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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on Apr 19, 2014 16:06:36 GMT -5
After the confrontation with Megan, Dan had been feeling rather surly but still managed to stay fairly pleasant, if not a little cocky. He locked the cabin door and kept communications with the passengers at a minimum, he gave a short safety speech and mentioned once as they hit a small spot of turbulence. He spoke very little to Adrian and kept his sentences short, but still managed to be as smug as possible. Spending most of the ride alone in the cockpit allowed him a lot of time for reflection.
Which was mostly spent feeling ashamed and sorry for himself.
Dan knew he had no right to feel this way and he knew that no amount of apologies could make up for the hurt he'd caused, no amount of tears could wash away the shame. Which, of course, only made it worse. It was because of Adrian that he'd lost Rorschach, it was because of Adrian he'd lost Adrien and it would be because of Adrian that he'd loose Megan too (Dan knew this wasn't fair and that he was fully to blame for the events that lead up to the discussion with both Megan and Adrien). He could cut and run and he knew damn well that Adrian would never look back, but it wouldn't change anything. He loved him and he was sure that one day he'd be pushed away in the same way as everyone else in Adrian's life was, but he was all that he had left and he'd rather stick it out until the bitter end than leave and never get to see how it goes.
To say Dan wasn't a little anxious having Dr. Banner on board was putting it mildly. He understood his condition as well as an engineer could and was glad for his fatigue, at least currently. He had been assured that Dr. Banner was well aware and in as much control as one could be, but it hadn't eased Dan's fears too much. It was a small plane after all.
The landing was smooth, in no small part to Dan's abilities as well as the runway being in amazing shape.
He opened up the cargo and allowed everyone to depart without him, post flight checks and refueling were something he could do on his own. When he got to the house he exchanged pleasantries but immediately retired to the bedroom, showering and going to bed.
The next morning he woke early and went out for a jog, not bothering to wake anyone.
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on Apr 25, 2014 21:34:42 GMT -5
Dan was glad that he'd studied the map of the island before flying there as the trail he'd decided to run was winding and eventually ended on one of many beaches. He'd make it back without any trouble, but was finding it hard to come up with a reason to do so.
Out of breath he found a piece of drift wood and settled down to watch the sea.
Blaming Adrian for his mistakes was not something he found comfort in. It was childish and made him feel like he was at the mercy of his emotions. He knew full well the first time he'd slept with him would be the last night he'd be friends with Adrien and that was no fault to Adrian. Had it been a mistake? They knew it was and if it had stopped there, that's all it would have been. But it didn't and the emotions it dredged up could not be ignored. As hard as he tried, they could not be ignored.
Occasionally this line of thinking brought up Laurie and Dan's heart sank a little. There was no denying that Dan had harbored feelings for her in his youth, at the same time he was working through what his feelings about Adrian meant. He never had a chance with her and even now he knew it. His lingering thoughts about Laurie may have been what had fueled his attitude toward Micaela, he knew they were nothing alike but something about her had brought up emotions he thought he'd let go of. But as it was Micaela too was gone as were his feelings for her, stashed away in the part of his brain that locked away things too hard for Dan to think about.
He leaned back on the log and inhaled. He'd never been much of a beach guy, even when he was in better shape, spending time outside seemed like such a waste of time. But now that he'd gotten older, there was something about spending time with nature that helped ease some of the tension in his mind.
Closing his eyes he heard a bird cry and looked up to see a couple Great Shearwaters diving in to the water. They were basically seagulls, but it didn't change the fact that it was a beautiful sight.
He thought about Megan and the hurt in her voice and leaned forward on the log. He knew damn well he could have contacted her, the last time he saw her was just a few days after the first time he'd slept with Adrian, he was very drunk and very high and it was a intensely embarrassing situation.
The irony didn't escape him that he spent his life busting criminals, but spent his down time smoking weed and reading editorials.
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on Apr 29, 2014 16:41:04 GMT -5
Standing up Dan found his joints a little more tired than usual and stretched them out.He hit her.
Dan blinked as if the information was new. It wasn't just what Adrian had done, but what he had done to her that upset Megan.
Dan had betrayed her.
He sat back down and took his glasses off. Had Dan conveniently forgotten these things in order to pretend like everything was normal? What was this vacation even? What was the point of bringing them out here? He'd been excited when Adrian had first mentioned it to him and of course surprised that he'd owned an island. But now that they were here, he wondered really what his place in all of this was.
He dropped his glasses in his lap and rubbed his eyes feverishly, a bad habit he'd formed as a young man, only for it to return to him as an adult. He thought about little Meg Giry and that child she was carrying and it seemed to ease his mind for the moment. If everything went to hell, Dan knew he had to get it together for this child. He was going to get together for it. Dan put himself in a lot of bad positions, but deciding to adopt Adrian's grandchild was not one of them.
Rubbing the back of his neck he laughed, feeling a little like he was on the tipping point of something he did want to face. He knew he couldn't keep living in domestic bliss and pretending like the past year didn't happen. He'd been privy to Adrian at his worst and at his best and found a man so wracked with guilt and stress he was aging himself. He couldn't lose Megan either, she had been the only person who stood by him during everything and she deserved the truth. But even he knew the truth wasn't enough.
Dan opened his eyes and adjusted to the blurry scene.
Part of him wondered if Adrian was simply humoring him, keeping him around out of duty rather than love. He knew this was something he'd worry about for as long as it lasted. He guess it didn't matter, who else would put up with him now?
He thought about Regina and the Taskforce and laughed again, who was he trying to fool there? He was a middle aged man still trying to play a young mans game and was failing at it.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 23, 2014 10:39:59 GMT -5
"There you are," said a voice from a small distance behind him. "The whole house is beginning to smell of bacon. I needed air."
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 23, 2014 10:48:10 GMT -5
Adrian's voice caused him to stiffen and fumble for his glasses in his lap.
"Hope I didn't worry you" he said fairly flatly as he tried to flatten down his hair.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 23, 2014 11:45:34 GMT -5
"No," he said. "I knew you didn't have far to go, so you had to be somewhere on the island."
He sat on the driftwood beside Dan. It was already warm and humid outside, enough to force even Adrian to abandon a bit of his usual professionalism and carry on the day's business in rolled-up shirtsleeves, exposing forearm on one side and the attachment brace of his prosthesis under its protective silicone sheath on the other. His hair was wavier than usual in the humidity.
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 23, 2014 12:20:31 GMT -5
"Mmm" he smiled faintly as Adrian sat down.
He'd dressed lightly, jogging pants, sneakers and a tank top. His unruly hair was even more so in the heat and he hadn't had the drive to do anything with it that morning and no amount of patting it down was going to help.
It seemed like the more he shh'd his brain the louder it got.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 24, 2014 11:31:27 GMT -5
"I apologize for retiring so quickly last night," he said while giving the sheath over his right arm a brief inspection for airtightness. "I don't travel as well as I once did."
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 24, 2014 11:38:18 GMT -5
"I wasn't up much later than you" he nodded, keeping his eyes planted firmly on the sea "I-In fact I think everyone was pretty bushed."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 24, 2014 11:42:50 GMT -5
"Were you in bed with me? I didn't notice."
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 24, 2014 12:02:38 GMT -5
"I-" he adjusted his sitting and pressed his heels in to the sand "wasn't, no."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 24, 2014 12:12:54 GMT -5
Adrian frowned.
"I wasn't angry," he said.
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 24, 2014 12:16:06 GMT -5
"I didn't think you were" Dan turned to face Adrian for the first time since he sat down, but holding his gaze wasn't something he wasn't prepared for and quickly returned his eyes to the ocean.
Dan let himself smile a little "I just- I had some things to sort through in my head and I couldn't do it lying next to you."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on May 24, 2014 19:08:20 GMT -5
"I should have done this differently," Adrian said ruefully. "I should not have brought you here while I oversee business- I should have conducted it and then brought you and Nina separately."
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Post by Daniel Dreiberg on May 24, 2014 20:13:18 GMT -5
"Maybe" Dan laughed "but I'm used to being ignored."
His voice was even without any indication that this particular fact bothered him in the slightest. He'd brought a couple gadgets to work on, ones that would need the wide open space of the beach and was glad to have the opportunity to test them in a place that if they did blow up he wouldn't loose anything.
"And Nina will be fine, she seems to have attached herself to Dr. Connors" he didn't look at Adrian for a reaction and rubbed his eyes "and what kind of business requires a herpetologist and a physicist on a remote island in Greece anyway?"
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