watch me, 'cause I'm on a mission

[rigging]

Who: Jesse Finch & Kenzi + anybody else!
What: Galen is gone and his housemates huLK SMASH (or, y'know, window smash). First bit is for Kenzi, second bit is for anybody to respond to!
When: Day 44
Where: House 20 + anywhere else
Warnings: Language! Shouting! Window breaking! Violence! (also, new: mentions of abuse)

[ When Jesse wakes up, the bed is empty.

That's not unusual. Galen often wakes up before him and goes out to do whatever it is he does, drink coffee or mess with the guitar. That doesn't bother Jesse, but this morning he sort of wanted to just sleep on his boyfriend for a while instead of sprawling out in bed by himself. So he gets up to go look, plodding around the house in just his pajama pants. It's not unusual.

What is unusual is that he can't find Galen anywhere. And Galen doesn't answer when Jesse calls him. And - no. No, Jesse refuses to even think that. He will not fucking accept the idea that... that maybe... ]

Kenzi! [ Jesse shouts from the living room, and it is not the shout of a calm person. He's this close to breaking something. ] Kenzi!

--

[ And later, he's not done freaking out. He's just started, really, and even though he'd scoffed a little at the threat of burning down buildings at a disappearance... he doesn't care, now. Because this is more important to him than anyone could be for anybody. He doesn't want to be here, he wants to go home, he wants to go home with Galen, he can't be stuck here by himself, and he's shouting himself hoarse, not bothering with threats, just looking.

And if he has to break a few windows, some glass, with his pipe, well. It's just a sacrifice he has to make. ]

Comments

[onteamdyson]

Nothing! You said it's nothing, so that's what it is. I'm not looking at you like anything because nothing's going on.

[You can bet your ass that was sarcasm. She keeps staring, but after a while she sighs and steps forward, trying to corral him towards the stairs. To bed. Look, she'll even tell you a bedtime story.] You know how I told you that back home I live with my BFF Bo? That situation is still pretty recent. It's been a little less than two years now. You know where I lived before that?

[rigging]

[ Sarcasm is not good for Jesse right now. Even as she's pushing him towards the stairs, he's sort of wriggling around, not sure where he even wants to go. ] ... No. I dunno where you lived. [ He almost sounds petulant. ]

[onteamdyson]

I was basically homeless for a few years. Slept on the street, moved to some underground tent city for a while, con'd my way into motels when I could, couch surfed if I felt safe. [It feels kind of weird telling him this considering she hasn't even told Bo, but hey. He needs to know that she knows. She's seen it.]

I've met a lot of people, Jesse. Not all of them have been model freakin' citizens. In fact, a good chunk of them have been high... you see where I'm going with this? That's why you can't lie to me, dude. I've seen it all. And you are way the fuck too good for that, you hear me? You don't need that shit. You're stronger than this. Chasing a high just so you don't have to deal with your feelings? Nu-uh. Not happening in this house. That's what I'm here for.

[She takes another couple steps forward and holds her hand out like she did that morning.] We'll deal with it.

[rigging]

[ He actually stops squirming when she drops those bombs. For a long minute, he's quiet, just watching her. She's seen this, she's been in the same sort of world. She knows exactly why he's doing what he's doing, and that actually terrifies him a little.

But it also encourages him. And maybe she's right. He shouldn't, he knows better, he worked so fucking hard to get clean the first time, and he falls to pieces the second that something goes wrong. He's not as strong as she thinks he is, but. He can try.

And that's why he takes her hand and sniffs, once. ] Okay. [ He feels like he should have more to say, and -- maybe he will, when he can think right, but right now, he just wants to curl up and soak in his high. He'll feel bad later. ]

[onteamdyson]

Okay!

[Of course she's right, you dork. And right now she's even smiling. Yeah, okay, they can talk about it later. He can have his synthetic happy for now. Because tomorrow, it's just going to be worse. She's not exactly looking forward to dealing with Jesse coming down and still feeling the loss with no Galen around. It's probably going to be messy. They're probably going to fight.

So she just tugs him along, up the stairs, back to the room that used to be Phil's and makes him sleep on the side that's still Galen's as far as she's concerned, and she might just keep holding his hand and trace some of his tattoos with her fingernail until one of them falls asleep.]