Stranger Things Have Happened

[zoibox]

Once upon a time, Mahir Gowda got married. Shaun Mason went crazy. Georgia Mason was cloned and that clone escaped into the wider world.

Well. Two out of three ain't bad, right?

Comments

[adaptiveimmunities]

It's awkward. The three of them are standing in the hotel room that he and Mahir had been sharing. Shaun can tell that Mahir sort of wants to bolt--leave him and George to figure things out--but he's not going to have it. For one thing, it's Mahir's hotel room, too, and he's not going to kick him out to stay with Maggie or Becks or whoever right now. And for another... well. George has been a part of their relationship from the beginning.

[Thanks for remembering.]

"Not now," he mutters.

[choosetruth]

Georgia hesitates, her hand still resting on Shaun's arm, and glances back at Mahir. She wishes she weren't so observant, or was a little bit better at lying to herself. She wishes she could put off the conclusions that are coming together in her head lightning fast, sharp as daggers.

The looks Becks and Maggie had kept shooting Mahir over the course of their drive home and their discussion earlier. The way Mahir's been looking at Shaun. The careful way Shaun hasn't been looking at Mahir. The way the room has only one bed and clothing strewn about that don't have nearly enough pockets to belong to Shaun. The unfamiliar laptop in the corner. The fact that Mahir's clearly staying here and Maggie could absolutely have afforded another room for him.

"Ah." She takes her hand off Shaun's arm and straightens, trying to ignore the way it makes her injured feet hurt that much worse.

[fishandclips]

Mahir does want to bolt. He wants to turn and go straight to the bar, and get good and properly drunk, and then crash in Maggie's room so she can fuss over him and let him drink extremely expensive alcohol that he would normally be afraid to so much as look at, never mind drink.

And he's really not much of a drinker.

It isn't that he's not happy to see Georgia... If she's really Georgia, which they seem to have established is at least mostly the case. It isn't as if he and Shaun haven't been dealing with her ghost between them ever since her death. It's more that she's been in Shaun's head, rather than standing there looking at him as if he's an interloper and doesn't belong, which hurts quite a bit more than he had thought...

No. He's never thought this would happen. He's never worried about what Georgia would think, except in an abstract way. Why would he?

And it seems they do still have her ghost in Shaun's head to deal with, as well. That seems a bit unfair, to gang up on them, doesn't it?

Mahir shoots a look to his laptop, wondering if he can grab it and run, but instead he rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat. Georgia knows; he can see that, in the way she's looking at them, and then the way she pulls away from Shaun. "You should sit down," he says softly. "And--I should maybe go..."

[adaptiveimmunities]

Shaun looks at George in surprise when she steps away from him, and scrubs a little at his face. "You should sit down," he agrees, looking at George. "And you should stay," he adds, turning toward Mahir. "I don't... I don't know what we're supposed to do here, but I'm pretty sure that pretending we all don't know what's going on isn't going to help any of us. Can we all just... talk about this?"

[choosetruth]

"There's nothing to talk about."

Georgia's tone is flat, emotionless, just like her face. At least, that's how it would be if she weren't with the two people who probably know (knew?) her best in the world. The tightness around her eyes not quite hidden by her sunglasses, just how calm and rational she sounds because she's clinging to facts and logic to avoid letting feelings tear her apart. They know her too well for it to work. But maybe they'll let it pass anyway.

"I was dead, and it's not like you'd expect me to come back. You moved on. It's what I would have wanted."

[fishandclips]

Mahir does see through her, and at first he might be willing to let her try to be emotionless. Let Shaun be the one to call her out. He feels like an outsider, an intruder, even if he is most definitely involved, even if Georgia wishes he wasn't.

But then she continues speaking, and when she says you moved on, Mahir can't help himself. He laughs. It's harsh and bitter, and more of a bark, but he still laughs.

"Moved on? Georgia, really. You have no idea."

[adaptiveimmunities]

Shaun is ready to argue her position that there's nothing to talk about, but then Mahir steps in and... fuck, is he right. She has no idea.

"You're right," he says, holding up his hands a little in surrender. "We didn't expect you to come back. Stuff happened. We happened. But Jesus, George. Do you know us at all? You really think we moved on?"

[choosetruth]

"I'm not blaming you for it." Her jaw clenches, involuntarily, and she twists her hand together. No, she would not have thought it, but here she is observing the evidence with her own eyes. "I'm glad you had each other."

She means it, even as her gut twists. She does want them to be happy. Even if a part of her is screaming that no, Shaun is hers and Mahir is hers and they are not each other's. That part isn't rational, so she tries very hard to ignore it.

[fishandclips]

"God." Mahir scrubs at his face and finally moves, dropping into a chair, feeling like dead weight. "No, you're not. Of course you're not! The two of you..." He lifts his arms, gesturing indistinctly with his hands before dropping them back down on the armrests. "You've always been a closed unit."

No one knew how closed a unit they'd been until after, and still most people didn't know.

[adaptiveimmunities]

"Damn it, George, will you just sit down?" Shaun snaps. "My feet hurt just looking at you." At least Mahir doesn't look like he's about to bolt anymore. Now he just needs to get George

[choosetruth]

Well, if there's one thing that's always going to be familiar, it's fighting with Shaun. It gives her a focus. She whirls on him and does not sit down.

"The fuck am I supposed to do, Shaun?" she says. "I'm well aware that I am supposed to be dead, and me not being dead... the fact that I'm..." she shuts her eyes, turning away. "I don't want to be unreasonable. I wasn't planned. I'm not even the same person I was, technically."

...hey we remember this right? whoops

[fishandclips]

Mahir can't help himself, and he laughs. Maybe it's more like a giggle, but who can blame him?

"None of us are the same people we were, Georgia. Shaun's insane, and I left England, and I stayed to make sure he didn't kill himself if he decided he couldn't handle another day without you, because I loved you and I thought you wouldn't want him throwing his life away. Except--as it turned out--it was me being selfish and not wanting to lose him and what was left of you, and now..." He laughs again, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. "Now, here we are. A bloody fucking mess."

pepperidge farm remembers

[adaptiveimmunities]

"He's right," Shaun says, holding out his hands toward both of them. "About... all of that." He's not really sure he'd call Mahir selfish, but the rest of it was pretty spot on. He is crazy and borderline suicidal, and he's glad he's had Mahir to call him on his bullshit. "This is a fucking mess, but I don't care if you weren't planned, George. I'm just glad you're back." And he fucking well knows Mahir is, too. It's one of the things they'd always agreed on--how much they love George.

it's been 84 years....

[choosetruth]

George sighs, finally slumping down into the chair. Not because she's made up her mind on anything, but her feet do hurt. Sitting down is more of a relief than she wants to admit.

She's never been a particularly jealous person. It's only now that she realizes that's at least partly because she's never had any cause. Shaun's always been hers, end of story. But then she died and it turned out the story kept going, and now?

She doesn't know.

"I need a damn coke," she says finally. "I can't process properly uncaffienated."

[fishandclips]

Mahir can't help a faint smile; it's such a Georgia statement that it almost hurts. And no matter how out of place and third wheel he's feeling, he knows Shaun is right. He's glad she's back, too, for whatever definitions of "back" may apply to this situation.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," he says gently.