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[dichotomos]

You know when they've disappeared.

I'd never bought into that sentiment, never quite allowed myself to believe it. Denial leaps to mind first, but I think it went deeper than that, into a disbelief that was part of my makeup. I'd never been a people person; I didn't have normal relationships, if I had them at all. When Robin had gone, I'd looked

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[dichotomos]

The last thing I want from anyone is sympathy, but I got the impression that Ish understood that well enough. His voice wasn't quite as brusque as I was used to, but he had the booze out when he saw me coming, which signaled that we were at least in the same book if not on the same exact page.

I nodded his way wordlessly as I slid onto a stool, and propped my elbows against the top of the bar. "Keep it coming," I muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

[dichotomos]

That Ishiah resembled Niko was not just a widely-known fact but an inside joke. It was highly unlikely that Niko would indulge me in my quest for alcoholic oblivion, but he definitely would have told me I needed a shower, and right then I didn't know whether to be comforted or irritated by the way Ish had decided to take up the brotherly mantle. I went for a little of both when I peered up at the peri.

"No shit, Sherlock."

[knowthyexits]

She's been watching other people in order to get her mind off herself. It's something that won't last permanently, but for now it takes her mind off of knowing she'll be dead by the time she's forty. She'd seen Cal around and he didn't seem to look the best and so after her shift at the Winchester, she wrapped up a plate and brought it to his place.

When he wasn't there, she'd checked the other likely places and finds him, finally, at the Hub. She sets the plate down in front of him, taking the seat beside him and resting her forearms on the table in front of her.

"Eat," she coaxes, quietly.

[dichotomos]

It was strange, the relationship I had with Sarah. I hesitated to think of it as maternal, if only because my own mother was such a mean-spirited, selfish bitch. Sisterly, maybe, although I'd only ever had a brother. In a way, it was reassuring to know that someone was looking out for me after Nik had gone, even though so much of me rebelled at the idea that I needed it.

I pointed an arched brow Sarah's way, but peeled the foil back from the plate and commenced eating anyway.

[knowthyexits]

"Don't give me that look," she returns instantly. She's seen it enough times on enough faces to already be tired of it within moments of sitting down to join him. "You came out with me when I asked you to," she says, her voice low and subdued. This is their private matter and not for anyone else to overhear. "I'm returning the favor, whether you want it or not."

[dichotomos]

"I didn't do it for something in return," I muttered around a mouthful of food, and stabbed eagerly at what was still on my plate. After I swallowed, though, I didn't lift the fork to my mouth again; I leveled Sarah with a heavy gaze as I tongued at the meat caught between my molars.

"Although you do still owe me an explanation, so I'll take that now."

[justsookie]

Back home, I had a chaise lounge

[dichotomos]

"Just running," I lied, my voice rough from disuse. I'd barely spoken in days, and fuck knew why I was stopping to have a chat now, especially with Sookie, who still had the power to make me go from zero to irate in a blink. I squinted up at the cloudless blue sky and then back down to the girl sitting at my feet.

"Is there something wrong with the beach?"

[justsookie]

For such a small island, there's still a whole lot of beach out there, enough for someone to get practically lost out there without anyone in hearing range. That's why I'd been keeping more to the populated parts of Tabula Rasa lately, the Compound, the boardwalk, places people were likely to be. Russell Edgington had a lot to do with it. The thought of encountering him while alone on the island, well, I was starting to feel that he was touched enough in the head that anything could have happened. What kind of person he was, I hadn't figure out yet. I just didn't want to learn without an easy way out.

So I lied.

"Too much sand on the beach," I sighed. "It'd get all over my clothes, make workin' at the office later today a complete pain. And it's easier for people to find me here if they need me. I'm supposed to be all responsible, now."

I cast another look in his direction. "Wanna sit?"

[dichotomos]

I opened my mouth to point out that the Compound came complete with a plethora of shower stalls, all free for Sookie's use, but thought better of it. Strange as it was to admit to myself, I was just too damned tired to get into an argument with her over something that stupid.

Also strange was the fact that yeah, I actually did want to sit.

"You were always responsible," I said once I'd settled on the edge of the boardwalk, elbows braced on my knees.

[just_hormones]

When Aphrodite sees him sitting at the bar of the Hub, it occurs to her that she should leave him alone, let him go on his not-so-merry way just this once. But contrary to what people might think of her, she does have some kind of tact, and the smarts to know when not to push it.

She's not about to let him sit there alone, though.

"Adonis," she greets as she sits next to him, not quite as bright as she normally is, and takes in his sweaty appearance. "You look like you've been working hard."

[dichotomos]

"Go away," I immediately replied without looking up from my drink. I'd clocked her when I'd walked in and had wondered how long it would be before my alone time was disturbed with pointless yammering about my need to get laid.

[just_hormones]

"Wow, harsh much?" Aphrodite doesn't really blame him for that response, but she's got to get her two dinars in there anyway. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bug you about your love life right now. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know something about losing people, and I'm sorry you're having to go through this."

[dichotomos]

Truth told, I would have preferred her to act like normal. At least then I had a reason to turn her away. But no, she just had to be perceptive and nice, which was a whole other level of irritation.

"If you don't know that I'm always an asshole by now, lady, you might want to adjust your worldview," I muttered.

[chose]

She keeps busy. Over a month after Angel disappeared and Buffy can't lie to herself, she's still hurt, but rather than wallow, she keeps busy. Life goes on, just as it did when he left Sunnydale, when Riley left for the jungle, when Spike left for... well, she's not exactly sure where he went, but the point is that he left. Even before the island, people left Buffy left and right, and she's always soldiered on. It's the one thing her crappy life prepared her for, so at least there's that. (Quietly, though, she has to wonder if she has the power to run people off the island, too. For obvious reasons, this theory goes untested

[dichotomos]

"Don't worry about it," I replied, and cleared my throat. I'd barely spoken the last several days, and it felt strange to hear my voice now. Rough, like I'd picked up a smoking habit without knowing it. "You wouldn't have hit me, but you might want to watch out for other people."

It wasn't bragging, it was just fact. Even bedraggled and half-exhausted, I'd seen her coming long before she'd nearly run into me.

[chose]

Unfortunately lacking in the tact department, Buffy is quick to react, the roll of her eyes only partly obscured by her squinting in the sunlight. "Aye aye captain," she says with a firm, exaggerated nod. Her expression sobers, however, the following moment. "Oh my god, you look like you're leaking or... something, whatever, are you okay?" (No mind is paid to the fact that she's sweating a fair amount herself.)

[dichotomos]

"It's called sweat. It's what most people do when it's hot," I replied with a disbelieving lift of my eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure that shelf in the rec room can give you a biology book to explain it if you can't find a science nerd to do it instead." I paused in wiping my neck and offered her a wry look. "Don't worry, I won't get any on you."