PECULIARITIES

not for the first time, the moment feels bittersweet. it's nice to feel like he can have an actual conversation with her again ( without the constant looking over his shoulder, that is ) but all it does is remind him of the things he has lost in the emancipation process. for all his family's faults, they're still his family—and luci in particular is someone that he feels deeply responsible for. she's not part of the problem anyway. she wants him to come home because she misses him, not because she wants to impose. she even still talks to him, even though she knows she's not supposed to. "i am, too," he says, voice just a little bit quieter. even if he knows she doesn't understand his choice, he's grateful that she's supportive... especially since nobody else in the family is willing to extend the same favor. not even partially. he's either in or he's out. "you know," he continues, shaking away the thought; "i don't know. i've never thought about it. where do you think they even build it? i've never seen anyone set it up until it's done."

"I don't know. A barn, maybe? A field? I know that the goat - I really don't remember it's name, but it's a doozy - the goat is like a wooden frame and then it's stuffed with straw? It's not like a hay bale, it isn't solid all the way through, so maybe the tinder man is the same? Hollow on the outside and just a human shell made up to burn?" She suggested, thinking of the little straw dolls she'd seen in the window of some fortune telling shop. She'd heard of voodoo dolls before, but didn't know if they had the same purpose or not.

"i think i like to get a little stronger for scandals. 'course, you would know best, wouldn't you?" snagging for the wine, max forgoes his glass entirely and takes a gulp right from the bottle. it's certainly much more expensive than anything he would ever get. "what's your latest hit, anyway? or are we supposed to be celebrating something?"

Ignoring the dig about scandals, partially because the remark was beneath him and partially because he couldn't exactly be sure which one Max meant, Linus hummed and swirled his wine in his glass. "One doesn't need to be celebrating to drink wine, it's an any occasion thing." Linus commented before an idea struck and a faint note of disbelief crept into his voice. "Are you thinking about champagne?" Although mix it with orange juice and it was ready for breakfast every day. "Maybe the lack of new scandal is something to celebrate, or maybe not being caught in scandal in your case."

"you're ridiculous, you know that? nobody in their right mind would hire a fucking stalker when they can't get in touch with someone." it feels so obvious to him that he can't believe he's really saying it. truthfully, he can't believe he's actually here, talking to him. and nothing has changed. not one thing. it feels like they're both arguing in their old kitchen again instead of linus' foyer. "this is exactly why i don't answer your calls, linus." there's a red haze at the edge of his vision, frighteningly familiar. "you just can't take a fucking hint, can you?" he's trembling inside, but manages to case himself in cold stone. it feels more like he's watching himself at a distance. "i don't want to see you. i don't want to talk to you. can't you just leave me alone?"

"He's not a stalker, he's protection." There was a pain blooming in his head, stress and strain a potent cocktail as Linus tried and failed time and again to make his brother understand what he meant, why he did something. But as always, Niko didn't want to listen - didn't want to be Niko at all, considering that it seemed he went by Leon these days. And sure, fine, murder with an infamous last name, it wasn't like it was personal, except it was also entirely personal, the way it felt like Niko had killed their parents and was now disowning them all. "I don't really think it's a hint at this point, but hey, don't blame me if you screwed up and went for the wrong target!" As soon as the words left him, Linus almost couldn't believe he said them and for a perfect heartbeat, he froze and wondered if Niko would realize he just implied Niko should have tried harder to kill him first.

"you want me to clean up all the mess and still buy you a beer? fine, but you drive a hard bargain, anna. i think they wrote that book about the mouse and cookie about you." all in good fun, of course. "just don't forget, you still have to beat me."

"You should know better than anyone that I'm not a mouse, Kal." Anna quipped, feeling surprisingly good humored. Maybe it was the idea of a challenge that did it, or maybe just Kal. "Fine, you want me to go first or do you want the honors of setting the standard?"

shari wilts a little bit at the comment, but she doesn't melt. the chuckle behind her makes her too stiff to do that. there's a long moment of silence in between when she manuevers her seatbelt around to when it clicks in the long, long enough that her own backseat plus one has managed to waggle its fingers in all sorts of horrible ways. anna, by contrast, is the sun. an anchor. something that isn't some horrible shadow just outside her vision. "um, yeah, i listen to music." a lifeline, really. helps to drown everything else out. "i'm not really into audiobooks, though... i guess it just kind of depends?"

"Depends on what, if you like the plot?" A rhetorical question, she'd already said that she wasn't into audiobooks, so Anna was moving on, her fingers drumming against the steering wheel. "So what kind of music?" Something mellow, maybe, Anna wasn't sure, but Shari definitely didn't seem like the headbanging, heavy metal type. Of course, people generally didn't expect Anna's taste in music, either. "Just tell me it's not elevator music. Or waiting line music. Or one of those pet Christmas song remixes, have you heard that shit? A bunch of dogs and cats sounding off to the tune of Christmas carols, that's something I could have lived without hearing."

He looks at the space, letting him stew in the questions for a bit, silently judging decor and appliance alike before continuing. "One: yes, the man was stabbed. Two: I don't know, he won't tell me. Three: hospital's discreet, at least. Honestly, I epxect some fucking gossip rag to start reporting on it any fucking day now." He sighs and shakes his head, shooting the rest of his whiskey as he tries to formulate a sentence carefully. Enough to satisfy Leon's pride and feed Linus' ego. "To be frank, being a messenger boy for a tip isn't something I came here for, Linus. There's something I want from you, and I think you'll be pleased with the request."

Finishing off his wine in a single go, Linus fiddled with his fingers as he nodded, pretty sure that a hospital could be sued for breach of patient confidentiality over something like that. "Seems weird he won't tell you. Will he say if there's a risk they'll do it again?" It made sense he wouldn't go to the cops, no idea if they'd believe him, or say he provoked it, so on and so forth. Linus frowned as he reached for the bottles, refilling Barry's drink before his own and slouching against the counter as he looked at Barry. "What kind of request?" Somehow, the fact Barry thought he'd be pleased with it didn't actually fill Linus with confidence.

"do you even hear yourself?" frustration doesn't even begin to cover it. "you couldn't get ahold of me, so you hired someone to follow me. you know, to anyone else, that would be fucking insane, linus." and by proxy, that means it is! just ignore the part where their family life has already been so crazy and dysfunctional that this hardly counts as a drop in the bucket, at this point. "oh my god, i'm not talking about your stupid movie. you wouldn't have gone behind my back!" he snaps, bristling. of course, it's partly a lie. he does mean the fucking movie, too. easy for linus to question his feelings when he isn't the villain of the entire franchise. "of course i don't think you did it for me. you did it for you. that's the problem."

"Don't act like I knocked at the door once and then gave up. I have tried calling you and texting you and you. Don't. Answer." And maybe that stung, just a little. Maybe, after Niko was gone so fucking long, he would have cared about connecting, but no, it seemed like the way they'd all be separated set up a precedent of distance. They felt as good as strangers in that moment and Linus honestly, truthfully had no idea what Niko's problem what or even what he was talking about. "I was being helpful, I didn't know that was so insulting!" When had he started getting angry? Normally Linus was so much better at composing himself, a charismatic gentleman through and through (in his opinion), but of course being around Leon made him a child again. "God, forgive me for not knowing I needed to clear it with you before blowing my nose. Oh, wait, I can't get in touch with you to clear anything!"

"No, no. Nothing like that, Linus." He gestures with his glass, the liquid sloshing around as he all but feels the warmth it brings him. "Leon went to the hospital. Stab attack. You hear about that, or have the paps not caught up with local events yet?"

"Wait, what?" Setting his wine glass down, Linus frowned like he hadn't heard Barry right. "What do you mean - Who stabbed him? How has he kept that quiet?" Bless having money and being able to get people to sign a nondisclosure, but Linus didn't understand how word hadn't gotten out. He also didn't understand the idea of Niko in the hospital. He didn't get stabbed, and if he did, surely he got right back up like Michael Myers, a persistent threat that kept coming and did the most of the stabbing.

"dude, i need a refill. this shit's already empty."

It was tempting to point out that you were supposed to sip it, not throw it back, but Linus knew that would make him a hypocrite and simply pushed the bottle closer towards Max."Wine is the best way to deal with any kind of scandal or bad news," Linus declared as he nodded, trying to sound like he was imparting divine wisdom and failing to sound like anything but a suburban mom.

"that's what i'm counting on." it would have been a real shock to find something, somewhere, someone, etc that didn't draw a complaint from annabelle at some point. it's just who she is. "of course i'm serious," she continues, a breath of laughter escaping her. "but i can't promise anything more exciting than watching me clean up. i'm all out of gold stars for the day."

"Damn, you mean I don't even get a beer?" Anna quipped, looking down at the gun in her hand. Her father had been a proper bastard when he was alive, but she couldn't deny that he'd taught her a couple things she was better off knowing. She could fish, and she could hunt, and now she could use those skills to show off and not even get bragging rights. "What a rough deal."

Leaning forward against the counter, Barry continues. "You hear from your brother lately, or is movie press keeping you busy?"

"I never hear from him unless he wants to insult me." Linus admittedly flatly as he sat the bottle of scotch down next to the wine, bracing himself against the counter. He didn't see any need in pretending to be a nice, happy family to Barry, who likely knew Niko's distaste for him more clearly than Linus himself. "Seem like you could use a stronger option. So what is it now? Does he want to sue me for defamation or something?"

"you've got a point there," he says, nodding thoughtfully. maybe escapism isn't the only reason to flock to the movies. it makes enough sense. when times are good, people still want entertainment. times are just very rarely that good... at least as far as he's experienced. he won't pretend that he knows anything about the terrors linus has experienced; he only wishes he could be as positive about the whole time. maybe it just takes time. a lot of time. "i've never seen any of those movies, though. what did they end up, um, innovating?"

Ah. He'd meant the original show from the sixties and seventies, not the movies that came afterwards, and not the reboot that brought a lot of new fans in. Sure, Linus hadn't been the kind of nerd to watch reruns of it, but he'd taken enough classes to understand the impact of it. "Communicators inspired flip phones, and some of the science inspired scientists to see if they could copy it. Don't ask me for specifics, I'm an arts guy." Linus said, laughing as he waved a hand around the theater, noticing the way one of his employees was finally moving to unlock the doors and take up their position at the ticket counter. Wouldn't be much longer before the matinee crowd made their way in.

it's the sort of agreement that strains at the edges. "yeah," he says, nodding. yeah, he says, thinking of all the moments he's already missed. or maybe, more importantly, all the ones they've missed, her and ethan and maybe even dad, in his own self-defeating sort of way. in a perfect world, he knows that he would never have met luci. that she and her family would have left whatever trip they'd been planning unharmed and she would go on living where she had been meant to live, with a name she was meant to have, with a family she was meant to be a part of. but even in a better world, things could have been different. she could have had more of a life than john, in the selfish trap he's made, has ever allowed. "it wouldn't be the first time," he admits, grappling with himself like soap in the shower. he wants to be happy, carefree, show her that there's more to life than just the bottom of dad's boot... but he also aches for a family he's felt separate from for a long time, now more than ever. nostalgia has always been a lying sack of shit, hasn't it? against his better judgement, alan follows. "yeah, like the end of finding nemo," he agrees, nodding. "but you do... you know, get used to it... once you leave the bag." there's a part of him, not sudden but still surging, that wants to take her by the shoulders and shake her. wants to scream, can't you see that he's just dragging us down with him? but he doesn't. won't.

She wasn't stupid. Sure, sometimes things flew over her head, but she was sensitive when it came to alan and knew there was a chance he could have been saying she could get used to leaving the bag, too. Everyone knew that was a big, scandalous thing in their community, people leaving the bag and the risk they could encourage others to leave the bag. There were consequences to that, and Luci spared a moment to wonder if Ari had been keeping tabs on Alan, but she didn't ask. "So how much work do you think it takes to make a tinder man? I know other places make a goat, it may be fun to design one."

"Not upset," John answered, unable to glance over and see her doe eyes boring into him in that all-knowing way. What John found upsetting was the fact that his coward son was comfortable enough to speak to Luci in public knowing it would get back to John, knowing damn well Luci would be there for him whether or not he deserved it. Arrogance, is what it was. He took in a slow and steadying breath, an attempt at patience, but his voice was hard with a growl when he spoke again. "He ain't worth your time, Luci. Keep talking to him, you'll only end up hurt."

"It's always difficult when someone leaves, isn't it?" She said mildly, not seeing the good in pointing out that being away from her family hurt, or that him feeling the need to leave hurt. Saying that she thought Alan was worth her time or that he was worth being hurt over seemed like a sure way to start an argument, so she deflected. "There's so much space to fill after they're gone." Goodness, she made it sound like he was dead. Perhaps to their father, he was. Or only wished it was that way. "How do you think Ethan's handling it?"

"Let's walk." He wanted to take everything in—the lights, the scenery, the surroundings—and just be present. His conversations with his sister were always the most interesting. "Do I even dare ask where you hear this stuff?" he chuckled, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. It was a relief not to feel like he was about to explode, not to feel like he wasn’t enough. Maybe he really was soft at heart, letting his walls come down. Then again, he never hid from Luci. "Considering people can take meds through the rectum, I’d say it counts. It’s getting absorbed." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he spoke. "Tell me what goes on in that head of yours, I find myself at peace when you speak." and that was the truth. He hoped he provided something for luci as well.

Keeping herself tucked near Ethan's side, Luci happily kept in step with him as they walked, enjoying the cooler temperature as they went. "At the cafe, of course. I get to overhear things, but sometimes they just tell me. I'm not sure why, maybe it's something about my face?" That's one someone had told her once, that she had a face they could talk to, and who was she to deny a cheek patting grandma? "True, but that just seems like it would take some of the fun out of drinking? I mean, I thought you did it because you liked the taste." Of course, Luci wasn't much of a drinker, so what did she know? "Peace? Out of my brain? You're being very sweet tonight," Luci commented with a laugh, glancing up at the sky again. The meteor shower would be soon and even though she wouldn't be too happy with herself in the morning after staying up all night, she was excited about it. "I don't know, how do you really explain what goes on in a brain? Sometimes things just stick with us, I guess, and we want to see how they play out. You don't get people telling you weird things at the diner? Or do you just have people flirt with you?"