paradisalost | Hot springs, heck yeah

Entry tags:

Hot springs, heck yeah

Who: York and Delta (

encryptedlock) and OPEN!
What: Recovery at the hot springs, with bonus autumn leaves in the water.
When: Afternoon to evening of today (October 1)
Where: Paradisa Onsen! Bet you didn't even know we had one. It's at the border of the forest.
Rating: PG-13 for ~~nudity~~ Kat's bathing suit

Okay, so he didn't really need to go to the hot springs after his fight with Tex last night, but with the air finally starting to get a bit of a chill, it was as good a day as any to watch the leaves fall and try to cut down on the stress. Sure, York had it pretty easy here, all thigns considered, but he had a hunch some of his friends could use the hot springs, too--so he'd sent out a quick location ping to the others with the same tracking system in their armor and, hopefully, at least a few of them would show up. Of course, he'd be fine with anyone else as well, but he knew for a fact they could use the relaxing.

Wrapping a towel around his waist securely, York slipped into the mens' side of the hot spring before making his way over to the mixed area.

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He nodded. "Better than not talking." He didn't really see how she was hard to handle, though, unless you were expecting something like--"Just try to remember she has no idea what normal social interaction is, and it'll help a lot." It had helped him with Delta--and Tex--and most of the friends he'd made here, come to think of it. But then, York was pretty chill about people in general.

"And at least you haven't been chewed on by a T-rex." He pointed to a few faded scars that did, in fact, look like giant tooth puncture wounds.

Washington shook his head before replying quietly, "York, she thought I abandoned her when she needed me when I got drunk the first night the castle fucked with our rooms. And that she deserved it. How the fuck do I handle that?"

The scars got a pause. "True."

York grimaced. "You don't. Well. Not directly. You make her go in for a goddamn psych eval. Unlike you, she probably doesn't have an overriding dislike of shrinks. And if you ask me, she needs one." And of course Wash wouldn't hurt form one, but York wasn't going to push it. "Hell, if you want, I'll even give her a referral."

"She said she's overdue for one." Wash could help a sigh at that. "Maybe it'd have been easier to stay celibate. So much more complicated like this."

"But she still hasn't done anything about it, has she?" He crossed his arms and started tapping fingers against a bicep. "I'll talk to her, see if I can make her see sense."

He just laughed at the second comment, though, dragging a little water through his hair. "Hey, I meant what I said about no strings attached. Except for the string where Tex gives me a black eye, anyway."

"Would she tell me if she did? I'm not her keeper."

Washington shrugged at that. "Kat said the same thing about strings. Look at us.

"No, but she'd probably be a little more likely to actually talk things out instead of storming out." Because he'd bet that's what had happened.

He nodded, though, because somehow that didn't surprise him at all. "How much of it's from you and how much of it's from her, really?"

"Last time we talked, she didn't storm out. Before that? She grabbing me by the arm hard enough to damage plating and threw me out."

Washington sighed, looking away. "I don't know. I don't think it's all me if she's reacting to me saying no and getting drunk like that."

York winced a little at that. At both, really.

"Starting with the second, you were both emotionally compromised, okay? I saw it. I was there. But you had an idea of what she went through, and she probably assumed you were fine. Obviously you weren't, but she probably wasn't thinking of that at all."

He sank down into the water a little to try and get rid of the building tension.

"It's perspective."

Washington looked anywhere but at York now. "I know. I was letting the castle get to me, York. Letting the castle win."

He shook his head. "You know I'm not good at that."

Fortunately, the hot water was doing its trick, and York paused for a few moments to concentrate on breathing in the steam.

"So how do we make it so the castle doesn't always win with you, Wash?"

Washington sighed, letting the hot water do its work. "I don't know. It's almost easier to let it win than it is to fight it anymore."

He shook his head sadly. "I just don't know what to do."

"Hey," he said a little softer this time, "you and i both know you've got more in you than that."

He rubbed the back of his head a little. "Look, and please don't take this the wrong way, but have you been visiting Dr. Sweets? I can absolutely guarantee you one of the reasons the inside of my head was so comfortable is because I've been actively working on it. I know you don't like psychologists and it's no kind of guarantee--but if you're almost ready to give up anyway, don't you think it might be worth a shot?"

Washington looked at York carefully at that. "As much as I fight... It finds a way to fuck with me further."

That gets a flinch. "No. I'm not going to a psychiatrist. You don't understand... I can't."

Edited 2011-10-04 05:05 (UTC)

"It always does. That doesn't mean we give up fighting." It was sometimes a little too much like home in that respect.

"I thought you might say that." He sighed. Too bad, it really would have helped. "And, well, it might be a stupid suggestion--God knows it's not something I would do--but have you thought about getting a pet? Some of them at the animal shelter, especially the Pokemon, are actually pretty intelligent."

"No. But you sometimes have to stop fighting so directly."

Have a look of absolute disbelief from Wash. "York, caring for a kid for as long as I did was difficult enough. You really think I could handle a pet? I'm not an animal person..."

"Just as long as you don't give up, Wash. Nobody wants that.

He grinned a little at the Look from Wash, though. "That's why I'm saying one of the smart ones. Feeds itself, takes care of itself mostly, except for the part where it needs human interaction. Hell, some of them even fight to defend you if you get in trouble."

"Over a year hasn't managed to break me that far. I'm not giving up."

Washington glared at York for that comment. "I don't need an animal to defend me. I can fight just fine for myself. Even with the broken arm."

"Good. Just remember that if it gets tough." Because letting the castle have its way with you was giving up, in York's book. And the people who tended to let that happen...disappeared.

He crossed his arms at Wash and grinned slightly at that glare, though.

"Uh huh. Some of them spit fire, Wash."

"Why are you so worried about me giving up, York?"

The glare just continued. "I don't need a fire breathing animal to protect me."

York just crossed his arms and glared a little.

"Because if you give up, nobody's got my back. Not when I really need it."

Washington frowned. "You've got Kat. And Tex, once she gets over her bitchiness. Which she will eventually. She's got a soft spot for you."

"I know I do. And I'm glad. Really." He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. He had Delta, too, of course, but that was different.

"But every goddamn time I've been up to my neck in shit here, they're not the ones who are there first. You are."

Wash looked away, not wanting York to see exactly the reaction that brought on. Guilt. "I owe you and Delta a debt I'll never be able to properly repay."

"Bullshit." He said it flatly, not taking 'no' for an answer. "D, maybe, but you don't owe me shit."

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