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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 0:40:07 GMT
”No idea. How do we top you nearly killing me, and me… um, yeah?”
She wants to add 'and you almost having a nervous breakdown', but she doesn't, because even as she thinks it she knows she isn't going to bring it up. At all. Ever. Because it's just...not what she should do. Nothing to tease about. She doesn't want to embarrass him, or make him mad, or hurt his feelings or anything. Not that he'd admit to any but maybe the angry part, but still.
”Going to have to be a real show-stopper…”[/i]
"Well..." she starts, then the alarm clock goes off, and she jumps visably, reaching over to slam a gloves fist against the button. She'd forgotten aobut that... She sets it back to her normal waking time, and sits back. After a moment's pause, she sighs, and glances over at him.
"I f'get what I w's gonna say." she mumbles, a wry, almost-empbarassed smile crossing her face.
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 2:03:28 GMT
He jumps at the alarm, and sends it a death glare. So, that would have been 10 minutes? Funny how much more quickly the second 5 minutes had gone... a fact which doesn’t help the general pathetic-ness he’s been trying not to think about, because it’s nothing and yet it defeated him, scowl.
It’s not really been his night has it?
… except (and this is a small and very screwed-up sort of thing, but it’s the nearest he has to a victory, so he’s damn well going to cling to it) that she only nearly killed him… hell, not even that. Logan was in the infirmary for days afterwards, wasn’t he? And of course John doesn’t have accelerated healing or anything… Okay, it’s an odd achievement, but whatever, he’s clinging to it, which leads to a very ill-thought out but pertinent question; ”How long do you reckon you went all freaky-leech on me for?”
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 2:11:14 GMT
”How long do you reckon you went all freaky-leech on me for?”
She stares at him a moment, trying to fathom where the question comes from. Then there's the whole way he's worded it, which sounds like something out of one of Bobby's comic books or something...
"'Freaky-Leech'? Gee, thanks, compare me to slime..." she pauses to roll her eyes, half-grin showing she takes no real offence, then continues. "Um, I dunno. Few secon's..." she responds with a small shrug, then, after a brief pause, a suspiscious look, green eyes narrowed slightly in his direction. "Why?"
Somehow, the question doesn't bode well. He's got that look - the curious one, that doesn't always mean good things. In fact, it rarely does, and, somehow, this doesn't seem like an excepption.
"What're y'thinkin'?"
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 2:33:14 GMT
John cuts her short. ”More or less time than Logan?”
He doesn’t need to force this...
... except that he so does...
... No. It’s only going to upset her. It’s unnecessarily brutal...
... but when has that ever stopped him before? Besides, in some twisted way it might even help her, thinking about it (because he’s always been really, really good at finding complex, convoluted and perverse ways to justify any and everything, that being how he’s survived and, to a large extent, retained whatever manner of sanity he has) because (is being John’s world and therefore subject to John’s take on logic) there’s no way her power is actually uncontrollable, is there? It’s just that she hasn’t learnt how to control it…
Okay, John, that’s more twisted than usual… but whatever. It makes sense, sort of, and is better than admitting the real reason; he’s always been about touching the untouchable, and this is just a logical extension, because she, unlike most flames, has a point where it starts to hurt, and that’s where the strange dark appeal lies… and besides, he’s not above taking a perverse pleasure in how Bobby can’t do it at all.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 2:39:43 GMT
”More or less time than Logan?”
She's starting to think that maybe letting him pick the entertainment is going to be a bad idea. But she doesn't say so, because she's almost curious as to what he's on about. She can always say no to it, so there's no harm in letting him continue. For now.
"Less, I think..." she responds. "B't I wasn' totally concious t'know tha' f'sure."
Dang, if he's planning something to do with her powers, that's a bad sign. Bad. Not to mention dangerous. And highly odd, because no one ever wants to touch her, even to satisfy odd curiousities. It's just...not normal.
But then, since when is John "normal"?
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 2:48:51 GMT
Less than Logan makes sense, sort of (although it would be too big a lie for even him to fully accept to claim he’s not a little disappointed…). Which makes the next question even more inevitable than it already was, if that’s even possible, and he cuts her off again.
”More or less than Co.. Cor.. um” – shit. Not remembering the guy’s name is almost too tactless even for him… hell, erm… oh yeah. Swift recovery – ”Cody?”
Nothing ventured nothing gained, right? Even thought that really is one hell of a risk, what happened with her first boyfriend being on about the same level of Do Not Mention as John’s life down under, and he’s not entirely sure exactly what he would gain from this venture…
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 3:04:25 GMT
”More or less than Co.. Cor.. um....Cody?”
What is he trying to get at? She's a little agitated by the question - who wouldn't be at mention of the boyfriend they'd put in a coma for weeks? - and she shoots him a look.
"Less, sugah, w'barely touched jus' then. What're y'gettin' at?" Her tone is tight, yet not hostile, not yet, because she knows him, knows he's not trying to be an ass. At least, not right now he's not, because there's an obvious difference between him trying to be, and him just being himself.
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 4:59:53 GMT
To the casual observer it would look like he was ignoring her, eyes trained back on the Zippo, flicking but not igniting it. But taken into context, this being John, and coupled with the flicker of concentration momentarily sparking across his features (because he never can admit that he’s making any sort of effort…), it’s obvious he’s deep in thought, and this time there’s something of a pause before he speaks again. Even then he’s almost thinking out loud rather than actually talking to her.
”Right… but, erm… How long could we, theoretically? Because y’know, it’d make a difference… if you’re not all panicky and I’m not scared… and it’s, erm, hand-to-hand or something, not like… not like before. With the others. D’you reckon 30 seconds?” It’s crazy talk, but the idea has him by the throat now. No way he’s getting off this ride.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 5:08:02 GMT
”Right… but, erm… How long could we, theoretically? Because y’know, it’d make a difference… if you’re not all panicky and I’m not scared… and it’s, erm, hand-to-hand or something, not like… not like before. With the others. D’you reckon 30 seconds?”
She's sure she doesn't like this. In fact, by the time he's finished speaking, she's already gotten up from her place beside him, and is halfway across the room, shaking her head, arms crossed, but not in an especally hostile way, more like a defensive, almost-scared-looking posture. She looks up at him from her gaze at the floor, and simply stares at him, as if any movement towards her will result in fleeing.
"John, I could kill ya."
That's all she says, because at the moment, that's all she can say. How can he even ask something like that? Even think of it? She's almost annoyed to notice that she's shaking, and tries to force herself to calm down. He's not going to do anything wiithout her permission, and she's not going to give it, and so everything's okay.
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 5:58:34 GMT
”You could” He looks up, not trying to argue with her. It’s a possibility he’s considered, because there’s no real escaping from it, but like everything else when you’re untouchable it seems... remote, somehow. Not real. And as he points out ”You won’t, though. I’m good at knowing when to stop”, which seems like a lie at first glance... until you realise he’s not talking about the usual mundane everyday stuff where sure, he seems to think it a point of honour never to back down. But beyond that... he knows what he can take. It’s something you learn quickly when you have no real edge; when something’s too big a challenge for luck and skill to get you through. ”And no one’s going to force you to hold on. I start flipping out, you’ll know to stop. Easy”
“And hell,” – this where the real crux of the matter lies, he tells himself. Because this is all obviously about trying to be a good friend and not at all him using her weaknesses against her, playing on her fears – ”We find some way past this, and you’ll get to find out what Bobby tastes like without having to go through this messy business with him.... I bet” - here his tone lightens, as if he's making a totally normal and not at all potentially fatal suggestion - "that we could make 15 seconds easy."
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 14:21:59 GMT
”You could. You won’t, though. I’m good at knowing when to stop. And no one’s going to force you to hold on. I start flipping out, you’ll know to stop. Easy.”[/color]
Except that sometimes...she worried she'd hold on anyway. That maybe if she did it, she'd start to enjoy it, and she'd start huting people...But that was insane, because she wouldn't ever do that, but it was still a possibility that nagged at her.
“And hell, we find some way past this, and you’ll get to find out what Bobby tastes like without having to go through this messy business with him.... I bet that we could make 15 seconds easy."
She can see where this is going, now. His "master plan". Payback for holding onto his lighter as long as she did. But this is so different. She's not turned towards him entirely, tilted a little away, but not so much that she can't see him because, somehow, she's still afraid he's going to try to touch her, and she wants to keep an eye on him, which doesn't feel right, not trusting him like this, but she can't help it.
Yet at the same time, it's almost...really neat that someone acctualy wants her to try touching them. No one ever really wants that, and with good reason. But still, that tiny underlying bit is there, and it in itself is unsettling.
"John. This isn' like a lighter. If somethin' did happ'n..." she trails off and shakes her head, mostly as if stopping can make her stop thinking about it as esaily as she can stop saying it, and she wouldn't have to finish that thought.
She turns to face him fully, and eyes him. "Why d'ya wan'a do this s'much?"
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 15:22:02 GMT
< This isn’ like a lighter
He rolls his eyes – no duh, Einstein. Of course it’s nothing like that... okay, it sort of is, in how it’s about control and not being broken by the downside of your *gift*, but whereas that was cruel and pointless this is... something totally different. He’s not sure what, but it’s not the same.
She should know by now that he can’t ever be easily dissuaded, than even when he knows it’s a stupid idea he’ll carry it through from sheer obstinacy because there’s no way he’ll ever admit that he’s made a mistake. And with this he knows he’s not wrong, even if what she’s saying is also sort of right, so she’s got no chance.
< If somethin’ did happen…[/color]
He jumps in as she trails off, a little too quickly. ”Nothing will. Nothing ever does. This is me we’re talking about” Because it’s only flesh that gets hurt, and now he’s got his lighter back he’s not cold, grey meat but fire (which is why, thinking about it, the damn thing is so very important… not that he’ll ever be able to sum it up that neatly again. Which doesn’t really matter since he’s not the type to look for that sort of introspective understanding).
< Why d’ya wan’a do this s’much?
Good question.
It’s not so much that he doesn’t know why – because he does, it’s clear – just that he’s unsure how much of that he can tell her, what line he should spin… a carefully controlled edit of the truth, such as it is, is probably the best way to go. ”It’s going to have to happen at some point, if you’re gonna reach adulthood without going totally batshit insane. And if anyone has to be the one to do it” it has to be ”might as well be me… You’ll never know if you don’t try, and I can’t exactly see a queue of volunteers” Again he dismisses the immensity of it all with a characteristic shrug.
”15 seconds. You won’t hurt me.” The challenge is more explicit this time, as if he's almost daring her to prove him wrong... which is stupid, and insane, of course. He's just.... trying to help. Or something.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 15:38:16 GMT
Nothing will. Nothing ever does. This is me we’re talking about” [/color]
"There's a firs' time f'everythin'. Y'may b'lucky, but y'not indestructale." Rogue torts stubbornly.
”It’s going to have to happen at some point, if you’re gonna reach adulthood without going totally batshit insane. And if anyone has to be the one to do it, might as well be me… You’ll never know if you don’t try, and I can’t exactly see a queue of volunteers”
He has a point. Da*nit, he has a point, and a logical one, at that. She hates that she's even thinking about it, even considering going along with this, when she knows what could happen. And how's she going to explain a comatose John in her room come morning?
”15 seconds. You won’t hurt me.”[/color]
She bites her lip, waching him a moment. It's not the challenge, in itself, that's the main probblem. Most times, she'd have bno probblem saying no to a dare - her pride isn't an issue, here. She's not sure what is, though, because she's still finding it hard to say no.
"Da*nit... Fine. But...if y'die, s'y'fault."
She doesn't move, though, from her spot across the room, still watching him almost warilly.
She doesn't like that her voice was all...shakey, and screwed up, and sounds like she's about to start crying. She doesn't like that she just said that, for two reasons. First, she shouldn't be accepting in the first place, and secondly, it wouldn't be his fauilt, it'd be hers. His curiousity wouldn't be what hurt him - not technically, at least.
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Post by Pyro on Oct 29, 2006 15:50:25 GMT
< If y’die, s’y’fault[/color]
”Naturally. It’ll be a hideous failure on my part… but Kitty’s the only one’s gotta worry about what curiosity can do. I’ll be fine” he grins ”Besides, this isn’t how it ends. Can’t be. I’ve got a much more interesting demise, no doubt… not much of a blaze of glory, passing out on your floor, though the look on Bob’s face in the monring’d be priceless.” Oh lord, that’s deliciously morbid and fucked up. But whatever. It’s also a totally John way of making light of the situation, especially the bit about the *more interesting demise*, somehow implying that her powers aren’t all that awesome really… and making light is something he feels the need to do because shit, she looks about ready to break down (Good says the part which still blames her for the crap with the lighter, though the rest beats it into silence for missing the point… this isn’t about revenge at all).
He can’t quite believe that she said yes… some part of him, it seems, only felt like pushing because he knew he’d ultimately fail and just wanted the kudos of her seeing that he wasn’t afraid. But still, he can’t ever back down, can he?
A second or two passes, John waiting for her to head over and get down to business… but of course that’s stupid. She’s not going to do it without him leading – hell, practically dragging – her by the hand… so he has to make the first move. He hates that he’s so shaky getting up, as if his body’s protesting look at what she did last time!, but it’s easy to shake that off the way he always does and slip back behind nonchalant arrogance.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 29, 2006 16:34:53 GMT
She offers what's barely a smile and an almost-laugh, mostly at the mention of Kitty. The mention of Bobby's not really funny, because, honestly, she doesn't know what would happen if he did find that scene before him. Undoubtedly he wouldn't think it to be innocent, when John doesn't wake up for a week.
And she won't be here, after tomorrow. Not the best time to put one's best friend in a coma, the day before you're heading home for the holidays.
He's moving her way, now, and she eyes him a moment, but doesn't move away. She agreed to this, albeit in a momentary lapse of sanity, undoubtedly, but still, she'd agreed. Now she had to go through with it. Still, she wasn't going to just grab 'hold and count off fifteen seconds.
"W'should d'it ov'r there. 'Cause...tha' way I won' haf't' carry y'ov'r there, 'gain." she says quietly, motioning to where he was just sitting, and moving towards him a little, towards her bed. He looks like he's still weak, from the previous absorbtion, maybe, which isn't a comforting thought.
"How w'gonna do this timin' thing? I migh' lose count...s'hard t'keep track'a anythin' when 'M absorbin'."
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