ATH Not-So-Temporary Thread

[Lady Mimicry]

Saber cursed, a lot. "God dammit, you know what? Justus was so right." Not the whole, sleeping with him, but moving on. She should've stabbed him through the ******** heart. Ripping out the scalpel, he tossed it across the room and left.

Ban, of course, enjoying Dorian's company, didn't get off his lap.

"You're such a f*****t," Gabe replied, "but I love you too, Lucy." He pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. They'd have an...interesting future together, to say the least.

"Don't cut my balls off, please."  

[Felixitous]

Once Saber was gone, Basil crept into Clover's room and removed her bag. She was pretty, with a round, somewhat childish face, and bright green eyes the color of grass. "Oh, god, I think I finally scared him off a little too much Clover--oh, wow, you look awful. Anyway, I don't know what to do now."

She looked at her sister for advice. Clover, though, was buried under a pile of blankets, only the top of her head visible.

"Go away..."



Lucy kissed Gabe and smiled. "Ah, you fixed it there at the end. I guess I'll let you off the hook for now."  

[Lady Mimicry]

"Talk to him," said Tokka, "before he does something stupid. Really stupid." He quietly carried a tray in, setting it upon the bedside table. A cold wash-cloth and a box of tissues were its contents.

"You know how we are, Basil."

Saber, meanwhile, had already found trouble. Another group of idiots that thought they could take him.

"You've lucked out," he said, "cause I'm really pissed off."  

[Felixitous]

Basil sighed. "Yeah, guess you're right--hey, you said something!" She got up, almost put her bag back on, then tossed it in the trashcan, where it resumed a sad face. As she passed Tokka, though, she smiled and whispered in his ear, "Hey, you might want to take your own advice."

She left, and Clover still had not moved. She couldn't tell if she was hot or cold or both or nothing or, hell, if she was even alive anymore. She wanted to throw up, to throw up and die, or something. Maybe not die. That would mean letting death win, and death did not get to win.



As Saber went to strike, he was yanked back by the collar. Basil (whose face he'd never really gotten a look at) rolled her eyes at him and swung her mallet at the so-called idiots, smashing them into a wall. As she moved it, there was a lovely little pile of mush on the ground. She grimaced.

"They need to eat better, augh, they smell terrible." She looked at Saber, then took his hand, where she'd stabbed him. "Here, I've watched Clover enough, I can fix it. Come on." She took his other hand and started dragging him back to the Shop. There, she'd talked. Now, explaining? That was a whole other question.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Tokka brought a trashcan over, then ringing out the washcloth, laid it against Clover's feverish forehead. He didn't speak much, either too alone and suffocating on his depression or just didn't feel obligated to. Days were mostly scheduled, maintenance, exercise, and self-mutilation. It could all wait though. For Clover.

"Your turn, eh?" She'd cared for them so long. Now, he could return the favor.

Saber was too awestruck to have a tantrum. He'd never seen Basil without the bag. Hell, he wouldn't have known it was her if not for her hammer. Eventually, Saber came to his senses and snatched his arms away.

"Yeah, well, I've seen Clover enough also. I should've stayed with Gabe."  

[Felixitous]

Clover burrowed into the blankets further. No, no, she hadn't learned anything from Basil coming in and telling her that playing hard to get didn't work. Of course, Clover would first have had to admit to herself that she sort of liked Tokka.

"Quit cutting, you idiot," she mumbled through the blankets. "Even stuffed up, I can smell the blood. It's not exactly fresh, but you stink of it." She popped up enough to reach out and smack her palm against his forehead before withdrawing once again.

"I've had enough of your mother doing it my whole life. I'm getting to the point that I won't fix any of you anymore. I'll let you deal with the consequences of slicing yourselves open just to see what's in there and if you can still feel and blah, blah, blah. Bet there isn't an excuse I haven't heard." She had never really spoken that much at once before, and it made her dizzy. Her little cocoon tipped over. She didn't bother moving.



Basil nonchalantly grabbed his hands again and tucked them under her arm, where they were pressed flush against the side of her boob. She figured that might hold him there for now. "Oh, Gabe's a retard. I knew he and Lucy liked each other before they knew it. Now, listen to me before I go stabbing you again." She sighed and kept her face forward. This was embarrassing enough without having to look at him. "I've liked you back for a long time. I just...I dunno, it's weird. Probably all goes back to Mom leaving and dying, and I really don't like opening myself up to people except for Clover. So this is very hard for me." She wiped her cheeks off--when the hell had she started crying? She shook her head and stopped, turning to him, and kissed him.

"So stop being stupid, okay?"  

[Lady Mimicry]

Tokka disregarded her threats, instead righting the makeshift cocoon she'd wrapped herself in. He didn't bother justifying his cutting, there wasn't an excuse he could make, really.

"Sorry," he said and tugged absentmindedly at his sleeves.

"Maybe I am stupid," Saber said slowly, "but if I ain't the luckiest dumb a**." He smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. It was a shame, he thought, never seeing her without that bag over her head and now, here she was, crying.

"So, I guess I can let you fix my hand..."

Elsewhere, Ban's cellphone went off and she crawled off Dorian.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Michael. Yeah, we're still on. Later."

Ban snapped the phone closed and hopped off the couch. Despite her obvious love for Dorian, she was oblivious to his own, thinking he thought of her as only a friend. So, when an attractive stranger asked her out, she accepted, albeit hesitantly.  

[Felixitous]

Clover grumbled, the sound made strangely amusing by her congestion. "Don't be sorry to me. I'd say you're only hurting yourself, but I've watched the way your family reacts. They love you. They worry about you. They just don't know how to handle it."



Basil snorted and started pulling Saber along again. "And who said you got a choice?"



Dorian frowned as she got up, awkward as it had been, and looked at her. "Where are you going?"  

[Lady Mimicry]

"I've been trying," he mumbled, finding a string and tugging at it, "to stop."


Ban was suddenly flustered, preferring to keep her 'date' secretive. "His name's Michael Klaus. Asked me out. Um...said yes." It was weird, how guilty she felt. Dorian didn't like her though, not like she did.  

[Felixitous]

"Good. Because it's dumb. It doesn't fix anything. Whenever you want to, find something else to occupy you, something that's productive instead of destructive. That's a good first step." She had these speeches all prepared, stocked up for Trigger. She'd been using them since she was little, after all. Granted, Trigger had never listened, and even when she tried, she managed to fall back into it, but hopefully, Tokka wasn't quite as bad. Maybe he just needed a girlfriend. Zero had gotten Trigger to all but stop, after all.



Dorian nodded, looking away. "Oh. Uh...have fun, I guess." He gave her a half-hearted wave and went into his room, flopping on the bed. He was too shy to say anything. He thought she sort of liked him, but what could he do? The guy was probably all tough and masculine and handsome...

Then he got an idea.

A few minutes later, he came out of his room with a bag slung over his shoulder. He gave Lisa a quick kiss on the cheek and talked to her quietly for a few minutes, to which she responded by breaking out in hysterical tears and clinging to him.  

[Lady Mimicry]

"Actually," Tokka replied, "I exercise. A lot." How else would Tokka have attained such a lovely, toned body and rather large biceps? It was all craftily concealed beneath his long-sleeved shirts and under-armor.

"Just, sometimes...it happens."
***
"Trigger, Trigger," Zero whined, "you hear that? Ban has a date!" He heard the front door close and attempted to spy out the window, but couldn't make this Michael Klaus out.

"Can I follow her? Pleeeeaaassee?"  

[Felixitous]

Clover peeked out of her cocoon and glared. "Then you will find a new outlet." There was no question, not even a demand. It was a statement. It would happen, through her sheer force of will.



Trigger sighed and looked at him. "Yeah, I guess. Looks like Dorian's leaving, too. Maybe he's leaving because of Ban? That would be sad. They'd be cute together." She casually flipped a page in a book she was not reading. "You know Lucy and Gabe are bumping uglies now, right? And Tokka has the hots for Clover, and Logan...that boy is going to end up spending a lot of nights with his right hand if he doesn't leave his room sometime soon."  

[Lady Mimicry]

"I know, why I'm here." It was a little selfish, but at least fussing over her would distract him from inner turmoils, the shadows that haunted his thoughts.

"Let me care for you, Clover, it's best."

Finally, they'd move just enough for Zero to see this Michael Klaus. ********, he thought, clenching his fist. Bouncing off the bed, he downstairs and out the front door in no time.

"Ban, get back."

She blinked, confused, but obeyed. Her date, however, didn't seem surprised at Zero sudden outburst and grinned, tucking a long strand of green hair behind his ear. Zero's fist connected with his jaw, sufficiently cracking the android's lens.

"How the hell are you alive?"  

[Felixitous]

Clover sighed. "Not what I meant, but...fine." It couldn't be said that she wasn't a good doctor. Even if she didn't show it, she cared about everyone, and would go to almost any length for them, even going so far as to sacrifice her pride to help them.

Of course, somewhere deep down, she cared in a much deeper way than a doctor to her patient. Very deep. So deep she didn't even know it was there.




MK didn't have the time to respond. Trigger was just there, gun to his head, and boom. It was done. No talking, like those hokey cartoon villains and heroes, not like before. She wouldn't take a chance with her family on the line. She had too much to lose.

She turned to Ban, blood and who knew what else covering her. "Get back inside. Now. You go to Lisa and you stay with her. Don't go anywhere until I tell you to, all right?"  

[Lady Mimicry]

Ban nodded, then hurried off to find Lisa. "Wh-what just happened?" She asked, tugging at Lisa's sleeve. "First, dad hits Michael. Then, mom blows his head off. I'm a little confused...god, where's Dorian?"

Tokka, hearing the gunshot, excused himself and hurried outside. He saw Trigger first, soaked in blood, then they remains of an...android second.

"Is everyone okay? Dad?"

"F-fine, Tokka. Go inside, we'll clean this up." He still didn't know, did he? He watched Tokka hesitate, as if he wanted to help, but he thought otherwise and returned to Clover.

"Clover, mom just killed someone. A robot, I think. Weird."

Outside, Zero cupped Trigger's shoulder and pulled her against his chest.

"Will you be okay?"