Day 328, Friday, November 28th

[papalobo]

[It's weird, to end up at a home that's not home. He's spent more time there than anywhere else this year, but that says more about his transience than anything. If told five years ago he would live such a lifestyle, he'd have believed that, but not the part about most of those multiple places being not just six but seven, eight figure abodes.

And yet it's Jessica's home (still probably the nicest one he'd lived in as an adult, before Ash swept in) they're doing Thanksgiving in. Maybe it's a fear of being upstaged on her part if it's in such a house; such a naive thought is, while unvoiced, just more proof of Ash's suspicions, that Max's mind is on something, something Ash had likely been trying to put his mind on for months. Because with even half of his braincells to put to it, he'd suspect the worst sooner.

It's not until they're pulling up to the house and there are two other cars there that he remembers the hell of Thanksgiving is not only family, but family you don't normally have to see. And thanks to Michael, Jessica's family is still his family.


And their ride is a taxi. It's not like they can turn around. Though Michael coming out to greet them right away in a hurried excitement would've made it impossible in anything.]

...Maybe she decided to start investing in cars. But not especially good ones. To be more undercover. As a journalist.

Day 375, Friday, December 14th

Comments

[papalobo]

[Max lets him go and settles into his own chair, with no signs of intending to drink any more.]

[jadedlynx]

Want a bottle?

[ Ash doesn't think Max finished his second? ]

[papalobo]

M'done for the night.

[jadedlynx]

[ That's fair. Ash can't argue that even if he wanted to. ]

Night, Max.

[papalobo]

[But Ash isn't done, is he? So it's not as if he can actually sleep, even if he wanted to. Something isn't settled. No, a lot of things aren't settled. But there aren't any words. They've said them all. There isn't any solution here any more than there is to the fact that people will keep being disgustingly horny, in general and towards Ash in particular.

He didn't have any answers for Griff, either. Ash likely has more horror stories about what happened in there: they'll get him mad, but just like when a friend died at war, it was usually impossible to actually do anything more than just pick up your gun and keep shooting, never really knowing who killed who where and when and how. There was no justice, order, righting, or meaning. Drink your beer, sleep until your shift's over, get up, do it again the next day. So there isn't much hope to offer Ash, besides that maybe sometimes food will be good; Ash doesn't like food. Sometimes sex might feel good; Ash had him fooled a time or two but probably he doesn't really like it, and if he does, he's got Blanca for that now. It's a matter of playing house until Ash is tired of that, too. And Eiji was always better suited to that game.]

[jadedlynx]

[ But he's silent as the night drags on. The bottle empties. It's well past midnight now. He's drunk enough that he no longer lingers on his failed plan.

The tears have stopped. Ash has never been allowed to linger on his more depressing emotions so the presence of tears was the more surprising thing.

Ash extinguishes the fire pit around two.

If Max is awake at four, he may hear Ash walking toward the house. ]

[papalobo]

[By two, he's fallen asleep without being aware of it, without trying to.

By six, he's up and going about tending to the overgrowth in the back yard, around the greenhouse. Lot of little bullshit that needs done after being gone so long.]

[jadedlynx]

[ But Ash is back by five though he's doing his best to stay quiet. By six, he's back in the chair with a third bottle half emptied but finally asleep.

His laptop also made it outside. ]

[papalobo]

[Max is just waking upa t five, about when Ash gets back. Other than passing eye contact, he doesn't seem to think it calls for much acknowledgment.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash has the laptop in hand so he doesn't even notice that Max is awake.

If the older man waits, he'll see a now-very drunk Ash trying to navigate a laptop.]

[papalobo]

[It's probably harder to miss that Max is awake when he starts moving around to tend to things.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash fumbles the laptop in a way not to different from a teenager trying to hide his porn. ]

You're awake?

[ He isn't support to be awake. Ash's drunken stupor is less of an act now. ]

[papalobo]

What, you can act your age.

[jadedlynx]

[ The flush on his face is most likely related to the alcohol but it adds to the embarrassed image. ]

Even somebody older would think you'd sleep past... later.

[papalobo]

Want me to bring you some lotion?

[Passing behind Ash's chair, he muses his hair.]

[jadedlynx]

[ That... doesn't make sense. He blinks, but then he's Ash again. ]

The day I get myself off is the day you should really have me checked for body snatchers.

[papalobo]

So what are you doing?

[He suddenly realizes he was so into the joke he forgot even he didn't actually think that's what Ash was doing.]

[jadedlynx]

Just using a laptop.

[papalobo]

To.

[jadedlynx]

Get on the internet.

[ His mind needs to clear well enough to think of a real excuse, but he drank enough to try and numb some of his mind. It was a stupid mistake. Max is supposed to be asleep. ]

[papalobo]

For.

[jadedlynx]

[ He isn't so drunk as to say 'internet things'. At least. ]

Nothing important. Why are you already awake?

[papalobo]

Didn't drink enough to die.

[jadedlynx]

[ Placing the laptop by his side, Ash lays back in the chair. ]

Good. I'd have a hard time making anybody buy that I didn't do it.

[papalobo]

[Well, whatever. He has yardwork he can get to doing. Probably lovey-dovey e-mails with the other guy.]