A Pink Corner House, Bristol, Wednesday Afternoon
Mitchell had asked Kate in Fandom, and called Jack; somehow it felt important for them to be there, as they'd been there for a lot of the insanity of the past year in Bristol. They had arrived sometime during the day, both a nice distraction from Annie's angry, charged silences and George's quiet, guilty glances.
Though in some ways, Kate's anger wasn't much better, either.
But time passed by, and Mitchell knew he couldn't stick around forever. So he called them all into the living room. To send George off to his new life, to make amends with Annie, to say goodbye.
Everyone
The silence was a little deafening, all in all, now that Mitchell was back and George was-- and everything.
"So," George said, at last, and glanced at Annie. "I'll-- meet you at the station. Later."
"Maybe," she said, obstinately, and leaned against the doorframe. "Or maybe I'll stay here and fight."
Mitchell exhaled. This wasn't easy, exactly.
Kate
Kate stood a little further away, as if to not intrude much. Almost like this didn't concern her, though it did.
"Everyone here is completely insane," she muttered darkly, mostly to herself.
Jack
"I think we have to include ourselves in that," Jack said, equally softly.
After all, he'd come back.
Kate
"Hmph."
Well, Kate didn't quite agree, surprising no one. She thought she was being levelheaded, even if she knew there were bigger things going on here than she could really grasp. Stating she was the sane one was a good way of shielding herself from the big stuff.
But she wasn't going to start arguing about that. She just looked on.
Mitchell, George & Annie
Mitchell's eyes had darted towards the two of them once or twice as they spoke, because he at least had been hearing it. He just wasn't in any mood to pass comment. Instead, he tousled his hair, and looked at the both of them more obviously this time, so they'd notice.
George took a second breath. "There will come a day where all of you will get why we're-- doing the things we're doing," he started.
"Oh, don't worry," Annie said, with a disgusted snort. "I get it."
Jack
"I didn't say I saw another option," Jack offered. "Just that it's all mad, and sensible people would have stayed home with their tea and schoolbooks."
Luckily, Jack rarely worried overmuch about what, precisely, was sensible.
Kate
Kate said nothing. She met Mitchell's gaze with a steady one of her own, but said nothing, and then let her attention slide towards George again.
It was safe to say she doubted his words.
George & Mitchell
There were a lot of looks flitting about; George's to Jack lingered, before it moved back onto Mitchell.
"Can you remember when we met?" he said, with an unsteady laugh. "I was being attacked, but you saved me, and you told me I had to get away, and," George shut his eyes, and when he opened them, met Mitchell's. "... and then I said, 'And then what?'. I have this... thing hanging about me that I can't leave behind, so my life will always be, 'And then what?'"
Mitchell shifted in place. It wasn't just that. There had been the house. There had been the school, there was Kate, and Jack, and even Chloe-- "But there was this," Mitchell said, and he looked towards them again, those kids.
Jack
Jack shrugged back at George, half apologetic. Then his eyes were on Kate, then Mitchell as he considered the moment.
"There's this," he said. "All of this. Good and bad."
More bad than good, lately, but he didn't believe that was forever. They just had to take care of Herrick, and then -- then things would be normal, or as close to it as they ever were.
The word flitting through his mind with unwanted sentiment was family.
Kate
And that word wasn't far from Kate's mind, either, as much as she was ignoring it. Or at least trying to, since it just made all this that much worse.
She couldn't believe Jack sounded so calm when all she really wanted to do was scream and yell at every single one of them. And she couldn't even do that, because now she was suddenly feeling like she might cry soon, and that just made her look angrier.
She stayed quiet and glaring at the room at large.
George & Mitchell
"He's right." Mitchell tried for a smile, and even managed it, much to his own surprise. "You thought there'd be nothing, but there was this. There was the house. You and me. Annie. Kate and Jack, and everyone else at the school."
George lost it, then, tears in his eyes. His voice reached squeaky heights. "It wasn't human, though, was it?"
"It was never going to be that." Mitchell's expression softened further. He extended his arms, just a little; a second later, George was hugging him, arms heavy, chin on his shoulder.
He hugged the vampire close, snuffling into the air just by his neck, and squeaked, "I didn't think so."
Jack
Jack sounded calm because the alternative was -- that. Sobbing like George. He liked his sense of control, thank you.
The moment seemed to be between vampire and werewolf, so he let it stay there. He briefly glanced over to Kate to ask with his eyebrow if she knew what to do.
Kate
And Kate... had no idea what to do. She just kept frowning even as she glanced over at Jack, also feeling as if she'd be intruding if she looked at Mitchell and George.
And that she'd end up crying too. No, thank you.
Mitchell
Eventually, Mitchell gave George a pat on the back and let go. George breathed shakily, then nodded, taking a step back. It was done, then. Whatever was going to happen, they'd made their peace, and now Mitchell just had to see this through.
He looked at Kate. "Thank you for being here," he said. He sounded so hoarse he might as well have been shouting for hours prior to this moment.
Kate
Kate's expression softened some, not that she'd wanted it to, and she gave a shrug so slight it hardly happened.
"Wasn't really a choice," she said. Of course she'd come. "Still think this is completely insane."
Mitchell
He smiled; it was just a wry little twitch of his lips, but still, a smile.
"Can I get a hug, Kate?" Mitchell asked, with self-aware amusement. "Or is that too lame?"
Kate
Oh, that sparked all kinds of anger again, that he could smile even a little or be amused at anything at all when everything was... like this.
But it was all anger she couldn't get out, couldn't even express, and she extended her arms with a twitch, just the slightest bit. If he wanted a hug he was going to have to come get it himself, because her feet felt glued to the floor.
Mitchell
It was this, this not taking it seriously, not completely, that was keeping him from having a complete meltdown in the face of a gambit even Mitchell knew was stacked against him in so many ways.
He was just trying to get his best out of this while he still could.
He did take a step forward, though; in fact, he went for that hug completely, amusement slipping out of his expression by the second. She'd been his little sister, like Annie, in some ways, and he hugged her like that. And she'd been good, and human, and she was going to hate him a lot for this, he was aware of that.
"I'm sorry."
Kate
Kate hated him for all of this already, really. So much. But she cared about him too, and that hadn't changed even when he'd done what had felt like his best efforts to push her away. Stupid fake big brother.
"Shut up," she choked out, clinging to him. "Just shut the fuck up."
Not that that would stop the tears already escaping from her tightly shut eyes.
Mitchell
"Okay," Mitchell answered, giving her a moment. Two. Three.
Then he let go gently, trying to smile, not-quite making it. "You're going to turn out fine, Kate," he said, both because it was true, and because he needed something to say.
Kate
Kate didn't say anything but she did let go of him, even if it was slow and reluctant, and she took an unsteady step back.
Her cheeks were wet, and she looked angry and helpless for the brief moment it took before she was looking down at the floor. She didn't particularly want to keep looking at him right now, sorry.
[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay; preplayed with the amazing bitten_notshy and vanillajello. Adapted from Being Human 1x06. More to follow; follows from here ]]
Though in some ways, Kate's anger wasn't much better, either.
But time passed by, and Mitchell knew he couldn't stick around forever. So he called them all into the living room. To send George off to his new life, to make amends with Annie, to say goodbye.
Everyone
The silence was a little deafening, all in all, now that Mitchell was back and George was-- and everything.
"So," George said, at last, and glanced at Annie. "I'll-- meet you at the station. Later."
"Maybe," she said, obstinately, and leaned against the doorframe. "Or maybe I'll stay here and fight."
Mitchell exhaled. This wasn't easy, exactly.
Kate
Kate stood a little further away, as if to not intrude much. Almost like this didn't concern her, though it did.
"Everyone here is completely insane," she muttered darkly, mostly to herself.
Jack
"I think we have to include ourselves in that," Jack said, equally softly.
After all, he'd come back.
Kate
"Hmph."
Well, Kate didn't quite agree, surprising no one. She thought she was being levelheaded, even if she knew there were bigger things going on here than she could really grasp. Stating she was the sane one was a good way of shielding herself from the big stuff.
But she wasn't going to start arguing about that. She just looked on.
Mitchell, George & Annie
Mitchell's eyes had darted towards the two of them once or twice as they spoke, because he at least had been hearing it. He just wasn't in any mood to pass comment. Instead, he tousled his hair, and looked at the both of them more obviously this time, so they'd notice.
George took a second breath. "There will come a day where all of you will get why we're-- doing the things we're doing," he started.
"Oh, don't worry," Annie said, with a disgusted snort. "I get it."
Jack
"I didn't say I saw another option," Jack offered. "Just that it's all mad, and sensible people would have stayed home with their tea and schoolbooks."
Luckily, Jack rarely worried overmuch about what, precisely, was sensible.
Kate
Kate said nothing. She met Mitchell's gaze with a steady one of her own, but said nothing, and then let her attention slide towards George again.
It was safe to say she doubted his words.
George & Mitchell
There were a lot of looks flitting about; George's to Jack lingered, before it moved back onto Mitchell.
"Can you remember when we met?" he said, with an unsteady laugh. "I was being attacked, but you saved me, and you told me I had to get away, and," George shut his eyes, and when he opened them, met Mitchell's. "... and then I said, 'And then what?'. I have this... thing hanging about me that I can't leave behind, so my life will always be, 'And then what?'"
Mitchell shifted in place. It wasn't just that. There had been the house. There had been the school, there was Kate, and Jack, and even Chloe-- "But there was this," Mitchell said, and he looked towards them again, those kids.
Jack
Jack shrugged back at George, half apologetic. Then his eyes were on Kate, then Mitchell as he considered the moment.
"There's this," he said. "All of this. Good and bad."
More bad than good, lately, but he didn't believe that was forever. They just had to take care of Herrick, and then -- then things would be normal, or as close to it as they ever were.
The word flitting through his mind with unwanted sentiment was family.
Kate
And that word wasn't far from Kate's mind, either, as much as she was ignoring it. Or at least trying to, since it just made all this that much worse.
She couldn't believe Jack sounded so calm when all she really wanted to do was scream and yell at every single one of them. And she couldn't even do that, because now she was suddenly feeling like she might cry soon, and that just made her look angrier.
She stayed quiet and glaring at the room at large.
George & Mitchell
"He's right." Mitchell tried for a smile, and even managed it, much to his own surprise. "You thought there'd be nothing, but there was this. There was the house. You and me. Annie. Kate and Jack, and everyone else at the school."
George lost it, then, tears in his eyes. His voice reached squeaky heights. "It wasn't human, though, was it?"
"It was never going to be that." Mitchell's expression softened further. He extended his arms, just a little; a second later, George was hugging him, arms heavy, chin on his shoulder.
He hugged the vampire close, snuffling into the air just by his neck, and squeaked, "I didn't think so."
Jack
Jack sounded calm because the alternative was -- that. Sobbing like George. He liked his sense of control, thank you.
The moment seemed to be between vampire and werewolf, so he let it stay there. He briefly glanced over to Kate to ask with his eyebrow if she knew what to do.
Kate
And Kate... had no idea what to do. She just kept frowning even as she glanced over at Jack, also feeling as if she'd be intruding if she looked at Mitchell and George.
And that she'd end up crying too. No, thank you.
Mitchell
Eventually, Mitchell gave George a pat on the back and let go. George breathed shakily, then nodded, taking a step back. It was done, then. Whatever was going to happen, they'd made their peace, and now Mitchell just had to see this through.
He looked at Kate. "Thank you for being here," he said. He sounded so hoarse he might as well have been shouting for hours prior to this moment.
Kate
Kate's expression softened some, not that she'd wanted it to, and she gave a shrug so slight it hardly happened.
"Wasn't really a choice," she said. Of course she'd come. "Still think this is completely insane."
Mitchell
He smiled; it was just a wry little twitch of his lips, but still, a smile.
"Can I get a hug, Kate?" Mitchell asked, with self-aware amusement. "Or is that too lame?"
Kate
Oh, that sparked all kinds of anger again, that he could smile even a little or be amused at anything at all when everything was... like this.
But it was all anger she couldn't get out, couldn't even express, and she extended her arms with a twitch, just the slightest bit. If he wanted a hug he was going to have to come get it himself, because her feet felt glued to the floor.
Mitchell
It was this, this not taking it seriously, not completely, that was keeping him from having a complete meltdown in the face of a gambit even Mitchell knew was stacked against him in so many ways.
He was just trying to get his best out of this while he still could.
He did take a step forward, though; in fact, he went for that hug completely, amusement slipping out of his expression by the second. She'd been his little sister, like Annie, in some ways, and he hugged her like that. And she'd been good, and human, and she was going to hate him a lot for this, he was aware of that.
"I'm sorry."
Kate
Kate hated him for all of this already, really. So much. But she cared about him too, and that hadn't changed even when he'd done what had felt like his best efforts to push her away. Stupid fake big brother.
"Shut up," she choked out, clinging to him. "Just shut the fuck up."
Not that that would stop the tears already escaping from her tightly shut eyes.
Mitchell
"Okay," Mitchell answered, giving her a moment. Two. Three.
Then he let go gently, trying to smile, not-quite making it. "You're going to turn out fine, Kate," he said, both because it was true, and because he needed something to say.
Kate
Kate didn't say anything but she did let go of him, even if it was slow and reluctant, and she took an unsteady step back.
Her cheeks were wet, and she looked angry and helpless for the brief moment it took before she was looking down at the floor. She didn't particularly want to keep looking at him right now, sorry.
[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay; preplayed with the amazing bitten_notshy and vanillajello. Adapted from Being Human 1x06. More to follow; follows from here ]]