edgarwayne

[edgarwayne]

He smiled at the gesture. Despite everything moments like this reminded Edgar that it was all worth it. That they had been worth it. The smile wavered at Christian's words however. With a sigh Edgar took off his pajamas and put them in the laundry hamper. "You don't need to be concerned. I'm fine. I'll be fine."

Not glancing at the other he got into the shower. Now that he was actually in it the water felt amazing as it began to rinse away the sweat and oil and fatigue. So quiet it might not have been heard over the faucet, Edgar muttered "please don't treat me like I'm fragile. It makes it worse."

Christian put his hands up a bit at the look then chuckled some, he'd keep his hands to himself.

"It's going." He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged some. "I'm more concerned about things with you at the moment so work's taken a bit of a back seat." Christian checked the temperature. "Okay, it's ready to get in."

[edgarwayne]

That made sense. He felt like even more of an idiot for not thinking of that. Edgar had crossed that bridge countless times to visit his boyfriends. But the panic of becoming lost had made it hard to focus on anything substantial. As they walked he glanced at Enver. "You're not from here, right? I don't recognize you from the Academy. Did you find it hard adjusting to this side of the city?"

Edgar was beating himself up, but after everything he had endured during the trial, maybe it had become natural to self-blame first. That, or maybe that was how Edgar had always been. “Easy to get lost in a place you’re not used to,” Enver explained with a shrug, but nodded at the thanks as he turned them down another street. “Beatrice’s Purgatory is near the Vice gate. If you ever get turned around, you can try to look for that.” And the tall arches of the bridge too.

[edgarwayne]

Edgar smiled and gave a small wave. "I'm....holding up," he answered honestly. To say otherwise would be too obvious a lie, if the dark circles under his eyes were any indication. "I appreciate the invite Wesley." Surprised, yes, but appreciated. "How are you?"

closed starter Location: Frenchie's Characters: Wesley & Edgar @edgarwayne

"Hey!" Wes stated as he invited Edgar over. He knew, of course, now that he was Vice. It didn't mean he had forgotten about everyone here in Virtue. He just hoped that Edgar was settling in as well as you could. "I'm happy to see you." Happy that he made it. "How are you holding up?"

[edgarwayne]

Edgar rolled his eyes even as he returned the kiss, feeling more like himself again. "And have your coworkers hate me? Not a chance. It'll be a quick shower." He gave Christian a pointed look, silently telling him no funny business. Not that he was in the mood. Ever since Lust Edgar found himself shying away from anything sensual, his mind immediately going into a panic of not knowing if it was real or not.

As Christian left Edgar scratched at his cheek. The beard was itchy. He wasn't sure how Art could stand having one all the time, even if he looked good with it. Despite feeling better it still was a tremendous effort to actually get out of bed. Finally joining the other to the bathroom, Edgar leaned against the doorframe, watching him. "How's work going?"

"They can deal." Christian chuckled and put his hands on Edgar's cheeks before leaning in and kissing his lips. "It's a really good job I find beards very attractive then isn't it?" He teased some then let him go. "I'll go run the shower." Then Christian left him sat on the bed.

[edgarwayne]

Edgar felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and shame. If Enver was telling the truth, who knows where he may have ended up. It took him a few seconds to realize the other man had started walking with the intention of guiding him. With a burst of speed he caught up to Enver. "Ideally I should have my phone on me. I'm a bloody idiot for leaving it. Thank you, by the way. This is really appreciated."

Enver glanced around their surroundings before nodding. “Housing District’s that way,” he responded, nodding down another street. “I can take you over to the building.” It was definitely in the opposite direction of where Edgar had been going. “Probably could get a map to help you with navigating too,” he suggested and started to walk, though slowed to see if Edgar was going to follow or not. They were strangers, so it was understandable if he didn’t want to put trust in Enver.

[edgarwayne]

He blinked, panicked brain trying to comprehend what Violet was saying. "You....got me pastries?" Guilt immediately washed over him. Moving back to the kitchen, Edgar placed the kitchen knife on the counter as covertly as he could. "I'm happy with anything you brought," he offered a small smile. "Tartlets are my favorite though," Edgar added as an afterthought.

"Okay?" Violet's face showed how confused she was—she looked him over and frowned and then walked past him into the condo to set the basket down. "I'll just wait here until he's back then. Do you want a pastry or something? Some are from Brewed Awakening and some are from Frenchie's. I wasn't sure which ones you liked better to be honest so I decided to just go for both—ooh!" She paused to pluck one out that was dusted with powdered sugar. "This one's lemon."

[edgarwayne]

As Christian pealed away the blankets Edgar scowled up at him. At the offer his expression softened. "You have to go back to work," he pointed out. "But....I'd like that." Running a hand over his face, he grimaced. "I need a shave. Starting to look too much like Archie."

"Yes I do." Then rolled his eyes a little. "I don't think you're a child, you've just been through something very heavy and it's weighing on you, so let us look after you." Christian got off the bed then removed the blanket from around Edgar (with a bit of a struggle) and sat him up. "There we go, there's that handsome face. I can get in the shower with you if you like?" He offered.

[edgarwayne]

His expression turned more sheepish. "Beatrice's Purgatory. I uh....stepped out for some air and got turned around." At least Enver didn't seem to judge him for being lost.

Enver knew the other man’s boyfriends were Vice but he wasn’t sure just how much experience Edgar had on that side of the bridge. But whether the trial winner was new to the terrain or not, he was still learning to navigate everything else anyway. It wasn’t an embarrassing thing to admit, and the Spade wouldn’t make him think otherwise. He just nodded. “What are you trying to find?”

[edgarwayne]

His smile softened, turning more genuine. "As much as I would love to match, I'm not sure if purple's my color." Amusement laced his voice, light coming back to Edgar's eyes. "Although it's not like I have to follow a dress code anymore. So, why not?"

Sen realized that they must have made one of their trademark social mis-steps, but rolled with the suggestion rather easily. "Sure!" They nodded their head, accidentally shaking their hair loose with the intensity of the motion. "Oh! The colored bits in my hair are starting to fade. I was thinking of dyeing over them purple. We could do that!" They grinned mischeiviously. "Hey, do you want a purple streak too? We could match!"

[edgarwayne]

Even knowing it was a joke, Edgar felt his chest tighten at Violet's response. He took several deep breaths to calm himself. Glancing down at the knife in his hand, he decided to hide it behind his back for now as he cautiously moved away from the wall and opened the door.

Edgar looked from her face to the basket, not quite comprehending why she was there. "Vi, hi. A-archie's not supposed to be home for another hour." His grip tightened on the knife, his gaze flickering to the basket. Was this a trick? What if there was something hidden under the baked goods?

Violet's instincts kicked in and she immediately responded, "The Boogeyman!" Though after a moment she realized maybe she shouldn't have responded like that and she quickly added, "It's me, Edgar. It's Vi. Can you open the door? This basket is heavy as shit." She took a second to prop it against the wall nearby, sandwiched between her body and the wall to allow her some relief. It was filled to the brim with baked goods from Virtue.

[edgarwayne]

Edgar's gaze shot up to Marcus, his eyes narrowing into a sharp glare. He did not appreciate his therapist using knowledge from the trial instead of what he offered up. Edgar was well aware that the entire city knew every aspect of his life. He did not need the reminder here of all places. "Why?" he snapped. "Maybe you should tell me what my nightmares are, since you already know so much." This wasn't like him; Edgar wasn't an angry person. And yet all he could feel was this deep need to lash out.

"Nathan." Marcus encouraged with a nod. "Tell me about the others as well, the more you talk about them, the less they'll be an issue for you."

[edgarwayne]

He closed his eyes, just relishing in the touch. This was real. This had to be real. Midday. Art was still at work. Christian should be at work too, but instead he was wasting his break on him. The small bloom of joy at being held quickly dampened with guilt. "You don't have to check on me," he murmured. "I'm not a child." Edgar winced at his own words. Christian was just trying to help. To be there for him. "Sorry. Just....tired."

Christian stood at the door for a moment then stepped into the room and joined Edgar on the bed, wrapping his arms protectively around his waist and kissed the back of his head all through the blankets. "Just after midday, I came back for lunch and to check on you. Come on, let's get you up, you can go back to bed once you've showered and ate."

[edgarwayne]

He tried to ignore the tightness in his chest as he noticed the recognition in Enver's expression. Is this what Art felt in his world? At the other's question Edgar's gaze dropped, feeling a heat creep across his face. "Not....really. I'm lost." It was embarrassing to admit.

Enver neared the corner of a street, only for someone to run into him. The Spade grunted quietly at the impact but otherwise barely moved, his hand reaching out to grip the other man’s arm to keep him steady. “It’s fine,” he assured him, nodding at the question. There was a familiarity in the other’s face, Enver releasing his arm. He recognized Edgar, and perhaps that may have been noticeable in his expression. But he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, especially if Edgar was trying to avoid that from his new Vice neighbors for the time being. “You alright?” he threw the question back.

[edgarwayne]

He couldn't help the scoff. Everyone had a good idea about what his nightmares probably entailed. Edgar sighed, gaze dropping again. "Reminders that I-I killed Na-someone. I know it wasn't real, but it felt real. The way the knife plunged into his chest. All the blood. The smell of it. That's...not the only nightmare, but it's a common one."

Marcus nodded when Edgar spoke. "Okay, the best thing to do about the nightmares is talk about them so" he gestured to him, pulling up his device so he could take notes for this session. "Why don't you start to tell me about these nightmares. What do they involve? What happens in them?" He has a pretty good idea what, but he would rather hear it from the horses mouth.

[edgarwayne]

Readmore for additional team info:

Pokedex entry: Plusle always acts as a cheerleader for its partners. Whenever a teammate puts out a good effort in battle, this Pokémon shorts out its body to create the crackling noises of sparks to show its joy.

Partner Pokemon:

Plusle - The Cheering Pokemon // electric

Pokedex entry: Minun is more concerned about cheering on its partners than its own safety. It shorts out the electricity in its body to create brilliant showers of sparks to cheer on its teammates.

Partner Pokemon:

Minun - The Cheering Pokemon // electric

Smeargle - The Painter Pokemon // normal

Pokedex entry: The fluid of Smeargle’s tail secretions changes in the intensity of its hue as the Pokémon’s emotions change.

Dragonair - The Dragon Pokemon // dragon

Pokedex entry: A mystical Pokémon that exudes a gentle aura. It is said to have the ability to change the weather.

Chimecho - The Wind Chime Pokemon // psychic

Pokedex entry: They fly about very actively when the hot season arrives. They communicate among themselves using seven different and distinguishing cries.

Altaria - The Humming Pokemon // dragon/flying

Pokedex entry: If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum.

[edgarwayne]

He gave a strained smile to Sen's rambling. "I don't know, Sen, but can we please talk about something else?" Edgar appreciated that they were not treating him as the clearly fractured shell of himself that he was, but the last thing he wanted was to think about the trial. He could barely tell what was real anymore. His grip on the coffee cup in front of him tightened as Edgar's gaze dropped. This drink was real. It had to be real. Right?

who: @edgarwayne

Sen still wasn't sure how to process the feelings they'd had during the trial, foreign and overwhelming as they were. Still Edgar survived, and now they just had to make it through life as it were. "You know, the more I think about it, the more I wonder it it's not like kinda suspicious that we have like... the simulation and memory technology to put you through psychological torture trials but.... not the technology to know the science of how tonics directly affect the brain? Or what actually happens to make slightlies?" They had been trying to figure out answers on their own, but their resources were relatively limited. The only thing Sen was feeling any amount of confidence about was their belief that it wasn't a tonic gone wrong. At least not any of the ones they regularly made. Even that was still only a hunch. "Also like, do you think they ever thought to use the simulation software to... I don't know make something nice?"

[edgarwayne]

Location: Streets of Vice

Edgar cursed to himself several times as he rounded a corner and felt himself getting more and more lost. He had only stepped out to get some air, but at some point his body had gone on autopilot and he just walked and walked. By the time he had come back to himself, Edgar had no idea where he was and he had left his phone back at the flat. He couldn't even remember what time he had left, to give an indication of how long he had been gone. Guilt gnawed at his stomach as he thought of his boyfriends. What if they were looking for him?

Picking up pace, Edgar rounded another corner and nearly collided with someone. "Shit, I'm so so sorry. A-are you okay?"

@ofepiphxny