nextgenerationmarvel | Guy talk, maybe?

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Guy talk, maybe?

Vincent let out a sigh. He'd been sitting across the street from Avengers Mansion for about half an hour, trying to build up the resolve to approach. It had been a while. Long enough for some of the sting to come out, but hopefully not so long that his appearance would be unwarranted entirely. It was still something hard for him; apologizing, that is. He needed to do something though. The Avengers had taken him in when they had no reason to, before he'd found his own footing, and they were a part of his new life in this world.

The relationship isn't going to fix itself anytime soon.

He adjusts his bag, and walks up to the gate, wondering if he's going to be subject to anti-personnel measures, or if he's still got clearance.

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Vincent follows along, but ends up stopping in his tracks when Nicklas pushes the mug across the counter to him. He stares at it intently for a minute, before just looking away. He doesn't push it back. Not yet.

Does recovering from a bad spree of self-medicating really mean he can't ever have a drink again?

"I just... I still love her. I can't help feeling I should have been able to change along with her, so we could still be together. More than that, I failed right from the start with letting her be kidnapped and not being able to save her by myself.

She's happy now, and I'm happy for her, really, but.. how do I forgive myself for... for..."

He clenches his jaw and flicks his wrist, and Roxanne's face, called from his memory, shimmers into view.

"After the Kreenapping, all I had was regret and darkness, I didn't think I'd ever smile or be happy again. Joe is changing that. He's bringing that light back into my life again. Things aren't so heavy when he's around and - I'm sorry, I know you really don't want to hear this--" He flicks his wrist again and the image vanishes.

"I just don't know where to draw the line between not giving up hope and not moving on with my life."

Especially with there possibly being a new option.

Vincent didn't know at what point he had reached for the mug, but he was holding it between his hands now.

"Do you think... do you think it's right to try to be with someone if you know you're still in love with someone else? I've done more than enough wrong to more than enough people already, I don't want to make any more mistakes."

"To be fair, you probably didn't let her be kidnapped any more than you let Bruce be kidnapped," Nicky said. "It was out of your hands. And I get it - you wanted to be there to protect her and to save her. Perfectly understandable." He took another long drink of the mead. "But you were not at a fault here, and there is nothing to forgive yourself for. Even Roxie herself didn't blame you for being kidnapped. Vincent, you guys are heroes. Champions. Avengers. Well, you know what I mean. Things like this, like it or not, are bound to happen, and you cannot hold yourself accountable when the woman you are or were dating gets thrown into danger. I get it, everyone wants to be the hero, but you need to realize that, at some point, powers or not, someone else ends up the hero. And beating yourself up about it i going to do nothing to fix it."

Nicky shifted around in his seat and licked his lips. "I think you're already at the point where you aren't moving on with your life, Vincent. Pulling up images of Roxie, wallowing in some form of self-pity because she moved on..." Nicky shrugged. "This isn't healthy for you, and it's not going to help you achieve whatever it is that you need to for the Avengers to take you back."

And as for that last question... "I think that the next person you date should be someone who you aren't trying to have a long-term relationship with. You're on the rebound, to use a Midgardian term. You need something fun, casual, and not emotionally heavy. Though that might be difficult because you seem to be a very emotionally-heavy guy." A result of being the son of his mother?

Maybe.

He certainly doesn't feel lightly, about anything.

"My whole life.. I had direction. Whether laid out by Mother, by Doom, or by myself... and now, the only thing I can think of that I want.. doesn't want me. And that's... I have to learn to be fine with that." His hands are still on the mug.

"I.. there is someone. Mira's nice. mart. Pretty too. Not sure what her interest in me is... besides the obvious." He makes a gesture to himself. Even crippling unease and shattered self-worth can't suppress quite all that ego.

"Name one of us superheroic kids who isn't good-looking Vincent," Nicky said, point-blank. "That's not an accomplishment. Almost all of us were blessed in the genetic department. Looks and powers." Granted, Nicky's case was different, his being a god and all, but the argument stood. Bruce, Roxie, Jay, Alexa, and the others - they'd all won the good-looks lottery.

"How long have you been seeing Mira?"

"I haven't been. We're just friends. I think she might be interested in dating, though. Possibly other activities."

As he goes into analytical mode, he seems to even out a little bit. He's not holding the mug as tightly, but he's still not drinking either.

"Maybe take her out and see where it goes? But don't get serious about it, Vincent. You need something to heal from this emotional upheaval, but not get invested in another emotion-heavy thing. If things go south...you may not be able to deal with it."

"I'm aware." He mutters, fingers drumming on the mug. "That is high among the reasons I'm hesitant to enter another relationship while I still have feelings for Roxanne."

He picks his head up, looking at Niklas with a shrug. "I just... I don't have any frame of reference for this. Roxanne was my only romantic relationship, and the first time I ever saw any merit in putting someone else's needs before my own."

"Your...wait. Roxie was your first?" Odin's teeth, that changed a lot. "Vincent. You're the son of Amora. It shouldn't be in your blood to be this hung up over someone. Unless this obsessiveness is coming from the part of you that's all von Doom." He refilled his mug of mead and took another long drink. "No wonder you'll still hung up on this like a kid whose lost his favourite teddy bear."

Vincent's grip on the mug tightens again. "I am not. My. Parents." He says sternly.

"Aside from a friend with benefits, Roxanne wasn't just my first. She was my only. I was dating a demi-goddess. Being interested elsewhere at the time really seemed like it would have been a step down."

"Hold on," Nicky said, putting his hands up. "I'm not saying that you are your parents. But we all share some aspects, some quirks with our parents. Look at me, for instance. I could have arrived on Earth and just been Niklas Thorson of Asgard. Most gods would have done just that. Instead, I'm Nicky Blake, son of Dr. Donald Blake, of New York - just like how my father used to disguise his identity in the earliest of his days on Midgard."

He shook his head. "I know, Vincent. Roxie was something special. Believe me, everyone who grew up in Avengers Mansion is aware of that. Like it or not, she was the first something-or-other for a lot of guys. Crush, kiss, love. Something. But, tell me, because you brought it up. Would being interested in anyone have been a step down because she was a demi-goddess, or because she was Roxie Danvers?" It was a small, but important, distinction.

"Sorry... habit." Vincent sighs.

He gives Niklas an incredulous, but not harsh look, tilting his head down and raising his eyebrows.

"I would have just as happily said 'goddess', but I'm too particular about accuracy for that." He smiles softly. "Roxanne could have been anything; goddess, mutant, human, Inhuman, Eternal, Deviant... and she still would be what she is to me."

Even if it hurts, he still smiles when he thinks of her. Sometimes, a lot of the time, he just feels sick at the same time.

"God's teeth, but you have it bad," Nicky said. "Vincent, you need to snap out of it and move on. i know that you may not realize it - and maybe you do, I'm not sure - but all of this wallowing and clinging on to someone who's moved on? It makes you seem a little pathetic." He paused. "That's unbecoming for someone who's even a little Asgardian."

"I know... and I want to. I just don't know how."

And excuse him for growing up on Battleworld, and never getting to get in touch with his heritage. Hmph. He lifts the mug off the table, then puts it down again.

"Any suggestions, besides asking Mira out?"

"Honestly? No clue. I've never been dumped before." Probably not what Vincent wanted to hear, but let's be honest. Nicky was next in line for the throne of Asgard. He was the son of Thor. Back on Asgard, no one in their right minds would have broken up with him.

"But I think that you do need some sort of closure on this, with Roxie. You've obviously already spoken to her, but you don't seem to have gained the closure you need to move on." After another drink of mead, he added, "Also? Throw yourself into something. Work, a project, take up a hobby - anything that might focus you and help you move on so that she's not occupying your every thought. Find something else to give your life meaning."

At that, the handle on the mug gets crushed in Vincent's grip, but he doesn't say anything. He mutters something that might have been an apology, or might have been 'screw you, Niklas'.

"On that, I don't have a clue. Again, no frame of reference. I haven't been dumped before either. If she's happy, then I'm happy for her, but I don't really know what else to look for."

He sits back, thinking. "I've got school... and work.. of course taking care of Audhild gives me immense joy, but.. nothing else seems to gain traction. That's part of why I was trying to make another go at reparations with the Avengers." He stops to think again. "I haven't done any magical experiments in a while.. haven't really had a safe place for them."

Edited 2014-03-13 14:57 (UTC)

"Well hey, first experiences for everything, I suppose," Nicky replied, letting Vincent's little wayward curse roll off of his shoulders. The guy was going through a lot. Nicky understood that perfectly.

"Maybe you need to stop looking and just let things be?" Nicky asked. "I mean, if the stories I heard are right, you weren't exactly looking for Roxie the night you two met. Things just happened, and eventually, one thing led to another." Gossip travelled fast in their small circle, and when Nicky had been banished from Asgard, Sofia Strange had been quick to fill Nicky in on all the gossip he'd missed out on while gone.

"Like I said, with the Avengers, you're going to need to go out and prove yourself. Show us that you can use your powers wisely and responsibly, prove that you can be part of a team instead of trying to be the best one on the team." Because, at least to Nicky, sometimes when Vincent tried to use his powers to do everything, it felt was though Vincent was trying too hard to prove himself or something.

He killed/attempted to kill his father and take over the world. He's got a certain deficit of character he's trying to come back from.

Honestly... 'Malefactor'. What was he thinking?

He can't help but laugh at himself, just a little. "Trying to prove myself was what started this whole banishment... but I understand the distinction you're drawing."

A slightly more awkward pause.

"I don't suppose... you'd be interested in a double-date? If Mira says yes, I mean. Are you seeing anyone right now?"

As miserable as he is, he's not going to hold anyone else's happiness against them. Really.

Edited 2014-03-13 15:09 (UTC)

"Between the Avengers and Habitat for Humanity, I haven't really been dating all that much," Nicky said, honestly. "No one's really caught my eye yet, and I'm not really looking for anyone just yet." Which wasn't to say that he hadn't had dates and that he hadn't had...more than dates. He had. But all of it was nothing serious, and that had been understood in advance each time. After all, this wasn't Asgard. He wasn't going to have girls here who would forgive him easily if he played them, and he hated conflict anyway.

"Besides, you don't need the awkward sort of cushion that I would provide, Vincent. Just. Be yourself. If she likes it, then great. If not, then there are other maidens out there."

Vincent sighs, but nods in understanding.

"I'm reasonably sure I'm overthinking this... I just.. I really need something to go right." He confesses.

"Thank you for your help, Niklas." He works a minor mending spell to repair the mug, then pushes it towards him.

"You're reasonably sure you are. I'm absolutely positive that you are," Nicky chuckled. He nodded and stood up, collecting Vincent's mug. Noticing that he hadn't taken a single sip of the stuff, Nicky shrugged and downed the whole thing.

"Look, I know that you and I have never been close for whatever reason, but you ever need someone to talk to, well. You know where I live." He couldn't help but reach out to Vincent that way. Even if he was from another dimension, Vincent still had ties to Asgard. To Nicky, that meant something. "But good luck, Vincent Amorason. I hope you find what you're in search of."

"Right now I'd settle for knowing what I'm searching for." He extends a hand to Niklas after the other finishes his drink.

Nicky took Vincent's hand and shook it firmly. "Give it time. It'll come to you." That was really the best advice he could give for the situation.

Vincent nods, and a reasonably comfortable silence hangs for a moment or two.

"...want to watch some football?"

Nicky blinked. Vincent didn't really strike him as the football watching type. Then again, maybe the guy just needed some company? That, Nicky understood. He took a quick peek at his watch - he didn't have anything going on until late afternoon, so he certainly was free.

"Yeah, alright," Nicky nodded. Why not?

Vincent grins, checking his watch.

"Excellent. There's a Japan v. Brazil game on in about half an hour. Want me to make a run for sushi? Or whatever takeout. Most anything's fine with me."

"Actually, I can have Jarvis cook us up a thing of chicken wings, buffalo skins, and fried mozzarella sticks?" Nicky liked his food easy and simple.

He also wasn't big on the sushi thing.

"He actually knows how to make sushi, too."

Because Jarvis? Jarvis knew everything.

Vincent nods. "That will be fine."

He prefers more nuanced fare, although in large portions, but anything that makes him full generally sits well.

"Good! I'll get right on that, then." Unlike Vincent, Nicky was pretty simple and easy going when it came to food. The basics was really all that he needed, as long as he had a good, strong mead to wash it down with.

And while he was locked out of Asgard, he'd still been able to find ways to get his hands on the really good stuff.

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Guy talk, maybe?

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