video;

[duelo]

[ Derek is already sweaty and looking kind of run down or tired when the video comes up, but that's because he's just spent the last hour after Allison left, taking Apollo and Zeus with her, running with Chance on a nearby hiking trail, trying to ignore that uncomfortable pull in his stomach watching the dogs disappear from sight.

He has nothing left of his best — ...only — friend now. It felt wrong to take anything from Diego's room when his siblings would probably want it and it felt creepy to steal a piece of clothing to keep Diego's scent present for a little longer, so whatever was left, Laura and the Hargreeves three have in their possession. He regrets that, but he'll never admit to it.

Moping around the house isn't helping anyone, least of all Derek himself, so what he needs, he supposes, is a better distraction. Chance can't last as long on a run as Derek can, so he'd had to come back and drop off the dog. Now, he's still starved for a distraction but he figures running on his own is just going to give him time to steep in his own thoughts. He needs someone to join him and that someone needs to not also be mourning the loss of her roommate and significant other, so rather than asking Laura, he's taking to the network. ]

I don't suppose there's anyone who feels like they might want to go for a few miles running on a hiking trail on the outskirts of town or head up to DC for a CrossFit session, is there? I can go alone but I figured it was worth asking if anyone wanted to come with before I go.

[ If he's upset — and he is; he really is — he keeps that covered well. Laura might very well be the only person who could potentially see this video and identify it because she's almost definitely the only person left here who knows him well enough to read it. That's just as well, as far as he's concerned. ]

Barring any joiners, does anyone know if there are any local beaches that allow dogs? I didn't get the impression that any of them did, but maybe someone else knows better?

Comments

video;

[frigidaire]

As long as you promise not to get your feelings hurt when I leave you in the dust.

[ Not that Isaac could or would, but he wouldn't be himself without that cocky air. ]

I've never done CrossFit before. Can't be worse than lacrosse, right?

video;

[duelo]

[ Derek snorts a laugh and lifts his eyebrows in challenge. ]

You're kidding, right?

[ That challenging look switches to something more amused. ]

It's... You know what? You should come and try it.

[ It's worse than lacrosse. So much more work. ]

[frigidaire]

Do I look like I'm kidding?

[ He is. He's definitely kidding, but if anyone could give Derek a literal run for his money, it would be Isaac. He might not be the brains of the Beacon Hills pack, but he's got the speed at the very least. ]

But I guess we can save the race for another day. But uh yeah, I can try CrossFit. When we going?

[duelo]

Why not both?

We can go to CrossFit whenever, but if you want to do a 12-minute, which I think would be a good fit for you like it is for me, there's a schedule. Depends on what day of the week is better for you; I can give you the times depending on your day of choice.

[frigidaire]

I got pool duty like two more days this week but then I can go whenever. Can I meet at your place or whatever? I don't wanna mess up the travel to DC and get stuck somewhere.

[ Because he totally would. ] But yeah we can race, too. Get your ass kicked twice in one day.

[duelo]

Yeah, for sure. You can come by and we can leave together, no problem.

[ Derek looks dubious when he laughs. ]

Wow, that is a lot of confidence for someone who hasn't been around me in several years.

[frigidaire]

I mean you'll probably kick my ass but I'm not gonna go into it believing that.

[ He grins, though there's almost something a little sheepish about it. ]

But that means you're even older now. And you were old before, so. Maybe I stand a chance.

[duelo]

Maybe. Probably not, but maybe.

[ He grins back, feeling a little more secure in this attempt to reconnect than he has up to this point. ]

I'll see you soon.

text;

[rumores]

[ Allison doesn’t respond right away, mainly because she feels like Derek has had to deal with her and her family a lot lately and she doesn’t want to come across as annoying or get him sick of her. But, well, she’s currently on a quest to fill her day with things to do since she has started to cave and sneak in a cigarette or two when her stress levels are too high. She needs a healthy habit to kick the nasty one. ]

If you’re not sick of me yet, I’m game to go for a run.

I’ve never tried CrossFit, though, so I’m not sure I’d be a lot of help with that.

text;

[duelo]

Nah, I'm not sick of you.
Your family's hard to get sick of, believe it or not.

I think you'd be good at it, actually. Confession: I knew another Allison, back in the last place like this where I was before here.
The place where I met Diego. I used to spar with her, actually; she taught me a lot.

[rumores]

I think that's the first time I've ever heard that about my family.

[ She's not kidding, either. ]

Oh. Wow, you managed to keep that under wraps pretty well.

Sparring I can get behind. I'm actually going to start with Five tomorrow. If you're interested in resuming, I'm sure I can add you to my schedule.

[duelo]

You spend time around all the wrong people, evidently.

I didn't want to freak you out or anything. I'm sure I'd be freaked out if it was me, especially while I was still trying to settle into everything.

But yeah, sure. That sounds good.

[rumores]

Apparently.

I think I’m more confused than anything, considering I’m still so unfamiliar I am to all this. But, fair enough.

Alright, just let me know when you want to start.

[duelo]

I wish I could assure you that I could make it make sense, but I don't really understand it to try to explain.

Whenever. The sooner, the better. I need to get back into the swing of things.

[rumores]

Trust me, even when Five explains - and he has experience in this kind of thing - it still feels hard to believe.

I’m free tomorrow afternoon, if that works for you. We can make it a regular thing, too, if you want. I’m trying to keep busy so we’d be helping each other out.

[duelo]

Well at least it's not just because I'm too dumb to figure out how to explain that causes the confusion. It's a lot. A woman I know from home said there was another version of me where she was before here. She didn't mention being close with him, but even just knowing there's more than one of me is kinda fucked up and weird. Just...not as weird as I imagine it'd be if she said they spent significant time together or something.

[ And then Derek horrifies himself by allowing the possibility of Allison Argent being involved in some way with her version of him. Nope. He doesn't like that. ]

Yeah that works if we can go early. I've got a training session at 3:00. And yeah, if you want to make it a regular thing, let's set a time of the day and whatever days you want to do and I'll schedule my training sessions around that, starting next week.

[rumores]

No, it really is a lot, all the possibilities and how we can be the same but different as the other versions of us. I’m glad your experience with the other me wasn’t a bad one so that it didn’t taint...you know. This.

Yeah, that works. I’m pretty flexible after noon tomorrow, so just text me when to head over. We can work out something that is better for both our schedules for the ongoing ones.

[duelo]

[ It wasn't an incredible experience, but it also wasn't a bad one. She'd been nice enough to spar with him and teach him how to actually fight instead of solely relying on his strength and speed. Derek doesn't think she trusted him very much, though, because he was interested in Vanya and Derek's met Leonard — or, more accurately, Leonard's ghost — and he can understand why. ]

Yeah, no, it's fine. You'd be different than her, anyway. I could probably separate. At least, I like to think so.

Just come as soon as you're free. You can bring the dogs and they can run in the yard with Chance. And that sounds like a plan.