#erasiing

Mia had done her best not to think about the other version of Oliver since their disastrous collision outside the restaurant.  It simply hurt too much to consider that she shared Ames with someone who looked so much like her father but wasn’t the same man and never would be.  She’d spent many hours in her training space since, trying to turn her distracted thoughts into energy in the hope that they would dissipate and leave her be.

She needed William to talk to, or her mother, someone who could fill the hole in her soul.  When she’d seen the ads for the party, though, she’d decided alcohol might work just as well.  The speakeasy had that in ample supply, and after a few drinks Mia had removed her mask to cool down a little.  Which was, of course, when she turned from the bar to look straight into her father’s eyes.

Frack, her inner monologue commented unhelpfully.  She couldn’t just ignore him, though, now that they’d looked right at each other, so she raised a hand in greeting with an awkward smile.

            “  BUCKY ? “   the word comes out of his mouth before he’s aware of it, slipped out from a tongue that’s usually dipped in silver. this isn’t calculated or sly, not biting, or. if it bites that’s not his goal. he recalls nothing at all of his voice reaching past teeth,  THE PURITY OF INTENT.  howard looked at the man before him, and knew with aching sharp clarity, the way a tv connection shifts, white noise like a blizzard, into something recognizable. (  why does the thought of snow cause an ache in his chest ?  why does it settle into his palms  ,  fingers curled inward as if to protect the vulnerable nest of it )   it was the strangest feeling of getting TAKEN APART BIT BY BIT IN YOUR SLEEP and having someone rush to put you back together, pieces were misplaced or missing and he didn’t know what to do to get rid of the ill at ease feeling that built up in his spine like the swelling of a tide.   “ well....i mean. “   a stiffening of his spine   ,  pulling himself straight  ,  “  well.  I meant...bucky ? is that your name  ?   “

she was tired, not physically, the exhaustion dragged fingertips across her mind, there was something to be said for having a dual set of lives, the one she’d lived and the one that had settled over her mind like a blanket. dulling her senses, MUFFLING THE VOICES OF HER PAST. still, she held onto hope, blue eyes drifted over crowds, dragonflies flitting over water.  she sought out familiar faces, hoping against hope, because, afterall, she wasn’t selfish enough to wish anyone she’d want to see, getting ripped away from everything they knew.  (  just selfish enough to hold onto the hope of not being alone.  )  she closed up shop for the day, keys fighting with the lock and a spell on the tip of her tongue, A LANGUAGE LEARNED IN REVERSE  when she spotted him.  well, him.  she knew precisely one man with a goatee that dorky.  her voice exploded out of her mouth before she could think, eyes wide, heart beat suddenly thumping into a staccato rhythm, fast and sharp.  she threw up a hand to flag him down, a hopeful smile spreading wide over her face.  “ ollie ?! ”    

ringtones :

t’challa & bucky : the lion sleeps tonight melody

alice & quentin : hope and memory 

          the dancer hums softly as she ties the belt of her silk dressing gown tightly around her waist, gracefully gliding across the now empty club.  slipping into the bar seat beside him, henrietta places her hand atop of his before offering the security guard a short smile.

Despite having little interest in the dancers or the alcohol - it was cheaper and less watered down elsewhere - Mia kept finding herself at the strip club for one reason or another.  This time, like the last, had been for a meeting about the fights.  She didn’t know what information or money was being handed over, but she didn’t care either.  It wasn’t her problem, and the less she knew the better.

On her way back out to the main floor, she narrowly avoided a collision with a bulky-looking guy in a suit - security of some sort.  “Sorry,” she grinned. “Got a little lost on the way to the bathroom.”