nexus_crossings | (no subject)

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Even if it is his first time there, it doesn't look like he's all too bothered by it. He looked like he was sort of expecting to find himself in a place like this. But given who he is and what his job is, to say he's adaptable is a bit of an understatement.

He's sat on a bench in the plaza making little sculptures out of paperclips. There is a box of paperclips with him so he is in no danger of running out soon. There's a few on the bench beside him. Right then he's using the pliers on a well used and loved swiss army knife to bend the paperclip in a particularly intricate curve.

If you ask him he might even make you one.

"What's the biggest lie your parents have ever told you?"

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Lucifer was trying to mind his own business lately. He has too much to deal with already without more interference. As usual a shortcut through the plaza was a poor choice for speed.

The question stops him so abruptly that the feathers of his wings rustle with the change in momentum. Was this person really asking him this question? A smirk appears and Lucifer is concerned he might burst into laughter before he can answer.

"The same thing He has lied to everyone about." Lucifer pauses, smile fading. "Everything. Or, specifically that He is benevolent and cares for everyone equally."

Mac tilted his head a little, processing what he was hearing and seeing all in one. The wings in particular make him pause and think about his parents friends and the one who has wings like that. So that isn't new to him.

"He?" Because sometimes it was good to get a little more clarity..

Lucifer's brow raises slightly. "God."

His delivery is flat and vaguely annoyed.

"Ah." He didn't want to just assume... But he would be right.

He also doesn't really believe. He knows people who do and he doesn't judge them for it.

It's just he doesn't know what to say to that.

"I have first hand knowledge that he is a liar." Lucifer can sense the disbelief and isn't surprised. Instead he moves on to a tangent.

"Why are you so interested in lies and liars?"

A young man with dark clothes and black hair examines one of the sculptures curiously, then turns to the stranger. "Is hiding information from you a form of lying? I think my parents were trying to protect me with what they did, but it didn't work."

Ben has an eye for good artistry and craftsmanship, more than might be expected. He rummages in his pocket for some money - he's contributed to the Nexus economy before. He draws out a small bag, tossing it up and catching it in an instant.

"That's good work. Can I have one? I'd pay a fair trade."

Well Mac likes making them, they are he supposes a slightly odd habit and they calm him.

"No need for that, you can just pick one you want."

But he did go back to the first thing the newcomer said. "Yeah, that's what my parents did with me. Sounds like similar problems. Though I suppose my parents kept me safe in a way that I went on to work in job like them."

There's an atropomorphic teenage duck girl who stops to glance at the little sculptures.

"She lied all the time, when she was in a good mood. Or at least at first. Biggest lie? That she's my Aunt. I almost believed that, at first, when I didn't know any better," Lena replies.

"But was she your aunt really?" Oh now that is curious. "The woman I thought was my aunt was really my mom." So... he might understand a little there.

"I wasn't her niece, I was her Shadow."

"Before you ask, it's magic. If you don't believe it, it's not my business to convince you."

Lena shrugs.

"My mama's an honest woman, she never lied, not about important stuff anyways," Ellis looks curiously at the little paperclip arts. Now this is a man with some time on his hands.

"When I was little though you see, I always asked her what hotdogs were made of, and she always said it was the best parts of the pig or cow all ground up real fine. That why they taste so good," he sighs and shudders, memories of something coming back to him all at once, "And then I saw one of those 'How it's Made' documentaries about them... and let me tell you sir I haven't been able to eat a wiener since."

"Oh... yeah, that will put you off them for good." He's seen plenty of those how it's made shows, they're great and he finds them relaxing. "You want one?" He nods to the paperclips he's sculpted into other things.

Dennis is walking around and spots the newcomer. He staggers to a stop, stunned. The guy looks like his dad...from fourteen years ago! Hoo boy. Dennis quivers, torn between running to introduce himself and...avoiding the man entirely.

He's never before, as Murdoc or Dennis, wanted to avoid Angus MacGyver. He loves the man, as much for his personality, as their relationship.

Most likely, this version has NO reason at all to be fond of Murdoc or any version of him. Will MacGyver even recognize him? In the end, curiosity and sheer affection win out. Dennis approaches slowly, giving the other man plenty of opportunity to see him coming.

Mac of course notices the person approaching much slower than anyone would think to be doing just walking through the place. So of course he's watching. There is something familiar about him but he can't quite place the feeling though.

"You know you can have one if you want." He points to the paperclip sculptures.

"Have we met?"

Dennis freezes at the question. He can't lie. He's not going to lie. But, what is he supposed to say..."yeah, I'm Murdoc, sort of?" Dennis tries to say something, but the words stick in his throat.

Swallowing hard, he walks closer, sitting down. If this was his dad, Dennis would have sat right up against him. As is, he's probably closer than is socially acceptable. He has a hard time gauging things like that.

"I'm Dennis," he says in a weirdly quiet voice, wary and humble.

There's something weird about the whole situation to Mac because he is sure he knows him... he just doesn't know why and it's beginning to eat at him a little. But he still doesn't want to say anything. He wishes his mom was there, she'd probably know what to say. Or just hug everyone.

"Hi, I'm Angus, but everyone calls me Mac. You been around here long?" He picks up another paperclip to start on something new. "What do you think I should make?"

"A phoenix," Dennis says, giving a wry grimace at the introduction. "Yeah, I know. I know you...my reality's you. I've been coming and going from here for almost a year."

Dennis takes another steadying breath. It has to be done and procrastinating doesn't help. He runs some advice from Dr. Miri through his head and stares directly at Mac.

"In your reality, do you know a man named Murdoc?"

Because, hey, maybe Dennis will get lucky and this MacGyver will never have heard of him.

He looks like he's going to say something but just smiles instead and starts making a little phoenix, like one he's made previously.

But he stops at the mention of that name.

Sorry, he's had enough run ins with the version of Murdoc in his world. But why would he want to know that? Unless this was Cassian? But why...

He remembers to keep breathing, find a different place to focus on, like his mom taught him, because he really doesn't want to lose control. Not there. Too many people could get hurt.

"Yeah, I do..."

"I was him. Until I got hit with meteorite fragments and turned back into a toddler. Then, the MacGyver in my reality adopted me."

Dennis suddenly gives a merry laugh.

"I mean, you can't blame the guy, but the biggest lie my dad ever told me was letting me grow up thinking my son was my older brother."

He realized that this other version of himself really had done something good. Then he did something a little awkward but he felt it was needed then.
"Clearly that worked out well though." He reached out towards Dennis to give him a hug.

"I found out that I still have family. The man who I thought was my father, isn't. My mom is still alive and they thought they were keeping me safe." He laughed at that.

Dennis accepts the hug with a disbelieving chuckle, his tone full of wonder.

"You really are amazing," he says.

The bit about family leaves him floundering a bit.

"Wh-what? Pah-pop isn't your dad? Wh...I don't get it."

"Why?" He doesn't think that he is, though he hears it a lot.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket. It's easier to explain with a picture. Easier to explain the things he's learned to accept.

"My mom and dad wanted me safe, because being with them wasn't. So they gave me to my aunt and uncle to raise, well we know how that turned out."

The photo he finds to share is taken on the steps of a building, the resemblance between him and the man he points first to is unmistakeable. "That's my dad. My mom and my uncle. He has to wear those glasses."

"You just are. Most people would be hitting me or thinking I was laying some kind of trap. And, I wouldn't blame them," Dennis answers, as he studies the photo of two people he doesn't recognize.

He processes the new information and surely he misunderstood?

"James MacGyver is your biological uncle?"

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