tushanshu | [Video]

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[The six hour cart ride from shore left Hellboy with a crick in his neck and a bad taste in his mouth. Not much surprises him anymore, and after spending who the hell knows how long being hunted by the Baba Yaga, he was glad to be out of her reach, even if he knew he was nowhere near familiar ground.

The guys who fished him out of the ocean had no problem telling him where he was or how he got there, but after a few moments of conversation, Hellboy realized that he just didn't give a crap. Wherever this "In Between" was, he knew it couldn't be good. It was only a matter of time before the real reason he was here reared its ugly head.

Until then...]

Anyone know where a guy can get a drink around here?

[He looks like utter crap, every inch of him cut and bruised, his hair falling out of its knot at the base of his neck, and his jacket blood-soaked and tattered to pieces, but looking presentable is obviously the last thing on his mind.]

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Yeah. [He says, taking a swallow out of his own drink. Probably number four. He's stopped keeping track.] This is good.

Just waiting to wake up and figure out this was all some kind of dream.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm real. [She shoves him - the gesture is playful, but deliberately gentle. She doesn't want to bother him too much with all of those injuries.]

Looks like you're stuck with me.

Sure. [He smiles faintly at the shove, but his mind is somewhere else. He drains his glass and slides it back to the bartender.] Who the hell cares anyway.

[It's pretty much how he's been living these past few years. Ghosts might just be ghosts, but they're better than nothing. Better to just go with acting like it's real than turn around and find the whole room full of skeletons.

But this's Liz. Not a bunch of rum-soaked pirates. Not some long-dead friend of his father. Liz.

He stops himself from thinking any further, tossing back another glass. He used to be so much better at blocking out the bad crap. Now all he has is whiskey to numb his brain.]

[Liz frowns at that, and places her hand back on his arm. It's a bit awkward, but she angles herself in such a way that she can look Hellboy in the eye... or try to, anyway.]

Hey. I'm here, and so are you. I'll stick around the whole night if that's what it'll take to convince you.

[He just... doesn't answer. But he does steal a glance from the corner of his eye, just a flicker to let her know he heard her. That's all he can manage right now.]

Hellboy. [Her voice is firm, now.] You're not dreaming.

I don't know what you were going through or what was happening before Baba Yaga decided to send people after you, but you're not out there, anymore. We're here, which means neither of us has to be alone, anymore. Not as long as we're both here.

Like you said, this is practically a vacation for us. [She pauses to finish off the last of her drink.]

So quit moping. You don't have to be the broody tough guy all the time.

[He thinks about that for a moment, his eyes caught staring at the bottom of his empty glass, frowning.] I hope you're right.

I am. [Said without any hesitation.]

I won't disappear on you, H.B. I promise.

[She knows it's one she can't keep, but what the hell.]

[He just nods. And drinks, knowing full well that it's something she can't promise. But her speech at least seems to bring him into a better place than he was before. That better place is greatly enhanced by the sheer amount of alcohol he's consuming. Soon enough he's feeling pretty tipsy.]

I'll tell you something that wasn't so bad.

And what would that be?

[Earlier she extended the offer to tell his end of the story after she filled him in about everything he missed. He figures he owes her something. He just needed a few drinks in him to finally spit it out.

He's still not going to go into the horrible crap. But there was something not so horrible.]

Africa. Good people. Lots to see. And the desert's pretty quiet most of the time.

Hm. Sounds nice.

It'd be good to go one day... without it being on business, I mean. [Nearly all of their travels have been tied to the B.P.R.D., or the paranormal. Liz can't remember the last time she went somewhere for no reason other than to just go and enjoy the experience.]

Yeah. [He pauses to finish off another glass.] Just watch out for haunted banana trees.

I'll be sure to remember that. [It's almost funny, talking about things to do back home while they're stuck here.]

I'm serious, Liz. [He slurs a bit, but don't mind that. This's important, okay.] One banana and bam! A whole week of garbage getting thrown at your head.

[... She's going to have to carry you home, isn't she.]

Hey, I never said you weren't. I'm trusting your guidance on this one.

[Y U P.]

All right. [He nods, satisfied that she's thoroughly warned.] But if you do, you have to give it a chicken. It only likes chickens.

In that case, I'll make sure to always keep a chicken nearby. You never know when it'll come in handy.

[He dismisses her with a wave of his giant-ass stone hand. Luckily he's still pretty coordinated. If this wasn't Liz, that gesture would probably come off as something entirely different. But yeah. Dismissive.]

Nah, the villagers have plenty of chickens. Like I said, good people.

I guess we won't have anything to worry about, then.

Yeah. [He takes another swallow from his glass. After this one he's done. He swears.] Except mermaids. You know they have mermaids in Africa? I always thought it was more of a European thing.

[He probably would've known if he did his homework every once in a while, but who has the patience for that?]

Considering they live in the ocean, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't all stick to living in one area. There's lots of water, which means there's lots of places for them to swim around and make a home for themselves.

[Well aren't you just miss smarty pants. Hellboy just shrugs.] Makes sense. But I didn't think I'd spend all that time in the desert just to end up fighting mermaids.

[Damn right, she is.]

Yeah, life can be surprising like that. [Don't worry, H.B., she's not about to get all philosophical on you. She hasn't had anywhere near enough drinks for that to happen.]

Yep. [Oh, but he's had plenty, that's for sure.] Next thing I knew I was thirty feet under water, fighting off three of them, and one of them's pounding a goddamn nail into my head.

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[Action] help i am drowning in feelings

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[Action] i can't with these two omg

[Action] so much love augh

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