OOM: Victoria Cays

[latino_menace]

The evening had proved to be as fun as the day. The new boat was amazing, especially after he remembered how you're supposed to drive one. They'd gone for a long ride and then stopped off for dinner and drinks before heading home. Idyllic, really.

Except there was...something. Lots of somethings, really. All evening - and then all night - he kept being assailed by conversations he never knew he'd had before. He vividly remembers Teja putting him in the cells after he stabbed him...except if you'd asked him about it an hour before, he would have sworn that it never happened at all. And yet there it is, in his head. It's not clear, parts seem to have faded but it seemed so real.

It had got worse in the night. He'd dreamt that he was in bed with Mary Anne, only to wake up and find Fi. When he tried to shake the dream off, it wouldn't go. The next time, it was Saffron. Then he was in the Milliways cells, doing endless pushups to pass the time. Ramon's not the type that dreams much but what worries him - not that he'll admit it out loud - is that its happening when he's awake. Last night it had got to the point where he couldn't work out what was real or not, what the time was, who he was with or whether he was sleeping.

It was a restless night. Which is why dawn finds him sitting out on the balcony, smoking and drinking coffee, wearing just a robe and trying to work this out. Last time something similar happened, he nearly lost his mind and then his life. He'd really rather that didn't happen again.

Comments

[latino_menace]

'I suppose so.'

He remembers that she was acting like that sort of girl, which suggests that she was just looking for an excuse to blow up at them. Which is fine, if it doesn't make her a liability, and she hasn't seemed like the unprofessional kind at any other times.

'Does it happen a lot?'

[justcallmefee]

"If it happens more than once, then clearly I'm getting too old for this game," she drawls, unconcerned.

She looks across at him, her expression softening just a bit.

"Did I ruin your image of me as a good girl?"

[latino_menace]

'No, I meant...do you go off like that often?'

He's just curious. He likes to know what to expect. As for her question, he shrugs.

'If I ever truly thought you were a good girl, we probably wouldn't be together. You wouldn't have gone with me in the first place.'

She never acted that good in the beginning, which was why he wsa so confused when she kept saying no to him.

'I didn't know you liked things messy though.'

[justcallmefee]

"Like that? No." In other ways, maybe. Michael certainly seems to think she has a hair trigger.

"And usually, no, I don't like to get so up close and personal. But that dress is so tight? There's no place to hide a hand grenade."

Okay, she may be teasing there. Maybe.

She stands up and bends over him, nuzzling along his jaw before stealing another slow kiss. "I'm gonna throw some clothes on and go get us some more champagne. You go take a shower, and when I get back, I'll make us some breakfast. How does that sound, hmm?"

[latino_menace]

He nods, blinking slowly, returning the kiss. He'll take a shower and wake up a bit and maybe everything will start to make more sense. Including her.

'See you soon.'

[justcallmefee]

She runs her hands through his hair again, touches his cheek. And then she's back into the house, finding her jeans and a wifebeater, slipping into her wedge heels.

The dress gets a bit of tutting over. No matter. Bar can fix it.

She lets herself out of the closet and back into the bar.

[latino_menace]

He spends another five minutes just sitting, lulled by the waves. Then it occurs to him that she isn't going to be long so he gets up to hit the shower. And that's when everything gets really weird.

Yesterday, that dress had just been a dress. Now it's...he can see it, like he's seen it before, all covered in blood and...at the bar.

Fi's never worn it at the bar and certainly not in that state.

He shakes his head and walks inside to the bathroom. By the time the shower is switched on, he's leaning against the wall, breathing hard, knowing that she kissed him but he doesn't know when. It's like he was surprised about it but why would he be? She kisses him all the time and if this is a premonition, it doesn't make any sense.

It's a quick shower and none of it goes away. By the time she returns, he's sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, trying to will it to go away.

[justcallmefee]

Fiona returns from the bar, her skin singing.

She drops the bottles of champagne in the kitchen and finds him. She's breathing like she just ran a hundred yard dash, her eyes shining bright.

"I know what's happening. I mean, I think I know. God, Ramon, you'll never believe what just happened."

[latino_menace]

His eyes turn up to look at her though his head doesn't move. Everything about him says well? though he doesn't speak. He's too busy wondering what's got her so wound up.

[justcallmefee]

"I just met -- you -- in the bar."

She stalks across the room to him, pushing him back in his chair and straddling his lap.

"A very young you."

[latino_menace]

That...was the last thing he was expecting to hear.

'...what?'

Seriously. What? He doesn't even grab her ass, he's so confused.

[justcallmefee]

"You bragged to me about spending your first day in the bar, and I quote, 'in a woman, in a fight, and in the cells'. And you hit on me and called me 'too old' for you in the same breath."

[latino_menace]

...he has to admit, that sounds like him.

'First day? So that would explain why this started yesterday.'

And everything else too. Teja, the cells, the fight, Saffron, Mary Anne...he runs a hand over his face once more. It's too soon for the possible ramifications of this to set in but they will, hell yes they will. And it's not as though this sort of thing isn't fairly common in Milliways.

'Jesus Christ.'

[justcallmefee]

"I have to confess," she sits back a little, biting her lower lip. "I had to steal a kiss. But you didn't have a shirt on, so..."

She tilts her head to one side, her voice low and quiet.

"Do you remember the first time you kissed me, caro?"

[latino_menace]

No shirt.

He remembers that.

'Of course. I got you out of the car...'

He trails off and shuts his eyes, clearly doubting himself and trying to work it out.

'...you kissed me. In the bar. Walked right up and touched my chest and then kissed me.'

[justcallmefee]

She leans in close, resting her forehead against his, her heart in her mouth. Her eyes take on a shine of wetness.

"Yeah. Yeah I did. But that kiss on the freeway is still the first time you kissed me."

[latino_menace]

'Fuck.'

This is going to make things complicated. It can't not.

'How old was I?'

[justcallmefee]

She leans back a bit, blinking rapidly.

"I don't know, maybe nineteen?"

Her hands fist in his shirt.

[latino_menace]

'Nineteen.'

It would have to be. Such a lot happened when he was nineteen.

...Christ, this can't be real.

He still smirks though, momentarily distracted by a thought.

'Pretty fucking hot, huh?'

[justcallmefee]

She slits her eyes at him, but she can't hide the grin.

"Not nearly as hot as you are now, Ramon. And he's not the you I fell for."

Her head and heart are reeling with it, the knowledge that the women he gave up to be with her are taking advantage of this fucked up situation.

[latino_menace]

'I'm not much different than I was then.'

He thinks, anyway.

'Shit. I don't...fuck, this could change everything.'

He doesn't want to think about how much this could change.

'What did I do? Wait, don't tell me...did you turn me down?'

The memory is brand new and more than thirty years old at the same time. He doesn't trust it.

[justcallmefee]

Her brow furrows, shocked that he would even have to ask the question.

"Yeah of course I did."

"What do you mean by this could change everything?"

She knows it's bizarre for him, but she can't help the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

[latino_menace]

'...why?'

He hasn't had time to think about it much but that's his gut reaction. And he thinks the answer to the latter question is obvious.

'I don't have any control over what people tell me. If my decisions are changed back then, things will change now.'

He assumes thats how these things work. And if it makes her feel any better, the prospect doesn't exactly fill him with joy either.

[justcallmefee]

"Why?" She reaches up to touch his cheek, a feather light caress, needing him to see her, really see her right now.

"Because he's not you, that's why."

[latino_menace]

He's all over the place right now, he can't focus on any one point for more than a second or two. This is Fucked. Up.

'Of course he's me. If he weren't, my memories wouldn't be different. If he were from a different universe, nothing would be changing in my head.'

And it is and he doesn't like it.