29. juxtaposition

[orderfromchaos]

[Video]

[Grumpy Dillon is grumpy. His clothes from over a month ago are unwrinkled, and he has no bedhead, but he manages to look groggy anyway.]

So, while I was unconscious for a month, Hangover ate all my socks. Or sucked the reality out of them, or whatever he does.

[The camera swings around to see a bobbing lavender jellyfish like creature, wriggling self-consciously on a few sad strands of translucent yarn. Squiddle shaming!

Back to Dillon.]

So can I borrow some, maybe?


[Filtered to Tucky, Dillon, Bucky, Jean, Iris, Abigail, Horatio, Chris, Helena, Gene, Snafu, and Scott]

What's up with you guys? Are you okay? I feel more out of touch than I did breaking out of prison.


[Spam for Merlin]

[Once he's checked in with people, he goes searching for Merlin, ends up discovering him in the infirmary which is, frankly, perfect, since he's stuck on shift. Dillon grabs a wheelie chair and scoots next to him, forcing himself to tamp down his anger. Just from the set of his shoulders, it's clear the guy is kind of messed up.]

Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute?

Comments

spam

[withtheoldbreed]

[Gene shrugs a little, holding the door open so Dillon can step in while he gets him some new socks.]

Not much. [Jimmy's upset with him, and Gene doesn't know how to help him, and he's still not sure what the hell's going wrong with everyone, between the murders and miserable behavior. It's like everyone's getting really bad cabin fever.] Okita doesn't want me patrollin' by myself while Captain Rogers recovers.

spam

[orderfromchaos]

I could go with you. If you want.

spam

[withtheoldbreed]

Sure. If you want. [It's slightly teasing, but mostly just grateful.

He hands over a couple pairs.] Keep 'em as long as you want, I'm used to only having one pair.

[That he says like a joke, even though it's not. The socks he'd been wearing on Peleliu had pretty much rotted off when he took his boondockers off here.]

[orderfromchaos]

[He sticks them in his jeans pockets, stays barefoot for now.]

You'll have to show me the ropes.

[Lightly, but not actually joking either. Are there regulations??? Routes?]

[withtheoldbreed]

[Gene snorts a little.] It's not hard.

[When people aren't trying to kill you, anyway.]

But there's someone out there killin' people, and I don't think anyone knows who it is, but I don't really stand a snowball's chance in hell if they can just kill Captain Rogers without him knowin' who it was.

[orderfromchaos]

I'd patch you up. Smoother than the admiral does it.

[The words sound like bragging, but the tone doesn't, at all - the sad-nervous hopefulness of someone who mostly expects an offer to be refused.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Then I guess I'm countin' on it.

[It's half teasing - Gene won't actually hold it against him if it doesn't work, for whatever reason, but it's also definitely not a refusal of what Dillon's offering. He doesn't want to die here any more than he'd wanted to die on Peleliu.]

[orderfromchaos]

[It'll get him out and about at least.]

Cool.

...is it just me or are people kind of on edge? Like, more than about the murder thing.

[withtheoldbreed]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Who've you noticed actin' weird?

[orderfromchaos]

So far? Scott is a mess, Snafu is...look, he is definitely more belligerent than he was.

[withtheoldbreed]

[Gene shrugs a little, vaguely uncomfortable. He agrees with Dillon, but-] He can get like that, sometimes.

[Maybe not exactly like this, but Sledge can still remember how pissed off Snafu had looked when Gene had tried to take his boots off on Peleliu.]

[orderfromchaos]

I just. It just - feels like some big happened, too tip him over, but I don't know what.