my alone feels so good.

[altercate]

CHARACTERS: derek hale + open
LOCATION: the depths of the oxygen gardens
WARNINGS: allusions to death, also the usual warning that should be attached to derek and his slew of Issues.
SUMMARY: derek has been camping in the gardens since peter died, because isolation from all the things is clearly the way to go here.
NOTES: just a quick note that derek is difficult to hang out with on the best of days, and this isn't a good day, not even close. he's not looking for company at all, so chances are he will cut off meetings with people pretty quickly. this is a "it's not you, it's derek" situation, it doesn't mean i don't want cr, just that derek's a failure at interaction.

[ it wasn't derek's first choice, cremating peter. that's not how things should be done. but it's the only option available to him, the only thing that can be done. putting peter underneath the house isn't really an option on the table, not up here.

it still feels wrong.

he puts the small box of ashes in the ground. there's a certain finality in the act that derek can't appreciate, not right now. if he could manage the sort of detachment he wishes had, then there would be something to take pride in, the complete and utter neutralization of an enemy. but what sticks with derek is that this is the second time he's buried his uncle. this is the second time he's killed what's left of his family, the second time he's had hale blood on his hands. it's in service of his pack, in the hopes of keeping people safe, but the guilt chokes him anyway.

and then the jump comes and takes away his pack. it's like some great cosmic joke. or maybe it just means that this worked. kill peter, and keep his pack safe. erica and isaac and boyd are gone when he wakes up, and derek just--

it's like the snapping of tethers. it's the only way derek knows how to deal with grief. derek goes back to the garden and the makeshift grave and shuts himself away. his comm beeps from time to time and derek doesn't answer it. it's been a while, since it was just him on his own. it isn't quite like before, doesn't quite fit. there's people pulling for his attention, little tugs on his attention every time his comm lights up.

he ignores it. as far as derek's concerned, it'll eventually stop. most things do. ]

Comments

[target]

All this time you've known me and you still think that's gonna work? That's kinda cute.

[though it does at least manage to stop the whistling, for now. derek's warning flat out ignored, wesley invites himself over to join him. though he does at least have the foresight to leave a few feet gap between them. no reason to invite the other man to a cheap shot or two.

a stretch of his own, and his hands are tucked behind his head, exuding boredom even though his face is covered. he isn't in any kind of a rush to take the mask off yet. or to leave. or to do...much of anything really. not when he doesn't have any real reason to just yet.]

Never took you for the kind of guy to run away with his tail between his legs.

[altercate]

[ it's baffling, in a way. wes and he had an arrangement, a complicated one, but derek hadn't thought the nuances of it included this. he watches wes for a long moment, expression tight and suspicious, before he shifts, resting his arms on his knees. ]

And I didn't think you liked playing dress up.

[ derek's not a fan of the costume change, but he's seen people wearing weirder. he lived in new york for a time, there have been some ridiculous fashion choices paraded around in front of him. ]

Enough with that.

[target]

There's a lot you don't know about me.

[though granted, it's probably better off that way. between derek, lydia, and raven, the three of them probably have all the details by now. but trusts raven, at the very least. there's no way that'll happen.

despite derek's obvious search for space, wesley drops down to take a seat, his mask getting tugged off after a few moments. it's not because of anything derek said though. of course not. why would it be?]

You realize people get sent back all the time, right? Besides, shouldn't you be happy they found a way home instead of being stuck in this shithole?

[altercate]

[ it's at least easier to look at him with the mask off, to read the expression on his face. derek shoots him a withering look as he sits, but he doesn't get up. ]

They're not going back to anything good.

[ but who was? no one up here seemed to have anything decent to go home to, not that derek was keeping track. ]

I was here to take care of them.

[target]

I got sent back this last Jump. Only for a couple of weeks, but- [shrug. that's not really the point he's trying to make here.

and yes, there is one. he's just stuck trying to put it in a way that sounds like he really doesn't give a shit here. just passing the time because he doesn't care enough about derek to bother trying to help. obviously.]

Didn't have a single fucking clue I ever left, and from the sounds of it, it's the same for everybody else here. So you being here without them? Makes no difference to them, cause as far as they know, you're still there.