etrayalogs | December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

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December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

WHO: John, Harold, and anyone who might find themselves at the Library
WHEN: December
WHERE: The Library!
WHAT: The Library is here and open to all! Come borrow books, find a comfy chair to relax in, or snoop around.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Will be added as they come up

The Library is a five-story neoclassical building of terra cotta, brick, and stone. And the inside is, in fact, a library! And rather clean and organized too. There's no dust, no muddy footprints (apart from your own), and all the shelves are organized by Dewey Decimal, subject, and author. All literature is something you might find in a 2010 New York City library: various forms of fiction, children's and teens' sections, history, science, cooking, gardening, the list goes on. There's even small sections of audiobooks on compact disks and of DVDs ranging from old classics to history shows. The first floor has a reading/study room, a comfortable space with deep armchairs and tables with chairs; the fifth floor has some smaller tables clustered under a skylight. Part of the second floor is abruptly closed off by a door with a biometric scanner that denies entry to anyone who isn't John Reese or Harold Finch; the walls surrounding this section are soundproofed, so even a keen listener won't hear anything from inside. Otherwise, it's a perfectly normal library!

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"Me, Harold. Now you. You only just arrived?"

John gets out some, but less now that they live in the library. It's a public space now and he feels a certain amount of... ownership of the place. Possessiveness, even. It's technically Harold's library, but John has taken custodianship upon himself. Shaw will have noticed how clean the whole place is; John spends a significant amount of time doing everything from dusting to mopping. But all that time means he's less connected to the ongoings around the apartments and hospital, so it's possible Shaw has been here longer than he thinks.

"A couple hours ago. The hospital was a dose of nostalgia that I really didn't need."

She says it with the dry, grim humor of someone who just assumes he'll know what she's referencing - and trusts that he won't try to get her to dwell on it despite that.

"What about you? And Harold?"

So he really hasn't missed much if she only arrived today. It wasn't until his third day that he found Harold. Her comment about the hospital throws him a bit. She never should have mentioned something like that. He knows she was studying to be a doctor prior to the career path they hired her out of, but to have her bring it up voluntarily? It's not like her. He'd been about to let her inside but suddenly he's inwardly cautious again.

"About two months. The library didn't show up until recently." And Bear only recently too, but John is purposefully withholding that information now. He doesn't think Shaw will be in any rush to see Harold, but she probably would question about Bear who is behind the door.

"'Showed up'," she repeats flatly, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning a shoulder against the wall next to the door. She sounds the same, pretty much. But her eyes are dull, and she looks very, very tired. "Just appeared out of nowhere, for no reason? And you're cool with that."

Is he "cool with that"? It's not like he was given a choice, and from what he can tell, that just happens here. It was one of the first things Krouse told him about, the replica buildings. It doesn't make him happy that there's literally magic here, that there's people and things that are so beyond him that his gun might not even matter, but it's something he's learning to live with. It's something he's accepted because it's foolish and unwise to reject it. But it's a lot to take in. He remembers how paranoid he was when he first arrived, how he wouldn't even sleep in an apartment until he took up residence only to be near Harold. He's sympathetic to her look.

"Things happen here that I can't explain. Many of the buildings here are replicas of ones from where we're from. You can request them with 'points' that we earn for indiscernible reasons, but sometimes they show up without a request. Some people here have magic. I know a kid that can teleport." It's a lot to take in, but he's being sincere. Krouse really can teleport.

Shaw is the type to roll with the punches, and despite the prickly stubbornness she so often exudes, she's remarkably adaptable. Being told Hey, guess what! Magic exists! by someone whose judgement she trusts enough not to question should rock her world; instead, she just scowls, pulling her crossed arms tighter over herself.

"I hate this."

John isn't really one to comfort and Shaw doesn't want that anyways, so he doesn't offer anything for her admission. There's something still nagging him about her, there's something a little more... forward about how she's approaching him. He's not sure how to fish out that information, since this is Shaw.

"You'll get used to it. Just be glad you weren't here for the kittens or screaming eggs." He offers no explanation for either. Innocent incidents he can reference, not like chasing after Jessica's ghost in the fog on Halloween. He'd rather keep that one to himself if he can.

"But I still have to deal with their demerit system."

That doesn't sound very fun to her, John. She may not be much of a cat person, but she's still pretty sure she'd take the kittens.

"Look, I gotta ask. I know simulation-spotting is my thing, not yours, but what are the odds that we're in one right now?"

Simulation-spotting? Since when is that something they have to consider? This is just another thing that doesn't quite add up. It hasn't even occurred to him that this might be a simulation, though at some point he had considered it might not be real in some way. But Harold had said—

"Harold believes that we are ourselves." That's not exactly the context of the conversation they were having, but John is trusting to believe in that. Nothing he's seen from Harold has seemed at all out of the ordinary, Shaw is the one who is acting strange. No, John trusts his instinct that at least Harold is real. And he's sure it goes without saying that Shaw will understand his faith in Harold, he doesn't need to mention that his trust.

A shadow of uncertainty crosses Shaw's face, and she lifts a hand to rub at her temples. She trusts Harold's morals implicitly, and she'll ultimately defer to his judgement, both because he's her boss and because he's someone who she respects - but that doesn't mean she always believes in or understands those judgments, and she has no idea why he's apparently so sure that this is legit. And a simulated Harold, she knows, would believe whatever he was programmed to believe.

Her internal It has been [X] days since Sameen Shaw questioned her reality clock resets back to zero, and god, she's exhausted.

"Okay," she says, because what the hell else can she say? At least John and Harold are here. Shaw may not get lonely in the same way that other people do, but she trusts her team to have her back, and there's a comfort in their familiar presence. Things would, she recognizes, be worse if they weren't here.

"Don't suppose you guys still have a killer whiskey stash anywhere."

Now is the time to invite her in. The door is right there, all he has to do is say "Come on in" and open it for her, but he's still hesitant. Something is off about her, something that makes him question... what? He's not sure, just that he wants to get to the bottom of it before he lets her near Harold. It's stupid, he should trust her, but he doesn't know something.

"Why did you ask about the simulation?" That seems like a good place to start and he's not going to get anywhere without playing his hand a little. It's just— it's just Shaw. He doesn't like this.

"Still crazy, I guess," she says - a dry, tired attempt at a joke. "Too bad I didn't get to kill Greer myself; that might've helped."

That's not a name John recognizes, and one she clearly expects him to. There's a gap between them, something missing, something that would explain why they're missing each other's meaning like this. The likely issue suddenly springs to mind.

"What's the current date?"

"Uh, shouldn't I be asking you that?" she asks, shooting him a weird look. "November 2015, last I checked. Why, what is it up here in space?"

That answers it. "Harold and I are from 2013. After Timothy Sloan and Jason Greenfield. When Root kidnapped you."

That's more than two years that Shaw has on them. What has transpired during those two years? John decides pretty quickly that he doesn't actually care. Finding out won't change what he does, how he conducts himself. He'll live with whatever choices he's going to make.

"Two thousand-- what?"

It's not that she doesn't believe him, it's just that this is somehow more Does Not Compute than anything else she's heard so far. Otherworldly kidnapping, multiverses, magic powers - that's all weird, but it's also removed from her. Harold and John aren't, and the idea that they're from two thousand fucking thirteen...

"Reese, I swear to god, if you're messing with me."

She doesn't know how to finish that threat, so she just ends it on a full stop.

John wishes he were messing with her. But.

"I don't know who Greer is, and I don't know anything about simulations." Those are the two things that stick out to him right now, two things she's mentioned which seem significant to her and hold no meaning to him.

She is so, so exhausted.

"I'm serious," she says, woodenly. "I could use a drink. Tell me where I can get one, and I'll tell you anything you wanna know."

"I don't want to know anything." That's actually not entirely true. He wants to know one thing, but he'll find a private time later to ask. For now he moves past her to the unexplained door and opens it, admitting Shaw to what is (mostly) their usual library space. There's noticeable differences considering he and Harold are living there, but nothing too unexpected.

"Finch, Shaw is here from November 2015," is his only introduction.

Edited (name lol) 2024-12-22 20:35 (UTC)

There's a momentary delay before the response that belies Harold's surprise. He's in the next room over situated at his workstation, and it takes him considerably longer to get to his feet and hobble out toward the entrance than it takes Bear, who goes bounding ahead of him without delay.

"At least one of us won't care about the timeline discrepancy," he observes with characteristic dryness. But he's curious, too, eyes quickly finding Shaw and seeing if he can observe any differences, whether in her or in how she interacts with Bear.

By John and Harold's timepoint, Shaw regularly greets and plays and interacts positively with Bear. But this will be the first time they'll have seen her drop to her knees and offer him her arms, exhaling with relief and smiling faintly as she rubs her hands over his body. From her perspective, it hasn't been long since she'd last seen him; in fact, she'd just been about to pick him up from Fusco. But she hadn't expected to find him here, and it brings a measure of peace even greater than the one she'd gotten from discovering Finch and Reese's presence. They're her teammates: men she's walked through fire with and nearly died for. But Bear? Bear is her favorite.

Beyond that, Shaw is Shaw, as ever: most of the differences are subtle, the kinds of things best noticed in interaction. But she does have a weariness to her that wasn't there in 2013, visible in her face and the way she sets her shoulders. Shaw is so rarely vulnerable, and she doesn't look vulnerable now. But she does look like she might have been skirting the edge of it not too long ago.

Bear is happily receiving his attention, tail wagging wildly. Harold and John don't usually greet him like this, don't often shower him in attention and pets, so this is a rare treat for him. As for John, this is also a rare occasion: seeing Shaw smile. It really hammers home the difference in time. Clearly she feels comfortable here with Bear, clearly she feels comfortable in the library.

"Harold and I are living and working here. There's no room for you right now but we can request an extension built if you want to take up residence as well. The alternative is a large apartment building with room provided for free. They're reasonable. You could also save up 'points' and get your own space." He thinks there's a 50/50 chance she takes him up on his offer. On one hand, secure location in a familiar place with Bear. On the other, she's have to live with them and John can't picture her wanting to do that. He thinks she'll probably choose the apartment and get her own place later.

Harold couldn't put his finger on the difference, but he does feel something is different, from the way Shaw exhales with relief as she reaches for Bear to the tiredness lining her eyes to the immediate familiarity she has with them to show this kind of momentary weakness in front of them. She'd been so ... removed, careful, even standoffish when Harold had tried to speak to her initially. It's a surprise to see time has softened her toward them even this much.

He won't take it for granted, feels out its parameters tentatively. Harold himself has an untested softness to him, edges not yet made rough with friction. He's cautious but open to thinking her a friend as well as an ally. But he, too, has a hard time picturing her living in their direct vicinity.

"We've only been here a few months, and it's taken time to build up the credit to request our own residence," Harold explains. "We don't have many amenities yet. But I also haven't experienced any real danger from our fellow detainees yet, so you may find the standard accommodations suitable."

He wants her to make an informed decision about her living arrangements, at least. Harold couldn't find it in himself to turn her away but he also doesn't want her to keep close because they're inflating the level of threat present.

Privacy, to Shaw, is a luxury rather than a necessity: as much as it is her preference (particularly in situations where mistrust is a factor), military life had quickly taught her how to live without it. The most appealing situation to her is something like the set-up they'd had with the subway. She'd had her cover identity's apartment, but she'd also spent a good deal of time at their shared base; in a way, it had felt more like home than the apartment had, even though she'd liked having the option of a separate, private space. And immediate danger or no, sticking close means she can keep an eye on her teammates and have their backs. The weirdest thing about it is that it's so public, with people wandering freely around the bulk of the building. But she can deal.

"I can live without amenities," she says (John has seen the kind of space she's lived in; he'll know). "Do you have hot water?"

Edited 2024-12-30 02:21 (UTC)

"We have hot water."

John is used to living in rough conditions from his time in the Army, but since he doesn't have to it doesn't mean he will. Hot water is one such thing. He's not sure he'd be able to convince Harold to live here if they didn't have it. But the fact that she didn't turn them down right away means she's probably going to accept. She didn't even make any sarcastic comments about it, which does surprise him some. He'll have to get used to this new Shaw.

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