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[pitythetrumper]

Freddie was not an animal person. He knew there were plenty of people around the island who had cats and dogs and birds and all kinds of things that made noise and smelled and he'd never planned on being one of those people. He'd never wanted to be one of those people, but he didn't have a choice when Maureen disappeared. She'd left an animal

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[whoneedsadream]

Freddie and a dog. The ludicrous image was almost enough to make Anatoly laugh and forget the desire to punch the man in the jaw as hard as possible. As it was, he had to take a breath and remind himself to be civil - he didn't want to upset the dog, after all. It was not his fault he had poor taste in people.

"I see you have a friend," Anatoly said and if there was an implication that it was Freddie's only friend, it was a mere coincidence.

[pitythetrumper]

"I have many." It wasn't quite the truth. He had a few. There were definite times when he missed the crowds fawning over him. When he missed people elbowing each other out of the way in order to see him playing a game of chess. The problem was that he hadn't figured out how to replicate the situation here on the island. There weren't a lot of fans of chess, it would seem.

[whoneedsadream]

"You do? Still? You have not called them parasites or driven them away? Truly, I am very impressed at your restraint. Perhaps you should receive an award." Anatoly wasn't even trying to be nice anymore. There was no point, not when Freddie was determined to be an ass no matter the situation.

[pitythetrumper]

There was a muscle near Freddie's temple that twitched. He should have figured that it would be like this again. Should have figured that any progress they'd made would be wiped clean. "I only call them parasites when they are." His smile was nasty. "And look at you. You haven't been driven away yet. I must be doing something wrong."

[whoneedsadream]

"I am not your friend, am I?"

They had been, almost - if not quite friends then something similar but Florence's arrival had turned it all around. Freddie's behavior had been nothing short of abominable and certainly no comfort to an upset Florence.

[pitythetrumper]

"Of course not." And if they had been, they weren't any longer. He blamed it on Florence, of course. Florence always came between them. Or rather, Florence always seemed to make a bad situation worse. Or a good situation miserable.

[whoneedsadream]

The proper thing to do would be to turn around and walk away, leaving Freddie and his new friend alone but of course, Anatoly couldn't do that anymore than the sun could stop shining.

"Have you seen Florence lately? But no, I suppose checking on her to make sure she is well is far beyond your capabilities."

[pitythetrumper]

"Give me one reason why I should care," Freddie replied bluntly. "She didn't care about me when she walked away. When she ridiculed me when all I was trying to do was help her. She doesn't care about me now. I'm betting she goes out of her way to avoid me. So tell me why I should care the slightest about whether or not she is 'well'."

There was a small part of him that did want to care, but it was overshadowed by the part that hated her for what she had done to him.

[whoneedsadream]

He could not hit Freddie again. He could not get in another fight and be arrested by the IPD. Lex would be disappointed, Florence and his adopted children would be horrified. He had to be the one in control, the better man. All these thoughts ran through Anatoly's head and yet he still could not help making fists.

"She is lost and pulled out of her time to this place and she has no one here but us. If you ever loved her for herself and not what she could do for you, even for a moment, you would worry about her and want to make sure that she was all right."

[pitythetrumper]

"I had no one here when I arrived," Freddie said, deliberately ignoring the fact that he'd known Anatoly was here not long after he'd arrived. They'd never been close. They never would be close. It was a mantra he used to ignore the times when they had been. The times like watching that damn musical when Anatoly saw that damn song about his childhood. He could still remember groping to turn it off and Anatoly not letting him.

He shuddered a little and shook his head. "If I ever loved her for herself, it ended after the way she...after everything that happened." The one person he'd let in and she had smashed his heart to pieces.

Sometimes he almost wondered whether he was keeping even Prior at arm's length, but he tried not to think about it too much.

[whoneedsadream]

"You had no one here... do you even listen to yourself and what you say?" Anatoly gesticulated wildly. "You just choose to remember things how you believe them to be, not how they actually were."

"Fine. If you wish to be a selfish bastard and care about no one but yourself, that is your choice. Prior is a saint not to have thrown you out ages ago."

[pitythetrumper]

"What, do you want to say I had you?" Freddie laughed. "I wouldn't say that at all. But all right, if we're including the people like Prior and Maureen and Trixa, I did have people. And so can Florence. I'm sure she'll find plenty of people who think that she's Maureen who will take her in on that alone."

He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Anatoly. "But it won't be me."

[whoneedsadream]

"It won't be you," Anatoly repeated in disgust. "No, of course not. I thought I couldn't think less of you than I already do but it seems I was wrong."

He hadn't truly expected anything from Freddie, it was true, and he was honest enough to appreciate how his refusal to own any sort of responsibility only reflected the better on him in Florence's eyes. It was only himself he was hurting but still, Anatoly had hoped for better considering how much Florence had meant to him.

[pitythetrumper]

"Oh, how did I forget? You were the heartbreaker, not the heartbreakee. I should have figured you'd still be her knight in tarnished armor. What surprises me is that she's still talking to you after finding out that you're sleeping with someone else." It might have pissed him off a little, too. She could forgive Anatoly and yet he had done nothing but be himself - something she'd lived with for years - and she couldn't forgive him. He hated double standards.

[whoneedsadream]

Anatoly winced but stood his ground. Except for that time with Lex, it was true that he had always been the one to leave but it was galling to have Freddie point it out as if he were not aware of that fact.

"You could ask her. If you cared."

[pitythetrumper]

"Give me one good reason why I should care when she didn't care the slightest bit about me?" He stabbed a finger in Anatoly's direction. "When neither of you gave a damn about what I was feeling or whether I was feeling anything at all. The heartless American, am I right?"

He shook his head. "Just go back to your fantasies. At least they'll sustain you."