Who: Erik and Jen When: 4/2 Where: WCA Gym What: Erik and Jen have much the same problem and try the same solution: work out and don't tell anyone about it. Yeah. That works. Rating: PG
It'd been about a week since he'd gotten back from Asgard, and a bit less than that since he'd actually gotten back to the West Coast. Erik tried not to think about the dates too much, tried to turn his focus back to the Avengers and to settling back in. Not that that took too much, he couldn't help but think a bit grumpily as he tromped back in from seeing to the goats; while he was used to living out of a duffel, there was something depressing at being able to fit back into the same old ruts as if he'd never left, and certainly not for over a week.
He might not have changed much in the time apart, but not in a way that made him fit back into his place easier: he was still frustrated at being here, but at least now he had other things to point to rather than the false memories of the warp as to a cause and solution. He missed Asgard and having a ready purpose; missed Carol and the easy relationship (whatever it was) they'd fallen into.
Still, as he was quite sure he wasn't allowed to run off to either of them so soon after his last trip, he tried to ignore it: even if the team didn't have telepaths it was a bad idea to dwell on something he couldn't change, couldn't even really define.
And as he didn't seem to be able to do that, he headed down to the gym and programed the machines for his weight class, then stripped down to a tank and settled into lifting the equivalent of a car or two, trying to train his mind on that rather than on what he'd rather be doing. But it wasn't quite heavy enough to require his full attention, and the shift of muscles had the chain and the dogtags shifting against his skin, and that was a permanent reminder.