[log] Did the devil say to you, you can make it through [closed]

[spoileralert]

Characters: Steph, Zach, Al, Church, Luna, Kesara, Watson, Quark, Tifa
Location Building 58 and environs
Date: Days 157/158
Summary: A meeting of many people
Warnings: In comment headers, please!

58: A simple single-story building, the snow weighs uneasily on it, and it creaks and groans under the strain at the best of times. It's very dark, and only the kitchen and living room are intact. The kitchen has a back door. Two snowmen have been built outside. A message has been written on the wall in blue ink: "Don't wreck the snowmen! That's super mean!" "ALPHONSE ELRIC, MAMI TOMOE, FREYA CRESCENT, GREED, EDWARD ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, DAY FORTY ONE, TRAVELLING EAST." has been carved into one of the walls. The following has been written on the wall in blue pen: "This is Building 95 97 on the composite map. Contact @CaptSteveRogers for details." Underneath this is a fairly accurate map showing the house in relation to the school and buildings 29, 35, 35, 37, 40, 41, 47, 48, 50, 53. House 34 is labeled "Medical assistance; hot, clean water. Contact Dr. Epps @claytonator". The school is labeled "School. Food available in cafeteria; DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The shed is labeled "Shed".

Comments

[jumpthegun]

[You sure are large and looming, Al. John tries not to instinctively put his guard up, but he answers a little too quickly, tone flat.]

I'm fine, thank you. It's been a long walk today, but I think we'll do all right, us short-legged folk.

[He knows exactly what you mean, Al. But you must be at least a level 3 friend to unlock his miserable last few days. Or press. John's fairly easy to bully into talking if the right buttons are pressed, and you're not playing therapist overtly at him.]

[armoured]

[Alas, he doesn't have the requisite friend card, but he does have the urge to help down in spades, so he isn't put off by the flat tone.]

I think it's been a long few days in general.

[Poor guy. He hesitates on how to approach it, but maybe directly is the best way.]

I'm sorry for what happened. With your notes, I mean.

[jumpthegun]

[Receiving sympathy from someone who sounds like a little boy is extremely awkward.]

That's not your fault, Al. I'll manage. You don't need to worry about it.

[Or read it. Has he read it? Is that what he meant the other day with the comment about the similarities between worlds? John's mind begins reeling away with paranoid possibilities and he visibly stiffens as they move along, turning his gaze away from the lad and staring straight ahead.]

[armoured]

[He reaches out to lay a hand very carefully on his shoulder when he sees Watson stiffen.]

I know what it's like to have something personal told to other people when you don't want it to, and it's not fun. You're probably worried about what people are thinking or going to do with it, but-- I promise, not everyone who read it thinks worse of you or of the people you talked about.

[jumpthegun]

Did you read it?

[It's asked lightly, but there's clearly weight behind his words. John fights the instinct to drop his shoulder and brush Al off.]

[armoured]

[He drops his hand after a second or two, it would be weird to keep it there much longer.]

Yeah.

[He's not going to lie.]

I read everything I can here, I didn't even realise it was so personal until I got a little way through.

[jumpthegun]

And you kept reading once you realized it was personal. [Still a light tone, but Al may be able to sense the wall that John is pulling up between them, invisible and very thick.]

[armoured]

[There's nothing he can do about that, he doesn't expect Watson to trust him, but he has to try and offer what comfort he can.]

Mm. But none of the information had anything to do with being stuck here or how to get out, not really, so I would never use any of it. I'd never tell anyone it either.

[jumpthegun]

[That's what he thought. John tries not to just shut down. Al is a kid, and a good kid from everything that he's seen, but that uncomfortable crawling sensation over his skin has intensified.]

You don't have to tell anyone. The Joker has a copy. He'll do it for everyone. Public servant that he is.

[armoured]

[Oh.

Well, he's not going to do anything stupid like reassure him that probably won't happen, because it probably will.]

Then-- I guess I need to catch up to him faster and confiscate his tablet until I can figure out how to delete it from there, huh?

[jumpthegun]

[Okay, that's enough to have John looking over at Al again, expression incredulous.]

You need to stay away from that man. He's dangerous and already given you far too much trouble.

[armoured]

[No, Watson, this is not the take away from that. That was meant to be comforting and lighten the mood.

So he just chuckles awkwardly and waves a hand to dismiss it.]

I think that's getting a little off topic, what I mean is-- there's got to be a way to stop him abusing that document.

[jumpthegun]

[It's exactly the take away, Al. Stop going after murderous psychos. Only John is allowed to do that.]

It's fine, Al.

[It's not fine.]

I can deal with it, myself. He's already taken what he wants from it, anyway.

[armoured]

[He supposes that's true. Erasing it from the Joker's tablet somehow won't erase it from his memory. He falls silent for a few moments, at a loss for what to say to potentially help. He doesn't know Watson that well, but he can't just sit by and watch someone suffer without at least trying to alleviate it. And he is suffering, even if he pretends not to be.]

I guess it's kind of a mess, huh?

[Not helping, but true.]

For what it's worth, I'm sure most people who read it don't think any less of you or the people you wrote about. I know I don't.

[jumpthegun]

[John's gloved hands ball into fists for a moment. There's a not-insignificant part of him that wants to snap at Al that this isn't helping, just stop talking about it. He has enough to deal with between that and Alfie's death yesterday. But that's not going to help and it's not going to be entirely fair for Al.]

There are going to be people who think less of me, which is well within their rights. I shared secrets that weren't my own. The fact that I wrote them down in the first place is enough for some of them. You should be thinking less of me.

[And there are people who are going to think a lot less of him for falling in with a criminal like Alfie. There's that, too.]

[armoured]

But I don't.

[He shrugs. It's not hard to notice the tension, but Al wilfully doesn't draw attention to it, keeping his voice steady.]

Maybe I don't know you well enough to have my opinion of you impacted too much, but I think even if I did then it would still be unfair to judge you on this. There's nothing wrong with writing information down, especially when you don't expect it to be seen by anyone, and what happened was a mistake. You didn't share anyone's secrets maliciously.

[He sighs, spreading huge hands before him.]

I know this probably doesn't mean a lot coming from me; I'm just a stranger, and one you probably don't trust because I read it too. But sometimes secrets coming out-- it's not always the most terrible thing you might think it will be. People might surprise you.

[He knows they always have for he and Ed, he knows whenever his secret has been revealed that he's found people far more understanding than they ever should be.]

[jumpthegun]

People turn once they think they know the story. [That's muttered, though it's more to himself. There's definitely a bitter edge to it. He pushes down old resentments to deal with the current problem.]

Sorry. I know they might. Yes. I'm not... I'll get over it Al. It's fine. Really. I'll deal with it and I'll get over it.

[Dealing with it will be easier. But John can pretend with the best of them.]

I'm British. We carry on.

[armoured]

You don't have to keep saying it's fine when it's obviously not.

[He's not fooled, not even a little.]

You said people turn, have they done that already?

[He hopes not.]

[jumpthegun]

It will be fine. [There. Have your future tense, tin man. John's not really used to being the one who gets fussed over apart from a few select people. He falls silent for a few moments.]

No. It's not here. [It's here, too, but like hell is he telling Al about Tony and Natasha.]

[armoured]

[Will be fine isn't actually fine, and Watson had been kind to him the other day when he had been attacked over the network for his failings, so he's not about to give up.]

I'm so sorry, but I promise more people will surprise you than you know. Trust me, I've been kind of in your situation before.

[Okay, not exactly, but he does know what he's talking about.]

[jumpthegun]

Really? When was that?

[Mainly, he's trying to turn the conversation away from himself.]

[armoured]

[Watson, no.

He might get the impression that Al is frowning down at him, even though his expression can't change.]

Back home, here too with a couple of people. There are things about me that I don't like people to know, but people have been a lot more understanding when they did find out than I thought they would be.

[jumpthegun]

Like why you're in that suit of armor. [He's not unobservant, just relatively so compared to Sherlock. But everyone was unobservant compared to Sherlock. He had been in a league of his own.]

How are you doing with that? I heard you had another run-in with the Joker.

[Watson, yes. He has learned through many years how to quietly shift conversations when they get too personal for his liking.]

[armoured]

[He stiffens a little, tiny clanking noise echoing down the ice tunnel.]

We're not talking about the Joker right now.

[Nope, he will not be deflected. Watson needs to know sometimes people can be trusted despite all the odds.]

But-- yeah, I understand because of my body.

[My body, not my armour.]

I never wanted anyone to know, but people kept finding out-- back home and here-- and even though they should be disgusted with me, even hate me, they keep surprising me. If you give them a chance, people will stand by you.

[jumpthegun]

Given it doesn't sound like anything you did on purpose, I can't see why people would be disgusted with you, Al. You don't need to think that way. You're a kind, sweet, decent person. None of that changes because you're like that.

[I'm sorry, were you meaning to connect with him? Please have John earnestly reassuring you, instead, Al.]