New Memories (Open)

[Micah]

Micah Kayani shuffled around the room that he had woken up in a day or so ago; it seemed like an infirmary of some sort. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened to his life. The last thing he really remembered was rolling into New York several months ago if the date was to be really believed. So what had happened to the last months of his life? As far as he knew he was still looking for his sister and he didn't know anyone on the Helicarrier, though it seemed like a few of them knew him. It was very frustrating.

The red-head stopped at the bed and kicked it in anger. He had woken up to a cute girl who had seemed very concerned with his well-being, though she seemed upset about something else too. All he really knew was that she was not his sister and that she was part of some military group that he had heard of but didn't know all that much about. The mutant was touched by the concern but was very confused by it. He wanted to remember, but, from what he had read, amnesia can take a while to wear off or it could go away right away, though that didn't seem likely.

The boy sat on his bed, his face in his hands as they rested on his knees. What was he going to do? It seemed like he was not going to be allowed out and about for a while, not that he would know what to do. What had happened to his life? Micah let out a sigh and flopped backward onto the bed, wincing at the scrapes and bruises on his body, as well as the dull ache that started in his head again. Something big had obviously happened or he wouldn't have as many bandages or aches. This was just great.

[Cheryl Harrison]

A week ago, Cheryl had been pissed off and terrified by Micah. The sudden revelation that he was a Brotherhood member—that he'd been a Brotherhood member as long as she'd known him—was awful. She'd went along on the rescue mission, even though she was fairly certain it was just so she could kill him herself. And then they'd found him on an operating table, obviously in the middle of brain surgery, with the surgeon gone. Immediately her anger had switched over to panic. For the next day, she'd stayed by him in the infirmary, waiting for him to wake up. He did, and she was relieved. And then it became incredibly clear that he had no clue who she was. That had hurt more than the betrayal.

And despite what everyone kept saying, she couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. If they had gotten to the Brotherhood base a little sooner, or if they hadn't needed pull him off the operating table, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Or...maybe he'd be dead, instead of just missing some memories. The doctors had said that he was lucky, that he could have been a lot worse. But they still didn't know when—or if—he was going to start recovering his memories. And Cheryl supposed they could always just 'start over' in their relationship, but how could she even bring that topic up without creeping him out? In his mind, they had only just met.

Still, Cheryl buried the nagging feeling that she wasn't allowed to have friends, put on her best mask of complacency, and tried to go about business as usual. The world wasn't about to end just because her relationship status had changed. When she finally got a break from training, though, her first thought was to go visit him. Even if the way he looked at her—or didn't look at her—was painful, being cooped up in the infirmary had to be worse. Keeping him distracted was the least she could do.

Cheryl rummaged through her room, grabbing any books she could find. She wasn't sure he'd like any of them—most were either about aeronautics or Captain Rogers—but it had to be better than nothing. He was probably bored. As an afterthought, Cheryl dropped by the commissary on her way to the infirmary, and grabbed a bag of cookies. She'd been stuck in there enough to know that the doctors didn't believe in junk food. Micah was probably dying for lack of sugar. It would have been better if Cheryl made them herself, of course, but she didn't want to waste another half-hour before getting to see him. These would have to do. She spied a newspaper on an empty table, and grabbed that too. Hopefully whoever had stuck it there wasn't coming back for it.

Hands full, Cheryl finally made her way down to the infirmary. He'd been given one of the secure rooms, mostly because no one was sure how he'd behave when he woke up. He was a Brotherhood member, after all. Or he had been. But...now he didn't know he had been, or something. Cheryl wasn't entirely sure whether or not he was more confused than she was. Shifting everything to one hand so she had a chance to knock, Cheryl realized belatedly that she was still in uniform. Oh well. She wasn't about to turn back and change now. “Hey, Micah?” she called out tentatively as she knocked, “Want some company? I brought cookies.”

[Micah]

Micah nearly missed the knock and someone calling his name from the door. It was the girl he had woken up to...Cheryl. He was glad that he remembered her name this time. Remembering names had become more difficult for him, he had noticed and the fact that he remembered Cheryl's name so quickly brought him hope that he would very soon remember what had happened so he could maybe ease this girl's discomfort by sorting out what he had done and explaining that. Of course there was no guarantee that he would understand his decisions that he had made in the past that he didn't remember making.

"I could use some company...and cookies are always good. What kind do you have?" Micah replied, his voice uncertain. Obviously something had happened between himself and Cheryl. He could see it in the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

Settling back on the bed was a process. It took him a few moments to find a position that was relatively comfortable and then waited for Cheryl to settle. He wanted to see if he could get some answers out of her. At this point he wasn't above being blunt about anything. She had answers to his questions, at least some of them. Then again, there was the chance that she wouldn't answer any of them, though he certainly hoped not.

"So, I'm, uh, I'm really confused about what's happening...or what happened. I don't know what I'm a part of...or rather, what I was a part of since something obviously happened to end that. And I don't know why you're upset with me. You wouldn't be willing to explain any of that to me, would you?" Micah asked quietly. He hoped his questions weren't too rude, or hurtful, because those were the last things he wanted to do, but he wanted answers, and then he wanted to find his sister. Whether or not he had found her previously, to his present self he hadn't found her and he was still upset with her for taking off. His fists clenched in anger, the knuckles turning white. His anger abated for a moment when he realized something important: his hands weren't on fire.

[Cheryl Harrison]

“Snickerdoodle. I mean they're just commissary cookies, but at least they're fresh. They were restocking as I went in, and the bag's still a little warm. So they should be good,” Cheryl replied in a rush, aware that she was rambling but unable to stop. She was nervous. Opening the door, she stepped into his room, still carefully balancing her stack of items on one arm. Micah looked better than he had yesterday, but still not great. Considering he'd gone through brain surgery, though, it was understandable. “I brought you some other stuff, too,” she added, nodding down to the pile in her arms. “Some books and a newspaper. In case you were bored, or wanted to catch up. I mean, I don't know if you'll like the books at all; they're pretty dry, but it's everything I had in my room.”

As Micah got settled, Cheryl carefully set down the stack on his bedside table. For a second she considered cuddling up next to him on the bed, and then realized that it would probably freak him out. No. They weren't dating right now. In his mind, they hadn't dated yet. She pulled a chair over, spun it to face his bed, and sat down. There, that was better. Cheryl grinned as she looked back at him. He was still the same. It was far too easy to forget that they hadn't happened yet.

And then the question came. Cheryl knew it would, but it didn't make answering it any easier. Her smile faltered, “I'm not sure I should—“ she broke off. If she didn't tell him, then it would probably be on one of the doctors, or something. Or worse, no one would be willing to talk to him Better it came from her.

“About two months ago, I met you in a little bakery in New York. We started talking, and my partner set us up on a date. I—it went well, and we went on a few more.” Cheryl paused, not sure how much detail she should give. Probably better to keep it simple. If he had more questions, she could fill them in. But maybe he just wasn't interested in that part. After a second, she continued, more hesitantly. “And then, last Wednesday, I got a call from you. You said that—that you were in the Brotherhood, and had been keeping a Tank prisoner. Seeker. He was one of my friends. Or something. But you said you needed help getting him out. By the time SHIELD showed up, you were on an operating table. We brought you back here.” She fell silent, watching Micah nervously to see how he'd react. It wasn't exactly a happy ending.

[Micah]

Snickerdoodle cookies were one of Micah's favorites and he was grateful that she had brought them. It was rather thoughtful of her to bring things for him to occupy his time with. It was a gesture of more than an acquaintance. For not the first time Micah wondered who he was to Cheryl and who she was to him.

Micah was very conscious of Cheryl as she moved about the room. She placed the various time consuming items next to his bed. As she sat down in a chair, Micah became confused as to why he wanted her to crawl onto the bed next to him. Pushing the feeling away as much as he could as his words reached her. Cheryl's cute smile faltered a bit before she started to tell him that she shouldn't tell him. Disappointment rushed through Micah before he could stop it. He had expected that, but it was still disappointing. Micah was all set to change the subject when something must have changed Cheryl's mind about an explanation.

With rapt attention Micah absorbed the information. He waited patiently at her brief pauses even though he wanted to interject. This was hard for her, he could tell. What surprised him was that, apparently he had joined the Brotherhood. That group he had heard of and though they said they weren't out to destroy humans or anything, no one truly believed that.

Micah wouldn't look at Cheryl directly for a few moments as he tried to process the information. If they had been dating it would make sense as to why he wanted her to crawl onto the bed with him. But the other stuff didn't make sense. Then again, she didn't have any reason to lie to him that he could see.

"Come here." Was all Micah said as he lifted up his right arm and shifted over on the bed. His voice was soft, gentle, and curious. He had heard that certain situations that were similar to forgotten memories could bring back memories lost to amnesia; maybe he could bring some memories back now.

[Cheryl Harrison]

As Cheryl finished her explanation, Micah fell silent for a few long moments. Cheryl watched him nervously, expecting the worst. It was a lot to take in at once. Hell, if someone she didn't recognize had said they were in a relationship with her—and that she was apparently a mutant terrorist—she wouldn't have just taken it in stride. There would be yelling involved. Possibly punching. The fact that he wasn't immediately doubting everything was about as much as she hoped for.

Cheryl felt a sudden pang of sympathy for him. SHIELD had probably purposefully kept him in the dark for the last day just to make sure he didn't know anything about the Brotherhood. He was hurt, and cooped up somewhere that he didn't recognize, and accused of things that he had no recollection of. She desperately wanted to just hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. Would that weird him out even more? Probably. He had enough on his plate as it was.

Micah made room on the bed for her, and Cheryl grinned, relieved, as he told her to come over. He really didn't need to ask her a second time. Trying not to look too eager, she slid over on the bed next to him. Cheryl wasn't entirely sure how cuddly he wanted to get, but the bed was small enough that it was impossible to put any sort of real space in between them. She settled into a comfortable position against his side, happy to be near him again. This was a better reaction than she'd expected, by a pretty long shot. A memory of their last date came back to her suddenly, and she giggled. Apparently all it took was a traumatic event and memory loss to get into bed with him.

[Micah]

As his mind attempted to process what Cheryl had told him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief when she joined him on the bed. He rested his arm across her shoulders and waited for a moment. He had heard that reliving forgotten events sometimes brought memories back. If what Cheryl had said was true, maybe being in a boyfriend/girlfriend setting would help him. However, as moments slipped past, Micah wasn't getting any flashes of memory. Disappointment deflated him a bit, but he couldn't help but notice how it didn't feel awkward or strange to have this girl sitting beside him, his arm around her, even if it felt he had only known her for a few days.

A giggle coming from Cheryl made him look at her. He shook his head slightly to try and rid himself of the thoughts he had just been having. He could revisit that later when he was alone. For the moment he would just focus on Cheryl.

"What are you giggling about?" Micah asked as he nudged her. His thoughtful look was replaced with a silly grin as he reverted to his happy-go-lucky, normal attitude. It would do no good if he were in a bad or inattentive mood. His hope was to bring back memories by creating new ones. Hopefully that would work. If it didn't, well, Micah would cross that bridge when he got there. Then there was the fact that he somehow had to get a hold of his sister whom he had apparently found and met up with; but that was a different bridge to cross at a different time. He only hoped that he didn't mess something up in the time it took to sort all of this out.

[Cheryl Harrison]

There was a moment of silence as Cheryl cuddled Micah, and she let out a long, contented sigh. This wasn't so bad. Maybe they could just start over. She did owe him a night out, considering their last date. Unfortunately, there was no sign that it had triggered any memories, and she was the one to break the silence as she realized that she'd finally gotten him into bed.

“Nothing,” she replied automatically, very sure that explaining what she found funny would get her shoved off the bed. That mental image only made her giggle again, and she covered her mouth guiltily. Okay. She really needed to stop laughing at the poor invalid. She glanced over, found him grinning at her, and let out another giggle. Oh no. He was going to think she was crazy. Well, crazier than he already thought, considering she'd been talking about things that he didn't remember. They could be crazy together, at least. “Sorry,” she apologized after managing to compose herself. “It's just, um, something that happened on our last date.”

Although now that she thought of it, this past week had explained why their last date had ended the way it did. At that point, he'd still been a full member of the Brotherhood. He'd been lying to her, and that was probably why he hadn't wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Cheryl's giggling faded entirely then, and she stared at Micah thoughtfully. She'd hated him at the time for his decision, but it made sense now. He had been a gentleman. Without warning, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “You're more noble than you know. Thanks.”