005 ✽ We be all night

[giglio_madonna]

Who: The willing from Pride and Virgo
What: Want to know what party sucked? The solstice party. Want to know what party won't suck? Luci and Luce's.
When: Jan 8th
Where: The basement of the club Blue Heist
Warnings: None planned besides possible/probably intoxication




A little while after the disaster at Naomi's, those who had attended might find themselves approached- by Luce on Virgo's side, by Luci on Pride's, or perhaps by someone who had heard about it from either of them. The subject of conversation?

Another party. One that involves another mingle of both labels, without being used for any ulterior motives.

Those who seem up to it are given a time and place. Blue Heist is one of the clubs around town that has what could be called a "basement level", for private renting and parties available to anyone who has the cash to spend on it. It's a pretty simple set up, nothing extravagant like the party at Naomi's... Which is absolutely on purpose, let no one tell you otherwise. There's a reason any mics or karaoke equipment has been pointedly removed. All the music is on the system already.

Nope, tonight it's just dancing and drinking, with a couple of rooms to the side that have cheesy movies playing in case you're tired out. No closed doors, no poison at the bar, no murder.

And if you want to take a moment to maybe have a talk to someone on the opposite label to discuss or apologize for the events of the prior night... That's fine too.

Just be careful. Both labels are still under watch, it seems, with a few bodyguards from both sides around the perimeter here and there.

Comments

[tigermillionaire]

"You already act like him," Tiger says in a small voice. It's true, isn't it? Nothing Greg has ever done has seemed out of sync with the bits of the good father Tiger remembers. The only difference is that the one from the memories is older, which hardly seems relevant from that perspective.

[panspermia]

"No kidding?" It feels like he hasn't gotten a whole lot of sense of himself through the memories. But maybe that's a confirmation by his simply not noticing.

"I see him in you, you know." Or rather, he's sure Tiger doesn't, but he thinks he ought to.

[tigermillionaire]

Talking about that always makes Tiger uncomfortable, that much is clear. It's nearly impossible to see 'Steven' in himself a lot of the time - maybe because his other self seems to be characterized by love and happiness, while Tiger seems to constantly struggle with both of these things. There's a sense of peace in his memories that he's not sure he's ever felt as he is now.

Is he really even the same person anymore if he's been changed that dramatically.

"You always say that," he mumbles, obviously hurting from whatever conclusions he's coming to. "You and Garnet both did, but...everything is messed up now. I'm...I'm not like that, even if I could...could have been. Somewhere else."

[panspermia]

It's true, a person had to do some squinting at first to notice. Everything about the Steven he remembered was bright and energetic, instead of this frightened and faded boy beside him. But now, it simply struck Greg with how immense the shift in circumstances is between the two versions of the same, confused child.

"You don't have to try and be like him. That's not how you get to be that way." Whatever kind of a parent Greg was, that's not who Tiger had. "But you should know, both of you come from the same place, even if you're in really different places now."

[tigermillionaire]

He isn't thinking about how closely he's resting against Greg's body - right now it's a much needed bit of comfort that he isn't going to examine too hard. Maybe Greg is right. But there's an important difference in context that he doesn't have any answers for.

"But is...is he really someone else? Why do...why do I remember that, why do I have the same things? If I was actually like that before this isn't okay."

If it was just an image of a life that could have gone better it'd be one thing, but so many of the signs point to it being something that really happened, to him personally, that was...changed somehow. If that's the case, he doesn't know how he can stand what's been done to him. He doesn't even understand why it was done in the first place.

[panspermia]

Ever since the idea occurred to him, Greg's been holding hard to the idea that these memories must come from some sort of alternate life. It's all that makes sense, he keeps thinking, even if there are still huge gaps of memory it doesn't explain. Because, if that weren't the case, and if something was done to them, then why would anyone possibly want to do this?

Greg doesn't know what to say. Tiger's right. Whatever is the truth, none of it is okay for him to feel like this. His arm curls around Tiger tighter, more protectively.

"I don't know... yet." He swallows hard, looking down at him. "But... we're remembering more all the time, right? At some point... one day, it's going to make sense. I promise."

He has no real reason to trust in that, even as vague a reassurance as it is, but he believes it's their best chance right now. Pushing forward is all he can think to do.

[tigermillionaire]

"They don't want us to remember," he says very quietly, afraid that someone will clear. It's been weeks since it happened, but he still thinks about it while he's awake in bed, and whenever the security guards get too close. And every time he looks at his gem. "They tried to make me forget when...when I told them the truth. They said it was bad."

[panspermia]

After a moment of silence, Greg wraps his other arm around Tiger, too.

He already knows that the label doesn't like these memories, and knows that they did something to people who didn't hide it well enough. And he knew they did something to Tiger, distantly, the memory of it cold and faded and scared.

"Do you remember Multiverse?" Of course he does. "He said they can't stop us. They're going to try, because they're scared of what we can do. But we're stronger." He runs a hand through Tiger's hair, gently. "I know it doesn't feel that way, but I trust him a lot more than I trust them."

[tigermillionaire]

If it was an alternate universe, why would they care so much about if they remembered? Why would all of them be remembering that at all? They're prisoners here, they know that now, and if these were things they didn't want them to know or remember...it being because they want to keep them under control seems like the only thing that makes sense.

But why them? Why is any of this necessary? What do they want from them?

"I want to do that again," he murmurs into Greg's side. It's more than just wistful musing - he wants to find out a way. He just doesn't know how they can when they are being watched like this.

[panspermia]

Regardless of what universe the memories come from, the motivations for keeping them cooped up and afraid like this are still a complete mystery to Greg. If all his friends are people with magic and powers, why make them into musicians? With all the effort put into keeping them suppressed and scared, there's no possible way this is the smartest way to do... whatever it is they're up to.

"Yeah." All it would take is getting a moment alone, like this, somewhere a stranger could go unnoticed. "Let's do it."

[tigermillionaire]

"We...can't do it right now, can we?"

He really wants to, but he already sounds defeated on that subject. It's a private party and there are guards everywhere. He doubts they could even get the fusing part done without notice.

[panspermia]

"Oh--no." That would be a little too overeager. Even if it sounds really nice. "But there's gotta be some time we can slip away. At an event, or a concert, or something."

[tigermillionaire]

Tiger rubs at his gem through his shirt. He's really pretty awful at not telegraphing its presence, whether or not he's actively thinking about it. He doesn't really know the next time they'll have the chance to be that alone, where they won't be at risk for getting in trouble for disappearing.

"I think we used to live in a van together," he says, after a period of thoughtful silence. He hadn't gone into any details before, but he kind of wants to now.

[panspermia]

They'll find a way. Greg'd determined to. For Tiger's sake, more than his own. The kid deserves it.

"A van?" That surprises him a little. He had his van back before things started really moving with his career, but that feels like an eternity ago. "Sounds... cozy."

[tigermillionaire]

"Yeah," Tiger agrees, and there doesn't seem to be anything negative about his opinion in that. Of course, his memory of that is restricted to one particular scenario - one with thunder and rain - but it sticks with him none the less. "It was kind of nice. I think we...lived on the beach, too."

It feels like they're just making up stories - fantasizing about better things, or what they would do if they could. But yet...all of this could be real.

[panspermia]

"Yeah... I remember the beach. I parked the van there, to help out with... honestly, I think it involved aliens." He purses his lips, looking down at Tiger. "You know, it'd explain a lot about us if it turned out we're from space or something."

His memories of them as a family are fuzzy, more feelings and instinct than anything distinct, but the weird space and magic stuff is clear. If they turn out to be a magic space family, it'd be pretty sweet.

[tigermillionaire]

"I'm pretty sure I'm from space," Tiger says, a mixture of wistful and tired. The cuddling is totally unconcealed at this point. "I probably liked it better there..."

If only they could commit to that having been in their literal, chronological past.

[panspermia]

"Heh. It's like my songs came true. We're aliens. From a planet full of shapeshifters, and pink lions, and mystic portals."

Well, he's half right. That's an idea he'll just have to keep dreaming about.

[tigermillionaire]

Tiger looks up at him, a little surprised.

"Pink lions?" he asks. That sounds like the kind of thing that someone would make up just for the sake of sounding silly.

[panspermia]

Greg grins back down at him. "Oh yeah. I caught a glimpse of you riding him. Massive, and a big pink mane that's even crazier than mine!"

[tigermillionaire]

"Sounds made up," he says, a little bit incredulous but mostly just sort of teasing. Of course it sounds made up - everything they remember does.

[panspermia]

"Maybe I made it up. You can't tell. It's a mystery. For all you know you're a magic alien prince with a pet lion. You're a young adult novel." He did make up the prince part but it's no more absurd than the rest of it.

[tigermillionaire]

"That's probably why I'm so handsome," he says, grinning with increasing amusement. It really does seem like a fairytale reality compared to everything else. For a moment part of him wonders - what if he just played pretend? What if he didn't worry about whether or not it was real for a while? "And I do really want a cat."

[panspermia]

"What, you think I didn't have a say in that?" Greg wrinkles his nose. "I deserve a little credit." Imagining it, trying to envision it without remembering where they are now or how they got from point A to point B, it becomes infinitely easier. "We'll have to work you back up in size, I think. Start with a serval."

[tigermillionaire]

"Aw man," he says, with genuine longing. "I would love a serval, they are so cute. Some people actually own servals, did you know that?" He looks up at Greg. "They're as big as a dog!"