[Rosen had known the question was coming when he sent his text. That had sort of been the point in the first place, to force himself to open a dialogue, but nonetheless he stares at the question for a long moment, not sure where on earth to even start.
Eventually he types]
Frisk is gone.
[It only the tip of the iceberg, really. The last domino in a long line that have all collapsed. His eyes sting a bit as he types it before hitting send]
[He doesn't know much about Frisk, except that Rosen is--or was--close to them, but it's not like anything more than that is really necessary to understand how their disappearance would affect Rosen.]
[Rosen again takes a few long minutes to really consider if he wants to go through with this. To actually take the step of asking, or if he'd really be content to just keep sitting in the corner like this. Distractedly he thumps his head back against the wall, a small distraction, before he sighs and picks up his phone again]
[He's not being purposefully obtuse, and would prefer to be having this conversation in person, but right now he feels it's important for Rosen to be clear on what type of help he's actually asking for. Not only can Lance not tell through text how serious he is, but it's useful for Rosen to actually say what's bothering him specifically; it requires thinking about it enough to put it into words.]
[Rosen vaguely hears Bill's voice in the back of his mind: 'If you keep using that shrink voice, I'm going to hang up on you'. His jaw tightens a bit as he realizes how much the tables have turned since then]
I do not think I have the mental capacity to help myself
[Lance returns about twenty minutes later, stepping into the apartment with the assorted and mostly useless stuff he's collected in a messenger bag that he'd found a week or so before the event. He sets the bag down on the couch and goes to knock on the door to the other bedroom.]
[Lee only look up when Lance comes in the room, gaze flicking between him and the objects before him. For a moment he frowns deep, lips pressing together in a thin line. He still doesn't want to accept the answer.
But at long last he answers in a tight voice]
Sans. He, um, he apparently had a contingency plan, in case he-
[He lets the sentence drop off, jumping straight to the next]
[He says it quietly, sympathetically; losing one person is hard enough, let alone two. Lance isn't sure how close Rosen was to either Sans or Frisk, but he'd gotten the impression--and even more so now--that he'd really cared about them.]
[He wonders if perhaps making himself say it will make it easier. So far its not working]
You know what is the worst part of it? [He swallows hard and isn't really waiting for Lance to give an answer]
I know that the world they are going back to is...is...[his brain refuses to provide him with a decent descriptions so he ends with-] Its a fucked up place.
[Lance gives a long exhale, trying to figure out what to say in response; there's nothing that can make this better, but he doesn't really think that's what Rosen's expecting anyway. It's more about not being alone, and Lance steps into the room more fully and sits on the end of the bed.]
I wish I could say something that would help, but you know as well as I do that it's a matter of time.
[But he's there to do whatever he can in that time.]
[Rosen shakes his head, both as an acknowledgement that there is nothing that could be said, and also as a signal that he wouldn't want to hear someone try. He is appreciative of the fact that Lance is emotionally intelligent enough not to endeavor to do so.]
Please, Lance, just...just help me function again?
[Its said quietly and with an uncomfortable flatness.]
[Lance chews on his bottom lip for a moment before catching himself and stopping; normally has some idea of what to do, but right now he just feels really concerned for his friend and somewhat useless over not knowing anything in particular that might help him. Losing people isn't something some words can fix, and considering other conversations and impressions he's gotten Lance doesn't think that's the only problem by far.
But he takes a deep breath, focuses for the moment on thinking instead of feeling, and stands up again before turning toward Rosen.]
Okay. The first thing we're doing is going on a walk.
[Because as far as he knows Rosen has been hiding inside for the past several days, so they're going to go get some fresh air and exercise. That alone can do a lot a good for one's mental health, despite how simple it is, and it's a good step in 'functioning' no matter how the word is meant.]
[Rosen's eyes narrow, a canine abusing the corner of his mouth in a subconscious echo of Lance's. It's almost like he doesn't comprehend what he's being told.]
I don't think 'miss it' is the right way to say it. It's just that, um, in that version of things I hadn't made the mistakes I had-er-have in this one.
[His fingers fiddle uncomfortably with the seam of his pocket]
I was married, it was a happy relationship. [He quickly amends that statement] that is, according to the illusion, of course. And I helped people. I wasn't--
[He understands that as well, at least enough to get why Rosen might feel conflicted about the experience.]
It was a look at what could have been, instead of what is.
[That's a concept Lance has been dealing with a lot recently, although more in terms of the future than the past.]
But 'what is' is what we have, so come on. Get up. Besides, I don't think it's quite as bad as it seems like it is right now.
[Rosen does help people, and sure, the Rosen in that alternate reality hadn't made the same mistakes but Lance is willing to bet that he also didn't know as much, or learned as many important lessons. Lance knows he hadn't himself.]
[Rosen doesn't answer immediately, instead slowly stretching out one long spindly leg then the other, and pushing himself up off the floor. He stands hunched a moment, looking more like an arthritic 70 yr old than the spry 60 yr old he normally is.]
I'm not sure being married to Regis counts as a 'what could have been'
[The expression he gives lands is one of dead seriousness masking sarcasm. Its also a shortcut of sneaking in another issue he's been blindsided by for the past few days.]
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timeasmymeasure
Re: [text]
Date: 2017-07-26 05:22 pm (UTC)Eventually he types]
Frisk is gone.
[It only the tip of the iceberg, really. The last domino in a long line that have all collapsed. His eyes sting a bit as he types it before hitting send]
[text]
Date: 2017-07-26 06:18 pm (UTC)[He doesn't know much about Frisk, except that Rosen is--or was--close to them, but it's not like anything more than that is really necessary to understand how their disappearance would affect Rosen.]
Is there anything I can do?
Re: [text]
Date: 2017-07-26 06:27 pm (UTC)I think I need help.
[He doesn't want to get up anymore]
[text]
Date: 2017-07-26 06:46 pm (UTC)[He's not being purposefully obtuse, and would prefer to be having this conversation in person, but right now he feels it's important for Rosen to be clear on what type of help he's actually asking for. Not only can Lance not tell through text how serious he is, but it's useful for Rosen to actually say what's bothering him specifically; it requires thinking about it enough to put it into words.]
Re: [text]
Date: 2017-07-26 07:14 pm (UTC)I do not think I have the mental capacity to help myself
[text]
Date: 2017-07-27 08:20 pm (UTC)I'll be back to the apartment soon.
[Because they should probably talk in person. Lance can return to digging through the shops later.]
Re: [text]
Date: 2017-07-27 08:24 pm (UTC)[Its not as if he really needs to say it but he's not sure how else to respond.]
[Action]
Date: 2017-07-27 09:03 pm (UTC)Rosen?
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-07-29 09:52 pm (UTC)I'm here.
[Just before him sit the letter and compass that Sans left for him, one sitting neatly atop the other.]
[Action]
Date: 2017-07-30 01:05 am (UTC)What are those?
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-07-30 01:11 am (UTC)But at long last he answers in a tight voice]
Sans. He, um, he apparently had a contingency plan, in case he-
[He lets the sentence drop off, jumping straight to the next]
He left them for me.
[Action]
Date: 2017-07-30 09:20 pm (UTC)[He says it quietly, sympathetically; losing one person is hard enough, let alone two. Lance isn't sure how close Rosen was to either Sans or Frisk, but he'd gotten the impression--and even more so now--that he'd really cared about them.]
I'm sorry.
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-07-30 09:59 pm (UTC)They're both gone.
[He wonders if perhaps making himself say it will make it easier. So far its not working]
You know what is the worst part of it? [He swallows hard and isn't really waiting for Lance to give an answer]
I know that the world they are going back to is...is...[his brain refuses to provide him with a decent descriptions so he ends with-] Its a fucked up place.
[Action]
Date: 2017-07-31 01:10 am (UTC)I wish I could say something that would help, but you know as well as I do that it's a matter of time.
[But he's there to do whatever he can in that time.]
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-07-31 06:29 pm (UTC)Please, Lance, just...just help me function again?
[Its said quietly and with an uncomfortable flatness.]
[Action]
Date: 2017-08-01 01:32 am (UTC)But he takes a deep breath, focuses for the moment on thinking instead of feeling, and stands up again before turning toward Rosen.]
Okay. The first thing we're doing is going on a walk.
[Because as far as he knows Rosen has been hiding inside for the past several days, so they're going to go get some fresh air and exercise. That alone can do a lot a good for one's mental health, despite how simple it is, and it's a good step in 'functioning' no matter how the word is meant.]
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:16 am (UTC)Right now?
[Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:18 am (UTC)[He's guessing the answer is in terms of days at this point.]
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:28 am (UTC)[His gaze remains steady on Lance]
[Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:33 am (UTC)[Definitely time to go outside. But that's also an opening to ask--]
Is there something about the event itself that particularly upset you?
[Because this behavior would've begun before realizing Frisk and Sans are gone, if it's been since the event.]
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:35 am (UTC)No. I was...I was happy.
[Though maybe that is part of the problem]
[Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:38 am (UTC)Do you miss that life?
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 05:44 am (UTC)[His fingers fiddle uncomfortably with the seam of his pocket]
I was married, it was a happy relationship. [He quickly amends that statement] that is, according to the illusion, of course. And I helped people. I wasn't--
[Selfish. Isolated.]
--you know. [Me.]
[Action]
Date: 2017-08-04 11:46 pm (UTC)It was a look at what could have been, instead of what is.
[That's a concept Lance has been dealing with a lot recently, although more in terms of the future than the past.]
But 'what is' is what we have, so come on. Get up. Besides, I don't think it's quite as bad as it seems like it is right now.
[Rosen does help people, and sure, the Rosen in that alternate reality hadn't made the same mistakes but Lance is willing to bet that he also didn't know as much, or learned as many important lessons. Lance knows he hadn't himself.]
Re: [Action]
Date: 2017-08-06 11:13 pm (UTC)I'm not sure being married to Regis counts as a 'what could have been'
[The expression he gives lands is one of dead seriousness masking sarcasm. Its also a shortcut of sneaking in another issue he's been blindsided by for the past few days.]
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