Leon Orcot (under_arrest) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-06-25 07:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, leon orcot, olivia moore |
Who: Leon and Liv
When: Yesterday, June 24
Where: The morgue
What: Liv comes down with a case of social anxiety
Rating/Warning: Low/None (language)
Status: Complete
Leon had not been avoiding Liv. Sure, the whole lap dance thing had been incredibly embarrassing once he thought back on it, especially since word had apparently spread and he was now getting ‘sly dog’ comments and knowing glances from his colleagues. But he hadn’t gone out of his way to contact her. He’d worked that weekend, though Liv hadn’t, but he was forced to take a couple days off after he and Logan had attempted to rescue Sharon and Veronica. He’d been hit in the head pretty hard - had a nice cut on his temple to prove it - and though he’d tried to do his job, trying to solve a murder with a mild concussion was a little like trying to fill up a bucket by scooping water with his hands. It was possible, just long and arduous. Instead, he’d spent a day or two catching up on the sleep he’d been missing over and spending time with Revy.
His announcement that he was going to visit the ME was, of course, met with ridicule, but Leon told them to shut the fuck up and that Liv was only being a good friend. After some smart ass made a ‘oh, a good friend, eh?’ comment, Leon threatened to break his nose and that was that. Topic dropped, maybe forever, and Leon was off to visit his friend.
“Liv?” he called, walking into the morgue. The place always gave him the creeps, but he was getting used to it now. “You have that report ready for me yet?”
Once again Liv’s personality had changed. She wanted to lock herself in her apartment and never have to face anyone ever again. Just her and the rats sounded pretty good. The idea of talking to people terrified her for some reason. However she had to make a living. Had to go to work. At least most of the people in the morgue were dead. Other than her boss but he was barely ever around when she was.
Liv jumped when she heard Leon’s voice. If her face could change color it would be bright red. The last time she saw him she had been grinding on his lap. How was she ever supposed to face him?
“The report,” Liv repeated her voice quiet and timid. “Um yeah. It’s right here,” she walked over to the counter and handed it over to Leon unable to look him in the eye.
Leon frowned, his eyebrows coming together in concern when Liv handed him the report. Now he knew there was something weird going on. Liv being in a weirdly cheerful mood hadn’t been that strange to him. Discovering she was a gamer, well, everyone had hobbies, and some of them were more surprising than others. But then she’d spent a couple of weeks being confident, flaunting around her sexuality as though it was a badge of honour. And now… well, this.
There had to be a logical conclusion to draw from this sudden change, and Leon found it quickly. “Have the guys been giving you trouble about the other night?” Leon asked. “They can be fucking assholes sometimes. Want me to straighten them out?”
The guys? Oh god. Were they talking about her? About the lap dance she had given Leon? It had been at their usual bar. There was a good chance everyone knew about it. That was horrific. Liv’s breathing started to speed up at the idea of all the cops she knew, worked with, sitting around talking about what she had done. “N-no,” she finally got out her eye glued to the ground. “Why?” Ugh, why was she asking questions. She didn’t want to prolong this visit. She wanted to go hide. She needed Leon to just take the report and leave.
“Woah,” Leon said. Was Liv about to have a panic attack? What the hell was going on? He quickly adopted his calm cop voice, the one he tried to use to talk people down. Granted, talking people down wasn’t always his strong suit; it was something he usually left up to the other cops around him. But he thought he was getting a little better. “Liv, calm down.” He came around the counter, scanned the room, and moved to put his hand on her shoulder to guide her to the nearby chair he spotted. “Let’s go sit down, alright?”
Liv slowly nodded letting Leon guide her to the chair. She was beginning to feel dizzy. Sitting would be a good idea although she still couldn't face Leon. Of course she noticed the change in his voice. Did he really have to talk to her like that. She sat down in the seat inching away from Leon’s touch not saying a word. Her breathing was slowing but it wasn't exactly steady.
Leon withdrew his hand once she made it clear she didn’t want it there, and then squatted down next to the chair so he had to look up at her. Having a cop hovering imposingly above someone rarely helped them calm down. “Deep breaths. In and out,” he said, and after a moment when it seemed clear she wasn’t going to start hyperventilating, he asked her “What the hell is going on, Liv?”
Liv took deep breaths just like Leon said which did help a little bit. Although she still wasn’t feeling the slightest bit calm. In fact his question only made her breathing speed back up again. “Nothing,” she eyes still not meeting his. “I just don’t feel good.”
Leon let out a vaguely irritated sigh. “Yeah, alright. I’ll make you some tea or something,” he said, getting to his feet and glancing around for the coffee station. He generally didn’t like hanging around in the morgue - it gave him the creeps - and as such had never stayed for tea. But they definitely had something down here. “You guys have any chamomile down here?”
Tea. She could do tea. Chamomile sounded nice and calming. Wait? Would it work on her? It had to. “Yeah,” she finally said pointing to the back office. It was her boss’ office but she was welcome to the food and drinks in there. Of course all the food Liv needed was out in the morgue. “Back there,” she said closing her eyes, hoping the dizziness would subside.
Leon headed into the back room, keeping an eye on Liv as he brewed the tea but deciding it might be best if he gave her some space to collect herself, so instead he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and frowning contemplatively at Liv. If she glanced over at him he’d turn away and pretend he hadn’t been.
There was definitely something fishy going on. Leon wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something about all of this that just felt fishy as well. Maybe as a psychic Liv just channelled the victims, and it was perfectly normal and innocent. But no, his gut rarely mislead him.
Liv needed eyes on her. Maybe he’d talked to Revy about all of this. At the very least, she could see if she’d let him borrow Steve. He was sure if he just offered the rat pizza, Steve would agree to provide surveillance.
It didn’t take long for the water to boil, and Leon poured both himself and Liv a cup of chamomile tea, before heading back to her. “Feeling better?”
Liv did her best to calm down while Leon made the tea. Occasionally glancing over at him then quickly averting her eyes not wanting to actually meet his eyes. By the time the tea was ready Liv had calmed down enough to at least fake like she was okay. “Yup,” she said attempting a smile as she accepted the tea. “Thank you,” she took a sip eyes on the cup and not on Leon. “So, uh, yeah. Let me know if you have any questions about the report.”
Leon sighed. He had been planning on asking if Liv wanted to come with him on his rounds today - talk to some witnesses, check out some crime scenes, take some of the thinking off of Leon since he was still struggling with that a little - but that was obviously not going to be happening. What was the point of having a psychic if you couldn’t even use her? “Will do. And you call me if you see anything you think might help. Or text. Just try not to worry about things too much. You’re a badass.”
Usually Liv would love going on rounds with Leon. Jump at the chance. But not today so it was for the best that he didn’t ask. She’d feel guilty turning him down and thinking of an excuse would most likely get her all flustered again. “You got it,” she replied finally managing to look him in the eye if only for a brief moment before her gaze shot back down again. She was a badass. An alabaster badass. If she just kept reminding herself of that, maybe just maybe she could get through the day.