Bruce Wainright has (onerule) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-07-16 00:16:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | batman, caroline forbes |
Who: Luke and Evie, guest starring Gus
What: Cuteness and fuzz.
Where: Luke's apartment.
When: Sometime recently idk.
Warnings/Rating: None.
Luke was well aware that being stuck inside his apartment for too long was bound to be unhealthy, and not just because he was a reformed killer going through some nasty withdrawal symptoms that made him wonder if he was really all that different from heroin addicts. Morbid, yes, but that was where his thoughts strayed when he let them, which was only when he was alone and Gus was asleep. The little boy was the main reason why he tried to get out as much as possible; he was already so scared, and while caution was good, paranoia was not. He wanted his son to realize that there was still good in the world, still reasons to laugh and play, even if he had a hard time believing in any of that. Things may have been endlessly complicated, especially with Wren, but he was determined to create a sense of normalcy regardless. He had a lot to make up for, especially after being gone for a week while Bruce had been in his place instead. That was a lot harder to avoid thinking about than Wren was; she was always on his mind, and he never stopped cursing himself for lying to her about Brielle, even though it hadn’t been done with malicious intentions and he wasn’t cheating on her. Overall life was enough to make him want to drink every night, but he remained strong--as strong as he could be, at least--for Gus.
Today they’d taken Finch for a walk and had hot dogs on the sidewalk, watching tourists pass by, and he’d thought that was a fair amount of outdoor time for the day. He had to work in a few hours, and he was trying to figure out what to make for dinner so the sitter could just heat it up in the microwave, if worst came to worst, while Gus was sprawled over Finch in front of the TV. Some stupid superhero cartoon was on, and the little boy was singing along to the theme song, which constituted as very off-key yelling of lisped words instead.
He wasn’t expecting visitors, and so he paid little attention to the front door, especially since it had enough locks to give even Selina herself pause.
Evie didn’t generally call, she was on the phone a lot during the day and it was mostly a whim that told her to tell her driver to take her to Luke’s place instead of straight home. She wanted to see him, she wanted to meet his child, she needed a familiar face. Wren was great, Nell was great, she was being selfish but she wanted more. She wanted to be utterly surrounded by people who knew her. She didn’t have much here except for a too large apartment filled with her father’s belongings and a housekeeper who Evie was still trying to work on to get her to open up a bit and be less “Yes Ms. Sablier,” and more “HI EVIE!!!” She was Ms. Sablier all day long and at home she wanted something a bit different. Which was why she tried to stay away as much as possible. This new life she was trying to lead was strange, she was homesick, she missed her Will, she missed her new house. The walls were being painted at this VERY MOMENT and she was missing it.
So she was standing outside of Luke’s door, dressed in a well tailored black pencil skirt and suit jacket. Definitely not her usual. Or what anyone would be used to seeing her in. The only thing that screamed Evie about the whole thing was the fact that under her jacket was a bright fuschia blouse. She couldn’t possibly wear black and white and beiges and all those other things no matter how professional they insisted she be. Her hair was up and pulled back out of her face, though it was the end of the day so several strands had fallen and she didn’t much care. The world was lucky she was as put together as she was. And she doubted that Luke was looking to be impressed. She knocked and waited. And then knocked again just in case.
Visitors weren’t very common for Luke. Before getting custody, the only people who knocked at his door were lawyers and various people with child protective services, and now it was usually the delivery guy bringing a pizza or takeout on nights that he just couldn’t be bothered to cook for himself. Wren didn’t stop by anymore, and he didn’t have too many friends, at least not the sort who’d come by to hang out. Other than Roger, he couldn’t think of who it might be. The sound certainly got Finch’s attention; he lifted his head, ears twitching, and stared at the door as though he expected something to burst in at any moment. Gus ceased in his off-key sing along and clung to the dog’s neck, instinctively wary. This building was much safer than his old one, but he was still paranoid, and which meant that he checked through the peephole before even considering unlocking the door.
Five years was a long time, yet Evie was still as familiar as she’d been back when they were teenagers. Gus, he assumed, noticed the relaxation of his posture, since he returned to his cartoons and only kept one arm around his pet’s neck. The fumbling and subsequent unlocking of locks would be audible through the door, and it took more than a few seconds for Luke to get the door open. “Hey,” he said in greeting, offering an almost tentative smile. “Long time no see.”
Evie raised her eyebrows, and folded her arms over her chest, and looked him over with a bit of a wry smile, her eyes narrowing playfully and the corners of her mouth fighting to turn up into a gigantic grin. “Hey” she mimicked him and sighed. “Long time no see,” she said again in her funny deep “Luke” voice. “You have about 5 seconds to hug me, and then about two extra seconds to invite me in,” she held up a fist, “One,” she said and lifted one finger, followed by “two” and another. She couldn’t believe she was standing here in front of Luke of all people. And she’s seen Wren, and Nell. It wasn’t so terrible. She was bound and determined to surround herself with people she cared about.
The way she mimicked him was so very Evie that he felt like he’d been transported back in time, and in this case, at least, it wasn’t a bad thing. “I don’t sound like that,” Luke protested, trying not to laugh. Hugging may not have been his thing, but he was pretty sure she would just tackle him anyway even if he refused, “You drive a hard bargain, you know that?” He feigned a sigh, but after a few seconds he stepped forward and gave her what could be described as an awkward hug, like someone who hadn’t given one in a while and was trying to remember how. “Of course you can come in,” he added, because even if she’d already talked to Wren, even if she had no idea what kind of person he’d become, he was still glad to see her. He turned to see that Gus and Finch had rounded the corner, and the little boy was watching them with wide eyes and two fingers stuck securely in his mouth.
“Come say hi to Evie, Gus,” he coaxed. “She’s a friend of mine. We knew each other a long time ago.” The boy inched forward with the dog at his side, and managed a shy smile around his fingers as he raised his free hand in a little wave, which was apparently his idea of a proper greeting.
Evie didn’t care how awkward the hug was on his end, she was getting her hugs worth out of him because her number one hugger was 3,000 miles away and she hadn’t seen Luke in years. When she stepped inside she smiled at Gus and her eyes got wide when she saw Finch and she couldn’t be expected to do much else but wave at Gus smiling quite happily and crouching down a bit. “Gus it’s very nice to meet you, we’re going to have a ton of fun,” she said (and it was clear she meant it). And then she looked at Finch with an equally nice smile, “Finch you’re all grown up!”
Hugging wasn’t a common occurrence in his life, not anymore. Wren was the only one with whom he had any sort of affection, though they were more prone to rough sex than hugs. Luke decided that was something better left unmentioned and never, ever discussed with Evie-- or anyone else for that matter. He’d forgotten that Evie had known Finch when he was just a puppy, but the dog hadn’t, and after a moment of inspection he let out a loud bark of recognition. For Gus, nothing mattered more than Finch’s approval, and he snuck a quick glance at Luke for confirmation--which was given with an encouraging nod--before brightening at the mention of fun. “What kind of fun?” he asked, eager, allowing the dog to lead him forward in his excitement at finding another familiar person.
Luke, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m not sure I want to know,” he teased.
Given that crouching was hardly comfortable she sat back slightly and dropped right on her behind and crossed her legs underneath her with a wide grin. That was much better. So she was sitting on the floor in the entry way, she was still Evie after all. “Yes Finch, I missed you too,” she said giving the dog a scratch. She raised her eyebrows at Gus and was quite ready to get into all kinds of mischief, “What kind of fun do you like to have? I have pockets just for candy and still carry a coloring book around with me because sometimes you just need to color. And of course running amuck, general amuckness abounds near me,” she said nodding, obviously proud.
She looked up at Luke with plenty of approval, she was pretty sure there was much more to the story but he hadn’t been wrong. Being around the kid was enough to cheer her up and that wasn’t easy to do these days. “Luke what kind of fun are we allowed to have before you give the look,” she laughed.
Only Evie would just sit down in the middle of the floor like it was nothing. Luke thought of suggesting the couch, or even a chair, but Finch had already decided that the floor was good enough for him and flopped down, resting his head on her knee. Gus, who’d had no concept of fun before being taken away from the Johnsons, watched Evie with wide eyes, as though he wasn’t sure if her good humor would last. It was evident in the way he kept looking back at Luke for verification, which was promising in the sense that it suggested a certain level of trust, and since he’d just become the tallest person in the room by still standing he found it much easier to mirror Evie and just sit down on the floor. “You like candy, right, kiddo?” He spoke encouragingly, and after a moment Gus nodded. “Uh-huh. I like to color too. I like blue,” he added, inching his way over until he could settle himself down in Luke’s lap. He thought he’d never get used to it, that feeling of loving another person so much more than himself; the only one he felt anywhere near the same for was Wren.
“I don’t give looks,” he protested with a laugh. “I know how to have fun just as much as the next guy. As long as it’s not dangerous or really, really messy, I’m good with it.”
Evie was certainly not going to switch off the good humor button, that much was obvious. But she would give Gus time to get used to her. And she was convinced, when all was said and done, she’d have a brand new best friend. She was thrilled, she could use some of that in her life. Evie reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of Hershey’s kisses and scratched Finch behind the ear with her other hand. “Go ahead,” she said to Gus and offered one to Luke as well. “Sorry Finch, I’ll bring goodies for you next time.”
Luke was talking about really really messy and Evie’s brain was thinking about crayons and she smiled at Gus. “Well it’s not really messy, but next time I come over I’ll show you how to make all kinds of different blue crayons out of all the broken ones.”
Some good humor certainly couldn’t hurt, especially considering the disaster Gus’ life had been until recently. It would show him that not all people were like the Johnsons, for starters, and despite all the bad things in the world he wanted his son to know that there was good too, if you knew where to look. Chocolate was a sure way to any kid’s heart, and Gus was no different. His eyes lit up, but he waited until Luke took one before following suit, tearing off the wrapping in a way that made sure bits of silver were tossed every which way before gleefully stuffing the chocolate in his mouth. Finch wagged his tail and sniffed at the chocolates, but it was a testament to just how well trained he was that he didn’t even attempt to steal any.
“I think I can handle broken crayons. And that’s educational, right? Making new things from the old. It’s the best of both worlds,” he said, ruffling Gus’ hair. “What do you think, kiddo?” The little boy nodded enthusiastically, chewing on another chocolate. “Uh-huh,” he said, muffled, but agreement all the same.
Evie chuckled, she supposed someone had to call it out for being “educational” but even her nose wrinkled up a bit because way to take the fun out of a mess! “Whatever it is it’s super fun,” she said giving Luke a pointed look. She looked at Gus then and smiled, “Between now and the next time I come back, which will be very soon, you should take all the paper off of your broken crayons and then put all the colors that look the same into cups okay?” even she could be educational sometimes. “All the colors of green with the greens, the yellows with the yellow, the blues with the blue, and when I come back I’ll bring my broken crayons, and we’ll make new crayons! Sound like a plan? For now I say we color with the crayons we have.”
Luke’s emphasis on education was mostly an act, since he let Gus watch cartoons that didn’t teach him much in terms of reality, but occasionally he threw on Sesame Street or something capable of teaching him his letters and numbers, which were basic, but then again he was only four. There would be plenty of time for school later. “Super fun is important too,” he chuckled, and he was pretty sure Gus just wanted to make new colors and didn’t care how educational it was or wasn’t. He listened with rapt attention as Evie described what to do with his crayons, eyes bright, and even though they were still working on colors he nodded happily in agreement. “Okay,” he beamed. “I can do that.” It would be a task, at least, something for him to do in order to keep his mind occupied, and he wasn’t going to begrudge the little boy that.
Coloring was a favorite of any young child, even if Gus had a tendency to enjoy coloring on everything but paper. He looked up at Luke expectantly, as there were no crayons in the immediate vicinity, and Luke got to his feet with an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, okay. I’ll get the crayons. And paper. You know, that thing you color on,” he teased, and the little boy ducked his head sheepishly in response. He was sure Evie would be a full advocate of creativity, which involved coloring on alternate surfaces, but he liked to limit Gus’ canvas to at least the walls in his room, rather than all over the apartment.
Evie was left with Gus, and quite happily went about asking him questions and letting him ask as many as he wanted to as well. Evie related well with kids, because she remembered what it was like to be one. And she remembered what it was like, more than anything, to be a scared one. She didn’t know the whole story, but she recognized something in Gus that she had carried around with her for her whole life. It was easy to relate to that, and it was easy to lose herself in conversation with a kid because of it. Paper on it’s way or not, Evie wanted to be around. She wanted to help in any way she could. She needed something, and this didn’t seem like an altogether unworthy cause for her to focus on.
It only took Luke a couple of seconds to get paper and crayons, but the sound of Gus chattering was so foreign and unfamiliar that he purposely lingered, just listening to the sound of the little boy’s voice. He was so rarely talkative with strangers, and he didn’t want to interrupt, not just yet. He just wanted Gus to be okay, really, and he was trying so hard to make sure that happened, but sometimes it seemed like he was fighting a losing battle. Then there were times like these, when the little boy seemed just like any other ordinary kid, and he thought it might work out in the end. So he waited, and he waited, just listening, before he could bring himself to join the two of them, crayons and a stack of paper in hand.