Me and Ray almost have the house back together. [if it's not too traumatic for her to come out to the suburbs, he trusts in his own ability to keep his own space safe from eavesdropping] Or I can swing by your room.
[or there's the makeshift workspace he and Ray set up in the basement, these last couple of months. or -- ]
[True to her word, Natasha does find the place and before too long. She doesn't want to avoid the suburbs entirely—that feels like letting Barbas and the Doctor win. She might not come out for pleasure, but she can come back if the situation demands.
And today, it seems to.
She's looking tired when she shows up, though better than just after the rescue. The recent business with auctions has been taking a toll.
Most notably, since exchanging part of her soul to get some of her friends off the block, there's an addition of mothlike wings. At least superficially. They're too small to be functional, but too big to easily hide. Not if she doesn't want to start wearing a cape.
She's opted not to hide them, but there is a certain nervousness exposing so big of a change.
[he's leaning against the truck with a drink in hand, when Natasha come into view, though he pushes away from it when he sees her coming. he raises his hand to return the wave and -- well, understandably, his eyebrows go up, eyes darting between her, the wings and back again]
Figure we could start with the elephant in the room. [Fitz can wait] When'd that happen? [she didn't have wings when she came back from Hellburbia]
[maybe. maybe not. Aiden's not so sure he can lecture her, if only because:] Could've just lied about it. Promised the demons sex.
[that's what he did. paid in 'credit,' in promised sexual energy, to break people out. never mind the fact that it eventually got him caught -- thank God Ray was there to buy him out. never mind the fact that he'll do the same thing here, shortly, to save Ray in turn. Aiden would sell all of Hell to Satan for one corn chip, for the people he's most loyal to. turns out that includes selling himself]
[that's probably the important part -- that she's not suffering any ill effects beyond the likely growing pains. that and that she's still her, despite having given up some of her soul, but she still seems to be]
[She shrugs, a little awkwardly. She thinks she is. She still feels like herself.
There was a little while there after she did it where she felt... maybe a little off, but it's hard to know if that should be attributed to the loss of a little bit of soul, or Mammon's influence. It seemed to normalize after a couple of days.]
They hurt coming in, but it passed once they dried out.
[Aiden shrugs, too. he'll accept whatever answer she wants to give -- and he does. he'll even let her try and push him away from the topic when she does. maybe they'll come back to it, later, because he is worried, but]
[well, a lot of things are worrying him, lately]
Little lost. [that's a segue into what he called her out to talk about] I went and talked to the asshole in the dungeons the other day, and a lot of things he said don't add up.
[he nods towards the house. he and Ray have the living room back in working order, at least. maybe they can go sit down and talk about it?]
[though, his conversation with Fitz wasn't particularly productive, either. he might have been a little busy threatening him and all of his friends. oops]
[but anyway, Aiden follows her in, taking point to lead the way to the kitchen, once the door's closed behind them. they've been through the fridge, now, and gotten rid of everything expired, but all that's in there, at the moment, is beer. it's helpful that that's what he's going for]
[pulling out a couple of bottles, he cracks one open and holds it out to Natasha. if she doesn't want it, he'll drink it and put the unopened one back]
I think what bothers me the most is he still acts like he's Lucifer's friend, even after he stabbed him in the back.
[Aiden demands unflinching loyalty in his relationships. he offers the same in return]
[cracking open the other beer, Aiden takes a sip of, himself, frowning. after a beat, he huffs out a breath -- the ghost of a laugh but without humor] Yeah, maybe I'll stop thinking of myself as the Fox.
[if we're all going to pretend to be something we're not!]
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[this is likely a conversation they should have, face-to-face, in private, and he'll suggest that if Natasha doesn't, but]
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I'm free to meet if you are.
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Me and Ray almost have the house back together. [if it's not too traumatic for her to come out to the suburbs, he trusts in his own ability to keep his own space safe from eavesdropping] Or I can swing by your room.
[or there's the makeshift workspace he and Ray set up in the basement, these last couple of months. or -- ]
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After a few minutes, the response comes through.]
I can come out. Probably more secure out there.
[Depending on who they're trying to secure it from.]
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Ray's truck's parked out front.
[in case she needs a landmark for which house is theirs. he'll be out front, too, waiting on her]
ac
[True to her word, Natasha does find the place and before too long. She doesn't want to avoid the suburbs entirely—that feels like letting Barbas and the Doctor win. She might not come out for pleasure, but she can come back if the situation demands.
And today, it seems to.
She's looking tired when she shows up, though better than just after the rescue. The recent business with auctions has been taking a toll.
Most notably, since exchanging part of her soul to get some of her friends off the block, there's an addition of mothlike wings. At least superficially. They're too small to be functional, but too big to easily hide. Not if she doesn't want to start wearing a cape.
She's opted not to hide them, but there is a certain nervousness exposing so big of a change.
She lifts a hand in a wave when she sees Aiden.]
So what's on your mind?
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Figure we could start with the elephant in the room. [Fitz can wait] When'd that happen? [she didn't have wings when she came back from Hellburbia]
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[Very recent. And it came on fast. She has the grace to wince over it, clearing her throat.]
I have the feeling that putting up some of your soul is actually a bad idea.
[Any chance of getting through this without a lecture?]
It came as a surprise to me too.
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[that's what he did. paid in 'credit,' in promised sexual energy, to break people out. never mind the fact that it eventually got him caught -- thank God Ray was there to buy him out. never mind the fact that he'll do the same thing here, shortly, to save Ray in turn. Aiden would sell all of Hell to Satan for one corn chip, for the people he's most loyal to. turns out that includes selling himself]
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[She can admit that. And she can admit she doesn't trust the sexual energy option.
It seems like the incubi and succubi would be getting that either way, so there had to be more to it.
She shrugs though.]
Next time I'll see if I have any regular old money available.
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[frowning, still, he takes a moment to study her]
You feeling alright, at least?
[that's probably the important part -- that she's not suffering any ill effects beyond the likely growing pains. that and that she's still her, despite having given up some of her soul, but she still seems to be]
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[She shrugs, a little awkwardly. She thinks she is. She still feels like herself.
There was a little while there after she did it where she felt... maybe a little off, but it's hard to know if that should be attributed to the loss of a little bit of soul, or Mammon's influence. It seemed to normalize after a couple of days.]
They hurt coming in, but it passed once they dried out.
How are you doing?
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[well, a lot of things are worrying him, lately]
Little lost. [that's a segue into what he called her out to talk about] I went and talked to the asshole in the dungeons the other day, and a lot of things he said don't add up.
[he nods towards the house. he and Ray have the living room back in working order, at least. maybe they can go sit down and talk about it?]
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[That makes sense. She sighs. Natasha talked to him too. It wasn't what you'd call a very productive feeling conversation.
She crosses her arms over her chest and heads for the door.]
I'd love to say I can make the math make sense for you, but no guarantees.
[A shrug.]
Could be we have two different pieces of the picture?
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[though, his conversation with Fitz wasn't particularly productive, either. he might have been a little busy threatening him and all of his friends. oops]
[but anyway, Aiden follows her in, taking point to lead the way to the kitchen, once the door's closed behind them. they've been through the fridge, now, and gotten rid of everything expired, but all that's in there, at the moment, is beer. it's helpful that that's what he's going for]
[pulling out a couple of bottles, he cracks one open and holds it out to Natasha. if she doesn't want it, he'll drink it and put the unopened one back]
I think what bothers me the most is he still acts like he's Lucifer's friend, even after he stabbed him in the back.
[Aiden demands unflinching loyalty in his relationships. he offers the same in return]
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[Natasha takes the beer and helps herself to a healthy pull.
They've earned that.]
Just how much that's the case... well. Still unraveling that.
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[if we're all going to pretend to be something we're not!]
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[Natasha angles a glance at him, then shrugs.]
Unless you have alternative personalities I should know about?
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[well]
[oh]
[that stands to explain at least some of this]
So -- what? Barbas tortured him until he created a split personality to deal with the trauma and the Doctor made a deal with him, to protect them?
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[Natasha takes a deep drink of her beer, trying to pretend she she isn't frustrated when she very much is.]
It's all very convoluted, but apparently The Doctor comes out to deal with things Fitz can't cope with. Presumably that includes torture.
[Her lips pinch.]
Which makes him a liability.
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[it kind of is, though]
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[On a technicality, but only on a technicality.]
It's going to get real complicated when we can't keep him in that cell anymore.
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How much longer's he got on house arrest, anyway?
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[And she can't imaging anyone else is more in a hurry to advocate for him.]
I suppose that depends on if Lucifer agrees more with Fitz or you.
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[a beat]
Friend of his?
[maybe he'll go pick her brain, at some point, too]
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