Roy Harper is No One's Sidekick (imnosidekick) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-04-17 15:27:00 |
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Current mood: | okay |
Entry tags: | !complete, ben linus, roy harper (red arrow) ii |
“Now do you think these seats should be switched?”
Who: Ben Linus and Roy Harper
Where: Ben’s office.
What: Consult about the dreams
When: I believe this is today? Ish?
It was technically Ben Linus’s lunch hour. It was the only way he could fit Roy into his schedule. Since the book tour, his office hours had been cut by more than half, and he felt it was unfair to push back his actual patients when time was so limited. So this was him multitasking, which he did well enough. (His wife was better at it.) His tuna sandwich was already half gone, and he hoped to be finished before the young man arrived. He was downing his coffee in record time, too.
He did not enjoy feeling so frantic.
Roy was coming in from a fairly crazy day of trying to teach archery techniques without actually shooting a bow. The stitches from his latest little vigilante justice exercise didn’t come out until tomorrow, but today, the mood of the kids had been crazy enough that he had almost caved and shut off the training video. Almost.
He looked a little frantic himself as he came in, especially since he hadn’t been to a therapist of any kind in years, and the last time had been when his parents died, which brought back memories he didn’t really want to deal with. Still, he reminded himself that this was just about the dreams, which he did want an answer to, and that helped him actually go up, and in give his name to the secretary. So that was a plus, anyway, right?
There was a buzz on the phone line. Ben was expecting Roy, but he went through the usual protocol all the same. “Send him right in,” was the last line, and he sounded quite cool and collected, even as he wrapped up what remained of his sandwich and tossed it haphazardly into a drawer. Honestly, he was a little nervous about what they would discuss. This matter of strange dreams concerned him as well, not to mention his friend Ned and now even his wife.
Benn stood when Roy entered and held out his hand. The young man looked even younger than he’d expected. “Roy? I’m Dr. Linus.” And he gestured to a pair of comfortable looking chairs in front of the desk.
Roy tended to have that effect on people, and he wasn’t sure why exactly. Maybe the hair? It sort of exuded Little Orphan Annie, didn’t it? If he cared more about his image, he might have been concerned about it, but, eh. He’d live with it anyway.
“Dr Linus.” He shook the doctor’s hand briefly, then, looking a little ill at ease, but still trying hard to be polished, sat in one of the indicated chairs, then leaned forward a little, his gaze turning serious and businesslike all at once. Better to appear that way than otherwise, he’d learned a while ago. It was one way to get taken seriously when you needed it. “So. Thank you for squeezing this in. It’s nice to know I’m not insane.” ...Shit. Was that the kind of statement that lead to trouble when it came to shrinks? He wasn’t entirely sure anymore.
Ben was a quick judge of character. He needed to be, in his line of work. Already, the young man’s demeanor had impressed him. Though it was clear he anxious, even scared, it was equally clear that he was also very strong. Ben liked to point this out to those who seemed to need to hear it. “Very few people are actually insane. But it takes a lot of bravery to admit when we need some help... But that’s not what this is about today, is it? Today, you’re helping me.”
Ben continued. “A lot of people in the area have been complaining about troubling dreams, lately,” he said. “Why don’t you go into more detail about yours? It involves Batman, am I right?”
“This is where it gets into potential delusional childhood fantasy territory.” Roy agreed, shaking his head a little. “So, in this dream I find myself, I think it’s somewhere like DC. Lot’s of monuments and stone buildings, and we’re all standing on the steps of another building.”
Roy paused here, trying to consider all of the details and what would be relevant to remember. “So Batman’s there, like I said, and other people in what look like Superhero costumes, and they’re all vaguely familiar. Like I might have seen them in a crowd or at least be able to identify them in a magazine or something. And then there’s a speech welcoming me and two others...heroes...into a league of some kind. And through it all, Batman is standing there, looking vaguely approving. If Batman did approving, which I don’t really think he does.”
It occurred to Roy at about that moment that Batman probably would be a shrink’s wet dream or something. Or a worst nightmare, depending on how you looked at it. “What’s weird is I was never really into the whole superhero thing when it might have turned up.” he added, shaking his head a little. “So kind of out of nowhere, I guess.”
Ben listened with an unfaltering glint in his eye. “That would have been my first question,” he admitted. “Whether or not you were a fan of the comics.” He tilted his head. “Actually... what does Batman look like? Are we talking Christian Bale’s face, or Adam West?”
“Neither, actually.” Roy admitted, frowning a little. “Jawline is different, and so is the voice. Possibly older too. It’s hard to tell, what with the cowl and all. I haven’t gotten any better details every time the dream happens. It’s been about six times now. “ And he didn’t get it. Really didn’t get it. “So, I don’t even know what I’m really looking at. Apparently it’s an initiation, but...”
“But while you’re in the midst of the dream, you feel that you understand why it’s all taking place?” Ben asked. It would be in line with the experiences the others were having. “As in, there’s some sort of backstory, or it somehow makes sense?”
“Exactly.” Roy agreed. “I’m there because I’m being inducted into this league I’ve been wanting to be asked to join forever. Because I feel like I’ve finally earned the recognition and respect.” Pause. “Okay, so I have issues with that in real life, you’ve seen my posts online. But it isn’t to the extent of this. I mean, I’m not expecting to get handed an official membership card to anything and have it mean much. But there’s the backstory. I’ve been working toward it a really long time, struggled for it even, and now here it is. Kind of confusing, really.” Then he sighed.
Ben looked aside slightly, narrowing his eyes while he thought. A few moments passed. “Don’t take my silence to mean there’s anything you should be worried about,” he said at length. “I think your dream itself is harmless. It actually sounds pleasant.” His mind briefly drifted to Ned’s concerns about being repeatedly beheaded, and his own dream about being criminally dishonest. And then there was what Juliet had experienced. He wasn’t even ready to begin to deal with that one.
“Have you spoken to anyone else having these experiences?” he asked.
“Not yet. Well, not in person.” Roy shrugged. “A little on the net, but I’m not sure that counts. It isn’t really that bad as far as dreams go, no. Stirred up some real life things I need to deal with at first, but once I accepted that and filed them away for later, it’s decent enough.” At least he wasn’t waking up screaming. That was a plus. “It IS kind of weird though, all of us like this at once.”
“It is...” Ben sighed. “Let me share mine with you--in person,” he added with a small smile, one that quickly faded. “I’m on an island, and it’s very dark, but I know where I’m going; and I get myself caught, on purpose, in a net. The net was set up by ex-wife, who turns me over to a group of people who beat me up very badly, and demand information from me. I lie to them about who I am and what I’m doing on this island. And I know I’m lying, but I don’t care, because it’s all part of this plan.” He paused again, the smile returning, “Now do you think these seats should be switched?”
That? Got a snort out of Roy. “Okay, so we’re all crazy or we’re all just going through some sort of weird ...thing. That actually helps.” Then he paused. “So, someone you know was in the dream too. That’s happening to me with mine. But damn, that’s got to be traumatic. Or at least it seems like it would be the first time. Nets and all.” He shuddered. “Geez.”
“The net was less upseting than seeing her,” he replied. It was a bit of an emotion leak. He was very tired and it was certainly showing. Hopefully Roy could forgive him for it. “I don’t really believe in crazy,” he continued, “But at least we won’t be alone--”
He was interrupted by a buzz on the phone line.
“That’s my next patient,” Ben said. “You don’t mind if I keep in touch, at least on the network? I’ll keep looking into this and tell you what I find out, if anything. For now, I’d just be content that you’re having good dreams.”
“And we’ll hope that something better comes your way.” Roy nodded as he stood. “I’ll definitely do that, maybe we can find some others. Hey, at least we’re maybe getting somewhere after all. And thanks. I do feel better.”
Funny how that worked, he thought as he made his way back out. Well, at least some things were going better then.