Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes (Closed RP, Logan and Una)

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

((Backdated to the day after Logan's party.))

Tea with the Doctor was exactly the thing she'd needed, and it was with this refreshment of body and mind that Una set out across the Toontown plaza to the houseboat, where she hoped to find Logan at least semi-conscious and not in too much pain (in which event she'd brought a couple of aspirin, and also picked up some bottles of water).

She was careful to tread lightly as she stepped on board, and called out his name in as gentle a voice as she could manage.

Comments

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Logan was pathetically grateful for the company, since he was currently in that stage of hangover in which vague thoughts of wanting fried food are at war with a total disinclination to move and recriminations about one's behavior the night before. In this case, it wasn't that he regretted having gone straight to the punchbowl when he got back from walking Veronica home; heavy drinking was pretty much the only reasonable response to what had just happened (http://community.livejournal.com/dizzy_land/180564.html?thread=10876244). But why, exactly, had it seemed like a good idea to mix alcohol with pineapple juice? An interruption to these thoughts - and the things he was stubbornly Not Thinking About - was very welcome.

"In here," he called out from his bunkroom, sitting up, and then immediately wished he hadn't. Una, coming in, would find him sitting doubled over, holding his head to keep it from rolling off onto the floor.

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Oh, she knew that pose.

Treading very lightly indeed, Una approached him cautiously. "I've got some water and aspirin if that would help you any," she said, getting straight to what seemed like the most salient point of the moment.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"I really, really like you," he mumbled, apparently to the blankets covering his knees. "A lot."

Okay, let's see if we can let go of our head long enough to take the aspirin and the water...

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Una sat down next to him (gently, so as not to jostle), unscrewed the water bottle, and unwrapped the tablets. "Here." She held out the tablets in her open palm. "If it'll help, I can hold the water bottle for you." Just a little joke.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Think I've got it," he said, with a hint of irony. He accepted the tablets and washed them down with a swig of water. Wonderful, wonderful crystalline healing water. Yay for rehydration. He resisted the impulse to gulp down the whole bottle at once.

"You visiting all the hungover people in the park? Very Florence Nightengale, but you'll have a lot of walking to do." Logan tried a smile.

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I was one of them," she said. "But no, not visiting everyone. I just wanted to see how you were, and, er. Apologise for being sick off the side of the boat at one point." A very rueful smile. "It's been a very long time since I behaved that poorly at a party."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"At least it was off the side," he said philosophically. "I wouldn't call that behaving poorly. Other people have more to apologize for, not that I'm holding my breath."

I should let you get back to your party, though. Rude of me to monopolize the host.

Not thinking about that. His smile was just a little strained as he said, "Sorry I wasn't there to hold your hair back, though."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"That's very sweet of you," she said, but the "more to apologise for" comment made her unaccountably uneasy. She had, of course, lost track of the Master while she was busy being drunk and stupid, and --

The Doctor blinked at her. "Did something... I mean, he didn’t..."

"Anything really terrible happen?" she asked, slightly afraid of what the answer might be. Her tone was carefully light.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Something about the lightness of her voice grated. If he'd been in better shape, Logan's eyes would have narrowed. As it was, he winced and they closed entirely for half a second while he tried to get some kind of grip.

(She'd been dancing with the man. What did that mean? If she knew enough to be worried...?)

"Depends on if you count Superboy's haircut," he said, trying for 'easy banter' when his voice was doing its best to go ragged. He was mostly successful. "Of course, that didn't happen at the party, he came in with it, but..."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Something was bothering him, and it had nothing to do with bad haircuts and not quite everything to do with the profoundly awful hangover the boy must be feeling.

A nasty feeling of worry prickled at the back of Una's neck.

"Logan," she said, all lightness gone. "Is everything all right?"

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Logan cursed mentally and flopped backwards, covering his eyes with the back of his arm.

Telling her - or anybody, really - wasn't even considered for a second. Even if he'd trusted her completely (and how could he? he'd only known her a little while, and there was maybe just a little part of him snarling 'I thought he was okay because he was with you...') his brain didn't even present telling the truth as an option. It was something to be avoided at all costs.

But he was more than familiar with female curiosity and the lengths girls would go to when they thought they had a right to know what was up. She was already suspicious of...something.

He fumbled around in his mind for something, anything, that could be upsetting him badly enough, and after a long pause said, "I...may have kissed both my ex-girlfriends. Who are best friends and tell each other everything. And at least one of them is armed."

Oh god he was sounding pathetic and emo and...oh, god, it was actually true. He moved his arm away from his eyes and looked at Una pleadingly. "Do you think it's possible to be in love with two people at the same time?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Oh god, was that all?

She covered her mouth with her hand and tried very hard not to look amused, because no, the fact of his quandary wasn't funny at all. What was funny was that he'd asked her.

"I am either the worst person in the world to answer that question, or the best," she said. "The short answer, Logan, is yes. Very much so."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Are you laughing at my pain?" he asked, mock-hurt.

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"Not even slightly," she said. And it was true. "It's only funny because there's a man and a woman I love very much, back home. And many others I've loved along the way. But it seems that no matter where we go, Catherine, Jerry, and I always seem to come back to each other, one way or the other."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Well, I would be," he said frankly, and accurately.

Thank god, that had her distracted. (And she wasn't offended, either - he'd just realized a second ago that it maybe wasn't entirely tactful to moan to a woman he'd been flirting with about loving two girls, neither of whom were her.)

"Do they know about each other?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"It would be very strange if they didn't," she said, and she couldn't help it; she had to laugh at that. "Logan, how easily shocked are you?"

((Una can dance around the exact nature of the matter if you prefer. ^_^))

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Logan laughed out loud, then grabbed his head and rubbed it, grinning ruefully at her. "Wow. You, uh, really haven't known me very long, have you?"

He threw up a shocker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shocker_%28hand_gesture%29). "Try me."

((Dude. This is Logan. From VM. The show that made a point of slipping past the censor references to rim jobs, tossed salads, and the shocker, to the point where the last is something of a call sign for VM fans.))

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"Well, you asked," she said, amused. "Jerry and Catherine are siblings, and quite close, so as I said, it would be very, very odd if they didn't know about each other."

Let him draw his own conclusions about how close Jerry and Catherine were...

((Point. ^_^ Also ... an obscene hand gesture that I didn't know? My god, I must be getting old.))

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Slight eyebrow-raise there. He wasn't sure how close 'close' was, actually, but in either case his estimation of Una's freakiness took a jump upwards. He was rather impressed.

"Really. So what's their take on it all? I ask not out of skeevy interest - not just out of skeevy interest - but because I'm reasonably sure my girls will want to fricassee my manly parts, so...basis for comparison."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Pierrot wins Columbine, at last. It's taken hundreds of years.

The funny thing was, Una was the real interloper there, the rival. It had never really been an equilateral triangle, even when they'd pretended otherwise.

Pierrot couldn't wake her, you see. Only Harlequin has the power to do that.

"Jerry and I have always had the more contentious relationship," she said thoughtfully. "Mostly because it's professional and personal. Cathy's ... well, you see, this is why I said I may be the worst person for you to ask." She smiled. "It's hardly what I'd call an exclusive arrangement." There'd been ... oh, who knows how many; she'd lost count. "Brown", who in one zone may have been Jerry and Cathy's father; the one soldier who was hanged after the business in Russia; Lobkowitz sometimes; and many, many others, men and women both. To say nothing of Catherine's own list.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Guess if you're off time-travelling it couldn't be," he said thoughtfully, taking another long swig of water. His stomach was starting to feel empty. (Which, of course, it was, after he'd thrown up twice early that morning.)

"Contentious how? Like, awkwardness at the holidays or throwing explosive devices at each other?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"I've pointed a gun at him a few times, but that's mostly when I didn't know it was him." Oh. It's you, you little wanker. "It's not even awkwardness -- it's mostly arguing about our approaches to our work. Well, and there's --" She paused. "And then there's Catherine."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

Nevermind it being a distraction, this was getting pretty entertaining. "And what's Catherine's deal?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Una took a moment to correctly parse the question, and then her mouth twisted in wry amusement. "She's stuck between Jerry and me, is what it is. She's something of a law unto herself, and the rest of us circle around her. Harlequin, Pierrot, and Columbine, if you know the old commedia."

If he couldn't draw the obvious conclusion about Jerry and Catherine's relationship from that, he wasn't paying attention.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"I can't say I do, actually." A little too far away from pop culture for Logan's references, and California public schools didn't really bring up commedia dell'arte in their curriculum.

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"It's the eternal triad," she said. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and looking at some unfixed point in the distance. "Pierrot pines for Columbine, who breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin. Pierrot's the sad clown, always the loser, always heartbroken, but always dreaming. Harlequin's the trickster and acrobat, the one who gets round authority all the time. And Columbine dances between them, forever." She smiled slightly, still focused on that unfixed distant point. "But sometimes Pierrot wins. He just needs Harlequin's help."

My pulse rate stood at zero
When I first saw my Pierrot
My temperature rose to ninety-nine
When I beheld my Columbine

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"And Harlequin loves them both, huh?" Logan rubbed his face with the back of his hand. This was getting a little more metaphysical (symbolical?) than he was used to dealing with when talking about a person's life.

"How literal is all of this? I mean...I don't know how to put this, but...is this, like, something you all talk about, how you're like these characters, or...?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"Let's call it a metaphor, for ease of use," she said. It was a metaphor that had been made quite literal in some cases, but that was probably a bit more than Logan was equipped to handle -- hangover or no hangover. "We're a theatrical bunch, Jerry and Catherine and I."

She leaned back on her hands. "So in this metaphor, I am Harlequin, but Jerry is Pierrot victorious. Draw your own conclusions." She smiled wryly.

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"You never know around here," he commented. "You run into the Greek goddess-girl yet?" (He could deal with all kinds of craziness, really, as long as he could ground it a little, pin it down so it made some kind of pragmatic sense. Like living through insane soap-opera events simply by doing what he had to do, minute by minute and day by day.)

He cocked his head. "So you've got all the excitement but he's got the girl?" (He was trying not to complicate it too much in his mind by thinking about the incest angle, though there were some weird resonances there with him and Duncan.) "I'm sorry. I mean, maybe you're more okay with that than I was for a while there, sort of kind of. So maybe I shouldn't say I'm sorry, but...yeah." He produced a cheeky grin. "Not just because you and another girl would be hot."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"Greek -- no, I don't think I have. I'm pretty sure I'd remember."

She was pleased to see that he hadn't run screaming from the obvious conclusion about Jerry and Catherine. Resilient boy. "Yes and no. Columbine is fickle, but true in her own way. She always comes back, one way or the other." She grinned. "And anyway, Catherine's my best friend, regardless of the rest. And she is very beautiful. Sadly, we do not put on performances."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Yes, yes you would." Logan had pretty much only a nod-and-smile acquaintanceship with Psyche, but the looks, to say nothing of the wings, tended to stick in your mind. "Apparently she's nice. Friend of a friend, actually. But yeah, so, literal metaphors? Not uncommon around here."

"That is sad," he said, pouting exaggeratedly. "It's good that you can still be...friends. Or whatever." He shook his head, gently due to the throbbing. "I don't know. I don't think Veronica's ever known what box to put me in. And Lilly...is Lilly."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"You see, this is why I may have been a terrible person to ask," Una said. "My relationships are ... very fluid. Yours, I gather, are somewhat less so."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"...I don't know what you'd call them. Veronica and me...in one day she could go from being the only person I trusted to the person who had me arrested for murder, to the only person I trusted again. I don't care so much what she says or does to me as long as she's on my side and I'm on hers, but. She wants to be James Bond and a good little girl, both at the same time. And she's not...she's good with people in terms of getting them to do what she wants. Like a profiler, you know? But she's not smart about them, not really. She doesn't get them. She wants them to be one thing. And she has to be the smartest person in the room."

"And Lilly's just..." he flopped back again, covering his eyes. "I guess really when we were together we were kind of normal high school sweethearts. It was all the times we were fighting that it was insane. She won't let anyone tell her what to do. Which makes people think she's just a dumb party girl bimbo, but she's so smart. She's just...reckless and ruthless and she's always, always two steps ahead. Even if it's over a cliff."

He paused, then quoted, with a matter-of-fact ease that would have shocked the hell out of every English teacher he'd ever had, "'I swear she cast a shadow white as stone. (http://gawow.com/roethke/poems/122.html)'" (Which she he meant was up for debate.)

And then sat up. "Are you hungry at all? I'm starving. Wanna get some Mexican food or something?"

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

Girls after her own heart, Una thought. She felt a bit of a pang for them both (not knowing, of course, what had actually happened to Lilly); girls with brains, looks, and strong personalities weren't going to have it easy. Though they would become exceptionally interesting people, without a doubt.

She smiled at the quotation. "I wish I knew what to tell you," she said out loud. "There's nothing wrong with loving them both; they both speak to different parts of you. It's what you do about it that's tricky, and there --" she spread out her hands, palms up, "-- I'm afraid you've got to follow your own lights.

"And yes, now that you mention it, I'm ravenous." One could not live on tea and chocolate biscuits alone, after all. "Got a preference, then?"

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"I'll have to follow their lights," he said ruefully. "That and just try to keep them alive."

As to food: "I think I need something spicy. Best thing for a hangover. Well, the best thing's beer, but that's out, so. There's a Mexican restaurant on the edge of Frontierland..."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"I know the one. I could go for a nice hot lamb vindaloo myself, but since that's also out, the Mexican place will do." She stood up. "Chin up, Logan. It gets better." She rolled her eyes. "All right, maybe not better. But you get better at dealing with it."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"Thank god," he said, standing up with a groan. "You can lead me there while I cover my eyes." He waved one arm in front of him like someone suddenly blinded. "I don't have sunglasses - don't usually like wearing them, and I didn't really want a pair with cartoon characters. But I'm not looking forward to the sun."

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

"We'll try and grab you an inoffensive hat along the way," she said, and linked her arm through his. "Onward, then."

[thebadboyfriend.livejournal.com]

"As long as it doesn't have mouse ears," he said. Actually he kind of liked the idea of an Indiana Jones fedora...

He gave a kind of musical-comedy heel-click (fairly good for someone in his condition) and agreed, "Onward."

((And scene?))

[una-harlequin.livejournal.com]

((And scene. ^_^ Poor Logan...))