self_inflictedexhile | watch_dogs / wynonna earp } { i been lost somewhere between heaven and hell

watch_dogs / wynonna earp } { i been lost somewhere between heaven and hell

[The fog has been rolling in for weeks now. Curling up out of the trees, messing with people's minds, and while Waverly and Wynonna did go through a stretch of forgetting things, there's also things that she remembered too.

Things from somewhere else.

Things from Hell.

She doesn't know if Wynonna remembers, and she doesn't want to ask. She doesn't want to think that if for some reason she doesn't, her question is the thing that triggers the deluge of memories of the pain and suffering they spent there. So she keeps it to herself, toiling away with Jeremy and regular cases and hoping that one day, she'll be able to put it all behind them.

They get a call one day, about someone having been found in the fog. It's unsure how much of an affect it's had on him, but Jeremy manages to divert him back to Shorty's so they can get a better look at him. He doesn't have any ID, any phone, and he's definitely not one of the locals. But the moment they place him on the pool table to get a better look, Waverly almost drops the bottle of whiskey in her hand.]

Oh my god, Aiden.

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[She shakes her head. Wynonna is one thing, but Waverly really hopes Nicole never does.]

She hasn't been caught in the fog yet, though, and I'm pretty sure that's what triggered it for me.

[well, that's disappointing]

[he hums] Guess we'll have to start over, then.

Unfortunately. But on the upside, Nicole is still Nicole, so I doubt it will take long for her to warm up.

[And maybe, like Waverly, their memories will come back too. But before she can move forward, Jeremy and the other Black Badge agent return. "We swept the area. Didn't see any additional people."]

Yeah.

[it might take longer for him to warm up, though. he'll go back to being guarded around her all over again on reflex. he and Natalia would have had the same problem, even, if she'd ever shown back up in Hell, and he was in love with her. cliché as it is, it's not them, it's him]

[but anyway]

Shit.

[so, Ray's not here. fuck]

Sorry. If I could guarantee they wouldn't claw their own faces off I would suggest subjecting them to the fog, but ... that stuff's got some crazy side effects.

[Jeremy looks at Waverly like she has two heads for that statement, but Aiden hopefully understands. But she does genuinely look sad about the lack of Ray.]

We'll keep an eye out. He didn't show up at the same time as you before, maybe it's a similar thing.

[he shakes his head -- he really doesn't blame her for not wanting to willingly subject anyone to that. he doesn't look any less sour, however]

Asshole better not keep me waiting long.

[it was a month, last time, right? he'll hold onto hope for a month]

[Waverly's got her fingers crossed but given she doesn't know how Aiden happened, that's not something she can guarantee. Waverly looks over at Jeremy.]

Thanks for looking. We'll let you know if we need anything else.

["Cool. Wynonna just called about a demon thing, so I'll check in with you later."

Waverly makes a face as Jeremy walks out the door.]

Guess we'll find out what Wynonna remembers and what she doesn't soon enough. Either she's going to be happy to see you or come to interrogate you.

[he snorts]

I'll try not to be too much of a dick to her, if it's the second one.

I would appreciate that.

[Because she wants all of her people to be friends, if nothing else.]

C'mon. Let's see if we can get you settled upstairs before Wynonna swings in.

Yeah, alright.

[downing the rest of his drink in one go, he starts to push to his feet. he'll follow where ever Waverly wants to lead]

[They make their way upstairs to the second floor, where there's an empty bedroom set up that's rather spacious for a bedroom over the bar. Plenty of space for him to set up and a rather comfortable bed to sleep in.]

I'll wash the sheets and see if we have a spare set that's clean.

Or I can wash 'em, if you point me to a laundromat.

[he can probably hack an ATM or a washer to actually do the laundry, despite the fact that he's in a whole different universe, right? either way, he doesn't want Waverly to feel like she has to wait on him, hand and foot]

Purgatory's laundry mat is currently ... out of order?

[Meaning that they, with all the other sane normies, fled town after the revenants took over and no one has reopened it yet.]

But Wynonna and I have a set back at the homestead.

[Aiden snorts]

Full of demons?

[her world had demons or something like, didn't it?]

[either way, okay, yeah, he gets the point. he'll do the laundry at the house, assuming Wynonna doesn't want his head on a plate -- or she can, it she does]

[She snorts.]

I wouldn't put it past it. But more ... it doesn't really have someone to run it right now.

[A beat.]

We had this small demon skirmish not that long ago, and a lot of people moved out of town. Which was smart of them, honestly.

[a pause, largely for effect]

Yeah, I'm not running a laundry mat.

And that is your right. Hopefully Wynonna will get over things fast, and you can just come down to the homestead and use ours.

[It just makes things simpler once Wynonna is in the loop. Which she assumes will be soon. In fact, her phone buzzes to indicate as much.]

Step one, complete. She has been told by Jeremy as expected.

[he wonders what he told her, exactly]

She headed this way?

Probably.

[She glances back to the bar, knowing she's going to have to at least pour Wynonna a drink. She grabs the nearest whiskey bottle.]

In three ... two ...

[And before she can say one, the door swings open and there's Wynonna in all her glory. "This the guy?"]

Hello to you too, Wynonna.

[Aiden turns as the doors swing open, shifting to face Wynonna. he doesn't stand, however, nor does he offer a hand -- instead he just hums]

I'm the guy. [a beat] Aiden Pearce.

[Waverly probably knows him well enough, at this point, that he's put on his metaphorical armor, afraid of getting his hopes up, getting hurt. better to play it like a hardass and see where this goes, first]

[Unfortunately for Aiden, there's no recognition. Whatever the fog did to Waverly, it didn't do to Wynonna. She just narrows her eyes at Aiden and takes a step closer to inspect.

"So. How did you and Waverly meet exactly?"

Waverly gives Aiden a sympathetic look over Wynonna's shoulder.]

He was in one of my correspondence courses. He finally made it out to Purgatory to say hey in person.

[Wynonna squints before turning to face her sister. "By appearing in the middle of a field?"

Waverly shrugs.]

This is Purgatory. And our correspondence courses did involve dead languages that are usually used in spells and summonings ...

["Okay, good point."]

[to his credit, he manages to keep from pulling further into himself, mentally, at that lack of recognition. armor or no, it still stings]

Kinda wasn't expecting to end up here when I was in Chicago -- [and totally not Hell] -- but.

["Oh, Chicago. So you're not that far from home. We can put you in a truck and send you on your way."]

Wynonna!

[Waverly's tone is scolding.]

You can't just run my friends out of town.

[Wynonna makes a face. "We should at least see if he can get past the Triangle."

Waverly wants to facepalm. But she may look a smidge concerned, because if Aiden came from Hell, there might be some ... changes that could keep him in Purgatory.]

[Aiden recognizes that that's some kind of test, but he's not entirely sure how so. if it ever came up that revenants couldn't leave the Ghost River Triangle, he doesn't recall it -- it's not like that was a particularly important fact in Hell, after all]

[still, he catches that look on Waverly's face and it's another act of will to keep his frown from deepening]

Yeah, alright.

He just got here. Let me get him settled in, at least?

[Wynonna doesn't know why she's being judged when she feels she's asking the important questions of Waverly's mystery friend who just appeared out of nowhere. "Fine. Get him settled. I'll check in with you in a couple hours?"

Waverly nods, before gesturing towards the stairs.]

C'mon. Let me show you the room.

[AKA let her give you the information out of the earshot of Wynonna who will assume the worst.]

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