[closed] Temporarily powerless and homeless

[powerdealer]

It seems every day is more monotone than the last, like he's walking around in a zombie haze - though thankfully without any real zombies, he'd prefer not to do that again. But you'd think a city as weird as this would have more going on. That's what he gets for staying out of trouble.

He sighs as he unlocks the door to his apartment, dropping the keys on a table and running a hand down his face. He sits down in front of the telly, but gets bored almost immediately. Perhaps he should simply go out. Or perhaps he should go hang out with Gabe. He hasn't seen him for almost a week, he realises with a small pang.

Usually Gabe shoots him a text or something if he wants to hang out, or Seth just heads upstairs, but that hasn't happened lately. Probably he's just been busy. Yeah, that's what he'll do, maybe that will shake him out of this funk.

Not bothering with the keys just now, he heads for the door again, simply walking through it before heading upstairs. He knocks twice, but there's no reply. Guess not, then. He's about to leave, but then decides if Gabe's out, he might as well check if Scout's there and if he needs something, so he steps through the door.

Comments

[powerdealer]

How do you think his head feels after doing that? Phasing while hungover is not a great idea. Landing hard like that is not a great idea either, and now he's a little trapped underneath the bed.

He doesn't even answer Johnny with words, just another long groan. Or, there might be a word, but it's mostly a slightly muffled, drawn-out swear.

A few moments later, he figures maybe actually answering rather than just affirming he's still alive. "My head's going to explode."

[johnny_truant]

"Mine too. Come on outta there." He reaches out, then presses his hand against the floor, sinking it a little, gently, so Seth can roll out more easily. Mostly he just wanted to confirm his power is also back.

"Let's go check out," he says. "I can get us back the quick way." May as well show it off, if Seth's gonna remain interested.

[powerdealer]

For a moment he thinks he's just gotten intensely dizzy and nauseous - the floor is moving. Then he realises his dizziness and nausea and headache has nothing to do with it, and the floor is actually moving. "Whoa. The fuck."

He suddenly realises that Johnny must be the one doing it. Right. Houses. Buildings. Right.

Since actually rolling might currently make him vomit, he grabs the edge of the bed and pulls himself out instead, as smoothly as he can. Which is still not smooth enough for his body not to object to the movement.

"Right," he adds, and very carefully gets to his feet, holding onto his jeans so they don't fall down, buckling his belt again. He's also suddenly feeling self-conscious about his arms, so he leans down to pick up his shirt again, and oh jeez. Head's really objecting to that.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny struggles to stand back up, his body equally unhappy about it. "Easy," he murmurs when Seth leans over, reaching out to touch his marked-up arm. Oh. Right. That.

Much too hungover to have a reaction to that, and anyway, so what? He turns away, spots the half-assed drawing he'd made the night before - it takes him a minute to realize what it is, but once he does, he's quick to tear off the page and slip it into his back pocket. Then he drifts back over to where he left his shoes and makes a slow, gratuitous effort of leaning down to redress his feet. Oh god, this is bad. Ughhhhhh.

"Fuck," he groans, straightening back up. "I regret everything." He blunders his way toward the door and braces himself there, resting his head delicately against the cool wall, waiting for Seth to catch up.

[powerdealer]

It's just as well Seth is too busy being dizzy to notice Johnny looking at his arms. Somehow he manages to pull on his shirt without getting trapped in it. Then he slowly pulls on the jacket, patting his pockets to make sure he has all his stuff. Phone, wallet, kit, keys...

Shit. Keys.

Wait. No, right, he was always missing his keys, that's why they're here. Alright then.

He heads for his shoes, but then on the way he ends up taking a detour towards the bathroom. He's gratefully not about to vomit, but his mouth feels like something crawled inside and died, so he needs a drink of water, and then to carelessly splash some on his face.

Then when he returns, he finally slips into his shoes and gives a nod. "There's some left in the bottle..." he notes half-heartedly, gesturing to it standing next to the bed. Just in case Johnny wants that. Hair of the dog? Seth can't stand the thought, though.

[johnny_truant]

"God, no. Never again." Johnny laughs weakly. "I'm sure housekeeping would be delighted for the top-up."

He pushes the door open and they amble, slowly, very slowly, downstairs. Once they've checked out, with a lot of fumbling and grunting, Johnny guides them around the corner, toward the lobby restroom.

"All right," he mutters. "So here's one of the things I can do."

He presses his palm against the door, thinks about it, and pushes it open. He's a little addled, and so desperate to get home, that he bypasses the main door and takes them right into his apartment.

He steps in quickly, pulling Seth along, shutting the door and setting it back. He exhales, shivering.

No time to dwell on it, though. Scout is overjoyed to see them both, jumping up and yapping, way too loud.

[powerdealer]

Seth perks up a little, paying attention rather than just mostly mindlessly wandering along. He's not sure what he's supposed to be looking at, though. He's literally just opening a door.

And then they stumble through, and, well, he's pretty sure that wasn't the door they were going through. Or else there is a really weird restroom.

He barely has time to recognise the shape and look of the apartment to realise that Johnny moved them home, before a very enthusiastic dog is greeting them, and oh god. Again with the objections from his brain. The presence of Scout does confirm it though, so at least he doesn't have to answer.

He doesn't have the energy to squat, so he just carefully kneels and sits on the floor to let Scout say hello. He doesn't have much energy to greet him back either, but he doesn't mind getting his face licked. And it's actually very nice to see Scout again, so he'll forgive him for the loudness.

[johnny_truant]

"Heyyyy, Scout," says Johnny, relieved to see the dog, in spite of the noise. He crouches down, and ends up sitting. Scout bounces back and forth between them, overjoyed to have people again. "Hey. Hey. Calm down. Shhh, shh." Johnny tries to get him to settle, scratching behind his ears. "Sorry I was gone so long, buddy."

Scout licks his nose, then turns back to Seth, wagging his tail happily.

Johnny smiles and straightens up with a great deal of effort, meandering to the kitchen, where he fills Scout's bowls with food and water. He goes through the motions of making coffee, then drifts back toward his bed. He sits down and fidgets with his shoes.

"You can stay if you want," he says. "Coffee, dog. Or, you know, whatever. I'm probably gonna pass out again pretty soon." Kicking his shoes off, he flops onto his back. Christ, this hangover.

[powerdealer]

Seth occupies Scout while Johnny sets about refilling his food. It's really nice to be able to say hello to the dog again, but he doesn't really have the excess energy to take advantage of it. Maybe he'll offer to walk in when he starts feeling like a human again.

"Well, leaving would require managing to get off the floor," he jokes lightly. He doesn't plan to stay, though. He needs a shower, more to drink (preferably something colder than coffee), and something for this headache.

With a groan, he manages to get back on his feet. He heads for the door, but hovers for a second to make sure Johnny doesn't need anything.

"You want some painkillers?" And then, after a moment, because he realises how that might sound. "You know, the regular kind." Although a shot of morphine would do wonders right about now. Good thing he doesn't keep any at his apartment. For this exact reason. That and Gabe.

[johnny_truant]

"Oh," says Johnny. He levels a sidelong glance at Seth. He hadn't considered that he meant the "un-regular" kind, but... man, he hopes Seth isn't about to go shoot up. "No, I'm good. I got some. In the thing."

He gestures vaguely at the bathroom, sort of a flailing motion that leaves his arm flopped beside him. Excited by the movement, Scout rushes over and leaps up on the bed.

"Let me know how you're doing later, okay?" he mumbles, dragging himself back up to get at the coffee.

[powerdealer]

It doesn't occur to him to reassure Johnny that he isn't planning on using anything more hardcore than advil. He keeps a strict schedule of this, with precautions for avoiding temptation. Because otherwise, he knows it's an incredibly slippery slope.

"Yeah," he answers with a nod. For a moment he wonders if he should just phase out, so Johnny doesn't have to get up to lock the door after him. But then he's up, so he just uses the door the regular way, relieved he doesn't have to use his powers more than necessary at the moment. "Well, I'm right nextdoor, so, if you.. need anything." Awkward. "..Bye." And he's gone.

He phases into his own apartment, and sets about trying to repair the damage of last night.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny is too wiped out to be concerned about the lock right now. He pours himself some coffee and sips at it grudgingly, letting it burn his tongue. Bitter as fuck. He alternates that with some water, strips out of yesterday's clothes and into boxers and an undershirt. He curls up on the bed, and Scout nestles in against him, resting his chin on Johnny's arm.

"Hey, buddy," murmurs Johnny, rubbing Scout's head gently. It hits him all at once, again, Gabriel's absence, the frustration and agony of just not knowing where he is, what happened to him, when... if... he'll be back. He's too much of a mess to tamp it down: he closes his eyes tightly against them, but a few tears still manage to make it down his cheek, soaking into his sheets.

"Goddammit," he mutters, wiping at them angrily. He doesn't want to feel this weak. He wants to know he will survive this - that he'll be okay if Gabe doesn't come back.

He buries his face against the pillows, and Scout noses at him, whining once in doglike concern. Johnny focuses everything he has on the dog, comforting him, letting himself be comforted, before he finally drifts back to sleep.