[ Kendall's "king of the hospital" gene kicks in before he's even aware he's doing it, and he finally looks at Raylan, eyebrows raised, looking defensive. He definitely heard that first part, about what Roman might be going home to, but it's better to talk about the immediate thing first. ]
He's gonna stay here. I'm fine. I don't need a drink.
[ He does. Desperately. But he's staying. He's not even gonna get up. ]
[He lives! The pushback was a good thing to see and Raylan took it evenly with a blink or two, letting Kendall finish before he bothered choosing where to start.]
No, you're not movin' him - that's right. I am. But we can negotiate terms and rules. You're welcome to keep watch over him, if that's somethin' you wanna do. But he can't stay here alone, we got no idea how long this will last, you're gonna have to sleep sometime and the hallway isn't the best place to be doin' that.
[Raylan stands up then and wait so see how the drawn lines are taken.]
He's not staying here alone. I'm staying here. And my cabin is right there. [ He points, right next door, to a glass door through which a corporate office is visible. That's not how it looks on the inside, which is finally starting to get slightly less disconcerting. ]
He's my brother. I don't actually give a fuck if you're his warden, he's staying here. Okay?
[The Marshal takes his time, looking over Ken and weighing how much of a fight he should put up. Perfect world, there wouldn't be any stopping Raylan from doing his duty.
Finally, he speaks up and there's no mistaking the edge of challenge in his voice.]
You're new and in somethin' of an emotional position, so I'm gonna let that slide. Shit starts goin' down and I'm movin' him to my cabin where I can assure he's safe, and it won't matter if you're brothers.
I'm gonna go in and see him. [He doesn't hesitate in stepping forward and opening Roman's door, fully helping himself to the inside.]
[ Great. Fine. Whatever. Kendall's not going to let any shit go down, so he can stay right here. He pushes up to stand, following Raylan close by. He'd managed to get Roman to his bed without much incident, and tucking the blanket over him kind of just makes it look like he's asleep. Regular asleep, not fucked-up asleep. ]
What kind of shit do you think is gonna go down?
[ Kendall asks it like he'd be in any position to stop it himself. He's only ever shot a gun on hunting retreats, when the animals have nowhere to go, and even then he hadn't been good at it. He's about as good at physical fighting as the average guy on the street. But he imagines there'd be some supersonic ability to protect that would come out of nowhere in the moment, if it was necessary. ]
And – like, how long is this supposed to last? Does he need to eat? Drink? How is he getting, like... nutrients? Vitamins? What about his muscles? Can't they, like, atrophy if you don't use them enough?
[He makes his way into Roman's room, looking Roman over with a little nod before he looks back over his shoulder at Kendall, noting how close the man felt he needed to be, like Raylan might do something and Kendall was ready to stop him.]
There's never any telling. Last time some random shit went down, it was hell in the hallways and Roman got his arm both bit and broken by a monstrous dog. I had to shoot my way to him.
[His eyes drop back down to Roman.]
So leavin' him up here makes me itch. But you don't hav'ta worry about all that stuff. We don't know how long it'll last. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes it's a month, sometimes its a few days. And the body maintains itself - I don't know how. But when he comes back up- [When, not if-] we don't want him being alone.
[If Kendall was going to stand guard, he was going to be doing it with Raylan's help, regardless of if the elder Roy wanted it or not. Kendall felt like a Doer, so Raylan might as well use that energy.]
[ Kendall bites the inside of his cheek, staring at Roman for a long moment. It's weird that he looks peaceful like this. That's also a weird thing to think, the kind of thing people think about dead bodies in novels. Kendall shakes his head. ]
Look, I'm – not trying to be an asshole about this. Seriously. I'd just rather not move him like this. I don't want him to... to wake up somewhere he didn't fall asleep. You know?
[Raylan gives him a level, patient look. It wasn't Kendall's call in the slightest, but Raylan's ego didn't need that to be screamed from the rooftops.]
So long as some shit doesn't go down, we can respect that. Either way, I'll be down here daily to check up on him, and you.
I think he'll be more weirded out by this Sleeping Beauty gig than waking up somewhere he didn't expect and frankly, I owe him one of those but- That's somethin' else entirely.
[He lifts his chin towards the living room area.]
C'mon, I'll pour you a drink and you can tell me when you're from or ask whatever questions you might have.
[ Kendall's not gonna say no to a drink, so he heads over to the living room and drops into the space on the couch that he usually ends up on anyway. It really sounds like Raylan's not going to drop the 'where he's from' thing, considering what Roman might wake up knowing. But Kendall's – well, he's fucking scared, is the thing. Scared of saying anything about it, scared of having to actually utter the words, scared of what it'll do to Roman to find out, whether he's catching up now or not. Maybe he's gonna come back with the exact same memories as he left with, except Kendall got strong-armed by a US Marshal into sharing the things he's keeping secret and then he'll have to tell Roman, who, if he doesn't know, doesn't actually need to know. One of them will have to tell. Kendall doesn't want to do it. But he also doesn't want someone else to do it. He'd need to do damage control.
He's a little angry at Roman suddenly, for falling so heavily asleep that Kendall's having to actually think this through. It's irrational, he knows; it's not Roman's choice, or even his fault. It's just that he thought he'd have more time like this, more time to be normal with him, the way it used to be.
He's in his head. Hard to get out of it, there's so much space in there. Easy to get lost. He doesn't say a word. ]
[Raylan knows his way around Roman's cabin, and a couple of tumblers are collected to be set on the coffee table. Raylan pours from his flask, two fingers for each of them and he lets the silence linger as he moves around. The silver bottomed, wood wrapped flask is recapped and tucked back into his back pocket and he sits down in one of the chairs across from Kendall.]
Here- might help take the edge off.
[Raylan might be lowkey strong arming, but he wasn't going to rush it. Showing up here is always a lot. Finding out that you're ahead of your brother is also a lot.]
[ He sounds genuinely grateful, and looks up just enough to offer a very small smile as he takes the glass and has a sip. Swallowing it in one go is probably a little gauche, considering the circumstances. God, he wants a line right now. ]
Sorry. It's just – when our dad got sick, we were in the hospital a lot. And it's... Yeah, it's bringing up some pretty shitty memories.
I can imagine so. You guys love your dad a lot. [For some reason. But Raylan had already hashed that differing opinion with Roman and he didn't, couldn't hold it against the Roy Boys that they loved their daddy.]
And I know that seein' Roman in this state is.. worryin' to say the least. Disconcerting at best. [Hard, either way.]
He's happy you're here, you know. Damn near over the moon when he came to tell me.
[ There's an edge of doubt in that, even if Kendall doesn't really doubt him. It's just a standard Roy response to anything remotely positive. ]
It – really messed him up, I think. More than me and Shiv. When my dad did that to us. Because, I mean, Roman... he's kind of, um... Sensitive's not the right word. I guess he can kind of fold under pressure, but like, whatever, we all do that. But it's like, he really beats the shit out of himself over it, when it happens.
[Sensitive was close enough - Raylan understood what Kendall was describing, and nods gently.]
It did. He and I have talked about Logan. Not so much about the deals y'all got burnt out of but. [the deals themselves weren't really that important. It was set dressing for the emotional tragedy that was the Roy family.]
I dunno. I guess, we were all together so it was like... I had them to focus on. Roman and my sister. I think it kind of mattered less that it happened to me.
[ Kendall frowns, looking distant for a moment. ]
It's pretty rare that we're all on the same side, you know? And I'm the eldest, so I guess I kind of felt like I had to help them first.
[The eldest of that group. The erasure of Connor was known to Raylan but no one needed him to be pedantic. Wouldn't help shit around gaining trust either.]
That's good of you. Important that family sticks together like that. [To some people. To most people.]
And how'd Shiv handle it? Just so I can.. get a clear understandin' of your dynamics. Hard to gain tone sometimes, off a file paper that only reads in facts, not intent and emotion.
I mean, I don't wanna be dramatic, but it kinda ruined her marriage.
[ Privately, Kendall had never really been fully convinced by Shiv and Tom's relationship, and he doesn't think his father was entirely wrong when he told Shiv that she'd invested in Tom because she thought he'd never have the stones to betray her. Which just makes that whole thing so much fucking worse. And now, of course, he wants to poke Tom's eyes out with his thumbs, so. ]
Her husband ratted us out, to get in our dad's good books. That's... pretty much how it goes with us. Either you're smart enough to get the fuck out of dodge when you realise what a shitshow our family is, or you stick around long enough to fuck us over to get props from the patriarch.
Sounds like her husband ruined their marriage. I'm gonna tell you what I tell Roman and honestly, it sounds harsh but also fuck the patriarch. My daddy also happens to be a grade A asshole who charms the pants off anyone he can pass the con on, and has shot me a couple times so- A little different.
How much further ahead of him are you again? I mean, I know a lot can happen in a frighteningly short amount of time, but. How much 'a lot' are we talkin' about here?
[ Kendall thinks about telling him the truth about what happened in those six months, not for the first time. It's tempting. It'd be nice to talk to someone about it, someone as straightforward as Raylan – especially considering what he just said about his own dad. But he's already been through it in his own head a million times. If he tells Raylan, Raylan will want to tell Roman, and then Roman will know. So. ]
Yeah, no. We went home, all of us together. We had this idea for a business we were gonna run together, and we spent most of the time working on that, once we got... Well, I don't think any of us actually got over the shit with our dad, but we were trying to get past it. But then this other thing got in the way. Our dad tried to make a bid for PGM – like, a rival news broadcaster, he wanted to buy it for years, so we all decided we'd outbid him.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ Kendall's "king of the hospital" gene kicks in before he's even aware he's doing it, and he finally looks at Raylan, eyebrows raised, looking defensive. He definitely heard that first part, about what Roman might be going home to, but it's better to talk about the immediate thing first. ]
He's gonna stay here. I'm fine. I don't need a drink.
[ He does. Desperately. But he's staying. He's not even gonna get up. ]
no subject
No, you're not movin' him - that's right. I am. But we can negotiate terms and rules. You're welcome to keep watch over him, if that's somethin' you wanna do. But he can't stay here alone, we got no idea how long this will last, you're gonna have to sleep sometime and the hallway isn't the best place to be doin' that.
[Raylan stands up then and wait so see how the drawn lines are taken.]
no subject
He's my brother. I don't actually give a fuck if you're his warden, he's staying here. Okay?
no subject
Finally, he speaks up and there's no mistaking the edge of challenge in his voice.]
You're new and in somethin' of an emotional position, so I'm gonna let that slide. Shit starts goin' down and I'm movin' him to my cabin where I can assure he's safe, and it won't matter if you're brothers.
I'm gonna go in and see him. [He doesn't hesitate in stepping forward and opening Roman's door, fully helping himself to the inside.]
no subject
What kind of shit do you think is gonna go down?
[ Kendall asks it like he'd be in any position to stop it himself. He's only ever shot a gun on hunting retreats, when the animals have nowhere to go, and even then he hadn't been good at it. He's about as good at physical fighting as the average guy on the street. But he imagines there'd be some supersonic ability to protect that would come out of nowhere in the moment, if it was necessary. ]
And – like, how long is this supposed to last? Does he need to eat? Drink? How is he getting, like... nutrients? Vitamins? What about his muscles? Can't they, like, atrophy if you don't use them enough?
no subject
There's never any telling. Last time some random shit went down, it was hell in the hallways and Roman got his arm both bit and broken by a monstrous dog. I had to shoot my way to him.
[His eyes drop back down to Roman.]
So leavin' him up here makes me itch. But you don't hav'ta worry about all that stuff. We don't know how long it'll last. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes it's a month, sometimes its a few days. And the body maintains itself - I don't know how. But when he comes back up- [When, not if-] we don't want him being alone.
[If Kendall was going to stand guard, he was going to be doing it with Raylan's help, regardless of if the elder Roy wanted it or not. Kendall felt like a Doer, so Raylan might as well use that energy.]
no subject
[ Kendall bites the inside of his cheek, staring at Roman for a long moment. It's weird that he looks peaceful like this. That's also a weird thing to think, the kind of thing people think about dead bodies in novels. Kendall shakes his head. ]
Look, I'm – not trying to be an asshole about this. Seriously. I'd just rather not move him like this. I don't want him to... to wake up somewhere he didn't fall asleep. You know?
no subject
So long as some shit doesn't go down, we can respect that. Either way, I'll be down here daily to check up on him, and you.
I think he'll be more weirded out by this Sleeping Beauty gig than waking up somewhere he didn't expect and frankly, I owe him one of those but- That's somethin' else entirely.
[He lifts his chin towards the living room area.]
C'mon, I'll pour you a drink and you can tell me when you're from or ask whatever questions you might have.
no subject
He's a little angry at Roman suddenly, for falling so heavily asleep that Kendall's having to actually think this through. It's irrational, he knows; it's not Roman's choice, or even his fault. It's just that he thought he'd have more time like this, more time to be normal with him, the way it used to be.
He's in his head. Hard to get out of it, there's so much space in there. Easy to get lost. He doesn't say a word. ]
no subject
Here- might help take the edge off.
[Raylan might be lowkey strong arming, but he wasn't going to rush it. Showing up here is always a lot. Finding out that you're ahead of your brother is also a lot.]
cw drug addiction
[ He sounds genuinely grateful, and looks up just enough to offer a very small smile as he takes the glass and has a sip. Swallowing it in one go is probably a little gauche, considering the circumstances. God, he wants a line right now. ]
Sorry. It's just – when our dad got sick, we were in the hospital a lot. And it's... Yeah, it's bringing up some pretty shitty memories.
no subject
And I know that seein' Roman in this state is.. worryin' to say the least. Disconcerting at best. [Hard, either way.]
He's happy you're here, you know. Damn near over the moon when he came to tell me.
no subject
[ There's an edge of doubt in that, even if Kendall doesn't really doubt him. It's just a standard Roy response to anything remotely positive. ]
It – really messed him up, I think. More than me and Shiv. When my dad did that to us. Because, I mean, Roman... he's kind of, um... Sensitive's not the right word. I guess he can kind of fold under pressure, but like, whatever, we all do that. But it's like, he really beats the shit out of himself over it, when it happens.
no subject
It did. He and I have talked about Logan. Not so much about the deals y'all got burnt out of but. [the deals themselves weren't really that important. It was set dressing for the emotional tragedy that was the Roy family.]
How did you handle it?
no subject
[ Kendall frowns, looking distant for a moment. ]
It's pretty rare that we're all on the same side, you know? And I'm the eldest, so I guess I kind of felt like I had to help them first.
no subject
That's good of you. Important that family sticks together like that. [To some people. To most people.]
And how'd Shiv handle it? Just so I can.. get a clear understandin' of your dynamics. Hard to gain tone sometimes, off a file paper that only reads in facts, not intent and emotion.
no subject
[ Privately, Kendall had never really been fully convinced by Shiv and Tom's relationship, and he doesn't think his father was entirely wrong when he told Shiv that she'd invested in Tom because she thought he'd never have the stones to betray her. Which just makes that whole thing so much fucking worse. And now, of course, he wants to poke Tom's eyes out with his thumbs, so. ]
Her husband ratted us out, to get in our dad's good books. That's... pretty much how it goes with us. Either you're smart enough to get the fuck out of dodge when you realise what a shitshow our family is, or you stick around long enough to fuck us over to get props from the patriarch.
no subject
Sounds like her husband ruined their marriage. I'm gonna tell you what I tell Roman and honestly, it sounds harsh but also fuck the patriarch. My daddy also happens to be a grade A asshole who charms the pants off anyone he can pass the con on, and has shot me a couple times so- A little different.
How much further ahead of him are you again? I mean, I know a lot can happen in a frighteningly short amount of time, but. How much 'a lot' are we talkin' about here?
no subject
[ Kendall thinks about telling him the truth about what happened in those six months, not for the first time. It's tempting. It'd be nice to talk to someone about it, someone as straightforward as Raylan – especially considering what he just said about his own dad. But he's already been through it in his own head a million times. If he tells Raylan, Raylan will want to tell Roman, and then Roman will know. So. ]
no subject
That's not nothin', six months. I'm gonna guess that the plane that Roman remembers comin' here from didn't crash for you?
no subject
no subject
Give the old man a challenge? Prove you three were up to the task of running negotiations? How'd that go; did you guys win?
no subject
no subject
So. Did you guys win?
no subject
We won. In the way that matters.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)