in the hospital bed [for Martini, Rictor and possibly Mystique, but open to visitors]

[marauding_miss]

Following her conversation with Julio over the phone, Rogue had attempted to sleep and found it far too difficult. She had bits of his memory floating around, the nightmares were almost as bad as with Carol. She'd expected something like this, but she'd never expected the depth of despair that she'd found. Rictor masked a lot of things with his

Comments

[marauding_miss]

"Ain't never thought y' were a jester, darlin'." He touched her, he actually voluntarily reached out to touch her. It made her heart flutter a little, this ridiculous bubbling feeling well up in her chest and her cheeks actually hurt with the grin on her face

[movetheearth]

The revelation comes as a shock to Ric and he stares at Rogue in disbelief, he's slowly starting to understand just the complexity of the fallout from their contact. Who'd have though a few seconds of touching could lead to her knowing all that about his relationship with Mark. Fine, so Rogue thinks or feels like Mark is her boyfriend, whatever. That doesn't explain her reasons for still doing it. "That doesn't mean you had any right too Rogue! You could talk to me! Tell me that's what you were feeling! I would have understood

[marauding_miss]

The fact that Mark was still in his own mind while she and Rictor were having this argument -and God, it was their first, honest to God argument and that was tearing her up inside as much as everything else- was a little worrying but not enough to derail the building tension between the pair. "No idea? I'll give you no idea," her accent lost it's edge, her voice taking a turn towards the easy lilt of Julio's voice, "I have no idea what to do when I close my eyes and see someone die right in front of me and all I can this is 'no, not my dad'. I have no idea how to stop shaking when I hear the screams of people in the rubble of a building I just brought down. I have no idea how to stop myself from falling into a bottle and not digging the way out. I have no idea how to stop myself from screaming with all this pent up inside and clawing out

[movetheearth]

Any other person and Ric would just walk away, ignore them and give Mark one hundred percent of his attention. Something was obviously keeping Mark locked inside his own thoughts and it was worrying, disconcerting and adding to the building stress which Ric was experiencing. This was Rogue he was angry with, so a part of him wanted to stop with the bickering and just cuddle her. Enjoy the chance to take pleasure in the lack of her mutation like they had during the power swap, but he can't.

Like a knife wound Ric hears each secret he's tried to keep on lock down brought up and laid out in the open for all to examine. Swallowing thickly Ric draws in a shakey breath and swipes a hand across his cheeks, resolutely ignoring the tears that dampen his face and sting at the corner of his eyes. "No lo entiendo! ¡Cállate! No lo sé! ¡Sólo cállate! The words are spoken like a whispered prayer, head shaken back and forth as Ric finally gets it, the clarity of the situation shocking, horrifying and heartbreaking

[marauding_miss]

"What part of this don't you get? Ah know exactly what you're going through because Ah'm havin' to go through it too. Every single piece of it. Ah feel it, Ah ache it, Ah wanna numb it just the same." She'd already managed to get her hands on cigarettes for the shakes. She'd woken up from a nightmare clawing and swinging and only begging a nurse for a packet of cigarettes had gotten her anywhere. She hated the taste, hated the smell, but her hands stopped shaking after the third one and she promised the staff to smoke by the window anyway

[movetheearth]

Ric doesn't want to hear it, doesn't want to know any more about just what Rogue has learnt from their touch. Really, deep down he knows what she is saying is not unfair or unjust, it's the truth. Ric does have problems, big problems but as long as they're buried deep, deep down in the darkest depths of his mind it's all good. And should alcohol, smoking and ignoring it be all part of the coping mechanisms Ric uses, then so be it

[marauding_miss]

It's a jolt through her, the wall being bust up and Rogue looks towards Mark instantly, thinking it might've broken him out of his trance, that it might've brought him back to the now. There's this small inkling of fear in her but there's this cool, calm voice from somewhere in her mind, he'd never hurt you, and Rogue can't believe that Carol is the one being comforting

[movetheearth]

Like a switch being flicked Ric is up off of the floor and toe to toe with Rogue. Drawing a hand back he lashes out without warning, the snap-slap of skin meeting skin echoes around the room. It's like Ric doesn't care that Mark is right there in the room with them, could see at any moment just the lows Ric has stooped to. Chest heaving Ric doesn't even wait for Rogue to turn back and look at him before he speaks.

"Don't you ever question the way I live. I get it, I get that you've living my life in your head because I stupidly touched your skin." Ric punctuates the words by tapping a finger against Rogue's temple, the gesture far from gentle or loving which it would be in other situation. "You want to deal with the shit up there then you deal with it. See if I fucking care because I'm coping. I could have killed myself long ago but I didn't

[time_schizo]

Martini knew on some level Ric and Rogue were fighting. But it was vague and distant, no more real to him than the hallucinations he saw in his schizophrenic state. He was lost, trapped in a past that was little bits of himself and everyone around him. He felt the panic of the uncontrolled earthquake (notagainwhydidntiseethisimuseless) and the fear as he cradled Ric's head, begging him to wake up (cantbedeadhesjustsleepingitwontlastshedidntmeanit.)

If it had been only that, he might have been able to stay focused and snap out of it. But he kept tuning into different pasts (Daddynopleasewakeuphecantbedeadwhywonthemove) not all of which were his (haveyoueverbeenkissedgirlohnowhathaveidonewhycanihearhiminmyhead). They tore at his mind, digging into it with sharp claws that wouldn't let go. Frightened and alone, he wanted to go back to the present. But he couldn't remember the way. How was he to get there

[movetheearth]

At the cry of stop Ric breaks his eye contact with Rogue and whips around to look at Mark. It happens too quickly and one moment his boyfriend is upright and the next he's on his knees, breaking down over whatever he's seen and Ric? He feels so guilty for just letting Mark gone through that whilst he'd been too busy fighting it out with Rogue.

Dropping down to his knees Ric wraps himself around Martini, one arm firmly around his boyfriends waist and the other brought up to cup Martini's cheek so Ric can bring his closer and press his lips to the slightly stubbled but warm skin. "Está bien loco. Ahora estás a salvo. Estoy aquí. Yo te protegeré."

Ric keeps up his mantra of comforting words and promises, constant reassurance for Martini to try and latch onto. Glancing up at Rogue, he's so close to yelling at her, telling her that this? This is all her fault but that will mean taking his focus away from Martini and until he's calm enough to try and move him to Ric's room there is nothing that will redirect his focus. "Te amo loco."

[marauding_miss]

The fact that she wants to throw Rictor through a wall pretty much stops Rogue where she stands. There are tears springing from her eyes, the slap across her face stinging and the shock of it rooting her to the stop. She hasn't hurt in years, not since Carol's powers, not from something as pathetic as a slap, it wasn't even a decent backhand, just an open palmed slap across that cheek and Rogue's ready to cry

[time_schizo]

He just feels so lost, withdrawing back into himself until there's nothing left but the tiniest little speck still observing the present. Mark doesn't like it out there. Something has gone wrong and he feels like somehow its his fault. Rogue had kissed him and instead of being sensible, he'd just let her do it like some pre-teen who had never done so much as held hands with a girl. Now his boyfriend and his friend were fighting. All his fault

[movetheearth]

The tension in the pit of his stomach finally releases when Martini starts to respond, mumbled words and the touch of his boyfriend's fingers in his hair are enough to at least quell the worst of Ric's fears for now

[marauding_miss]

Rogue was well aware of the glare Julio was aiming her way, but she was trying her hardest to ignore the look in Mark's eyes, the pain and confusion, because that was just as painful as watching Julio hold him.

On some level, she understood that her feelings would fade down, and then she'd have to try and patch things with Mark. But Julio and his issues were going to linger; the nightmares, the darkness, the addictions, she'd be battling those long after her affection faded back to her own feelings.

On top of that, she now had the burden of Julio's outburst. She couldn't push past the fact that he'd hit her, that he'd actually slapped her to shut her up and then turned to Mark, hurting her more. She doesn't say a thing as Julio starts to pull Mark from the room, doesn't say anything as she hears him start muttering.

She just wants to be alone so that she can break down in private.

[time_schizo]

Mark numbly let himself be led like a little lost lamb by Rictor until they got to the door. Then he pulled away and turned back to look at Rogue. She wasn't crying yet, but his eyes, set minutes ahead in the future, could already see the sadness yet to come.

He tried to get the words out he longed to speak, something to either comfort her or ask her why this had all happened, but nothing came. He was too scattered to focus in on the moment. All he could do was continue to stare at her with the eyes, full of simple and naked emotions that could not be erased. With one last look at Marie, he stepped out after Ric, leaving her to the tears yet to be shed.

Once outside, he turned to Ric. Where there had been purely sadness in his eyes before, now there was also anger. He struggled to find the words he wanted to say. Old snippets from conversations long since finished and future phrases that had yet to hold any meaning kept wanting to bubble up and overtake his voice. Finally, he found one that fit the circumstance and let it come. "

[movetheearth]

It hurts more than it should that Mark lingers, seeming to want to say something to Rogue but Ric doesn't interrupt him. He just waits and seethes silently to himself. He's thankful when it seems whatever Martini wanted to say is lost and he finally leaves.

The anger directed at him, a look that Ric hasn't often had directed his way at this level of intensity, just earns Mark a closed and shuttered look from Julio. He's waiting for Mark to yell at him, scream at him for slapping Rogue or... anything really, but the only word he gets is idiota. The venom in it still stings and Ric, who'd opened his mouth to respond snaps it back shut and stares at Martini.

Ready to respond he starts coughing into his hand, it sounds worse than it is and of course that attracts nurses who'd already been puzzled by the yelling. He eventually raises his head and waves the nurses off before stepping in closer to Martini, voice low and tone revealing exactly how angry he is.

"Don't call me idiota, Loco. She kissed you, I think I was justified to get