The mirror flood, or BookFort 2.0

[mrs_persson]

Who: Una Persson, O'Brien, and semi-open (see Notes).
What: In which Una tries to keep O'Brien safe, tries not to get killed, and probably tries to keep other people from getting killed.
Where: Una's cabin and elsewhere.
When: Throughout the mirrorverse flood.
Warnings: For Una and O'Brien's threads, much bitching. For the others, probable dark

Comments

Shortly after O'Brien is secured in Una's room.

[mrs_persson]

The walk back to her room felt like it went on for miles, but they made it. Once there, she made something of a show of shoving O'Brien inside before slamming the door behind her.

Gracelessly, she flopped down in the nearest chair and buried her head in her hands.

[mrs_persson]

Eyeroll. "Yes, you've been having quite a time of it, haven't you? And now we have plenty of time to discuss it, if I'm not mistaken."

[mrs_persson]

"Not really. Keeping both of us from getting killed was the plan, but a conversation is a pleasant side benefit, don't you think?"

She sat down on the edge of her desk, feet on her chair, and took out her own cigarette case. "How is it no bad thing, then?" She was a lot more surprised by that statement than she let on.

[mrs_persson]

"You've been busy plotting, O'Brien," she said dryly. "That doesn't leave much time for introspection.

She took a drag on her cigarette. "Why's that?"

[mrs_persson]

She considered for a moment.

"Tell me about Beatty," she said. "Why you kept getting into fights. Why you willed yourself into ignorance when you suspected he might do something to Prefect."

[mrs_persson]

"Does he hold this weakness over your head? Mock you for it, denigrate you? Has he said all these things to you?"

[mrs_persson]

She nodded, flicked a bit of ash off the end of her cigarette.

"Prefect," she said.

[mrs_persson]

She said nothing, but she stood up and went to her sideboard. Normally there would have been one or two bottles of good whisky in there, a soda siphon, and some glasses, but apparently her counterpart kept a much larger and more diverse stock. As well as some items that didn't really bear much thinking about.

She took out a couple of glasses and poured a few fingers of gin-not Party gin, thank god, just plain old Beefeater London Dry-into each, and brought one to O'Brien.

"This affair with Beatty might not have had the effect you were looking for," she said. "But your scheme with Barron just might have. I talked to Prefect about it before this flood blew up, just as you expected I would. And he's not happy, O'Brien. I don't know if he had a chance to talk to you before, but ... I think you might have finally pushed him too far."

[mrs_persson]

"Tell me why caring is such a weakness," she said. "Is it that it makes you vulnerable? It gives you a tool for others to use against you?"