take it easy

who: Corey and Ethan
where: The tunnels
when: After midnight

It was a while before Ethan headed back to Corey’s nest. After meeting up with December again, he’d continued walking through the streets, mulling over what they’d talked about, the direction he’d move in next. It had upset him, that she’d called the peaceful, happy-looking lives of the families at the boardwalk bullshit--he couldn’t be that cynical. He didn’t want to be. His family hadn’t been like that, and he didn’t want an illusion; he just wanted what he’d lost. What had been taken from him. And thinking about that made him angry.

So he’d continued to walk, trying to outrun his past, at least for the moment. He walked past shops with help wanted sides in the windows, then stopped himself from going inside, looking down at his torn clothes and trying to remember when the last he’d gotten a chance to wash up had been. And eventually the whole damn matter had seemed so hopeless and he felt ridiculous for even thinking that he could survive out here in the world that he’d just... given up. He headed back to Corey’s nest, holding the lantern up to light his way, his shoulders slumped and sad.

Corey had been sort of half waiting for him, not sure when he might turn up. But when she saw the light, she headed out, looking down the long passageway. "Hey." she greeted. "You look unhappy." she noted immediately, since he sure as hell did. She walked up, careful to keep her gait looking normal, even if she still wanted to favor one side and hold her arm in against her side close on the one side. But she didn't, because she knew he'd be looking for it. So she was playing the 'I'm fine, no pain at all' card.

“I’m fine,” Ethan lied, since he wasn’t really eager to relive the hopelessness of standing in front of a “help wanted” sign with shabby clothes, or looking at families all day and wishing he was a part of them, nevermind that December had insisted they were all lies. “You look kind of pale,” he said, once he’d gotten closer to her with the light. She was probably trying to keep from showing how much pain she was in and it was taking more effort than she’d thought. “You’ve been moving around a lot today, haven’t you?” He frowned down at her, brows knit together. “I’m sure the tunnels will be okay if they can just come to you when they need something for a couple of days, right?”

"I live underground and don't see a lot of sun." Corey pointed out. "I'm always pale." She gave him a half smile. "You worry too much. C'mon. What's bugging you, since you don't think I actually buy that 'I'm fine' stuff, right?" she asked, turning to walk towards her nest with him, falling into step beside him. She was still putting that effort into looking okay, moving like she wasn't hurting so bad. And she'd maintain that as much as possible.

“I asked you first,” Ethan said, frowning down at Corey. “You have enough pills, right? You’ve been taking them? I can always ask Maddy to get your some more if you need them.” He headed back towards Corey’s nest, blowing out the lantern once they were in the more well-lit area there. Snow immediately flocked to him, rubbing herself furiously against his ankles until he picked her up. He kissed the cat’s nose, but the affection he was showing didn’t keep him from looking down at Corey with fatherly disapproval for moving around too much. “C’mon, Cor. I know you’re hurting. You don’t have to hide it.”

"I've been taking them." she said. Which wasn't to say she had enough because she had already taken most of them. She had broken ribs, and the little pills only really took the edge off, they didn't actually stop the pain entirely. But she knew you could hurt yourself if you took too many, so she tried not to. "And I'm fine, alright? Jesus, I'm not made of glass." she told him, giving him a Look. She sat down on one of the cushioned chairs in the nest, one that had definitely seen better days but was comfortable, at the very least. "I'm good. Just moving slower than usual. It's fine, and technically, I said something to you about looking unhappy first." she told him. "And you still don't look it, and I don't think it's got anything to do with me." At least she hoped it didn't.

“Just because you’re not made of glass doesn’t mean you can’t still break, Cor,” Ethan countered, taking a seat across from her, Snow in his lap. “You did break. I broke you, so I know you can. Just... take it easy, okay? Easier?” He would’ve ignored her attempts to ask after him if she hadn’t suggested the idea that it was somehow her fault. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with you. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. You’re the one with broken ribs here. And a cat and a rat that hate each other.”

"Fine, okay, I'll take it easy. If I do, can we quit talking about it? I know I've got broken ribs. I know who did it. I just don't want to keep discussing it." Corey told him honestly. "I know the score. I don't really need to dwell or go over it again." she assured him. "And just because I'm hurt doesn't mean life stops going, or everything around me grinds to a halt, or that I'm going to stop being concerned when you show up with the longest face ever."

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can go full speed ahead with it. I’m not saying be bedridden for the next month, just... don’t push yourself too hard.” But now they were saying that they’d leave the topic behind and... honestly, Ethan was glad for it. He really didn’t need any reminders of any terrible things he’d done right now. “It’s not that bad.”

"I won't." she promised dutifully, though she knew if she was needed for anything she'd be going through with it regardless. One didn't really have the luxury of taking it easy when one had a position like hers. "And one of us can see your face, and you looked pretty down. I mean if you don't want to talk to me about it, it's okay. I just..." she went to shrug her shoulder then thought better of it. "I just worry." she told him. "I know there's a lot going on right now with you, so I'm sure there's a lot bugging."

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Ethan said, letting Snow languish in his lap while he covered her in gentle scratches. “Just... don’t know how I’m going to start over when I’m still stuck. Kind of hard to make a decent impression for a job when I still look and smell like a street kid. I just dunno what I’m gonna do, Corey. I know you’ll put me up but I can’t stay here forever.”

She gave that due thought. "I'm sure there's got to be a place you can wash up. Maybe get you a bath or something...maybe one of the people at the Sunny Shores would let you?" she suggested. Generally the people there were a bit down on their luck too, so it was possible they'd be okay with giving a one time offer charity. "And for clothes...honestly? Steal something. Steal something nicer than what you've got, and keep it with your other girl. Her place'll be cleaner than here, anyways. But just only wear it when you go looking for a job."

“Steal something?” Ethan repeated, looking at Corey with a bemused smile. “Kinda not a great way to start starting over, is it?” He got what she meant though, it wasn’t as thought he had too many other options available to him. He didn’t want to be a street kid who stole to get what he needed to survive anymore, but what choice did he have? He could do it just once or twice more to get onto his feet, couldn’t he? He’d done it for years now as it was.

"I think it's the only option you've got." Corey said, even if she didn't sound happy about it. She knew that he'd be risking something to do it, and that he didn't want to go that route anymore, but it wasn't like money just grew on trees or anything. And unless he wanted to sell himself--something she wouldn't ever in a million years suggest--then he was going to have to do something to give himself an edge, and that was likely it. He had experience with it, at least. "If I come up with anything else, I'll let you know, but I think that's kind of where your choices are at."

“Thanks,” Ethan said, glancing back up at Corey with a small smile. So maybe it wasn’t totally hopeless, but still... he just wished he could do it differently. Didn’t seem like a great way to start off, with more deception, more shady street kid stuff. “I guess I just... wish I didn’t have to, you know?” He leaned back against the wall behind him, while Snow made herself into a ball in his lap. “Did I ever tell you about this girl I knew at the orphanage, besides Maddy? December? I ran into her again today.”

Corey thought about it, shifting to try and get comfortable, but that was hard with broken ribs. Still, she put the effort in, winding up half laying down on the chair, leg tossed over one of the arms. "Not that I remember?" she said, though her tone indicated that she wasn't exactly sure. "Was it a good run in or a bad one?" she asked. Is she the one who made you look like you'd just seen a cat get run over by a car?

“It was good. I mean, I’d worried that she was dead for a while there, but... she’s alive. She’s got... tattoos and metal in her face, but she’s okay. She just went through a lot. Seems kind of... cynical, I guess. I saw her at the boardwalk and she was talking about how all the happy families are just... illusions. And I started thinking about mine, you know... how different things would be if... none of that had happened.” He rubbed both of his hands against his face, sighing. “I just wanna forget about it for a while.”

Corey made a face, frowning. "...metal in her face?" she asked. "How's that?" she asked, not understanding. When he said the rest of it, she opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again since he said he wanted to forget about it for a while. So, she didn't comment on things even if she had an opinion.

“Yeah, like... earrings? But in her face. In her nose and through her lip. Didn’t look very comfortable, but she said they didn’t hurt, so...” He shrugged. His shoulder and knuckles were still bruised, but they were on the mend and he’d gotten used to the pain by now. “What about you? I know you’ve been moving around too much today.”

"Oh." she said, mind still on what she wasn't saying, but she still didn't share it. "And I haven't been doing much. Just made my rounds." she said. Which was mostly the truth. She'd seen Dodge, too, but she wasn't meant to be telling him things until later. Though really she was torn on that entirely.

“Somebody else can’t just come and report to you?” Ethan asked, frowning. If there was something else that was on her mind, he hadn’t seemed to notice it, at least not just yet.

Corey was quiet for a moment, then sighed, curling up a little more with a faint wince, but in the end she was more comfortable. "If I don't go myself, then people wonder where I am. If I start delegating responsibility that looks like I'm not enforcing things anymore, people will start thinking there are cracks to slip through. Whoever's doing the reporting might become a target, there's a delicate balance to life down here, and you gotta step up if you want to keep it from toppling over." she explained.

Ethan looked at Corey with a tiny smile, though it wavered slightly when he saw her wince as she curled up. “Is it really that bad, though? I mean, the whole system can’t come down in just a couple of days so you can heal properly. My dad was out of commission for a month when he broke his ribs and he was bigger than I am now.”

"People start asking why I'm not doing what I'm meant to be doing, then they start wondering why I'm not movin right, then they start thinking hey, she's hurt, she can't really enforce things right now and then things do fall apart. So...yeah, actually, the whole system can come down in a couple of days. Everything happens fast, y'know. Down here, up there, things change in a blink, before you even know what happened." Corey said, tone light. "And your dad didn't do what I do."

“I guess that’s true.” Didn’t mean Ethan liked it though. He hated that he’d put Corey in this situation to begin with, and now she couldn’t even let herself heal without everything she’d worked hard to build falling apart. If he’d just had more control, if he hadn’t gone off like he had... but they’d already gone over that too. He sighed, looking at a spot across the room, idly rubbing Snow’s back.

Corey fell quiet then, not sure what else to say. She didn't want to explain more, he seemed to have accepted things, and she still wasn't saying what was going on in the back of her mind. So, that left her with a lot of quiet to offer, and she let her eyes fall shut for a few long moments, staying where she was as she listened to Snow purr.

Ethan sat in the quiet for a moment, stuck in his own thoughts. When he looked up and saw Corey with her eyes closed, he frowned. “Okay, I’m here now. You can take it easy. Let’s get some sleep.” He gently disengaged Snow from his lap and headed over towards the bed, pulling back the curtain so Corey could get in first. He generally woke up long before she did, and they’d realized it was easier if Ethan slept on a side that didn’t involve him climbing over her to get out.

She popped one eye open and looked at him. "Going over there requires me to get up and move." she pointed out. "I'm not so sure that's a great plan. I'm kinda comfy where I am." she said, giving him a tired smile.

“You don’t think you’ll be more comfy in here?” Ethan asked, returning Corey’s small smile. If she was comfortable there, that was fine, but if she was going to move, he’d rather she do it when he could help her. But that might have just been his overprotective guard dog mentality speaking.

She gave a light smirk. "Maybe." she said. Then she sighed, and groaned as she forced herself to get up, trudging over towards him, though it was light trudging. "Okay, okay." he said when she got closer to him, smiling up at him. "Goodnight, Ethan." she said, even if she was still getting used to the name. It sounded better than 'Roach' anyways.

Ethan tried not to frown as she groaned and winced over towards him. She was smiling, or at the very least trying to, and he said he wouldn’t make as big of a deal out of it. So he was going to uphold that, and smile back at her. “Goodnight, Corey,” he said back. He waited until she was settled in before laying down next to her, Snow immediately claiming the warm space in between their bodies. Before he drew closed the curtain that hid them, he leaned over and blew out the lantern, enveloping the small nest in darkness.