![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Sam & Sooraya: No Warren wanted (backdated)
Sooraya brings Sam some chicken soup after she heard he got sick and they up end up sharing a mutual dislike for Warren Worthington.
"It's only some simple chicken soup... with a few small things added." Sooraya carefully put the small pot on the burner, though she didn't light it yet. "I figured it would be gentle enough for your stomach if you had a bout of flu or something."
"You're a peach." Sam said earnestly. "But it weren't a bug. Just....general disgust."
"Then something easy on the stomach still doesn't sound like a bad idea." Carefully checking if the lid was still on tight, Sooraya slid on the couch across Sam as she looked him over with narrowed eyes. "Are you okay though? If it wasn't a bug and its 'general disgust'... that situation sounds pretty bad, Sam, and like it hit you pretty hard."
"I'll be fine, made an appointment with my therapist for Monday. He just - he said a whole lotta things that reminded me of my ex and the Cabots all at once and instead of fight I guess for once my body picked some other response and I didn't even know puke was an option."
A wince stole over Sooraya's face and she eyed Sam with worry in her eyes. "That sounds nasty. Who in the world were you talking to that set you off so badly?" Falling quiet for a moment before hurriedly adding: "Only if you want to talk about it... I also have some ginger tea with me... I can make us a cup and we can chat if you want."
"Warren." Sam said plainly. "I ain't gonna go into details cause half of it ain't even really my business but.....how in the fuck am I supposed to not get set off by a man who says 'I don't do ethics' with his whole fuckin' chest when an ethical concern is brought to 'im?"
"The feathery peacock doesn't want anything to do with ethics? Why am I not surprised? Fellow humans are only toys afterall." Sooraya almost let out a small growl. "I think I'd be upset too if he said something like that to me..." She leaned forward a little, reaching out to cover Sam's hand with her own. "But I don't know if I'd be upset to the point of throwing up. He must really have struck a nerve with you?" She probed gently.
"My ex treated people like things, like we could be bought and sold." Sam whispered. "And I spent my whole life tryin' to protect my family against folks who thought they were entitled to do whatever they wanted to us cause they had money and ran the mine. The amount of comments those boys made 'bout Paigey and Mel.....now I know I'm easy to work up at the best of times, but that kinda disregard for others gets me boilin' hot."
Sooraya squeezed his hand in support. "Your ex sounds terrible and I've got to say the boys from your town sound just as horrible... in their own way they were making your sisters into 'things' too... And now Worthington was doing the same..."
Sam frowned. He hadn't said anything about his sisters in regard to Warren, had word about Mel somehow gotten out? He hadn't said anything to anyone.... "He's just an ass, he said some weird shit to Paigey but they ain't interacted in weeks at least. Prolly over a month."
"You just mentioned the boys in your town talking about you sisters..." Sooraya explained gently, catching the surprise behind the frown. "With that and knowing a little about what the feathery peacock tends to say about women, it's not hard to put two and two together."
"And the way he talks about folks poorer than him! He just assumes his life experiences are universal. Can you believe he tried to accuse me of bein' controllin' and tryin' to force people into a state of learned helplessness?" Sam said, glad to be able to shift the topic away from his sisters. "Me! Just cause I got forced into bein an adult when I was a kid! How is that something I wanted?"
"Sam." She squeezed his hand again, this time to draw his attention. "Hey... you just said it yourself. The peacock has no clue what he is talking about and he can't learn anything more because he has a three inch thick plate stuck in front of his head. Or because he doesn't want to grow up... or whatever crazy reason that's stuck in his head..." Sooraya paused for a moment, pushing away the rant that was about to emerge. "One of the first things I noticed about you when we first chatted was how much you cared. Your family yes, but also far more. You stepped up when you were needed and did the work. Maybe not perfect, but you did it. And that is something that peacock will never be able to understand."
"I just can't imagine, havin' all that money, all that capacity for good- and braggin' about bein' selfish." Sam said quietly. "'S always the folks that don't deserve money havin' more of it than they know what to do with while the rest of us're forced to rely on them to write our checks. I could take direct action back home, but I feel like folks wouldn't like it so much up here if I went 'round punching the daylights outta rich assholes. Who knows, maybe throwin' up on 'em's the next best thing?"
"In this case I'd say it's definitely well-deserved." Sooraya muttered and she couldn't suppress the satisfied note in her voice. "Were things that bad at home? I imagine in the mines it's kinda... easy..." Sooraya paused for a moment, frowning a little. "Okay, easy isn't the right word here, but it's the best I can find... kinda easy to get taken advantage of, also because there aren't many other options around?"
"Ain't nothin' around." Sam said derisively. "It's the mine or some other soulless corporation that'll break yer body and spirit just the same only without the black lung. I get in a lot of fights when I'm home....'s just how things are."
"Or at least very hard to change." Sooraya thought out loud. "You did manage to change something though, Sam. You got yourself out of there... helped to get three of your siblings out of there. That's not nothing. And I bet if the other wanted to get out, you'd be helping them as well. And by doing so, you showed others it is possible, no matter how hard it is."
“I got myself out and abandoned them.” Sam said quietly. “I’d have to take Mama to court to get the rest….but I ain’t sure I wouldn’t lose what little bit of myself I’ve made if I did. It’s selfish, Daddy’d be disappointed.”
He knew it wasn’t true. Had had enough conversations with his father to know that Thomas never wanted this for him, that Sam had fallen into his greatest fear for his oldest son. It’s why he’d refused to let Paige try to take the burden from him. But the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t let up. He wasn’t taking care of his siblings and he’d stopped caring about Mama….what kind of brother and son did that make him?
"You showed your siblings it is possible to leave and build a life somewhere else. Maybe even other kids and teens outside your family." Sooraya countered gently, but firmly. "Sometimes it helps to just know that there is the possibility... that you aren't just having a crazy pipe dream."
“Paige got out because I gave up on getting out.” Sam said, a little more tensely than he meant to. “Jay was cast out. And Mel didn’t really get a choice neither. I didn’t show them you could leave and get a life somewhere else. All I did was leave. And I’ve gotta live with that and that’s fine. But I ain’t gonna sugar coat it and pretend I did some great thing by growin’ a mutation and runnin’ away first chance I got.”
"Not pretending here you did a great thing here, Sam." Sooraya continued in the same soft firm tone. "Just being honest about the impact it might have had. If not for your siblings, maybe for someone else." And if he hadn't gone, he wouldn't have been there to be a safe haven for the younger two, but she didn't think that would help at the moment.
“And I love your optimism- but home is….it ain’t that kind of place, Sooraya.” Sam sighed. “It’s- it just ain’t that kind of place.”
"Maybe." Sooraya allowed. "But... have I ever told you about my life in Afghanistan before I came here?"
"You haven't." Sam said. "I didn't wanna pry."
Sooraya tilted her head, taking a moment to consider which bits she wanted to share. "It's a long story, but there is one thing... A few years before I came here I was taken from the group I lived with and enslaved. In the first few months or so there was another girl there with me... I'm not even sure of her name anymore... But the thing is... at some point she was sold into marriage. And I remember thinking she'd get a husband and home of her own, kids in her future... everything I was taught to want... and I was kinda hoping that'd happen to me at some point as well. Looking back, her new life probably wasn't all that rosy, but at the time the idea that I'd get out into another life someday, that I'd get out, helped to keep me going."
"I'm sorry that happened to you." Sam said quietly. "I'd ask if there's anythin' I could do for you but I'm pretty sure you'd fuss at me over spreadin' myself too thin..."
"It's okay, Sam." Sooraya quickly reassured him. "I'm okay... I just wanted to say... don't underestimate what a little bit of hope could do. Even if if it's just the hope of Warren Worthington landing in a mud pool one day..."
"Y'know...first time I really met 'im, I threatened to break his bones, find out if they're hollow...." Sam said with a small smirk. "Folks up here...they got this idea I'm real nice, which I try an' be don't get me wrong. I like doin' good but...my siblings'll tell ya I got a mean streak a mile wide if provoked. The man keeps it up he'll find that out the hard way."
She just kept herself from smiling a little as she replied: "What did he say? And knowing how protective you are of your siblings and others you care about... it doesn't surprise me you'd be fierce in defending them."
"Some stupid shit 'bout how he does pay attention to what comes out his mouth and he weren't bein' rude by bein' a classist dickhead." Sam rolled his eyes. "He did insist on teachin' Jay how to take care of his wings though- so I didn't push him on it no more."
"Yeah, I can imagine that makes it harder to keep talking further, especially since that's something that can really help your brother." Sooraya agreed with a nod. "But even that helps him... didn't you mention Jay works for him?"
“Yeah.” Sam rolled his eyes, and then smirked. “Jay told me I oughta think about Warren like he’s a kid. The whole problem is that if he were a kid I could deal with it and say he ain’t had a chance to learn better. The man’s older than Lucinda, he’s had plenty chance.”
Jay had actually told him to treat Warren how he treated Jeb….but Sam actually liked Jeb. And while he’d probably piss on Warren if the other man was on fire- the feeling he had for the other man definitely wasn’t like.
"Hmm, treating him like a toddler makes some kind of sense though." Sooraya mused out loud, a tiny smirk flashing over his face. "He loves being in the center of attention. Paying no attention to him... ignoring him might be worse than other stuff. Though easier said than done when he is messing with your siblings."
"I don't plan on givin' him attention. I'd rather avoid him completely." Sam sighed.
"Yeah, I think that is the way to go too..." Sooraya let out a sigh. "I should probably follow your example."
"Hey now- I didn't say I was gonna be successful with the plan. Got a feelin' this is gonna be more of a 'do as I say not as I do' sitchiation." Sam teased.
"So it's purely aspirational then?" Sooraya perked up a little, bantering back.
"Of course." Sam said, shit eating grin plastered to his face. "We all need somethin' to strive for, Sooraya."
"It's only some simple chicken soup... with a few small things added." Sooraya carefully put the small pot on the burner, though she didn't light it yet. "I figured it would be gentle enough for your stomach if you had a bout of flu or something."
"You're a peach." Sam said earnestly. "But it weren't a bug. Just....general disgust."
"Then something easy on the stomach still doesn't sound like a bad idea." Carefully checking if the lid was still on tight, Sooraya slid on the couch across Sam as she looked him over with narrowed eyes. "Are you okay though? If it wasn't a bug and its 'general disgust'... that situation sounds pretty bad, Sam, and like it hit you pretty hard."
"I'll be fine, made an appointment with my therapist for Monday. He just - he said a whole lotta things that reminded me of my ex and the Cabots all at once and instead of fight I guess for once my body picked some other response and I didn't even know puke was an option."
A wince stole over Sooraya's face and she eyed Sam with worry in her eyes. "That sounds nasty. Who in the world were you talking to that set you off so badly?" Falling quiet for a moment before hurriedly adding: "Only if you want to talk about it... I also have some ginger tea with me... I can make us a cup and we can chat if you want."
"Warren." Sam said plainly. "I ain't gonna go into details cause half of it ain't even really my business but.....how in the fuck am I supposed to not get set off by a man who says 'I don't do ethics' with his whole fuckin' chest when an ethical concern is brought to 'im?"
"The feathery peacock doesn't want anything to do with ethics? Why am I not surprised? Fellow humans are only toys afterall." Sooraya almost let out a small growl. "I think I'd be upset too if he said something like that to me..." She leaned forward a little, reaching out to cover Sam's hand with her own. "But I don't know if I'd be upset to the point of throwing up. He must really have struck a nerve with you?" She probed gently.
"My ex treated people like things, like we could be bought and sold." Sam whispered. "And I spent my whole life tryin' to protect my family against folks who thought they were entitled to do whatever they wanted to us cause they had money and ran the mine. The amount of comments those boys made 'bout Paigey and Mel.....now I know I'm easy to work up at the best of times, but that kinda disregard for others gets me boilin' hot."
Sooraya squeezed his hand in support. "Your ex sounds terrible and I've got to say the boys from your town sound just as horrible... in their own way they were making your sisters into 'things' too... And now Worthington was doing the same..."
Sam frowned. He hadn't said anything about his sisters in regard to Warren, had word about Mel somehow gotten out? He hadn't said anything to anyone.... "He's just an ass, he said some weird shit to Paigey but they ain't interacted in weeks at least. Prolly over a month."
"You just mentioned the boys in your town talking about you sisters..." Sooraya explained gently, catching the surprise behind the frown. "With that and knowing a little about what the feathery peacock tends to say about women, it's not hard to put two and two together."
"And the way he talks about folks poorer than him! He just assumes his life experiences are universal. Can you believe he tried to accuse me of bein' controllin' and tryin' to force people into a state of learned helplessness?" Sam said, glad to be able to shift the topic away from his sisters. "Me! Just cause I got forced into bein an adult when I was a kid! How is that something I wanted?"
"Sam." She squeezed his hand again, this time to draw his attention. "Hey... you just said it yourself. The peacock has no clue what he is talking about and he can't learn anything more because he has a three inch thick plate stuck in front of his head. Or because he doesn't want to grow up... or whatever crazy reason that's stuck in his head..." Sooraya paused for a moment, pushing away the rant that was about to emerge. "One of the first things I noticed about you when we first chatted was how much you cared. Your family yes, but also far more. You stepped up when you were needed and did the work. Maybe not perfect, but you did it. And that is something that peacock will never be able to understand."
"I just can't imagine, havin' all that money, all that capacity for good- and braggin' about bein' selfish." Sam said quietly. "'S always the folks that don't deserve money havin' more of it than they know what to do with while the rest of us're forced to rely on them to write our checks. I could take direct action back home, but I feel like folks wouldn't like it so much up here if I went 'round punching the daylights outta rich assholes. Who knows, maybe throwin' up on 'em's the next best thing?"
"In this case I'd say it's definitely well-deserved." Sooraya muttered and she couldn't suppress the satisfied note in her voice. "Were things that bad at home? I imagine in the mines it's kinda... easy..." Sooraya paused for a moment, frowning a little. "Okay, easy isn't the right word here, but it's the best I can find... kinda easy to get taken advantage of, also because there aren't many other options around?"
"Ain't nothin' around." Sam said derisively. "It's the mine or some other soulless corporation that'll break yer body and spirit just the same only without the black lung. I get in a lot of fights when I'm home....'s just how things are."
"Or at least very hard to change." Sooraya thought out loud. "You did manage to change something though, Sam. You got yourself out of there... helped to get three of your siblings out of there. That's not nothing. And I bet if the other wanted to get out, you'd be helping them as well. And by doing so, you showed others it is possible, no matter how hard it is."
“I got myself out and abandoned them.” Sam said quietly. “I’d have to take Mama to court to get the rest….but I ain’t sure I wouldn’t lose what little bit of myself I’ve made if I did. It’s selfish, Daddy’d be disappointed.”
He knew it wasn’t true. Had had enough conversations with his father to know that Thomas never wanted this for him, that Sam had fallen into his greatest fear for his oldest son. It’s why he’d refused to let Paige try to take the burden from him. But the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t let up. He wasn’t taking care of his siblings and he’d stopped caring about Mama….what kind of brother and son did that make him?
"You showed your siblings it is possible to leave and build a life somewhere else. Maybe even other kids and teens outside your family." Sooraya countered gently, but firmly. "Sometimes it helps to just know that there is the possibility... that you aren't just having a crazy pipe dream."
“Paige got out because I gave up on getting out.” Sam said, a little more tensely than he meant to. “Jay was cast out. And Mel didn’t really get a choice neither. I didn’t show them you could leave and get a life somewhere else. All I did was leave. And I’ve gotta live with that and that’s fine. But I ain’t gonna sugar coat it and pretend I did some great thing by growin’ a mutation and runnin’ away first chance I got.”
"Not pretending here you did a great thing here, Sam." Sooraya continued in the same soft firm tone. "Just being honest about the impact it might have had. If not for your siblings, maybe for someone else." And if he hadn't gone, he wouldn't have been there to be a safe haven for the younger two, but she didn't think that would help at the moment.
“And I love your optimism- but home is….it ain’t that kind of place, Sooraya.” Sam sighed. “It’s- it just ain’t that kind of place.”
"Maybe." Sooraya allowed. "But... have I ever told you about my life in Afghanistan before I came here?"
"You haven't." Sam said. "I didn't wanna pry."
Sooraya tilted her head, taking a moment to consider which bits she wanted to share. "It's a long story, but there is one thing... A few years before I came here I was taken from the group I lived with and enslaved. In the first few months or so there was another girl there with me... I'm not even sure of her name anymore... But the thing is... at some point she was sold into marriage. And I remember thinking she'd get a husband and home of her own, kids in her future... everything I was taught to want... and I was kinda hoping that'd happen to me at some point as well. Looking back, her new life probably wasn't all that rosy, but at the time the idea that I'd get out into another life someday, that I'd get out, helped to keep me going."
"I'm sorry that happened to you." Sam said quietly. "I'd ask if there's anythin' I could do for you but I'm pretty sure you'd fuss at me over spreadin' myself too thin..."
"It's okay, Sam." Sooraya quickly reassured him. "I'm okay... I just wanted to say... don't underestimate what a little bit of hope could do. Even if if it's just the hope of Warren Worthington landing in a mud pool one day..."
"Y'know...first time I really met 'im, I threatened to break his bones, find out if they're hollow...." Sam said with a small smirk. "Folks up here...they got this idea I'm real nice, which I try an' be don't get me wrong. I like doin' good but...my siblings'll tell ya I got a mean streak a mile wide if provoked. The man keeps it up he'll find that out the hard way."
She just kept herself from smiling a little as she replied: "What did he say? And knowing how protective you are of your siblings and others you care about... it doesn't surprise me you'd be fierce in defending them."
"Some stupid shit 'bout how he does pay attention to what comes out his mouth and he weren't bein' rude by bein' a classist dickhead." Sam rolled his eyes. "He did insist on teachin' Jay how to take care of his wings though- so I didn't push him on it no more."
"Yeah, I can imagine that makes it harder to keep talking further, especially since that's something that can really help your brother." Sooraya agreed with a nod. "But even that helps him... didn't you mention Jay works for him?"
“Yeah.” Sam rolled his eyes, and then smirked. “Jay told me I oughta think about Warren like he’s a kid. The whole problem is that if he were a kid I could deal with it and say he ain’t had a chance to learn better. The man’s older than Lucinda, he’s had plenty chance.”
Jay had actually told him to treat Warren how he treated Jeb….but Sam actually liked Jeb. And while he’d probably piss on Warren if the other man was on fire- the feeling he had for the other man definitely wasn’t like.
"Hmm, treating him like a toddler makes some kind of sense though." Sooraya mused out loud, a tiny smirk flashing over his face. "He loves being in the center of attention. Paying no attention to him... ignoring him might be worse than other stuff. Though easier said than done when he is messing with your siblings."
"I don't plan on givin' him attention. I'd rather avoid him completely." Sam sighed.
"Yeah, I think that is the way to go too..." Sooraya let out a sigh. "I should probably follow your example."
"Hey now- I didn't say I was gonna be successful with the plan. Got a feelin' this is gonna be more of a 'do as I say not as I do' sitchiation." Sam teased.
"So it's purely aspirational then?" Sooraya perked up a little, bantering back.
"Of course." Sam said, shit eating grin plastered to his face. "We all need somethin' to strive for, Sooraya."
no subject
Lol. That's one way to put it.
"Hmm, treating him like a toddler makes some kind of sense though." Sooraya mused out loud, a tiny smirk flashing over his face. "He loves being in the center of attention. Paying no attention to him... ignoring him might be worse than other stuff.
I mean, this is true but good luck with that.
It was interesting to see Sooraya and Sam compare notes on what it's like to come from a place where your options are extremely limited; they do both have that background of having their autonomy stripped by circumstance, rescued only by their manifestations.
no subject
This was lovely, and honestly, I love seeing Sooraya actively dislike someone.
Beautiful writing, as always guys <3