10 Mischiefs Managed - [text]

[greding]

Fred's gone home.

[Filtered to the Weasleys]

Don't try to find me.

[ooc: George will be alternating between the bar and locking himself in the backroom of the shop. Action for anyone who might know where to look/bumps into him.]

Comments

text > action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ It's not fair. It's not fair, and she should be thinking about the others, too, but she's not because right now, they don't matter as much. ]

I'm so, so sorry.

[ But it's not enough, never will be, and she doesn't know what she can do via text... so she calls off work and goes out looking for him. Her hands are shaking, and she should be trying to quit but she ignores that fact in favor of lighting a cigarette, trying to occupy her hands and calm herself down before she runs into him.

The fact that she might not run into him at all is thought about and them ignored. She'll find him. She has to. ]

action;

[greding]

[He's glad for the touch at the moment. His hand comes to rest of her knee, while the other still holds onto his glass, his knuckles turning white.]

You know, I wasn't there when he left. I'd gone to do some things at the shop, and he wasn't at home when he came back. I didn't think anything of it, I just went to sleep. But he was still gone when I woke up.

[He finishes what's in his glass, and gets the bottle for more.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ That hand gently rubs his back, trying to soothe even though she's not sure how much good it'll do. ]

I think it'd be harder to be there.

[ To stand and watch and know there's nothing you can do. She thinks of Cobb, watching his wife jump off a building and being told that everyone would think he had killed her, and swallows. Either way, she doesn't really know. She hopes she never will. ]

action;

[greding]

I didn't get to say goodbye to him. Not before, either.

[He glances at her, waiting for the follow up question.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ She swallows again. She knows what 'before' is, or at least she thinks she does, a cold feeling settling in her stomach -- or maybe it's been there since she saw him saying Fred was gone, and she's only just noticing it now. ]

I know.

[ Or she'd put the pieces together, at least. She didn't really know, but she doesn't know what else to say. ]

Percy told me when he first arrived. [ She threatened to hurt him if he hurt any of them, and now he's probably hurting, too. ]

action;

[greding]

[He's been working at holding himself together all day, but there's no point now. No point in the pretenses when she knows. The tears start slipping out of the corners of his eyes, and he presses the heal of his hand against them, trying and failing to hold them in.]

This place was supposed to be our second chance.

action;

[oneminutemaze]

I know.

[ God, she's so, so sorry. She wishes she could say something that would fix all of this, that might make him feel at least a little bit better, but that might be crueler in the long run. He might come back, might drop by on the visitors days that Eames talks about... but he might not, so she keeps it to herself. He got more time with him, yes... but it'll never be enough, will it? ]

He loves you, George. He loved the time you two had here.

[ She tries to take his glass, other hand still on his back. ]

He was able to see how you were doing -- see you happy. It's not fair that he's gone, but... for whatever it's worth... he was here with you, and you were with him, despite everything. It'll never be enough, but it's something to hold onto.

[ She's not sure what she's saying, trying to sound like she knows what she's talking about despite the tiniest waver in her voice. He lost a brother. That's more important than her losing a friend. ]

action;

[greding]

[Something nasty and cold uncurls in his stomach, like it does every time people try to say something 'comforting'. Merlin, people speak like they know. Like they know what it's like to lose someone who's a part of you the way Fred's always been a part of him. How do you explain that to someone? Maybe that's why he turns into a selfish prat and avoids everyone. He can't stand the way the pity makes him hate them.

But he doesn't want to hate her. He couldn't hate her. Not when she's trying to help. He lets her take the glass and buries his face in both hands. Trying to block everything out.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ She doesn't know, and she never will. She feels so helpless, so she tries to press on, tries to help while knowing that she doesn't know how to help at all. The glass goes on the windowsill with the others, and now it's her turn to shift, to rest her head on his shoulder while she wraps her arms around him. The angle's awkward, but she doesn't care. That's not important. He's important. What he's feeling is important. Her attempts at helping, no matter how helpless she feels, floundering in a way she's certain she never has before, that's important. ]

action;

[greding]

[She'll be able to tell that his shoulders are shaking now. He doesn't make noise when he cries, the only clue being the slight tremor under her hands. His hands come away from his face and he's twisting, burying his face in her lap.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ It breaks her heart to see him like this. It's not fair, it's really not, and she wraps her arms around him as best she can, rubbing his back and sliding fingers through his hair. Whatever it takes to let him know that she's there for him. ]

action;

[greding]

[This is enough, for now, knowing there's someone he can let go around. His hands come around her hips, holding onto her as tight as he can as he lets it all out.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ She's fully prepared to sit there for as long as it takes, hands on his back and in his hair. It's an awkward position, her own head bowed down, brown hair brushing against him. It's all she can do, unwilling to move in case he pulls away and closes off. ]

action;

[greding]

[It's some time before he calms down. The shaking stops, and he stays leaned against her, just needing to be still for a while. He finally sits up, hastily wiping at his face as he does.]

action;

[oneminutemaze]

[ She has to pull away somewhat so he can sit up, but she doesn't want to. Her hands don't leave him; they move, yes, but she's still touching him. ]

action;

[greding]

's alright if I stay here tonight? I don't really feel like facing Ginny and Perce today.