houseofcards_rp | Home is where the Hearts are

[The Green.

After so long, so much work returning to the Deck, he hated the very land for a moment.

It had landed him in the Green. Alone, in public view, in midday, amid a swath of empty grass. It was one last petty cruelty, he thought, for the Deck to display his shame in full public view. Even the very earth of his home betrayed him like this.

David had meant to sneak in, silent as a shadow, coming through the woods.To wander halls of all four castles, to be the ghost from people's nightmares brought to life. An avenging shade to feast on their guilt. These people, who didn't even have the decency to let him die with honor and instead left him to slowly rot as a vegetable in a hospital bed.

But no. He washed his hands of that. He would... not forgive. It was too big to forgive. He would accept the reality of his situation.

He returned because there was no where else he could imagine going, and because he would make them look him in the face - his pale, gaunt face - and understand that there were consequences to the choices the made.

They should have killed him.

He wished he thought that in anger.]

Fuck.

[Walking was really his only option here, leaving him wide open to anyone catching him out.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hadyn was trying to be this person that Blythe assured him that he was- a good person. Underscored, perhaps, by he desire for Rowan to fall off a cliff and Blythe be named Queen (and by default, him Ace). But he was trying. When David eventually made it out of the bathroom, Hadyn had stacked some clean clothing on a stool by the bathroom door as he sat in the kitchen nibbling at some of the food that JP's mother had delivered to the flat in an effort to put meat on Hadyn's bones.

"I have food, too. If you want." He said, a bit awkwardly as he tried not to look at the former King. He didn't even know why he felt a sense of guilt at David being gone and then back- though he imagined it was because now it seemed like something less than the stories that had been floated about the deck.

David came out with just a towel around his waist, and was more glad than he cared to admit to find the boy out in the kitchen. Too skinny by far, with more scars than any person could count.

A quick perusal in the bathroom had shown his tattoo to still be in order, at least. Donning clothes quickly, he padded out into the kitchen with the towel draped over his head.

"Thank you, but no." His stomach hadn't been quite right since the coma, and he'd rather not experiment with... whatever it might be.

Clean, shaved, and dressed... Well. That was plenty. "I'll not take up any more of your time."

"You really should want to know somethings before you go out there." Hadyn said with a bit of a sigh. He honestly shouldn't be telling him, really. The thing he probably ought to be doing is calling his brother and cousin.

"Unless you just want to find it out by stumbling about." Reaching out to his pack of cigarettes, he didn't ask if David minded before he pulled on out and lit it up and took a slow drag.

Fuck, David wanted a cigarette.

Instead, he sat down and rubbed at the hair behind his ears with the towel.

"And you'll tell me." It was one of those statements that was more of a question, one eyebrow quirked in amused disbelief.

"Trying to grow up a little bit, and get past all the childishness. You didn't kill father, and he wasn't even my father. So...I guess I owe you an apology for thinking of you as a cold, unfeeling murderer most of my life." Hadyn said, leaning back in his chair as he took a drag and looked at the wall for a moment.

"Clive Kelly, your Jack, stepped up to be King after...whatever happened, happened. He and Katya seem to work well enough together, and had Julien removed from his rank after his latest fight with the Queen of Diamonds, Sade. Victor remains head of security for the Spades, and just recently left the Deck in a hurry. He's also to marry my sister in April." He might not have needed to tell David that, but the man was going to hear about it anyway. "My brother...joined the Spades as well." It took him a little while, but he eventually gave David the abridged version of the last six months worth of events. From the random events going on around them, to the the change in royals. It was a lot to share for being such a short amount of time.

How... unexpected. "I wouldn't go that far," he said wryly. He'd done his fair share of underhanded things. "You might confuse me for a good man." And, as much as he wanted to be, David wouldn't try to claim such an awful lie.

He had judged the boy wrong, it would seem.

The glint of dry amusement faded, leaving David calmly serious. He took in the information like he would have taken a report last year. Silent and considering, one finger tapping slowly at the kitchen counter as he thought and made connections.

It likely wasn't everything. But it was a lot, and with a lot less work than he'd anticipated needing to do.

"The Deck's been busy," was all he really had to offer at the end

"The Deck is always busy," Hadyn said offhandedly as he finished off his cigarette and stubbed it out on a plate (Fredrick would likely have a fit over it later on), and shrugged a little bit.

"I'm sure you'll find a properly fit way to slide back into the swing of things from this point on." Which was to say he'd let the man go now if he wanted. At least he'd feel a little bit better about it in the long run.

Freedom, thank the lord.

A trip back to the stool retrieved his shoes and deposited the towel.

"I appreciate your hospitality, Mr. Novak. Do pass my regards onto Elisha." He didn't know what to do or how to end this rather... surreal experience, so he took the quickest route and just gave Hadyn a nod before striding out the door.

He'd figure out a better thank-you later. Somehow.

Home is where the Hearts are

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject