Okay Not Okay

March 23, 2018:

Owen swings by to have breakfast with Emery. Emery tells him more about who and what he is, and they both know Owen is doing Okay, not Okay.

Emery's Penthouse Hotel Room

Its a penthouse hotelroom.

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

On a weekly basis, there's a simple Text message that comes from Emery, usually involving some picture that Kennis has drawn for Captain Boom or a sarcastic Irish 'hope you are alright' just with far more explicatives.

Today however, Kennis is spending on of her last days with her Nimi who is planning on returning to England after finally recovering from her coma ordeal. That leaves Emery at their current residence, some type of penthouse at a hotel and he shoots over the address and a tower of bagels to a certain Owen Mercer.

He currently is busy setting the table, coffee, orange juice, the tower of bagels, and he's setting out cream cheese and salmon, there's the smell of eggs and he is comfortably clad in a Sex Pistols t-shirt and a pair of comfortable jeans, hair pulled back in a loose manbun.

*

Depending on his mood and status of being in the country or not Owen usually texts back. Usually. Then there are the lost days that he doesn't return the texts from Emery or anyone else.

Today however, he's in the city and somewhat in decent shape. He has some stuff at Stark's that he has been meaning to work on, and it is one of the few healthy distractions in his life right now. It gives him a chance to be productive, and to lay off anything harder than some booze. He gets the text while exiting the subway and smiles, well that settles breakfast.

He finds the swanky place easily and makes his way to the ultra special Penthouse only elevator. Of course he looks just a little out of place in a beat up leather jacket, tee shirt and jeans but then it is the type of place where everyone is discrete and doesn't seem to notice. Coming up into the penthouse Owen looks around with an appreciative smile. It's still funny to him that Emery chooses to work when he apparently has money like this.

"I hope you are planning on at least one other person showing up because this is already a ridiculous amount of food…"

*

"Are ye complaining boyo?" Emery asks as he slides some eggs onto two plates and smirks gently. Finally the plate of bacon is set on the table."Besides, ye can burn it off faster than most people so ye need the extra calories.". He gives the man a quick chin-up and looks him over thoughtfully.

Then he just moves to pour cups of coffee and chuckling softly to himself. "Ye doin' okay?"

*

And Owen does look like he could do with the extra calories. He is a bit paler than they first met and his eyes have a bit of hollowed out feel to them. He doesn't look sick per say, just less healthy than the last time they were together. The changes have been gradual, but the lack of sleep and the drug use is catching up to him. It is probably a bit more jarring for someone who hasn't seen him in a while, but not noticeable to people who are only casual acquaintances.

"Me? I'm great. How are things with you and the kiddo? I take it ya haven't had any more trouble?"

The answer to how he is doing is as always brushed off without a thought. The deflection and change of conversation is just as natural as throwing a boomerang to Owen.

He takes the cup of coffee and wastes no time in grabbing a bagel, some lox and cream cheese and digging in. Mhmm bagels.

*

"Eeeh, you're full of shite, but atleast your insides are still inside and you can walk." Emery can't help but notice, eyeing the younger man with a critical look before he settles down at the table with his own cup of coffee, taking a slow sip and watching Owen from over his cup. "We always have trouble, but after this week it'll just be me and the wee one for a bit until I can find her a safe school to go to. She is little bit ahead of most kids her age. But she needs to be able to play wit' other little ones so we'll see. Took forever to find a good fencing class for her."

*

Owen merely gives Emery side-eyes for now when being called full of shite. What? It's the right answer. It's the one Owen gives because there have been literally only a handful of people, a very small handful, that ever cared about the answer. So it's confusing for him when people take a genuine interest. He does allow, "Fine, I'm not sleeping for shit, but that's … it."

But doesn't Emery have some weird sleeping thing? Kennis said something about it. Maybe? Hard to remember, but Owen seems to remember someone mentioning it. So it seems dumb to complain about not sleeping.

"Is there like a United Nations place where the ambassador kids go? They probably have kidnapping attempts… just maybe a little less crazy ass ones."

The bagel is chomped down with as little grace as one would expect from Owen. He makes himself another plate with eggs this time and whatever else in sight.

*

Toying with a piece of bacon, Emery tilts his head to the side waiting for the confession and he gives a small nod. "You need something for that? Or are you going to just grin and bear it?" He does indeed have a sleeping thing, it makes him put himself to sleep to choose when and where he sleeps when he can. But he doesn't ask for reasons why, he just rolls with it.

"I'm sure there is somewhere that the richest of the rich and their kids go when they may be threatened but…" The Butler trails offf. "I worry. Sometimes, because I know our passports and shite are good but. There's always a chance of people paying too close attention to something." He sighs. "But I may just have to do that."

*

"Nah. It's manageable." Owen is of course managing it with drugs and alcohol among other things, but that's his whole life. He does open up a little to admit. "And it's better when I sleep at my.." hmm. Owen has never actually talked about Harley, especially not given her any title like 'girlfriend' out loud. "I'm seeing someone. I sleep better at her place." Way to run from even the tiniest commitment Owen.

Breakfast meats and eggs are likewise consumed with haste, though he does at least ask, "Seriously, this was all for my benefit?" About the breakfast spread.

"Well if ya need help with papers. Or.. making official records appear in places." Owen gives a half-shrug and offers the eternal classic if cliched, "I know a guy." Because of course he knows a guy. And considering his current romantic situation and current mental state, Owen is less worried about looking up old contacts as he once was.

*

Emery doesn't choke on his coffee just spreads some cream cheese on a bagel, chewing slowly and thoughtfully. "Good." That's all he says about the 'seeing someone' and 'sleep' situation. He considers something for a moment before asking. "She know about…you and all your insane powered bollocks?"

Emery just gives a small nod at the question. "Aye, I didn't want to eat breakfast by meself." Then he shrugs a shoulders. "Eh, we'll see. Gotta make a decision soon though. It will make it easier for me to find time to sleep."

*

Owen wouldn't expect him having a relationship to be that far outside of the possible! Okay, maybe a little. He nods and assures Emery, "She knows how good in bed I am." No, Owen does not actually think that is what Emery is asking him, but with an opening like insane powered bollocks, it's not like he's not going to take it.

"And she's in the game. It helps." 'In the game' of course is old Rogue slang for part of the capes and hoods game. "I feel like that was missing before. That and the fact that I never called girls back." Maybe a combination of both of those two things doomed any prior relationships. Mostly the latter.

"I assume Kennis is making all the other kids cry in her fencing class? Just pokin' the shit out of everybody?" Lord knows Owen wouldn't want to have to face her with a tiny pointy sword.

*

Emery takes a deep breath as he takes another slow sip of coffee, eyebrow raising slowly. "Well, we all have to hook 'em one way or another. I now know she's with you not only because you are a nice dick but because you have a nice dick." He smirks gently before idly crosses his legs, resting a hand on his leg and bouncing the other foot.

He shrugs a shoulder. "It helps to have someone who's in the know. Unfortunately, with my stuff…being in the know was a different shade of being in the know." He waves a hand idly. "She's learning how to be patient. I train her at home, so she's got more discipline, yesterday got into a fight with the coach because she thought the other kids should shut up and listen and the coach was letting them play instead of doing drills."

*

Owen, never one to be modest about anything, accepts the compliment with a small open hand shrug. He goes back to grab yet another bagel, because well there's a whole tower of them just staring at him.

"I.. have no idea what you are saying" Yea, Emery lost him about different shades of knowing and his stuff, which is still a little vague. "Well at least if you can't get quality, there's always quantity to shoot for I guess?" Owen, ever the classy optimist should never give relationship advice, not that Emery would ever be dumb enough to listen to it.

Owen chuckles at the thought of Kennis fighting with the coach, particularly about the topic of other kids playing. That makes perfect sense. "She's a good kid man." That brings up the other thing. "Oh, and I was thinking. In case she ever needs it, I want to build something for her. Just in case.. like taser, but like one that can drop a fucking rhino. Would you be cool with that? I mean I have most of the tech anyway, it would just be figuring out how to make it easily portable and relatively kid safe."

*

"I am saying, you are lucky you have a quantifiable powerset so that you can hook up with other people with quantifiable powersets who don't have to worry about dark and secret organizations trying to kill them if they know too much." Emery savors a piece of bacon.

There is a long pause before he gives a slow nod. "As long as you put some type of safe guards on it so she doesn't accidentally taser her coach or me in a fit of righteous indignation."

*

Bagel half in his mouth, Owen's eyebrows go up in comprehension. He then tilts his head to the side and says "Yer not.. sure? What you can do? Or it's just tedious as hell to explain? I mean I get the shadowy organization thing is kind of a boner killer. Usually. I mean unless it's a positive. Some chicks are weird. Or dudes." Owen, the progressive, is sure to keep that option open after all Emery's talk of Strange, Cap and Bucky.

"I mean if you want to figure some shit out, Jane the former soul eating bird chick and Agent Moonstar the bear chick are messing with magic stuff at Starks. I'm sure they could come up with a way to quantify… your shit." Owen sound skeptical even as he says it. "I mean, if you trust 'em. I understand if you don't want people in yer business." Owen recently volunteered as a lab rat, but that was because he thought he lost his powers. He isn't keen on doing that again, but maybe Emery would.

"Uhh yea. I'm going to leave that up to you. If she can use it to stop bad dudes… she could also decide she wants to stay up and watch another episode of … care bears or whatever." Owen is not knowledgeable enough about kids programming to know they've moved on.

*

"I know what I can do boyo. I've been doin' it for years, first man I killed when I was 16. I had a few abilities before then, ability to always know when somebody was lying or full of bullshit, not gettin' as sick as other boys. But at 16, when I killed my first man, that's when all the rest kicked in. Activated or whatever the hell you want to call it." Emery refills his coffee cup and takes a slow sip. "I went through years of torture and training and beatings and trainings and beatings to get as good at what I can do. And at the command of another, I used it and wielded my abilities to murder as efficiently as possible. But when someone tries to figure out what to call it, or how I can do it…it falls into this weird gap between science and mystism."

Another calm sip of coffee. "But I've been alive for over 100 years, so maybe I'm just jaded or so used to it that I dunnae have the ability to really fathom anybody understanding it without wanting to poke at me like a lab rat. Which makes them usually curious about Kennis." He considers something for a moment before offering. "Which is why I dun mind you making her a way to defend herself."

He holds out a hand in a see-saw motion. "I'll figure out the safety tings then."

*

Owen does his best not to drop the bagel when the first of the confessions start. Because Owen is always lying, and always full of bullshit. So much so that he has long since stopped worrying about being honest or telling the truth. He tries to focus on what Emery is saying but he's also mentally retracing steps and wondering how much Emery's worked out about the areas of his life he keeps compartmentalized. Sure he has been open about his substance issues, criminal past, and now Harley … kind of.

"So you know.. shit. Like all the times I've been bullshitting you.." Which admittedly now that he thinks about it, Owen is way more honest with Emery than others. Maybe that's why? Weird.

"Wait. Over a hundred? Like Barnes. Or Cap." Cap, as if Owen knows Captain America so well. Though Owen totally saved his life once, kind of. "Yea, I get it. But that weird gap between science and mysticism. I think that Jane chick lives there. Like set up a little fucked up house and is making half magic half tech babies." That analogy got away from him pretty quickly. But his point stands, it's her specialty.

*

"Most people live in a state of bullshitting other people." Emery reassures Owen, looking down for a moment and toying with a fork as he pokes as eggs. Staring at the metal tings with a thoughtful expresion as they scratch against the plate and then he drops the fork and nods. "Its how most people stay alive. So aye, I know most of the time when ye say 'I'm fine' you're talking out of your arse but I figure if ye want to share something, you will."

Coffee is set down so he can reach and pour himself some orange juice. "I tink I am actually older than them." He muses this over for a moment and then shudders. "But if ye tell anybody that, I'll slap ye with yer own flying fuckstick." He threatens non-threateningly.

*

When Emery points out that Owen isn't the only one constantly lying to others, it causes him to relax a little. Of course then Emery calls him out on his most common lie. The one he has long since stopped thinking of as a lie. "Oh." And he lied about it only being a lack of sleep. Shit. "Well then, I'd like to change my answer to: I'm a hot mess." He laughs at his own joke but doesn't provide any details. Emery manages to show concern in a way that disarms Owen's usual violent reaction to sincerity or caring.

"Oh, is that it? You hittin' on Barnes cause you like 'em /young/" Young being very, very relative in those cases. The threat about beating him with his own fucksticks makes him laugh out loud as well.

"What about Kennis? She's not like some creepy fifty year old vampire kid stuck as a five year old, right?" Yes Owen just asked if his kid was creepy.

*

"Yep." Emery responds, making sure to pop that 'p' as he winks. "A hot damn mess. But the important thing is no matter how shittily you are doing, you keep going and you keep doing." He lifts his glass of orange juice in a silent toast. "Did you flush or burn the rest of your stash? Or do you need me to hang on to it until you know you've got a grip?"

Then he smirks gently, laughing a bit and taking a long swallow of Orange Juice. "Nah, I hit on him because he's got cheeks you just want to chew on but he's proper fit. But I'd never tap that. Too many issues. Last woman I slept with like that tried to kill me the next day."

Then about his daughter, he gets quiet and then offers softly. "She's just a wee baby. Technically she's royalty. Only reason she's alive is because I signed a deal that I never try to contact her birth mother again and to take full custody of her. Just a little girl." He smiles wistfully. "I want to keep it that way. Dun want her to become like me."

*

Emery offers the advice to just keep going and all Owen can think is that maybe 'keep going' is not the best advice for someone on his track? But he gets the gist of what Emery means and smiles knowingly. His left eye narrows ever so slightly when asked about his stash. His lips tighten and he tries to think of an appropriate response. "I'll.. get back to you on that." It's not a lie. But the pained expression and the obvious hedging are a pretty clear message, he's not there yet.

"See? I like 'em a little nuts." That's an understatement. Considering might try to kill you the next day is literally Owen's type.

"First of all, royalty? Well played." Owen takes a sip of coffee before continuing, "But yea, gross, turning out like you would be the worst. Poor kid." Obviously making fun of the idea of Kennis turning out like Emery in the non-murder, extended life, torment dreams regard.

*

"Alright, you let me know." Emery just nods slowly as he takes a deep breath and takes another sip of orange juice. He studies Owen's face for a moment, meeting his gaze with his own dark gaze before just nodding again.

Then he rolls his eyes a bit and chuckles. "I didn't say I regretted it did I? God…" He trails off remembering the magical moment before quickly shaking his head. "It would be awful, yes indeed. Thankfully, she's got me good looks, but that's all I hope she gets." He winks.

*

Owen is barely able to keep Emery's gaze, shifting uncomfortably at even hinting around his drug use. He tries to make light of it, but knows, at least in theory, the damage it's doing to his life. He finally breaks eye contact and looks down at his food as if it suddenly became super interesting. Having people who actually give a shit about him is new to Owen, and not altogether easy.

Thankful for the turn of the conversation, Owen laughs at the obvious wistfulness in Emery's tone. He takes another sip of coffee and then looks up.

"Well.. I should go. I got stuff at Starks I've been meaning to get to.. But, thanks. For breakfast." And Owen almost adds for other things, but, not quite there yet. He stands up, and yoinks another bagel for the road.

"Oh and pink or purple? I'm assuming Kennis's taser should be sparkly… " Oh but how cool would a blaster be? Like a Star Wars styled one… No, focus. It's for a kid. Taser Wand, not blaster.

*

Ever polite, Emery gets to his feet when Owen is preparing to go and he sets his glass down so he can make his way into the kitchen, retrieving a tupperware container and filling it with a few more bagels and offering to Owen with a solemn nod. "You are welcome, thank ye for showin' up." He squints a bit at Owen. "And not just today."

Then he smirks gently. "Ye be better of doin' purple. But she loves yellow more than anyting, go figure. And sparkles are always a good ting." Then he moves to open the door for Owen.

*

Owen accepts the tupperware and sticks the other bagel in his mouth in order to take it and shake hands with Emery in a semi-awkward goodbye. "Course." Is the immediate answer and then when Emery clarifies, Owen responds with "Always."

Turning and heading out the door, he calls out over his shoulder, "Yellow it is!"

*

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