stupetballs | penance } { ic inbox

[at some point during the Day From Hell, Aiden shows up at Hella Shorty's. maybe he shouldn't be here, maybe he should just leave well enough alone so that Wynonna and Waverly can keep their bar, and not have this new asshole shut them down, but -- yeah, he's not stupid enough to think the Earp sisters won't be planning rebellion, with or without him. so here he is, ready to get his rebel on]

[while he thought he'd be fifteen minutes late, with Starbucks, considering how his morning started, though, it seems he's early -- or at least like not many people have started congregating yet. he's not sure if that's a blessing or a curse, all things considered, but well, this is his end goal and it would look suspicious if he left only to come in again later. too late to back out, now]

[so, here he is, Awkward Turtling his way up to the bar in giant, ugly hangover sunglasses]

[After Jon and Elena left, she and Wynonna talked. They're not sure where things are going yet, but they know that they can't sit there and do nothing. So when Aiden swings in, looking like he's also had a terrible day, she's relieved to see him.]

Hey. Today's been ... today.

Yeah, that's an understatement.

[like really an understatement, all things considered]

At least our new overlord's letting you keep the place?

Yeah, for however long that lasts.

[Waverly has a feeling that this is going to be the kind of situation where they're going to have to play by the rules, and those rules might change arbitrarily, depending on the day.]

Doc is trying to play nice with the new head honcho in charge, but he also knows that Earps are gonna Earp.

[Meaning she and Wynonna are definitely going to wind up making the bosses angry at some point.]

[Aiden hums. it won't just be the two of them, pissing off the new management]

[though:] You got something in mind?

[he hasn't had much of a chance to think about it, yet. his morning has been one crisis after another]

I have a friend who might have something in mind.

[She was speaking generally, but Fitz has already contacted her at this point.]

Have I told you about my friend Fitz?

No.

[but the expectant look he gives her, afterwards, suggests that she's welcome to tell him -- or it would if she could actually see his eyes, behind the sunglasses. maybe the pregnant pause that he accompanies it with will do the trick? please, God, give him something to mull over that isn't his current issues]

[Well. It's complicated.]

He's been here a long time. Like over a year and a half long time? And he's a smidge Team Lucifer in the sense that he would pick Lucifer over the Veiled Order and he worked with Lucifer to make the barrier that kept God out.

[Which she has complicated mixed feelings about.]

But he's a good guy, generally speaking, and he's helped me compile a lot of the information that I had on what the Veiled Order has been up to in the past.

[lightbulb!]

He's the guy who was asking for blood samples on the network, awhile back. [he's just the man Aiden wants to talk to, when shit settles down, about his current, unfortunate condition] You trust him, I take it?

[for more than just whether or not his maybe-plan is on the level]

I do.

[Wynonna doesn't. Wynonna and Fitz have never really gotten along for obvious reasons. But there's an earnestness to Fitz, even if he can be a bit condescending, that leads Waverly to believe that he honestly just wants to help. Even if the helping doesn't always end well.

Case in point, the situation they're in now.]

I don't know exactly what he has in mind, but we're going to be meeting in the backroom. He asked me to bring people I felt would be both trustworthy and useful.

[Meaning Aiden is welcome, should he like to join.]

Edited 2021-02-07 20:34 (UTC)

[Aiden can't say for sure whether or not he'll get along with Fitz, for all that that condescension might put him in mind of his mentor turned arch-nemesis, Damien Brenks, but -- well, he'll try and reserve judgement until after everything is said and done. he knows that not everyone reacts well to stress]

[but at any rate, Aiden can't help but smile a little] I'll stick around, then. [because he is, in fact, both trustworthy and useful. who's being cocky, now?]

Good.

[Because while she knows Fitz generally has good intentions, she's not sure who else he's looping into this.]

I'm sure Wynonna will feel better knowing it's not just all Fitz's people.

Who's he bringing? [speaking of] Anyone I know?

I don't know.

[She didn't ask.]

Considering we don't know how much of what we do Barbas can see at any given time, I figured the network wasn't the best place to ask. I just offered the room.

[But as it turns out, there will be a few people in the room she can vouch for.]

I didn't really trust it when Lucifer was running it.

[so, he's sure as hell not about to trust it, now. he just wasn't sure if Waverly and Fitz had discussed this in person -- but then again, how could they? it's still pretty early. you'll have to forgive him, Waverly, for not being at the top of his game. he's still a little-lot shaken by the fact that he's apparently turning into a fucking monster]

But yeah, alright. Guess I'll find out.

[She nods, because not entirely sure either.

And some of Fitz's motives are ... questionable. As much as she may like him.]

Yeah, we'll see. Right now all I know is that everyone is going to be meeting here.

[he hums, and after a beat, and on a slightly different track, notes:] You realize it's gonna be everyone everyone, right? [he has a feeling Hella Shorty's is about to see a major boost in business]

Yep.

[They're going to need some extra help. And since this is an exercise in keeping all her friends close, enemies closer.]

Any experience working in a bar?

Closest I've got's short-order cook.

[he can take drink orders and bus tables, do some light cooking, if they want to start serving food, too]

I can stay on the doors, too, if you wanna have someone play bouncer.

[he can also absolutely kick ass, if he needs to. this wouldn't be his first bar fight]

We might need one of those.

[The bouncer, she means.]

Especially if that someone could double as a lookout.

Yeah, I can do that.

[this satisfies his need to keep an eye on people for his own purposes, too]

Thank you.

[Because she really does appreciate it.]

I feel like things are about to get a bit crazy.

[he hums, a thank you without actually saying thank you, and then huffs out a breath of a laugh] Pretty sure 'a bit crazy' is gonna be the understatement of the year, all things considered.

Yeah, probably.

[As people start filing in, she takes a deep breath before heading back behind the bar.]

I'll come grab you when Fitz gets here, okay?

[he nods]

I'll be around.

[and, in the meantime, very grateful that she didn't ask about the sunglasses]

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