Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Who: Whistler + OTA
What: Whistler decides to voluntarily leave his apartment for once
Where: Around town
When: Now
Warnings: N/A. Will change if needed. Update: Warnings for some discussion of self-harm in Whistler and Julie thread. 

It was odd. Generally the heat didn't bother Whistler much, not so long as he was inside anyway. But today it seemed to be getting to him. The skin of his back kept sticking just a little too much to the floor as he tried to work and his palms kept getting slick with sweat to a point where it made fiddling with small wires too frustrating.

But if he couldn't work there wasn't much he could be doing while he was holed up inside. 

Which was how he ended up outside. Something that is normally only done out of dire necessity: when he needs groceries. But today he's giving it a very tentative chance. Mostly just to get himself moving. To feel something other than floorboards and stone walls. 

If you look for him at his apartment you will only find a messily scribbled message jokingly saying 'Gone Fishing' (inspired by his conversation with a young man only the day before). But hey you should be impressed that it is legible at all given the circumstances. And he mostly figures no one is going to come looking for him. 

But if they do he can be found in various locations: 

Pools near the outside of town

Whistler has shrugged off his shirt and rolled up his pant legs so that he can lay with his legs in the water, back on the sand with his shirt over his face so as to protect his eyes. He's naturally tan so he's not overly worried about getting burned, but even so he's made sure to lay in a patch of shade. After all, tan or no tan, two suns is two suns.

Around the shops

Whistler can either be found shuffling along the town streets with his cane swinging in front of him or sitting on a bench picking at a berry muffin with his fingers and placing small bites of it almost delicately into his mouth. He's savoring it, thank you very much. 

Wildcard

Want to bump into him in a shop? Maybe you catch sight of the blind man about to try on a horrific technicolor t-shirt? Or you see him in the park napping? 

Choose your own adventure.

Comments

[redwinekindofgirl]

[The young woman lets out a delighted yelp and kicks away from him - it's definitely the most intense game of Marco Polo she's ever played, and who would have thought a blind guy would be such a strong swimmer?

She hits the edge of the pool and starts moving around it, slowly, carefully, trying to keep out of his way by not making too much noise.]

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

I was close that time.

[Whistler laughs, his voice half gurgled as his head is only partially above the water. And just as quickly as he had appeared he disappears again trying to pick up on what the rise and fall of the water is telling him.

He then picks a direction and using one edge of the pool as a springboard, plunges forward]

[redwinekindofgirl]

[She doesn't answer, but bites her lip and grins, edging along the shore and out of his way. It doesn't do her much good, though, because he's got her bang to rights when he darts forwards and she can't move out of the way quickly enough to keep him from crashing into her.

For a moment, she goes under, surfacing almost immediately with a laugh and a mercy-plea of--]

Okay, okay! You got me!

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[It's a bit of a surprise even for Whistler when he catches her because, well, he can't see it coming, but instinctively he grabs onto her, laughing breathlessly as his legs keep kicking to hold his head above water]

Victory!

[redwinekindofgirl]

That was not natural. [She complains, shoving at his shoulder.]

I don't think you're entirely human, and you've been keeping it from me this whole time.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[He's trying to snicker and catch his breath simultaneously, releasing her and shifting over a bit to hold onto the side of the pool]

Being in water...it's like...being on a topographical map for me. I can feel everything that moves and I can use that to figure out where to go.

[He crosses his arms on the shoreline, settling his chin on his forearms]

In some ways its easier than on land.

[redwinekindofgirl]

Pfhh. [She scrunches her nose at him, then joins him at the edge of the pool, folding her arms against the edge.] Weirdo.

[Said with the utmost fondness, as she lightly knocks her elbow against his. She can feel her hair drying already.] So, what made you decide to come out here?

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

I'm not sure. For some reason it didn't feel right in the apartment.

[He returns the light knock of elbows]

What are you doing out here?

[redwinekindofgirl]

[Shrug.]

Usually outside. Or, not in the apartment, at least. It gets too quiet in there, I end up feeling like I'm waiting for something to happen. [She's been thinking of inviting a friend over. Maybe Luna? It would just be nice to have someone else there that isn't her for a while.]

Not really used to being on my own. R was here, then back home my friend Nora would always come over when my dad was out.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

....R is gone?

[He shifts so his face is towards her]

Since when?

[redwinekindofgirl]

Oh... since... a while, I guess? I didn't really make a big deal out of it or anything.

[She nests her chin down against her forearms and huffs out a sigh.]

Just one of those shitty things.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[He goes quiet before awkwardly bumping his forehead against her shoulder]

I'm sorry. That sucks.

[redwinekindofgirl]

... Yeah... yeah, it does. But it's fine, I guess, I mean... could be worse.

[She'd just been starting to like him. Setting a low bar for herself, falling for a dead guy.]

At least I've still got you, right?

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[He leaves his forehead against her shoulder, not because he had planned it that way, but because when she says that he feels that strange flush of heat in his face again so he wants to buy himself another moment or so before he risks her being able to see his face.]

Yeah, you still got me. I'm not going anywhere.

[redwinekindofgirl]

[Julie chuckles humourlessly. It would be nice to be able to take those words at face value. It would be nice to believe that the web of support she's slowly built for herself in this place isn't as fragile as spun sugar.

She can't even count on her own permanence here.]

Don't make promises you can't keep, Irwin.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Ok.

[He quietly recants his statement]

But I promise as long as I have any say in the matter I'm not going anywhere.

[redwinekindofgirl]

That's sweet... [She turns her head to look at him, resting her cheek on top of her arms. A frown draws a small furrow between her eyebrows, and she huffs out another quiet sigh.]

Sorry. I don't want to bring you down with me.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[Whistler shakes his head at the apology]

You shouldn't be sorry. I don't want to leave you down by yourself.

[A couple of his fingers start idly digging a small hole in the sand]

I just wish there was something I could do to help.

[redwinekindofgirl]

You do help.

[Her breath hitches in with effort as she pulls herself out of the water, sitting on the edge where her arms had been a moment earlier. She untangles her hair from the tie holding it up and squeezes out what's left of the dampness in it, then tosses it back over her shoulder.]

I've told you that. It's not all about actually... doing things.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Am I your therapy blind person?

[He smiles weakly]

[redwinekindofgirl]

You're my friend. [She tells him firmly, refusing to reduce him to 'blind person' even in jest. It's often in these ways that she breaks him, she knows, like pushing a crowbar through a crack in the facade and prying it open.]

And... I don't know... you make me feel... important. It's nice.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[The significance of what she's saying, coupled with the significance of what she refused to say about him, does not go unnoticed. He feels it in a way that goes like static into his spine but as of yet he doesn't know the reason why. Quietly he pushes himself out of the water and scoots up the bank a bit to lay down.

He wants to dry off some before he gets dressed.]

If you ever need reminding that you're important, just give me a ring.

[redwinekindofgirl]

Easy as that, huh.

[There's no bitterness in her voice at that. There are a few people here that she could call on if she wanted assuring of her importance in their lives, but Whistler's the only one she'd call at three in the morning.

She shifts slightly, then rolls down onto her back beside him, plucking her sodden clothes away from her skin. In this heat, she'll be dry in no time. It's one of the only good things about it.]

Tell me something. A secret.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Ya-huh. Easy as that.

[He folds his hands on his stomach, fingers knitting with one another. Somewhere at the back of his mind he takes note how strange it is that he doesn't have a large ugly scar just there below his palms. But no, no scar. Just smooth skin as if nothing had ever happened. Like the event that caused his first meeting with Julie never happened.]

A secret? Uh...

[He chews his lip, trying to bring one to mind]

My team and I found something...back home. Something dangerous. They call it a little black box but its a codebreaker. It could hack any computer system in the world.

[redwinekindofgirl]

[She peers at him, trying to judge if he's making it up or not. Whistler is so expressive for a guy who's never seen an expression.]

That's... a long way from felony phone hacking. Like something out of a movie. ... Did that have something to do with why you were driving a van?