InsaneJournal

Who: Reed (Neptune), Dani, and Grey
Where: his lab in the engineering department
What: Grey gets to blow things up, and Dani meets two sides of her new friend
When: Thursday afternoon



Reed still wasn’t feeling great. He’d actually come into work late and taken an extended lunch break, canceling some of his office hours. He could feel that idiot in his scull at all times, and Neptune was getting more insistent about coming out to play. Reed didn’t trust him to behave when necessary. What if he was in the middle of a lecture and Neptune decided to pop in for a chat? He’d be FUCKED! He had to get this under control, and right now, the only way he knew how to do that was to agree that Neptune could have free reign later. Time-sharing his body was a pain, but it was what worked for the moment.

He begged the being to behave once evening rolled around and Dani and Grey were due to arrive. Security had been told to bring them back once they were checked in. Reed was nervous. He only just met Dani. What if she noticed he had totally fallen off his rocker in the past few days?

---

Stepping through the halls of a university center wasn’t a new experience for Dani, but neither was it familiar. She’d only taken sporadic classes and obtained her degree over time, thanks to the circumstances of her youth and early adulthood. Strangely enough, the halls of any academia she’d ever been in, across half the country, still smelled the same. Grey was buzzing, munching on a Wendy’s fry from the sack he carried: his mother had the other, and a drink carrier - the whole package smelling of grease and ketchup. She nodded to the security guard when he gestured to the right door, and rapped lightly on the open door with a hand that shot quickly to her son’s shoulder to keep him from bolting in.

---

Reed had been staring at his pet project for nearly an hour. He couldn’t focus on it with Neptune teasing him. Sometimes Reed wanted to yell at the guy to shut up, but he’d look like a crazy person if he did that.

The knock made him jump slightly. But Reed took a deep breath with his eyes closed and tried to chill out. He was going to have to get used to this eventually. May as well start now.

Walking over to the door, he put on a weak smile to greet Dani and Grey. “Hey, little dude.” It was clear that Reed hadn’t slept much, but he really did like the kid, so he tried to muster as much energy as possible. “Glad you guys could make it,” he said, looking up at Dani.

---

“Are you kidding?” Dani chuckled, beaming a smile and one lifted brow at Reed. “He’d never let me live it down.” She looked down at her son, who looked back up at her, then to their host. The boy grabbed one of the bags dangling from Dani’s hand and hoisted it up for sacrifice to Reed.

“There’s a frosty in there, and fries. And a big burger.”

Dani just pressed her smile a bit and shrugged, angling the drink carrier toward him as well. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I went with Coke.”

---

Reed had to chuckle at Grey’s offering. It was cute. “Thanks,” he said with another laugh, taking the bag and using his free hand to mess up the kid’s hair. “Come on in and look around. Just don’t touch anything unless I say it’s okay.. got it?” He trusted that Dani had already given Grey a lecture about that, and hopefully the fact that Grey knew there were explosives present, he would behave. Still, Reed kept a watchful eye. Most of the stuff was harmless, but there were some engines and other things that moved that could rip off fingers.

“Coke is fine,” he told Dani, leaning back against one of the work tables and setting the bag down. He motioned for her to put the drink holder down as well. “Did you have any trouble finding the lab? My brother says I give bad directions. But I think he just stinks at reading them.” Reed watched his language since there was a child present.

---

Grey had indeed gotten a firm set of boundaries on the drive to Columbia, and he was smart and motivated, which usually meant good behavior. Dani wasn’t worried, so long as he got the proper safety equipment. He’d even brought his own pair of safety glasses from boy scouts.

“Nope, the GPS did pretty well, and campus security filled in the gaps,” she said lightly while shedding her coat. Grey was already wandering the aisles, keeping his hands firmly lodged in his back pockets, except whenever his glasses needed a push up his nose.

---

Security was surprisingly lax given all that Reed had in the lab, but maybe that was because the university didn’t know enough about his project. Or because they didn’t think he could really do it.

He grabbed his frosty, pulling the lid off, and then started dunking fries in it. “This is amazing.” Neptune did not agree. He was revolted by Reed’s lowbrow tastes in food. Reed tried to ignore the attitude. It caused his brow to furrow though. He wasn’t like Lucia. He’d not had years of practice with this shit. “So.. I thought I’d show Grey how some of the engines work.. maybe set some fuel on fire...” he looked over to where they kept the solid stuff, “And then, if you guys want.. you can watch me do another test of the railgun I’ve been working on. Although, there’s a good chance it won’t work. So.. yeah.” He hadn’t found the right materials yet, but he was getting closer.

---

“Don’t worry, I won’t judge your weird foodisms,” Dani teased faintly. She really wouldn’t; not like there weren’t any odd habits of her own, or from the region she grew up. It may not have been very far from where Reed had, but Chicago tended to be it’s own planet in a lot of aspects. “I used to dust donuts with pepper.”

“What’s a ‘railgun’?” Grey asked from the short distance he’d wandered. He was obviously too excited to eat, which was fine with Dani, who settled in easy, smirking a little down at her cup of Wendy’s chili.

---

“Pepper?” he asked. Yeah, that was a new one for Reed. “Everyone I know back home dips fries in their Frosties. Maybe it’s an Indiana thing.” He shrugged. He didn’t know. “I just like the salty and sweet. My mom puts salt on cantaloupe. She says it brings out the flavor.”

With Grey’s attention now focused, Reed smiled and set down the fries. He shoved a straw into the Frosty to slurp at it a bit as he walked over to his pet project. “This is a railgun. Well, it’s gonna be. Usually the things are enormous. I’m trying to make a portable version. Managed to get it down to the size of a refrigerator without falling apart, but attempts to make it smaller aren’t going so well just yet.” He set the Frosty down and grabbed a step stool so Grey could hop up and see better. “It’s called a railgun because it’s got two metal rails. Think of it a bit like a railroad, and the projectile is the train. Only, instead of steam powering the train, it’s moving because of a magnetic field. You ever take two magnets and flip them around to see how they react?” He grabbed some from his pocket that he’d brought specifically to show Grey. “See.. positive and negative are attracted to each other. But if you try to put a positive field against another positive.. they push away from one another.” He handed over the magnets so Grey could see for himself.

---

Grey seemed to be fascinated by every single thing Reed showed him, experimenting in the ways he was instructed, on top of a few attempts at his own out-of-the-box thinking, which at one point included juggling a handful of different sized magnets just to see if he could do it. He was particularly delighted when most of them connected mid-air, and refused to separate.

The pair moved from one station to the next while Dani lingered in the background, occasionally checking a message on her phone between bites of her small dinner (she had to keep it light for the meeting with Emmy and her new beau that evening). She glanced up when another younger looking person strolled into the lab - an assistant of sorts, she was able to glean from the conversation, who took to Grey like just about everyone else did. Boy had the charisma of one of those powerful magnets. Dani watched as the grad-assistant instructed her son on some technical grafting program on a big electric smart-board that reminded her of a gigantic iPad, then smiled at Reed around her straw as he strolled back her way.

---

Reed was having a great time showing Grey around. It actually helped him forget for a little while that he had someone else inside his head. Although, Neptune took interest in a few of the things Reed demonstrated, particularly things that seemed to hold a great deal of power. The railgun was especially interesting to the god, and that worried Reed. It wasn’t the sort of weapon you wanted falling into the wrong hands.

When Stephanie came in to work for a bit, Reed let her show Grey around. He used the break to chat with Dani after she smiled up at him. “He’s great,” he told her, glancing back over at Grey who must have done something to make Steph laugh. The kid was cool. No question about that. “I think you might have a future engineer in the family. He’s really smart.. listens well.”

---

That made Dani beam brightly, her warm hazel eyes swung to her son with an automatic and glowing pride. That was always nice to hear from other people, even though she knew it inherently herself. Grey was intelligent and kind, a definite leader. Much of that, she always attributed to his father, but there were stark differences. If she had known her own father, she might’ve cast the compliment to her own genetics as well, though in a much different light. “Thanks,” she said graciously, setting her drink down. “I encourage him when I can. My friend says I’m raising a Batman villain.” Though, by her tone, it was obviously a compliment.

---

The Batman comment made Reed laugh. “Well, I have a cat named Batman... sooo..” He chuckled some more. “I hope Grey isn’t going to torture him.” Talking about his cat reminded Reed of the picture Dani had posted of her new puppy. “Oh, I meant to say something about the new addition to your family. Congrats. He’s a cute pup.” Reed hadn’t said anything online because he’d been really distracted by all the craziness going on in his head.

---

Dani chuckled around a fry she found in the bottom of the paper bag, nodding succinctly. “Ah. Yes, Whiskey...” She glanced back over at Grey and the woman, an instinctive check-up, as she was wont to do, even though her mind was thoroughly fixed on the puppy back at home - who was probably destroying the hibiscus tree in her living room as they spoke. “Thanks, he takes turns sleeping on Grey’s feet and on my pillow. He looks small, but he’s a bit of a space-hog.” All of it, of course, was said with love. The subject did bring up thoughts of Jordan, too, and what they’d briefly said to each other. Seemed every time it popped in her head, she had a different emotion about it. Conflicted didn’t even begin to cover it. Her life had always been complicated, but it was starting to reach new levels this month, and only promised to continue on the trend.

She sighed a little, then looked back at Reed, her thoughts swinging his direction as well. Whatever she’d thought back at the rec center didn’t seem to fit the situation currently, or maybe she just wasn’t looking. Whatever. She decided it was perfectly alright for her to just enjoy a bit of non-complicated interaction with a man who enjoyed her child’s company - that wasn’t exactly a common thing.

---

“I like the name. It’s probably my favorite hard liquor.” And he’d had a bit of it yesterday. Okay, so maybe a little bit more than a bit. But, come on, he was dealing with a mental crisis! Seemed his life had reached a new level of complicated as well. “Batman is good at pushing me to the edge of the bed as well.. at least when he isn’t trying to sleep on my face. It’s a cat thing.”

Dani was looking at Reed in a strange way, and it caused him to worry. Could she tell? His smile faltered and he looked back toward Grey as a distraction. “I hope he doesn’t go home and start doing what I do.. taking things apart. I’d hate for you to wake up to a bunch of dismantled appliances.”

---

Dani laughed at that, arching her well manicured eyebrows up for a moment as she aimed her attention at her Diet Coke. “Don’t jinx me,” she joked, then paused for a sip. “But if it does happen, expect a call from me.”

Her attention fixed on her son again, a delicate list to the angle of her head fanned her hair across her shoulder. It still maintained it’s style, though the length of the day had started to weigh down the curl, just to the ends. Usually around this time, she’d twist the lot of it up and be done with it, but her mind wasn’t there at the moment.

“Maybe you can put them together better than they were before.”

---

“Oh, I’m sure I could,” he commented. “That’s usually why I take things apart to begin with. Well, that and to see how they work in general. But then I like to tinker.. see what I can change and improve.” He shrugged and then frowned as he felt Neptune pushing for attention. The god wanted to meet this new woman. She was stunning and clearly interested in Reed. Perhaps if she was oblivious to the truth, then she wouldn’t object to him the way Lucia did.

Having little control over this new part of his life, Reed could feel himself being yanked away. Neptune blinked a few times then stood up straighter. Reed tended to slouch a little, and it looked lazy. “You should call me if your son breaks something. I’ll come right over to make everything better.” His tone was different, more confident with that hint of arrogance.

---

It certainly caught Dani’s attention. Though the change was subtle, it was definitely there. She imagined, maybe, it’d been lurking in the wings, waiting for an opportune moment to throw a line out at her when it seemed right. Or maybe he was gambling. Either way, her eyes slid to Reed across the work-table that separated them. A smile had tugged at the corners of her lips, but it too was subtle; and her gaze had a mild searching quality to them.

“Well that’s good to know,” she said in a slower, slightly bemused tone. It wasn’t a bad thing, not at all - she was just adjusting to the possibility that maybe she’d judged him correctly back at the rec center. The confusion made her cautious, but not cold. “He’s a seven year old - practically a force of destruction himself. And now I bet he’ll be trying to build small doomsday devices in our apartment, thanks to you.” That last part was a clear tease.

---

Neptune’s smile was different from Reed’s as well. Sure, they had all the same muscles, but they utilized them differently. There was something hidden in the way Neptune grinned. It was as though he had a secret, and the way he looked at others with that smile made others want to know.

He walked around the work table and claimed the soft drink that had been delivered for Reed. Neptune was very fond of these fizzy beverages. While they didn’t contain alcohol, he found they did give him an energy boost. Plus, they were sinfully sweet. He sipped at it and leaned against the table, though he was very close to Dani, nearly invading her comfort zone. “All children are like that. They’re just waiting for the opportunity to wreak havoc.” At least that had been Neptune’s experience. He had too many children to keep track of. Some of them weren’t even human or god, but animals. “Shame he doesn’t have the firm hand of a father to keep him in line. You shouldn’t have to raise him alone.”

---

The dynamic had started to shift with the emergence of that secretive, slightly wolfish grin - Dani had recognized it immediately. But the momentum took a serious slide when he wound his way into her bubble of personal space. It hadn’t been uncomfortable... until he spoke.

The woman’s brows arched high in immediate reaction. There was a hint of something she couldn’t define on his scent, which she’d earlier noticed as sweet and clean. Was it salt? Probably something in the lab; not all together unpleasant, but powerful all the same. Like his sudden swing in demeanor, Dani wasn’t sure if she was attracted to it or should back away.

“So I suppose you’re offering?” she goaded back, careful to keep her tone light, though it contained a hint of her own warning as well. “I think my hand can be firm enough, after all.”

---

Neptune chuckled. Did women these days prefer their men to be weak, babbling idiots? He was starting to think so, because Lucia preferred Reed, and now it seemed this woman did as well. “I’m not offering anything. Children are.. a lot of work.” Which was why he never actually raised any of his own.

“You’re very attractive,” he commented without prompting. “Grey’s father is a fool. I can’t understand what he must have been thinking to let you go.”

---

Dani was starting to wonder if something was in the water, with the way the men in her life had been acting lately. Or maybe she was loosing her edge; she was normally much more cautious, able to pick things out very quickly. Here, Tony had been telling her the same thing for months, while flip-flopping in a continuous mood swing. And Jordan...

Dani still had no idea what to think about Jordan. But that would have to wait, considering the immediate circumstances. Her chin tipped up, an old gesture of personal defiance and pride; it disturbed her sometimes, how close those two emotions were linked in her chemistry. It made her attracted to men she probably should leave alone - her track record, of course, spelled out the opposite. Most women grew out of that phase in their early twenties - Dani figured it had to be in her genes.

“You assume a lot about me,” she said back, her voice falling into a lower timbre, but not entirely accusing. It was more an edged challenge.. “Bold move.” Or a power-play; she was also no stranger to those.

---

Reed was livid by this point. He had BEGGED Neptune to stay away during this meeting with Dani and Grey. They didn’t know about Reed’s ‘condition.’ Not like it made Reed happy to have Neptune take over when Lucia was around, but at least she understood that Reed wasn’t the douchebag. Did Neptune have any idea how fucking stupid he sounded?

The mortal tried to regain control of the vessel, but Neptune was stronger and kept him at bay. “Do I? You’re beautiful, clearly intelligent, a good mother from what I can tell.. all wonderful qualities in a woman. I don’t think I’m assuming too much when I say Grey’s father is a fool.”

---

Upon the further mention of her son’s name, Dani couldn’t resist the urge to break eye-contact with Reed long enough to check on Grey’s position; whether it was because she felt intimidated or nervous, she couldn’t tell. There was a distinct ribbon of something powerful in his tone - something she recognized aside from simple over-confidence. It’d been a trait of Opal’s father, as well. It was part of the reason why she fell for Tony in the first place. She now knew it as dangerous territory.

Dani saw Grey was still immersed in whatever project he was doing and flicked her gaze back to Reed. He was close enough that the hint of body heat circulated in the air between them, enough to force herself to lean back a touch. The pit of her brain, where instincts and desires were brewed, reminded her that it’d been a very long dry spell, but the logical part was stronger. It had to be, after doing what she’d done. A confident smirk etched across her lips, aimed up at him.

“You got a specific game-plan, by continuously insulting a man you don’t know? Or are you just so enamoured by my ‘wonderful qualities’ that it doesn’t matter?” A tiny bit of the Midwestern accent pushed through Dani’s words; something she liked to keep at bay here in New York.

---

Funny that Dani’s accent would come into play, because Neptune chuckled and then mumbled something in his native Latin under his breath. He had no idea if Dani understood, but it was something along the lines of ’so much more fun when they play hard to get’.

Reed was kicking and screaming by this point, and Neptune didn’t want to deal with the pounding anymore. He finally released his hold and as Reed resumed control over his body, he looked like he might faint or scream. Maybe both. “I’m really sorry,” he said sincerely and stumbled a little as he walked out of the lab to the water fountain in the hallway. He splashed some on his face, even though it would be something Neptune enjoyed, he needed it for himself. He couldn’t keep this up. He couldn’t maintain relationships if they were constantly being sabotaged by an ego-maniac in his head. He didn’t even know if he could keep his job at this rate. He’d missed a lot of work this week, and he caught Neptune leering at the co-eds from time to time. How long until the god took over and did something to get Reed fired?

---

Something had distinctly changed - again - and Dani was right back to being confused, but this time, as she watched him escape into the hallway with what seemed like sudden and extreme regret, it was laced thickly with caution.

What the hell is going on... she mused to herself, watching the empty space at the door where Reed had just disappeared, then looked back at Grey and his grad assistant. They should go, but she didn’t want to make Grey upset by upending his fun prematurely. Dani tried to blink the whole thing off with a short shake of her head, and took down the rest of her diet coke. Her eyes went back to the hallway.

Maybe it had all been a gamble of Reed’s. She didn’t know many engineers, but a common string between those she did know included some unorthodox people-skills. But what had that muttering been about before the apology? It’d been Latin, she was positive (one didn’t grow up Roman Catholic without recognizing it), though she had no idea what he’d said.

Ultimately, the whole thing had been confusing enough to spur Dani to her feet, then she joined Reed outside the lab. She kept her distance, though, eyeing him as she’d often eye’d Tony when his moods were in flux.

“You,uh... you okay, there?”

---

How the hell could Reed explain his behavior? He couldn’t tell Dani the truth. She’d never believe him. He still wasn’t sure he believed it. But there was nothing he could say that would make his douchebaggery make any sense whatsoever. Why couldn’t Neptune at least TRY to act the way Reed did? Fuck, he could at least speak English all the time! Latin. Seriously? It was a dead language. People in modern times didn’t even know how to pronounce shit.

He drank some of the water before splashing a bit more on his face. That was when Dani came into the hallway to check on him. She had no reason to be so nice to him. Not after how Neptune had behaved. “Like I said yesterday.. when we were texting.. just feeling weird and off. I don’t..” he shook his head and sighed, rubbing his face and then scratching his nails back over his scalp, “I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry. Really. That’s not.. like me.”

---

Dani wished she could say she wasn’t accustomed to it, but the truth of the matter was it tended to be a big factor in a lot of the relationships in her life, both romantic and platonic. She chewed on her lip for a moment of contemplation; it was difficult to get past everything he’d said. But she was also intuitive enough to hear the truth in his voice. Also, the text conversation yesterday was evidence to back that claim up.

She was still cautious, but willing to take a neutral step back from the situation instead of holding grudges. God knew that hadn’t worked out well in the past.

“Well, we started off on a good foot,” she confirmed, sending him a small smile. “How’bout Grey and I head home, and you try to get to feelin’ better.” More lax in her dialect proved how ready Dani was to hit a reset button to this interaction and make it less-weird. After all, Grey really liked Reed. She wanted to be able to trust him. “Everybody needs a break now and then.”

---

Fuck, if only a reset button was enough! Could Reed install one of those in his brain to purge Neptune from it? Seriously, a lobotomy wasn’t totally off the table of consideration at this point. It might leave Reed stupid, but it might also be worth it.

“I feel bad. Honestly,” he said, catching her eyes. “I don’t mean anything I said. I don’t know anything about Grey’s dad. I barely know you. I have no right to judge.” He probably sounded schizophrenic right now. “Something’s been..” he struggled to explain to a degree without really giving away the truth. “Do you ever feel like.. like you’re someone else? Maybe you have a drink or are put in a new environment, and suddenly everything about you changes?”

---

The faint splash of freckles across Dani’s nose wrinkled, and she looked away from him for a moment, loosely folding her arms across her middle. Her lips rolled under, pressed into a thin line of obvious internal debate. No, she was no stranger to what he described. Moving to New York had been so much more than just a jump half-way across the country.

“It’s hard; a big change in environment like that,” she nodded, still keeping herself detached. She wanted to feel bad for him, but a small part of her brain kept her distance in check, mostly by reminding her of past experiences, both old and very recent. At least he rescinded his comments, which had been over the line for an acquaintanceship so new. It could’ve been part of the act, but it sounded genuine. He also looked genuinely frazzled, which was bittersweet in it’s own right. God, he reminded her so much of Tony right now.

“Listen, Reed...” she said, finally taking a few steps toward him, a slightly softer look on her face. “Grey likes you, and I think he could really use something like this. So I’m fine with taking a step back and starting over, okay?” Just don’t make me regret it.

---

Reed sighed and nodded his head. He was appreciative of her being so understanding even though she couldn’t possibly understand the truth. It was a good thing she’d met the real him the first time. She probably would have thought this was his alter-ego, and that Neptune was who he really was. The god was rolling his eyes at all this. He told Reed to just invite the woman back to the apartment already. Reed rubbed his face again to try and hide the look of an inner conversation. He’d need to get better at masking that.

“I like Grey too.. and you’re great. I haven’t met a lot of people here outside of work. I work so much.” That would probably change a bit now. “Maybe too much. Maybe I should step back for awhile until I start to feel like myself again.” Would that satisfy Neptune? Would he let Reed live his life if Reed let Neptune have some freedom on the off days?

---

Dani pushed a little bit more of a smile, nodding in agreement. “Like I said, we all need a break sometimes. Working too much’ll make you forget what it’s like outside the office.” Or the lab, or whatever. Her thoughts were momentarily interrupted by her son’s voice, calling out ‘Mom?’ from the doorway. She turned over her shoulder, then fully around with an easier smile.

“Five more minutes with your favorite thing, then get your coat on, Bub.”

Grey looked disappointed, but the bribe for a little more time - Dani had learned - always softened the blow. The boy looked at Reed with a mixture of pensive curiosity, then ducked back into the lab. Dani faced Reed again with a quiet sigh.

---

“I’m really glad you guys came,” he said after Dani’s attention returned to him. Reed wanted to make friends, and he felt like he’d been on his way in that regard until shit fell apart with Neptune’s arrival. Well, not arrival. Apparently the bastard had been there all along. Why couldn’t he have just stayed asleep?

Reed walked back in to check on Grey and Stephanie, smiling at his grad assistant. “Hope you taught him something worthwhile. I’ll be grading you on it.” She looked at him as though he was serious but then smiled when she realized he wasn’t.

“So, Grey.. good times? Sorry there weren’t more explosions. If/when I get the railgun working properly, you’ll have to check it out.” That was a fair promise to make. There was no timetable on it, and so Dani wouldn’t feel obligated to bring Grey back if she was scared off by Neptune’s behavior.