Eudio: IC Inbox

[firebrawl]

text | voice | video | network un: heatwave

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[leaguer]

I'm gonna be gone for a few days to get myself up to speed.

Oh, and yeah, I already told your partner.

See you in a few, Rory.

[firebrawl]

[Well hell. What is there to say? She's probably already gone, and when she gets back they'll have no secrets.]

Take it easy out there, Lance. Watch your back.

[Action]

[coldlenny]

[Len slips his phone away and wastes no time going in search of his partner. He walks down the hall and knocks on his door, and waits for him to open it, then leans against the doorway with his arms folded]

We're going to be having a guest for a few days. Barry Allen.

[firebrawl]

[It's not like he's gotten a chance to take it for a spin lately, but regular maintenance on the heat gun means he'll be able to whenever the opportunity arises. But it's not exactly a job that needs a lot of singleminded focus. Which is a good thing, because that's some unexpected news.

He steps back to let Len in and goes back to the table.]

Yeah? You shackin' up with him for a while?

[coldlenny]

[Len comes in, glancing towards the heat gun and then dismissing it. He snorts with laughter at the question, realizing that he really shouldn't be surprised that Mick knows him so well]

Seems I am. He called me up tonight and asked to stay with me a couple days - surprising, since we've only met once since he got here, and he's got no memory of me from Central City.

[firebrawl]

[There's a little hmm of interest as Mick sits down and picks the process right back up where he'd left off.]

Yeah, hadda introduce myself to him at Cheese Day. He in trouble? Here?

[How had a boy scout hero like Barry Allen gotten himself in trouble, here, already, when Mick and Len not only hadn't managed it yet but had started a legit business venture?]

[coldlenny]

He wouldn't tell me, but something's got to be wrong. All his friends are here, yet he came to me. [It is interesting, isn't it? Len's planning on getting to the bottom of it.]

look i can't help myself okay

[speedforcer]

[knock knock knock.

guess who's slumped outside your door, mick. look, he even brought his blanket and pillow with him! which...is probably a good thing, given the fact he's barely awake right now.]

don't even start I love it

[firebrawl]

[Mick's not asleep, which is a good thing because he's pretty hard to budge when he is. But he is more than a little confused when he opens the door, expecting Lisa or Len, and it's their new houseguest instead.

He stares for a second, leans out into the hall to stare at Len's door, then shrugs and steps back to let Barry inside. There's a couch in his apartment too, doesn't look like much but it's pretty comfortable, help yourself kid.]

He kick you out already?

okay i feel slightly less guilty now

[speedforcer]

[alright, walking in a straight line. he can do this. he carefully makes his way inside, yawning widely as he takes a quick look around.]

No, but someone called Sara turned up, and I really don't need to hear him having sex. It's awkward enough.

[he holds up his pillow then, a pleading look on his face as he adds--] Can I stay here tonight?

[firebrawl]

Sara, huh?

[Yeah, that's a knowing, slightly filthy grin as Mick looks over again in the direction of Len's apartment, but it's gone soon enough, it's probably not that awkward.]

Snart let me know you were around. Knock yourself out.

[He waves Barry toward the couch, which is going to be very warm as it had contained Mick just a few seconds ago, but he's got other places he could be. Like this chair, leaning back and propping his boots on the table.

He'll probably give Barry just enough time to get comfortable and maybe start falling asleep before:] So how'd you end up with this as your best option?

[speedforcer]

[he all but flops onto the sofa, face down and largely ignoring just how he looks. it's only once mick settles into the chair that he twists his head enough to look at the other man. answering that particular question though; he knows it's unavoidable in the long run. leonard took him in afterall, so he really does owe him a better explanation. it's something that, by default, extends to the others too.]

The others lied to me about something important. Leonard didn't. [granted, he hasn't asked whether leonard even knows who eobard thawne is, but he really doesn't have any reason to have told him in the first place.]

I can get out of your way in the morning, if you want though.

| text |

[golden_glider]

{ immediately post this }


you could have told me

SOBS

[firebrawl]

[There's no point in pretending he doesn't know what she means. He won't insult her like that.]

Never came up with a way to do it

/weeps

[golden_glider]

[So much smarter than people give him credit for.

She started this conversation but she doesn't know how to continue it. She's not the only one who lost him. She's so pissed, she's so hurt, and she can't believe Lenny would leave them like that. But she deserved to know.]

Do you know what my INCENTIVE is? A clean slate. All for me. Make something of myself. And he's out there FUCKING DEAD. And I could DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT if someone had TOLD ME.

[firebrawl]

[She did deserve to know. Sara deserved to know. In this (real-time) moment, Mick isn't even sure why he'd tried to keep anyone from knowing anything.]

Good. You deserve that. Keep yours. I'm doing it already. I'm here to get him back.

[speedforcer]

[he's long since moved past knocking, at least when it comes to mick's door. it's not the first time that he's let himself in, and he already knows it's far from being the last. but now, with harrison gone and with no chance of salvaging the friendship that he had managed to sabotage before it'd even really started--

yeah, he needs the kind of calm and logic that mick seems to be naturally capable of providing for him.

he's already changed into a t-shirt and sleep pants, his feet padding quietly along the floor as he makes his way through mick's apartment and into his bedroom. there's no hesitation there anymore as he slides beneath the covers, an arm wrapping around mick's waist and his head settling on the man's shoulder. whether mick wakes up straight away or not, he doesn't mind. simply being there is enough, for now.]

[firebrawl]

[Some nights, Mick wakes up to find Barry already there, fast asleep, curled around him like a clingy blanket. The first time it had happened, he hadn't known what prompted it or what to do about it, but in the end he'd just let Barry sleep. Seemed like the kid had needed it.

Seems like he'd kept on needing it, since it had turned into a semi-regular thing, but Mick's never turned him back out again, never done anything except make room for him if he's awake, or let him stay on if he comes in while Mick's asleep. He isn't quite there yet tonight, and his eyes blink open in the darkness when he feels the extra-warm arm around his waist. Speedsters run hot, he's learned, and he's got no objection at all.

There's a little rumble as Mick shifts to settle a hand on Barry's head against his shoulder.]

Nnh. Hey, kid.

[speedforcer]

[while he knows that mick wouldn't blame him for waking him up if he were asleep, barry still feels bad for interrupting in the first place. it's a feeling that isn't usually there long. that normally dissipates the moment that mick initiates any kind of contact with him. but this time, with the loss still sitting heavily in his chest, it's impossible to ignore the fact that...maybe mick is just humoring him. that maybe he's taking advantage of the rogues by staying here. that maybe--

maybe, maybe, maybe.

he lets out a huff of air, curling in tighter against mick despite his hangups. he knows it's only a matter of time before he has to actually say something. but right now, he's content to just soak up the comfort that being here with mick provides.]

[firebrawl]

[Frankly, Mick can sleep almost anywhere, and he's usually exhausted by the time he gets upstairs, and the extra warmth Barry brings in usually sends him off even faster, but that sharp huff of breath is enough to wake him up just a little bit more. Barry clings sometimes. And a lot's been happening to him.

Mick's fingers flex, just enough to run through Barry's hair, and he turns his head a little in that direction. He isn't one to ask if Barry wants to talk about it, but if he does, he knows Mick well enough to know he'll stay awake and listen. And if not, they'll fall asleep like this, just like always.

It's not an easy thing to put a name to, but there's something. Soothing. In having this kind of trust from someone. He hasn't led a life that inspires trust. Isn't always sure he's earned this trust, or that he deserves it from this source. But he isn't going to do anything to break it either, and isn't going to think too hard on it.]

[speedforcer]

soooooooooo
on a scale of 1 to 10
howlikelyisitthatyouguyswillkillmeformaybepossiblybringingafriendbackwithme???

[firebrawl]

what's wrong with your phone?

[speedforcer]

nothing
why?

[firebrawl]

[Not using the space must be a speedster thing. Or just a Barry thing. He's puzzled through the one-word sentence now.]

what kind of friend? back from where?

Merry Christmas Mick Rory

[coldlenny]

[On Christmas morning, all of the Rogues will have found packages set out in front of their doors, wrapped in silver paper with snowflakes on them.

Mick's is a 30 year old bottle of scotch, and a Knife fire starter combo kit. Attached is a note - 'you better share this with me, partner']