Item Post

[fuck_it]

It feels like a long fuckin' time ago that Chris walked out of his hut on an island a long way away and found his brother's grave stone. He reckons it's still there, because unlike the stuff he had on him and Anwar the toad, it never turned up with him. At least, so far as he can tell. It's a big city and he still hasn't managed to see all of it.

It bothered him at first, that reminder of Peter still being stuck there while he'd moved on, but there's really fuck all that Chris can do about it anyway, so he mostly tries not to think about it. And he's been doing a pretty good job of that, at least until he cuts through the graveyard behind one of the churches on his way home and happens to look down at the right moment.

Or maybe it's the wrong moment, because he would've just kept on going if he hadn't seen the name on the stone there, the one he thought he left back on the island, or back in Bristol.

Peter Miles
Brother, Son and Angel

Where he goes, Peter goes too, it seems.

At least they're in the same place again, that is, if it's everything and not just the stone there. Chris never found out for sure on the island and he doesn't think he wants to know here either. He makes a note of the church he's walked behind and is about to go on his way— he'll be back to visit, he always comes back to visit— except the marker just next to Peter's catches his attention. It's just a wooden cross, nothing as fancy as what Peter's got, or as the ones with the giant statues of angels and all. But Chris's own name is engraved on the wood there: Christopher Miles in neat letters.

He doesn't know how long he just stares at it, but it's long enough that he loses track of time, that he forgets for a bit that he was headed home in the first place. Is he down there? Buried underneath the dirt, would he find himself if he dug into the dirt? It's fucked to think about and Chris doesn't want to know.

But there they are, both the Miles boys, just like they're 'sposed to be, Chris thinks. At least there's something dead set on keeping bits of his family together.

[Open to people who know Chris, set in August.]

Comments

[fuck_it]

Chris hugs Olive back, frowning mostly 'cause he wishes she never had to find out about all this. It was just like this when Claire found out.

"It's... it's not like I've gone anywhere though, yeah?" he says, because at least there's that. Though fuck knows what happens to him if he disappears again. But Chris is trying not to think about that bit.

[floozyfacade]

Olive nods, still stunned by the whole idea of it. But he's real, warm and solid, and she's grateful for that, a reminder that what he says is true. "Yeah, no," she says, "thank God. I don't want you going anywhere." She has trouble imagining it, for that matter. There were some months here before he showed up, and that in itself was strange and sad. The idea of him being gone for good is too much. "I'm just... a little shocked."

[fuck_it]

"Yeah," Chris says, "Sorry."

He pulls away then, though slowly, and scrubs a hand over his face, then back through his hair. Really, he just wants to leave, to be anywhere but right there, stood in front of his and Peter's names on grave markers.

"I-- I think I'm gonna get out of here, though," he says.

[floozyfacade]

Again she nods, reluctant to draw back, but unable to do anything but follow his lead. It's not like Olive has had to deal with this before. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't think anyone should have to, or she would, if it wouldn't mean not having Chris here.

She draws in a deep breath, steadying herself, and lets it out again slowly. "Do you want me to... I don't know, go with you? Do you wanna come over?" Maybe he wants to be alone, and she knows she should give him that option, but it sticks in her throat. She doesn't want him to be alone. She doesn't want him out of her sight yet, and it's selfish, and she doesn't care.

[fuck_it]

It's not that he doesn't want Olive round or anything, Chris mostly just wants to get away from the markers. He doesn't want stay there, stuck trying to work out whether or not there's a dead him under the dirt somewhere.

"Alright," Chris says, though he doesn't think to specify which of Olive's questions he's answering. Just so long as it means they're headed away from here.

[floozyfacade]

Olive nods, reaching for his hand as she heads toward the gates. She doesn't know which way they're going, not yet, but it doesn't seem to matter. She just wants to get him out of here, since the cemetery is upsetting him, understandably. Hell, it's upsetting her, too. The past is one thing, but she still has trouble imagining a future without them in it. It just doesn't occur to her until it has to, and then she finds herself fumbling, confused. He's just about her age. He isn't supposed to die so young.

[fuck_it]

Chris grabs her hand and walks with her, and the first thing he wants to do is ask that she not tell Eduardo about it, but he reckons that they're the type of couple who tell each other most everything. He'll find out eventually, anyway.

"Sorry. That I never said," Chris says again, but he's not sure if Olive's angry at him for never telling her. It's been fuckin' years.

[floozyfacade]

Olive shakes her head, blinking hard before she looks over at him. It's impossible not to tear up, but she's still too stunned to cry, and she's thankful for that. She wouldn't want him to see. It's no secret how much she loves him, but he shouldn't have to see her cry. "No," she says, "no, it's... you don't have to be sorry. I mean, it's... it's yours, you know? I wouldn't want to tell either."

[fuck_it]

Chris's frown deepens a bit as something occurs to him. "You know, if-- if you've got a thing too, a secret, you can go ahead and say too, yeah?" he says, though he immediately feels dumb for saying it, "I'm not gonna judge or anything."

[floozyfacade]

"I know," Olive says, nodding. She smiles a little, squeezing his hand. "I'm pretty sure you're about the last person who'd ever judge me." It's one of the things she loves about Chris. He takes people as they are, and never asks them to be anyone else. He loves them as is. Being around that feels a little like being back home with her family. "I don't have any secrets really. I mean, back home, everyone hated me, but that's not a secret, it's just something I don't really bring up."

[fuck_it]

"Yeah, well there's no helping complete wankers," Chris reasons, cos he doesn't see how anyone could hate Olive. Even a while ago, back on the island when she'd been assigned the wrong hut, she'd been cool about it. Fuckin' A-plus even.

Good riddance to the fuckers back where Olive comes from, really.

[floozyfacade]

"You know people," Olive says, shaking her head. "Can't win with them." She's fairly certain there's no way her past can come back to bite her in the ass here, though, so at least there's that. And if there's anyone who can appreciate how ludicrous her history is, it's probably Chris. "I mean, you know, I was... me, and nobody paid me any attention, and then one little rumor that you're a prostitute breaks out and they wanna kick you out of school."

[fuck_it]

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Chris replies, "Someone thinks they saw one little thing on CCTV, and next think you know, you're being chucked out 'cos your grades are gonna bring everyone else's down. Fuckin wankers."

Okay, so maybe he's more talking about himself here, but Chris still thinks he gets what Olive's on about.

[floozyfacade]

"Yeah, and it doesn't matter to anyone else what's really happening," Olive says, "just that people are pissed off about one totally dumb thing. Ugh." Sure, what he's describing sounds like something really different, but the general point is the same, and she knows he totally gets it. "Like, people think your life is somehow their business."

[fuck_it]

"Wankers," Chris repeats, and while he couldn't really give a toss about what anyone says about him, he knows it's different for other people. And that it's fucked for anyone to talk about his mates.

"There's nobody like that here though, right?"

[floozyfacade]

"No, not here," Olive says, shaking her head. "I mean, you know, there are assholes anywhere you go, that's a given, but for me, specifically? No." People talked a little when she started senior year here, mostly because she was new, and then they gave up, and that's how she likes it. This time around, anonymity seems like a blessing. "It's cool, I could totally kick their asses now."

[fuck_it]

"Nah, mate, I'd do it first," Chris says, though he's not entirely sure that's true. He's never been much of a fighter, even back in Bristol. He'd definitely think about it though, which he's sure has got to be worth something, at least.

"Just let me know if anyone ever does, yeah?"