Cyclops was right and he wishes he wasn't (cyclopswasright) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-05-19 19:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, commander tyra shepard, scott summers (cyclops) |
"Do you think people can see their soulmates in dreams?"
Who: Scott and Shepard
What: Job offers, old military buddies, dream talk, and some girl talk.
Where: The Swamp
When: Recently
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Scott sat at the bar of The Swamp. He hadn't wanted to run into Bucky or Faith, and maybe part of him hoped Emma would randomly show up again. Part of him hoped she wouldn't. He was a very confused man.
Two different dreams, one in the graveyard and the other in the snow. They shared the same things. Emma and Jean. The Phoenix, rising from the ashes. A love affair that had faded and another that had ignited.
The length he'd been willing to go, for Emma. For all of them. He still felt that ghostly hand around his heart. It was a disconcerting feeling, but not nearly as disconcerting as the jump Emma had caused.
"Slim."
The old nickname startled him from his thoughts, and he turned as Shepard slid onto a stool, "Tempest."
Tyra laughed, "No one has called me that in years."
"It's been years, Shepard" He replied, signaling the bartender. "You still like Jack straight up?"
"Tonight, that sounds like a good idea." Tyra accepted the glass with great reverence, then knocked back about half of it, "Still scamming people out of hard earned cash?"
"Its not scamming," Scott retorted. "Its geometry."
"To most people, thats the same thing." She snorted, then finished her drink and ordered another one, "What're you doing with yourself these days?"
Scott shook his head, "Nothing productive. Everything seems to be falling through."
Shepard tapped the edge of her glass, "I have a job offer for you."
Scott glanced at her, "I'm listening."
Shepard grinned, "Why don't I tell you while I kick your ass at billards? We can base salary on how badly you lose."
The man grinned back, picking up his drink and walking over to the pool table, "I'll take you up on that bet."
Over the next hours, they played several games while discussing Shepard's work at the Ranch. Scott thought he might enjoy it, and the pay was good, especially after a nervewracking game to decide pay rate.
Afterwards, he sat down at a booth with her, and a pitcher of beer. Pouring some into a glass, he raised a toast, "To dreams of better things."
"Dreams.." Shepard snorted, clinking her glass against his, "If dreams are a window into my psyche, I'm really, really fucked up."
Scott raised an eyebrow. Her too? "Want to talk about it."
She glanced at him, then down at her glass as she mulled it over, then shook her head. The person she really wanted to talk to was Garrus, "No, I...Maybe some other time."
Nodding, Scott knocked back some of his beer, "I'm no stranger to bad dreams. Plenty after I was injured, and plenty recently. I'm worried I might be losing my vision. They could be a reflection of that."
It was a partial truth and as good an explanation as any other, but it wasn't what he believed, not fully. They were too real. He and Shepard exchanged another look, then they went back to working their way through that picture. She had nothing she could say about his vision, just to buy the next round.
Shepard broke the silence, "Do you think people can see their soulmates in dreams?"
He lifted his head and looked her right in the eyes, "Yes. Yes, I do. What would you do if you met him?"
"I'd move heaven and earth to be with her."
Her? Oh. Hah. That explained so much. He just quirked an eyebrow at her, "What about the moon?"
"That too. I'd get her her own star if I could." She gave him a little smile, "What about you?"
"I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting her to want more than a physical relationship."
"A snowball's chance is better than no chance," Tyra reminded him. "But doesn't that make her the perfect woman?"
"Oh, she is. She just doesn't know it yet." He smirked.
"So what are you going to do about it, Slim?"
There. That was the voice that got people to follow Shepard into hell and back. Scott smiled, "Once I figure out a plan, I'll let you know."
"Pat Benetar aside, love isn't actually a battlefield."
"No, but I need to approach it like one," He replied, getting to his feet. "I should probably get going. I'll see you at the ranch on Monday."
"Hey, Scott?"
"Yeah?"
"Ever dream about the end of the world?"
"I dream about extinction. I dream about fighting it."
The two regarded each other for a moment, then Tyra nodded, "Do you have hope? In those dreams?"
Scott didn't look at her, but past her, "There's always hope, Shepard. Always."