gunsforhire | LOG: The family that drinks together

She's there shortly after wearing her newly knitted green scarf this time. Her helmet is removed as she approaches the bar and slides into the saved seat. A quick glance tells her he's decided to stick with the scotch and she smiles lightly at that.

"Hey. How was dinner?"

Green today. If Omega was paranoid, he'd read something into that. If he was a narcissist, he'd try to find some sort of hidden message. But he isn't and he doesn't.

"Aside from the elephant? They were excited to eat with their hands. Apparently it was full of iron, too, so. You know. The desperate eggshell walking guilt trip."

Omega hates the aftermath, when everyone pretends nothing happens, tries to keep him happy for a few days, then slips right back into old patterns.

So it's going to be one of these trips to the bar. Well, she can handle that she supposes. Omega's put up with more than his share of bullshit over the years, he deserves someone listening to him.

She throws the tequila shot back and motions for the bartender to go ahead and pour her another one. "Sorry I missed it. What do you mean by 'eggshell walking guilt trip?'"

Omega gestures vaguely, unsure how to explain it. "Delta doesn't think I'm right. But he doesn't want to fight anymore, so he's ignoring it until it goes away. And to make sure it stays away, he's extra nice to me. So if I try to bring it up...I'm the bad guy."

Omega hates this part. Because hiding under the desk for anything short of an earthquake is ... so far from acceptable.

She sighs. She should have known there would be more to this brewing in the house if Omega wasn't that eager to return. "From the sounds of it, Delta was throwing his own shit back at you so he's not innocent. Do the others pick sides?"

Omega blinks. Has anyone ever...suggested that Delta wasn't innocent in all this? That he might have a valid point?

Probably, but he can't remember it.

"No, they just want us to not fight. Which means they tend to take his side by default. Especially at this point, where if I try to bring it up, I'm picking on him."

"I'm surprised they don't join in on the fighting more often with all of you that close together." Who the hell in their right mind had that many kids and then dumped them all off to live in such a small house? It didn't make any damn sense and she has to wonder if that wasn't part of why she and Alpha were taken away, to make space for the others.

"I doubt it's worth breaking the peace if he's not going to get the point, but if he keeps trying to play victim, I'm not going to put up with it. Neither of you need to go at each other's throats with all the other shit that's going on."

"We don't usually fight like this," Omega says. "We don't fight about the kids, or the house or ... Two so quickly is a lot."

Most of the time, Omega is content to let Delta do what he thinks is best. But not when someone's health is involved. And Omega had thought, with Sigma and Delta and Epsilon all having personal lives, he could have the same. Apparently not. "Maybe it's my fault," he muses, but he doesn't finish the thought.

"Why is it your fault?" she asks, frowning. The start of the fight is fizzy for her, she's heard more about the rest of it than anything else.

"Before everything, when he first met York, we fought. I don't even remember why. And he said things, said I wasn't doing things I should be. Said I wasn't taking care of him, and he was right."

It's hard to admit to her, that he didn't keep as close an eye on Delta as he should have, that he didn't say what needed to be said and took him for granted. But he's Tex's little brother, and that should mean...

"I've tried to be a better brother. I have. But now I'm wondering if it's too late. If I broke him for good."

"You didn't break him," she says firmly and reaches out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "The Counselor did that. And if I had stuck around..."

She sighs and withdraws her hand.

"What was he saying you weren't doing?"

"You didn't have a choice," Omega says.

It was weeks ago. He still remembers. "That I didn't take an interest in his life. That I didn't appreciate him. That I didn't tell him...that I didn't care."

He has to remind himself not to slam the bar. But he does care. "I tried to be better. I tried being around more, taking care of the kids more so he could get a break, I did everything he asked and it's just. Never good enough for him."

"He said all that? And meant it?" She finds that damn hard to believe. Anyone can see Omega cares.

"I thought you helped out and earned most of the money for the house?"

"I'm not a mind reader. If he says something, I assume he means it." Omega swirls the ice in his glass. "Used to work more. A lot more. Used to come home, put the kids to bed, fall asleep on the couch, and be gone before they were awake in the morning. The money's better now. Less hours. Maine won't fire me if I have to be a few minutes late to drop the kids off at school or take off early for a doctor's appointment."

Omega hasn't talked to Maine since the party. That doesn't bode well.

"If he fired you for that, I'd wring his damn neck." She reaches for her shot glass to down that too and lets it sit empty for now.

"Delta takes what you say at face value. I know that much. You being at home more hasn't helped?"

Omega snorts. "No, I think it makes it worse. Or bad timing, I don't know. I try doing what he wants, and he does this thing where he tells me what I'm thinking, or he just makes up things out of whole cloth or..." He trails off. "Look, I don't lie to him. Much. It's not my fault things don't happen according plan."

"Do you think having your own room on base would help? You wouldn't have to live there, but if you needed a night away or stayed late at work, you'd have a place."

Not ideal. Especially with Sigma wanting to move out but... She watches Omega out of the corner of her eyes. He deserves to have his own space.

"Feels like a punishement," Omega says honestly. "But if you think it will help...what we're doing now isn't working. Something needs to change."

It doesn't make sense. If Delta's going to hide and Epsilon's going to wander and Sigma's going to ... Sigma, isn't it more important for Omega to be there, make sure everyone doesn't get so distracted by boyfriends and self-pity they forget to pick the twins up?

"Maybe Delta should leave. Find a place where nobody makes him face reality. He did that, once, lasted about a week. I didn't make him come home, though I'm sure he told everyone I did. I just wanted to make sure where ever he was, he was safe."

"It's not a punishment. You're going to be part of our team, so you should have a room on base. They saved mine even when I was gone for months. Don't have to use it, but it'd be there," she replies. And he'd be close to her. She's never had family staying in the same place as her, far as she can remember. Selfish reason, but it's there.

"You think Delta would do that long-term? He wouldn't even agree to let me put the twins to bed by myself, said I needed 'learn from him' first."

"When you put it that way, I can see it. A team thing." Not getting Omega to where he could do the least amount of damage. Not kicking him out until he says all the right things. Something the rest of the team has. "It sounds like a plan. I like it. Let's do it. Though I don't know how much of a teammate I really am. I haven't taken any tests."

Omega shakes his head. "No, but tunnel-vision is almost his middle name. He talks about wanting to go out and have a life, I try to make it possible, and we end up fighting because I don't like to text. He...I don't know. He's my problem child."

"But you're planning to and having a place on base will help. I'll get it set up." Most likely for use after Delta's recovered from his surgery. At least it'll be ready for the next big blow-up.

"And you're certain he was mad because you don't like to text? The only reason?"

"Thank you." Omega smiles at her. There is a plan. He likes plans. And the idea of coming back to something just how he left it is a nice one.

Omega shrugs and looks away. "He thought I was lying to him. He thought something had happened with Louisiana, that I wasn't talking to him about it. And when I told him what happened, that there was no problem, he decided I was lying." Omega finishes his drink. "I'm very sorry I didn't have a problem to feed to his ego."

"Didn't you mention there was some huge misunderstanding with her?" Or something along those lines.

She motions for the bartender to come over and refill Omega's glass. She's handling their tab and he looks like he could use another drink.

Omega shrugs. "I gave her the wrong idea, she assumed something that wasn't true, I got mad. She gave me space and then we talked it out like adults. I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal."

It really was that simple, once it was over.

She nods. Sounds perfectly reasonable to her. "Good. Did you tell Delta any of that or did you brush him off?"

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