Pick Me Up, Dust Me Off

[helpdesk_hero]

Life hadn't gotten easier after Utopia. Not by a long shot. Where, after that, does a human being go? Sure, one of the greatest geniuses in the world, but that doesn't mean he has a place in it. Instead he'd gotten to shore, dressed up in casual clothes, and mostly hitchhiked across the country. All the way from San Francisco to here. Chicago. Home.

It's taken two months to get this far, and he's in no great shape. There's a bit of a beard on his cheeks, his clothes are torn up, and he feels like shit. Do you... how do you get comfortable enough to go home in this sort of state? How does he go back and hope they accept him? He feels... miserable. David sighs and sips lightly at the cup of coffee in his hands, keeping them warm. Some person bought it for him, and he's still got to figure out how to get over to Hyde Park and his family's house. To figure out a story.

Two nights he's been in Chicago and he doesn't know what to do. He feels so weak. So useless. Such a broken man after the fall of mutantkind, yet again.

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

Tommy. Well, he'll try. Mostly, though, he is blushing.

"I don't think you would really want in my pants so that's fine. But you are a good person."

He finishes his own sandwich.

"Do you have scissors and a razor? I hate having a beard."

[zoomandboom]

Tommy scoffed. "Yeah I would. Not in a creepy way where I'm going to jumpyouor harass you or something. But you're hot." He shrugged. He'd have slept with David, or fooled around with him or something. "But you don't have to bang me to stay here, I wasn't doing that," Tommy added, more seriously. Because it wasn't unheard of.

"Uh," Tommy thought. "No scissors, just razors in the bathroom." Tommy didn't grow a lot of facial hair, but he still had to shave, so he had some on hand.

[helpdesk_hero]

Dear god Tommy, you're leaving him flustered. To the point where David is definitely having trouble looking straight at him.

"Trust me, if you even suggested it would have knocked you out. I know how to fight a speedster. Mostly."

Well, he'll have to figure out what to do about most of his facial hair and he sighs.

"Listen, if I just, like, owe you, maybe you'd be willing to buy some small scissors and a an electric razor? My hair is too long too."

[zoomandboom]

"Yeah, good. But I wouldn't anyway," Tommy said with a shrug. "We can spar sometime if you want to get more practiceinthough."

"I have an electric razor. I never use it though so it might be shit. But yeah, sure. Just like, look up what you want and show me and I'll go grab it," Tommy said, pulling his phone out again and handing it over to David.

[helpdesk_hero]

What a helpful man. David smiles and quickly finds some cheap options at a local drug store and takes screenshots of htem for Tommy.

"These? When you have time?"

[zoomandboom]

Tommy scanned the pictures and then pocketed the phone. "Got it. Gimme a minute."

And then he was gone with a whoosh of air and the slam of the door.

Tommy was back in less than five minutes, and it only took him that long because he had to wait to be checked out. Self check out lines were STILL too slow since the machines didn't keep up with him, but still better than waiting for people to do it. But there wasn't anybody in there, so it didn't take long, by normal people standards.

He slammed back in with the same lack of warning and dropped the bag on David before plopping back down. "They didn't have like, sweats or anything but I gotyousomeextrasocks and a tooth brush and stuff too, just so you have it," he said with a shrug.

[helpdesk_hero]

All these years around a variety of different sorts of speedsters, and David STILL doesn't really find himself prepared for that there and back again quality that they live with. The sort of thing that might seem to be, to him, highly impulsive. It's exciting too, he has to think.

Mostly, though, he's left smiling by the time Tommy gets back with extra things too. Smiling and almost tearing up because...

"That's more than anyone's done for me since Utopia. I... thank you, Tommy. You're a credit to mutant kind."

[zoomandboom]

[OOC: Sorry, my computer went in yesterday for repairs, hopefully, and if not I have to figure out credit to replace it, so I'm on a borrowed one right now that takes five minutes to load a page and tends to flicker out all the time, so I'm SUPER slow to get to anything.]

Tommy shook his head, nudging David's foot with the toe of his own. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. I'm just not a COMPLETE asshole. Just, yanno. Mostly."

He flashed David a quick smile and shrugged. "But you're welcome."

[helpdesk_hero]

[OOC: n/p. It’s all cool]

“Something tells me you’re not an asshole at all,” David counters, trying to surreptitiously wipe a tear from his eyes. “I’m... I’m gonna shave and stuff. Promise not to laugh over how I look without a beard? Because I promise it’s better.”

[zoomandboom]

"Yeah, no. I definitelyam," Tommy insisted. He blew out a disbelieving huff. "Dude. You're hot even with the scruff beard. I'm not gonna laugh when you're even hotter without it. Go do whatever you wanna do. I'm just gonna hang out. If you end up wanting to stick around another night, I'll get a copy of the key made in case I'm not around."

[helpdesk_hero]

Hot, even with a scruffy beard? David flushes a little. But he just gets to his feet.

"I'll try and stay out of your hair," David promises, his voice light. And... shaky? Just a little. He's never been hit on by a guy before. He's...

Surprised he finds it very flattering. And perhaps, for a moment, it almost makes him feel like that guy he was in high school who wanted a relationship.

Oh god, I'm not crazy. The Cuckoos really did just make me aware of it.

[zoomandboom]

"That's where they asshole comes in. If you're in the way, I'll tell you. So if I don't say anything, you're cool," Tommy said. He heard that little shaky note in David's voice though and looked over, giving him a once over to see if he was okay and then another quick smile.

[helpdesk_hero]

Stop smiling like that. Geez. David's... never had to confront his sexuality before, so this is weird. So he just dodges away into the bathroom. Because he has to.

And he's definitely in the bathroom for a while, shaving and trimming and slowly working through it. When he's done he returns to the kitchen and considers.

"Uh. Hi. Well?"

[zoomandboom]

Tommy gave David his time and space, and was tucked into the corner of the sofa with his laptop by the time David came out, idly clicking rapidly through a bunch of news stories or postings from various mutants or heroes who sometimes threw him jobs they needed help with or some job listings to see if there was anything likely to hire him to breeze through.

He looked up when David came out and grinned at him, flashing a thumbs up. "Yeah, look good, man. You probably could have made a beard work if you trimmed it up, but this is good."

[helpdesk_hero]

Interesting. All very interesting. David is a bit embarrassed again, and he wants to move to sit.

"Can... I join you? On the couch?"

Because some rest would be nice. Especially rest somewhere he can feel safe enough to sleep.

[zoomandboom]

"Yeah, sure," Tommy said, tucking his feet up under him more and motioning David to sit. "You're staying here, you don't like ... havetoask for stuff like that. Just do whatever you want. If you use something up, just tell me so I can get more if we need to, yeah?"

[helpdesk_hero]

It's weird, but David nods. He's not used to all of that. He frowns and settles down onto the couch.

"Can I ask something, it's a bit intrusive."

[zoomandboom]

Tommy clicked through another couple of ads and reached for another couple of chips from the bag, shoving them in his mouth as David sat.

He looked up, head tipping. "Yeah? Sure. I mean I just won't answer if I don't wanna."

[helpdesk_hero]

"What's it like to be free? To do what you want, to be who you want?"

Because David's been living in other people's shadows and according to their wills for a while now.

[zoomandboom]

Tommy's brows drew together. "I don't know whatyoumean," he admitted, shrugging. "It's ... I don't know. I'm not really doing what I want. I mean, I'm doing the best I can but ... I'd want to be working with my team and all that. But it's okay. No one tries to tell me what not to do anymore, so that's cool." But it was lonely, when you were used to a team. And no one tried to tell you (except Billy) because no one gave a shit about you, mostly. "It's better than not being who I want, but even with powers still, we're all just kind of making do, right?" Tommy said after a minute.

[helpdesk_hero]

Strange. Here he had thought the man was free. Truly free. David sighs and his hands clench at his sides.

"I was hoping you'd say it was fun. I wish it was true, because... because I don't know how to be alone."

[zoomandboom]

"It can be, sometimes." Tommy frowned. "Sorry," he added. "I don't want to ... I don't know. Sell you like it sucks. It's not that bad. I've had it worse. I've just haditbetter, too." He smiled ruefully. "I didn't think it'd be as fucked up as it is. Being along all the time. I used to figured that's how I'd always be. But now ... yeah. It's hard. But you're here for now, so ... we can hang at least?"

[helpdesk_hero]

"I'm... I used to have so many people around me. So many voices. So many people crying out because they needed something. I used to be important," he sighs. But it wasn't htat anymore. He wasn't that anymore.

"I don't know how to be alone. And my family can never understand what I am."

[zoomandboom]

"I wasn't," Tommy said. He smiled a little bitterly. "I wasn'tthatimportant. Still not. So you got it for a while. But ... I don't know. You could still be important. Just different way, or to one or two people." Tommy didn't really know what to say that could make David feel any better. He'd offered him a place to stay so he wasn't alone, but that's all he had, really. He couldn't make the world less screwed up, or David's family better. "Sorry," he offered finally, hand fluttering a little like he wanted to reach out, but thought better of it.

[helpdesk_hero]

"Dont apologize. You haven't done anything wrong. From what I understand of your history, you're a good guy. YOu do the right thing," David dismisses with a sigh. "Your grandfather is proud."