[GP] All we can do is learn to swim

[st_oriedqueen]

Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim. - Vicki Harrison

"You're sure?" Regina already knew the answer but demanding that Sam tell her what she already knew satisfied something petty in her. Or maybe just something hurt that hoped he'd have a different answer than her locator spell had already provided.

"Yeah." Sam half-rolled his eyes at her as he leaned across the pink bar counter to grab bottles of beer from the Silver Bar ice bin -- probably the results of Rebekah's last work-effort at the Inn -- for himself and his newly arrived companion.

Briefly, Regina considered burning a hole in the seat of his jeans, but it wouldn't bring Rebekah or any of the absent ones back. Instead, she took refuge in straightening her A-line and walking around the stylish counter Sam lay across like he was surfing the waves of grief. She took down a bottle of pointlessly pricey champagne, and then found the precise cut-crystal glasses Rebekah and Miss Fisher had preferred for their afternoon indulgences. She poured herself a glass and one for the person who dared her openly bitter expression.

"So who all are we missing?" they both said at once, glared at each other and sighed. They both knew the answers, in their own way and for their own reasons. And neither of them wanted to say.

Rebekah Mikaelson. Henry Winchester. Jack Robinson. Phryne Fisher. Dorothy Williams. Angua von Uberwald. Jaime Vegas. Harry Dresden. Lydia Martin. Raleigh Becket. Yasmeen. Joanna Beauchamp. Constance Bonacieux D'Artagnan. Lindsey McDonald.

"Grief is like the ocean," Sam clearly quoted from some fucking where, and Regina tuned him out until he added, "All we can do is learn to swim. Rebekah told me that."

Now Regina rolled her eyes; they weren't friends. "Shut up, Sam."

Comments

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter agrees. "There's not a lot to do here. I tried finding some stuff for making more webslinger fluid, but I can't find any of the ingredients and I'm not exactly sure how the staff's going to take to me using one of their pans to make it in instead of a beaker."

That much is true. Even though the kitchen was a free-for-all, it didn't really feel like the place was his. He always felt like he was an intruder. Or a guest. But mostly just an intruder.

"There hasn't really been a lot of opportunity to use it, anyway. I made a hammock from the chandelier to the wall a few times, but I can't really swing from building to building like I used to." Sure, there were a couple of buildings on the hotel grounds, but this place wasn't anything like Brooklyn.

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"I've got paint buckets and stuff in my workshop we can use if you run out," Kitty offered because she was curious what went into it as much as anything else. But maybe he could help with some of her projects, too.

"I kind of took over one of the old maintenance rooms so I didn't turn the cafe into a tech lab. Abby's more of a chemist than I am, so she might be able to pinch hit, if there's stuff you need that I don't have."

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_arkintern]

"Really?" Peter looks over at Kitty, wide-eyed and excited. "You sure you don't mind?"

He pauses there, but not for very long. "Do you share it with Abby? Will she be okay with it? I promise, I won't make a mess." A beat, before he quickly adds: "Or I'll try not to, and when I do make a mess, I'll be sure to clean it up."

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"I'm sure." He really was cute. Too young by at least five years, but cute. "Abby's got her own space. But if you introduce yourself and tell her you're a friend of mine, she'll show you around it."

He'd be nervous about that, she thought, and so she decided, "I'll tell her I'm sending you when I see her at shift change. That way it won't be a surprise. You'll like her. She's smart and funny and easy to be around. And don't worry if she figures out something's up with you. She won't tell anyone."

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_arkintern]

For a moment, a brief flicker of apprehension draws itself across Peter Parker's face, but it disappears the moment that Kitty says she'll make sure Abby knows he's coming.

"Thanks," he says appreciatively. "And, uh, it's good to know your friend. If she's a really good chemist, I could probably use her help. I'm still trying to perfect the formula."

Peter nods a head towards the door. "You wanna go back to the bar now? I mean, we don't have to, but I'd love to it back to my room in one piece tonight. Or three pieces," he quickly corrects. It was a three-piece set. "I think it's about time I start decorating the place a little."

Re: Closed to Kitty

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"She definitely can help. She worked in a major forensics lab back home. I've never met anyone who knows so much about so many completely unexpected things." And that was saying something, coming from Kitty.

"Yeah, we probably should." Kitty gestured ahead of her. "I hate leaving the bar untended on a day when a bunch of people have disappeared. It's not like people won't go get their own drinks, but..."

She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "X-Men save people. This is about as close as I get."