Robbie Baldwin (
walkingballpit) wrote in
legionworld2017-01-23 11:50 am
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Entry tags:
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away
Who| Robbie Baldwin and Vance Astrovik
What| Robbie's failing to cope with Silent Horizon (and a lot of prior stuff)
Where| His quarters
When| In the days after Silent Horizon/No Sanity Clause
Warnings/Notes| Self harm ideation, discussion of past self harm likely, present self harm possible.
Nothing was ever going to be good enough.
Robbie sat in his bed with his back against the wall. Since returning to Legion World, he's tried everything to pull himself back up to his normal emotional functioning. He's argued with teammates, smiled at doctors, asked to be left alone to deal with it.
When that didn't shake out how he hoped, Robbie took out the frustration of impotence out on the anonymous horde. He even sharing anonymously, only to be treated like a freak for saying it was part of his normal.
It underlined his opinion that talking about it with Dr. Ryk'rr won't help, but no one wanted to listen.
He tossed the omnicom onto the bed beside him. He was tired of trying to force emotional highs. The only things he's felt in days were guilt, fear, and hundreds of tiny wounds all along his skin. They're gone now.
The medical care was too advanced here, he thinks as he examined his bare forearms. The skin is pale with fine lines of new skin that stand out starkly. Robbie scratched at them, but the doctors didn't leave scabs. He could grab something, trace along the bright pink lines. Just once or twice. He could tell Vance, I guess the doctors missed a few, or ten, or twenty. He should hide them, but he doesn't care. Besides, if his friend is really coming to check him out, denial of access is confirmation of existence.
But he'd have them, and that's what mattered. He'd feel them. It wouldn't be good enough, but it would be better.
What| Robbie's failing to cope with Silent Horizon (and a lot of prior stuff)
Where| His quarters
When| In the days after Silent Horizon/No Sanity Clause
Warnings/Notes| Self harm ideation, discussion of past self harm likely, present self harm possible.
Nothing was ever going to be good enough.
Robbie sat in his bed with his back against the wall. Since returning to Legion World, he's tried everything to pull himself back up to his normal emotional functioning. He's argued with teammates, smiled at doctors, asked to be left alone to deal with it.
When that didn't shake out how he hoped, Robbie took out the frustration of impotence out on the anonymous horde. He even sharing anonymously, only to be treated like a freak for saying it was part of his normal.
It underlined his opinion that talking about it with Dr. Ryk'rr won't help, but no one wanted to listen.
He tossed the omnicom onto the bed beside him. He was tired of trying to force emotional highs. The only things he's felt in days were guilt, fear, and hundreds of tiny wounds all along his skin. They're gone now.
The medical care was too advanced here, he thinks as he examined his bare forearms. The skin is pale with fine lines of new skin that stand out starkly. Robbie scratched at them, but the doctors didn't leave scabs. He could grab something, trace along the bright pink lines. Just once or twice. He could tell Vance, I guess the doctors missed a few, or ten, or twenty. He should hide them, but he doesn't care. Besides, if his friend is really coming to check him out, denial of access is confirmation of existence.
But he'd have them, and that's what mattered. He'd feel them. It wouldn't be good enough, but it would be better.
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Still, Vance had gotten a whiff of fear gas and it had been enough to throw him back to Earth, back to the aftermath of Cap and Stark's little war. Back to being the survivor of the family, the one who had lived. Only it had been worse because it wasn't just Dwayne and Nita and Robbie gone. Angel lost to cancer. Rich lost with Quill. Elvin, Sil, Mickey, Mike, Rina, Chris. All gone.
It shook him, but Vance put it aside. Rich and Nita and Robbie were all right. Rich and Nita, Vance had already seen with his own eyes after the mission. It was just Robbie that he needed to see and assure himself of now.
And while he knew damned well that what he'd done was damned underhanded, Vance promised himself he'd drop off the soup, make sure Robbie was all right and leave him alone. Promised himself.
With that in mind, he reached up and hit the alert button that would let Robbie know he was at the door.
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... maybe not.
Still, Robbie got up and grabbed a hooded shirt. It wasn't a proper hoodie - it didn't have the right bands or the nice big pocket. It covered, and he thought that was what he wanted as he pulled it on, right up until he reached the door. Then, he thought, no. It was his room, and this should be the one place he could relax and not have to lie or hide he won't offend others.
Hasn't he already offended others enough today? Robbie pulled the hood up and opened the door, stepping aside to let Vance enter. "Hey."
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Still, there was a lot of tension that released in his shoulders when Robbie opened the door. He let out a breath, offering a half smile. "Hey," he replied, looking Robbie over. "I'll get out of your hair quick. I just needed to do the rounds, see everybody and be certain they're al--" His voice caught on the word and Vance cleared his throat. "All right."
Not the word he was going to use, but the one that was probably better.
"I brought some soup, though. So you don't have to go out and face people in the cafeteria if you don't want to."
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Unfortunately, that was not what happened. It started off fine. He didn't pick up on a weird expression or furrowed brow. Robbie managed to smile back. Great.
And then Vance tripped on 'all right,' when he'd given Robbie a onceover. Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Shakespeare? No, wait, that one's from church. The smile ran right off his face.
Robbie turned and walked away rather than look at Vance, stripped off the second shirt he'd just put on as he reclaimed his spot on the bed. If Vance wanted to judge him, fine. Let him judge him in a t-shirt so he wouldn't be too hot. "I'm not hungry. I told you - full up on space nutrient juice."
Having a food stash, though, that was a tempting offer. He did not want to go to the caf, but... Robbie added enough fuel to the fire already. He won't further confirm bad things by admitting he probably won't leave his room for a few days.
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Vance reached up, rubbing his face. "Well, you can always have it later. I have it on good authority that it reheats."
He stepped inside, glancing over at Robbie as he took off his shirt. He was used to Robbie layering, after all. Even knew the reasons why he did it. Which was one reason why he glanced over Robbie's arms before looking up at Robbie's face. "I know you're not really interested in going yourself, but I thought I'd let you know that I'm going to make an appointment with Dr. Ryk'rr. For myself." He tucked his hands into his pockets. "This last mission made me realize there's still a lot of shit in my head that I've never really dealt with. Might be a good time to do that."
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"But you're fine. You're always...."
Robbie trailed off as understanding washed over him. Vance was perpetually fine, just like Robbie himself.
But he wasn't, was he? Robbie did his best, but he knew that making at effort at being well wasn't the same as simply being well. He's never questioned Vance very hard on how he felt, leery of going down that particular two-way street of how much things bother them.
Vance brought it up though. Maybe not dealing with bad memories has been by mutual consent. "You know can always talk to me. Sit down. Talk all you want. I was there for most of it - I can help. You don't have to go to Dr. Ryk'rr."
Crap, that sounded bad. Dismissive and defensive. Robbie was trying to prove two points that didn't mix well. When it came down to a choice between encouraging Vance to take steps to feel better and insulating himself from an appointment of his own - well, it wasn't a choice. "Sorry, it's not an or. You can do both. I'm - I'm not telling you what to do but... you're not leaving without telling me what happened on the mission?"
He finally made eye contact, with a guarded expression that leaked worry.
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Vance took a moment, obviously thinking before he went to sit down. Not like he was thinking of leaving, but more like he was thinking of what to say. Which was a difference Robbie could probably spot. "I'm still going to talk to Dr. Ryk'rr about this," he said, finally. "Not because I'm not going to talk to you or that you aren't enough. But because..." Vance trailed off, frowning. "Because there could be more to it and I think maybe somebody professional can help me identify it."
And that was the crux of it. The fact that he'd been burying things for so much of his life. He was fine. He was always fine. Until he wasn't.
"The mission on Cargg. I didn't run into the Joker, but me and Jason--Amp--ended up tangling with this guy dressed like a scarecrow. I've since found out that he was based on one of the villains from the Joker's time. No powers, but he had this gas that brought up someone's worst fears."
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There just wasn't much left to fear, except more of the same. More dead friends and tarnished reputations.
"There's nothing wrong with you," Robbie said stubbornly, even as he sat on objections about how it was impossible to explain everything that lead to these... little personality quirks. He could never make it fit into an hour, and there was no point discussing the mission without the background. Dr. Ryk'rr would never understand.
But he said he wasn't going to tell Vance not to, and he's not. They're just chatting about the latest missions. No judgment. Robbie doesn't know how to keep it going, though. 'Do you want to talk about it?' seemed stupid. He's said they can talk. They're talking.
Asking what the worst fears were - he knew already, and he doesn't want to poke at Vance's wounds. He wanted to respect the calmness that Vance constructed by not shaking the supports.
Robbie decided to cough up information on what had happened on the ship, partly because it might encourage Vance to share. It also was alarming: they both had something get in their head and fuck them up. "There was something like that on the ship, too. I don't know what it was, but it knocked me out and nothing was... right, after that."
Except... it still felt like that was where he should be, and 'reality' was wrong.
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Because, no, Vance didn't particularly think there was anything wrong with him. But that didn't mean that having somebody to talk to was a bad thing.
He was quiet when Robbie talked, letting him say things at his own pace. Which, he knew, was sometimes harder for his friend than he would ever admit. When he wasn't forthcoming with more, Vance took the moment to speak again. "For me, it was...loss. It was like when I was at Fort Hammond, but worse because it wasn't just you and Nita and Dwayne that were gone. It was Rich. It was Angel dying of her cancer. The other, older members of the team being gone as well. No Elvin, no Sil, no Mickey or Mike. It was just me, completely on my own and nothing I could have done about any of it."
Which was the crux of it all. The helplessness. Not just being alone, but not being able to stop it.
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But he got flustered at the look and the argument. It was harder to maintain two separate narratives, Vance being better than him and Robbie, himself, being better than when he was being subjected to therapy sessions, with Vance flipping the table and considering counseling. In the new world order, where did Robbie fit in? He couldn't begin to know. It was all wrong.
And Robbie couldn't tell Vance that he was wrong about impartial doctors who only want to give you wonderful help. It would make the whole conversation messy.
But then Vance made it messy, and Robbie raked his fingernails against the inside of his wrist. Tried to hide it by blending it into a full arm scratch, like he's taking care of a huge itch. He wished he had done something earlier, so he could just brush against a scratch or cut and feel it, because it made him breathe easier. Diaphragm to chest to shoulder to arm to skin. The focus shifted, and he found his voice again, flat and forced. "I didn't die."
It was important to point that out, for Vance now and... for then, too. Robbie didn't deserve to be listed with the others. "It was Nita, Dwayne, and Microbe. Zack. You probably forgot. It's okay - you didn't know him."
Not like Robbie, who knew him and had trouble remembering him because they'd treated the guy like a leper. His voice wavered a little. "Angie's in remission, half the rest are retired, and ... you're never going to be the one that's alone. You're always going to have friends and a team because that's just you. You saved the world. Pretty much by yourself. I think we're all going to start sleeping on your floor because that's where it's safe."
There. That was... easy. The truth shall reassure. Although - Robbie privately hoped that exactly how Badass Vance was remained a secret, because he'd selfishly rather Vance's floor be un-occupado whenever Robbie wasn't feel safe with his own thoughts.
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Which was part of the reason why Vance still hated Tony Stark as much as he did. Because Stark knew where Robbie had been the entire time and had hidden him away for a year in an iron maiden.
"But the thing is that knowing all of that isn't really a balm against the fears. I know that people are okay, but when you're dealing with something kicking right into where all those fears are buried? That sort of knowledge doesn't help." Vance snorted out a half laugh. "Though, seriously. Kaine better never decide to sleep on my floor." A pause. "Or Aracely. I do need to be able to sleep at some point."
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He wasn't being too rough on his arms - the scratches fade in seconds. It kept him grounded in the present, rather than tumbling down the rabbit hole of how he felt then.
"I wouldn't have wanted to see you anyway. Not after my mom." That had been a disaster. Months and months later, talking to Rich had ended in rejection as well. That was part of the beauty of the Penance suit. The full metal mask and isolation of the Thunderbolts team insulated him from the disgust of loved ones. "I had enough getting kicked in the face. I'm not... I'm not trying to downplay how much it sucks. I just. I can't think about loss a lot."
Because he spent his mission like a glued-together Humpty Dumpty getting kicked in the cracks, and it turned out he was pretty fragile. His eyes itched with wetness, but Robbie refused to surrender and wipe them. He tipped his head back a little and stared down the void over Vance's head. His voice sounded less strained without the pressure of directly looking and wondering about every change in expression. "It's rough. They - the fears - I think I'm stuck with them forever."
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He puts his elbows on his knees, hands folded between his knees. "Yeah, well, that's the thing, isn't it? We don't get rid of our fears. They don't go away. None of us have ever been without fear." Except maybe Murdock, but that was just the Daredevil shtick, he was pretty certain. "Part of what makes us heroes is that we keep fighting despite them."
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He doesn't know what the best case scenario might be. "I think you're wrong. The only thing I used to be scared of was my parents finding out. If someone'd told me that there were going to be days like that, like the other day... well, I wouldn't have believed them, anyway."
Days when he was so sure he was going to die that elusive parental approval seemed laughable in comparison.
"You wouldn't have believed in Jake Waffles either. But I don't have to be that dumb kid again - I just have to wait it out, and everything that's been kicked up by the mind whammy will settle down again. Because you're right at the same time. It's about ignoring them to keep going."
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They deserved to not have any more shit flung their way. So did Vance. "If we don't have time to calm things down, then I definitely don't have time to talk to Dr. Ryk'rr about anything. How many sessions do you think it would take for her to really understand how growing spikes and getting followed around by a bunch of ghosts feels? Two? Three?"
Robbie shook his head. "Maybe yours was cosmic level shit. Mine was ... normal, but you're not like... that. You've got all your shit together, and you always know what to do, and... maybe you're right. Maybe what you need to do is have a nice chat and not ignore it, and I really hope it works for you. I do. I... I don't think there's anything I want more than for you to be okay."
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He looked up, hands still folded between his knees. "It would take as many sessions as necessary, honestly. But...if you don't want to talk to her, fine. How about talking to me instead?" He let out a breath. "Seriously, Robbie, you have some idea that I'm this...I don't know. Completely and utterly unfazed by the rest of the world or just completely together and I'm not sure if that's just because it's easier to tell yourself that so that you don't have to talk to me or what."
Vance pushed himself up, so that he was sitting more properly. "I do a good job of making people think that I'm something I'm not, Robbie. It's one of those things that...I mean, there were a lot of reasons why I didn't want to restart the New Warriors. The main one is that most of the time? I don't feel qualified to do it. But I hold shit together because somebody has to, you know?"
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"It's easier to think you've always got this because if you're not okay than I'm an even worse person for leaning on you so hard. It's not fair, and I don't want to do it. I want to do some of the supporting, but you don't need people that way. You don't need someone else in the room to distract you with snoring so you can hate that instead of yourself until you fall back asleep. And you -"
He put his head in his hands and continued in a mumble. "You shouldn't have to be the someone holding it together. You're qualified; you need to know that, but...I'm sorry. I know I sandbagged you into reforming the team."
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"And just because I'm not always okay doesn't mean you can't lean on me. Just because I may not need it doesn't mean I don't want it. I've been trying my best to be there for you and..." He frowned slightly. "What happened out there, Robbie?"
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He had to keep replaying it in his head so his mood stayed buoyed up. "I'll try harder, then, and I don't want you trying so hard for me. I don't want to be your responsibility."
That was a very important distinction. Robbie knew that he'd gotten pretty mentally rocked to find Rich - and then Nita - here. Alive and happy and Rich told him that he burned up. Robbie also knew that he's been slipping before he went on the mission. "I told you. Sixty little kid ghosts followed me around. They talked. I grew spikes... I think they came out of my scars. That place was in my head from the start."
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Sure, Vance had his own issues, but they were smaller and he knew that something could be done about them and he was going to do something about them.
"Sounds like it was." He started to scoot the chair forward, then paused and frowned. "Robbie. Are you okay for me to come closer? Do you want to be touched right now?" Because Robbie did look like he needed a hug, but it might not be welcome.
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Maybe that was why he thought of himself as unnecessary, but Robbie figured that he was zeroed in on it. He did that a lot, focused in on a problem that could be handled or, if it couldn't, would be a solid waste of time.
The questions were... weird. Robbie's head snapped up to look at Vance, and he found himself inching away. He didn't really care if Vance moved nearer, but being asked like he was a skittish forest animal or mental patient. It put him off, but 'no' wasn't the right answer. "Yeah? It's messed up that you think you have to ask like that."
He wouldn't mind a hug, honestly, but Robbie's a historically free hugger. A friend having to ask if one can happen? It's wrong, and somehow that had to be his own fault.
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And that was the scariest part of what had happened, that Robbie's left with incomplete memories again. "I thought I was past that... I don't know who I'm supposed to apologize to."
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He doesn't believe what Vance said, but Robbie believed that Vance believed it. "I don't think I do. It's not an argument, but I'm not even... there yet. Like fighting about whether or not I deserve the boundaries I try to keep or if I should make peace with myself..."
Robbie snorted derisively. "I'm way back on how I'm still here and they're not. I hide it because it's crazy, but ... that doesn't mean I'm ready for advanced classes like actually making peace with things instead of just pretending. If no one gets their hopes up, I can't let anyone down."
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He pulled away a little, but only enough so that he could look Robbie in the face. "The only person I worry about you letting down is yourself, toothpick. The rest of us who know you and give a shit know that you'd do anything for us. I just want you to do something to take care of yourself, too."
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He grimaced slightly and shook his head - couldn't stop shaking it. "I'm good. I'm taken care of. I've got food and clothes and a bed and distractions and friends I can wake up in the middle of the night if my head starts whirlpooling around the same thoughts and I feel like I'm drowning. I've got too much. I'm fine. I - please don't make me tell someone else about Stamford."
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Life was easier when he had less choices and more free will in regards to those things, but he didn't mean to say that he didn't deserve them.
Distractions and friends - those he doesn't deserve. He knew that, but he also knew he shouldn't have slipped like that. Robbie had been trying to talk - he forgot no one would like to listen.
He has to fix it. "I meant I've got more than a lot of people. I can't complain. Metaphorically. And literally, like, you'd know if I wasn't eating. I spend half my time in uniform."
Vance was good practice, if he wanted to find a bright side to this.
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Still, Vance snorted. Just a little. "I've seen you eat. I'm not that worried about you missing meals." Too many meals might be something to really worry about, but one or two here and there weren't that bad. "I just...I know you went through a lot of shit and that it left its marks on you. Not just the scars, but mental stuff as well." He sat back a bit, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. "I just...I want to help. I just know I don't know how."
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Robbie folded his arms to his chest awkwardly, trying to cover some of the scars with his hands. "I don't talk about your mental scars, and it's not because I don't want to help. I do. Anyway I can. I just - I respect your space, but it's not because I don't care."
It was weird to say that aloud. Robbie thought it shouldn't be so hard. He used to tell his friends how much they meant to him all the time, but... there'd been those minutes, when he thought Vance was dead, and he hadn't felt any grief at all. He went pale at the idea that he might not really give a shit. "Cause I do."