Out of Milliways: Lena's arrival

[the_antiangst]

Lena had said she was renting a car, had said she'd be able to find the restaurant, had said Angel didn't have to come and meet her. But really, he thinks, why put this off any longer than they have to?
And I do not take 'no.'
To that end, he's taken a cab to Albuquerque's airport, and is waiting at the bottom of the escalator to baggage claim.

Comments

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

The plane lands just slightly late - not enough to cause worry, in the greater scheme of things. Lena is, however, somewhat uncertain about what exactly she's about to face.
As she'd told her husband, either one of her best friends is somehow not quite as dead as she'd thought, or she has to beat whoever's impersonating him to a bloody pulp.
And then she gets off the plane and through the terminal and onto the down escalator, and Angel's waiting for her despite her saying he didn't have to. That settles it, really; he never did learn to take no for an answer.
So she has a good go at running down the escalator (it doesn't end in tears, at least), and glomps him.

[the_antiangst]

Angel, of course, hugs her right back. "Good to see you, too."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"I'd say you have no idea, but given the circumstances, it's entirely possible you do. You know, if it hadn't been you, I would've had to kill whoever it was."

[the_antiangst]

"Would I lie to you?"
He knows better than to try that, by now.

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"No, but other people are not so smart as you."
They get Lena's bag from the luggage carousel and pick up the rental car in relative, if companionable, silence. On the drive to Santa Fe, she finally says, "So are you going to explain what the fuck's going on at some point, or am I left to my own devices on this one?"

[the_antiangst]

"You'd never figure it out if I didn't tell you. Should warn you, though, this one defies logic in about every way possible."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

She snorts. "Like that wasn't obvious from the outset."

[the_antiangst]

Angel grins. "Point taken. How much did you know, before..."
This is weird... fuckin' weird.
He can't bring himself to finish the thought. They both know where it ends, and it just sounds so utterly bizarre outside of the Milliways context.

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"Enough." She sighs. "Couldn't make it to the funeral, despite my best efforts. And then your friend put his movie out, and do you have any idea how much it hurts hearing everyone say something that's clearly got one of your best friends in it is fictional?"
She's been constantly torn, the last few months, between wanting to believe that herself and wanting to knock some sense into the world at large.

[the_antiangst]

"Honey, I had to set some fangirls straight on the matter yesterday. And Mark's been trying to figure out how to beat it into people's heads pretty much since the thing took off. I know the feeling."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I guess you would... wait a minute. You're making it sound like you've known what's been going on for a while now."

[the_antiangst]

"This is where things get complicated. If you and your skepticism would like to bow out now, I won't blame you - it's a hell of a lot to swallow."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

Lena takes advantage of a stop light to look at Angel. "I just flew from Buffalo to New mexico to visit a friend who's somehow managed to come back from the dead. Don't even try telling me that's not a lot to swallow. At this point, I think I can handle whatever the rest of the story might entail."

[the_antiangst]

He grins. "Fair enough."
And so he explains about Milliways as best he can, leaving the wish business out of it for the time being - he'll deal with that on its own.

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"...A bar at the end of the universe," she says, once he's finished. "You know, under more normal circumstances, I'd tell you to pull the other one."

[the_antiangst]

"Really, I wouldn't blame you if you did now. A lot of people don't even believe it when they get there."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"Okay, so how'd you get from this bar to here? From the sound of it, this isn't in the usual parameters of the place."

[the_antiangst]

"It isn't. Basically, Mark's both a fucking lunatic and too damn self-sacrificing for his own good. That'd be most of why it's a limited-time offer, and why I'm never letting him do this again. Once is more than enough."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

It sounds rather like something Angel would do himself, from what little he's said. And Lena's starting to suspect she'd really like this Mark guy.
"Do I even want to know what the rest of the story to this one is?"

[the_antiangst]

"I'll tell you if you want to know."
And in cases like this, it's not an offer he makes lightly.

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"...No, I don't think I will, in this case. Everybody needs their space."

[the_antiangst]

Angel looks out the window for a while. If he's remembering the scenery right - and to be fair, he's only seen it the once, so he might not be - they should be getting close to the restaurant.
After a bit, he looks back at Lena, and grins. "So, want to go shopping tomorrow?"

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"Don't know how much I'll be able to get. I mean, I just blew a decent chunk of change coming out here."

[the_antiangst]

"Mark gave me his credit card, before... before I left. It's not a problem, really."

[rent-a-characte.livejournal.com]

"Well, in that case, how could I say no?"