Title: Yesterday
Author: Invision
Rating: PG
Summary: It's the anniversery of Kevin's death and Darien has to deal with it.
Spoilers: "The Pilot"
Disclaimer: I don't own "The Invisible Man" or any of it's characters. I'm not making any money off of this.
Notes: Thanx for beta-ing liz_Z!!!
I got the title from "Yesterday" by The Beatles. The song doesn't really have anything to do with the story. I just couldn't think of anything else. :)
Yesterday
"Hey Fawkes!"
Darien turned to see Bobby Hobbes jogging out of the Agency doors towards him.
"Hey Hobbsie."
"You, uh, wanna get a burger or something?"
Darien absently rubbed the back of his neck. This was something he had found to have become a nervous habit. "No thanks. I think I'm just gonna go home and crash, okay?"
"You sure? I'm buyin'."
"Nah, that's okay. Thanks for the offer though, man." He knew something like this was coming. Everyone had been extra nice to him today, even the Official. He had amazingly offered to give him the weekend off, but Darien had refused. He had said that he wanted to work. He needed to keep his mind off of what day it was.
"Alright man, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, 'night Hobbes."
The older man watched as his partner walked to his car. He hated this. He was hoping he could get Darien to talk to him. Partners were supposed to be there for each other.
___________________________
Darien Fawkes drove down the busy streets with the radio off and the window down. He hardly noticed the cool breeze messing up his already disheleved hair. He didn't notice the clear evening sky with it's bright shining stars. He did notice the few people that were making their ways here and there on the sidewalks. People that looked so much happier than he felt. He wanted to feel happy. He tried to feel happy, but it was hard. He was being blackmailed into working for a government agency . He had to worry about going insane and hurting someone. There were several people that wanted what he had in his head. The worst part was that he had to worry about living the rest of his life this way.
He wasn't heading home as he had told Hobbes. He was heading to a familiar place. A place he hadn't been to in quite a while. He pulled into the parking lot, which was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. He got out of the car and walked up to the door. When he opened it, it made that same squeaking noise it had made two years ago. He walked in and breathed the air inside. God, it still smelled the same.
"Darien Fawkes?"
Darien glanced over at the bar and smiled at the familiar face.
"Hey man. How're you doin'?" Darien asked with a small smile.
"I'm good. How've you been? Haven't seen you in here for what? Almost two years?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Darien walked over to the bar and sat down on a stool.
"So what's the occasion?"
"Ah, you know, the usual. I just thought I'd drop by and see how everything was going."
"What'll it be? I'd give you your usual but it's been such a long time since you'd come around I've forgotten what your usual is," said the bartender with a laugh.
Darien forced a laugh. "Uh, I'll just take a beer."
The bartender grabbed the requested bottle, pried the top off, and handed it to the other man. "There ya go."
"Thanks." Darien took a long drink from the bottle.
"So did you get out of it or what?"
"Huh?"
"Your sentence, did you get out of it?"
"Oh. Yeah, something like that."
"What've you been up to? You go back to scaling the high rises?" asked the man with a chuckle.
"Nah, I quit that stuff. I don't really want to talk about it, alright."
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up old memories or anything. Pardon me for saying, but you look like crap."
"Thanks," Darien said sarcastically. " It's just been a lousy day, week, month. Hell, why don't we just make it a year."
Just then the phone rang. "Hang on a second." The bartender reached over and grabbed the receiver.
Darien glanced around. Everything still looked the same. He used to come here almost every Friday when his life was somewhat mormal. Before he got caught, before he got thrown in jail, before he got the gland stuck in his head. Maybe while he was here, he could pretend life was just like it used to be. Maybe he could forget what had happened in the past year. Maybe.
_____________________
After a few more beers, Darien and the bartender were trading stories about what had been going wrong in their lives, who had gone to prison, and who had died. Darien finally told the bartender that Kevin had died.
"Jesus man, I'm sorry. What happened?"
"It's a long story. He was shot by a man who was working for a terroist."
The bartender put down the glass he had been cleaning. "My God. What is this world coming to?"
"Yeah, exactly one year ago today," Darien said as he finished his fourth beer.
"I'm really sorry to hear that, Darien."
They both heard the door open and close, but neither looked up to see who it was.
"Next one's on the house, man."
Darien opened his mouth to thank the man, but he was interrupted by a gruff, familiar voice. "That's okay, buddy. I think Darien has had enough."
Darien turned around to see Hobbes standing beside him. He had a concerned look on his face.
"Well hey, Hobbsie. You want to join us in our happy conversation? We were just discussing the wonderful adventures we've had in this hell hole we call life," Darien said with a dizzy smile on his face.
"Uh, how 'about I take you home?"
"No thanks. I'm just fine right here with my good friend James the Bartender. You can go ahead and leave if you want, ya party pooper." He patted Hobbes on the shoulder with an unsteady hand.
"Look Darien, maybe he's right. Maybe you should just let him take you home so you can get some sleep, okay?"
"Oh alright, but you still owe me a beer. Don't think I'm gonna forget."
"Yeah, just take care of yourself. It was good seeing you, man."
"Same to you," Darien said with a wave of his hand as Bobby led him out the door.
______________________
Outside, Darien bagan rummaging through his pockets for his keys. "Crap. Where'd I put my keys?"
"I don't think so, my friend. You're not driving like this. I'll take you home."
"I can't just leave my car here, Hobbes."
"It'll be fine, Darien."
"Darien? You hardly ever call me Darien. It's always Fawkes."
"Fawkes, Darien, what difference does it make?"
"None. I just thought I'd point it out."
Hobbes opened the passenger side door. Darien slipped inside and closed the door. Hobbes got into the driver's seat, started the car, and pulled out into the near empty street. Hobbes glanced over at his partner. Darien had become silent. He was slumped in the seat with his elbow propped up by the window. He was staring out the window at the pavement, the street lights shining in his eyes. He looked miserable and depressed. Same as he had looked for the past few months. Hobbes had noticed. Darien tried to cover it up. He tried to smile and joke with Bobby, but there was always a sadness in his eyes. Bobby couldn't really blame either. Darien had been through a lot in a short time.
As Hobbes pondered these thoughts, he pulled into the curb by Darien's apartment building. "Here we are. Come on, I'll walk you up to your place."
"Hobbes, you don't have to babysit me. I can walk to my own apartment by myself."
"I don't think so, Fawkes. I don't want the fat man yelling at me 'cause his most valuable agent slipped and fell down the stairs."
"Fine." Darien quickly got out of the van and Hobbes followed. They made their way up the stairs in an uncomfortable silence. Darien kept his eyes on the ground and his hands in his pockets. When they reached his apartment, he quickly unlocked the door, hoping to God that Hobbes wouldn't ask him if he wanted to talk about it.
"Thanks man. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, okay?"
Hobbes didn't return the farewell, he looked straight at his partner with a determined look on his face. "Darien, you need to talk to someone. It'll be a hell of a lot easier talking to me than the Keep or some shrink."
Darien ran his right hand through his hair, his eyes still focused on the floor. "Bobby, I told you I'm fine. I just..."
"That's crap," Hobbes said softly. "You can't keep this bottled up or it'll eat you up."
At this, Darien looked up right into his partner's face. A tear was already sliding down his cheek. He let go of the doorknob and sank down on his couch with his face in his hands. Hobbes came in slowly, shut the door, and sat by Darien. "I'm listening Fawkes."
"I just keep thinking about all the times me and Kevin could have had, you know? Not just in the future but in the past. I spent so much time envying his intelligence and accomplishments. I almost hated him sometimes. I never..." Darien faltered, fighting back a wave of emotion, "I never really told him I was proud of him."
"Fawkes, we all do and say things that we regret. God knows I've done plenty of things I wish I could go back and change. When people we love die, we always think of what could have been. If you dwell on that you'll never be able to live with yourself. You have to think about the good times that you did share."
Darien sat back against the couch. "That's not what bothers me the most, though. If Kevin hadn't died, I'd probably have this thing out of my head. I wouldn't be stuck with the Agency. I wouldn't have to worry about going insane and hurting someone. Is that...I mean, am I being selfish?"
"I don't think so, my friend. I know that you miss your brother, but I also know that you'd never be able to forgive yourself if you hurt somebody. That's just the kind of person you are, Fawkes. You want the gland out of your head because you don't want to hurt some innocent person. That's not exaclty what I call being selfish."
Darien looked at Bobby. "You think so, Hobbes?"
"Yes I do, my friend. I'm sure that Kevin would think the same thing."
They sat in silence for a few moments. Darien began to feel how tired he really was. He hadn't slept well for the past few nights. He rubbed his forehead.
"You looked exhausted, Fawkes. Why don't you try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I think I will."
Hobbes patted Darien on the shoulder. "Okay, partner. You call me if you need anything, okay?" Hobbes said as he got up and began walking towards the door.
"Hobbes?" Bobby turned and looked at the younger man. "Yeah, Fawkes?"
"How did you know I'd be at that bar?"
"I didn't. I just happened to make a wrong turn and then I spotted your car."
Darien looked at Hobbes for a moment. "Thanks."
Hobbes smiled. "That's what partner's are for, man."
~The End~
Author: Invision
Rating: PG
Summary: It's the anniversery of Kevin's death and Darien has to deal with it.
Spoilers: "The Pilot"
Disclaimer: I don't own "The Invisible Man" or any of it's characters. I'm not making any money off of this.
Notes: Thanx for beta-ing liz_Z!!!
I got the title from "Yesterday" by The Beatles. The song doesn't really have anything to do with the story. I just couldn't think of anything else. :)
Yesterday
"Hey Fawkes!"
Darien turned to see Bobby Hobbes jogging out of the Agency doors towards him.
"Hey Hobbsie."
"You, uh, wanna get a burger or something?"
Darien absently rubbed the back of his neck. This was something he had found to have become a nervous habit. "No thanks. I think I'm just gonna go home and crash, okay?"
"You sure? I'm buyin'."
"Nah, that's okay. Thanks for the offer though, man." He knew something like this was coming. Everyone had been extra nice to him today, even the Official. He had amazingly offered to give him the weekend off, but Darien had refused. He had said that he wanted to work. He needed to keep his mind off of what day it was.
"Alright man, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, 'night Hobbes."
The older man watched as his partner walked to his car. He hated this. He was hoping he could get Darien to talk to him. Partners were supposed to be there for each other.
___________________________
Darien Fawkes drove down the busy streets with the radio off and the window down. He hardly noticed the cool breeze messing up his already disheleved hair. He didn't notice the clear evening sky with it's bright shining stars. He did notice the few people that were making their ways here and there on the sidewalks. People that looked so much happier than he felt. He wanted to feel happy. He tried to feel happy, but it was hard. He was being blackmailed into working for a government agency . He had to worry about going insane and hurting someone. There were several people that wanted what he had in his head. The worst part was that he had to worry about living the rest of his life this way.
He wasn't heading home as he had told Hobbes. He was heading to a familiar place. A place he hadn't been to in quite a while. He pulled into the parking lot, which was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. He got out of the car and walked up to the door. When he opened it, it made that same squeaking noise it had made two years ago. He walked in and breathed the air inside. God, it still smelled the same.
"Darien Fawkes?"
Darien glanced over at the bar and smiled at the familiar face.
"Hey man. How're you doin'?" Darien asked with a small smile.
"I'm good. How've you been? Haven't seen you in here for what? Almost two years?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Darien walked over to the bar and sat down on a stool.
"So what's the occasion?"
"Ah, you know, the usual. I just thought I'd drop by and see how everything was going."
"What'll it be? I'd give you your usual but it's been such a long time since you'd come around I've forgotten what your usual is," said the bartender with a laugh.
Darien forced a laugh. "Uh, I'll just take a beer."
The bartender grabbed the requested bottle, pried the top off, and handed it to the other man. "There ya go."
"Thanks." Darien took a long drink from the bottle.
"So did you get out of it or what?"
"Huh?"
"Your sentence, did you get out of it?"
"Oh. Yeah, something like that."
"What've you been up to? You go back to scaling the high rises?" asked the man with a chuckle.
"Nah, I quit that stuff. I don't really want to talk about it, alright."
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up old memories or anything. Pardon me for saying, but you look like crap."
"Thanks," Darien said sarcastically. " It's just been a lousy day, week, month. Hell, why don't we just make it a year."
Just then the phone rang. "Hang on a second." The bartender reached over and grabbed the receiver.
Darien glanced around. Everything still looked the same. He used to come here almost every Friday when his life was somewhat mormal. Before he got caught, before he got thrown in jail, before he got the gland stuck in his head. Maybe while he was here, he could pretend life was just like it used to be. Maybe he could forget what had happened in the past year. Maybe.
_____________________
After a few more beers, Darien and the bartender were trading stories about what had been going wrong in their lives, who had gone to prison, and who had died. Darien finally told the bartender that Kevin had died.
"Jesus man, I'm sorry. What happened?"
"It's a long story. He was shot by a man who was working for a terroist."
The bartender put down the glass he had been cleaning. "My God. What is this world coming to?"
"Yeah, exactly one year ago today," Darien said as he finished his fourth beer.
"I'm really sorry to hear that, Darien."
They both heard the door open and close, but neither looked up to see who it was.
"Next one's on the house, man."
Darien opened his mouth to thank the man, but he was interrupted by a gruff, familiar voice. "That's okay, buddy. I think Darien has had enough."
Darien turned around to see Hobbes standing beside him. He had a concerned look on his face.
"Well hey, Hobbsie. You want to join us in our happy conversation? We were just discussing the wonderful adventures we've had in this hell hole we call life," Darien said with a dizzy smile on his face.
"Uh, how 'about I take you home?"
"No thanks. I'm just fine right here with my good friend James the Bartender. You can go ahead and leave if you want, ya party pooper." He patted Hobbes on the shoulder with an unsteady hand.
"Look Darien, maybe he's right. Maybe you should just let him take you home so you can get some sleep, okay?"
"Oh alright, but you still owe me a beer. Don't think I'm gonna forget."
"Yeah, just take care of yourself. It was good seeing you, man."
"Same to you," Darien said with a wave of his hand as Bobby led him out the door.
______________________
Outside, Darien bagan rummaging through his pockets for his keys. "Crap. Where'd I put my keys?"
"I don't think so, my friend. You're not driving like this. I'll take you home."
"I can't just leave my car here, Hobbes."
"It'll be fine, Darien."
"Darien? You hardly ever call me Darien. It's always Fawkes."
"Fawkes, Darien, what difference does it make?"
"None. I just thought I'd point it out."
Hobbes opened the passenger side door. Darien slipped inside and closed the door. Hobbes got into the driver's seat, started the car, and pulled out into the near empty street. Hobbes glanced over at his partner. Darien had become silent. He was slumped in the seat with his elbow propped up by the window. He was staring out the window at the pavement, the street lights shining in his eyes. He looked miserable and depressed. Same as he had looked for the past few months. Hobbes had noticed. Darien tried to cover it up. He tried to smile and joke with Bobby, but there was always a sadness in his eyes. Bobby couldn't really blame either. Darien had been through a lot in a short time.
As Hobbes pondered these thoughts, he pulled into the curb by Darien's apartment building. "Here we are. Come on, I'll walk you up to your place."
"Hobbes, you don't have to babysit me. I can walk to my own apartment by myself."
"I don't think so, Fawkes. I don't want the fat man yelling at me 'cause his most valuable agent slipped and fell down the stairs."
"Fine." Darien quickly got out of the van and Hobbes followed. They made their way up the stairs in an uncomfortable silence. Darien kept his eyes on the ground and his hands in his pockets. When they reached his apartment, he quickly unlocked the door, hoping to God that Hobbes wouldn't ask him if he wanted to talk about it.
"Thanks man. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, okay?"
Hobbes didn't return the farewell, he looked straight at his partner with a determined look on his face. "Darien, you need to talk to someone. It'll be a hell of a lot easier talking to me than the Keep or some shrink."
Darien ran his right hand through his hair, his eyes still focused on the floor. "Bobby, I told you I'm fine. I just..."
"That's crap," Hobbes said softly. "You can't keep this bottled up or it'll eat you up."
At this, Darien looked up right into his partner's face. A tear was already sliding down his cheek. He let go of the doorknob and sank down on his couch with his face in his hands. Hobbes came in slowly, shut the door, and sat by Darien. "I'm listening Fawkes."
"I just keep thinking about all the times me and Kevin could have had, you know? Not just in the future but in the past. I spent so much time envying his intelligence and accomplishments. I almost hated him sometimes. I never..." Darien faltered, fighting back a wave of emotion, "I never really told him I was proud of him."
"Fawkes, we all do and say things that we regret. God knows I've done plenty of things I wish I could go back and change. When people we love die, we always think of what could have been. If you dwell on that you'll never be able to live with yourself. You have to think about the good times that you did share."
Darien sat back against the couch. "That's not what bothers me the most, though. If Kevin hadn't died, I'd probably have this thing out of my head. I wouldn't be stuck with the Agency. I wouldn't have to worry about going insane and hurting someone. Is that...I mean, am I being selfish?"
"I don't think so, my friend. I know that you miss your brother, but I also know that you'd never be able to forgive yourself if you hurt somebody. That's just the kind of person you are, Fawkes. You want the gland out of your head because you don't want to hurt some innocent person. That's not exaclty what I call being selfish."
Darien looked at Bobby. "You think so, Hobbes?"
"Yes I do, my friend. I'm sure that Kevin would think the same thing."
They sat in silence for a few moments. Darien began to feel how tired he really was. He hadn't slept well for the past few nights. He rubbed his forehead.
"You looked exhausted, Fawkes. Why don't you try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I think I will."
Hobbes patted Darien on the shoulder. "Okay, partner. You call me if you need anything, okay?" Hobbes said as he got up and began walking towards the door.
"Hobbes?" Bobby turned and looked at the younger man. "Yeah, Fawkes?"
"How did you know I'd be at that bar?"
"I didn't. I just happened to make a wrong turn and then I spotted your car."
Darien looked at Hobbes for a moment. "Thanks."
Hobbes smiled. "That's what partner's are for, man."
~The End~