Topaz and Marie-Ange || Turn The Page
Nov. 21st, 2020 05:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_topaz posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsMarie-Ange and Topaz have a very frank discussion following the time-travel shenanigans.
"Marie-Ange poked me with an actual-facts spear and told me this needs to happen. Unless you -want- to go full Delphi Riddle..."
Topaz had been sitting on Amanda's and Marie-Ange's couch, drinking tea, and turning the faded memory around in her head for long enough that she wasn't sure what time it was.
"She has one person, herself. That is all she has had."
She felt more than heard Marie-Ange come in, and thought for a long moment about saying fuck it, making up an excuse for crashing on their couch, and bolting. She didn't want to talk about this. Which was exactly why she should.
"I think you saved me from going completely over the edge."
"I ... I am sorry, hold that for one moment." Marie-Ange still had her winter coat on, a fuzzy scarf wrapped around most of her face, and four heaping bags of take-out food in her gloved hands. "Here, please, come help me with this and you can elaborate while I put food away." She set the bags down on the tidy little kitchen table, and started unwrapping her winter wear. "I Uber'd in from Westchester, there is a new Indian restaurant..."
Oh good, food. Food always made hard conversations easier. Topaz hurried to relieve Marie-Ange of a couple bags and began unpacking on the counter, giving the food a little more attention than it needed. Stalling. "Twenty-eighteen was when it all went wrong for... her. After the Destines attacked the mansion." She rushed the words out, knowing her ability to have this conversation was going to wane at any moment. "You made Doug take me to therapy, though."
"I maintain that universe went wrong much earlier, because Jubilee has a child and is undead, but I see your point." Once her scarf and coat and gloves were all neatly put away, and Marie-Ange had changed out of her boots into fuzzy grey slippers, she added herself to the task of sorting out containers of food. "So I made you go to therapy and so you did not turn into ... that? Or I suppose, a version of that relevant to our universe?"
"I can't account for all the other weird things," Topaz said. "But... yeah. I think that's the basics. The um... the quiet one, Shakti, told me the... other me left the mansion to find Taboo. I want to say I wouldn't do that but... I don't know, honestly." She hadn't been in a great place after all that.
"Should I call Amanda or Doug or someone else who hugs?" Marie-Ange looked utterly sincere, and also completely uncomfortable. "If you need to find him, you have a team now. That is what we do."
"I'm good. On both parts. Especially on finding him." Topaz paused, staring at a thing of takeout. "I probably should anyway because he clearly gets weird ideas when he's been left alone too long, but he's staying quiet so he can stay in whatever hole he's in. Right after everything happened, though?" She shrugged, eyes drifting to stare at a wall. "I don't know. I could've gone down that path I think."
"You could have. I know you could have, I woke up from my coma and asked about you, and the doctors thought I was worried for your health." Marie-Ange shook her head, hair falling over the eyepatch and shadowing it. "And I was, but I also feared you had left, gone out on your own, and I was so relieved when you had stayed."
"I am too. And... thank you." She had never said it, not really. Certainly she had tried to show her gratefulness through actions, but sometimes words had to be said. "For making me go to therapy. Even if you had to do it with a terrible Harry Potter reference."
"You are most welcome." Which she almost never said out loud either, but if Topaz was going to say it out loud, Marie-Ange would certainly return the same. "I did get to poke Doug with a spear a few times, it made up for the awfulness of Joanne Rowling's inability to write capable adults."
Topaz smirked. "So we should all be thankful you're more competent at taking care of people than Dumbledore?"
"Yes. I am still mad Doug did not let me stab the librarian in the ... Library." Marie-Ange said, haltingly. "That makes me sound like I was playing Cluedo." She finished plating her food, and pushed another plate towards Topaz, along with a wax paper bag of naan. "I at least make sure people eat, or well, I pay Clea to do that, but it counts."
She took the plate without complaining. Sometimes it was okay to just let someone feed her without arguing. "If Doug let you stab everybody you want to stab, he wouldn't have time for anything but cleaning up blood. Or hire another assistant. Doesn't his current one have four sisters?"
"Something like that yes." Marie-Ange said, with an odd laugh. "The Frosts are a complicated family. I try not to think about it too hard."
"Fair point." She didn't even deal with her own family. Never mind trying to understand someone else's. "You might just have to continue resisting stabbing."
"That is not fun at all."
"Marie-Ange poked me with an actual-facts spear and told me this needs to happen. Unless you -want- to go full Delphi Riddle..."
Topaz had been sitting on Amanda's and Marie-Ange's couch, drinking tea, and turning the faded memory around in her head for long enough that she wasn't sure what time it was.
"She has one person, herself. That is all she has had."
She felt more than heard Marie-Ange come in, and thought for a long moment about saying fuck it, making up an excuse for crashing on their couch, and bolting. She didn't want to talk about this. Which was exactly why she should.
"I think you saved me from going completely over the edge."
"I ... I am sorry, hold that for one moment." Marie-Ange still had her winter coat on, a fuzzy scarf wrapped around most of her face, and four heaping bags of take-out food in her gloved hands. "Here, please, come help me with this and you can elaborate while I put food away." She set the bags down on the tidy little kitchen table, and started unwrapping her winter wear. "I Uber'd in from Westchester, there is a new Indian restaurant..."
Oh good, food. Food always made hard conversations easier. Topaz hurried to relieve Marie-Ange of a couple bags and began unpacking on the counter, giving the food a little more attention than it needed. Stalling. "Twenty-eighteen was when it all went wrong for... her. After the Destines attacked the mansion." She rushed the words out, knowing her ability to have this conversation was going to wane at any moment. "You made Doug take me to therapy, though."
"I maintain that universe went wrong much earlier, because Jubilee has a child and is undead, but I see your point." Once her scarf and coat and gloves were all neatly put away, and Marie-Ange had changed out of her boots into fuzzy grey slippers, she added herself to the task of sorting out containers of food. "So I made you go to therapy and so you did not turn into ... that? Or I suppose, a version of that relevant to our universe?"
"I can't account for all the other weird things," Topaz said. "But... yeah. I think that's the basics. The um... the quiet one, Shakti, told me the... other me left the mansion to find Taboo. I want to say I wouldn't do that but... I don't know, honestly." She hadn't been in a great place after all that.
"Should I call Amanda or Doug or someone else who hugs?" Marie-Ange looked utterly sincere, and also completely uncomfortable. "If you need to find him, you have a team now. That is what we do."
"I'm good. On both parts. Especially on finding him." Topaz paused, staring at a thing of takeout. "I probably should anyway because he clearly gets weird ideas when he's been left alone too long, but he's staying quiet so he can stay in whatever hole he's in. Right after everything happened, though?" She shrugged, eyes drifting to stare at a wall. "I don't know. I could've gone down that path I think."
"You could have. I know you could have, I woke up from my coma and asked about you, and the doctors thought I was worried for your health." Marie-Ange shook her head, hair falling over the eyepatch and shadowing it. "And I was, but I also feared you had left, gone out on your own, and I was so relieved when you had stayed."
"I am too. And... thank you." She had never said it, not really. Certainly she had tried to show her gratefulness through actions, but sometimes words had to be said. "For making me go to therapy. Even if you had to do it with a terrible Harry Potter reference."
"You are most welcome." Which she almost never said out loud either, but if Topaz was going to say it out loud, Marie-Ange would certainly return the same. "I did get to poke Doug with a spear a few times, it made up for the awfulness of Joanne Rowling's inability to write capable adults."
Topaz smirked. "So we should all be thankful you're more competent at taking care of people than Dumbledore?"
"Yes. I am still mad Doug did not let me stab the librarian in the ... Library." Marie-Ange said, haltingly. "That makes me sound like I was playing Cluedo." She finished plating her food, and pushed another plate towards Topaz, along with a wax paper bag of naan. "I at least make sure people eat, or well, I pay Clea to do that, but it counts."
She took the plate without complaining. Sometimes it was okay to just let someone feed her without arguing. "If Doug let you stab everybody you want to stab, he wouldn't have time for anything but cleaning up blood. Or hire another assistant. Doesn't his current one have four sisters?"
"Something like that yes." Marie-Ange said, with an odd laugh. "The Frosts are a complicated family. I try not to think about it too hard."
"Fair point." She didn't even deal with her own family. Never mind trying to understand someone else's. "You might just have to continue resisting stabbing."
"That is not fun at all."
