yeah it's easy to fall down that rabbit hole. and maybe on some level it's right to have some of that mentality when you're dealing with this place. drugs and coercion and whatever, it all makes for a very untrustworthy place.
but I figure. and I know this is kind of sappy/naive of me. but we gotta give everybody a chance. to an extent obvs. there are limits. but we gotta take that chance for each other.
[ Ok, it’s a little naive, but it’s also nice to hear,
especially considering how so many people she deals with here have been at
least a little jaded. Her normal rays of sunshine back home aren’t here and
that hasn’t helped her own mindset. ]
[ It takes him a few minutes to change into real clothes rather than the sweats he sleeps in, but soon enough he's out in the night air, the only time when the Down's environment feels somewhat tolerable. He makes the trip to the Up and to her place, knocking as he opens the door, letting himself in but alerting her to his presence. ]
[ Should she really be inviting someone over who, up until now, has
technically achieved fuckbuddy status when she’s feeling out of sorts and a
whole lot disturbed? Probably not.
And there definitely shouldn’t be booze involved.
Meeting at a coffee shop in some gauche Up cafe or a hole in the wall Down
diner would have been a better way to get her mind off that video.
Granted, public places sure as hell hadn’t managed to keep things chaste
anyway.
Besides, she genuinely is upset and, though she might have reached
out to Rowan, she normally doesn’t like to let people see when she’s
feeling like this, never mind letting a whole bar of people see it.
Rogue’s in the apartment’s kitchen, messing with some sort of fancy
espresso and latte maker that had come with the place that she still hasn’t
figured out how to work. She’d said there’d be coffee and, though she could
have made the instant stuff she normally drinks, this seems as good a time
as any to figure out how to squeeze caffeine out of the thing. ]
Hey. In here.
[ She definitely looks like she’s been having A Day, a little
disheveled and way too focused on the buttons on the coffee maker.
]
[ He follows the sound of Rogue's voice into the kitchen where he sees her squinting and poking at buttons on a complicated looking machine. He's used to his food and drink being instant or served, but they do have a small coffee machine at the bar just for coffee-based cocktails. So he steps forward, moving towards her with a soft frown. ]
You got it? Or should I give it a shot?
[ He's not super confident in his abilities but, well, it seems like he should be offering. Take something off Rogue's shoulders. He feels certain that she should be the one taken care of right now instead of him, even if he is the guest. He didn't go through the same shock as she did today. ]
It’s not a huge thing, and she’d probably be able to (eventually) figure
out how to make a cup of espresso, but, right then, finding the right
buttons to push seems like a ridiculously monumental task. The smile she
gives him when she glances up at him is brittle, but genuine.
Rogue lifts her hands — a gesture of mock surrender — and nods at the
machine. ]
Please. I’ve had the thing for months and I still can’t make it work. And I
figure you deserve the good coffee for coming all the way here.
[ Rowan huffs out a dry laugh, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a barely there smile. ]
Hardly. You're not all that far.
[ Which isn't quite true as he had been in the Down and she's in the Up, but it's not as if he had anything better to do at the time.
He licks his lips as he takes a position in front of the espresso machine, examining the buttons and levers to see if he can figure it out just by looking and poking first. ]
Besides, I like being in the Down. Kinda my questionable choice, so I gotta deal with the consequences.
[ Rogue steps just to the side, not really intending to look over his shoulder while he fiddles with the machine but also not nearly as eager to keep a decent amount of distance between herself and other people as she usually is. The idea that he’s Like Bobby, which seems to have alarmingly implanted itself in her head, or that, at the very least, he’s trustworthy in that Bobby Drake sort of way, has her defenses lowered more than usual.
And she certainly hadn’t asked for company just to throw up an impenetrable wall between him and any vulnerability she might show.
Aside from work, Rogue can’t say she’s spent a lot of time in the Down outside of Haven. All she knows is that the public housing is lacking. And that there’s a great chance she’ll get mugged if she wanders around alone. ]
Really? Why?
[ It’s a blunt question. Not even close to polite, but she blurts it out because she can stop and think about how entitled it sounds. If she’d really stop to think about it, she’d get it. She knows how uptight and too fancy and uncomfortable her own apartment is. Being left alone, for the most part, in the Down and not feeling like there’s always someone watching must be great. ]
[ His first response to her question is to merely shrug. Rowan does not take offense easily, or at least he does not show it easily when he does. He prefers a blunt question to dancing around a question, even if he would be one of those inclined to do the dancing. But the straightforward manner of the question reminds him of Faraday, Citra. They were just like that.
He pokes at a button and the frother starts shooting hot air out. Okay. He shuts it off. Good to know. ]
I'm not saying it's smart. [ He gives this preamble with an arched-brow look at her. He knows it's not. ]
But back home, I had a sort of... mentor that lived this very ascetic lifestyle. It kept him focused. I don't want to get soft around here. [ He pauses to look at her. ]
Not that I think all Dominants are getting soft in here or that having a nice place makes you bad. I just know what I need and it's one of the few choices I still get to make, you know? So. The Down.
No. No. It's... I don't actually disagree with you. Not that I want to sound like I'm complaining when so much is wrong with the Down but... between you and me... this place -- [ Her apartment. ] Isn't exactly... me.
[ Not that she hadn't been living in a literal mansion for years, but that had never felt quite like her either. Like she constantly had to be careful not to break something or stain something. Like she'd never quite fit no matter how much she tried.
And she can understand not wanting to become soft. Being without her powers meant that she'd become acutely aware how vulnerable she actually was. And that she wasn't half the fighter some of her former teammates were. ]
I grew up in Mississippi... is that a place where you're from? Nothing bad about it but we didn't have a lot. We scraped by a lot of the time. Everything about the Up is... too much.
It is, I think. Everything kind of got combined together into different territories, but I know the name.
[ Not that he knows or understands the implication of being from the South, culturally, socially, economically, whatever. Those nuances are lost to time. It's just a place.
But he listens and nods slowly, again. ]
I think I get that. Not that I would want you to live in the Down. It's honestly not great. But it isn't so overwhelming.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
but I figure.
and I know this is kind of sappy/naive of me.
but we gotta give everybody a chance. to an extent obvs. there are limits. but we gotta take that chance for each other.
no subject
It’s not naive.
[ Ok, it’s a little naive, but it’s also nice to hear, especially considering how so many people she deals with here have been at least a little jaded. Her normal rays of sunshine back home aren’t here and that hasn’t helped her own mindset. ]
You remind me of Bobby[ Which of course she deletes without sending. ]
Are you up to meeting somewhere?
Just to talk.
no subject
coffee or alcohol? or neither?
no subject
I have both at my place if that’s ok with you.
no subject
Give me a minute and I'll be on my way.
no subject
I’ll leave the door open.
No guard dogs or anything so you can come in.
no subject
Hey, I'm here.
no subject
[ Should she really be inviting someone over who, up until now, has technically achieved fuckbuddy status when she’s feeling out of sorts and a whole lot disturbed? Probably not.
And there definitely shouldn’t be booze involved.
Meeting at a coffee shop in some gauche Up cafe or a hole in the wall Down diner would have been a better way to get her mind off that video.
Granted, public places sure as hell hadn’t managed to keep things chaste anyway.
Besides, she genuinely is upset and, though she might have reached out to Rowan, she normally doesn’t like to let people see when she’s feeling like this, never mind letting a whole bar of people see it.
Rogue’s in the apartment’s kitchen, messing with some sort of fancy espresso and latte maker that had come with the place that she still hasn’t figured out how to work. She’d said there’d be coffee and, though she could have made the instant stuff she normally drinks, this seems as good a time as any to figure out how to squeeze caffeine out of the thing. ]
Hey. In here.
[ She definitely looks like she’s been having A Day, a little disheveled and way too focused on the buttons on the coffee maker. ]
no subject
You got it? Or should I give it a shot?
[ He's not super confident in his abilities but, well, it seems like he should be offering. Take something off Rogue's shoulders. He feels certain that she should be the one taken care of right now instead of him, even if he is the guest. He didn't go through the same shock as she did today. ]
no subject
[ She’s immediately grateful for the offer.
It’s not a huge thing, and she’d probably be able to (eventually) figure out how to make a cup of espresso, but, right then, finding the right buttons to push seems like a ridiculously monumental task. The smile she gives him when she glances up at him is brittle, but genuine.
Rogue lifts her hands — a gesture of mock surrender — and nods at the machine. ]
Please. I’ve had the thing for months and I still can’t make it work. And I figure you deserve the good coffee for coming all the way here.
no subject
Hardly. You're not all that far.
[ Which isn't quite true as he had been in the Down and she's in the Up, but it's not as if he had anything better to do at the time.
He licks his lips as he takes a position in front of the espresso machine, examining the buttons and levers to see if he can figure it out just by looking and poking first. ]
Besides, I like being in the Down. Kinda my questionable choice, so I gotta deal with the consequences.
no subject
And she certainly hadn’t asked for company just to throw up an impenetrable wall between him and any vulnerability she might show.
Aside from work, Rogue can’t say she’s spent a lot of time in the Down outside of Haven. All she knows is that the public housing is lacking. And that there’s a great chance she’ll get mugged if she wanders around alone. ]
Really? Why?
[ It’s a blunt question. Not even close to polite, but she blurts it out because she can stop and think about how entitled it sounds. If she’d really stop to think about it, she’d get it. She knows how uptight and too fancy and uncomfortable her own apartment is. Being left alone, for the most part, in the Down and not feeling like there’s always someone watching must be great. ]
no subject
He pokes at a button and the frother starts shooting hot air out. Okay. He shuts it off. Good to know. ]
I'm not saying it's smart. [ He gives this preamble with an arched-brow look at her. He knows it's not. ]
But back home, I had a sort of... mentor that lived this very ascetic lifestyle. It kept him focused. I don't want to get soft around here. [ He pauses to look at her. ]
Not that I think all Dominants are getting soft in here or that having a nice place makes you bad. I just know what I need and it's one of the few choices I still get to make, you know? So. The Down.
no subject
[ Not that she hadn't been living in a literal mansion for years, but that had never felt quite like her either. Like she constantly had to be careful not to break something or stain something. Like she'd never quite fit no matter how much she tried.
And she can understand not wanting to become soft. Being without her powers meant that she'd become acutely aware how vulnerable she actually was. And that she wasn't half the fighter some of her
formerteammates were. ]I grew up in Mississippi... is that a place where you're from? Nothing bad about it but we didn't have a lot. We scraped by a lot of the time. Everything about the Up is... too much.
no subject
It is, I think. Everything kind of got combined together into different territories, but I know the name.
[ Not that he knows or understands the implication of being from the South, culturally, socially, economically, whatever. Those nuances are lost to time. It's just a place.
But he listens and nods slowly, again. ]
I think I get that. Not that I would want you to live in the Down. It's honestly not great. But it isn't so overwhelming.