InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "That's not love. That's hate."

Linnaea ~ Sigyn (delicatefire) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-09-16 15:30:00

Entry tags:

odin, sigyn

Well, it breaks my heart...
Who: Naea and Pierce(So far-- feel free to butt in if ye like!)
What: A phone call and news she never truly wanted to hear.
Where: #603
When: The evening of September 14th.
Warnings: Sadness. Frustration. Drinking.

It had been a long, hellatious night at the diner. College students--frat boys, specifically--could be and usually were beyond obnoxious. They were heading from one kegger to another across town and just had to stop to eat. And be obnoxious. And be boys. Linnaea had ended up with three phone numbers, a smack on the ass, a girlfriend threatening to kick her ass and $4.23 in tips. Considering they ordered $50.00 worth of food for seven people, she severely doubted their ability to function in modern society.

The apartment was eerily silent and quite dark as she slipped inside, kicking her shoes off at the door. David had been out of town and finishing some business, though tonight she didn't much mind. Naea was glad to have the peace so that maybe she'd be able to get her algebra homework finished before school tomorrow.

The shower felt amazing--fantastic to get the grease and food smell out of her dark locks and off of her skin. She'd cursed the fryers for the sudden onset of acne across her forehead in the last month, and made a point to take a shower every night instead of before work. A bite of leftover pasta salad to eat, a change out of her work clothes and into comfy flannel pajamas... onto the couch she plopped with pencil, paper and book in hand.

Linnaea was on her last three problems when her cell phone rang, suddenly. She frowned deeply, wondering who would even bother calling this late on a Tuesday night. "Ugh," she mumbled to herself. "This better be good..." She reached over to the coffee table, losing her pencil to the perilous floor in the process and picked up her phone. Glancing at the caller ID, her expression sours and she wants nothing more than to snap her phone in half, gut the damn thing and set it all on fire. "For fuck's sake."

She flipped it open, just the same, and knew that she just should have let it go to voicemail. "What, Dad?" Her voice was tired, annoyed and he was definitely the last person she wanted to talk to. Her aunt Mary had talked her into at least letting her father have her cell number, "Just in case, you know!" Naea remembered thinking, 'In case of... him getting hit with an atom bomb?'. Now it was just him calling either wondering how she was, drunk dialing and telling her how sorry he was, or asking her to float him some cash (this happened once every few months. The answer was always "Fuck that.").

Naea was really good at handling really bad shit. Even if it meant she had to be bitchy sometimes (her father was the only one she could stay this angry with). What she didn't expect was the voice on the other end to not be her father, but her aunt Mary--his sister. She sounded beyond upset.

"Linnaea?"

"Mary? What's wrong?" She didn't enjoy the sudden stinging chill that raked across her skin.

"Honey. Come on home for a bit. Your father had a heart attack." A pause. "He-- didn't make it."

No matter how much she hated her father for what he had done, Naea had never wished for him to die.

She didn't say anything for a long moment. "I'll call you back, Mary." Linnaea flipped her phone closed and suddenly felt like the most alone person in the world and tried to find the spot inside of her to even wonder how to mourn. She was an orphan, now and maybe she had been since that fateful night five years before. He had driven her out. His many steps too far went over the edge.

The choked sob came so quickly, it didn't click right away that it was her own. Naea held her head in her hands for a while, wondering just why all of her frustration and anger and sadness welled up just now. What was she crying for? The loss of her father? Her childhood? Being angry at Mama for dying, too?

Her first instinct was to call her significant other. When had she begun to rely on him so heavily for an emotional pillar? Likely when it became more certain that they were going to stay together for more than six months. It wasn't often that she laid her burdens on him, but tonight... she needed him. Naea continued to cry and flip through her phone contacts before giving up for a while and allowing her brain to wrap around everything. Did she want to go home? To deal with his side of the family (other than Mary) who hated her so?

It was late. There was no sense in bothering others with phone calls and her tears.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe. She had dealt with worse.

On her own.

It was going to be a long night. Suddenly, that want of a peaceful apartment started feeling more like a box with nothing but one's thoughts and no respite from them.

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the_allfather
2010-09-20 01:57 am UTC (link)

Down went more brandy, but it could be argued that Pierce held his liquor better than Naea - who probably weighed about 102 pounds dripping wet. "Elaine," he said, answering the first question. "She was married to me for twenty-eight years so naturally she's a patient sort of person. Definitely a lot more awesome than yours truly." But he was a little biased, let it be known. "I'm stubborn and not very even-tempered but she kept both in check rather well. You know that saying about finding your other half and whatnot? I don't think it was just that," he said, studying the brandy. "It was more like two wholes coinciding perfectly."

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delicatefire
2010-09-20 02:22 am UTC (link)

"Sounds goddamned magical, if you ask me," she replied, smiling sweetly the entire time. Oh, Linnaea. Funny how those words come out of you when your guard is down. But then, that smile turned the other direction, in almost a pouty-lip sort of way. "What happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But 'was' implies that it ended, and that look on your face" she pointed at him with her index finger attached to the hand holding her glass "tells me that it wasn't too good to be true, and you didn't want it to end."

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the_allfather
2010-09-20 02:31 am UTC (link)

"Goddamned magical, eh?" Pierce laughed at the choice in description. "Of course. Pretty fucking magical, with rainbows and unicorns and dolphins forming a heart in the air when they jump. Oh, and doves," he added for good, sarcastic measure, smiling a bit deviously.

Of course he didn't want it to end. But it was his own fault, really. Something that bothered him every day, while he was burning the midnight oil for the millionth time. "I'm a workaholic. It got to be too much for her," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I'm not stupid," he chuckled wryly. "I didn't want it to end, no."

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delicatefire
2010-09-20 02:52 am UTC (link)

Her brandy was a little more than 3/4 of the way gone. It was seeping into her brain activity and vocabulary. "Well, fuck." The wheels in Naea's brain were turning. Pierce was unhappy. Elaine made him happy. Ergo, they should totally get back together! "Workaholism is no way to go through life. You gotta grab the bull by the nuts sometimes, Pierce. Vacation, even if it's just the hotel in town."

She leaned forward and rested a hand on his arm, her expression as sincere as ever. "Do you still talk 'cause of Billy? Why don't you take her out sometime? You love her. The unicorns would shit glitter for your love!" What does that even mean?? "Go slow and see what happens? Would you be willing to slow it down just a smidge for her?" Naea held up her thumb and forefinger just centimeters apart to show what, exactly, a smidge was.

Somewhere in Linnaea's tipsy mind, something smacked her in the back of her head. Her mood immediately took a step back and she bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Pierce! I shouldn't have brought that up. It's hard enough on you as it is, and here I go trying to fix things I really don't know anything about."

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the_allfather
2010-09-20 03:04 am UTC (link)

Well then! The bull by the nuts. This was serious business. Pierce pursed his lips, trying to fight a laugh so as not to break the moment of wisdom brought to him by tipsy Naea. She was rather amusing when sloshed, he had to admit. But she was probably right, though he wouldn't have used that particular expression per se.

"Of course we still talk because of Billy," he said. "Take her out...where?" The thought honestly boggled him. He had to pull his head from his ass first, or from the deep piles of paperwork on his desk, the piles that never seemed to end. "Well, yes, of course I'd slow it down a smidge. I probably should anyway," he added hastily. "It's alright, Naea, I'll take your advice - especially your drunken advice, though I don't know about the unicorns shitting glitter," he laughed. "I probably shouldn't bring that up next time I call her."

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delicatefire
2010-09-20 03:56 am UTC (link)

Naea tilted her head slightly at the question of 'Where?'. "Take her out to dinner. Like that place we went to for lunch. It's cozy. It's intimate enough to tune the rest of the place out. It doesn't have to be five star, y'know?" The tipsy girl was simply going off of what she liked herself; things she thought could be simple but really romantic. Not that she and Pierce were romantic with each other, but the potential in the Italian place was there.

A half-fought giggle escaped her as Pierce agreed to her drunken advice and unicorns. "Nah, but it might make her laugh, anyway. In all seriousness, Pierce-- you really deserve to be happy. I've never seen anyone's eyes light up like yours do when you talk about Elaine. And this is really the only time you've spoken about her to me." Naea's hand ended up on Pierce's shoulder with a firm grip as she looked him in the eye. "Bull by the nuts. Not too long or it might get mad. Or horny. I'm not sure which."

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the_allfather
2010-09-20 04:20 am UTC (link)

"I'll remove my head from my ass first, love," Pierce said, patting Naea's hand. "I've been dating my work since we split up so I'll have to get back in the game." At least that would mean Alex wouldn't bookmark dating sites for affluent singles anymore. She meant well, but honestly?

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're an adorable drunk, Naea. Go to sleep," he commanded with fake seriousness, taking the bottle of brandy away from her and putting it out of reach. "Because I'm not sure how we got on the subject of horny bulls."

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delicatefire
2010-09-20 04:29 am UTC (link)

"It's a good way to start. Actually..." Naea finished what was left of her brandy. She felt nice in that heavily floaty way. "Call her once or twice before you ask. Gives ample time for ass-head removal."

She pouted, mostly playfully, as the bottle was put at beyond the arms' length. "'m not drunk. Tipsy. And horny bulls make for a great conversation piece. They can run with the best glitter-shitting unicorns!" This, as bad as it sounded, put the girl into a gigglefit, which was a far reach from where she was when Pierce had first called her. "I'm sorry! How obviously not able to hold my liquor am I?"

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