selfhelp | [Action/Written]

[Billy has never thought of himself as one of those obsessive stalker boyfriends who needs to be attached at the hip to his significant other at all times. Really, he'd always figured they were pretty good about mutual space. A two-month separation with the potential of spending years in this place without seeing Teddy again is, however, apparently the trigger he'd needed to become one, so after one too many looks from Teddy - some patient, others not so much - he'd officially gotten himself banished from the apartment for the afternoon after too much worried lurking. Which is... not the greatest thing ever on a hot day like today, but ten minutes down the road he realizes that, yeah, he'd been a little ridiculous, either blowing off his responsibilities or dragging Teddy along for the ride. He's happy and eager to have Teddy here, but they'd lived separate lives at least half the time back home; no reason for that to not continue here as well.

It's just hard to let go after you've missed someone for that long.

Still, that's how he finds himself out and about for around five hours today, doing the following (in no particular order):

- a late lunch at Seventh Heaven
- searching around the library for comic books
- combat practice in the Battle Dome (with or without his trusty new teacher)

While at the library, a few sketches find their way into his journal, more or less like the following: this, this, and this. Some time afterwards, a scribbled message appears below.]

What are some good ways to deal with bad dreams?

[Once he's finished all his daily stuff, he'll be bringing groceries home around dinner time, in the hopes that he's allowed. Feel free to run into him at any time.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Over to your left. [He points to the bookshelf just a bit further down.] It's labeled, so it's pretty hard to miss.

Nice! [He's already staring from way over here. Staring with great pride.] Now that's what I'm talking about. I'm surprised I didn't see it before.

Well, it's a pretty big library. I was surprised, actually, because it looks so tiny from the outside.

I'm with you on that. Looks so small and simple from the outside, nothing compared to the ones back in New York.

Maybe we're just spoiled Everything's bigger than this place in New York.

True. I don't know if I'd call us spoiled, though.

A, yeah... I guess not, when the trade-off is watching the city half-destroyed by super villains or aliens every other week.

Oh-- Well-- Yeah. I was just shooting for the whole New york pride thing, but that's a pretty fair point too.

Oh, sorry. But hey, you could always take pride in the fact that we're spoiled! Er, that we have a lot of stuff in NYC, that is.

Guess so. Not my choice of words, but it's better than the former. Least until I hear about another place that's got more than the Big Apple.

This place is pretty much the exact opposite. I really miss the city.

Same. It's funny how you don't know how much you appreciate something until you get it yanked away from you.

You know what I miss the most? Movies. Even some of the really backwater towns back home get little theaters, right? But not here. There were so many movies I wanted to see this summer.

Oh man, that didn't even cross my mind. I don't even remember the last time I went to a theater to see a movie. [Probably with Liz.] Guess I don't have a choice now.

I wonder if the battle dome could do it. Everything else I've tried has worked, and it's basically just a holodeck, right?

[Huh... now he wants to try it.]

Oh! Point! The whole hologram thing is a little creepy, but that could probably work.

I mean, if I can walk around on clouds...

...You got to walk on clouds?

[Okay, that sounds like a cool idea.]

It's a... uh... pony thing.

...A pony thing.

[Wh... at... oh, wait.]

Like giant talking ponies? That kind of thing?

Yeah. Giant talking pony kind of thing.

Oh god, yeah. I can't believe we have My Little Ponies here...

[Peter laughs a bit, then just shakes his head.]

I can't believe we have half the... uh, people that we have here.

Luceti's definitely one special place, no doubt about that. Still, I don't mind. It's amazing to be able to meet people who only existed in books or TV shows back home.

You don't think that's weird? I'd chalk it up to weird before amazing. And probably still after.

Oh, it's definitely weird. And it's hard to meet them face to face and not freak out like a complete idiot.

[He's already managed to do that a few times, oops.]

I just have to keep telling myself that here, they're not fake or fiction- they're just as real as I am. It makes a big difference.

[Action]

wisecracking - 2012-09-06 07:05 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-09-08 20:29 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-09-12 13:27 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-09-13 05:06 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-09-17 20:06 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-09-19 03:52 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-09-26 09:04 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-09-27 09:34 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-09-29 02:16 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-09-29 22:27 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-09-30 13:12 (UTC) - Expand

selfhelp - 2012-10-01 08:00 (UTC) - Expand

wisecracking - 2012-10-08 00:33 (UTC) - Expand