exsilium; ic inbox

[controlledvariable]

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it's squishing its cheeks together

[fullmeasure]

I think I can manage that. Want anything to eat while I'm at it?

lmao imagining mike doing that now

[controlledvariable]

if you wanna grab me an apple or something you can, but i mostly need the coffee

you're welcome

[fullmeasure]

Will do. Give me ten.

thank

[controlledvariable]

i'm not going anywhere

[She really isn't; once Mike shows up, he can find her tucked away in the corner of the clinic, with a stack of paperwork that she's pretty sure is never ending.

Probably.]

action!11

[fullmeasure]

[when Mike arrives, he's got two coffees and some fruit, balanced in his hands and arms like a pro. Though, when he sees Steph and the paperwork he can't help but make a face]

I really don't miss that.

!!1!!!1!

[controlledvariable]

[Her smile is wry, and she might just make grabby hands at one of those coffees.]

Neither did I. At least mission reports were more interesting.

[This is just inventory and records of what she's been teaching in the classes she's running.]

[fullmeasure]

[he holds out a cup of coffee to her]

It doesn't matter how interesting it was, paperwork was still tedious.

[controlledvariable]

[Give her a second while she just holds the cup to her lips and breathes in.

Caffeine.]

Yeah, there's a reason I decided not to go into medicine as a profession.

[Also she's not smart enough, but you know.]

[fullmeasure]

[he quirks a brief grin, because he did that as soon as he got to the cafeteria with his own cup. He pulls a chair over and sits down, putting an apple on the table, too]

Ever fill out a police report? Those are torture.

[controlledvariable]

They're nothing compared to how thorough Batman expects us to be.

[Because she's filled out both, and she'd definitely prefer a police report.]

[fullmeasure]

Can't say I'm surprised.

[you know, from his very limited Batman knowledge]

[controlledvariable]

He's kind of a hard ass.

[No shit.

She finally takes a sip of her coffee, then sets her pen down and leans back in her chair.]

So, we got a new plan of action?

[fullmeasure]

I'd think you have to be, a little.

[Mike takes a sip of his own]

Not so far, but I do know what we're not doing again.

[controlledvariable]

Yeah.

[She gets that a little better, now, having spent so long in Exsilium feeling like she had to carry that Bat alone, with Robins that she needed to protect.

It's a different sort of perspective.]

I don't know why the hell we let Skyler anywhere near him in the first place, I knew she wasn't gonna be able to handle it.

[She had a little more hope for Jesse, since he kept his cool the last time Walter was here, but apparently she overestimated him.]

[fullmeasure]

To be fair, it wasn't as if we were expecting him like that.

[hell, Mike didn't even know him back then. He takes another sip of coffee] But letting Skyler near him at all was a bad idea. Especially considering what she remembers last.

[controlledvariable]

It was, no matter when he was coming from.

[She runs a hand through her hair, a little more roughly than is strictly necessary. It's a thing she does when frustrated.]

There's no way in hell I'd ever let my dad near my mom again, even if he was from one of the "good" times. [airquotes and all] And she's in a lot better place than Skyler is.

[fullmeasure]

[ah. Mike frowns a little; he can understand that. He's saw some pretty bad shit during his time as a cop]

I hate to say it, but we're not going to be able to keep her away from him no matter what we do. She'll do it if she wants to, regardless of how bad an idea it is.

[he taps his fingers against the table]

[controlledvariable]

Her and Jesse are variables we can't control, but there has to be something we can do to make sure they don't fuck things up too badly.

[This version of Walter sounds like he'll be easier to handle, so long as someone doesn't push him into becoming more dangerous.

And that's exactly what Skyler or Jesse might do.]

[fullmeasure]

You'd be surprised how much you can control for, and how your variables will still fuck up everything regardless.

Which is why, if we come up with a plan, we need back-up plans. Mostly for anything they can manage to fuck up.

[controlledvariable]

Usually it's my job to fuck everything up, I'm not used to being on the other side of it.

[That could be self-deprecating, but she's talking about the things she fucks up on purpose, messing with people's perfectly put together plans.

There's a reason she called herself the Spoiler.]

I think Jesse's past help. I hate to say it, but... [A shrug; it's gonna take more than they've got to get him out from under Walter.] Skyler might be a different story. And it'll make our lives a lot easier if she's coping better.

[fullmeasure]

[self-deprecating or not, Mike's eyebrows go up] Well, good thing I was usually called in to "fix" things, huh.

["Fixer", "Clean-up", any other name you could give to what he did.

But he knows what she means about Jesse; he remembers, plain as day, telling the kid to get out while he still could. And he's only heard a little of what happened after that]

"Time heals" and all. But I don't know how long it'll take for that.

[controlledvariable]

Maybe together we can figure something out.

[With Saul thrown in as well, since he's definitely a problem solver.

She picks up her pen again, not to work on the paperwork, she just needs something to fuss with, flicking it between her fingers as she thinks.]

Jesse would probably just laugh at the suggestion, but maybe we could get Skyler to talk to an actual professional. We've got all of Earth's history at our disposal.

[fullmeasure]

Saul suggested that, too. [he can't help but make a face] I guess it could work, if she'll actually do it.

[controlledvariable]

Don't look like that.

[She knows that face, okay.]

[fullmeasure]

I'm just not a fan of them, that's all.