Gretchen Wagner (indigogirl) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-09-28 04:58:00

Entry tags:

inactive - braddock lebeau, inactive - gretchen wagner

Not Taking Kindly to Serious
Gretchen looked around at the Other New Orleans -- she couldn't help thinking of it that way; things still seemed so alien here -- and wondered how Rose and Anastasia were doing. And there was a twinge as she remembered what Braddock had said about Anastasia's father. It still didn't seem possible that there could be a traitor at their Xavier's. They were all family. She kept hoping Brad's parents were mistaken.

So she stood there, skin soaking in the streetlights in the twilight, and reached to get Brad to hold her closer. That was never difficult.

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	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 01:11 am UTC (link)
	Around midnight, Braddock returns to the hotel, sneaking up a back entrance and making his way back to his room. He'll shower and change clothing, then wait in Gretchen's room for her to return. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-09-30 01:13 am UTC (link)
	And it's not long after midnight that she does come up, the smile fading from her face as soon as she's out of the sight of her temporary company. She tries to bring it back when she sees him as she comes into her room. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-09-30 01:22 am UTC (link)

In all their time of being friends, they'd only ever joked about him killing someone in her defense. She'd certainly never seen him employ what his mother taught him against another living person, as he promised himself she would never see that side of him as long as he could possible avoid it.

The illusion, however, was gone. Tonight, he'd killed someone to protect her, and if the other men had fought, he would have killed them as well as slept easily tonight. The look in her eyes, the smile she tries to put on when she sees him indicates to him that something is broken between them, something that might not be fixed.

He immediately drops to his knees and hugs her waist, holding her close to him.

"Are you all right, Gretchen?" he asks.

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	indigogirl 2010-09-30 01:31 am UTC (link)
	"I will be," she says quietly. "I can't pretend it isn't a little hard, but I know you thought it was our only safe option." She sets a blue hand against his hair. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-09-30 01:50 am UTC (link)

"Still, I never wanted you to see me do that. I just...I knew they would use you to hurt me. I could have taken anything they would have done to me, but if they'd actually hurt you...see, that's what's /wrong/ with this place! Back home, something like that wouldn't happen!" he rages, standing up abruptly.

"Anyone who threatened you or me would have been dead before the end of the night, not that they would have in the first place. And if we'd been anyone else, the Guilds would have stepped in. Not a single guild member in sight or out of it." he seethes.

"Tell me somethin', Princess. Rose and Ana have been here for months and no one's found a way to get them back home. What if /we/ never go home, either? What will we do if this is our new home for good?" he asks.

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indigogirl
2010-09-30 02:29 am UTC (link)

"And I never wanted to see you do that, but I'm a big girl."

She listens. While she doesn't appreciate more references to killing people, his point still stands.
And then, the question.
"...I don't know," she says quietly. "I don't know how they've stood it this long. ...If the four of us are the last thing we have of the real world..we'll just have to build something new. And it's all the more reason not to let anything get between us." Still disturbed or not, she hold him tighter.

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	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 02:48 am UTC (link)
	"If I can't get you home, Gretchen, then I'll do what I can to make this one a good one for you, okay?" he says, holding her. "And I promise, you /will/ be a queen someday, too." he whispers to her. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-09-30 03:09 am UTC (link)
	"I appreciate that intention, Braddock," she says quietly, managing to smile a little as she stays close against him. There's a pause, and then a good-natured raised eyebrow. "Your Woman?" she asks wryly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 03:21 am UTC (link)
	Oops. "Well, I mean, I had to say somethin', right? I mean, my friend-who-I-kiss-and-is-female was to say and still be witty so, I settled for an abbreviation, which happens to be 'my woman'." Brad says. "It's not the Cro-Magnon type thing where I club you and drag you to my lair for procreation and other silliness." he jokes. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-09-30 03:28 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, I know," she says, welcoming the lightness. "And when the time comes for procreation and other silliness, there definitely won't be any dragging. But in most circumstances, what with those Cro-Magnon connotations, I'm sure you realize it's a term best avoided." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 03:56 am UTC (link)
	"I didn't mean to offend, Gretchen. I won't say it again." he says, smiling at her. Pause. "Can I still call you 'My Princess'?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-09-30 04:01 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, there's no stopping that, I'm sure," she says with a smile, then takes a breath. "I could also be fairly comfortable being 'your lady'... or maybe 'your girlfriend,' if we can decide that doesn't sound too juvenile." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 04:39 am UTC (link)
	"I would like it if you'd be my girlfriend, Gretchen. I don't want any other girl at all. I promise. I know I've been a rascal as long as you've known me, but...I always end up with you." he smiles. "And I like that most of all." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-09-30 04:49 am UTC (link)
	"...Okay. Differences in sensibilities aside, I trust you, Braddock. And we have to, if we're going to be each other's." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-09-30 05:03 am UTC (link)
	"I trust you, too, Gretchen. You know where I come from and don't judge me harshly for it. That was always something I could never get from Rose and Ana, even though we were friends." Brad says. "There are millions of things I like about you, Gretchen. Someday, I'll make you a list." he smiles. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

indigogirl
2010-09-30 08:23 am UTC (link)

"They care about you," Gretchen's quick to say. "If they take your situation a little harder, it's because they're so committed to the work of the Institute, way more immersed than either of us got to be. And Rose... Rose works so hard at reining herself in." Gretchen felt it was important, despite the other things to deal with at the moment, to make this clear. Rose was like a cousin to her, considering how much Dad and Uncle Logan loved each other. "It's not that she couldn't understand something like.....what happened earlier." Gretchen ignored the sick feeling within her at what had happened, locked it away like she did unpleasant political realities. "It's that she could understand it so well people'd be concerned for her soul."

That matter, important as it is, done with, she mentally puts it aside, she pulls him into a kiss. "I like you, too, Brad. So much."

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	princeofthieves 2010-10-01 12:33 am UTC (link)
	Brad kisses Gretchen, letting his worries disappear in that moment of perfect connection between them. He holds her close, her words echoing in his mind. Ana and Rose had been his friends for a long time, despite their parents' wishes, and the wishes of his own parents as well. "You're the wisest person I know, Princess." he says, smiling down at her. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-10-01 12:53 am UTC (link)
	She enjoys the kiss. "Thank you. Now, does anything need doing here tomorrow?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-10-01 02:12 am UTC (link)

"Not that I can think of. There's another card tournament at the Casino Monday night and I /might/ have a backer lined up for the high stakes buy-in." he tells her.

"I've...also been thinkin' about approachin' the Thieves Guild and seein' what they've got in the way of work, but if you want to go back to New York, it can wait. I'll have to get back down this way eventually, but it's best that one of us see our family before too long."

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indigogirl
2010-10-01 02:19 am UTC (link)

"I'd really like to check in with them, if we can manage. Besides... assuming there's nothing horrible happening in New York--" This New York, anyway. She still can't get the 'real' one and the dangers their Xavier's might be facing out of her mind easily. But she can try. " -- I can try to finagle a movie night. It's been far too long since the three of you were forced to watch a historical film. And I'd bet my sister'd like it."

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	princeofthieves 2010-10-01 03:13 am UTC (link)
	"Okay, as long as it's not something on London, I'm good. I don't hate London, but if I hear how amazing the British Empire is one more time, I may scream. Loudly and forever." Braddock says, half-jokingly. "Have you tried calling them yet? Let 'em all know we're coming back?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-10-01 03:27 am UTC (link)
	"No London. Lots of Strelsau and Zenda." "Not yet. Haven't called much at all; mostly I've written. I'll call in the morning." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-10-01 03:54 am UTC (link)
	"Okay, that sounds good. In the meantime...what do you want to do? Are you hungry? Tired? Do you just wanna talk?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-10-01 03:57 am UTC (link)
	"I am tired, Brad. It's going on two in the morning. ... I just don't want to be alone." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-10-01 04:42 am UTC (link)
	"Then I'm stayin' with you tonight, Princess. You take the bed and I'll get comfy on the chair over here." he says, pointing at the chair near the window. "You just have to call out if you need anythin' at all." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)