There's a point to all this dreaming
The metal clangs under his feet--he realizes after a few seconds of it that the floor isn't solid, it's grated, and under it there are hundreds of massive, turning gears.
They're standing over a giant meat grinder.
The little things with their long knives are swarming at them. He's firing, firing, emptying rounds into the room, but they keep coming, cutting at his legs, knocking him down. He hears a scream, high and wordless and terrified, and he sees Neil's twisted face in the dimness, sees them take him and lift him up, blood running over the metal grating as they carry him away. He's trying to crawl, dragging himself across the floor as beneath him that massive infernal machine grinds and grinds, and he sees another quick, moon-like flash of Neil's face as the knives go to work and Neil is screaming--
He's screaming. Sitting up in bed, the sheets soaked with sweat. Alone.
Quiet.
The window by the bed is open and breeze moves across his bare skin. For a few moments he just sits there in darkness mottled by city lights, trying to breathe normally again. And all he can think, with what little coherence he has at some ungodly hour of the fucking night, is that on a long enough timeframe all dreams might come true.
It takes him another five minutes to come to a decision.
He drags himself out of bed and pulls on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, splashes some water on his face and spares himself a look in the bathroom mirror. He looks pale, hollow-eyed. He looks like what he is, which is a man who hasn't been sleeping well the last two nights. And that, coupled with the city's change before, means that he hasn't gotten decent sleep in about a week.
Fuck this.
He could just go, he thinks. Just head out the door. But that feels a little too much like a month ago, a little too much like something dark and crashing, so instead he heads back into the bedroom, sinks down onto the bed, picks up the cell phone and dials Neil's number.
They're standing over a giant meat grinder.
The little things with their long knives are swarming at them. He's firing, firing, emptying rounds into the room, but they keep coming, cutting at his legs, knocking him down. He hears a scream, high and wordless and terrified, and he sees Neil's twisted face in the dimness, sees them take him and lift him up, blood running over the metal grating as they carry him away. He's trying to crawl, dragging himself across the floor as beneath him that massive infernal machine grinds and grinds, and he sees another quick, moon-like flash of Neil's face as the knives go to work and Neil is screaming--
He's screaming. Sitting up in bed, the sheets soaked with sweat. Alone.
Quiet.
The window by the bed is open and breeze moves across his bare skin. For a few moments he just sits there in darkness mottled by city lights, trying to breathe normally again. And all he can think, with what little coherence he has at some ungodly hour of the fucking night, is that on a long enough timeframe all dreams might come true.
It takes him another five minutes to come to a decision.
He drags himself out of bed and pulls on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, splashes some water on his face and spares himself a look in the bathroom mirror. He looks pale, hollow-eyed. He looks like what he is, which is a man who hasn't been sleeping well the last two nights. And that, coupled with the city's change before, means that he hasn't gotten decent sleep in about a week.
Fuck this.
He could just go, he thinks. Just head out the door. But that feels a little too much like a month ago, a little too much like something dark and crashing, so instead he heads back into the bedroom, sinks down onto the bed, picks up the cell phone and dials Neil's number.
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Fucking Neil in the kitchen, flour and palm oil on his hands. He grits his teeth.
"Be nice to have a place like that here. Have something to fucking do.
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All I want is to fucking kiss him. It's stupid, but it's true. The fact that I can't seem to do that is driving me fucking crazy.
"Yeah, it would be. Wouldn't be the same, though. Maybe I'll just... do somethin' different. I dunno."
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When did he last even eat much of anything good? He's not sure. For the last few weeks eating has been just another thing he does to keep moving.
"Nothing's the same. Doesn't mean you couldn't still do it." Look at us.
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"Just don't got a fuckin' clue what."
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"You need to start fighting."
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He sets the fork down and picks up his coffee again, looking at Neil over the rim of the mug. "This time won't be the last time shit goes to hell around here."
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This place isn't safe. I'm not sure the island was, either, we were just better at saying in denial.
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"It's not just this place. It's me. If I... look, I got no fucking idea why I'd come after you again. But if I ever did, for any stupid fucking reason, I want you to be able to put me down hard enough that I stay down."
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Stacking the rest of the pancakes on my plate, I turn off the stove and head to the table, putting it down in front of the chair next to his. Standing over him, I only hesitate for a moment before pushing my hand through his hair, half expecting it to be unwanted but not really giving a damn.
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Love is violent. Maybe he understands that better now than he ever did.
He forces his eyes open again. "Can't think of anyone better, actually."
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"Fine, whatever."
I still haven't pulled away. It's like playing chicken with an oncoming train.
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He doesn't remember things between them ever being this volatile. Then again, they'd pretty much always had an outlet.
He tugs Neil's hand gently away from him. "Neil. Your food's getting cold."
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I know I should just leave it be. I should stop pushing, but this tiptoeing around each other bullshit is making me crazy.
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And no one is even throwing any punches yet. Jesus fucking Christ, what have I gotten myself into.
"We had a great night. Let's not fucking push it."
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More and more like himself.
"And I'm not gonna fuck you for a safety valve." He releases Neil's hand, still gentle. And his voice is, too, but there's hardness behind it. "I'm not ready. Don't push me, Neil. Please."
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I pick up my fork and start in on my pancakes, but they don't taste like much. Nothing here tastes right. Even the simple things. Milk, eggs, sugar. They're all imposters, somehow.
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And it just doesn't seem fair that nothing good between them ever lasts.
"We're getting there," he says finally, quiet. "It's only been a few days."
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It's been a year of missing him, wanting him. This wasn't what I imagined our fucking reunion would be like. Sitting in a kitchen that doesn't feel like home, afraid to touch for what it might unleash.
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But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to try.
"Can't you just--" He drops his fork onto the tabletop with a clatter--a spike of frustration and pain and regret like a physical cramp, there and agonizing and gone again. "Can't we just be together? Can't you just be with me? I know you fucking want more, I do too, but could that just be... enough? For now?"
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"I felt you die. I fucking felt it. I don't know if it was real or not, but it doesn't matter. And now, I touch you and it's like... You hold so still, just waiting for it to be over. You come to my door in the middle of the fucking night, 'cause you've had a goddamn nightmare, and I'm the one that has to comfort you," I say, coughing out a disbelieving laugh, "Everything fucking hurts, Mike. Fucking everything. So, no, maybe it's not fucking enough. Just... Just shut up about how it's getting better and eat your fuckin' pancakes."
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Then again, absurdity was the name of the game even when things were good. Maybe the happiness was always the most absurd part of any of it.
"So this is what we get. Forever, maybe. Don't you ever get pissed at me for saying I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not." He swipes a hand over his face, wiping tears away--from laughter or not, he doesn't fucking know.
"I thought... for a while, last night, it wasn't hurting as much."
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"Anyway, I'll get pissed about whatever the fuck I wanna get pissed about."
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"I miss touching you," he says after a moment. "But it hurts when I do. Like you said. Everything does. Every time I do, I remember--" That part of me fucking liked it.
"I wanna make some new fucking memories."
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