1964-06-03 - A Little Mind Control Between Friends
Summary: Maximus, in a fit of pique, manages to mind-control Lindon briefly. This is the aftermath.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
lindon maximus 


Lindon's knocked over with a startled 'oof,' and he scrabbles to get his hands under him, to push up. "They'll destroy you," he whispers. "Stop, Maximus, please, I won't be able to stop them. Just take a moment. Think!"

*

Maximus frowns at the threat as he stands on the side of the couch, "Who are you talking about?" Totally unsure if Lindon is talking about the voices in his own head, or…someone else.

*

Lindon turns onto his back, pushing himself up on his elbows so he can look at Maximus. "Lamont," he says. "And… and Strange." He takes a deep, calming breath. If he stays calm, maybe it'll spread calm by association. "Whatever I did that upset you, I'm very sorry. I like you. I thought we might be friends, but I presumed too much."

*

Maximus just drops down to his knees and seems boneless, listless. "You did not do anything…I should not have come in this state, Lindon. I am…I was…recently…" Maximus takes a deep breath, "I do not idly fall, when I do, and I was rejected, cruelly. But I knew I would be. I suffer. I have…a mind that is not whole. That is what they tell me. I am…/sorry/…"

*

Lindon sits up slowly, and he looks at Maximus. He considers for a long moment, going through a dozen scenarios, a hundred calculations. When it comes to the human animal and similar creatures, there is so much he knows about, but so little he actually knows. Tentatively, he sweeps back an errant curl. "It's all right," he says quietly. "We live and learn, yeah?"

*

Maximus leans forwards and puts a hand over his face, "I will make him war with me, eventually. If not tonight, then another night. There is nothing I can do. my story is tragedy….like yours."

*

"I won't say anything," Lindon says, swallowing. "It was just a misunderstanding between acquaintances." He offers Maximus a small, brittle smile. "I'm not ready to be the reason your story ends sadly. Just. Don't do that again. Okay?"

*

"No, why would I…you have your…willing companion who /warns you/ against me." Maximus draws up to his feet and dares to look at Lindon again. He isn't exactly ashamed as just…miserable. "I knew it was not true. I just wanted it to be true for one moment."

*

Lindon regards Maximus with those too-serious dark eyes, gentle and calm. "It's hard to want the impossible, then to have its impossibility confirmed," he says. "Grief and anger are normal. You don't have to assault me. Just talk to me. I'll listen." How accountable will he hold a madman? The insult doesn't seem sufficient to outrage him. It's not like Maximus harmed one of his books.

*

"I don't want to. My brother is the sad…moping…sack of garbage that does that. I do not. I rise…" Maximus starts to rally himself, "I forge ahead in the shadows…through sewers if I have to…" He stands up to his feet again. "alone."

*

Lindon purses his lips. "I tried to go it alone," he says. "I didn't want to hurt anyone. I didn't want to feel anything. If I didn't feel, I wouldn't hurt." He half-laughs and lowers his gaze. "Now I hurt all the time, but I have people who care about me." He pauses a moment, then says, "Maximus? Do you want me to leave you alone from now on? I don't want to cause you more difficulty."

*

"I said I should not have come today. Today is not a good day. I am suffering, and suffering always makes it worse. Maximus the Mad, they call me, sometimes." He flashes a manic smile. "Occasionally I prove it right. Be my friend…as I thought…we were close to that."

*

Lindon smiles faintly. "Of course," he says. "I'll be your friend. I'd like that." He drops his gaze, long lashes fluttering low. Then he looks back to Maximus. "We'll put today behind us. Water under the bridge. I… I know there's madness in you. Mine is different, but I'm familiar with the loss of one's faculties, to not be able to control what one does. I'd be a hypocrite not to forgive."

*

"I will not harm you. I promise that. Not ever again. Not when you can forgive for that." Maximus draws up a deep breath and then lifts his chin. "The suffering will end in a while…and I should be better. Not to mention, I am not certain how I even got through."

*

"I have no idea," Lindon says. He gets up and goes to the kitchen to get another teacup, and he pours Maximus another cup of tea. As he brings it back to the living room, he says, "A fluke, as best I can guess. One of those rare moments when things were just quiet enough, like how every once in awhile all conversation in a room stops for no discernible reason."

*

"Sometimes I am stronger, when I have a sudden…urge." Maximus nears the paper that Lindon meant to give him earlier and he flips it open. "What lead is this?"

*

"More on the Kree presence on Earth," Lindon says. "Where you can find them. In case you wanted to go that route." He touches up his tea from the pot, then sips it. "I'm afraid I couldn't come up with much. They're well hidden."

*

Maximus flips the folder shut. "Germany. That is interesting. Actually, that may be a way to…deal with this situation. Directly to the Kree. Before the terrigen is destroyed." Maximus nods sagely at that.

*

Lindon nods tentatively and says, "Yes that's what I was thinking. No Kree, no Kree destroying the terrigen." He smiles to see his information well-received. "I'm afraid I might run dry on information soon, and I'll have to invite you just to spend time with a friend."

*

"Then invite me to the world…somewhere in public. That helps." Maximus suggests, "And it is not the Kree that I fear will destroy it. I fear that our enemies will. Mutants. Humans. Without it, we are no threat to anyone. Most governments would not see reason that we do not interfere with the world, and would wipe us out." He says with a sad confidence. "I must protect my people from this fate."

*

"That's why I help," Lindon admits. "Wiping out the terragen is paramount to genocide. Who of us has that right? Sure, it can be weaponized. It's dangerous, but it's also life, and life…" He bites his lip and glances away. "Sorry. I'm babbling. Of course I'll go out in the world with you. We can have coffee sometime in the city."

*

"Coffee in the city. Yes. I can do that. And…try not to think about the terrigen as a weapon. Yesss, I did that one time, but my city was under assault." Maximus flicks a grin in Lindon's direction.

*

"I'm trusting you," Lindon says. He smiles a little, and he takes another sip of his tea. "To be honest, before all this brain stuff happened to me, I never met anyone interesting. Now I'm talking to a former king." And a Sorcerer Supreme he doesn't mention. The Shadow. Lindon's getting around these days.

*

"Tell me about your lover. I am curious…what is it like to have someone actually care about you, like that?" Maximus pries, definitely breaking some sort of…'things you don't ask about' rule, but, he's a King, so, he doesn't care.

*

Lindon smiles despite himself, and he lowers his gaze to his teacup. It might not be a thing to ask about, but Lindon is so strange about social mores to begin with. "He's passionate," he says, "though you'd never know it to look at him. He's very somber to people he doesn't know well. He's got a rough edge to him, but he's also a refined gentleman. A man of means, though that's not what appeals to me. Money is a convenience, but I've enough of my own. I don't remember the first time I met him. I was in the middle of a vision. He could have taken advantage, but instead, he made sure I got home."

*

Maximus squints his eyes. "Lorna attracts people by…feigning innocence…and naivity. And you have ensnared your lover by…being vulnerable as well. These are things I cannot afford. If I am vulnerable, then my strength as King is questioned. And I am not innocent." He whispers the last sentence. "So that leaves me…the rescuer…I think I am not very good at that. Or the villain that preys. I do not like that either. Hmmm." The former king muses, glancing to the broken teacup. "I will purchase you another of those cups. Any sort you like."

*

Lindon's brow knits, and he says, "I never thought about it like that before. I like to think he was just being kind, and as he got to know me, he found me attractive for, you know, qualities. Aside from occasionally going barking mad and not knowing where I am or what I'm doing." He smiles fleetingly. "I think it's more complicated than rescuer and rescuee, Maximus, or villain and victim." Glancing toward the teacup, he admits, "I would like that. If you can find another one in the set. They're not very rare, just what they had at the store."

*

Maximus moves towards the broken cup and picks up a piece of it, eyeing the pattern. He tucks it away in his pocket to reference later. Then he paces to the envelope. "I will see it done, one way or another. And…I think…do not mind me right now. I am morose…and not myself. Normally I hardly care what anyone thinks."

*

"I think today gets a pass," Lindon says. "I might need to ask your indulgence some day in the future. I can't predict when." He studies Maximus for a long moment. "I'm not entirely sure why, and I'm not going to overthink it, but I care about what happens to you."

*

Maximus widens blue eyes. "Yessss, do NOT overthink thaaaat." He lets out a chuckle then. "Good to know…you, and Vesper." He slides the envelope into his grasp and then stares at Lindon for a long moment. "I do think I care what happens to you, as well, or…" Obviously he would have done bad things a hundred times over by now.

*

"You've acted in a very caring manner," Lindon says. He knows it could be a ruse to get on his good side, but he also knows that the difference between a ruse of kindness and genuine compassion is time. If only he could put these bits of knowledge to more practical use. He tentatively pats Maximus on the arm. "A good basis for a friendship."

*

Maximus nods once. "Coffee, then, soon. To test out if I can be your friend…when you have nothing for me." He lifts his chin at the challenge, curls brushing his cheekbones.

*

Lindon's brows lift. "Nothing?" He studies that challenging look, and finally he smiles. "All right. I won't bring you anything on terragenisis or the Kree. Just myself and my personality. We'll see if there's enough there to like." His gaze flits to the ringlets, then back to Maximus' eyes.

*

Maximus sighs. "Stop it, Lindon. You're doing it again. The…part where I think you are flirting." Maximus points at the man with an air of teasing. At least now he knows its not on purpose.

*

Lindon ducks his head and says with a breathy laugh, "Sorry. It's not conscious. I've never actually tried to flirt on purpose before." He pauses, then asks, "Might I ask what it is I'm doing?"

*

"Its the…looking. Something about the looking. I cannot explain it. You obviously do find me physically attractive, even if you aren't interested." Maximus explains rather boldly.

*

"I do," Lindon admits. "You're outrageous, and I'm intrigued." He bites the corner of his lip, then adds, "I don't actually know how interested I am. I've made a habit of not letting myself view people in those terms. Lamont was such a surprise to me." He swallows, then adds, "I know he's said he'd understand if there were others, but I'm still not sure how I could— I'm a lapsed Catholic." Like that should explain everything.

*

"That's a religion, right?" Maximus asks with his brows arched up. "I am part alien you know. The Kree are probably your angels, come down from the heavens." He grins crookedly, "Religions have some…catching up to do, to keep up with changes in the world, hmmm? Friends is fine. Do not trouble yourself too much."

*

"That's why I'm lapsed," Lindon says. "You can't know what I know and still believe that the contents of a book they made you read since you were a child contains everything you need to know about how the universe works. Catholics are masters of feeling conflicted and guilty. It's kind of what we do. If I trouble myself, it's because I want to. I don't hold you responsible."

*

Maximus bows his head once. "Then…I will leave you to the guilt…blameless." Dry. He's almost never blameless. Try to have a better rest of the evening."

*

Lindon laughs quietly, and he says, "All right." He looks at Maximus again, then with some consternation. Because he catches his gaze lingering on the curls, the lipstick. It's fascinating and he's still not sure if it's alluring or just odd. But he's learning: those little glances are the sticking point. He clears his throat and says, "I'll see you again soon, I hope. For coffee. Take care of yourself, Maximus."

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