Catch-All Post

[loistheintrepid]

[ to escape Catcha for TFLN, etc. ] 

Comments

[for @oldmancreed]

[loistheintrepid]

[ Continued from here ]

[ She kicks her heels off once the door's shut, curling her legs under herself and leaning in to check out the menu as they pull up. ]

Yeeesssss, curly fries.

[oldmancreed]

Can't you people just leave well enough alone?

[Regular french fries are just fine, thank you very much.]

[loistheintrepid]

Don't tell me you hate curly fries?

[ She wrinkles her nose at him, leaning across him to yell into the drive-thru window. One large order of curly fries, and one large order of regular fries for the old man. ]

[oldmancreed]

They're unnecessary.

[He sniffs at her again as she leans over, concentrating mostly on her hair.]

Like your shampoo.

[loistheintrepid]

First of all, shampoo is not unnecessary.

[ She straightens, settling back down beside him and digging into her purse for some cash. ]

Second of all, quit smelling me so much.

for @gazetter

[loistheintrepid]

[ continued from here ]

Well damn, don't go finishing them without me.

I've got a bottle of whiskey to trade, but you'd need to hand-deliver them because I really don't feel like leaving my couch.

[gazetter]

Everyone's got whiskey. I've got the prize worth traveling for, really.

[loistheintrepid]

Ugh, you're not seriously gonna make me get up and walk all the way over there, are you?

How much is it if I just Postmates myself some Pop Tarts....?

[gazetter]

Surely this is a cause very worthy of investigation!

Let me know if you find out.

[loistheintrepid]

So like you're really not gonna bring me pop tarts? :(

for @poeticforce

[loistheintrepid]

[ continued from here ]

how do i get

besides lost

which i'm

totally not right now

[poeticforce]

That makes me think you totally are.

Lois...

[loistheintrepid]

yes dear

[poeticforce]

How lost are you this time?

[for @notjustasuit ]

[loistheintrepid]

[ Continued from here. ]

[ Oh, shit. Now?

Lois scrambles out of bed, grimacing at the hungover mess in the mirror and bolting for the shower. It takes a good 20 minutes to clean up, run a brush through her wet hair, pop an Advil or two to tame the throbbing headache pounding in the back of her skull, and throw on some makeup.

She's still in a robe when the doorbell rings, cursing and checking herself in the mirror one more time before heading downstairs to greet him. ]

You're quick.

[notjustasuit]

[ For his part, Everett is dressed down - casual. He's not exactly hangover-free himself, but something about seeing her again like this had a way of waking him up.

It doesn't matter what she's wearing, she looks great to him. He gives her a little half-grin and a shrug of his shoulders. ]

Sorry, I'd hate to seem too eager.

I can... come back later, if you'd like?

[loistheintrepid]

[ She purses her lips in an attempt to hide a smile, eyes glinting playfully as she leans on the door frame. ]

Sure you want to wait any longer, Agent Ross? I'm not exactly known for being patient...

[for @oldmancreed]

[loistheintrepid]

[ continued from here ]

[ She's curled up on the couch with her laptop when he gets home, barely lifting her gaze when he enters. ]

[oldmancreed]

[He ambles in, whistling a tune that's possibly older than he is. The food is placed in the kitchen before he re-enters the living room and plants a kiss on her head.]

Evening, princess.

[loistheintrepid]

[ Her jaw's set as she types, her fingers clacking across the keyboard non-stop, only hesitating for a moment at the kiss to her temple. ]

Mm.

[oldmancreed]

[He doesn't seem to notice her mood and flops on the couch opposite her.]

Our girl napping?

[for @dukesareup ]

[loistheintrepid]

It's only been a few days since she's last seen him, but after how their last conversation had ended the days of silence in between had seemed to stretch on for weeks. She's tried to force herself to give him some space - give them both time to sort out what the hell comes next. But after day three, her patience had worn itself past thin.

Lois Lane (7:32am): You still have your appointment today?

Lois Lane (8:01am): I can still take you, if you want

Lois Lane (8:25am): [ Missed call ]

Apparently not.

Fighting the urge to drop by his place on the way to work, she'd forced herself to bury her attention into the Planet's latest fire drills, surfacing twice - three times - to try his cell again before the day is up.

She's out the door around 8, checking her phone for the umpteenth time for any missed calls or texts as she gets in her car. Sitting at the wheel for a full minute, she battles with herself before cursing and making the drive to his place.

She knocks twice, hits the buzzer once, calls his name from behind the door before testing the doorknob to see if it's unlocked.

[dukesareup]

If watching Lois walk out that door gave any perspective to what it must have felt like when he left her, Henry can't believe she ever gave him a second chance. Somehow it cuts more deeply the second time around. Maybe it's because of how hard he's actually been trying, or maybe because now he sees his opportunity for a future going down the drain once and for all. He doesn't know what he should've expected. It makes no sense to think he could walk back into her life so many years later and they could pick up where they started. But Lois's admission has made one thing very clear to him: he isn't over her. And Henry doesn't know how to be a good friend to her when he thought they were on track to something else, and thought Lois wanted that too.

Time moves strangely around the appointment. It seems to rush and drag all at once, and Tuesday comes too soon and yet not soon enough for his taste. He can't actually ask Lois to go with him. Everything he's done, it's been to keep her from this. Henry didn't want her to see it when they were together, and now that they're not he damn well doesn't want her to feel that obligation. In the back of his mind, he already knows what answer to expect. When it's confirmed, he can barely muster a reaction.

He's still awake when she knocks. Still in the same place he's been since that afternoon. The door is unlatched and gives easily on its hinges, and if she invites herself in she'll find Henry on the couch, prosthetic off, a pair of forearm crutches on the floor, and four empty beer cans already collected on the coffee table. He's nursing a fifth.

[loistheintrepid]

She should've told him. It's been festering inside her since she left the apartment, the guilt of keeping a relationship from him when he'd obviously been looking for something more. She should've told him when he'd come to her office that first night, been outright and honest about whatever the hell this was or could or couldn't be, even if she still wasn't even sure what it was now.

She'd gotten lost in him. In the way things had been between them, how happy she'd been when they were together. From the first night they'd met, she'd been addicted, fallen hard for him even before she'd admit it to herself.

And then he'd up and disappeared. Left a big fat question mark on the debris of their relationship, leaving her to bury it with the pain and force herself to move on. So she had. It'd taken a lot longer than she would've liked, but she'd managed to push through into other relationships, other loves.

But none quite like him. That much she can admit to herself now. Whatever is between them might be broken, but it's still as electric and intoxicating as it used to be. She can't let him go again. She can't.

She's not sure what she expects to see when she makes her way into the apartment, but the scene in front of her probably shouldn't surprise her. She shuts the door behind her, eyes scanning over the empty beer cans, the crutches, and him.

"You lose your phone? Been trying to call you all day," she says, though the words land awkwardly between them as she edges into the room.

[dukesareup]

Henry looks up when Lois comes through the door, but his expression is so uninspired it's difficult to say what might move him. He regards her silently for a time, then pitches back what's left of the beer. The empty bottle joins the rest, and slowly he searches himself for his phone. Henry seems genuinely to not know that it's sitting on the table near the door. He put it there in a distracted heap when he came in, and his wallet and keys are still there in the pile too.

"I guess so." Again, the words are so devoid of emotion. His eyes are rimmed in red, and Henry swipes a palm over his face and looks around like he's just becoming aware of his surroundings again. "You finish work? Want me to order food?"