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WHO: Laurie Juspeczyk (

jupitermade), Rorschach (

reactionism)
WHERE: near the M.A.C. and onward
WHEN: evening.
WARNINGS: none probably.
SUMMARY: TYING UP LOOSE ENDS or something
FORMAT: para

Rorschach was not in the greatest of moods.

Had it really been months since he left Laurie's apartment? Since that awkward moment between them? Time had become less and less of a worry the more he'd walked, solitary, into the cold streets. Eventually the surrounding miles that he had familiarized himself with had become unrecognizable, and yet there was hardly anything beyond the horizon except concrete. City, stretching as far as one could possibly travel... like traversing a sphere. He'd stormed into countless bars and forcefully demanded information. Nobody talked, nobody had anything worthwhile to say. And once he'd found that it was pointless, he'd simply turned and came back.

But... months. More than one person had said months. It was irritating, that he couldn't really bring up a sense of personal time that he'd been gone, yet others could. Laurie. Laurie had said that.

The vigilante strolled toward the M.A.C. at a brisk pace, his memory of the area still strong. She'd said she wanted to meet up.

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This was utterly and absolutely not, in any way or form, good. In fact, it was so fucking far from good Laurie took her sweet time pacing around the living room, putting on her coat, and finally leaving the apartment. Ultimately, she forced the "really not good (for my mental health)" of the situation back into her subconscious while she focused on the facts that 1. Rorschach was back 2. Rorschach was alive and 3. Rorschach seemed fine.

Her anger toward him had disintegrated within the first few minutes of their interaction over the boards and she figured there were more pressing matters at hand anyway. Finally learning not to let her emotions get the best of her. Or at least trying.

Reaching the M.A.C., she spotted his familiar figure and tried to smile.

Saw her hair first. His eyes then focused on her face, though she couldn't see his fairly intimidating, blinkless stare through the fabric of his shifting mask. Rorschach approached, gloved hands in his tattered pockets, and waited. Waited for her to say the first words, because he had nothing.

The smell of death and other revolting things that clung to his clothes had been nearly replaced by something different - chemically-treated dirt, polluted rain, dead grass - as if he'd just braved a hurricane of debris. New splats of blood dotted the darkened trenchcoat, along with a menagerie of cuts and scuff marks. They blended in with the already-ruined fabric, yet at the same time appeared somehow fresher. Clearly shelter had not been his thing on the little three-month trek.

Riiight. Nothing had changed. Of course, she hadn't really expected anything to; she would have been shocked at the least if he showed any emotion upon seeing her for the first time in months. Then this very fact hit her and Laurie felt something stir in her stomach.

"Hey," she said softly, looking at the ground. He seemed... different somehow, but she really couldn't place it just yet. Looking at his face -- mask -- now, she managed a smile. "How've you been really?"

She was making small talk. Not his specialty, nor was it preferred, but he supposed he could try to reciprocate.

"Fine."

Rorschach cleared his throat; he hadn't used his voice very much in the past few weeks, and it was a bit more strained than usual. Not wanting to stand around conspicuously, he turned, and began to walk back down the street, glancing back toward Laurie to make sure she was following.

"Somehow you and 'fine' don't sit very well in the same sentence," Laurie muttered as he turned. She followed regardless, walking faster to catch up with him so she wouldn't be awkwardly trailing behind.

"I'll bet," she said loudly, to him this time, but figured she could let the subject drop right there. A part of her wondered if they were actually going somewhere purposefully but instead of asking, she settled into a different subject.

"Dan's back. He's, uh, sorta been staying with us."

Attempting to slow down a bit and let her walk beside him, he returned his vision to the street before them, still walking fairly fast. The vigilante had nothing in reply to the first statement, but the next made him glance over at her once more. Daniel. He'd talked to him earlier.

"Doesn't seem to remember being here," Rorschach replied, or rather growled. He felt edgy about the communicator, all the text and voices swarming on it suddenly once more. He suddenly swerved into an alley and began to ascend a fire escape, heading toward the roof.

Nodding, she turned on her heel and hopped onto the fire escape behind him. "Yeah, most of the people who get ported back and forth don't, I think." The thought of being sent back to Manhattan, then here once more and not remembering a single thing irked her. Having to make the same friends over again, relearn the City's routes and streets, memorize the villians you had to watch out for -- it sounded pretty goddamn awful.

"He's well though, you should --" It suddenly dawned on her where they were going and she paused to put an angry hand on her hip. "Rorschach, if for one second you think you're going to be spending all your time on rooftops again you are sadly mistaken."

He reached the roof and then turned, glancing down at Laurie, who seemed perturbed. "... Hrn?" he grunted with inquiry, wondering what her opposition to the rooftop was. Rorschach much enjoyed haunting the high places of the city, away from prying eyes, and keeping watch over them instead of vice versa - like a predator eyes its prey.

He wondered idly if the baseball bat he'd stashed somewhere up here was still around. Likely not.

Laurie sighed, shaking her head. "You're not sleeping up here," she answered his grunt firmly.

Not that she actually had a place to house him, considering that even without Dan sleeping on the couch, neither Rorschach nor Tank would stand being under the same roof together. But Laurie figured the first step was convincing him to sleep indoors, the "where" would come later.

"So are you going to tell me where you've been for three months?"

Sitting on the edge of the roof, letting his feet hang off, Rorschach glanced up at the sky. He was used to not seeing stars. Not that he was looking for them, but there above lied a familiar sight - a gray-black sky, full of clouds of pollution. But it was outside; air, at least, not some stifling apartment rigged with cameras and microphones and God knows what else.

"Was looking for an exit," he mumbled, still not looking directly at her. "Didn't find anything. No leads. Nobody talks."

She stayed standing, arms now crossed. "And you couldn't find one so you came back," she said with a frown. That may not have came out right. "I'm glad you did, for the record."

It was finally getting nice out, still not warm enough to walk around without a jacket -- especially not at night, but nice enough to appreciate. Laurie didn't speak for a moment, looking out at the City below them instead of up at the stars. Maybe for any other girl who spent her whole life in New York, flashing lights and skyscrapers wouldn't deserve a second glance, but they still amazed Laurie.

"Stark left the Tower." It was time to recap. "There was an attack by mutants and a place called the HIVE was discovered. It's where Los Angeles would be from our perspective and from what I gather, the locals aren't all that friendly. We're still trying to clean up the damage from the attack; that's why the place smells like shit."

She was... glad he came back. Rorschach didn't know how to respond to that, so he said nothing, as usual.

"Mm. Heard about mutants." The vigilante leaned forward, hands still in pockets, glancing out straight. He looked like some strange statue, poised like that. The bodies hadn't really been noticed, yet; he wasn't one to pay much attention to corpses, unless they were deemed innocent victims.

"... Still living with Tank Girl?"

Okay, so he had to ask, because he despised the woman - if you could refer to her as that - and couldn't help but still be suspicious.

Oh God, here we go. Laurie knew this conversation would eventually have to happen and she had close to no idea how to begin it.

"Yeahhh," she said slowly, trying to buy time to think. Relaxing her arms, she sat next to him on the roof and crossed her legs. She looked at him only once, then at the sky, exhaling. Was it really all too much to ask that her few friends got along?

"We're dating actually," she said casually, focusing on a cloud.

Rorschach barely flinched as she came near him. In fact, he'd hardly realized she had until he felt the slightest brush of her arm against his - and he tensed, though not enough for her to notice, probably. He didn't move away, at least.

And then, at her next words, there was a very long, heavy silence.

"... What."

Yep.

Laurie managed to tear herself from the magnificantly intriguing and thrilling sky she was absorbed in and looked at Rorschach. Another moment (these were frequent) when she wished she could actually make eye contact, instead of watch patterns shifting.

"Um, you know," she started lamely. "She had liked me for some time beforehand and I just figured..." A shrug. Laurie had no doubt whatsoever that she genuinely adored Tank, yet this was the most uncomfortable confrontation she could imagine facing. "She's fantastic. She makes me laugh and she's independent and has a good head on her shoulders. We get each other."

Leaving out "she's phenomenal in bed" seemed like a good idea.

Laurie shifted a little, uncrossing her legs and recrossing them again, the other on top this time. "You left."

Confusion quickly transformed into utter contempt. Tank Girl was corrupting Laurie and turning her into an indecent human being. He rose abruptly, quickly. Quite clearly, he was pissed beyond belief.

"... Hurm."

There was nothing to say, was there? Before Rorschach decided to storm off toward their apartment with a crowbar, he was stopped by what Laurie said afterwards. You left.

"What are you talking about."

She slid around and planted her feet on the ground.

A part of her couldn't help being angry. "You left, Rorschach. Without a goddamn word. And I've already made this clear to you on numerous occasions. If you don't give a shit, you have no right to give a shit about the fact that I'm with Tank Girl."

What else was there to say? Hadn't she humiliated herself enough already?

There was something in him that knew exactly what she was talking about. But he didn't want to acknowledge it. Didn't want to have to deal with it. He'd given up on the entire idea of it years upon years ago - buried it underneath his brutal sense of morality, good and evil, right and wrong. Justice. Delivering it to those who deserved it. And with that, he'd made himself dehumanized. Rorschach knew what she meant, of course, but he'd keep playing dumb and hope that she'd drop it - so that in turn, he could, as well. Because at the moment he, for some reason, was not able to simply override his emotions.

"... Don't want you to fall into the path of indecency, Miss Juspeczyk."

He sighed gutturally. "Can't trust people like her. Scum of the earth. Must be reformed. Will only get worse."

Standing up, Laurie narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to try to convince you of Tank's morals because besides the fact that that isn't even the point, I know I'd be wasting my time. You two don't get along, plain and simple. I understand that."

She paused, taking a breath. "But that's not the point." Her expression relaxed a bit and she sighed. "Rorschach." She didn't know what to say, unable to decide if they'd ever be able to come to a legitimate conclusion.

"What?"

His tone rarely changed in inflection, making it difficult to figure out if he was asking a question or not - but when he responded to her, it was quite obvious. He wanted to know. He had nothing to say, and thus was relying on her to continue talking.

This was... difficult.

She stared at him, unsure of how to continue. Something about the situation between them made her feel like she was four years old: impatient and restless and ready to pout on cue. It was infuriating, in a way.

Pushing aside whatever ounce of dignity she had left in her, Laurie brushed her hair back and inhaled. "Do you," she paused. This was beyond awkward, especially because no man had ever been this difficult before. And the fact that she was so persistent drove her crazy.

In any shape, way or form give a shit -- "Have feelings for me?" She finished, softly.

Rorschach mirrored her stare - again, she couldn't see his eyes, and it was probably better off that way, as he gazed harshly into hers, unblinking and intent. In all his years of life... nothing like this. Ever. Random offers from filthy whores on the street were not like this. He didn't care about them. Not in the least.

Laurie, however... when they'd first met up, months upon months ago in the city, it had been tense. He'd always sensed her dislike of him, her spite. And he merely avoided her for what she was. The way she dressed. Yet they'd built a partnership before any of the others had gotten here, and he'd considered her an ally, of course - but this?

The vigilante had never dealt with a situation like this. No female had ever gotten this close to him, because he was afraid. Disgusted. He'd felt that way toward her at first, but as time passed he felt barriers breaking down. It worried him. Above everything, Rorschach strived to be devoid of the animalistic savagery that consumed the better majority of humanity, to set himself apart as nothing more than someone out to deliver true justice, to never compromise his beliefs.

And here was Laurie, making him doubt himself. Or at least, a piece of it.

"Don't know." He felt ridiculous. Why was this happening to him?

"... Mm."

Supposed to be some sort of affirmative response, but he couldn't bear to say "yes" directly.

That was sort of an unbearable silence.

Rorschach's response was... somewhat surprising. She had half expected him to walk away or ignore her, but given the circustances that may have been difficult, she guessed. Not that he had gotten down on a knee and professed his love for her or anything, but it was something. Now it was just a matter of "where do we go from here". Laurie's feelings for Tank obviously weren't suddenly disintegrated or dwindled; she honestly adored the younger woman -- her energy, her sense of humor, her don't-give-a-fuck attitude -- not to mention, the attraction between them. But with Rorschach... the feeling was something Laurie could never put a finger on.

Not the feeling actually, it was more of the why, the reasoning behind it. But questioning it had never resulted in a solution.

She decided not to push it. Afterall, he had only just gotten back and being bombarded with personal questions probably wasn't the first thing he was expecting. Smiling, Laurie touched his arm lightly, leaving her hand there. "Does that mean you'll listen and not insist on sleeping in the cold?"

A sigh. It was some weight off his shoulders, anyway. Not that he cared if he never admitted to Laurie that he... felt something for her, but it was somewhat relieving, nonetheless. The feeling didn't last long, though, and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.

Rorschach didn't recoil from her hand or push it away, but he went a bit more rigid in his posture. Her next question was slightly funny. These nights? Cold? Not at all. He made a noise of protest.

"Where else to sleep."

She felt that. And the feeble attempt to protest? Not even intimidating anymore. Someday Rorschach would learn to take care of himself, but until then...

Removing her hand and placing it back on her hip, she shrugged. "My place. There's always room. We can find room. I'll bet even a sofa chair is more comfortable than --" she looked around, "-- this ledge. Or even this fire escape, believe it or not."

She realized bringing Rorschach and Tank Girl together so soon wasn't the greatest plan, but what else was there to do? They could... work something out... maybe?

"Not going to sleep in same apartment as your girlfriend."

It came out harsher than he'd intended, but there was no use trying to mask his rather obvious hatred of Tank. His hands retreated to his coat pockets, and he turned back around to glance off the ledge.

"Can probably find shelter on own. If you're... concerned."

Rorschach didn't know if that was the right word. Maybe she was, maybe not. Still feeling pretty awkward, it sounded best right now to find some dark little area and crawl in it and hide until morning.

Laurie almost had to hide a smirk at his reply, if only because she liked to think there was a tiny hint of... jealousy? in his words. In reality, however, she figured Rorschach was not the type of person to be jealous ever, but a girl could hope, right?

"I am," she nodded. "So do that, please. And then stop by some time tomorrow." Laurie had a feeling whatever "shelter" he found would be just as unnecessarily uncomfortable as the concrete on which they were standing, but some subjects she just didn't have the breath with which to argue anymore.

Not saying anything for a few minutes, he merely nodded back at her before descending the fire escape. Shelter. He'd give the search an honest attempt, but in the end, would probably just end up back on a rooftop somewhere. They certainly did not deserve the persecution Laurie was dishing out.

"Be seeing you, Miss Juspeczyk."

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this was so awkward dear god

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