tampered | log || ongoing

log || ongoing

When; Sunday, November 29th; the other side of Anne's action post.
Rating; PG
Characters;

mumbled_truth
Summary; Since gaining their small, female roommate, Neil and Todd have been lacking the sanctuary that their apartment used to be. Frustrations have built up steadily, and on this particular evening, Todd's gone out, leaving Neil to handle Anne. When he returns, behold, their young charge is nowhere to be found. Again. Their first fight may just be looming.
Log;

Todd held his coat tightly closed against a particularly rough burst of air, one last lashing out of the turning season before he stepped into the lobby of the apartment building. He'd gone out on important enough business, stopping by the library to see about getting a job; he'd been meaning to get to it since October, but being rendered unable to speak had made it difficult to accomplish it until now.

By the time he'd made it upstairs, he'd warmed up a bit; he didn't mind sharing his life with Neil, but at the moment he was happy that this was a week on which he was actually generating body heat. He found the other boy sitting on the couch when he got into their apartment itself, giving him a small smile as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," he put his coat aside over a piece of furniture as he stepped into the apartment, glancing around as he did so. He paused a moment before asking, "Where's Anne?"

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Neil paused in his reading, shutting his book and smiling up at Todd. Of late a smile has been as much affection as they've dared to show one another, in public or in private, and the strain was starting to show in his eyes.

"In her room, far as I know." Her room which used to be their room; the living room has since become Neil's room. Which might be why the lack of privacy is hitting him even harder. The fact that Anne is their first topic of conversation-- before how are you and in lieu of I missed you doesn't help his mood. Not that he doesn't like Anne; he doesn't mind spending time with her, either. But it's difficult, not having any time or space for themselves; and taking care of a little girl is a bit beyond his abilities.

Todd sighed slightly in response to that; in truth, he hated that it was the first thing he had to ask about, too. On the other hand, how he behaved was very much dependent upon the answer o that question. If she was out-- with some alternate form of supervision, of course, not the unannounced vanishing she'd been up to-- then maybe he'd have the nerve to at least give Neil a quick hug before getting too anxious that she was going to walk in.

Instead, he sat down at the other end of the sofa, sparing Neil a longing glance as he did so, his unceremonious flop punctuated with a quiet and almost imperceptibly irritated, "Great."

Neil couldn't help but think, on occasion-- at his least charitable-- that giving her a set of keys was a bad idea. He wasn't sure which was worse; her disappearances, or her ability to walk in unexpectedly. Too dispirited to even shuffle closer to Todd, he only shrugged.

"Actually we should probably think about eating." With a light sigh he stretched, glancing down the hall. "I wasn't thinking about it." Partly because he was wrapped up in his reading, but that's largely a polite excuse. When it isn't his week, he doesn't really get hungry, not properly. Not if he isn't thinking about it.

He didn't say anything about Neil's reasons for not thinking about it; he understands quite well how it feels and works to be dead, here. No need to ask, and no need to explain- it wasn't something he enjoyed talking about.

"Yeah..." His own failure to muster up any enthusiasm was not related to a lack of hunger, but rather the frustration that had been wearing on his mood for weeks now.

"I guess I'll go see if she's hungry," he had no issue dragging himself up; he hadn't really had a chance to get comfortable, but sitting next to Neil without being able to so much as touch him was only a reminder of their situation.

"Yep." Sighing, he pushed off the sofa as well, heading for the kitchen to find something edible. Luckily for the boys (and their new charge,) they've managed to pick up enough cooking to get by. Not that it's strictly necessary-- bless modernity and the variety of frozen food the City has to offer.

Peering into the cabinet as Todd wandered down the hall, he frowned, indecisive.

"Spaghetti, or T.V. dinners?" he called out, to either or both of his roommates.

He didn't call back an answer; by the time the question was posed, he was only a few feet from the kitchen doorway. A moment later he stopped there, putting an arm up on the frame and leaning on it.

"Anne's gone," The irritation was clear in his voice, a remarkably weary annoyance brought on by how often this seemed to happen. His expression matched perfectly; flat, tired, and annoyed. Not only did Anne interfere with their privacy, she also saw fit to sulk and run off all the time. As much as he loved Anne like a little sister that he'd never had, sometimes he hated her like one, too.

Without answering or turning, his shoulders sunk a little, hands dropping in loose fists to the counter before him. Try as he might, Neil can't quite understand why she does this, disappearing without a word, without telling them where she's off to. It's not as though they'd forbid it-- if anything, as caretakers go they're too lenient. He worries when she's gone. He'd worry less if he knew where she was, when she planned to come back.

"Great." Neil's tone was equally weary and irate.

Anne's flair for the dramatic was endearing when she was in a good mood; when she was distraught, it was more than a bit tiresome. Todd sighed as he shifted, lowering his arm and opting to lean with his back against the frame instead. He gazed up toward the ceiling, brow furrowed as he puzzled over it.

"How does she even keep doing this without us knowing?"

The question was rhetorical; an expression of frustration more than anything else.

"I don't know. Am I supposed to watch her like a prison guard?"

He's not exactly being defensive, more commiserating. But it would be easy to mistake his tone, especially since he's still hunched over the counter, fuming quietly.

Mistake it he does; the fuming is obvious, the target somewhat less so. For his own part, Todd is annoyed enough that his own frustration manages to throw his perceptions slightly. Some of that same frustration can be detected in his own tone; it's not exactly aimed at Neil, but the misinterpreted response didn't help.

"Well, no, it's just... I don't get how she keeps getting out without making any noise or anything."

"I don't know either. She must sneak past when I'm getting something from another room. I don't know how you're supposed to deal with this." On that note he does turn, wheeling to lean his back against the surface, arms crossed sulkily.

"I don't know..."

He sighs, shaking his head, a physical manifestation of his internal attempts to clear out his irritation. He takes a deep breath, focusing.

"Alright, well... whatever happened, happened. So..."

Pausing a moment, he frowns, "Well, when's the last time you actually saw her?"

Looking away as he searches his memory, Neil frowns. This is not how he wants to spend the evening, snapping at each other and worrying about Anne. He tries not to resent her-- lord knows she's been through a lot-- but at times like this that's a tall order.

"A couple of hours ago? She came in to find a book. Maybe three hours." Turning back, he stares sullenly at a point just above Todd's shoulder, not meeting his friend's eyes. "I don't know."

That gets his attention; his eyebrows arch, eyes widening as he stands upright, pulling his back off the doorframe.

"Three hours!?"

The words are out of his mouth before he can even stop to think about them, realizing what he's saying only because he hears himself. Of course, once they're out, there's nothing he can do to stop it; the fade from shock to dread and regret is instantaneous.

"She was in her room reading, it's not my job to keep her amused! She's the one who ran off!"

Now he's definitely defensive, and definitely sulking.

Todd backs up immediately, evidently trying to shrink into the wall. As much as he'd like to vanish, he'd rather be able to go back and do that again.

"I didn't-- I know that. That's not-- I-- it's just..."

Great. He can feel himself shutting down, pursing his lips, staring at the ground. Usually Neil is one of the people he doesn't have issues speaking to; feeling himself retreat back into his shell now is almost as upsetting as Neil yelling at him.

He scowls, not at Todd, but at their fight. Not that the difference is necessarily noticeable, especially if you happen to be inclined to self-esteem issues.

"I know-- it's just--"

Biting his lip, feeling utterly hopeless, Neil has no idea how to fix this.

"Look, we shouldn't be-- we should be trying to figure out where she went, not arguing about if it's my fault." Admittedly, he wouldn't be this frustrated if he didn't feel a little guilty. She's just so quiet, when she runs off...

His cautious, occasional glances up at Neil grant him a glimpse of that scowl, and there are few people more inclined to self-esteem issues than Todd. He tries to back himself off further, but given the wall, he's really got nowhere to go.

He steals another glance as Neil speaks, then looks back at the ground. He doesn't disagree with the statement of what they should be doing, of course, but he can't help the reflex response that comes to him.

"I didn't say it was your fault."

His voice is quiet, but with a slight edge of agitation to it. Though it's directed at his own response rather than Neil, the words alone leave little clue as to its source.

"You thought it."

His tone is wounded. This is all getting out of control, very quickly, and he has no idea how to fix things. Fighting with Todd is the last thing he wants to do; but at the moment tensions are too high to do anything about it.

He looks up to return Neil's wounded tone with his own wounded expression, his eyes shining just a bit though he's not quite on the verge of crying, yet.

"I did not!"

His tone is no longer quiet - he's almost yelling, even, and hating each moment more than the last. He would give almost anything just to make this stop, but there's nothing he can do right now, his reactions coming out before he can stop or change them. And this is an important point to him; he didn't think it was Neil's fault, not at all. Not that he expects his friend to believe him after he'd been sniping at him.

Stunned into silence, he can't think of anything to say in response to Todd's outburst. It's terrifying; because even if they've gotten on each other's nerves or snapped once and again, in the whole time they've known each other they've never really fought, and he doesn't know what to do about it.

So he says... nothing, just stands there staring at his friend, expression somewhere between guilt and utter despair. The lows have always hit Neil hard, and right now the certainty is building in the back of his mind that this is more than just a fight.

Todd has actually stunned himself into silence with his own outburst as well; he can't bear to face Neil looking at him like that for more than a few seconds before he lowers his gaze, staring at the floor in his own mix of guilt and misery. He takes a deep, shaky breath in and out, slowly, staring at the floor in a quiet sulk.

If he were being rational, he would doubt that, with everything their relationship has overcome already, a single fight could tear it apart. But he's not, and right now, as much as he hates himself for letting this turn so hostile so quickly, he can't imagine that Neil could feel any differently.

So he bites his lip and keeps staring at the ground, effectively closing himself off.

Anne crosses her fingers and hopes that Neil is in his bedroom or out on a visit, anything but in the living room where he might see her return. She has mastered the art of sneaking out of her bedroom, but she has yet to master the ark of sneaking back in, which is why she gets caught so often. She knows that she shouldn't do it, but her heart feels too big for her room sometimes and her feet pull her out of the room, and there's nothing she can do to stop them.

She gently creaks open the door and tries to slink inside the apartment. To her dismay, Neil is there -- and Todd. She's going to be in such trouble.

But there's something different about the air in the room -- something wrong. Like when Arthur and Merlin were fighting. Anne's heart constricts with fear. No. Not again.

The sound of the door freezes him in place-- not that he had anything to say. He's half relieved, half despairing; Anne's home and presumably safe, he doesn't have to worry about her anymore. For tonight, at least. On the other hand... she's here, which kills any slim hope of reconciliation. He doesn't want this to be over; but fixing things seems beyond his abilities.

"Anne."

He doesn't sound angry, so much as weary. Deeply weary.

He glances up towards the door, careful to move his eyes along the floor and only lifting them once his head is turned to avoid looking at Neil. His avoidance of looking at his friend is actually thanks to the fact that he'd rather not start crying if he can at all help it, but there's no way for him to communicate that.

He doesn't say anything; he just watches her. He's too worn down to say anything right now; and as much as he'd like just a little more time to try to fix things, he's convinced himself that everything is over.

At first, Anne can't even bring herself to speak, for fear that her words would only turn into tears. It was happening again. She was cursed. Every family that she became a part of, she destroyed. She killed Mrs. Thomas' husband, and Mrs. Hammond's husband. She broke up Arthur and Merlin, and then they got sent home. Now Neil and Todd weren't going to be friends anymore, weren't going to be her brothers anymore, and it was all because of her.

"I'm home," she says softly, barely even breathing the words. It's the only thing she could think to say.

Edited 2009-12-07 03:01 (UTC)

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