john proudstar / thunderbird (thunderbrd) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-05-01 07:01:00 |
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Early March
characters. Marcos Diaz & John Proudstar
time. evening | location. Marcos' House
rating. PG | status. Complete
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Marcos had been in Atlantis less than a day, and he was already exhausted. Having to be a new father almost overnight, waking up in an alternate dimension, and living with his ex-girlfriend-turned-who-knows-what... well, he had a lot going on. It was -- unreal -- living with Lorna and Dawn. Unreal and almost, almost perfect. Okay, they had a lot to work on, but they were...maybe...going to do it. He knew better than to expect anything. "Of the things I want to deal with," said Marcos, setting his tequila on the bar, "let's start with how unreal it is that you are here, and I wasn't. How long has it been now?" Marcos knew enough about Atlantis now to know that time didn't work right here. He knew, too, that his daughter had been somehow born in this place, and yet Lorna remembered stuff from well after that moment. It was one of those things that he'd added to the list of possible reasons this place is a hallucination, an ongoing project. “Uh, almost a year now.” That was pretty crazy to think about and John had to pause to down his own shot as he shook his head. The recent dump of memories made the time feel weirder, like it hadn’t really been a whole year since he’d seen Marcos, but in some ways it did feel like it had been that long. It was a lot to wrap his head around, even now. He could only imagine how weird it felt for Marcos. Marcos poured himself another glass of tequila. "Wow, here I thought I was done with surprises for the week." He suspected that this was another of what Lorna called - Perks of Atlantis. He was starting to think that those Perks were actually...the opposite. "So, you, Lorna, Lauren, Clarice, and...the kids?" He looked at John. "I heard yours makes a good babysitter for mine." John couldn’t help chuckling at that. Atlantis definitely had its charms and sometimes those charms were pretty damn weird. He’d still take it over home, hands down, though. It was safer for all of them here. Even with a war going on, it was safer. “Yeah, meeting your grown up kid you didn’t know you were gonna have is a trip, man,” he admitted, shaking his head. Marcos shook his head, unable to stop himself smiling. "I'd say. I'm glad Dawn's about the age I remember...even if I did manage to miss her birth." Marcos loved his daughter more than anything, and he was grateful that - in spite of the downsides - he'd be able to help raise her here. "Which, when you think about it, isn't too much different from home." He paused, swirling his glass of tequila idly. "You ever think about going back?" John shook his head. “Maybe one day, I guess, but the fight here is important, too. And being able to keep the people I love safe, to actually have a family and not be hunted here... it’d be different if they couldn’t send us right back to the time we left from, you know.” John took another drink and shook his head again. “Nah, man, it’s worth all the weird to be here.” "Not much I'd want to go back to if it means going back to where we're from." He took a drink of tequila. "You're right, brother. Life here's got the potential to be far less volatile." That was an understatement, to say the least. Even with the 'weird' that Atlantis was known for, he figured that it had to be better than home. "We might live to see old age." “There’s still a war to fight here,” John admitted, “but Marce is from a timeline where we win that war and where they grow up safe - Marce, Dawn, their friends. I kind of want to see that future.” That was something worth fighting for, if you asked John. A world where their loved ones were safe, where their kids were safe. No more running, no constantly looking over your shoulder or fighting just to have basic rights. “It’s a good place, brother, in spite of all of the weird stuff.” "I know, and I wish it didn't, but somehow their war seems better than ours." He didn't figure that made much sense. Wars were to be avoided, not embraced. But somehow a war to save creativity had more merit, more potential for success, than a war against/for humans. Besides, the war at home had got more complicated since Lorna and Andy had left them. Here, Lorna was at least still on their side. "We're all on the same side here. My daughter's here. We could - and have - seen far worse places to call home." “It’s still a war, but we’ve been pretty lucky,” John agreed. “We’ve had injuries, but no real casualties.” Even if you considered the few times COS had come into Atlantis, it still felt a hell of a lot safer here. Maybe they were grading on a steep curve, but he’d take what he could get. “I hope that means you’re planning to stay, brother.” He hadn’t said it in so many words, but he’d missed Marcos in the months he’d been here. "It does," said Marcos, smiling wryly. "I can't let you have all the fun." Marcos was rewarded with a broad and genuine smile. To said John was happy he planned to stay was an understatement. Gesturing to the barkeeper, he ordered another round. “Welcome to the weirdness, brother,” he offered. Marcos planning to stay was probably the best possible news he could have gotten. |