maxblinks (maxblinks) wrote in we_float, @ 2010-06-29 22:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | character: gabriel wilder, character: maxxie delacourt, npc: (gabriel) avinoam wilder |
Who: Gabe and Maxxie
When: Tuesday, 29 June
Where: the sporting goods store, then the car
What: He's stalking, she's shopping, then things go haywire.
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence?
Status: completed log
This was supposed to be easy. Sean had promised that much. But it didn't make Gabe feel any better about the situation. Repossession was hard when it was a car- this, even if it was legal, bothered him in ways that he couldn't even begin to define. The lines were even blurrier when he realized, after a week of chasing Livia Cano across Georgetown and down into the Barrens, that his target knew that he was after her. And that she was a lot smarter than either Wilder.
Today's chase had led him to a sporting goods store.
"I don't fucking belong here," he muttered as he slipped behind a stand holding a large pile of laser rackets. He suspected she was playing a game with him. It wasn't one he liked.
Maxxie stood in front of a display of virtual games, trying to decide if buying something basketball related for Alex was going to be a good idea, or just rub salt in the dual wounds of him being house bound and her not being home. Virtual tickets to the Knicks, that would work at least for a start, giving him his own seat in the stands without having to worry about being jostled by crowds (or yelled at for being too tall in the seat). And more importantly... with a small smile, she flipped through the gift cards -- she loved buying something physical for something virtual because there was nothing better than having a gift to open -- she could buy tickets in pairs, and join him at the games, even from Seattle. She should have thought of this before.
The voice around the corner caught her attention, and she glanced up, spotting the blue hair first and a familiar profile second. It took her a moment to place the face; she thought he'd been at that first meeting, but not back since. "And you stick out like a sore thumb," she offered candidly. "It's the hair. Not that it looks bad, but it is kind of unique." Nor did he look exactly at home here.
"Oh, fuuuuck." Of course Livia Cano had been able to spot him. It was no wonder that she was happily walking through the store if she thought she could escape him at moment's notice simply by sight. Gabe sighed. "Yeah. I really need to fucking dye it."
He watched Cano as he spoke. She was in the hunting section. Not a good sign.
"Isn't it dyed to start with?" Maxxie asked. She walked over to stand near him, close enough to follow his line of sight, her head cocked as she watched curiously. "Is there a reason it looks like you're stalking someone?" Her sideways glance was wary and uncomfortable with the thought.
"Uhhhh. Do you know anyone with blue hair?" Gabe blinked, then looked back at Maxxie uncomfortably and said, "She skipped bail."
"Not personally, but I'm sure blue hair could be a joker," Maxxie said easily. "It's not so different than any other kind of mutation." Which struck her as funny, considering how often Tom compared her to the old comic book character who happened to be blue and fuzzy all over. "Ah, so you're on a job and I'm ruining any chance you have of being subtle. At least... I assume that's what you do for work? And why you didn't move in with us?"
"Um, actually, I'm a cook. I'm just... uh, between jobs so I'm helping my dad out." He realized it didn't sound anything close to normal and he shrugged. Livia Cano was laughing, he noticed, as she stepped away. "Didn't move in with you guys because... uh, fuck. Kind of complicated."
Maxxie frowned, more suspicious now rather than less. "I didn't know bounty hunter was a transitive sort of position."
"It is when you haven't got a fucking job or any money," Gabe pointed out. And there went... he didn't even want to think about how much of Sean's. He wondered what would happen if he called another self.
It's not worth it, he told himself.
"It still looks a lot like stalking." And made Maxxie significantly uncomfortable, although that faded as the girl walked away and Mr. Blue Hair was still here talking to her. "And you were offered a job. Admittedly a confusing one with a very fluid job description that we're still working on writing on a daily basis, but it pays. Complicated is often trumped by starving..."
"Yeah, well, I was getting married," he told her. "And dude, that didn't... working for the government wasn't quite what..." Gabe shut his mouth abruptly. It wasn't her concern, especially not if he ever wanted to talk to her again. And he didn't know what Matt's plan was.
Maxxie blinked. "Was? I'm sorry to hear that." She zeroed in on that one thing; the part where he stopped talking was something she could come back to later, she was sure.
"I dunno. It could be back on tomorrow." He didn't sound upset, just weary as if it wasn't the first time.
Maxxie wrinkled her nose, staring at him. "Well, that's rude. How many times has she played human yo-yo with you on this?"
"Uh." Gabe shrugged, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "It was just once that she actually, like, broke up with me." He was reddening. "Ummmm.... it doesn't really fucking matter."
"Doesn't it, if it affects your life and your livelihood?" Maxxie asked practically. "I mean, if you love her, it's awfully mean of her. And if you don't have a job because of it, that's not helping either of you, since money's a requirement for living, and it reduces you to stalking women. But--" she shrugged, admitting, "I'm not an expert on relationships. And I'm making you turn a particularly bright shade of red that totally clashes with your hair. Sorry."
"I... um... don't.... stalk women for money," he mumbled, slumping down so hard it looked like he was trying to walk through the floor. He could feel his stomach lurch and hoped it was just nausea.
Now he was starting to look a little green around the edges, which just added to the whole uncomfortable look. Maxxie sighed, and after a long moment of consideration, reached out to lightly touch his shoulder briefly to get his attention, then gestured towards the door as she pulled her hand back. "Maybe we should get out of here? You don't look good." She let the bit about stalking go, since he seemed to be done with following her anyway. But following her for a job, which she didn't have proof of, still sounded a lot like stalking to her.
"Um, yeah..." No, it wasn't nausea. Gabe forced the sensation down- he'd been calling his alternative selves more and more lately. That was the last thing he needed- to call one and find out he'd become a real stalker in that universe. Explaining how it all worked to Maxxie might not go well. "It's just my, uh, ace. Sometimes, I get close to drawing-" That wasn't the right word exactly. "It when I get nervous."
He took a few hesitant steps towards the door.
"All the more reason to get us both the hell out of here, then," Maxxie said. This was one of those moments where it wasn't about touching, it was about getting people moving. She grabbed his wrist and tugged, starting to move more quickly towards the door. She was small, but she had upper body strength in spades.
Gabe obeyed. It didn't bother him in the least that she was pulling him in the direction of the door-in fact, it was so usual that it almost felt comfortable or would have, had it not been Maxxie doing the pulling. He didn't see Livia as they reached the door, however, and he paused, looking over his shoulder.
"That girl... um... do you see her?" She was involved with some gang, that much he knew, and it wasn't likely good if she'd noticed anyone else with him.
Maxxie just looked at him. "Are you serious? Okay, I know I'm sounding severely suspicious here, but that's because I am severely suspicious. You were hiding, staring at a woman, and you really think I'm going to help you get her just beacuse you had some half-hearted story that was full of holes about her jumping bail?"
He sighed. Digging in his pocket, he took out the crumpled warrant that Sean had passed to him. "She did jump bail. She's wanted for armed robbery- ever hear of the 253?" It was a gang based out of Tacoma that ran drugs up and down the Barrens. Gabe didn't expect she'd know but it was worth a shot.
"Um, dude, look... I'm not asking you to help." Just then, he heard a car squealing in the parking lot. "Fuck. Come on- let's get in the car. Now."
Okay that? Was even more irritating than Matt calling her princess. "I'm not a dude," she pointed out, "any more than I'm a princess." But... whether he was telling the truth about bail, or about that woman, he did sound pretty damned urgent, so she followed him to the car to get in. After all, it wasn't a brilliant idea to teleport out of a moving vehicle, but if this all went south and he turned out to be an axe murderer or something, she could at least get away.
"Dude, I call everyone that," he said, completely unaware that he'd just used the phrase again. They were moving much more quickly now that he saw the car veering up, its engine bellowing. It was too old to be anything other than a scavenged machine- the kind that the 253 were known for racing and adapting to run on whatever kind of garbage they could pour in the tank.
Some people joked that the cars ran on blood. Gabe wasn't one of them.
He opened the door and gestured, diving towards the other side and quickly getting in, his own door slamming as he turned the keys in the ignition. The car roared to life suddenly, sputtering slightly with the gesture.
Maxxie ducked in and grabbed for her seatbelt, trying to get it snapped in before he pulled out. "Okay. So. Maybe you should fill me in on the things I don't know here?" she suggested. She'd heard the car, and his anxiety was definitely noticeable, and she was absolutely sure she was missing some important bits of information which might just be a life or death thing when it came down to it.
"Ummm..." They peeled out of the parking lot and he heard the roar of the other car just behind. His knuckles went white as they gripped the wheel- he was a good driver but he didn't know if he was this good.
Voices were calling from the car as they leaned out of the window, shouting words he couldn't make out. "Just... fuck. Don't look back, okay. Cano- that's the woman- she's a goddamn- she's in a gang. The 253?" His foot stomped down on the accelerator a little harder.
Maxxie heard a few of those words and none of them sounded good for them. "Okay, gang, never heard of them. Clue me in?" She couldn't help it, she looked back, and just as she did, the car pealed out, following them. "They're following us."
"Yeah." He looked nervous. "You know, that girl I was stalking? I wasn't fucking kidding you that she's bad news." The car jerked as he hit the curb, turning a corner with careless alacrity. "The 253- they're into blowing shit up. And that's really fucking true of people who go after their own." Gabe bit his lip. The other vehicle was still behind- a Tomitsu Horizon- there was no way his Messer was going to hold up in a speed contest.
What was their game? Run them until they ran out of charge? Fuck, but he wished he'd plugged the car in overnight.
Whether she was sure of everything or not, Maxxie at least realized that that was a hell of an overreaction if they were just angry about her being stalked. Normal people would've gotten those reinforcements and just beat him up, not trying to run him off the road in a car that she thought might be able to eat Gabe's for breakfast. "Okay. So. Does that meant they're going to be lobbing things at us to try to blow us up soon?"
"I dunno." But he was sweating as the Messer barrelled through another alley, knocking a garbage can across the street. It rolled against the brick, jouncing slightly but not landing in the Horizon's path. It was then that the first high shrill note echoed through the air, a strange "yiii yiii yiii" that raised the hair on the back of his neck.
"Yeah," he said as the first bottle crashed into the back of the car, spraying a liquid- flammable, he thought- against the window.
Oh crap. And they were moving fast enough that Maxxie didn't dare blink out because if she did, what with conservation of momentum and all, she wasn't sure she could stick the landing without becoming road pizza. Plus. These guys were trying to kill the blue-haired guy. And it didn't matter that a few minutes ago that she was wondering if he was a stalker or an axe-murderer, now that those people were trying to kill the both of them, everything had changed.
Survival was important, after all. They could talk about the whole stalking thing again later, and maybe some about how to do it better and less stalkery and more productively. As if she knew the answers to that.
"So if you're hunting dangerous criminals, you've got to have something around to defend yourself, right?" Maxxie started looking around for a gun, bow and arrow, bazooka, anything.
"Glovebox." Gabe said and it was all he had time to say as another bottle shattered to his left side. "Fuck. Fuck." The fumes were starting to rise and he knew it was only a matter of time before they started shooting. "Fuck!" The car slammed over another curb, and he wrenched sharply to the right, barely dodging a slumped figure in the center of the road. They were heading further towards the Barrens and he realized this was the plan.
Maxxie tugged open the glovebox and found the gun there. She pulled it out, felt how heavy it was in her hand. It couldn't be that hard, could it? Aim, pull trigger, it goes boom and people get hurt. Or cars get hurt. She'd rather hurt the car than the people in a permanently damaging way. "Is anything going to explode if I try shooting this and is there anything I need to know other than don't get shot when I stick my hand out the window? I was going to aim for the car." The words came out quick and staccato, wanting an answer back just as quickly so she could just start doing.
"Um.." This couldn't end well. "Just don't-" A bullet whipping past his window broke his words. "Just pull the trigger, okay?" Gabe didn't reveal that he hadn't ever shot the gun himself.
"Right." Holy crap, she was going to fire a gun. She wasn't prepared for this, hadn't ever really thought about this. But then, Maxxie had figured that if she ever got into an honest to God fight, she'd do what she did during the robbery and just blink in close, kick butt, and blink the hell out again. She hadn't ever even imagined a car chase.
She rolled down the window, made sure the gun looked ready to fire (how would she tell, anyway?) and promptly resolved to ask Matt for lessons as soon as she could after this. Then she stuck the gun out the window, aimed it in the direction of the car chasing them, and pulled the trigger.
"Ow. Ow." She pulled her hand back in just in time to not get shot, and dropped the gun into her lap and shook her hand. No one had told her it would hurt.
The Horizon slowed, Gabe noticed that. Turning his head around, he saw that she'd managed to send a bullet through their windshield on the passenger side. Cano was holding her arm and making a face so obscene that she looked like a joker. Her head ducked down just as two men hung out the back windows, guns in hand.
Can't stop now. Can't think about how disappointed Master would be if he knew she were shooting a gun. On the other hand self defense came down to whatever it takes and this was what was working at the moment. She flexed her hand, then picked up the gun again and shoved her hand back out the window, tongue caught between her teeth as she squeezed off two shots this time before pulling her hand back in with a small squeak as a bullet zinged by her. "We are in deep, deep shit here," she said, voice a good deal higher pitched than she'd like it to be. "I could do more damage if we weren't in a car."
"Yeah, me too," but he didn't bother to explain how. His hand wrenching at the wheel, he spun the car around, bringing it to a dead stop so furiously that the Horizon was forced to jolt off the street and onto the sidewalk. "You ready?"
God, he hoped he could call one of his other selves. He hoped even more that they'd be an ally.
Maxxie nodded in one quick, sharp jerk of her head and shoved the gun back into the still open glovebox, closing it. No point in leaving it out for someone to handily grab, but it was only going to get in her way now. The fact that they were stopped made her grin brightly, because this she could deal with. "Ready."
"Um... have you got a plan?" He swallowed as his muscles tightened, his hand on the door handle. He wasn't sure why he was looking to Maxxie for leadership- perhaps because it felt comfortable to him to have a woman in the role.
Maxxie blinked twice rapidly, not expecting that question. "I'm going to blink over there and kick some butt, but it means I'll be moving around a lot. I don't recommend shooting. I want to get their guns away from them and knock them out. Can you help with this?"
"Yeah, I think so. Or fuck, one of me can." His fingers clenched as he opened the door. He didn't like violence. He didn't want to be violent but sometimes there was no choice.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Gabe felt the familiar tug and pull that told him another self was coming.
"One of you can?" Maxxie blurted, but she had the door half open at the same time. Which really didn't give her time to wait around for an answer, because holy shit, that guy's gun was pointed right at her and oh hell, she really didn't want to go through that again. Bullets zipping by her ear were bad things. The guy dropped below his open door, using it as cover, but that didn't really matter to her. She pushed off, spinning into her blink so that when she came out of it behind him, foot arching up, she caught him under the chin, knocking him into the door with a loud kihap!
The car rattled as he went flying into it, Livia jumping towards Maxxie with a snarl. As she lept, her arms changed, lengthening until they were nearly to the woman's neck. Her fingers slid forward further still just as Gabe saw an older version of himself come up behind the other man.
This one was dark-haired, tougher than he ever looked, with a scar underneath his right eye. He snarled as he caught sight of Gabe.
"Oh, fuck," Gabe said as he picked up a nearby rock, throwing it as hard as he could at the knee of the man behind the other Gabriel. That man jolted, his blonde hair jerking in the wind as his leg buckled, hit by the small missile.
Was that an ace or a joker? Didn't really matter, did it, if she strangled Maxxie, and Maxxie wasn't sure exactly how her holds would work against someone who's arms appeared to be like jello. Still, she pushed backwards, spinning and blinking to hit her from the side, the kick sweeping the other woman into the door as Maxxie followed through with another loud yell, hand chopping down on the back of the woman's neck. Or would have, if she were there. Oh damnit this wasn't going to be easy and those ridiculously long arms were still reaching out to entangle her.
Livia took another step forward, her arms slipping down and around Maxxie's waist, pushing her up as she yelled out, "Who are you? A cop?"
"Ew, no hugs!" Maxxie blinked out of the embrace, straight up into the air and falling to land on the top of the car. Which was horribly exposed, so she'd barely solidified before she bounced up and blinked again, straight back to the guy with the blue hair (and oh who the hell was that over there and she really hoped he was an ally). "I am so not a cop. You're the ones who started chasing us."
"Nuh uh- he started chasing me first." Livia's arms shrunk back. "And what the fuck, do you mean no hugs, bitch? You so did not go there."
"Is there any reason you'd be afraid of being chased?" Maxxie countered. "And excuse me, but you were the one wrapping your arms around me before I called foul."
"He is a motherfucking stalker- that's why-" Livia drew an invisible line between herself and Gabe, shoving her face a little closer to Maxxie's with a extension of her neck. "-and what are you anyhow, a cheerleader? I mean, what is up with that outfit- hello, 2079 or something."
Maxxie smiled prettily, an expression that came nowhere near her eyes. "I'm the gymnast that can kick your butt, bitch." She didn't telegraph the kick, her right foot swinging up on the inside and arching over to catch Livia's cheek hard just before Maxxie blinked backwards. "Stay out of my personal space."
And Maxxie was thinking that blue-haired guy could jump in any time now with the officialness. She hadn't heard guns, so he shouldn't be dead. Not that she could exactly look over to check right this second.
Gabe was edging over as Maxxie spoke, trying to figure out how he was going to cuff Livia with arms that kept stretching around in circles. She'd been thrown off balance by Maxxie's kick but that had sparked something else.
The other Gabriel jumped as gunshots rang out, throwing himself towards Maxxie. He didn't make it - a shot slammed into his cheek and he went down. Gabe screamed as he felt the pain arc into him, picking up a board off the ground and slamming it into one of the men nearby, knocking him off balance and sending the gun clattering to the ground, another bullet zinging wild.
Just as Livia stepped forward, her arm lifted and swung around to grab Maxxie- and missed, twisting itself around a pole. She shrieked in anger as she started jerking back, trying to untangle an arm that wasn't moving.
Gabe tossed the cuffs over to Maxxie, hoping she'd get the hint, ducking a swipe from the man who was pushing back on the board he was brandishing.
Maxxie's eyes went wide when the unknown guy went down. She'd thought he was jumping to attack her, and had blinked back a foot automatically in response, but then they shot him and whoa... she realized she had no idea what was going on just about now. But the crazy lady was tangled up, and oh how handy, her hands on opposite sides of the pole. She grinned and caught the cuffs blue-haired guy tossed to her and blinked behind the woman and grabbed her free wrist first, since it was still moving, then the one that was trapped and cuffed them together with a rather satisfying clink.
That still left two to deal with and a body on the ground. Gabe was still hurting, so much so that he was having difficulty focusing. That meant that Gabriel was alive, if lying on the concrete.
"Just leave her!" He shouted as a fist hit him, knocking the breath out of his body. At the same time, the remaining man lowered his pistol and fired right at Maxxie.
Luckily, Maxxie was reacting to the words before she ever heard the crack of the gun, and had blinked back to the action. "Holy crap, you shot me." Well, at her, but semantics were not important right now. She blinked again, taking herself up in the air to come down, foot snapping out to strike the chin of the gunman and try to knock him down.
He dodged just barely, her foot shoving against his chest. He gasped, fingers locking against the gun as he tried to lift it back up.
"Oh no, no way, you are so not shooting at me again. Bleeding was not in my plans for the day." Maxxie blinked and twisted, moving too quickly and catching herself off balance, arms flailing out to catch at him and wrapping around his gun arm. Well, that was at least handy. Her fingers sought the pressure point on his forearm and pressed, hard.
The gun fell out of his hand as a shocked gasp erupted from his throat. Gabe didn't have time to see what more happened. He swung a final time, connecting with the other man's head and knocking him back against the car, then reeling backwards himself as he felt the pain in his cheek intensify.
Stumbling, he ran to where his other self had fallen, kneeling and touching his cheek. The life was slowly ebbing from eyes that were his and not his and he felt his throat constricting in response.
Maxxie's grin was half feral as she knew she had him now. She let go his hand and simply pitched her elbow straight up, under his chin. She took the movement into a turn and struck again, watching his head snap back before he went down. She blinked back a bit out of reflex when he hit the ground, then turned to look for the guy she was with.
Who was kneeling next to the other guy, who really wasn't looking so good.
She blinked over to kneel next to him, but didn't quite know what to say, or how to ask who the hell that was and what was going on.
"I'm dying," he said, looking up at her, completely terrified. "Fuck... how do I stop the bleeding?" Gabe tore off his shirt, wadding it up and pressing it against the older Gabriel's cheek. The man was gasping for air, his body jerking as he whimpered. Gabe's own cheek looked faintly bruised though nothing like the man beneath his hands.
"I... you... what?" Maxxie asked helplessly, the high of the fight fading rapidly in the face of those words. "Pressure. Cold. Or heat. Cauterization. But I can't do that. Or Zad, but he's not here." Now that she looked at the guy, really looked at him, she could see the resemblance between the two faces, and it confused the hell out of her. "What should I do?"
"I don't know." His other self was getting colder by the moment. The pain was arcing, then suddenly... it was gone. And the body beneath his fingers had disappeared. He sat there for a moment, staring at the space that it had left. The blood was still on his fingertips.
Maxxie swallowed hard. "What just happened here?"
"That was my ace." Gabe was shaking as he stood up, the energy draining out of him swiftly. "Come on. I'll... um... I'll call the cops to pick her up once we've left. I can't... I don't..." He wasn't going to bring her in. Not now, with his body shaking with the sudden emptiness of what had just happened- the power interrupted before it could fully express.
Maxxie held out her hand, palm up. "Give me the keys, because you are so not driving in that condition. Then you have a choice of telling me where we're going or I'm taking you back to Anhalt. You can make phone calls while I drive." Because she could see the shakiness in him and she didn't trust him not to fall apart completely, even if she still wasn't sure exactly what happened. "C'mon, keys, and let's go."
He gave her the keys without a protest. The fingers that brushed her hand were icy cold. It took some effort to pull his phone out as he slipped into the car, texting Sean to explain what happened with a thumb that barely wanted to move.
When he was done, he remained quiet, waiting for her to ask the first question.
Since he didn't give her a destination, Maxxie headed for the Anhalt, since it made for a decent default location and besides, he'd been there before. "You going to die on me before I get you someplace safe?" she asked quietly, her eyes on the road. Just being in the driver's seat had relaxed her again, gave her something to focus on and keep her from fidgeting. "You're awfully cold and shocky." After a moment's hesitation, she reached out to touch his hand again, hers settling over his to warm it.
"N-no. Not going to fucking die." Gabe inhaled. "I've never- never had one die before." He went quiet again, feeling the warmth of her hand on his. She was right- his hands were clammy and cold, trembling from the experience still. "That's... um... my power... I make... I call myself. But from the future."
"Don't feel guilty," she said. "You called, but he came." She frowned, mind slipping off onto a tangent. "Can another you call you? Are you able to resist if they do? That sounds amazingly complicated." A moment's pause before she remembered the right thing, and a wan smile flickered. "I'm sorry you died..." her voice trailed off, and she had to admit, "I can't remember your name."
"Gabe. Gabe Wilder." He leaned back against the seat. "No, they can't call me. I don't.. um, don't even know if they're real. They feel real but they disappear." They felt as real as Maxxie herself and she must know that, he thought, given that she'd seen it firsthand. "They come from a future that happens... I think it's based on what... um, maybe what I'm thinking when I call them. But they can't stay long and um, they've... got ideas of their own."
He paused. "Him. I don't think he fucking liked me much. Or himself."
"Maxxie Delacourt," she offered in return. His hand felt warmer now, so she withdrew her touch, both hands on the steering wheel once more. "I thought he was another bad guy when I saw him at first. And I could've sworn he was about to jump me at the end, there, so he might've not liked either of us. Seems like a kind of tough ace to fire off, when you're never sure exactly what's going to happen if you use it."
"It's more of a joker," Gabe said. "Or it feels that way." He pulled his hand away, folding his arms together around his stomach to warm himself. "Yeah. That happens sometimes. One of them once... fucking tried to kill my girlfriend." Then he stopped and corrected, "Ex-girlfriend. Um. Ex-fiancee, I mean."
"I'm sorry," Maxxie said. "On all counts: the trying to kill part, and the ex-part. Breaking up sucks." At least, she assumed it did, not having dated enough to get to the point where it actually sucked when the break up happened. "Why did you call that one?" She had to wonder, since he'd said it was something subconscious, too. But that wasn't a very pleasant thought.
"I thought maybe it'd help." He frowned, looking downward. "Lately, they've gotten worse. I... um... fuck... it's just..." Like I have a fucking death wish. But he wasn't going to say that. Instead, he decided to change the subject.
"So. I guess you took that offer, huh?" Gabe's gaze moved up, watching her face.
"You thought it'd help if someone who's you tried to kill your girlfriend?" Maxxie couldn't follow that, but from the frown she thought maybe she'd gotten that wrong. "Never mind." She followed the change of subject; she could always come back to it later.
She nodded in response to his question, watching the road more than him. "It seemed like a good idea, and I like the place better than the dorms. Someone has to save the world, so I might as well be a part of it. Since I've got a stake in it and all. Why didn't you?"
"I don't trust the government," he said honestly. "But I told Matt I'd help him. I just... dude, I don't feel right taking a paycheck from... them. And not for that. It fucking obligates you in ways I don't need."
"It's not exactly the government, not entirely," Maxxie pointed out. "More importantly, it's not official, and they'd cheerily disavow any knowledge of us if they had to, I'm sure. If we didn't have the backing, how would we fund things? We're setting up a practice room, and now I totally need to get Matt to take me out to the firing range because firing a gun isn't anything like what I thought it would be. And I'm teaching everyone self-defense, and we're learning how our abilities work, and how they work together. We've got a few things going, and I want to rescue endangered wild cards. We're doing good things. And if you know Matt, you ought to join us. It's actually a weirdly good place to be."
He hesitated, then said, "Uhhh... dude? You called me a fucking stalker."
"Well, yes, but I changed my mind." She flashed him a grin. "Getting shot at by goons and hugged by a bitch with jelly arms helped."
Gabe laughed shyly at that. "Well... um... maybe. I dunno. I want to help but um, I just feel nervous about living there."
"So did I. I don't like people," Maxxie said frankly. "I don't like crowds, and I really don't like crowds of people I don't know in my living space. But it really is weirdly better than the dorm. Got my own room. The people are pretty nice, although a few are weird and one's just a nasty prick. But it's all dealable. And it's a roof and we're working on making it a safe place, and space to work out. Why do you feel nervous about living there? Is it just the government thing, or something else?"
The man sighed.
"I dunno... it's just... I was supposed to get married. And... what if she still wants to? Dude, there's no place for her in that." Gabe glanced over at Maxxie. "She's not a fucking ace. Not a fucking anything that you guys would want." He looked uncomfortable as he said it, as if he was betraying something.
Maxxie slowed, then stopped at a corner. She took advantage of the pause to give Gabe a look. "Do you want to marry her?" she asked bluntly. Because the way he said that was just weird, like it wasn't his idea, or his decision, at all.
"I guess." Gabe scooted further away from Maxxie, leaning against the window. "She's smart. And sharp. And she loves me- that's the most important bit, you know?"
"No." Maxxie's attention returned to the road as she pulled forward and through the intersection. "The most important part is whether you love her."
He just sighed and said nothing. It wasn't the most important thing, he thought. It was better to be loved- it had to be. He'd spent so many years looking up at other people as if they were a star that he'd never reach. How could he do that to Julie?
But Maxxie was a person, Gabe thought, who'd never understand.
Maxxie's gaze flicked sideways, taking advantage of needing to turn right to look over at him before she made the turn onto the street where the Anhalt was. "Do you? Love her?"
"Dude. It's not your fucking business."
"You have a point," Maxxie agreed. She was quiet for a moment as she maneuvered into a parking space, and didn't look at him again until she had the car settled. "But you also don't sound happy. You sound... like it's all her decision whether you get married or not. You're broken up, but it sounds like whether you get back together is up to her, not you. And it's your life, Gabe. Where you live, who you love, how you love... all that ought to be up to you. If you let someone control you, you..." her words failed, because there was a nerve there, bright and sharp and shiny just under the surface, and it was showing. She pressed her lips together, forcing herself to think before speaking. The way he shrank away, the quietness in his voice, the way it was all about his girlfriend and not him... those were warning signs that set off huge alarms in Maxxie's mind. But she couldn't control him either.
"You should think about it," she finally said.
"I what?" Gabe said, his voice dangerously close to getting louder. "If I let someone control me, what? What fucking happens, Maxxie?"
"You lose yourself. You lose who you are, and you give up," she said quietly. "It's better to be in control. Otherwise you risk losing everything of yourself and anything you'd want. If you want this... to be with other wild cards, to try to save people who are wild cards, you should do it because you want to. And if she loves you, well, she'd want you to do what makes you happy."
"You know... that's really fucking easy to say. Um... have you ever even been in a relationship? Because, fuck it, Maxxie, it's not all about me. It's her too." he struggled with the words. "And she's not a fucking ace. So I join you- what happens? We all go fucking live happily together, me and you and Julie and whoever else is in the damn house?"
"You said she's your ex-girlfriend," Maxxie countered, ignoring the question about relationships because that was something she so did not want to get into right now. "If she broke up with you, why does she get a say in what happens?" She realized, she didn't know who broke up with who, but the way it sounded like Julie called the shots, she decided to blame the woman for that one. "It sounds like it isn't about you at all. What part of it is about you?"
"The part where it's not your business!" Gabe yelled, finally breaking. He'd had enough of being told what he was supposed to do with Julie. "Just pull the fucking car over. I'll walk."
Maxxie tugged the key out and held it out to Gabe, hanging from her fingertips. "I parked already. We're here. You can come in or not, but if you're still cold and shaking, you might want to come sit down for a bit until you're not going to crash the car if you drive."
She pressed her lips together, jaw tight as she considered her next words carefully. "Relationships aren't the only place where you can lose control over your life." Which was as close as she'd get to personal information. She knew it wasn't the same, but she also knew how easy it was to just let someone else control everything. Her voice was quiet as she added, "Take care of yourself, Gabe."