Sylvia English đśâ°ď¸âď¸ Sydney Clarke (colddeadhands) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-01-13 15:41:00 |
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January 3 (very very late)
SYDNEY CLARKE ⌠VICTOR VALE
A LONG OVERDUE TALK ABOUT VICTORâS EMOTIONAL CONSTIPATION PG-13 (swearing + angry teen) COMPLETE |
It was late, and the streets outside the window of the apartment were quiet. Few were still out this time of night: perhaps third shift workers, or party-goers refusing to call it quits. Staying out all hours of the evening had never been a rebellion for Victor; his parents had never bothered with curfew and so he had never bothered defying it. He doubted they would have noticed his absence at any rate, so wrapped up in their books and promotional marketing. But he had noticed Sydneyâs absence. She was staying out more and more, and not just during the night. He supposed it was only natural now that she and that dimestore cowboy were seeing one another, but he didnât think that was entirely the issue. Neither did Mitch, who had a better bead on Sydneyâs emotions. And her own words she had written a few days before had been bothering him like a gnat just outside his ear: You donât give a shit about us. It wasnât true, and the fact that it wasnât true was something that had bothered him for a few years now. He didnât, as a rule, form attachments easily, and his alliance with Mitch and Sydney had been one of convenience initially. But it had turned dangerous and needle-sharp along the way, enough to where he had contemplated leaving them far earlier than he had. It figured that by the time he was finally strong enough to abandon them that a magical portal would immediately force a reunion. And so he waited, sitting on the soft chair beside their couch, glass of whiskey in hand, for the key to turn in their door. The key turning didnât happen much later than that, Syd slipping in through the front door and locking it behind her. Kicking off her boots at the rug and shrugging off her coat made enough noise to alert Dol, who rose from his position near Victor and greeted her with a wagging tail. She gave him a few soft words before heading the direction of her room, only to stop when she saw Victorâs silhouette sitting in the chair. âHoly shit-â Okay, so sheâd definitely been avoiding him, training a lot later than usual, coming home when she knew heâd already be in bed. So having him sitting there in a creepy silent room damn near made her skin jump off of her body. âWhat the fuck, Victor? Why do you look like Lex Luthor right now?â âI thought we could talk.â Her crack about Lex Luthor went unaddressed, even if he suddenly wondered about the state of his hairline. With a nod of his head, he indicated the couch and set his glass down on a coaster (when had they gotten coasters? Must have been Mitch). An indirect person might have commented on how late she had been out as some sort of segue, but Victor wasnât a fan of conversation, much less uncomfortable and drawn-out ones, and wanted this over with as quickly as possible. âYouâre angry with me. I know why, partially. Iâd like to have you explain it more.â âUghhhhh,â Sydney pulled a hand over her face, drawing it down slowly as she stopped in place. After having a fairly good night, she really didnât want to fall down the rabbit hole of having to talk to Victor. Him expressing feelings was always awkward, and not something he liked to do, and Sydney didnât want to hear more brush offs. So she threw out one of her own, like a hypocrite. âLook,â She let her hand fall away from her face. âWe donât have to talk about anything, really. I know how much you hate it. So letâs just find someone to fix you, and then Iâll be out of your hair, okay?â It wasnât that Victor was bad at reading people, or that he was naturally awkward with social interaction. He was insightful and watchful - he knew how to speak to another like a human being; he just didnât often see the purpose of it. So her phrasing - âIâll be out of your hairâ - didnât go unnoticed. They had a history between the two of them, didnât they? People leaving. People betraying. People dying on them. Victor had gotten cold with it, had taken it as a sign to stop putting in as much effort with the world, but Sydney was young, and raw. Still unformed in a lot of the most important ways. He hesitated, trying to think of the kindest way to argue her point, and then decided that arguing was secondary to the truth: âI didnât want to leave, Syd. Iâm not-- annoyed at being here with you and Mitch, and I wasnât at home, either.â Sydâs eyes narrowed, and she looked him down (well, up, considering she was a head shorter than Victor), suspicious nature taking hold. She hadnât always been the suspicious type. Sheâd trusted Victor originally without a second thought, the tall man having helped her when no one else had. Sheâd stuck by him, clinging to some semblance of family when her real one crumbled apart. Somewhere along the way, sheâd grown up. June got in her head and Sydney knew it, but she had already been growing bitter and jaded as she grew into her teenage years. But deep down, she wanted what he said to be true, so instead of her arms crossing over her chest, she let her shoulders slump. âYou have a really shit way of showing it.â Chin up, jaw firm, Syd didnât back down. âWhy do you think leaving is actually protecting me? EON would be happy to track me down just as much as you. You being gone doesnât protect me, it just makes it so I canât help you.â âEON needs an enemy. A focused area of activity,â Victor answered, voice even. âThat was Marcella. Without her in the mix, theyâre going to regroup. Because after all, the idea that theyâre defending innocent civilians from dastardly EOs is only the candy-coated shell. It took them⌠what? Less than five years to have Eli go from guinea pig in a science experiment to someone whose power they wanted to use for their own gain. How long do you think it will take them to try to crack you open and start using you to open up gravestones and render themselves effectively immortal? You are, after all, the most powerful of EOs. You would have been their next target.â Victor would never forget what heâd seen when he was under EO custody, and one brief conversation with the scientist that had gone after Eli had only convinced him of the organizationâs scattered evil. Only a few were real believers they were doing something right - the rest were out to get a leg up over the future through whatever means available to them. âSo I made myself more of a target. Made the best martyr out of that ex-cop that I could, and left. They wonât be looking for you and Mitch while Iâm a thorn in their side. You can use the time to disappear. Blend. Hone your abilities so that when they come after you - and they will - youâre ready for them. Iâm-- â he almost didnât say it, but went ahead, his voice still matter-of-fact: âIâm on borrowed time anyway, barring any real development with the serum. Youâre right, Iâm not a nice person and Iâm probably a shit friend. But in addition to being a shit friend, Iâm your guardian. I want you to have a fighting chance in the event that Iâm not there to help you.â Sydneyâs brow was almost permanently furrowed now. She was leaning against the side of the couch, giving him a stare down that was hopefully menacing but probably more on the confused side. But she stayed quiet during his entire explanation, more words than sheâd gotten out of Victor in a long time and she wasnât about to interrupt and ruin it. âThey would crack me open and use me for their own gain at any second, I knowthat.â She did. She had, for a while now. She also knew they thought she was dead, until recently, but even then, only a few people whoâd seen her had even made it out alive. âI still think itâs bullshit, and I think youâre bullshit - I think you donât want us to see you go on whatever path youâre going on, this crusade and chance to fix your EO-â Which she knew theyâd do, eventually, they had to. âSo you go off and do things alone like youâd always wanted it.â She stood back up, full height - which was still pretty short - and finally crossed her arms over her chest. âWeâre supposed to be a team. Doing what you think is best for me is still pretty selfish, without giving me a choice.â Victor didnât mean to snort with amusement, but it happened anyway: âIf you were expecting a team environment, then no wonder youâre disappointed.â Heâd never been a âteamâ person. He routinely ran over Mitch - to the point Mitch allowed it - and even his work with Eli had been fraught with as much competition as much as camaraderie. Still, even with his dismal view of teamwork, Atlantis wasnât home. There were more opportunities here, and more people who were as unusual as them. The threat, while not nonexistent, was much smaller. âI canât do anything about what happened at home,â he said, which wasnât an apology but neither was it arguing with her further about his motives, âbut Iâll give you that this place offers us a lot more room toâ- be on a level playing field. Iâve stayed out of your personal life because Iâm glad to see you making friends and having hobbies, and god knows after us all living in hotel suites and safe houses that you deserve the privacy. Iâm sorry if that came across as apathy. I do trust you to know whatâs best for yourself.â âAll youâre good at is apathy.â Petutant teenage grumbles, Syd ducked her head down to stare at the floor for a moment. Victor was usually apathetic, true, but she had always known he cared. It was easier to pretend he didnât back home, instead of here, where they had a lot less to worry about and Sydney was starting to set down roots. God only knew roots wasnât something sheâd had since she was in elementary school, which was ridiculous. Her roots had grown into Mitch and Victor, and it hurt all the more when he cut them and broke away. âYou and Mitch are all I had-â Had, knowing that was no longer the case, and wanting to remind him of that just a little. âThen it was just Mitch.â Victor didnât want to rehash home, but Sydneyâs shoulders were still slumped slightly. âJust- maybe actually try something that isnât apathy here? Act like youâre making an effort? Like you want to be around us? Iâm tired of only being someoneâs burden.â She was back to looking firm again, staring him down. âI deserve more than just being someoneâs burden.â He met her stare head-on, wheels turning in his head. Victor wasnât certain what âmaking an effortâ entailed in this world. Probably being more open with his attempts to cure himself. Being less of a pain, sure. It would be easier to make promises here, he decided, than home, even if promises were things he only halfway intended to keep on a good day. âIâll try to do better,â he finally said, âand youâll have my full honesty, if you tell me when Iâm crossing a line.â A pale eyebrow raised. âIs that enough for a start?â It would have to be, wouldnât it? Syd knew sheâd regret it if she pushed too much, or asked for more than Victor was capable of giving to both her and Mitch. But it was more than heâd ever given in the past several years, and that part actually softened the featureâs on Sydâs face considerably. âYeah, okay. Deal.â In Syd fashion that was typical more of her younger years, she plowed forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, squeezing in for a hug before he could say no. Her face pressed against his chest. âThanks for listening to me.â The noise he made upon being suddenly hugged was somewhere between an âoophâ and a grunt; Victor could count the number of times heâd been hugged in his life and probably three-fourths of them were Sydney. They used to bother him more than they did now, as heâd gotten used to them over the years. He didnât hug back so much as offer her a pat, pat before his hand gave her shoulder a squeeze. âThank you for talking to me. I hope Dol and I were sufficiently terrifying waiting up for you.â Syd hid a smile against his chest before pulling away to pet Dol on the top of his head. âYou, maybe, but Dol is a total wuss.â As if on cue, the big black dog leaned hard against her, and she chuckled. âOkay, weâre going to bed before shit gets real.â Dol was letting her lead the way and paused when Syd flashed two fingers over her shoulder at Victor. âPeace, dude.â |