“That’s what I thought,” He agreed, taking a moment to wash coffee down his throat. The heat of it trickled down, almost igniting the look of reflection on his features. “But if something went wrong—maybe I hit my head or some crazy coincidence like that,” He wondered, “I wouldn’t know what to do, and I wouldn’t know who to meet if there was someone.” 

He let out a short laugh, acknowledging Hank’s other point. “Look man, I know who I am. I don’t need memories that don’t feel like they belong to me or people I don’t remember to tell me that.” To be perfectly honest, he didn’t think he’d take that from anyone. 

He poked the table for emphasis, pausing before leaning forward. “But whoever I was before—” He theorized, breath lowered in confidence, “I don’t know anything about that guy. He could have been into serious shit for who knows how many damned reasons. And maybe he had ‘em, but I got no way of knowing.” He nodded, putting forward his conclusion. 

At any rate, while there was possibility, he did not yet have probability. This was the only problem with his theory. 

He smiled small, owning the fact to himself before speaking. “I’m not saying I’m right. I mean, something happened to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that left me a little loopy.” He shrugged, “It sure as hell took my memory.” For the moment, that was all he knew. “I appreciate you listening to me ramble.” He added, feeling grateful for more than just a friendly ear. “I just think that, you know, that’s it’s better if I get this stuff of my chest. Communicate and all, so we’re all on the same page. I owe that, to both of you.” 

“Hey, it’s what I’m here for.” Hank smiled softly. Though he was glad alex felt like he could talk about this stuff, Hank still wished there was more that he could than just offer a friendly ear. But it wasn’t like he could help get someone’s memories back - that didn’t quite come under his current skill-set. 

shaywardley:

Shay’s teeth ground together, Alex’s very presence irritating her. But he had fixed the dishwasher, so at least he’d proven useful. Slowly, she let out a long sigh and shook her head. “It’s no problem.” The words were more than a little venomous, but Shay didn’t care.

“Well, then I hope you get your memory back soon.” Admittedly, Shay was only saying that so they could find out whether or not he used to work for Continuance. That would just give her an excuse to kill someone, which she’d been itching to do since Robert left.

Giving the two one last nasty glance, Shay grabbed her phone and wallet and headed out the door. “I’ll be back later. Don’t give me a reason to kill either of you.”

@shootembetweentheeyes

“Good talk…” He mused, slightly disappointed. If he was staying with these people he wanted to get to know them, wanted to be friends. It was a little harder if someone was foiling his attempts. The down feeling didn’t last long, as he reasoned that Shay was probably just annoyed how this had all been sprung on her. She was human, surely she’d warm up given time. Maybe she just didn’t like strangers. He could understand that. 

He turned to Hank with a broad and friendly smile, optimism giving him reason to be cheerful. “Damn if you didn’t just pull off some shit!” He exclaimed, suddenly giving his new friend a hearty slap on the back. Hank had gone to bat for him, and he wouldn’t soon forget it. “Regular wonder worker!” He nodded, “I owe you a drink.” He pledged, “Don’t let me forget. I’m serious, with the way things are going—” He didn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t want to forget. He didn’t want to forget what he’d seen or Hank. Hank had helped, he’d taken notice when no one else had. That was something that gave Alex hope, and he didn’t want to forget. 

“So.” He changed the topic. “Where am I bunking?” 

Hank squeezd his eyes shut as Shay left, waiting until the door slammed to open them again. This would not be the first fight about this, he could tell already. And it was totally fair, he wasn’t really in the position to ask for things like this, and yet, Shay was going with it... for now. 

Letting out a long sigh, Hank managed a weak smile as he turned to Alex. “You’re sleeping on the couch.” He pointed to the sofa in the middle of the room and then went off to see if he could track down some pillows and an extra blanket for him. “You don’t get a bad back easily, do you?”

“Right, sorry about that.” He said, owning up to the fact that it wasn’t something everyone enjoyed. “And. Well in my defense Hankerino,” He said, using one of the several nicknames he had tacked onto Hank lately. “I saw an opportunity and took it. Shay doesn’t share. Doesn’t tell me what she’s doing. Maybe she tells you but how’s a guy like me supposed to know?” He shrugged. He wanted to avoid asking if at all possible, Shay wasn’t happy with him anyway. 

Alex smirked widely at Hank’s quip, finding it just as funny as he did. “Yeah,” He agreed, “Wouldn’t that be something?” He let out a long sigh, quietly wanting it to be true. Cooking was fun. A chef was maybe someone unimportant, but it was a life all the same, an identity. But it didn’t fit, and was therefore unlikely. 

“Which brings me to the other thing.” He allowed somewhat reluctantly. “I think I might have lied to Shay.” He paused, feeling uncomfortable as if this was a confession and knowing that it might not sit well with Hank. Still, he had to take the chance. “When you first met me,” He explained, “I thought you had—orders.” He cleared his throat, realizing how it sounded. “For me. Looking back I mean no offense, but I realize that you are definitely not the type. Now maybe in other cases that kind of insanity can be chalked up to hysteria or confusion. I was reading up on it see. But. That same…” He snapped his fingers, searching for a word. “Feeling. Gut feeling, it’s not gone.” 

He squeezed his eyes shut, almost in a grimace as he shook his head. “Look,” His eyes opened as he exchanged looks with Hank. He wasn’t crazy. Confused maybe, without his memories definitely, but not crazy. “I know it sounds crazy man. I feel like I’ve got to stay ready, like shit’s going down. I’ve been trying to ignore it but I got to thinking instead. I came here with a gun and skills. I’m here to do some kind of job. I got to be.” He took a moment for breath. “So I think that I could be part of some group. Maybe something went wrong, I got written off or something.” He was hesitant as he described what he’d been thinking. “Hell maybe I’m supposed to kill someone.” 

Anyone could react badly to something like that, so Alex took the moment to look directly at Hank. “I am not a bad person.” He stressed, making sure that Hank understood. “Whoever I was before doesn’t mean who I am now, and I sure as hell wouldn’t do something just because someone told me to. But if I’m right—then it changes the whole picture. Not just for me, but you and Shay.” 

Hank watched Alex closely. He’d figured from the moment that they met that something weird was going on, but he wasn’t used to seeing Alex actually worry about it. It was obviously something that had been eating him up inside, and 4am or not, Hank was glad he was getting it off his chest. 

shaywardley:

Shay glanced around the corner, eyeing Alex with a distrustful glare as he started repairing the dishwasher. After a minute, she turned back to Hank, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Hank, that’s all the more reason not to trust him. Do you remember Albert? He could erase people’s memories. If he’s still alive, though I pray he’s not, that could be a lead to Continuance. Or worse. Who knows which jar he has his grubby little, manipulative hands in now.”

Letting out a sigh, she shook her head again and closed her eyes. “Yes, I saw. He’s fixing the dishwasher. So fine, he can stay for at least a few days.” Honestly, she partly said yes to spy on him and because he’d fixed what she’d been trying to get someone in to do for weeks. If Robert had been around, he would have had it done in two minutes. But of course, he’d been too busy doing things he should have and then disappearing.

“If he so much as steps one foot out of line, Hank, you’re gonna hear it.”

@shootembetweentheeyes

“Great to hear!” Alex exclaimed, rejoining the conversation and popping up into view from behind the bar. He held up some tools, the ones that had been left around the dishwasher, a large grin stretching over his face. “I just fixed this thingamajig–dishwasher, whatever–it’s fixed!” He exclaimed, undeniable pride and excitement over what he’d done on his features. He could fix things. At last, something he could do other than shoot a gun! It was something useful, something good, and because of that gave him a warm and happy feeling. 

“So,” He started, addressing Shay. “Thank you so much for letting me stay, I swear I’m not part of a secret organization of supervillains, and where do you want me to put these?” He didn’t think he should leave them out. Someone could get hurt. He shrugged, “Also Hank’s right. I don’t remember a thing.”

But he wasn’t sure how things were done around here, whether he should leave them out and wait till next wednesday to think about them or clean them up. 

“If he steps outta line, I’ll deal with it.” Hank assured, briefly putting a hand on Shay’s shoulder to really let her know that he wouldn’t let Alex do anything even morally grey. Technically Hank should know better than just to immediately trust the man, but there was something about his personality. Plus the fact that even if Alex was a secret agent, Hank would know right away if he got his memories back, and what’s more, if those memories were worrying. 

“Seems kind of rotten to blame it all on you when you’re who I have to thank for this whole thing.” Alex raised his eyebrows, reminding Hank that while it came with some annoyances, his present situation was far better than what he had had. “I mean don’t get me wrong, there’s some parts about this that just drives me crazy, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the street.”

He smirked widely at the Hank agreeing with his assessment. In front of Shay at least, the kitchen was off-limits. “Damn it’s a real pity. Especially if you take into account that while I’m no one, I could be anyone.” He theorized, “Hell I could be a famous chef, which would explain why I like food and I’m good with it.” He pointed and nodded with a finger, “That would be interesting!” He ended. 

“I guess my best bet is to go with the flowers. Get ‘em de-thorned.” He realized, chuckling lightly. “What about you?” He said suddenly, wanting to clear any air there was between them, if there was any. Hank was the type to often prefer suffering in silence, and Alex knew it. “Am I annoying you in any way?” He stroked his unshaven chin in a thoughtful attitude. “I’m taking criticism,” He shrugged in encouragement, “Now’s your chance to let me know.” 

“Don’t worry about it, more than enough blame to go around.” Hank chuckled, if Alex wanted to make it easier on himself, he could just remind Shay who brought him to the house in the first place, no harm done.  

Laughing out loud, Hank resting his head on his hand for minute, thinking about what Alex could be. “If you turn out to be an undercover chef after all this, after how we met, I will eat my hypothetical hat.” He chucked, finishing off his breakfast and setting his knife and fork down. “It’’d be funny though.” 

At Hank’s comment, Shay gave him a mildly confused yet appreciative look. “I–thanks. I think? Though I’m not too sure that I’m the best person in the world to role model, Hank. I mean–” She shrugged. Sure there were tons of things that Shay had survived and made her stronger, but that didn’t necessarily make her someone that others should look up to. Did it? Truthfully, she’d never really thought about it before.

When he started to apologize about Alex, Shay sighed and shook her head. “It’s fine. I mean, at the time it wasn’t the really the best idea and I’m still not his biggest fan, but–I don’t know. It probably worked out better than I thought even if I can’t see that just yet. He’s just–so annoying. And loud.” She shook her head and glanced back at Hank, lips in a tight smile. “Don’t worry about it. All is forgiven. Unless he fucks up.”

“Well it’s not like I’ve got many more people to look up to, do I?” He asked with a little grin. Other than people on TV, who else did he really have to model himself after? Robert? Not a good idea. Especially not right now. 

shaywardley:

Shay let out an exasperated sigh. She wasn’t sure if she was that person anymore; the one who helped people so willingly. It had been a rough couple of weeks. Hell, it had been a rough couple of months. As much as Shay wanted to try and help and not be a huge bitch, she didn’t want to trust anyone. Especially not someone who didn’t know who they were. That just raised red flags for her.

When he brought her a drink and gave that stupid pouting look, Shay rolled her eyes at him. “Hank–” She sighed again and shook her head, grinding her teeth together in frustration. “FINE! He can stay. But I swear to god, Hank, if this ends badly, it’s on you. If he turns out to be some floating Continuance member trying to make good with Albert or someone who actually kills people like us, you’re going to regret it.” Yes, they were friends and she was being hard on him, but Shay still had her doubts about this situation and Hank was being naive. He had to understand that there could be horrible repercussions. 

@shootembetweentheeyes

Instinct seemed to take over, completely. He wasn’t given time to think about it, or even to decide what it was he wanted to do. His hand just reached for the screwdriver and the talk in the background just seemed to fade into distant chatter, regardless of how important it should be to him. 

He felt his breath going in and out, easing itself out and then in. He stared, dumb for several moments. 

He felt himself sitting down in front of the object, a sudden interest growing. Stronger than any whimsical consideration he had given to anything else, almost as if he knew this was meant to be. He knew this was him, and that this was part of him. 

He didn’t quite understand how it had happened, but before he knew anything else he found himself pulling things out, removing others, and fitting still other items together. Like a large jigsaw puzzle, he saw the pieces and he knew what he had to do. Sergeant laid down on the kitchen floor on one side, mildly engaged with the task Alex had appointed himself. 

Heart beating in his chest, Alex felt like he had to do this, and that by doing this it would tell him something. Something that was important. He almost laughed out loud when he saw the problem, why the dishwasher wouldn’t work, and in a few moments he had corrected it. A feeling of pride went through him as he admired his handiwork. 

He was still confused as to how the hell it had happened, but it had, and he had done it. 

Hank flinched when Shay yelled, and made the executive decision not to tell her how Alex and he had met, figuring that would probably just hurt his case. Just because Shay was agreeing with him, didn’t make Hank feel any better about it. 

Thinking about exactly what he was going to do had clearly not crossed his mind, and so he took a moment to frown and think about it. “Oh god, I don’t know!” He finally exclaimed, a little concerned that nothing was coming to mind and wondering if he was really that uncreative. “Flowers? Maybe?” He tried. He hadn’t thought at all what Shay would like, and didn’t know either. “Does she want any like serious work done around here? Painting? Something?” 

Alex knew that the present state couldn’t go on, and that he had to do something to fix it. The last two months had been tense ones, and while he didn’t feel that Shay was going to throw him out he felt like she wanted to. Anything to improve his standing with her would be a good idea.

“I can’t cook anything because she’d skin me alive.” He realized, “And that would pretty much defeat the purpose of getting her not to act like I’m the spawn of satan.” 

“Flowers might work, plus they wont hurt so much if she throws them back in your face.” Hank pondered, he was sure Robert must have given her flowers at some point, but he couldn’t really say what her stance on them was. 

Shay smiled and gave him a nod. “Don’t worry about it. Like you said, you’ll probably think of something to say. Besides, he knows you through Robert and me, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue. Just–tell him what you told me. That you want to help. That you can’t just sit around and watch everyone else die or risk their lives.”

Pausing a moment, she smiled a bit wider. “You know, you sound a bit like me last year when everything started falling apart. That’s all pretty much what I said to Robert when he tried to get me to stop fighting so I’d be safe.” She hesitated a moment, knowing exactly how things had ended so far. “Maybe it’ll work out better for you.”

A small smile spread across Hank’s face, finding he quite liked the idea of being similar to Shay in some way. They had their differences sure, but Shay really was the kind of person Hank wanted to be like in terms of determination and strength. “Hey, any step closer to sounding like you is a positive in my book.” He chucked, finishing off his coffee. Technically he should be getting ready to go to work, but Hank figured he could spend a little more time chatting. After all, it felt like ages sine he and Shay had had a proper conversation. 

He listened carefully to what Hank said, frowning slightly as he thought over it. When Hank mentioned the eggs again he smiled, “Which is exactly why I waited until she was gone. I’ll clean up and she’ll be none the wiser.” He said, appearing as if his plan was well thought out. “But I get what you mean.” He conceded, “I get she’s all no touchy about the kitchen.” He sighed. “But damn what does she expect me to do? I clean up after myself. And hell that girl I was telling you about? She likes watching documentaries, so we watched some and believe me I know what happens to a fella that can’t get enough of takeout.” He patted his own stomach.  

“A guy’s got to eat right?” He asked rhetorically.