5215/Changeling: Tell Me Why (I Don't Like Mondays)

Changeling: Tell Me Why (I Don't Like Mondays)
Date of Scene:	21 August 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Clint and Skye have a difficult talk with May, and the trio make a pact to visit Medbay and face psych evals together. Nobody is happy.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake, Melinda May
Tinyplot:	Changeling

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dplpWIpofHI

Clint had a restless night, so when the morning came he was glad to give Skye a quick kiss good morning, slip out of bed, pull on his shirt then, head to the kitchen if only for the chance to move and maybe shake the cobwebs out of his brain.

The coffee machine is set up and started, then he fills the kettle and sets it on the burner. If May wasn't up already, he figured the whistle of the kettle would summon her.

Unless she slipped out already.

That would be totally her.

He waffles at the idea of heading back up to the guest rooms before the whistling of the kettle draws his attention back to the stove. He decides instead to call out, "Tea and coffee is on!"

Then he sets about moving the kettle off the burner and getting down the tea pot, figuring May would have opinions as to what tea she wanted. Though they did keep some of the good loose leaf tea for when she came by.

Quake has posed:
Skye groans at the kiss. Not at the kiss, but because it means it's morning, and it's not like she's really slept much at all - between Clint's tossing and turning and her own, she's tired, and no closer to any answers about matters. Other than she's decided she needs to talk to Lumley.

But first she and Clint need to talk to May. (who is likely to turn matters around and point out the pair are well on their way to needing a psych eval of their own for various reasons, though May might not know about the mysterious telepath borrowing Clint's mind, so maybe it's only Skye who is going to get the pot/kettle talk)

While Clint is off making coffee, she puts off getting out of bed until there's the whistle of the kettle, and the call out of coffee and tea are on. May's close enough to family now that Skye doesn't bother putting clothes proper on and pads on down the stairs in the tap pants and crop top that she'd slept in, but not before stopping at the guestroom door and knocking lightly.

"See you downnstairs, May? Anything we can put on to eat for you?"

Skye's thinking a bagel herself. Minimal effort for maximum carby warmth in her belly.

Melinda May has posed:
May HAD been planning on slipping out, but Clint was up earlier than she'd anticipated. She managed to catnap a bit through the night, but the slightly unfamiliar setting made it a bit of a challenge. Thus, she remembers hearing the faint rustlings as if she weren't the only one failing to get adequate rest.

By the time the kettle whistles and Skye knocks she's already dressed, so she goes over to the door with her jacket over one arm. "I think just tea will work," she answers as she opens the door to follow Skye downstairs.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint is thinking along the same lines as Skye when it comes to food. Quick, carby, bagels. He's got the bag out already and saws through one with their bread knife before popping it into the toaster. Waiting to see if Skye wants one before he gets it going.

That done, he grabs some coffee, leans on the island and waits.

Quake has posed:
Skye yawns her way down the stairs, and stops at the bottom, situating herself (innocently, or course) so that May can round the bend of them at floor level and head into the kitchen first. Not that May is liable to bolt, but one can never be too sure, right? After all, Skye's bolted before. Often.

"Clint made it, so it's probably drinkable," Skye smirks half-heartedly. Though she's getting a lot better at cooking. She even has a 'night' that she does the cooking. Or something akin to cooking that Clint dutifully eats and praises her for. And sometimes orders pizza afterwards as a reward.

"Mmm, bagels," Skye says appreciatively, grabbing a coffee mug, pouring, and fixing the cup up with cream before finding herself a perch at the table. "Sure you don't want a bagel, May? I'm sure Clint wouldn't mind putting another on. We might have some fruit. Not sure about that one though."

Melinda May has posed:
Just the smell of the bagels is enough to make her consider turning down tea, but she knows that with these two, it would be one step too far. "I'm sure, but thanks." She gets her own cup and starts her tea steeping before following Skye to the table.

Cue the awkward silence. Because May sure as hell isn't gonna start a conversation, not right now.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"For sure, I can put on an extra bagel," Clint offers May, grabbing one for Skye and getting it ready to toast. "Lara had a wicked big toaster in this place."

When May refuses, he nods, "Tea's by the-"

He sees she's already got it. "Nevermind."

He takes a sip of his coffee and then heads back to the kitchen island and drags out a chair. He takes a seat. Joining the awkward silence. "Um, so, Skye and I were talking and we're a bit worried about you. Last night, you seemed, rattled, and well, in the eight years I've known you, that's a first."

Quake has posed:
Well, it's not how she'd have done it, but then again, since Clint tackled the matter, Skye can smooth it out? Be a second voice of reason? Not have to be the one who gets the first and full brunt of May's ire?

Skye cups her mug of coffee in two hands and peers over it at May.

Melinda May has posed:
May sets the used tea aside and takes a sip of the still nearly scalding liquid as if to take a moment to think about Clint's words.

"That was a combination of residual migraine and other factors," she finally replies. "Nothing I've not dealt with before." She just usually chooses to do so where there's no one to see and worry.

For the sharp eyed, she's still being a bit more diligent about her posture than usual in what she considers a safe space.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods and takes a sip of his coffee to give him a second to gather his thoughts. He was horrible at this stuff, which is why he'd gone for the rip off the band-aid approach. He figured if anything May would appreciate directness rather than being handled with kid gloves.

"Yeah, I can understand the migrane, but what about the op? What happened there?" he says with a glance to Skye.

Quake has posed:
May might be a professional liar, or she might not be, but Skye was there, and while she was, admittedly, distracted, she also knew a beaten in skull when she saw one. And that May had gone well past the point of 'man down'. In short, despite what she was saying, things weren't as peachy keen as May was trying to make them out to be.

I could toss the painkillers your way and see if you catch them any better today, or we can all agree you're not as fine as you're claiming to be."

She nods when Clint looks her way, then looks back to May. "What happened back there, May? That wasn't you. That's not what you taught me. I mean, you don't have to tell us, but think maybe you should talk to someone."

Melinda May has posed:
May studies Skye and Clint over her tea cup for a long moment before setting her cup down. "I wasn't kidding when I said I react badly to pain. The mutant trying to squash my brain and then slamming me back against a wall was enough to make me react." No, she's not going to elaborate on WHY. Deal.

She then takes another swallow of her tea, then looks at the couple again. "So which one of you two was the restless one last night?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint meets May's gaze over her tea cup, but shrugs at her statement. "Who likes pain? I don't, but from what I hear, 'react' doesn't cover what happened," he says levelly.

"And I agree with Skye, you should talk to someone, even if it isn't us. "

When May turns things back around on them, Clint smiles. "Nice try," he says refusing to engage.

Quake has posed:
"Not should," Skye mutters over her coffee. "Are going to. Sorry, May, but you'd make me. I insist. Someone. Anyone. But you need to talk."

Blythely avoiding her own issues. And Clint's nightmare.

"None of us slept well," she says quietly.

Melinda May has posed:
"Then both of you do too. Finish your bagels." If they're gonna make her do this, by god they're going with her. RIGHT NOW. May takes another swallow of her tea as if to prove to them that they're on a time limit.

"I know why I didn't sleep well, above and beyond the bruises on my back. And Psych is also aware, have been for a while. What excuses do you two have?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint consider's May's demand a moment and shoots a look to Skye. "I'm good to go, how about you?" he says. Though the pair of them would need to dress first, what with them both in their sleep wear.

Tilting back his mug he downs his coffee and sets it on the counter.

"Nightmare," Clint answers for himself. Leaving out the part where one of the X-Men borrowed his brain for a bit.

Quake has posed:
"Not dressed," Skye says breezily, hoping that opts her out, even if she knows it doesn't.

"Thinking about you. My dad. The dead man. Then Clint's nightmare. Karl. Lumley. Why I wasn't put in a basket and sent down the river. The usual."

Yeah, she's not getting out of this.

Melinda May has posed:
May just sips at her tea again. "Then I'll wait for you both here." After all, her car is outside, might as well all drive together. Also, it'll give her time to put her jacket on while they're both off getting dressed.

She's not looking forward to it.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Sighing Clint says, "Neither am I, Keyboard, but I figure we should put our money where our mouth is."

He wasn't keen on going either, but at the same time he was worried about himself, about Skye and about May.

He gets up and takes his cup to the sink. "We can eat on the way," he says glancing to May, it was likely her car they were going in.

He grimaces at Skye's list especially the last one, he makes his way over and wraps her in his arms. "C'mon, we should go get dressed," he says kissing her cheek and letting her go.

Quake has posed:
Skye wrinkles up her nose and makes a face. She's not even trying to protest. That was another thing that had kept her up last night, knowing she needed to talk to someone, and also knowing how very little she wanted to. And it couldn't be Clint. Much as she loved him, he wasn't her therapist, and some of this stuff had gone way beyond what he should be expected to listen to and help her with.

Besides, she was pretty sure SHIELD expected her to report for these things semi-regularly and wouldn't accept, 'oh I talked to Clint yesterday, I'm fine' as an excuse not to.

This way, at least, Fury wasn't going to 'suggest' it to her.

"Fine. Everyone ready in five and we all go in and bite the bullet together."

Melinda May has posed:
May just stays right where she is, taking her time finishing her tea while the other two go get dressed.

She's really not looking forward to this, if only partly because Medical always gets pissy about her taking damage to her back.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Skye's suggestion gets a nod. "Meet in five, got it."

Not that he and Skye weren't headed for the same place.

As for his own thoughts about going to psych, he wasn't looking forward to it, but he knew he needed it, at the very least to clear him of any psychic crap bouncing around in his brain.

He let's a breath go he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah, this is going to be fun, alright, back in five."

He heads out of the kitchen to go get changed.

Quake has posed:
Skye's getting dressed is perfunctory. She's not a fashion maven by any stretch of the imagination. Not that she's crumpled or rumpled, but she's casual, almost always. Enough so that when she cleans up (and she does clean up nicely) the girl turns heads.

It takes her just about the five minutes she's stated to dress, brush her teeth, grab her laptop, and be waiting at the front door. And shortly thereafter, the others join her, the trio heading to Medical and psych eval. As it should be.