infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

if you say so.
you're still gonna have to deal with him considering i think him and abigail are dating again.

[ does Will actually think about stuff like that? WHO KNOWS. ]

[The bull's-eye is people.

The design worked well enough, yes. He's pleased with it. He's pleased with Yuri's words, even, though that doesn't show. The question is legitimately one he expected, what draws his other hand down to the counter, fingers casual against it instead of tense. This is more workable. It's muddled and filthy, yes, but that's easy work to someone who alternates between the brutalized dead and the malfunctioning, grease-covered boat motors.

His bottom lip gets worried between his teeth a second. There is one road left untraveled he can pull out, can throw Jayden under the bus and slap Yuri in the face with what he must know every second of every day. But that's low, too low at the moment, and Will ends up knocking on the counter, disgruntled, thoughtful, puzzled. Trying to work something out.

He is not going near the mention of choice with a thousand foot pole. That is a can of worms and all of them are primed and ready to tear flesh and muscle and dent bone. No no, it's better to ignore that part.]

I was in House Six here, but. Did you think to have him urinate when he told you? To follow through with collecting scientific evidence, facts, that there was actually a drug involved?

[Or were you too angry?

Will got away without having to do a stool sample, go team not taking a single shit day. For how bizarre the question may sound, he asks it sincerely. If Yuri is going to come at him talking about how he could cage him and Will's going to dance around the Russians Drawn Into Questioning thing, what else is Will to do but start interpreting the evidence?

Or, more accurately, interpreting what evidence there actually is or is not.

"Would you think to have someone you care for give a urine sample?" Yuri could, of course, ask him. But as he's just stated: Will Graham is capable of breaking his own thumb to get out of a bad situation and comfortable working with someone who has a reputation as detestable as Freddie Lounds.

He might think about that, yes.]

[Stiles why you gotta be faithful and listen to Skye. Why.]

thank you for giving me the reason i did not need to drink more than usual tonight i appreciate it

[He'd been far too angry at the time to consider asking Jayden to urinate, and it was mildly irritating now to have the oversight thrown in his face. Still more irritating was the recollection that Jayden was absolutely reluctant to press any kind of charges against Will and Freddie, which meant that even if Yuri had remembered to ask for samples that could have been screened, it wouldn't have done any good.

Dammit. Dammit!

Was this really going to get swept under the rug so easily?]

I will be honest and say that, at the time, it hadn't occurred to me to ask him to do something like that, though I hardly see how it would have helped. [He still should have at least thought about it, of course. It was truly rankling that he hadn't, that Will Graham had.] Too much time passed between the time of the incident and the time Jayden came to me and told me about it. More than a week, in fact. It isn't very likely any toxicology report would have found anything.

[Which is also annoying. Why had Jayden waited so long to come to him with the information? Was he deliberately trying to sabotage himself?]

House six...and of its residents, who can confirm that? Or will you have me ask them all?

[Will is a pretty great fisherman, truth be told, regardless of what or who he has tugging on the other end of his line (as long as poetry is not involved, at least). Eventually, once he can get the turbulence to settle, he can find a path that, if the other won't swim how he wants it to, he can at least trick it into that. Trick dogs into his car, trick crabs into a trap, make his own cage that, hopefully, narrows down to himself and whatever he's up against. Himself and the FBI in the case of serial killers, sure, but he doesn't have that back up here to rely on. It's all one-on-one, and his people have absolutely no problem pushing each other in front of danger if it means saving their own skin.

Will's not completely different.

He tilts his head, one eyebrow lifting as he digests the word honest. Yuri's been honest (or tried to be, at least) this entire time, and Will is continually shifting in place and trying to get him to wade through a different current. The current now being one of stark realization that he has failed, in some way, to protect someone he cares about and has to say it out loud is one that Will's very, very familiar with.

The "I fucked up and I can't say otherwise" current is one he wades into, dreaming and awake.

It's less of a look at your oops and haha I caught you than it could be, were it anyone else. While he is capable of playing the same games as the rest of the Baltimore crew on his own rabid frothing level, he also has that pesky empathy that proves difficult to turn off once it's kicked in.]

Anyone in that house could confirm it. We spent the night. [The elbow nearest Gunther nudges out, indicating the we involved. But Will is willing to throw a bone, riding on the prayer that Freddie used either just what he said or something essentially the same. A generic, less potent sort would be preferable. It was the third, today is the fifteenth. Twelve days. Would Yuri go straight to Jayden and take a hair? Cut his nails? It's possible that might still be there, if she dumped an entire box into whatever drink. But it's just as likely that nothing of note will turn up. He does sports, doesn't he? Surely he's taken a pill or two for pain related to practice?] I will be honest and say that, having worked with toxicology reports on my own, after a week, it would have likely passed from urine. However. [One set of fingers splay out—hear me out, this is helpful. I'm not bragging, I'm sharing. Let me share.] If you are sincere in your belief that he has, actually, been drugged, you still have options within this current time frame. [Haha. Current.] A strand of hair or some nail clippings would hold the evidence of drugs far longer than urine or an oral sample.

[And then he shrugs, just enough to show that he's not overly bothered by what comes out of his mouth next.]

Of course, any test of Jayden would turn up marijuana. If you want to go through with this and you are worried about that result coming back and making trouble for him, there are options for getting a toxicologist to ignore it and focus on anything else they might find. [And one of them is standing right in front of Yuri, isn't that darling.] So there is that.

[There is that indeed, coupled with the thin grim line that Will's lips tend to stay in, looking from Yuri to his tea down to the counter and "walking" his fingers over to that enormous book of mathematical suffering.

This sort of talk, drugs and results and tests, is commonplace to him. The accusations? He's not a fan in any way shape or form. But when it gets away from him and goes to a more general route, a route that involves him in the sense that involves his knowledge that plenty others have access to?

Well, damn, it does seem like just another day on his end.]

[It was important to remember that for however helpful Will was being now, minutes earlier he had been anything but. The man Yuri was speaking to had confessed to being able to break his own thumb because it had suited him. For all Yuri knew, Will was handing him information now for the same reason. The question was, what could Will possibly hope to gain from it? A shred of trust restored, perhaps? Was he hoping that Yuri wouldn't take him up on the suggestion to collect other samples from Jayden because he'd finally demonstrated some willingness to be helpful? Or was it because of the trouble it might spell for Jayden himself in the end?

And it would spell trouble, Yuri realized. Jayden was a teenager, and a reckless one at that. He might have taken care not to let on around Yuri that he took part in recreational drug use, but that didn't mean the judge was at all surprised to hear it was probably so.

For crying out loud...

It was beginning to feel rather like his back was against the wall now.]

I'll be sure to ask them.

[For a few moments, that was all Yuri said. Even as he took himself back to the counter, leaned his frame against it and stared down at the tea in his hands, he was quiet and contemplative.

He had options? Surely Will didn't mean himself. What kind of fool did he take Yuri for, exactly? The last thing the judge was prepared to do was bring sensitive sample matter to someone he suspected had had a hand in the need for such a thing to be analyzed in the first place. But who else did he know with the ability to provide the insights Will could?

No, more importantly, why was he even listening to suggestions from someone he had already decided couldn't be trusted? Particularly when those suggestions had legal consequences.]

Honestly... [There was that word again.] I'm not certain Jayden would forgive me if I took this that far without his knowing. [And it would inevitably get back to the teen, of that Yuri was certain.] There is also the question of legality. Without his consent, any holding of bodily fluids for the purpose of testing, or any testing itself, could be seen as a form of breaking the law.

[He set his cup down and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. A headache was coming on...the sort that caring about others always tended to give birth to. What a nuisance.]

You're the one that moved.

[ Seriously, Will. If talk of moving in is just a tactic to dodge thanksgiving conversations, she is not impressed. ]

And thanksgiving totally happens in Florida.

we deal with teenagers on a regular basis.
drinking is to be expected.

exactly

[Spoilers: Will's budding alcoholism has more to do with Hannibal Lecter being a piece of shit than anything else but even typing his name is a pain in the ass so.

Blame the children. They are the future and need to learn that they won't be coddled. Just blamed for everything and possibly put in prison for shit they totally never did and

projection drinking!]

We weren't involved when I moved.

[It's like when someone tries to be a vegetarian and after a few weeks and a relationship later they realize, wow, they made a huge misteak.

Heheheh.]

Thanksgiving in Florida isn't Thanksgiving in Virginia. I'd be fine with that.

[Will nodded at Yuri's plan to be sure to ask, not surprised by it but wondering how it would go down. Who might be at the house and what they would say. Will had become such a fixture by this point that even if whoever answered the door hadn't seen him that day, they could shrug and say it was probable. Likely, even. He was there enough, stuffing fish in the freezer. Yuri finding Ace would probably be the best, since...well, a talking dog, yes, of course Will Graham would be spending time there. He was a talking dog. A talking dog who could destroy a Goddamn house and flip a car without problem, so if anything got out of hand (or paw), Ace was pretty much the guard dog that all guard dogs should hold in hero status.

So the idea of Yuri going to confirm his whereabouts? Was one that Will seemed perfectly accepting of, didn't have him on edge. Didn't need to. Relaxed, flipping through that book and pulling the pencil out from where it was, even. Perhaps he'd been offended, aggressive, but when he was being accused by someone who made it evident he already had come to a conclusion and Will was guilty, was that so difficult to understand? Now that the storm had passed, he was calm. Certain, almost.

Either innocent or someone who had this shit on lock. At least, for the moment.

He doesn't look up until that cup hits the counter, eyes focused on Yuri's hand as opposed to anything else. He hears him, yes, but he doesn't need to stare at his mouth to make that much obvious, and mouths are close to eyes and eye contact is something he does a good job of avoiding. Yuri's distracted him from his book, that's all he should need to know Will is tuned in. Very tuned in. To his hands.

He follows the movement of the one to Yuri's nose and he puts that together easily enough. Will knows headaches like he knows fishing, by this point. Headaches that stem from all sorts of them and how to fight to them.

There's a pause before moves just enough to pull open a drawer underneath the counter, shuffling the contents around. It sounds like the normal, pencils and pens and paper and...something that rattles? Rattles in a tiny bottle. Something like—

—a bottle of extra strength ibuprofen, put on the counter right by Yuri's cup of tea without Will saying a word. Not a single word or sigh or looking up like he has any shame or finds this funny, just puts it out there and goes back to his bookkeeping.

He's a helper.]

[Could Will possibly be more insufferable if he tried?

The answer was probably yes. Yuri sighed.]

Ah...thank you. [Lowering his hand, the judge slid the bottle back toward Will.] But no thank you.

[Harmless as the ibuprofen might have been, the irony of taking any offered by Will at this particular time might have just killed Yuri on the spot. He wasn't about to make things that convenient for the other man.]

Do you have children, Will?

If you care at all, you're the one that has to tell my roommates about it.

[ April will not be asking permission for him to move in. That is other people problems. But she apparently has no objections to this plan.]

But we should still do both Thanksgivings. And leave the Virginia one in a cloud of drama and alcohol that you never go back there from.

I also get to hold up a sign when you're being a jerk.

[ She tosses the card (lightly) at his general chest area, rolling her eyes at that whole 'helpful' nonsense. Does it really count as helping if it's making fun of puns for her own entertainment? But, really, she could see requests about telling him whether a random raccoon was real or not, or letting him know when he's failing to fit in with the youth or his outfit is, but all rights, some mild crime against humanity. But turns of phrase is a weirdly, highly specific request.]

So...why?

[The answer was yes, yes he could. With everyone he knew, for better or worse.

It's nice that Yuri has manners, less nice when they're followed by that question. But Will's giving off a pretty good air of ready to get back to his bookkeeping, and the question comes right as he lifted up several pages, intent on looking through them for the one he needed.

He has a more tangible reason to be distracted this time around and he is taking full advantage of it. When Yuri asks, he scratches his neck with a pencil like a true heathen.]

No. [Said so casually it might as well have been a "nope" as Will separate two pages stuck together, wondering if he'll have to go the distance and his lick his thumb for full gross effect.] Have some numbers to run, though.

[Which is nicer than saying "get the hell out," at least.]

[There's a pause, a sigh, and the warped smile on his face is enough to display that he has ascended to the level known as Acceptance.]

Fine. We'll do that. I'll talk to the roommates and after we have the cloud of drama and alcohol, I'll be out of there.

[As long as April doesn't try to get him to play Battle Royale with her old boyfriends, this can't be so bad.]

[One hand on her foot and the other showing his cards to the raccoon, who is trying to play the game, it lands, falls down, Will making no move to stop it or grab it or anything else. He's too busy trying to contain the shit-eating grin threatening to overtake his face and too tempted to offer to build her a sign for that very purpose.

At the question, Will looks down at the cards in his hand and then does the unthinkable by stuffing them into the raccoon's furry little paws. Here you go, buddy. You win the whole game. Of course, that's not in line with the rules by any stretch of the imagination, so he's quick to also point to the still uneaten dog treats. Eat your confused feelings like everybody else, man.]

I've always...talked a little different. [No way had April picked up on that one.] Wasn't until I got here that anyone started pointing it out when it was too different. Rethinking some stuff because of it.

[Existential crisis over wordplay.]

[ Luck for him, none of them are in this reality. And Max may have just wanted a longterm threesome, anyway.

But she is pleased with this news. A beaming, bra clad April. ]

Deal.

Like the failures of the American Education system? The dangers of PBS being too helpful?

[ Of course she notices, but come now. April wouldn't be here if not for the things that made him odd- or, more accurately, he wouldn't be here. It was her room and all. That other people didn't like something wasn't on the list of concerns. So it had to be something slightly more than that. ]

[It's difficult to not return that, smile back like a normal person. If something happens, if there's an argument, he'll just go hang out in Abigail's room. That's healthy parenting, isn't it?]

I'll start boxing up what I have when I get back from work tonight, in that case.

Not that they could do much about it.

[ just a murmur. stiles knows a murderer who's walking free, after all. crimes committed back home don't seem to have any sticking power here. still, he's pretty sure will wouldn't even mention this if he was actually dangerous, if he'd actually done it. and he feels like abigail would have warned him in amongst everything else. ]

Must suck to stand trial for crimes you didn't commit.

[ he adds more clearly, even though that's the understatement of the century. he just wants will to know that he believes him, ok. ]

I'll...not do anything.

[ Because fitting his stuff in with hers will be more of a raccoon job, in her mind. It's time to just get back into PJs]

Except finish this stupid level.

Hm.

[That explained a little.

Of course, Yuri had no children of his own, either. He'd told Jayden there were reasons for that when the teenager had asked, had said that his lifestyle hadn't been suitable for raising a family, but the truth was...he wasn't suitable. But that didn't mean he didn't know what it took to be a responsible parental figure. It didn't mean he didn't know what lines were appropriate to walk or cross.

That was, however, a discussion best left to another time. Will wanted to return to his books (or was using it as an excuse), and Yuri wanted to return to his apartment.]

I'll leave you to it, then.

[Without so much as another word, Yuri turned from the counter and, taking his tea with him, left the shop. All that was left now was to prepare for how he was going to confront Freddie Lounds.]

[Plaid for days, that's what is going to happen.

...eventually...

...maybe...]

Go get 'em, Tiger.

[Never let it be said he's not supportive.]

[He stares at her, openly stares, and tries to think of a way to get into it that makes perfect sense. But, considering he's kept plenty hidden and hasn't been talking to people the same way he does at home, it gets muddled. Too much to explain, and it all sounds rather dumb, doesn't it?

So he goes for the most juvenile thing he can while running his hands over his face in complete exasperation. It was slightly more than that. Slightly.]

I had to send out a few messages on way my over here. [To the Baltimore crew, sans Abigail.] The one with Fred didn't go so well.

[There is an amazing amount of disdain crammed into four letters. He's so done with his own people half the time.

He's pretty sure most of them feel the same way. He can't blame them.]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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