maskormenacelogs | the future's in our hands

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the future's in our hands

WHO: GIL and KENZI
WHERE: residence #004
WHEN: 2/6 afternoon
WHAT: Gil is still gloomy and Kenzi is getting a bit tired of it.
WARNINGS: death/violence mention

[ After a long day at the tea shop where Gil is forced to be social and out of his comfort zone, it brings him some relief to be back at the housing complex, no longer having to deal with young women giggling under their breath and oohing and awing at his accent and constantly calling him over to take their orders.

Good for business (the manager loves it), bad for Gil's anxiety.

He settles into his usual cleaning of the apartment in spite of how tidy everything already is. He works in the kitchen, keeping to himself and working quietly. It doesn't appear anyone is home, but he still has too much on his mind and he prefers not to drag anyone else down in those thoughts. ]

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[Gil isn't as alone as he thinks. Not long after he starts cleaning Kenzi wanders into the kitchen. Her hair is still damp from her recent shower and still curly as she hasn't got around to straightening it just yet.

Without a word she goes to the fridge and pulls out some juice, pours herself a glass then settles against the counter so she can stare a hole through Gil's skull. He's been far too mopey since their arrival.

As for Sir Apple, he's sleeping somewhere warm so at least he won't be getting into anyone's hair.]

[ It's as if he doesn't notice her presence at all. Gil scrubs away at the sink, focusing too hard on a little spot of dirt that he's having some difficulty removing. Well, that won't do. He presses down with the wire sponge in between his fingers, scrubbing harder. ]

[She continues to stare for a bit longer before loudly clearning her throat.] Keep that up and you'll burn a hole where you're scrubbing.

Huh?

[ He actually stops scrubbing, straightening so he can look over his shoulder. He looks surprised to see her. ]

Oh, Kenzi, I hadn't realized you were home.

With the way you was scrubbing I could have stood here naked without you noticing.

[She takes a drink before setting the glass on the counter and pushing away.] You're being obsessive.

[ Gil chokes. ]

What kind of joke is that?

[ His eyes dart to the sink momentarily, eyeing the spot that remains. He frowns, shaking his head, though looking rather sheepish now that she's pointed out his odd behavior.

Has he been acting strange lately? He suspects it might be the case, especially after everything...

Watching the world around him get torn to pieces has left him unsettled. A strange but familiar discomfort he can't quite place yet. ]

... There's a spot in the sink.

A good one. [She grins before moving over beside him with a brow raised and lips pressed together. She stares down into the sink, leaning down even to find this spot.]

Obsessive and needing your eyes checked. [She straightens up only enough to rest her elbow on the counter and her chin in the palm of her hand. She stares at Gil for a moment before sighing.]

What's bothering you?

I'm trying to scrub it out. It's not obsessing.

[ He exhales an exasperated sigh, turning to start scrubbing again in the same area where the spot, tiny and trivial, stains the sink. He reaches for the soap, but only as he's lifted it halfway toward himself does he freeze.

He doesn't even have a proper answer for that question.

Gil swallows and shakes his head once more. ]

It's nothing.

Edited 2014-02-07 03:52 (UTC)

Gil, there's barely anything there. That's obsessing.

[Kenzi presses up against Gil and slips her arms around him as if she's going to forcibly remove him from the sink.]

Yes, there is. C'mon, we're gonna talk 'bout whatever it is.

It's a brand new sink. It shouldn't have that sort of stain at all.

[ The moment she touches him he's rigid, but only for a few seconds before he steps a couple of spaces away from the sink, letting go of the wire sponge and bottle. His hands are wet and soapy, so he keeps them close to his side and is careful not to allow anything to drip to the floor. ]

Kenzi...

[ He averts his gaze, the top corner of his brow twitching unpleasantly while he grits his teeth in his mouth, nausea gripping his stomach. ]

It's fine. There's nothing to talk about.

[Kenzi had every intention of using her TK to move him but he moves on his own. She holds onto him for a few moments before letting him go and stepping back.]

I didn't see any stain, also, you're a terrible liar. There's something bothering you, I could take a guess at it but I'd rather you just say.

[She steps around in front of him so she can see his face and try to force him to look at her.] Talk to me.

There's a stain right there!

[ As tiny as it is, it's ridiculous a brand new place like this should already be stained when he's been working so hard to keep it clean since they arrived! ]

[ He's finally looking at her, silent as the realization dawns on him.

He's been avoiding them all this whole time. No matter how many dinners they've sat through together, the conversations, living together now — he's been somewhere else, hasn't he? His shoulders slump realizing it. ]

... Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Or anyone else.

[ If Shade had worried about him, which a part of him remains doubtful, but he hasn't been paying attention either. ]

[As far as she's concerned there is no stain so she's letting it drop for now.

When Gil apologizes Kenzi floats up so she can bop him on the head.] 'Bout time you realized it!

[Settling back on the ground she smiles at him.] You're forgiven but only if you talk about it.

[ It startles him and he nearly reaches for his head when he remembers his hands. Instead, he returns to the sink to run some warm water over his hands, washing away the rest of the soap before turning the faucet off and grabbing a cloth to dry off. The whole fifteen seconds it takes him to do this he struggles to come up with the right words to say in response. ]

It's... not really important. [ He almost lets it hang before adding: ] This place is strange.

[Kenzi moves back over to her previous perch and picks up her juice, sipping it while she waits on Gil to respond. Once he does she snorts.]

It's important if it's making you all mopey you mopey mopester. And, yeah, I'll give you that.

I'm not moping.

[ He folds the cloth... and continues to fold it over and over in his hands, needing something for them to do while he deliberately take his time to answer her again.

She hadn't wanted to talk about it when they just arrived, which was fair, but now it's making it more difficult to unload on Kenzi at all. ]

[Kenzi had needed time to sort things out for herself first. While she didn't show it outwardly, inwardly she was torn up over what happened to the City and the whole world it'd been connected to. But she's had time to move past it which appears to be something Gil simply can't do on his own.]

You are. You have been since we got here. I know how you are, you've been filling your time with busy work and avoiding us because you know we'll make you talk. How much have you even slept since we arrived?

[She shakes her head, deciding how much he's slept since their arrival doesn't matter that much. But the rest does.] So, c'mon, spill it.

[ It's a struggle to find the words to describe what he's feeling. It's not exactly anger or sadness — rather some tension, a fear, creeping its way along his neck and down his spine, slipping beneath skin and coiling around his bones and mind and heart.

And a disorienting buzz in his head. A part of him wants to pick at it and rid himself of such unpleasant sensations, but the other half freezes up and then recoils.

He knows this feeling: old memories attempting to resurface, but unable to break through at all. Always at the worst times. Having been separated from Oz for so long, whatever courage and determination he had in the past to face these memories however they come to him is diminished. It was easier when he was beside Oz, despite his indecision. ]

I'm sorry. [ It's automatic, but genuine. ] I get enough sleep. I'm not used to this sort of weather for winter, but the air conditioning helps.

[ He pauses. ]

It's been three weeks since we were ported here. After the first week, she brings us back. Not this time...

What do you think became of that world?

[Kenzi pauses with the glass to her lips, slowly lowering it as she thinks about what to say. There's so many possibilities when it comes to the old world. She's sure it's something Lauren would love to pick apart if she were here.]

This weather does suck. Where's the snow? It's winter, there should be snow. [She misses the cold.]

As for that world...who knows? It was eaten right? It might be gone forever or maybe it was reformed after we were gone from it. Maybe...maybe this world is the old one rebuilt, everything's different but maybe this is the world that rose from the other's wreckage? [She shrugs in a helpless sort of way. She doesn't have the answers.]

The Porter was back there. We don't know if the one here is the same as her. If it's possible to...

[ "Go home" is what he wants to say, but he can't be sure that it's a possibility and that is what terrifies him deep down. ]

We don't know how time works here either. Back in the City, our timelines "froze" so when we returned nothing would have changed. Is it the same here?

[ And if it's not, how long has he been separated from Oz this time? Time is a peculiar thing he's learned over the years, but surviving ten years Oz had been hell. He doesn't believe he can endure another ten year long nightmare.

He can't do it. This isn't how it was ever supposed to be. It's a terrible selfishness when billions are dead, swallowed up in darkness.

He presses a hand to his forehead, his throat and chest tightening. ]

[She hadn't put much thought into if the Porter here is Lachesis or one of her siblings. But when Gil brings up their timelines she feels her heart leap into her throat, for a moment she chokes.]

The...timeline...? [She squeaks, sounding so small as her mind begins to race. What if the timeline restarted when they ended up here. What if it restarted the moment Lachesis' insane sister swallowed the City? What would happen to Bo and the others? More importantly, what would happen to Bo without Kenzi there? They were eachother's heart, they kept each other stable. A stability that Kenzi has been missing for over a year now but she's managed. But she knows how Bo is, Bo doesn't do well when her friends vanish on her.

What could happen while Kenzi's gone? What if there was some way home and she returned to find everything's gone to hell because she vanished and Bo couldn't deal with that?

There are just too many what if's that she could dwell on but to do so will just drive her crazy, she knows that. She closes her eyes and takes a breath to steady herself before putting on a smile.]

I'm sure it's all fine. Time is probably still standing still, if we ever get to go home it'll be just as we left it. [She does her best to sound sure of that but she's not entirely sure if she believes it. Gil's planted that see of doubt and now she's not sure if she'll ever be able to forget about it.]

[ He knows she's trying to provide him even the smallest assurance, but once again he's at a loss for words.

"Maybe?"

"I guess so."

"You're right."

Each response sounds awfully noncommittal.

He's thinking too much, too fast, unable to keep up with all these fears and ideas. His head feels like it's stuffed full of cotton. He squeezes his eyes shut. That hand pressed against his temple has not lifted, not when he can feel a headache coming on. ]

— farther from Oz...

[ "Think only of your master." ]

...Oz? [So is that really why he's been so gloomy? A new world that might be further from his master? In a sense Kenzi can relate but most of her thinking is that he's being obsessive. When was the last time she even heard him mention Oz?

Once again she sets her cup down and moves to Gil's side. She has two options, slap him or hug him. His arm is a in the way of a slap so a hug it is.

Once again her arms slip around him only this time she doesn't plan on picking him up.] Gil, listen to me. You might be away from Oz but he's fine. He'll remain that way until you return to him, you know that.

[The same with Bo, she silent tells herself, Bo will be okay as well.]

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