for the stairs to her room.

Bobby: Bobby had been loitering downstairs in the rec room and kitchen, looking up when he heard someone come in. Aha. "Hey," he called, getting up to follow her.

Carol: Carol paused when she heard the voice, looking over her shoulder, "Oh, hey," she offered a smile before continuing to the stairs with her coffee, "How was your day? Doesn't look like anything exploded while I was out."

Bobby: "Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving..." He trotted to catch up with her. "Rogue was here earlier."

Carol: "Yeah, I know... security notifications..." she glanced at him as they climbed the stairs.

Bobby: "She knows." He swallowed. "She would have found out as soon as she touched me, so I told her."

Carol: Carol stopped walking while she tried to process that information. "How did she take it?" Her voice was strained, she didn't sound like herself. She tried clearing her throat.

Bobby: "Not too well, which I expected," he sighed, running his hand through his hair.

Carol: "Do I need to be worried?" She made herself start walking again, not really wanting to have this conversation half way up the stairs with a paper cup in her hand.

Bobby: "I wanna say no, but the honest answer is I don't know. She's pissed at both of us." He followed her up the stairs, pausing at the top.

Carol: "Uh-huh." She opened the door to her room and went to put her coffee down on the counter so she could run both hands through her hair and try to think.

Bobby: "Uh-huh?" He shook his head. "What uh-huh. I don't think she's going to come after you, but yeah, she's pissed."

Carol: "I didn't think she'd go that far either, Bobby. Ever. But it's out there now. I don't know what she's capable of anymore."

Bobby: "I dunno, babe. I know what she's capable of, but yeah... she's surprised me before." He gave a helpless shrug and ran his hands through his hair. "She didn't say anything to me about it."

Carol: "Of course not. You're the only one that knows how to talk sense into her. That'd be counter-productive." She leaned against the counter and folded her arms.

Bobby: "Well, I did the best I could. She was gonna find out the second she touched me, and she always touches me 'cause she can."

Carol: "Yeah..." she sighed, looking away as she tried to order her thoughts. Did she need to go hide out somewhere again?

Bobby: "Carol. If she comes here, if you need help, I'm right here. I can talk her down." He watched her, chewing his lip.

Carol: "If she came here, there wouldn't be time..."

Bobby: "Yeah, there would be. Security would show it, and I can make sure everything's okay."

Carol: Carol shook her head, straightening up to turn her back and gripping the tops of her arms hard in an effort to stay in control. "You don't know how fast..."

Bobby: "Well, babe, what do you want me to do?" He started pacing, unsure of what else to say. "She was gonna find out sometime. I thought it was better to tell her than just let her see it without warning."

Carol: "I don't know. I thought maybe you might wanna try for some boundaries..." She didn't mean to sound so angry but that was a little easier than sliding to the other end of the scale. More productive.

Bobby: "This is Rogue. She's my best friend, and she was that for years before we were anything else, so I owed her that much."

Carol: "I get it, okay. Just... let me think..." she took a few deep breaths to try and calm down but the lights flickering betrayed how she was feeling.

Bobby: Bobby looked around at the flickering lights and kept pacing. "Okay okay."

Carol: Pacing seemed like a good idea but it wasn't helping her any, "Fuck!" She smacked the coffee cup off the counter. "This is exactly why I stopped drinking in the first damn place."

Bobby: He jumped a little at the sudden movement, but sighed. "I'm sorry. This is why I never did casual sex.”

Carol: "Why? Because you have to tell Rogue right after you sleep with anyone?" She snapped.

Bobby: "Oh for fuck's sake." He threw his hands up and turned to pace another round.

Carol: "Well what am I supposed to think? Or is it just because I'm special?"

Bobby: "I'd never fucking done that before! I told you that much!"

Carol: "What are you fifteen? You had to go running to tell all your friends right after you got laid?"

Bobby: "No, but I had to tell her because of the bad touch, babe! It would have been way worse if she'd just seen it!"

Carol: "It wasn't gonna matter whatever way she found out. Not for me. Just at least this way you get to keep your whatever with her. And I spend the next rest of my life wondering if she's gonna walk around a corner and take all of my me again."

Bobby: "If you were that scared of her then why did we even do it?!"

Carol: "Didn't you hear me when I said you needed to cut me off? I don't think right when I'm drinking. How the fuck you think I ended up pregnant in the first place?"

Bobby: "This is not my fault alone. We both fucked up here, and I tried to own up to it."

Carol: "You couldn't have maybe warned me first?"

Bobby: "What difference would it have made? She'd have known either way?"

Carol: "Sure but you're playing with fire. She could have reacted really badly and I'd have been totally blindsided." She still felt blindsided. "I was with my kid today."

Bobby: "I made sure you weren't here, so I could handle her." He blinked at that. "Oh, you got to see your kid? Good."

Carol: "Yeah... still supervised..." she sighed and grabbed some paper towels to clean up the coffee that was all over her floor. "I don't want her to see something like that happen to me... or anyone she cares about..."

Bobby: "It won't happen. She's not gonna do it. She only threatened you before because it involved Tony, and this doesn't."

Carol: "Unless I hear that from her mouth? I'm not gonna believe it. She put that out there and she can't take it back by proxy. You don't know what it did to me to hear those words come out of her mouth. What it still is doing to me. I don't want to be in the same room as her... the same area code even."

Bobby: "I get it, and I don't blame you, but we just made the situation worse. I wasn't just trying to cover my own ass, Carol, I was hoping to limit the damage for both of us. We all gotta be able to work together for the X-Men."

Carol: "Then I guess she better take back her threat or one of us needs to find another job. And it'll be me."

Bobby: Bobby sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't know what else to say," he sighed. "I think if we give her some time to calm down things will be okay."

Carol: "And in the mean time I should just expect her to show up to places unannounced when she's not scheduled for a job? Because I can't work like that..." she shook her head. "And I shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have to watch my back because of someone on the same team."

Bobby: "The rally? Yeah, I know, and I told her not to do that, too. Turns out when that senator started speaking she had some sort of panic attack. That's why she left."

Carol: "Well thank fuck she did because I was busy trying not to."

Bobby: "The chick freaked her out, or at least she thinks it's the chick. Pietro told her to go to more rallies to see if she gets another panic attack, I guess."

Carol: Carol paused in cleaning up the coffee to raise an eyebrow at Bobby, "Really? That seems like a stupid fucking idea."

Bobby: Bobby shrugged, at a loss. "I was spending more time focused on hoping she wouldn't knock me through a wall than how much sense Peeto made."

Carol: "If I were you I'd check with him. Rogue's been a bit liberal with the definition of truth lately."

Bobby: "Yeah, yeah." He continued pacing, not willing to fall into another argument.

Carol: Carol shrugged and went back to coffee mopping. It was pretty amazing how far it managed to travel. "Just make sure she doesn't show up where I am, okay? Not unless there's no alternative."

Bobby: "Yeah, I will. I said I'd go to those rallies with her, so I should be right there to keep an eye on her."

Carol: She nodded, "Okay... But if shit goes sideways and you need me? Don't hesitate."

Bobby: "Okay. It'll be fine. She'll be fine." He gave her a nod, pacing closer to the door.

Carol: "It's not her I'm worried about, Bobby... it's everyone else."

Bobby: "She wouldn't endanger other people."

Carol: "Not on purpose, I know... but accidents happen... especially when you're scared and not thinking straight."

Bobby: "Yeah, will do," he said with a nod, considering the possibilities with a face.

Carol: She sighed, tossing the paper towels into the trash and going to wash her hands. "You going or staying? Because if you're staying you're gonna see me freaking out."

Bobby: "Do you want me to stay?" He had been hovering by the door, but he paused now to look over at her.

Carol: She gave a helpless shrug, "I don't know... I feel like I've caused you enough trouble already."

Bobby: "Well, it's not trouble to be a friend, babe." He cocked his head to watch her.

Carol: "You sure about that?" She sighed and went to curl up on her sofa, kicking off her boots.

Bobby: "Yeah. There's just no benefits." On impulse, he went back to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you, too."

Carol: She reached up to pat his hand, trying to keep the shaking out of her own. "Hey, look, we all know who everyone's gonna blame for this particular mess."

Bobby: He winced a little, knowing she was probably right. "I'm not innocent in this, and Rogue isn't gonna forget that either."

Carol: "Maybe not... but she'll forgive you. I won't be so lucky..."

Bobby: "Never say never. Life is fuckin' weird, most of the time." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and then went to flop on the opposite end of her couch.

Carol: "I never thought I'd be inviting her into my family... but I did that. I guess it didn't mean as much to her as she said it did." Because she'd be damned if she was letting Rogue anywhere near her family now.

Bobby: "Yeah, but I know it did mean a lot to her. She just... when she feels trapped and scared she lashes out." He sighed and let his head drop back on the sofa. "Not saying so as an excuse, just... fact. She doesn't think."

Carol: "Well I don't either. But at least I can fucking own up to my mistakes and apologise." Anger was safe. If she stayed angry she wouldn't have to deal with the fear.

Bobby: "With time, she might." He wasn't sure, considering, but he wasn't a precog and like he'd already told her, life was real weird.

Carol: "I'm not gonna hold my breath... or I guess get a good night's sleep for the next year or so..."

Bobby: "Sleep is overrated," he said, turning his head slowly to give her a sickly grin. "We'll be fiiiiine."
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