ᴛᴡᴏ ✄ sweet things

[distorting]

[He's sitting cross-legged on a bed in a room that isn't very well lit. The only light that's coming in is from a nearby window, but even then, the dark seems to be crowding the room. Tate seems to stand out from the dark, his blond, messy hair being the only thing that really makes him stand out in the first place.

There is a long quiet that feels awkward and almost wrong as he slowly gets up from the bed to look around the room. He looks familiar enough with it, like he's been there for his whole life, but there's something in his eyes that suggests a longing for something more. It's like nostalgia had taken over him completely. He looks perplexed for a moment, staring down at the bed sheets before looking up abruptly, straight at a memory, or perhaps someone who's not supposed to be in his dream at all. ]

I'm sick of being here.

Comments

[hasevolved]

[Blink.]

Yeah, 'course. You're here.

[She pats the spot on the bed next to her. Poor, unknowing Violet. One day she'll have a different answer for you, Tate. But not yet. Right now, she's just happy to be away from everything, and to be with the guy who changed it all.]

You?

[distorting]

[He nods, sitting himself beside her comfortably. He hopes she never has to find out what happened to her.]

Just fine. Especially since I found out you're here with me.

[hasevolved]

[Time will have to pass, unfortunately. One day, she'll know. And then everything will change.]

We have to celebrate, then.

[She grins.] Game of cards?

[distorting]

Sure.

[He seems relaxed, happy, and all he had to do was dream up the pack of cards that they had used many times before. Sometimes this place came in handy.]

What did you have in mind?

[hasevolved]

[Violet sits cross-legged now, still grinning.]

You pick. It's your dream.

[distorting]

Yeah, but you come first.

[She always did.]

[hasevolved]

[Her lip curls in a smile.]

Oh, c'mon, I picked last time.

[distorting]

Not the last time we were here. And we were never here. So go ahead.

[He's making you come first no matter what, Violet. Take this advantage and run like the wind with it.]

[hasevolved]

[She raises an eyebrow, but concedes with a sigh.]

Okay, okay. Poker.

[distorting]

Poker it is.

[He starts to shuffle the deck rather lazily, but the cards don't scatter each time he does the bridge, so it just looks like he's been shuffling cards for a long time. And he has.]

[hasevolved]

[She crosses her ankles, eyes on the shuffling cards. It's so bizarre to think that they're here... really here... stuck in a dream, sitting and playing cards. When she wakes up, they'll probably do the same thing. It's a headache to think about.]

... I think I made a mistake.

[distorting]

[His head darts up from the cards, eyes locked on her as if she'd said something much stranger. The cards are left alone.]

What do you mean?

[hasevolved]

[Violet, in turn, doesn't look up.]

My mom.

["You were really brave," she had told Viviene, once. When they had kicked ass in that house. But, when her mom had been taken out by the police officers, shipped off to wherever... and that had just been the other day, right? Violet swallowed.]

The way she looked at me, I just-- I should have said something.

[Because her mom had been brave again. Not screaming at her daughter, the one whose lie had turned the tide.]

I should have told them what I really saw.

[distorting]

[He freezes for a moment, his breath catching, before he swallows and nods. He looks at her sympathetically, reaching a hand over to touch her arm with affection.]

Your mom's not here, Violet. It's okay.

[Even if he didn't believe a word he said.]

[hasevolved]

But it's not okay. [She doesn't draw away, but her tone is sharp, biting, angry with herself.] She's out there, back out in the real world, Tate. And it's not just gonna go away by going to sleep.

[Now, she lays her cards now, concentrating hard.]

[distorting]

What if the home time stops while we're here? Ever think of that?

[He's distracted, not having touched his cards -- he has to pay attention to her.]

[hasevolved]

Then what about when we go back, Tate? She'll still be in some padded room. And my dad'll just fuck things up even more.

[She puts a hand on her head.]

Shit.

[distorting]

We'll figure this out, Violet.

[He gives her a pleading look -- he doesn't like her in this state of mind. It makes him sad that he can't bring her out of it sometimes. His pause is filled with emotion, even if he's not expressing it clearly enough.]

Together.

[hasevolved]

[She doesn't like it, either. Violet takes a slow breath, running her tongue quickly across her bottom lip. He's right, he has to be. Things will work out. And there's no use worrying about it in a dream, right? This was their chance to forget about all that.]

... Yeah.

[She nods, picking the cards up again.]

I know.

[distorting]

You know you can trust me.

[He picks up his own cards, sending her one last worried glance before focusing on his hand.]

[hasevolved]

[She bobs her head in a nod.]

I know. Of course.

[If she couldn't trust him, then who was there?]

[distorting]

We're gonna be okay.

[he sounds pretty sure of himself, too.]

[hasevolved]

[Of course he does. A reluctant smile finds its way onto her features as she puts her anxieties from her mind.]

I'm not sure about you, though... 'cause you're gonna lose this game.

[distorting]

[Tate stares at Violet for a few seconds before he laughs.]

No way.

[hasevolved]

Yes way. [She looks unconcerned as she rifles through her cards.]

You first.