somethingwithturquoise | MHA #4; Tuesday Evening [02/01].

Entry tags:

MHA #4; Tuesday Evening [02/01].

Summer was pretty sure it should be illegal to have to have two sangria nights within less than a week of each other, but that was the dire state of affairs that they were in, and so they had to make the most of it. It did not take her long to know that she was going to be mixing up more of the now sacred drink for another session when she heard about John leaving, and she was determined to all but drag Rey here if she had to.

Thankfully, though, she didn't have to, and she had yet again foiled the cats' attempts to trip her as she brought a pitcher out to the living room in an odd sense of déjà vu, except for the fact that there was already a box of cookies from J,GoB on the table waiting this time.

What? That cookies-in-wine combo had been legit.

She wasn't sure Rey would be as onboard with it as she was, but, hey, it was good to have options.

[[ and for she who is mentioned in the narrative, although if anyone wants to poke at Summer before Rey in the timeline, I'm totes down for it! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Summer really was the best that way.

"That would be smart." They would probably not drink water, and in fact Rey was going for a refill. "I just keep getting caught up in thoughts I don't want to be having. They're not helpful, and I don't think there's a way to turn them off."

"...what kind of thoughts?"

Did someone say refill? Well, no one did, but look at that, both their glasses would very soon find themselves suddenly a lot less empty!

"Maybe if you just let it out, that'll, like," a finger danced around her head a little, "purge them from your brain or whatever."

Probably not! But it was worth a tr!

Rey shrugged. "Whether he's safe right now. If I should finally Google him or respect that he told me everything about himself that he wanted me to know, or if I can see what happened to him. If he's going to mention me at all when he gets back together with his girlfriend there."

See, that refill was badly needed.

"Usually, the google stalking happens before the relationship," Summer pointed out, "and, yeah, after's just a recipe for pain and I do not recommend."

The drink that followed definitely hinted toward personal experience on that one.

"Besides," she added, when she finally came up for air, "with multidimensionality, who's to even say the John Silver you google will even be the same John Silver you dated, anyway? You could be following up on a completely different one who'd never even heard of you..."

Was that part helpful? Or did it make it worse? Summer frowned because there was another point in there, too, that might help from too much dwelling on multidimensional bullshit.

"Did...he mention his girlfriend there when he got together with you?" A beat. "Would you want him to mention you?"

The multidimensionality thing was actually a really good point, especially when she knew how much the Long John Silver thing was a front.

"He mentioned her when I'd known him a while," Rey said. "I didn't know they were together when he got pulled here until the kids showed up last spring. But we didn't get together until he'd had time to move on, so it wasn't a big deal.

"I'd want to be mentioned," she continued, and paused to make sure her voice stayed steady. "I don't just want to be a... stopover. I hope I mattered."

Summer looked about ready to launch into a long diatribe at stopover, but that last part after it swept that all away, because there was only one thing to say to that, firmly and with conviction and without a shadow of a doubt as she looked at her.

"Rey," she said, "of course you mattered."

Rey nodded, and managed wryly, "This is why thinking isn't helpful."

"But sangria," Summer lifted her glass, "is!"

Because it helped dull the thinking, and she was going to do a little more dulling and getting closer to needing another refill here soon before adding, "Seriously, though, Rey, it's impossible for me to think that you could be in anyone's life and have it not matter, especially in that way."

"That's sweet," Rey said, because she was a lightweight who was feeling the sangria. "I just don't like being a secret, or an afterthought, or one of those things he never wants to talk about. And I can't even be mad about things like Madi, because she seems wonderful."

Seriously, Rey and Madi would have been friends.

"Rey," Summer said, with the exact same tone as a second ago, "didn't you say part of why he went back was to be more like you?"

That was....half a legitimate question. The beginning of the conversation was getting a little fuzz around it.

"That's hardly an afterthought."

There was a bit more hesitation before she asked the next question. "So is Madi....?"

She trailed off, with a general gesture for whatever word would work for 'bestie's very-recent-ex's former-potential-future girlfriend from the past'.

"He represses harder than I do." Which was very honest, but it was a very legitimate worry that Silver would bury thoughts of her if it was hard to deal with. It was kind of how he worked.

"Is Madi... the girl? Yeah."

And really, Rey got the girlfriend title first because it didn't exist in the 1700's, so.

See? It was complicated! Leaving it just hanging seemed the safest route.

"Oof," Summer said, shaking her head, looking into her glass, and deciding, yes, it needed more.

Then she looked at the pitcher.

That could use more, too.

"And you can repress with the best of them sometimes, too..."

Like she was anyone to talk. Her repression was different, though.

"You have no idea." The only reason she wasn't a paranoid mess with the Palpatine thing was good old fashioned repression!

Also the only person who knew that about her was gone now so thaaaat might be an issue down the line.

"He's just so good at it. Even when you know he's trying to distract you from what's bothering him you end up going along with it because he's so damn charming," she said. "And then he never deals with it again until he leaves."

Oh yeah tomorrow was going to be rough.

"Weeeelllllll," said Summer, with a snort, because, really, it was only a matter of time before she managed to dance on into the 'seriously, though, his loss' portion of this equation, "guess it's all his problem now. Not like you didn't try, right?"

"I did. I just wish he ever took me up on it."

She probably wouldn't have if she knew some of it.

She finished off this glass and said, "I'm going to end up hating my next neighbor."

At least they were at that part of things.

There was another snort at that. "Fuck it," Summer said, reaching for the pitcher because a glass that empty was a sangria night crime, Rey. "Just have them condemn the place. Unihabitable. Do not rent."

She tipped a little more into her own glass, too, but then set both glass and pitcher aside to stand up.

And wobbled a little before catching herself and declaring, "Onto the next one!"

And snagging a cookie before she went to go get the second pitcher, because, oh yeah, she forgot about the cookies!

"Don't fall!" Rey called, belatedly, definitely not standing up herself.

And, despite the cats choosing that moment to not only make an appearance, but also to do so directly under Summer's feet, she miraculously did make it back with the second pitcher of sangria without falling, set it down on the coffee table, and then plopped back into her seat.

"So where were we?" she asked, regaining her cup. "Death to all future neighbors?"

"Not all. Just anyone who moves in there." Specificity, and all. "It wasn't officially mine at all, but we shared the floor. I know why that one door is broken and they don't."

They were still a hypothetical, Rey. Maybe eat something.

"I took the furniture back, but I don't want to look at it yet."

This had to sound nuts to a sober person.

"I don't blame you," Summer said, who now had a cookie and was absolutely idly dipping it in her wine, thank you forever for that, Stark. "I would have probably just burned it all, myself. And then, I don't know, scattered the ashes, it would be symbolic and shit."

"I made it during that week the animals invaded and the music wouldn't stop playing, and I gave it to him," Rey said. "And things were ours according to John, so I kept it. And someday it won't hurt to look at it. It'll be like a good memory."

The optimism was probably healthy in the long run but sucked three days out.

She took another drink and asked, "Does that actually taste good?"

"Okay," Summer allowed, "I guess if you made it and gifted it to him, scorching if would be a little difficult, and maaaaybe."

That answer came with a grin and a triumphant nibble.

"Try it and find out for yourself."

Rey, who had never dipped a cookie in anything before, easily took one to dip into her glass and taste.

"Oh, I don't like that."

Naturally she did it again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MHA #4; Tuesday Evening [02/01].

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject