#doesnt know what to do w the mess that is los santos rn' feels

[donablue]

the ringing stops and they're greeted with an apprehensive "hi there."

"hello."

there's a sharp intake intake of breath but nothing else follows.

grognak waits a couple of beats but the only things they hear are the waves close by, constant and soothing, and the seagulls overhead, also constant, much less soothing. "hello? if you're there, i would like to hang up and try again but i don't have any more change. oh, i know. pretend i called back." she clears her throat, readjusts her grip on the handset. "hello, this is g-r-o-g-n-a-k a-t-t-o-r-n-e-y a-t l-a-w, grognak the destroyer, attorney at law. is this p-o-s-e-y posey?"

"no, but this is p-o-s-y posy," comes the trembling reply.

"oh." dismayed, grognak double-checks her phone's screen. "posy, your name is wrong in my contacts."

"if you are having your phone, why are you being calling from a payphone, grognak?" posy asks, and there's something to her voice that grognak can't place.

"i think, young lady, the better question is why are you answering calls from unknown numbers? stranger danger is very real, you know," they admonish instead.

posy's ensuing laugh is borderline hysterical.

"anyway," grognak continues, tucking their own phone away, "my phone turns on but it won't do anything. technology these days, posy, doesn't last."

"we can be getting you a new one. where are you?"

"i am at the pier. very quiet, much more interesting at night."

"can you be meeting me at the digital den?" posy asks, and grognak overhears some rustling and the sudden slam of what's probably a car door.

"i don't have a car, posy."

"what–? but– sad and sassy...?"

pleased, grognak nods to herself. "yes, i am, thank you!"

"no! your van! how did you get to the piers?"

pulling back to frown at the receiver, grognak huffs, "i walked, how else?"

there's another shorter bout of silence before posy tells them, "okay, i will be getting you. stay on the pier!"

"okay!" grognak agrees cheerfully before hanging up and setting out towards the pier's entrance.

right as grognak finally reaches the main street's sidewalk, a purple car comes to a screeching halt just in front of them. the driver's window rolls down and they're met with a bright smile and an enthusiastic "grognak!"

"posy! it's so good to see you," she returns warmly, wasting no time in rounding the small car to pile into the passenger seat. her knees press uncomfortably into the glovebox compartment.

"strap on!" posy reminds her, and grognak nods, fastening her seatbelt as posy pulls away from the curb.

"this is a very nice car," grognak notes before their sister can start talking. they try and fail to rearrange their legs into a more comfortable position. "a little small. cute, though."

"thank you! this is maxwell!"

leaning forward, grognak pats the dashboard fondly. "hello, maxwell. i hope you've been taking care of posy."

"he can be seating five people and go up mount chiliad backwards," posy lists proudly. "maxwell is a tank! he also does not like having doors."

nodding understandingly, grognak eyes the car door to their right skeptically. "i agree. they are restrictive, and they don't let you feel the wind in your hair."

posy glances at her quickly before swerving them into another lane. "you can be rolling the window down, you know."

"no, thank you. the wind makes my head chilly."

"okay," posy agrees easily, and they lapse into silence.

"i have a lot to be telling you," posy says after several minutes of grognak fiddling with the radio, stopping to listen to some songs, belting along to others, and skipping others altogether. grognak glances at her and her knuckles have gone white around the steering wheel. the only way they can think to describe her expression is unhappy. at least it's not directed at grognak.

and there it is. the guilt, the discomfort, the twisting uneasiness in the pit of their stomach that grognak has been trying to outpace. "phone first," they stipulate, and posy, charitable and kind as she is, acquiesces.

they wind up somewhere in the mountains. grognak's new phone proclaims it to be mount gordo.

once they've parked on a cliff ("i am wanting to be able to see all angles."), posy perches on maxwell's hood and watches as grognak finds a place to stand, finally deciding on a spot to posy's left.

devoid of distractions, she finally gets a good look at posy.

"you look tired, posy," grognak observes, eyes roaming over her sister's painted face.

"i am being very tired," posy admits.

her voice wavers.

posy's shoulders slump inward and she looks so small.

"a lot has happened since you left, grognak. mostly it is being bad things. serial killers, cults, people dying, people leaving, people getting hurt. steven got hurt! shirley got hurt! they are hunting me and rory! i know too much, grognak, i am being too curious! chroy has been out of the city a lot, and i am missing him but at least he is not being in dangers. pillbot was broken and now he is unbroken but people do not treat him like a person! and anto thinks that you might be being the leader of one of the cults!" she lists off, voice growing in shrillness until she punctuates her frustration with a smack to a spot on the hood next to her.

struggling to process the sudden slew of information and unfamiliar names, grognak blinks rapidly, at a loss. "i think i would remember being a cult leader. very busy job, i'd imagine," they finally offer. "too much responsibility, though. not very grognak."

posy rewards them with a weak smile. "i told him it couldn't be you," she mumbles. the smile falls and a shadow crosses her face.

"i did alcohols."

"that's not so bad–"

"and drugs. the serious ones."

"oh."

"i had not been doing either before! and now–" she slides off her car and hits the ground hard. grognak stands motionless as posy slips her hands under her glasses and presses her palms to her eyes. "and i have been missing you, on top of all that," posy changes tacks.

grognak steps closer and stares down at the top of posy's ducked head, taking in the near foot and half of difference between them for a second. it feels a little robotic, a little unnatural, but it's the only thing that comes to mind, so grognak closes the distance and wraps her arms around posy's shoulders in a stiff hug. there's a quiet sniffle, then posy winds her own arms around grognak's middle and leans her weight against her, head coming to rest on grognak's chest.

it feels nice, simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. something in their chest suddenly starts to ache. their chest also starts to grow damp.

slouching as far as she can, grognak drops her chin onto the crown of posy's head and readjusts her hold on her into something less awkward, tightening the embrace.

"i missed you too," grognak quietly tells her wig, and posy hiccups, burrowing her face further into grognak's chest.