RP between Ave, Emroidz and Rae (Part 1)
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Kaelee Knodel
The breakup was still fresh on Kaelee's mind, just the cherry on top to her whole month so far. Two's kidnapping, and then that--having to tell her loves that it needed to be over, for her sake and theirs--it was too much. Her heart ached.
At least there were momentary breaks in distraction.
One of these 'breaks' showed up one day on the Infosphere in the form of a review under a Hummingbird article. Kaelee read the criticism, but judging by the way she bristled that none of the words were at all to her taste. And that name. She stared at her holoscreen like some scheming creep.
Ohoho, Larsen, you asshole.
Now, any normal person would probably ignore that review and just move on about their day. Any sane person would not let this devious, delicious plan come to sweet, sweet fruition. Not Kae. The month was rough, and she was in a fucking mood. It was this fucking review that drove her to the local Space Pawn.
Luckily they had a cheap holoskin that, according to the shop owner, probably had a few more years in it, thus why it was so cheap. After she bought it, she went to the bathroom to discover what identitites it already had programmed: a nondescript old man, a scary large beast that was pure nightmare fuel, and a woman that looked uncannily like the Extraterrestrial Love star, Andromeda. Kaelee had a devious idea.
The noodle chef left the bathroom looking like Andromeda, skintight dress and purple hair all done up in a bun, and made a beeline to the cafe known as the Lattetude. On the way, she discovered that the holoskin had a serious problem: it kept fizzling at random. Well, that's just great, thought Kae angrilly, poking at it until it stopped fizzling. Just hang on until this whole charade is over...
Andromeda-Kae stepped into the cafe...
Emroidz
Larsen had never been very nice, not in this life or any other. There were only a few exceptions to that rule, and what had once existed in a single handful, perhaps, had now dwindled to a number he could count with maybe one or two fingers.
Rydel was gone. Leane was gone. He was likely to forgive one but not the other in the part he’d played in their abandonment. Holding on too tightly had been a detriment, obviously, and if there was one thing the boy in the bubble was good at, it was learning from his mistakes. If you love her, let her go.
So here Lars was, covering Leane’s shift at the cafe as a sign of good faith. But while he would do—quite literally—anything for his best friend, it was clear he didn’t have the social finesse for customer service that she did. He’d hosted, he’d waitered, he’d barista’d…and he was up over a good half dozen caffeine-hungry, impatient clients given the finger and told they couldn’t rush perfection when he refused to just shit out a cup of sub-par Joe.
You know how they call the people who work at Subway sandwich artists and you’re like “um no, Picasso, just slap me together a meatball sub”? Well Larsen really did have a knack for the good ole dirty bean water. And he was right, you shouldn’t rush these things! Sit down! Stay awhile!
…hence the noodle slinging critique he’d given The Hummingbird. And I quote:
”What once was hailed as a local gathering place has become just another grab-and-go joint for cheap eats. The galaxy doesn’t need more fast food, especially not cuisine that brings to mind college dorm rooms, dirty microwaves and a $0.75 grocery budget.”
Could you blame Kaelee for infiltrating the place? Honestly it was a wonder she’d gone for the more subversive route rather than just kicking down Larsen’s door and torching the place given all she’d been through as of late!
Confronted by yet another customer entering, the wet-lunged and robo-legged cripple looked up from the table he’d been bussing to find—
“—Andromeda?” Larsen grinned, obviously surprised to see his old flame (quote, unquote). The familiarity in his voice, right off the bat, might be concerning to Kaelee, but not half as much as the next comment alluded to. “You here to hit me up for that second date? I’ve only just financially recovered from the last one.”
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee liked to think herself smarter than the average Joe. Hell, she had been Valedictorian of her senior class, branded gifted, and maybe the word prodigy was tossed around here and there—but even the smartest girl in her school was prone to silly mistakes.
Like now, after she sashayed her cute fake Andromeda butt inside, she hadn’t anticipated her nemesis to greet her so warmly.
It’s one of those life lessons; ya gotta really know your enemy if you’re going to infiltrate his territory. There was so much research she could have done, borderline stalkerish, but Kaelee hadn’t done any of that. No, once again, she jumped the gun without giving her plan a thorough thought. Idiot.
Kaelee wanted to abort mission and just disappear into the floor. Better yet, she had a pair of legs that worked great, she could have just turned heel and disappear through the door instead. Why did she stand there, then, like a deer in headlights?
“Umm—“
Second date? What was he talking about, ‘second date’? Wait, did this son-of-a-bitch date Andromeda?! Holy shit. Kae’s mind was racing. She could use this delicious nugget of info. It’s still not too late. One thought of that review reminded her of why she was here. Time for some payback. No, of course this won’t bite her in the butt later. She just hoped her plan works, because oh dear god she hadn’t expected this strange twist.
“Heeeey, youuu.” Kaelee drew it out awkwardly, finger-gunning and wearing a fixed smile. “Was just driving by. My driver was, that is. With me; I was in it. In my big limo. That he was driving. The limo floats.” Kaelee grimaced; why did she say that? “Anyway, yeah, um… I got a hankering for something… sweet. That’s why I’m here!” She punched Larsen’s arm lightly in what she hoped was a friendly gesture.
Right off the bat, Kaelee wasn’t making the best Andromeda impression. She had a terrible habit of slouching, and her arms dangled awkwardly at her side. Thankfully the holoskin didn’t fizzle out on her just yet.
Emroidz
Let's compare notes, shall we? Kaelee was the Valedictorian of her senior class, Larsen was a high school dropout. Kaelee could not only make a mean bowl of ramen, but could also whip up a weapon powerful enough to take your head off at 300 yards and also a helmet that could prevent someone from taking your head off at 300 yards. Larsen could...well, we'll keep the extent of what he could do beyond menial barista-work our juicy little secret for now. coughVitr10lcoughdramatic ironycough"the first rule of mech fight club"cough cough.
For someone who claimed to be street smart (in lieu of the book smarts he'd bowed out of his sophomore year back on OG Earth), the fact that Larsen was not immediately suspicious of not-Andromeda definitely said a lot about our blue-headed coffee baron. Even more telling? "Oh Andy--" Ew, how dare he sound so familiar with daytime holovision's best actress, "--I warned you not to fall in love with me. It was seeing my ski-ball skills at Vade & Blasters, wasn't it? Hitting that corner pocket every. Single. Time. I get it." Again. Ew. Was he really suggesting that her oddball behavior was due to some giggly, girly crush she had on him?!
Now, even after just one date--even with philanthropy clearly defined as both rhyme and reason--Larsen liked to think the real Andromeda knew he could never be so egomaniacal, at least not with any true conviction: he was sarcastic, he was self-deprecating, he was a sad sad boy who simply didn't have the shelving for any first place trophies or participation awards.
...but Kaelee only knew him as that asshole from Modry and Jaxamir's wedding. So to her, this probably felt pretty par for the course.
"Sweet, huh?" Oh god, here comes another cringe-y comment, right? "Well then, you'll definitely want to try Leane's galaxy-famous apple pie. Take a seat, I'll bring you a slice." Huh.
Returning to behind the counter, Larsen proved he wasn't completely incapable of decent customer service, as he flitted about--collecting plate, napkin, fork--visible behind the glassed-in, dessert display case. "A la mode? Slice of cheddar? Just kidding, if you eat cheese with your pie, you can GTFO." Heh. There was something oddly charming (and surprisingly real) about hearing the bubble boy slip into keyboard shorthand. "How about something to drink? I'll make you the best Flat White of your life."
If not-Andromeda had slid into the booth and recon'd the menu, even just a little, she'd realize in an instant that Larsen wasn't nearly as much of a douchebag as he might have appeared. Why, you might ask? ...well, because the drink he offered to make her specifically was, as written in its description, a favorite of his dearly departed bestie's signature beverage (RIP Warner).
Come to think of it, if first glance spared a second, Kaelee could learn an awful lot about Larsen right there on the Lattetude menu. There were pictures and quotes--namely JustWarner's uplifting sendoff from their old YouTube Let's Play channel--from friends (gasp! He had friends?!), culinary accolades from regular customers in the margins, and punny names for the few pastries and other assorted accoutrements the cafe offered alongside their wide array of titular lattes.
a brief glance at the Lattetude menu would show things like...
"This is JustWarner, just warnin' y'all. Be nice to each other, it's really not that hard."
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee stared in disbelief at Larsen. The guy was definitely full of himself, wasn’t he? How could Rydel stand this? (Of course she had no idea they had broken up, yet, oof.) Would he cheat on the Mech Wars star for another? She gave the blue guy her best smile, which looked painful to bear, and said, “Oh, Larsy, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? You know me, I’m a busy lady, I don’t have time to fall for someone unless it was in a script… but I’ll bet I’ll fall for this Apple pie you’re singing praises about… Ahahaha, yeah, I remember that time, that was ah, fun…” Andy-Kae swallowed. “Apple pie. Yeah. Sure. Is that like… with ice cream? Yeah I’ll try that. Ha, ha, cheese, that is very funny.” Kaelee tried to make her smile genuine. “Why would I want cheese when you’ve got plenty of it yourself?” Asstard.
While Larsen busied himself with his work, Kae rubbed her grimacing holoskin face. I’m not cut out for this. What the hell am I doing. Her holoskin briefly buzzed, which made her nervously tap the gadget behind her neck. It stopped.
With a menu in hand, Kae tried to get comfortable in the booth. This was partly the reason why she was here, incognito: the menu. Just to see what kind of riffraff Larsen was selling here, to use them as a weapon against him later. One glimpse at the items inside, and the noodle chef felt her stomach drop like a stone. Especially that cheeky message at the end, ‘Be nice to each other…’ Goddamnit. Whoever this ‘JustWarner’ guy is, fuck you, Kaelee thought savagely, at least for making her feel things at literally the worst possible time. She hated feeling vulnerable in enemy territory. How can she tear Larsen apart when the menu involved other people that he obviously cares about? They would only be innocent casualties in this battle!
Kaelee was not generally a mean person. Step on her toes, and things get hairy quick, but otherwise she does not slam the Hammer of Retribution on someone unless she felt like they deserve it. Now, though… her hand was fondling that hammer tentatively, already guilt-tripped by the goddamn menu while she was already feeling uncertain about this pickle she put herself in.
Larsen’s stupid voice ripped through her guilt-ridden thought bubble, forcing her to stare into the blue headed guy’s dumb face. Oh, how she wanted to slam the Hammer into it, but not yet… She beat back down the painful guilt that threatened to surface again. Larsen didn’t deserve pity. Kaelee knew only what she saw on the surface, and Larsen was an asshole that needed to be taught a lesson. Pure and simple. Hang on a little bit longer… Thankfully, the holoskin held up so far.
“Flat White is fine.”
Kaelee tried to ignore the menu. It was almost like ‘JustWarner’ himself was trying to speak to her through it, to tempt her to quit this folly while she was ahead. “No,” she whispered scathingly back, jabbing an accusing finger at the adorable pictures. “Leave me alone.” She slammed the menu shut, and slid it to the end table. She has seen enough.
Emroidz
The look on Larsen’s face was priceless, but likely remained not-quite-adequate enough payback for the honor Kaelee sought to defend. This was war: in the name of the Hummingbird! "Larsy??? Eheh, no. Absolutely not. I'd rather have cheese on my pie." Andromeda might have been an award winning actress, but Blue was the one who deserved an Oscar for the dry-heave he hammed up in response to the imposter’s cutesy little attempt at a pet name.
Even with Kaelee’s graceless impression of Andromeda thus far, she seemed to be muddling through fairly well as-is. This meant, as it were, that however acquainted Lars and Andy obviously were, the depth of their familiarity (not to mention his apparent keenness and their overall compatibility or chemistry, if you could believe it) was shallow at best. This also meant that there was no way that Larsen would be the type of glory hound to trade a Mech Wars star for Extraterrestrial Love star simply for the potential for that measly fifteen minutes of fame. (Which would also explain, especially to Kaelee, why Larsen had broken up with Rydel—because it was for the same reason she had!)
With Kae currently embattled in a one-sided argument with all the friendly faces on that Lattetude menu, Lars was able to approach her just in time to see her poke at Warner’s picture. “You two have a disagreement, or…?” Larsen grinned cheekily before depositing a perfectly, densely foamed Flat White on the table before not-Andy, alongside the most perfectly flaky crust, topped with only-just-beginning-to-melt scoop of vanilla ice cream (with the flecks of vanilla bean so you knew it was quality!).
Being caught having a full blown, accusatory conversation with what was essentially an imaginary friend was one thing—and embarrassing enough on its own—but now Larsen was literally sat across from her! This was it! Generals meeting on the battlefield! Worse still…? “So, cut the bullshit, why are you really here?” Gasp! He knew! ABORT MISSION ABORT ABORT! “…seriously Andy—“
Oh. Phew. He still thought she was Andy. That was a close one! “--you’re a busy woman and way out of my league, hell, the paparazzi didn’t even believe that little kiss you gave me. The tabloids literally called me a pity date and said I must have been one of those Make a Wish cripples living out some fantasy.” Oooo, damn, harsh. Lars didn’t seem too choked up about it though: was that a long-bullied thick skin he wore with such resilience…or just one helluva poker face? Regardless, every bit of new information Kaelee was getting about Larsen was just making her time spent in that Trojan horse of a synth-skin that much more difficult. Jesus! And you thought WARNER had the ability to make you feel bad about what you were doing here, huh?
“Make sure you post that to Spacegram (Mobi-gram? WHATEVER INSTAGRAM IS IN THE FUTURE)?” He gestured at the picture-perfect beverage and dessert before her.
Uh oh.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee balked, and knew it was time to backpedal after her little mistake in the dumb nickname. Still, she took wicked pleasure seeing Larsen’s stupid heaving face.
After poking Larsen’s cartoony friend’s face, she jumped a little. “What? Oh, nothing, there was just a fly on the… the menu.” Kaelee felt her stomach twist in knots. The idea she had was simply delicious, perhaps far more than the pie could ever dream to be. Summoning the courage to get through this ugly business, Kaelee took a deep breath as the pie and latte was set before her.
As a chef, Kaelee can definitely appreciate the art of baking. The scent that wafted through the air reminded her of the comforts of home—all things familiar, and happier times. And lately, Kaelee had not been very happy. She felt her eyes sting, dangerously close to losing her nerve. It’s not fair!
What made this situation worse is that Larsen decided to sit across from her. And then that dreadful question, of why she was really here, made her blood run cold. Kaelee’s mouth gaped for a moment. Fuck. He knew—
And then he went on with a story of his and Andromeda’s past, leaving Kaelee rather speechless. Had Larsen always been so hateful to himself? It didn’t seem to bother him—oh, fuck, was she feeling sympathetic?
No, a little voice screamed in her head. He insulted your famous ramen. He clearly doesn’t know GOOD food even if it hit him in the face! Cripple or no, the guy is a huge jerk, make him PAY! Bet you the pie tastes terrible, anyway! Show him your worth!
The petty revenge took hold, and just now, Larsen gave her a huge in. She honestly didn’t think anything could go wrong right at this moment, so she took out her commlink, giving Larsen a saccharine smile. “Cool, I’ll be sure to… put in a good word on Spacegram.”
Emroidz
Kaelee better not take a bite of that pie before seeing to her endgame or she might very well lose her nerve for good! With Larsen responsible for the coffee and Leane being the masterful hand behind their signature (read: stolen) apple pie recipe, if the ramen chef’s desire was an effective tit-for-tat, she really needed to take Larsen’s approach and not taste the food he had been so bold as to publicly critique.
Yep. That’s right. You heard me. This asshole had written a spiteful review of The Hummindbird…without ever even trying the cuisine!
He wasn’t proud. He had been jealous, it had been petty, he knew that. But alas, when you post shit online it lives on forever in perpetuity! (Let that be a lesson to you, kids!)
None the wiser that he had just given the gunrunner all the ammunition (pun intended) she needed to settle a much-needed score, Larsen knocked the table between them with his signet-ring clad knuckle in casual, non-verbalized acknowledgment (a habit he’d never broken and a token he’d never taken off), Lars offered up a crooked, one-dimpled, close-lipped smile before pushing out of the booth and letting not-Andromeda enjoy her tea-time…and a nice healthy dose of well-intentioned (MWAHAHAHA) social media.
Kaelee Knodel
Alas, had Kaelee known! But she did not, and so this vengeful act continues. Full-steam ahead!
Kaelee started taking photos of the ice cream pie and the latte. When she had finished with her photos, she set her commlink aside, took up her fork, and stabbed the pie a little too forcefully while staring daggers behind Larsen’s head after he rapped on the table with his ring and started walking away. She took her first HUGE bite and paused for a moment, letting the texture, taste, and mix of cold and warmth that spread from her mouth to the rest of her body. It was delicious. Kaelee sat there, feeling immensely sorry for herself after that guilt-ridden bite from heaven, which opened the floodgates reminding her of all the words from the menu and the touch-of-home flavor of the pie.
“The hell am I doing,” she said to herself for the upteenth time, picking up her commlink and sighing at the dreadful thing she was about to do. Her disguise flickered, but because she couldn’t see through the welling of tears, she went to her personal Spacegram, and clicked New Post.
’So I had the pleasure—or I should say, displeasure of visiting Larsen’s cafe, the Lattetude. Let me start by saying that right off the bat, Larsen had a terrible attitude (for which I guess the name of his establishment is aptly named; and the pun is just terrible). And don’t get me started on the food. I will say that if you enjoy places like Abbadon, then you’ll love the dryness that is the pie. It was like eating sand. The ice cream did nothing to enhance the flavor; in fact it tasted like old curdled milk.’
Kaelee swallowed a hard lump in her throat before picking up the Flat White, and taking a long sip of that. She was not much of a coffee connoisseur, but it was actually really good. Great, even. The noodle chef hated herself for continuing her review.
’The Flat White is correct in one thing, and that it’s incredibly flat and dull to taste. I’d much rather drink straight black coffee than endure this awful concoction again. 0/5 stars.’
So engrossed and disgusted was she in her typing, that Kaelee had not known her disguise fell away, revealing her red headed self. She stared down at her review, and knew that this just did not feel right. She remembered the time Nodrog Yasmar, famous food chef and critic, had reviewed her restaurant years ago, and roasted her establishment and food quite harshly. Despite this, she learned from it. Couldn’t she learn from Larsen, too? To be fair, the pie and latte was beyond anything she had expected. Despite their rivalry, Kae knew that she just could not go through with her review. It wasn’t his fault Kaelee had a bad month. But still…
Sniffling, Kaelee uploaded the photos to go with the review. Finished, her thumb hovered hesitantly over ‘Post’.
Emroidz
Oh boy. Ignorance truly was bliss, wasn’t it? Larsen had returned to the counter and busied himself with a proud polish of all the bells and whistles on his espresso machine. With the morning rush over and the space-age soccer moms not due in for a few hours yet prior to their school run, the barista spared himself a second or two then to check his commlink.
Stood there, full blown oblivious to the storm brewing only a corner booth away, Little Boy Blue startled when he found an unread message from Leane waiting for him there. Swiping the notification, concern ebbed to relief as his neutrality in her great escape paid their inevitable dividends.
“Hey Andromeda?” Larsen alerted imposter without looking up, having already started thumbing out his reply to Leane. “I’m sorry but I—“ But then he did, and found Kaelee sat, none the wiser to her full body mask having slipped, in the exact seat he had left the starlet.
“What the fuck?!” Larsen yelled. Yep, yelled. Like…just loud enough to startle one poor, conflicted redhead’s hovering finger the millimeter necessary to tap that screen…and hit that POST button.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee yelped and jumped out of the booth like a startled fawn. The result yielded the unfortunate push of that post button, and a chalk-white noodle chef hovering awkwardly over the booth, the proverbial deer-in-headlights. She looked down at herself, and looked up.
Kaelee stared at Larsen. Larsen stared at Kaelee.
For a brief moment, Kae was sure they locked eyes. Her lip trembled as she struggled at what to say to him. Absolutely nothing came to mind, so she just stood there, hyperventilating, deciding which path to take: fight or flight.
It was clear which won over the other. Stooping, Kaelee hastily gathered up her things and wordlessly attempted to make a beeline for the door, pushing past him if she had to—without paying, mind—what was important in that moment is that she knew she had to get away as fast as humanly possible.
Emroidz
Not a fucking chance!
Proof of Rydel’s prowess when it came to adapting mech suit tech to the bone bolted bottom half he and Cecille had created for the blue-haired cripple, Larsen sailed over the counter like an Olympic hurdler when Kaelee made a beeline for the door.
“Oh no you don’t!”
Hood sliding like Bo Duke one minute and tearing ass across the cafe like a cheetah on the heels of a gazelle, where Kaelee had picked flight, Larsen’s brain hadn’t given him an option other than what was equal and opposite reaction.
The summation of which, while not 100% fight persay, was undoubtedly an act of physical violence…as Larsen didn’t so much as block Kaelee’s exit as he used it against her!
There may come a time, my sweet, noodly ginger, where you might have the opportunity to ask Leane how she and Larsen met—now an entirely separate lifetime ago. And she’d tell you: he hit her with a door and broke her nose. That had been an accident…
…this time it was on purpose.
WHACK!
To exit, the door to the cafe was a PULL,not a push—making it all too easy for Larsen to get hands on it first and literally yank it back just in time to connect with Kaelee as she attempted to escape.
If it didn’t knock the poor girl out cold, it was sure to at least knock her on her ass! (And this was all before he’d even seen what she’d wrote about his coffee shop!)
Speaking of which…
Blue’s commlink tinkled. Standing over Kaelee, Larsen thought it was Leane trying to get ahold of him a second time. Not so.
Whatever guilt he had been feeling in this chase-turned-assault-with-a-deadly-door-frame vanished the moment he read the broad strokes of his phone’s summation of what had only just hit social media—but was already blowing up. Because not only was the Hummingbird owner a beloved local proprietor, but also SpicyNoodle. The girl had a fucking following. Talk about a one-two punch!
“What the hell, Kaelee?!”
Really, Larsen?
Not only did you start this war, but you just beat her with the front fucking door of your business!
Kaelee Knodel
Shit went from the frying pan, and straight into the fire. The shit being Kaelee, and the fire being the door that smacked her square in the face. What followed was the girl falling flat on her back, her nose and front shirt pooling with fresh blood. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to be a little alarming.
Completely winded, it took a long moment for her to shake herself off and move up slowly into a sitting position, which proved difficult because her ass was sore as hell. Her nose felt very tender. She tried to touch it, and winced. When she brought her hand away, she saw blood.
Larsen’s voice slowly drew her attention. Ashamed, and defeated, the noodle chef just sat there, knowing by his tone that she found herself in deep doodoo. She’d rather face a hundred Lux operatives than look Larsen in the eye. If there were patrons enjoying their coffee (up until now, anyway), they only served to embarrass Kaelee even further.
Not knowing quite what to say, Kae just looked down and shrugged, sitting hunched with sagging shoulders. ‘Sorry’ seemed like a good place to start, but she knew even if she said it, it would sound shallow. Pride didn’t help, either, not that she had much of it to speak of, considering Larsen and his door did a good job destroying that just now. She didn’t even know he had just seen her review. Considering the circumstances, she didn’t realize that her thumb pushed ‘Post’.
Emroidz
If ever there was someone who could appreciate not being apologized to, it was Larsen. Honestly, there was nothing worse than a bullshit I’m sorry. You could feel the way a person chewed on the words like gristle before they spoke them, even simple syllables resembling mangled sinew. He had not only rejected these sorts of apologies indiscriminately for all his life, interrupted, but refused to administer them: there was no control group with Larsen, no placebo effect.
Staring down at Kaelee for a long while, Larsen seemed wholly unperturbed that they were literally blocking the only entrance (to waiting customers) and exit (to an audience that looked on in abject horror). Then, at long last, the blue Maltese—all bark and no bite—rounded on the peanut gallery, however silent and still they were, and gestured aggressively. “Alright. We’re closed. Everybody out. To go cups for all, line ‘em up and roll out.” Make no mistake, any customers who valued good coffee knew by now that Larsen’s snippy attitude often came with: take it or leave it, like the just part of Kaelee’s review said, it was right there in the cafe’s name.
Even while busy clearing house, if Kaelee moved so much as a muscle, having been left to sit on the floor by the door still, Larsen would click his tongue at her and point a finger. “Nuh uh. Not you. We’re not done yet.” Gulp.
Striding back to where he’d first stood over her, there the bubble-freed boy loomed again, tugging the string of his neon OPEN sign until the bright light faded from the window. Crouching down (thank god for that sturdy waist-down chassis), Larsen grabbed Kaelee’s hand, slung her arm around his neck, and popped her bottom up on his forearm like a broken down jalopy on the T-bar of a tow truck. There was no funny business, no way to misconstrue the gruff, matter-of-fact manner to his body language, but still! He didn’t ask, he just did it.
…Larsen might have skipped leg day for the past century or so, but damn if he didn’t have some upper body strength left over. The boy was broad across those shoulders, let me tell you.
Returning Kaelee to the original booth she had once occupied as Andromeda, Larsen plopped her down on the cushioned bench. “Stay put and don’t fucking fall asleep, got it? Doesn’t look broken, but you might still have a concussion.” Well…yeah! A concussion you gave her, you gimpy motherfucker!
Blue went back behind the counter and rummaged around, the distinct clank of metal scoop in the cold basin heard before he returned. “I told you, don’t fall asleep,” Lars warned Kae upon approach had her eyes even fallen closed due to pain and the likely blossom of some bruising—if not a full out, bridge-of-the-nose, double black eye. “Tip back. Lemme hear you take a breath through your nose. Hold this, right there. Yeah, yeah, it hurts, I know.”
He sighed as the power to control the bag of wetted napkins and ice chips he had brought to her was bequeathed to Kaelee. The frown on his face suggested he was not so callous as to defend his bad behavior: any of it. “…I get why you’re here, okay?” Larsen grumbled, seeming to find words easier when the redhead wasn’t staring at him like a deer in the headlights. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t deserve it. Though! Admittedly, I didn’t think you fucking had it in you…sweet little goody two-shoes you were at that wedding.” Much like the face he’d made when not-Andromeda called him Larsy, Blue gagged at her again.
“You know, if you wanted to hit me where it hurts, you should have really committed and hacked Andromeda’s social. Dot root, couple thousand creds or so? This place would have been a pile of ash and rubble tomorrow—nothing crazier than tela novella fans, let me tell you.” Was he really giving her advice on how she should have exacted her revenge right now?!
Kaelee Knodel
Easier said than done. She was only mildly self aware that she was hoisted up and carried somewhere. It wasn’t until she was back at the booth did she have a vague idea where she was. The pie and coffee was still there. Kae swayed and closed her eyes, not of her own volition; and jerked when Larsen’s voice brought her back. She groaned in response and perched a part of her face that wasn’t messed up with the palm of her hand. Sleep sounded pretty good right now, whatever Stupid Broad Shoulders said. It’s not like she really had the means to go anywhere, anyway. She wondered why her eyes started to close again, and worried in a semi-conscious state of what was happening, until she felt the bulge of both eyes and realized that they were swelling shut.
Larsen may see the noodle chef lightly shaking her head to show that she wouldn’t fall asleep. She chanced the smallest of glances his way; it was easier to look at him through poofy, bruised slits of her eyes. He may not even realize that she was looking at him, or at least that was the hope. What she really wanted to see was what he had in hand, and what his next plan was after ushering everyone out of his cafe.
Oh, he was instructing her to do something. Okay. She did so, reluctantly, and maybe with a dash of spite; but the end result was the same: she struggled to breath through her nostrils, so she breathed through her mouth instead.
Kae had no choice but to listen. It brought a stab of painful memories that she tried to beat down. She rest her head on the back of the booth, turning slightly to look at Larsen. Is that what he thought of her? A goody-two-shoes? She didn’t have the strength to argue.
What he said next made the girl swallow mucus and blood a little too forcefully. So, she ended up posting that review after all. Fuck. What came next was the first attempt at words, but those she managed to say sounded thick and hard to understand, no thanks to the fat lip she was given from that door. “I bibbin wan doo,” she murmured heatedly. “You scare’b be… diddin’… see.” It was too late, she knew that. Damage was done. At least her outside mirrored her inside. She felt filthy, and terrible beyond all reckoning. With a sinking feeling, she wondered how this might affect her son. The one being in all the cosmos who truly looked up to her. Kae so wished she could disappear through the booth.
Kae shook her head vigorously. It made her feel dizzy, so she stopped, but not without trying to glare daggers at Larsen through slitted eyes. “Shub ub,” she gurgled testily. “I don’ wannad. I… should’na come. Knew bebber, jus’ ubsed… you…”
Emroidz
"Jesus! Did I knock out your fucking teeth?! You sound like shit," Mr. Potty Mouth actually seemed concerned, which was laughably ironic given you didn't usually hold back when you...well, beat someone up (even if it was with a door).
"Open up, mouth breather, lemme check." Once more, Larsen would tilt Kaelee's chin up at him expectantly. If she obeyed, he'd pinch her nose between his two thumbs, seeming to expect a bloody cough to be sputtered up at him from that open mouth given the way he preemptively recoiled from the splash zone. He counted--incisor, canine, premolar, molar--all accounted for. Adjusting the cartilage with a sort of...merciless and heavy-handed, but also suspiciously familiar reset (yes, he'd done this exact, unsanctioned bit of first aid in the mirror to himself more than a few times in high school), even though Kaelee's nose hadn't been broken, that swelling would need massaged away for her nasal passages to be made viable once more.
"You bib wan doo," Lars smirked and mocked Kae's fat lipped lisp openly, not letting her off the hook for a minute. "You came in disguised as a freaking celebrity, don't tell me you didn't have a plan." Despite his accusation, Larsen hadn't freaked out half as much about the review itself as he did discovering that Kaelee so thoroughly pulled the wool over his eyes with that Andromeda synth-skin.
"Don't tell me to shub ub, you shub ub," the barista bickered with the ramen chef like kids might on the schoolyard: plenty of huff and puff between them, but not much more. "I what? What'd I do?" Despite the fact that he knew the answer, that he knew what she was mad about, Blue wanted to hear her say it. What an asshole, he was riling her up so that she gurgled more. He was enjoying this!
Unrepentant, but not completely without a morsel of chivalry, Larsen slid into the booth--beside Kaelee now rather than across from her like before--and held the ice pack to her face more directly so that her hands were free.
So, you know, she could punch him if she wanted. Or elbow him in the nads. The world was really her oyster at blind arm's reach.
Kaelee Knodel
Kae couldn’t believe this guy. Was he really doing this? Fucking ASS! Feeling a powerful urge to kick him, Kae swung back her foot but only managed a halfhearted kick to the leg of the table with a soft thump. It wasn’t until he moved to her neck of the woods did she attempt to bite his hand as he started manhandling her mouth, partly to see if she could, and partly because she wanted the satisfaction to see him in pain for all the grief he caused her. Doing so made her whole face hurt, so it was a give-give situation.
He was toying with her, and lack of control and feeling as weak as a basket of kittens pissed her off. Not much she could do about it, so she struggled with her words yet again, falling for his trap. “No,” she sputtered insistently. She did not like admitting it. “SHUBBUB! You cab buck righ’ obb you peeb ob shib.”
The proximity also meant a level of discomfort that made the girl look away again, unable to actually look at him directly. The ice made her wince pathetically, jerking away. “Why’re you helping be? We’re nob frebs.”
Was he really asking what he did? No, he was just being a butthead again, purposefully worming his way under her skin. It worked. It made her mad, and the notorious chatterbox was ripe and ready for a retort. “You cobbed my Hummingbirb ‘cheeb eebs’. You saib ib reminbeb you ob collebb dorbs. Dirby microwabbs. Ib was…” Kae felt like a dumb child, unable to properly articulate what she really wanted to say. She took a short breath. “Ib wab really mean.”
Emroidz
"Ow! Bitch!" Larsen swore, but laughed as he did so. "Fuck!" He continued to laugh and shook his head, but seemed satisfied with the now imprinted evidence that Kaelee's teeth were indeed left intact.
But oh, if he had been laughing before, he was absolutely rolling now that he'd really gotten her going. "Well, well, well, Ginge, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" (Oh Larsen, if you knew Kathee, you'd know no one should kiss her with any mouth.) "Just admit it. Admit it like I admitted that I deserved it. Come on. And while you're at it, admit that I pissed you off just as bad when my then-boyfriend thought it was a good idea to introduce his wedding date to his first love."
...then-boyfriend? ...not now-boyfriend?
"We're nob frens? Well clear my schedule and crush my spirit, GTS (think about that abbreviation for a second, Kae: GTS = goody two shoes!). Maybe I'm just covering my ass and trying to keep you from pressing charges, hmm? Ever think of that?" Now there was an idea! "Then again, I'm not sure Andy would like hearing there's some crazy redhead stalker stealing her likeness in New Haven." Hah! Blackmail. Yep. What an asshole.
But Kaelee wasn't the only one confronted by the echoing words of one JustWarner when they needed (but didn't want) to hear them most. "Be nice to each other, it's really not that hard." When the noodle chef outright called the barista mean, every bit of his bravado faltered in an instant and...
"Ah hell. It was, wasn't it?" Blue frowned.
Kaelee Knodel
The barista seemed surprised and giggly at the bite, but nothing more. At least there was some satisfaction to be had by that. The noodle chef folded her arms tightly to her chest, an undeniable smirk on her mangled face. Until he quipped about her mother, then she scowled, making the fat of her lip more grotesque than it was. “Dob’t call be ‘Bib.’” It was meant to be the nickname Larsen taunted her with, but Kae struggled through some of the G-sounds.
Kae unfolded here arms and looked at Larsen, not to just see him, but in the disbelief that he and Rydel were now history. It came as a bit of a shock; she thought they were tight like Gorilla glue. She wasn’t sure what to say to that, especially since she was trying to get over a breakup right now. “It wab a mibtake,” she agreed irritability, taking the ice herself and placing it gingerly over her face, muffling a little what she said after. “To bink we could be frebs.” It’s true, but she was probably a bit more open-minded, but she never really considered the fact that it can be awkward for others. Some times, wanting to be friends when you’re the ex is asking too much.
Kaelee hissed scathingly. “Wab mabes you bink i bon’t press charbes?” Although admittedly, Larsen had a goddamn good point, and that shut her up for a moment. The accusation made her squirm uncomfortably. “I’b no stalber. Dob’t… dob’t tell. I wob’t eiber.” It was a meager request from a helpless bleating lamb.
Kae hesitated a moment, not speaking or moving for a time, before making up her mind and gingery opening up her messenger bag, extracting a wallet. She shoved it wordlessly against Larsen’s shoulder. “Take wabbeber creb you wab.” If Larsen took it, he’d only find her Galaxy standard ID, a decent amount of credits to pay for the latte and pie, and a candid, physical photo of her family—Jaheira, Aurumy, Two, Kae, and a small golden retriever pup all wearing goofy Yule outfits (including the dog).
There was also a photo of the throuple; herself, Quinne, and Raali, their Space Disney adventures immortalized beside her family photo, but unable to suppress the sheer misery it brought whenever she looked at it, the photo was violently crumbled and torn to pieces. Kaelee had come to regret doing that, for she still could not get over her love for them, and so after fishing the pieces back out from the bin, she put it together with some tape and put it back into her wallet. There was no undoing her mistake… and there was no helping her get over the breakup. This might perhaps be a bit telling to Larsen, too, without outright saying.
Emroidz
“What was that, Ginge? What nickname didn’t you like?” Larsen grinned wickedly. Kaelee had struggled with two too many G’s once already, and here he was trying to get her to say it again! Ginge might not stick, but Lars may very well call Kae Bib now unto forever.
Unable to keep himself from scoffing as Kaelee finally calling their first encounter what it was—a mistake, from start to finish—Larsen was able to purge his soul of whatever remnants of bad blood he harbored over what felt now like a relationship that had been doomed from the start. “…it’s not very fun to get an obligatory invitation to dinner by the SO’s parents only to stand there and watch them love on their son’s ex like she’s the daughter they always wanted.” Unflinchingly candid and exceptionally bitter in that moment, even in hindsight, it was clear there remained a lot here that was left unsaid all this time—things that might still have been unsaid to Rydel himself.
“Calm down, GTS, I’m not gonna turn you in. If you call us square, we’re square. With all of it. Deal?” He wouldn’t turn down the credits she offered him, however. Taking out just enough paper creds to cover the cost of the dessert and beverage she’d insulted, rather than anything more that might have come across like a bribe for his silence to Andromeda.
He’d see the pictures then: friends made family; one happy, one sad. One whole, one in pieces. “Cute dog,” was all Lars said, but it was enough for Kae to know he’d seen the photos.
Kaelee Knodel
At ‘cute dog’, Kae snatched back her wallet, suddenly anxious, not wanting to entertain the idea that Larsen had been snooping. Not that the photos were hard to miss, but she didn’t feel comfortable giving him more ammunition than he already had. Sudden exertion made her wince, but she ignored the pain and fiercely stuffed her wallet back into her bag.
“BIB.” She nearly shouted this, spittle flying from her mouth. “Stob ib. Shub ub.” Frustrated, she slammed her palms on the table. “Stob bullying be!” No, Kae, you honestly deserved this; you did nearly run off without paying, and got caught red-handed stealing someone’s identity.
Hearing Larsen explain his feelings over being shoved aside in front of Rydel’s parents made the girl freeze, thinking. Yeah, she can completely understand where he’s coming from. She couldn’t blame him. It sucked. The information, rather than inspiring more anger, softened her instead. It was this that enabled her to confidently say what she had to say without it sounding insincere.
“I ubberstab,” she said calmly, but her hands was busy clutching the table. “I’b… I’b sorry.” She hesitated, then relaxed. “Deal. But ib dob’t chan’ the fabt tha’ I still bucking habe you,” she added fiercely. No more than a tiny kitten with claws and a little hiss.
The coffee was probably cold by now, and the ice cream had all but melted over the pie. Sniffling, Kae took her fork and poked the item, feeling miserable still. “Ib wabn’t tha’ bad. Your frebs made ‘em, yeah? Probab’ for the best.” Her mouth twitched. “I biddent mean do hurt your frebs. They biddent beserve it. My beef ib wibb you, not your frebs.” Kaelee gave a loud, awkward sniff and leaned over to take another bite of the pie. Objectively, it wasn’t as good now since it had been sitting out in room temperature ice cream, but Kaelee, having just endured a whoopin’ of a lifetime, thought it was the best damn thing to ever grace her swollen mouth.
Emroidz
Larsen smirked and snickered…only to stop cold when Kaelee accused him of bullying her. “What? I’m not.” Blue balked, only to double down immediately thereafter on his insistence. “I’m not a bully!” He…he’d gone and yelled at her now, unable to keep his voice from pitching in a way that sounded—whether Kae knew that him or not—like old Lars. Weak Lars. He might be a cripple now, but he was a coward then.
The silence that grew between them was as awkward as it was uncomfortable; he was visibly tense, at least until she apologized.
“…I’m sorry.”
Holy shit he actually apologized.
A moment more with that same, intense quiet between them: then came that little hiss from this tiny, ginger kitten.
He smiled.
“You just keep telling yourself that, GTS.” Blue said with a smirk.
Deciphering what all Kaelee had to say moving forward was a concerted effort, but Larsen figured it out, and when he did, he realized with a start that he’d yet to answer Leane’s text. “Ah shit, Ginge. Look, you want to make it right to my freb, you gotta come with me somewhere right now.” If she objected, or looked at him with any skepticism, Lars rolled his eyes unabashedly at Kae. “It’s either that or I’m dropping your ass off at the clinic. Someone needs to keep an eye on you until we’re sure you don’t have a concussion. I’m not taking the rap for having bludgeoned you to death: the bloody splatter of your piggy nose print is on my door frame.”
He gestured with a thumb over his shoulder to the evidence he’d mentioned, though it may currently be out of the poor girl’s swollen eyesight.
But there was something he could offer her that she would be able to see. Pulling out the cafe menu and laying it down before Kaelee on the table, Larsen pointed at Leane’s picture. “I need to go pick her up. Now. You coming or not?”
Kaelee Knodel
The noodle chef almost slipped out of her chair when Larsen yelled. Shocked, the girl peered at him through the slits of her eyes, gaping reproachfully. What followed was one of the most unpleasant silence she never wanted to live through again; fortunately Larsen must have felt the same, for he entreated her with a rare apology. Thunderstruck, she just sat there and gave a little shrug since she found it hard to make any discernible expression of approval without hurting herself.
Larsen’s offer to go with him was about to be quickly rejected. He seemed to catch on to her disapproval, and casually threw in a rebuke while he was at it. Kae pouted; she did not have a piggy nose. Anyway, Leane was his friend, not her’s. Then again, could she really live with herself if she went home, right now, and missed out on the opportunity to make things right? Or—at least—better. Whatever that may entail, Kaelee resolved to see it through at Larsen’s behest, and gave a tiny nod of assent.
“Alrigh’, butthead. Leab the way.”
Emroidz
“Hey! You finally found an insult you can say properly with a fat lip. Congratulations Bib! Such a momentous occasion.” Larsen went from his indebted apology…right back to teasing Kaelee, and unfortunately for the poor girl, it seemed her insistence that he not call her Ginge had given birth to an even more nonsensical nickname. At least a redhead called Ginger would have been apparent! Who was gonna get him calling her Bib? No one, that’s who!
“Here, put this on so I can situate the cold compress behind the visor.” Larsen took the melting bag of ice from Kaelee and swapped out out behind the counter for a smaller, artificial cool pak from the first aid kit Leane kept stocked under the register. Along with the break-and-shake appliqué, Blue would supply Ms. Goody Two Shoes with his speeder helmet. She would have seen it coming in, perhaps even recognized it as Valxina’s work. One of the Liahice twins might have broke him out of the bubble and built him some robo-legs, but the other gave him a fun-filled death trap to strap his crippled ass into.
There was something to be said about how Larsen actually helped Kaelee in silence. He wasn’t nearly as forceful with her this time, and even reached inside the open visor to suppress the chin foam so that it would not smoosh her already abused nose on the way down from overhead (because otherwise she would definitely cry—that dense safety padding had zero give to it). Fitting the cold compress in such a way that when the visor closed over it, it remained sandwiched between tinted shield and her swollen face, Larsen smirked. “Betcha could have benefitted from wearing this earlier, huh?” He teased Kaelee, suggesting had she been wearing it, he wouldn’t have been able to whack her with the swift vengeance of a pulled-open door.
Still, Blue guided his nemesis out the door and didn’t put her through it this time. She might have only had a thin view, and one that was partially obstructed at that, but Kae would still be able to observe the obvious severity of Lars’ handicap from the way he literally had to bolt the artificial mechanics of his otherwise useless, organic limbs to the flat-footed, custom pedals.
“Well? Hop on.”
If ever Kaelee was going to bow out and try to run off again, now was the time. Larsen was literally fused to the bike right now, both mobilized in one way and immobilized in another.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee made a sound like an angry cat, but accepted the ice pack all the same. She stared at the helmet, wondering how in the world she was going to fit her puffy, broke-ass face in it. She took it, then gingerly slipped it over her head, wincing at some feeble pain, but otherwise surprised herself by managing okay, then stood still as Larsen put the cold pack in.
“I cab’t see shit.” The helmet muffled her words, but it seemed her speech was improving a little. Larsen’s remark earned a low, out-of-earshot rumble of insults. Out of earshot, because at least Larsen was being gentler.
Kaelee allowed herself to be steered, but stopped short when the speeder came into view. Immediately she recognized the make and model being one of Valxina’s, but that isn’t the only thing about the speeder that ensnared her interest. It had obvious modifications, and if she weren’t so broken right now with limited visibility, Larsen would catch the noodle girl fawning over it. A good thing that she can’t really see—a good enough excuse not to give in and somehow find herself relating to her enemy. No, no, can’t have that. Can’t deny how cool it looked, though. How cool Larsen looked, seemingly fused with his vehicle. Maybe Larsen would notice anyway, in how she stared hungrily at the entire mechanical ensemble.
‘Hop on’? Kae looked on in disbelief and uncertainty. “Are you crazy?” It’s not that she was scared, but she knew what she would have to do if she sat down. “I’b not holding on to you, hell no.” Time was running out, and it didn’t take much for Kae to be convinced. I mean, the speeder looked dope, after all. Fuck it. YOLO. She hopped on.
Emroidz
“Why do you think I’m not having you drive? You can’t see shit!” Larsen piped up. Kaelee may notice, however, that ever since her accusing him of being a bully—while the schoolyard teasing undoubtedly remained—any put downs had been decidedly packed away.
“I mean, I’m pretty fucking crazy. You do realize I’m essentially bootstrapped into this thing, right? Hell, you should want to come along for that reason alone!” Larsen laughed with bitter irony and Kaelee would once more hear that self-loathing and -destruction she’d noticed from him earlier as not-Andromeda rear its head again. “Think about it: if we crash, all you gotta do is tuck and roll and then you can watch me get burned alive or broken in half because I’m literally inspector gadget loaded into this thing!”
If him painting such a vivid image scared her, Blue would glance over his shoulder at her hesitancy—especially any concern that came with it—and roll his eyes impatiently. “Just get on. I’m a pro, alright? Trust me.” Oh, if only she knew how much of a pro Larsen truly was. Not only had he logged the most consecutive hours and possessed them highest associated score on Mobius cart, but played mecha street fighter on the weekends on Vitr10l (and no longer remotely, either!)
Waiting for Kaelee to reconsider, Larsen thumbed out a quick text and finally shot that off to Leane: OMW (On my way!)
Smirking as Kaelee’s hell no inevitably turned to a YOLO, Larsen scooted forward to make room for her on the modified chassis. Surprisingly? The one thing he didn’t tease her about probably would have been the easiest thing to piss her off with…as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
One had to wonder why this topic of conversation—ripe for the picking—was left wholly untouched by the crippled smart aleck.
Lars had given Kae his helmet, which meant he wasn’t wearing one now, either. All joking aside…did Blue here have a death wish…?
There was no time to really wonder. As synapses fired to command legs, pistons responded in kind as man connected fully with machine and they zoomed off in the direction of New Haven Town Hall and its archival building.
—
Hugged close, Kaelee—being the glutton she was for noodles, firearms, and all things mechanical—would surely appreciate (and breathe easy) as she felt the easy way the rider in front of her leaned into every turn. Better yet? He’d gone completely quiet, almost like Blue was put into a trance by the speed beneath him as it built. The redhead might not be able to see much between the visor, the ice pack, and her poor, still-blackened eyes, but what she could see from their swollen periphery was the way all of Lars’ shaggy, overdue-for-a-dye, blue to (mile long) brunet root, Fabio-esque locks snapped and swirled from the wind.
Kaelee Knodel
“That’s okay,” Kaelee grumbled. “I’d likely crash and kill us all, anyway.”
Larsen seemed like the kind of dude that didn’t hold back, especially when it came to his self-deprecating behavior. Rather than feeling sympathetic toward Blue, Kaelee felt a slight stab of annoyance. “You’re a big baby, aren’t you? Well luckily for you, I know someone who’s pretty good at piecing people back together. I might put in a good word. That’s a BIG maybe. I mean, I might enjoy Roasty Toasty Larsy first before I make that important call.”
The one inevitable thing that made her reluctant to ride with Larsen actually happened, and it wasn’t without a grumble-glower-glare. She held on tightly to his waist, only because she really didn’t want to fall off, thank-you-very-much. No comment was made about that, either. It wasn… uncomfortable. When they took off, Kae noted how smooth the ride actually was. Okay, not bad. She knew she’d be impressed, because Valxina always made spectacular speeders. And this one was special.
Before long, Kae peered as best as she can at their destination as they smoothly rolled up to it. “Here?” she asked, notably confused.
Emroidz
Larsen scoffed, seemingly annoyed right back as Kaelee presumed he needed pieced back together. He’d always been broken, even before he’d been crippled, thank you very much! …now the outside just matched his inside. (The boy’s depression had been kept on ice all this time; it was inevitable that it thawed out with him.)
”NOT LARSY.”
Rather than comment, Larsen gave Kaelee a good jostling as he tapped his brake hard enough that the rear wheel popped up for a moment, the abrupt stop likely shoving her flush against his back in the process. That’d teach her! You know…to…offer…help! PFFT LIKE HE NEEDED THAT! Denial (and blown raspberries) increase.
At last arriving at their destination, Larsen unbolted himself from the speeder and stood to look up at the archival building with the same sort of confusion Kaelee had one her face. “Huh…” Blue scratched his stubbly cheek. When Leane had run off on him, he had assumed she had a plan in mind: something crazy, something rebellious, something intended to stick it to the man, as it were.
“Well, come on. She’s gotta be inside.” A pause, as Larsen snickered and smirked as he looked back at Kaelee. “You might want to consider keeping that helmet on: the doors to that building look awful heavy.”
…asshole.
Once more, Larsen pulled out his commlink and thumbed a quick message to Leane.
We’re here. Where you at?
…we???
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee had largely been ignorant of Larsen’s… ‘problem’. Her rather… ah… negative perspective of him skewed everything that was real on the surface and beneath it. Larsen certainly didn’t help her opinion of him after he slammed hard on his break in revenge, resulting in flattening herself against the flat of his back. Thankfully the helmet assisted the passenger from breaking her face even more.
“OH FUCK! WHY!” She held on even tighter before their initial destination. Let’s face it, she didn’t actually want to be unseated in case her enemy got any funny ideas. “A warning would have been nice, asshole!”
Once Kae took a good look at the place, she forgot all about her irritation with Larsen—at least, until, he made a jab about the door. Kae scoffed, then took off the helmet and attempted to whack him with it. “Maybe YOU should wear it, shame if something happens to YOUR dumb pretty head.” She flipped him not one, but two birds before stomping away (not far, but enough to put some distance between herself and him) shouting something that sounded like “God I HATE him”.
Rae
Leane was sitting on a bench located within the main lobby of the archive building. She was glued to her commlink with her left leg bouncing - she wasn't nervous; not at all. Truthfully, she didn't know how Larsen would react. Would he scold her? Punish her like a parent would their child?
She had so many emotions running through her, her mind was racing as she was still absorbing the information she acquired about her... past self? It bothered her that she didn't remember any of it. All she could remember was saying goodbye to her best friend. That feeling of just... utter loneliness. Not only she lost Dwade, but she lost her best friend. Larsen didn't know it, but she carried that pain through to her second chance of life, thinking it was her that everyone was running from.
So she had to know - she had to know if she found happiness. She did, but the news didn't just make her happy... it just made her feel sad all over again.
A distraction was needed while she waited for Larsen to pick her up. Scrolling through insta-spacegram, she saw the harsh review that was left and the earthling frowned. "..Is my pie that dry?" She muttered, fearing she was losing her... baking touch.
Larsen's text was received and she blinked, "We...?" She whispered, only to feel her heart sink. Was he on a date?? Oh lord. Talk about embarassing. Rising to her feet, she'd peer through the large window to see her bestie with a red haired gal walking away from him.
Pushing through the doors, she quickly jogged towards Lars. Eyes already swelled with tears as she basically threw herself into his chest. Arms wrapping around his waist, burying her face into his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She muttered before adding, "I know I shouldn't have left, but... I had to know, Larsen..."
Emroidz
“A warning would have defeated the purpose,” Larsen snickered as Kaelee complained. Once more, the redhead would earn raucous laughter from Blue as she paid him back with abuse in equal measure, giving him several good whacks in the chest and nearest bicep with that speeder helmet turned battering ram. “Ow! Ow! Fuck! Shit! Damn! Alright, alright, message received!”
…apparently not though, because the moment Lars took a step away from Kae—enough to be out of arm’s reach and no more—he was right back at his teasing like a dog with a bone. “You know, people usually put those words in a different order there, GTS. Most would have said my head was pretty dumb, but you called it dumb and pretty.”
Ooo, if she was mad at him already, pointing out that bit of unintentional syntax was really going to piss her off! Larsen was twisting Kaelee’s words!!
…or was he?
Hearing the doors open to the archival building, however, Larsen seemed to sense Leane coming down the stairs at him before she even spoke. Turning on a dime, all dysfunctional play with Kaelee halted as Blue caught his best friend mid-launch…just in time for the poor girl to go all to pieces.
Kae would bear witness to perhaps the most drastic change in Lars imaginable: from pompous ass…to pillar of support. “Hey. Woah. It’s alright. It’s my fault. Shh. I know why you left. I get it, I do.” Blue hugged Leane with a sympathetic sigh and looked beyond her, back up at the building she’d felt a strong enough pull towards that she’d run away from home.
“Not exactly where I imagined you’d end up on your first solo excursion there, Leane,” Larsen chuckled, trying to lighten the mood—albeit with a far more gentle bit of teasing than what Kaelee had endured thus far from him. “…why here…?”
Introductions were inevitable, of course, but Larsen really needed to understand.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee inhaled sharply, her face going from its usual pale to bright red in a matter of point-zero-one seconds, a record for her. “Quit trying to be a smart ass when you’ve already got the ass part covered just fine!”
Then the situation got awkward the moment Leane exited the building. Kae watched as Larsen flipped like a switch in front of this girl. It was hard not to listen in (as Kae was a natural busybody anyway), but she at least had the decency to try to give them their moment while feeling like the biggest third wheel in the galaxy. Meanwhile, the noodle chef crossed her arms and worked on how she might introduce herself. Hi, I’m someone you never met before, yeah my face looks like a truck smacked into it and then had the balls to go into reverse, yes I’m aware it’s bad, thanks. Nice to meet you, Leane. Sorry I trashed your pie on SpaceGram.
Well, there’s all her problems solved in one paragraph, but to execute it was a whole different ballgame. Kae didn’t quite have the nerve to try and speak to Leane yet, so she cast Larsen tentative looks in hopes he might instigate their introduction. He seemed a little preoccupied, which grated Kae’s skin, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“Y’all definitely have the whole drama scene straight outta The Notebook down, damn. At least get a room before y’all start locking lips or something.”
That was not what Kae had in mind as a greeting; it was something she might say to people she was close to that knew her brand of humor. To a stranger, it might come off as offensive, and Kae realize that, so she tried to backpedal and put on her best smile.
“Ummm… hi, I’m Kaelee. Kaelee Knodel. Your pie is the bee’s knees.” She didn’t know Leane had read the review. “Sooo… this place. Yeah. Annnybody care to explain the how’s and the why’s or…?”
The breakup was still fresh on Kaelee's mind, just the cherry on top to her whole month so far. Two's kidnapping, and then that--having to tell her loves that it needed to be over, for her sake and theirs--it was too much. Her heart ached.
At least there were momentary breaks in distraction.
One of these 'breaks' showed up one day on the Infosphere in the form of a review under a Hummingbird article. Kaelee read the criticism, but judging by the way she bristled that none of the words were at all to her taste. And that name. She stared at her holoscreen like some scheming creep.
Ohoho, Larsen, you asshole.
Now, any normal person would probably ignore that review and just move on about their day. Any sane person would not let this devious, delicious plan come to sweet, sweet fruition. Not Kae. The month was rough, and she was in a fucking mood. It was this fucking review that drove her to the local Space Pawn.
Luckily they had a cheap holoskin that, according to the shop owner, probably had a few more years in it, thus why it was so cheap. After she bought it, she went to the bathroom to discover what identitites it already had programmed: a nondescript old man, a scary large beast that was pure nightmare fuel, and a woman that looked uncannily like the Extraterrestrial Love star, Andromeda. Kaelee had a devious idea.
The noodle chef left the bathroom looking like Andromeda, skintight dress and purple hair all done up in a bun, and made a beeline to the cafe known as the Lattetude. On the way, she discovered that the holoskin had a serious problem: it kept fizzling at random. Well, that's just great, thought Kae angrilly, poking at it until it stopped fizzling. Just hang on until this whole charade is over...
Andromeda-Kae stepped into the cafe...
Emroidz
Larsen had never been very nice, not in this life or any other. There were only a few exceptions to that rule, and what had once existed in a single handful, perhaps, had now dwindled to a number he could count with maybe one or two fingers.
Rydel was gone. Leane was gone. He was likely to forgive one but not the other in the part he’d played in their abandonment. Holding on too tightly had been a detriment, obviously, and if there was one thing the boy in the bubble was good at, it was learning from his mistakes. If you love her, let her go.
So here Lars was, covering Leane’s shift at the cafe as a sign of good faith. But while he would do—quite literally—anything for his best friend, it was clear he didn’t have the social finesse for customer service that she did. He’d hosted, he’d waitered, he’d barista’d…and he was up over a good half dozen caffeine-hungry, impatient clients given the finger and told they couldn’t rush perfection when he refused to just shit out a cup of sub-par Joe.
You know how they call the people who work at Subway sandwich artists and you’re like “um no, Picasso, just slap me together a meatball sub”? Well Larsen really did have a knack for the good ole dirty bean water. And he was right, you shouldn’t rush these things! Sit down! Stay awhile!
…hence the noodle slinging critique he’d given The Hummingbird. And I quote:
”What once was hailed as a local gathering place has become just another grab-and-go joint for cheap eats. The galaxy doesn’t need more fast food, especially not cuisine that brings to mind college dorm rooms, dirty microwaves and a $0.75 grocery budget.”
Could you blame Kaelee for infiltrating the place? Honestly it was a wonder she’d gone for the more subversive route rather than just kicking down Larsen’s door and torching the place given all she’d been through as of late!
Confronted by yet another customer entering, the wet-lunged and robo-legged cripple looked up from the table he’d been bussing to find—
“—Andromeda?” Larsen grinned, obviously surprised to see his old flame (quote, unquote). The familiarity in his voice, right off the bat, might be concerning to Kaelee, but not half as much as the next comment alluded to. “You here to hit me up for that second date? I’ve only just financially recovered from the last one.”
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee liked to think herself smarter than the average Joe. Hell, she had been Valedictorian of her senior class, branded gifted, and maybe the word prodigy was tossed around here and there—but even the smartest girl in her school was prone to silly mistakes.
Like now, after she sashayed her cute fake Andromeda butt inside, she hadn’t anticipated her nemesis to greet her so warmly.
It’s one of those life lessons; ya gotta really know your enemy if you’re going to infiltrate his territory. There was so much research she could have done, borderline stalkerish, but Kaelee hadn’t done any of that. No, once again, she jumped the gun without giving her plan a thorough thought. Idiot.
Kaelee wanted to abort mission and just disappear into the floor. Better yet, she had a pair of legs that worked great, she could have just turned heel and disappear through the door instead. Why did she stand there, then, like a deer in headlights?
“Umm—“
Second date? What was he talking about, ‘second date’? Wait, did this son-of-a-bitch date Andromeda?! Holy shit. Kae’s mind was racing. She could use this delicious nugget of info. It’s still not too late. One thought of that review reminded her of why she was here. Time for some payback. No, of course this won’t bite her in the butt later. She just hoped her plan works, because oh dear god she hadn’t expected this strange twist.
“Heeeey, youuu.” Kaelee drew it out awkwardly, finger-gunning and wearing a fixed smile. “Was just driving by. My driver was, that is. With me; I was in it. In my big limo. That he was driving. The limo floats.” Kaelee grimaced; why did she say that? “Anyway, yeah, um… I got a hankering for something… sweet. That’s why I’m here!” She punched Larsen’s arm lightly in what she hoped was a friendly gesture.
Right off the bat, Kaelee wasn’t making the best Andromeda impression. She had a terrible habit of slouching, and her arms dangled awkwardly at her side. Thankfully the holoskin didn’t fizzle out on her just yet.
Emroidz
Let's compare notes, shall we? Kaelee was the Valedictorian of her senior class, Larsen was a high school dropout. Kaelee could not only make a mean bowl of ramen, but could also whip up a weapon powerful enough to take your head off at 300 yards and also a helmet that could prevent someone from taking your head off at 300 yards. Larsen could...well, we'll keep the extent of what he could do beyond menial barista-work our juicy little secret for now. coughVitr10lcoughdramatic ironycough"the first rule of mech fight club"cough cough.
For someone who claimed to be street smart (in lieu of the book smarts he'd bowed out of his sophomore year back on OG Earth), the fact that Larsen was not immediately suspicious of not-Andromeda definitely said a lot about our blue-headed coffee baron. Even more telling? "Oh Andy--" Ew, how dare he sound so familiar with daytime holovision's best actress, "--I warned you not to fall in love with me. It was seeing my ski-ball skills at Vade & Blasters, wasn't it? Hitting that corner pocket every. Single. Time. I get it." Again. Ew. Was he really suggesting that her oddball behavior was due to some giggly, girly crush she had on him?!
Now, even after just one date--even with philanthropy clearly defined as both rhyme and reason--Larsen liked to think the real Andromeda knew he could never be so egomaniacal, at least not with any true conviction: he was sarcastic, he was self-deprecating, he was a sad sad boy who simply didn't have the shelving for any first place trophies or participation awards.
...but Kaelee only knew him as that asshole from Modry and Jaxamir's wedding. So to her, this probably felt pretty par for the course.
"Sweet, huh?" Oh god, here comes another cringe-y comment, right? "Well then, you'll definitely want to try Leane's galaxy-famous apple pie. Take a seat, I'll bring you a slice." Huh.
Returning to behind the counter, Larsen proved he wasn't completely incapable of decent customer service, as he flitted about--collecting plate, napkin, fork--visible behind the glassed-in, dessert display case. "A la mode? Slice of cheddar? Just kidding, if you eat cheese with your pie, you can GTFO." Heh. There was something oddly charming (and surprisingly real) about hearing the bubble boy slip into keyboard shorthand. "How about something to drink? I'll make you the best Flat White of your life."
If not-Andromeda had slid into the booth and recon'd the menu, even just a little, she'd realize in an instant that Larsen wasn't nearly as much of a douchebag as he might have appeared. Why, you might ask? ...well, because the drink he offered to make her specifically was, as written in its description, a favorite of his dearly departed bestie's signature beverage (RIP Warner).
Come to think of it, if first glance spared a second, Kaelee could learn an awful lot about Larsen right there on the Lattetude menu. There were pictures and quotes--namely JustWarner's uplifting sendoff from their old YouTube Let's Play channel--from friends (gasp! He had friends?!), culinary accolades from regular customers in the margins, and punny names for the few pastries and other assorted accoutrements the cafe offered alongside their wide array of titular lattes.
a brief glance at the Lattetude menu would show things like...
"This is JustWarner, just warnin' y'all. Be nice to each other, it's really not that hard."
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee stared in disbelief at Larsen. The guy was definitely full of himself, wasn’t he? How could Rydel stand this? (Of course she had no idea they had broken up, yet, oof.) Would he cheat on the Mech Wars star for another? She gave the blue guy her best smile, which looked painful to bear, and said, “Oh, Larsy, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? You know me, I’m a busy lady, I don’t have time to fall for someone unless it was in a script… but I’ll bet I’ll fall for this Apple pie you’re singing praises about… Ahahaha, yeah, I remember that time, that was ah, fun…” Andy-Kae swallowed. “Apple pie. Yeah. Sure. Is that like… with ice cream? Yeah I’ll try that. Ha, ha, cheese, that is very funny.” Kaelee tried to make her smile genuine. “Why would I want cheese when you’ve got plenty of it yourself?” Asstard.
While Larsen busied himself with his work, Kae rubbed her grimacing holoskin face. I’m not cut out for this. What the hell am I doing. Her holoskin briefly buzzed, which made her nervously tap the gadget behind her neck. It stopped.
With a menu in hand, Kae tried to get comfortable in the booth. This was partly the reason why she was here, incognito: the menu. Just to see what kind of riffraff Larsen was selling here, to use them as a weapon against him later. One glimpse at the items inside, and the noodle chef felt her stomach drop like a stone. Especially that cheeky message at the end, ‘Be nice to each other…’ Goddamnit. Whoever this ‘JustWarner’ guy is, fuck you, Kaelee thought savagely, at least for making her feel things at literally the worst possible time. She hated feeling vulnerable in enemy territory. How can she tear Larsen apart when the menu involved other people that he obviously cares about? They would only be innocent casualties in this battle!
Kaelee was not generally a mean person. Step on her toes, and things get hairy quick, but otherwise she does not slam the Hammer of Retribution on someone unless she felt like they deserve it. Now, though… her hand was fondling that hammer tentatively, already guilt-tripped by the goddamn menu while she was already feeling uncertain about this pickle she put herself in.
Larsen’s stupid voice ripped through her guilt-ridden thought bubble, forcing her to stare into the blue headed guy’s dumb face. Oh, how she wanted to slam the Hammer into it, but not yet… She beat back down the painful guilt that threatened to surface again. Larsen didn’t deserve pity. Kaelee knew only what she saw on the surface, and Larsen was an asshole that needed to be taught a lesson. Pure and simple. Hang on a little bit longer… Thankfully, the holoskin held up so far.
“Flat White is fine.”
Kaelee tried to ignore the menu. It was almost like ‘JustWarner’ himself was trying to speak to her through it, to tempt her to quit this folly while she was ahead. “No,” she whispered scathingly back, jabbing an accusing finger at the adorable pictures. “Leave me alone.” She slammed the menu shut, and slid it to the end table. She has seen enough.
Emroidz
The look on Larsen’s face was priceless, but likely remained not-quite-adequate enough payback for the honor Kaelee sought to defend. This was war: in the name of the Hummingbird! "Larsy??? Eheh, no. Absolutely not. I'd rather have cheese on my pie." Andromeda might have been an award winning actress, but Blue was the one who deserved an Oscar for the dry-heave he hammed up in response to the imposter’s cutesy little attempt at a pet name.
Even with Kaelee’s graceless impression of Andromeda thus far, she seemed to be muddling through fairly well as-is. This meant, as it were, that however acquainted Lars and Andy obviously were, the depth of their familiarity (not to mention his apparent keenness and their overall compatibility or chemistry, if you could believe it) was shallow at best. This also meant that there was no way that Larsen would be the type of glory hound to trade a Mech Wars star for Extraterrestrial Love star simply for the potential for that measly fifteen minutes of fame. (Which would also explain, especially to Kaelee, why Larsen had broken up with Rydel—because it was for the same reason she had!)
With Kae currently embattled in a one-sided argument with all the friendly faces on that Lattetude menu, Lars was able to approach her just in time to see her poke at Warner’s picture. “You two have a disagreement, or…?” Larsen grinned cheekily before depositing a perfectly, densely foamed Flat White on the table before not-Andy, alongside the most perfectly flaky crust, topped with only-just-beginning-to-melt scoop of vanilla ice cream (with the flecks of vanilla bean so you knew it was quality!).
Being caught having a full blown, accusatory conversation with what was essentially an imaginary friend was one thing—and embarrassing enough on its own—but now Larsen was literally sat across from her! This was it! Generals meeting on the battlefield! Worse still…? “So, cut the bullshit, why are you really here?” Gasp! He knew! ABORT MISSION ABORT ABORT! “…seriously Andy—“
Oh. Phew. He still thought she was Andy. That was a close one! “--you’re a busy woman and way out of my league, hell, the paparazzi didn’t even believe that little kiss you gave me. The tabloids literally called me a pity date and said I must have been one of those Make a Wish cripples living out some fantasy.” Oooo, damn, harsh. Lars didn’t seem too choked up about it though: was that a long-bullied thick skin he wore with such resilience…or just one helluva poker face? Regardless, every bit of new information Kaelee was getting about Larsen was just making her time spent in that Trojan horse of a synth-skin that much more difficult. Jesus! And you thought WARNER had the ability to make you feel bad about what you were doing here, huh?
“Make sure you post that to Spacegram (Mobi-gram? WHATEVER INSTAGRAM IS IN THE FUTURE)?” He gestured at the picture-perfect beverage and dessert before her.
Uh oh.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee balked, and knew it was time to backpedal after her little mistake in the dumb nickname. Still, she took wicked pleasure seeing Larsen’s stupid heaving face.
After poking Larsen’s cartoony friend’s face, she jumped a little. “What? Oh, nothing, there was just a fly on the… the menu.” Kaelee felt her stomach twist in knots. The idea she had was simply delicious, perhaps far more than the pie could ever dream to be. Summoning the courage to get through this ugly business, Kaelee took a deep breath as the pie and latte was set before her.
As a chef, Kaelee can definitely appreciate the art of baking. The scent that wafted through the air reminded her of the comforts of home—all things familiar, and happier times. And lately, Kaelee had not been very happy. She felt her eyes sting, dangerously close to losing her nerve. It’s not fair!
What made this situation worse is that Larsen decided to sit across from her. And then that dreadful question, of why she was really here, made her blood run cold. Kaelee’s mouth gaped for a moment. Fuck. He knew—
And then he went on with a story of his and Andromeda’s past, leaving Kaelee rather speechless. Had Larsen always been so hateful to himself? It didn’t seem to bother him—oh, fuck, was she feeling sympathetic?
No, a little voice screamed in her head. He insulted your famous ramen. He clearly doesn’t know GOOD food even if it hit him in the face! Cripple or no, the guy is a huge jerk, make him PAY! Bet you the pie tastes terrible, anyway! Show him your worth!
The petty revenge took hold, and just now, Larsen gave her a huge in. She honestly didn’t think anything could go wrong right at this moment, so she took out her commlink, giving Larsen a saccharine smile. “Cool, I’ll be sure to… put in a good word on Spacegram.”
Emroidz
Kaelee better not take a bite of that pie before seeing to her endgame or she might very well lose her nerve for good! With Larsen responsible for the coffee and Leane being the masterful hand behind their signature (read: stolen) apple pie recipe, if the ramen chef’s desire was an effective tit-for-tat, she really needed to take Larsen’s approach and not taste the food he had been so bold as to publicly critique.
Yep. That’s right. You heard me. This asshole had written a spiteful review of The Hummindbird…without ever even trying the cuisine!
He wasn’t proud. He had been jealous, it had been petty, he knew that. But alas, when you post shit online it lives on forever in perpetuity! (Let that be a lesson to you, kids!)
None the wiser that he had just given the gunrunner all the ammunition (pun intended) she needed to settle a much-needed score, Larsen knocked the table between them with his signet-ring clad knuckle in casual, non-verbalized acknowledgment (a habit he’d never broken and a token he’d never taken off), Lars offered up a crooked, one-dimpled, close-lipped smile before pushing out of the booth and letting not-Andromeda enjoy her tea-time…and a nice healthy dose of well-intentioned (MWAHAHAHA) social media.
Kaelee Knodel
Alas, had Kaelee known! But she did not, and so this vengeful act continues. Full-steam ahead!
Kaelee started taking photos of the ice cream pie and the latte. When she had finished with her photos, she set her commlink aside, took up her fork, and stabbed the pie a little too forcefully while staring daggers behind Larsen’s head after he rapped on the table with his ring and started walking away. She took her first HUGE bite and paused for a moment, letting the texture, taste, and mix of cold and warmth that spread from her mouth to the rest of her body. It was delicious. Kaelee sat there, feeling immensely sorry for herself after that guilt-ridden bite from heaven, which opened the floodgates reminding her of all the words from the menu and the touch-of-home flavor of the pie.
“The hell am I doing,” she said to herself for the upteenth time, picking up her commlink and sighing at the dreadful thing she was about to do. Her disguise flickered, but because she couldn’t see through the welling of tears, she went to her personal Spacegram, and clicked New Post.
’So I had the pleasure—or I should say, displeasure of visiting Larsen’s cafe, the Lattetude. Let me start by saying that right off the bat, Larsen had a terrible attitude (for which I guess the name of his establishment is aptly named; and the pun is just terrible). And don’t get me started on the food. I will say that if you enjoy places like Abbadon, then you’ll love the dryness that is the pie. It was like eating sand. The ice cream did nothing to enhance the flavor; in fact it tasted like old curdled milk.’
Kaelee swallowed a hard lump in her throat before picking up the Flat White, and taking a long sip of that. She was not much of a coffee connoisseur, but it was actually really good. Great, even. The noodle chef hated herself for continuing her review.
’The Flat White is correct in one thing, and that it’s incredibly flat and dull to taste. I’d much rather drink straight black coffee than endure this awful concoction again. 0/5 stars.’
So engrossed and disgusted was she in her typing, that Kaelee had not known her disguise fell away, revealing her red headed self. She stared down at her review, and knew that this just did not feel right. She remembered the time Nodrog Yasmar, famous food chef and critic, had reviewed her restaurant years ago, and roasted her establishment and food quite harshly. Despite this, she learned from it. Couldn’t she learn from Larsen, too? To be fair, the pie and latte was beyond anything she had expected. Despite their rivalry, Kae knew that she just could not go through with her review. It wasn’t his fault Kaelee had a bad month. But still…
Sniffling, Kaelee uploaded the photos to go with the review. Finished, her thumb hovered hesitantly over ‘Post’.
Emroidz
Oh boy. Ignorance truly was bliss, wasn’t it? Larsen had returned to the counter and busied himself with a proud polish of all the bells and whistles on his espresso machine. With the morning rush over and the space-age soccer moms not due in for a few hours yet prior to their school run, the barista spared himself a second or two then to check his commlink.
Stood there, full blown oblivious to the storm brewing only a corner booth away, Little Boy Blue startled when he found an unread message from Leane waiting for him there. Swiping the notification, concern ebbed to relief as his neutrality in her great escape paid their inevitable dividends.
“Hey Andromeda?” Larsen alerted imposter without looking up, having already started thumbing out his reply to Leane. “I’m sorry but I—“ But then he did, and found Kaelee sat, none the wiser to her full body mask having slipped, in the exact seat he had left the starlet.
“What the fuck?!” Larsen yelled. Yep, yelled. Like…just loud enough to startle one poor, conflicted redhead’s hovering finger the millimeter necessary to tap that screen…and hit that POST button.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee yelped and jumped out of the booth like a startled fawn. The result yielded the unfortunate push of that post button, and a chalk-white noodle chef hovering awkwardly over the booth, the proverbial deer-in-headlights. She looked down at herself, and looked up.
Kaelee stared at Larsen. Larsen stared at Kaelee.
For a brief moment, Kae was sure they locked eyes. Her lip trembled as she struggled at what to say to him. Absolutely nothing came to mind, so she just stood there, hyperventilating, deciding which path to take: fight or flight.
It was clear which won over the other. Stooping, Kaelee hastily gathered up her things and wordlessly attempted to make a beeline for the door, pushing past him if she had to—without paying, mind—what was important in that moment is that she knew she had to get away as fast as humanly possible.
Emroidz
Not a fucking chance!
Proof of Rydel’s prowess when it came to adapting mech suit tech to the bone bolted bottom half he and Cecille had created for the blue-haired cripple, Larsen sailed over the counter like an Olympic hurdler when Kaelee made a beeline for the door.
“Oh no you don’t!”
Hood sliding like Bo Duke one minute and tearing ass across the cafe like a cheetah on the heels of a gazelle, where Kaelee had picked flight, Larsen’s brain hadn’t given him an option other than what was equal and opposite reaction.
The summation of which, while not 100% fight persay, was undoubtedly an act of physical violence…as Larsen didn’t so much as block Kaelee’s exit as he used it against her!
There may come a time, my sweet, noodly ginger, where you might have the opportunity to ask Leane how she and Larsen met—now an entirely separate lifetime ago. And she’d tell you: he hit her with a door and broke her nose. That had been an accident…
…this time it was on purpose.
WHACK!
To exit, the door to the cafe was a PULL,not a push—making it all too easy for Larsen to get hands on it first and literally yank it back just in time to connect with Kaelee as she attempted to escape.
If it didn’t knock the poor girl out cold, it was sure to at least knock her on her ass! (And this was all before he’d even seen what she’d wrote about his coffee shop!)
Speaking of which…
Blue’s commlink tinkled. Standing over Kaelee, Larsen thought it was Leane trying to get ahold of him a second time. Not so.
Whatever guilt he had been feeling in this chase-turned-assault-with-a-deadly-door-frame vanished the moment he read the broad strokes of his phone’s summation of what had only just hit social media—but was already blowing up. Because not only was the Hummingbird owner a beloved local proprietor, but also SpicyNoodle. The girl had a fucking following. Talk about a one-two punch!
“What the hell, Kaelee?!”
Really, Larsen?
Not only did you start this war, but you just beat her with the front fucking door of your business!
Kaelee Knodel
Shit went from the frying pan, and straight into the fire. The shit being Kaelee, and the fire being the door that smacked her square in the face. What followed was the girl falling flat on her back, her nose and front shirt pooling with fresh blood. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to be a little alarming.
Completely winded, it took a long moment for her to shake herself off and move up slowly into a sitting position, which proved difficult because her ass was sore as hell. Her nose felt very tender. She tried to touch it, and winced. When she brought her hand away, she saw blood.
Larsen’s voice slowly drew her attention. Ashamed, and defeated, the noodle chef just sat there, knowing by his tone that she found herself in deep doodoo. She’d rather face a hundred Lux operatives than look Larsen in the eye. If there were patrons enjoying their coffee (up until now, anyway), they only served to embarrass Kaelee even further.
Not knowing quite what to say, Kae just looked down and shrugged, sitting hunched with sagging shoulders. ‘Sorry’ seemed like a good place to start, but she knew even if she said it, it would sound shallow. Pride didn’t help, either, not that she had much of it to speak of, considering Larsen and his door did a good job destroying that just now. She didn’t even know he had just seen her review. Considering the circumstances, she didn’t realize that her thumb pushed ‘Post’.
Emroidz
If ever there was someone who could appreciate not being apologized to, it was Larsen. Honestly, there was nothing worse than a bullshit I’m sorry. You could feel the way a person chewed on the words like gristle before they spoke them, even simple syllables resembling mangled sinew. He had not only rejected these sorts of apologies indiscriminately for all his life, interrupted, but refused to administer them: there was no control group with Larsen, no placebo effect.
Staring down at Kaelee for a long while, Larsen seemed wholly unperturbed that they were literally blocking the only entrance (to waiting customers) and exit (to an audience that looked on in abject horror). Then, at long last, the blue Maltese—all bark and no bite—rounded on the peanut gallery, however silent and still they were, and gestured aggressively. “Alright. We’re closed. Everybody out. To go cups for all, line ‘em up and roll out.” Make no mistake, any customers who valued good coffee knew by now that Larsen’s snippy attitude often came with: take it or leave it, like the just part of Kaelee’s review said, it was right there in the cafe’s name.
Even while busy clearing house, if Kaelee moved so much as a muscle, having been left to sit on the floor by the door still, Larsen would click his tongue at her and point a finger. “Nuh uh. Not you. We’re not done yet.” Gulp.
Striding back to where he’d first stood over her, there the bubble-freed boy loomed again, tugging the string of his neon OPEN sign until the bright light faded from the window. Crouching down (thank god for that sturdy waist-down chassis), Larsen grabbed Kaelee’s hand, slung her arm around his neck, and popped her bottom up on his forearm like a broken down jalopy on the T-bar of a tow truck. There was no funny business, no way to misconstrue the gruff, matter-of-fact manner to his body language, but still! He didn’t ask, he just did it.
…Larsen might have skipped leg day for the past century or so, but damn if he didn’t have some upper body strength left over. The boy was broad across those shoulders, let me tell you.
Returning Kaelee to the original booth she had once occupied as Andromeda, Larsen plopped her down on the cushioned bench. “Stay put and don’t fucking fall asleep, got it? Doesn’t look broken, but you might still have a concussion.” Well…yeah! A concussion you gave her, you gimpy motherfucker!
Blue went back behind the counter and rummaged around, the distinct clank of metal scoop in the cold basin heard before he returned. “I told you, don’t fall asleep,” Lars warned Kae upon approach had her eyes even fallen closed due to pain and the likely blossom of some bruising—if not a full out, bridge-of-the-nose, double black eye. “Tip back. Lemme hear you take a breath through your nose. Hold this, right there. Yeah, yeah, it hurts, I know.”
He sighed as the power to control the bag of wetted napkins and ice chips he had brought to her was bequeathed to Kaelee. The frown on his face suggested he was not so callous as to defend his bad behavior: any of it. “…I get why you’re here, okay?” Larsen grumbled, seeming to find words easier when the redhead wasn’t staring at him like a deer in the headlights. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t deserve it. Though! Admittedly, I didn’t think you fucking had it in you…sweet little goody two-shoes you were at that wedding.” Much like the face he’d made when not-Andromeda called him Larsy, Blue gagged at her again.
“You know, if you wanted to hit me where it hurts, you should have really committed and hacked Andromeda’s social. Dot root, couple thousand creds or so? This place would have been a pile of ash and rubble tomorrow—nothing crazier than tela novella fans, let me tell you.” Was he really giving her advice on how she should have exacted her revenge right now?!
Kaelee Knodel
Easier said than done. She was only mildly self aware that she was hoisted up and carried somewhere. It wasn’t until she was back at the booth did she have a vague idea where she was. The pie and coffee was still there. Kae swayed and closed her eyes, not of her own volition; and jerked when Larsen’s voice brought her back. She groaned in response and perched a part of her face that wasn’t messed up with the palm of her hand. Sleep sounded pretty good right now, whatever Stupid Broad Shoulders said. It’s not like she really had the means to go anywhere, anyway. She wondered why her eyes started to close again, and worried in a semi-conscious state of what was happening, until she felt the bulge of both eyes and realized that they were swelling shut.
Larsen may see the noodle chef lightly shaking her head to show that she wouldn’t fall asleep. She chanced the smallest of glances his way; it was easier to look at him through poofy, bruised slits of her eyes. He may not even realize that she was looking at him, or at least that was the hope. What she really wanted to see was what he had in hand, and what his next plan was after ushering everyone out of his cafe.
Oh, he was instructing her to do something. Okay. She did so, reluctantly, and maybe with a dash of spite; but the end result was the same: she struggled to breath through her nostrils, so she breathed through her mouth instead.
Kae had no choice but to listen. It brought a stab of painful memories that she tried to beat down. She rest her head on the back of the booth, turning slightly to look at Larsen. Is that what he thought of her? A goody-two-shoes? She didn’t have the strength to argue.
What he said next made the girl swallow mucus and blood a little too forcefully. So, she ended up posting that review after all. Fuck. What came next was the first attempt at words, but those she managed to say sounded thick and hard to understand, no thanks to the fat lip she was given from that door. “I bibbin wan doo,” she murmured heatedly. “You scare’b be… diddin’… see.” It was too late, she knew that. Damage was done. At least her outside mirrored her inside. She felt filthy, and terrible beyond all reckoning. With a sinking feeling, she wondered how this might affect her son. The one being in all the cosmos who truly looked up to her. Kae so wished she could disappear through the booth.
Kae shook her head vigorously. It made her feel dizzy, so she stopped, but not without trying to glare daggers at Larsen through slitted eyes. “Shub ub,” she gurgled testily. “I don’ wannad. I… should’na come. Knew bebber, jus’ ubsed… you…”
Emroidz
"Jesus! Did I knock out your fucking teeth?! You sound like shit," Mr. Potty Mouth actually seemed concerned, which was laughably ironic given you didn't usually hold back when you...well, beat someone up (even if it was with a door).
"Open up, mouth breather, lemme check." Once more, Larsen would tilt Kaelee's chin up at him expectantly. If she obeyed, he'd pinch her nose between his two thumbs, seeming to expect a bloody cough to be sputtered up at him from that open mouth given the way he preemptively recoiled from the splash zone. He counted--incisor, canine, premolar, molar--all accounted for. Adjusting the cartilage with a sort of...merciless and heavy-handed, but also suspiciously familiar reset (yes, he'd done this exact, unsanctioned bit of first aid in the mirror to himself more than a few times in high school), even though Kaelee's nose hadn't been broken, that swelling would need massaged away for her nasal passages to be made viable once more.
"You bib wan doo," Lars smirked and mocked Kae's fat lipped lisp openly, not letting her off the hook for a minute. "You came in disguised as a freaking celebrity, don't tell me you didn't have a plan." Despite his accusation, Larsen hadn't freaked out half as much about the review itself as he did discovering that Kaelee so thoroughly pulled the wool over his eyes with that Andromeda synth-skin.
"Don't tell me to shub ub, you shub ub," the barista bickered with the ramen chef like kids might on the schoolyard: plenty of huff and puff between them, but not much more. "I what? What'd I do?" Despite the fact that he knew the answer, that he knew what she was mad about, Blue wanted to hear her say it. What an asshole, he was riling her up so that she gurgled more. He was enjoying this!
Unrepentant, but not completely without a morsel of chivalry, Larsen slid into the booth--beside Kaelee now rather than across from her like before--and held the ice pack to her face more directly so that her hands were free.
So, you know, she could punch him if she wanted. Or elbow him in the nads. The world was really her oyster at blind arm's reach.
Kaelee Knodel
Kae couldn’t believe this guy. Was he really doing this? Fucking ASS! Feeling a powerful urge to kick him, Kae swung back her foot but only managed a halfhearted kick to the leg of the table with a soft thump. It wasn’t until he moved to her neck of the woods did she attempt to bite his hand as he started manhandling her mouth, partly to see if she could, and partly because she wanted the satisfaction to see him in pain for all the grief he caused her. Doing so made her whole face hurt, so it was a give-give situation.
He was toying with her, and lack of control and feeling as weak as a basket of kittens pissed her off. Not much she could do about it, so she struggled with her words yet again, falling for his trap. “No,” she sputtered insistently. She did not like admitting it. “SHUBBUB! You cab buck righ’ obb you peeb ob shib.”
The proximity also meant a level of discomfort that made the girl look away again, unable to actually look at him directly. The ice made her wince pathetically, jerking away. “Why’re you helping be? We’re nob frebs.”
Was he really asking what he did? No, he was just being a butthead again, purposefully worming his way under her skin. It worked. It made her mad, and the notorious chatterbox was ripe and ready for a retort. “You cobbed my Hummingbirb ‘cheeb eebs’. You saib ib reminbeb you ob collebb dorbs. Dirby microwabbs. Ib was…” Kae felt like a dumb child, unable to properly articulate what she really wanted to say. She took a short breath. “Ib wab really mean.”
Emroidz
"Ow! Bitch!" Larsen swore, but laughed as he did so. "Fuck!" He continued to laugh and shook his head, but seemed satisfied with the now imprinted evidence that Kaelee's teeth were indeed left intact.
But oh, if he had been laughing before, he was absolutely rolling now that he'd really gotten her going. "Well, well, well, Ginge, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" (Oh Larsen, if you knew Kathee, you'd know no one should kiss her with any mouth.) "Just admit it. Admit it like I admitted that I deserved it. Come on. And while you're at it, admit that I pissed you off just as bad when my then-boyfriend thought it was a good idea to introduce his wedding date to his first love."
...then-boyfriend? ...not now-boyfriend?
"We're nob frens? Well clear my schedule and crush my spirit, GTS (think about that abbreviation for a second, Kae: GTS = goody two shoes!). Maybe I'm just covering my ass and trying to keep you from pressing charges, hmm? Ever think of that?" Now there was an idea! "Then again, I'm not sure Andy would like hearing there's some crazy redhead stalker stealing her likeness in New Haven." Hah! Blackmail. Yep. What an asshole.
But Kaelee wasn't the only one confronted by the echoing words of one JustWarner when they needed (but didn't want) to hear them most. "Be nice to each other, it's really not that hard." When the noodle chef outright called the barista mean, every bit of his bravado faltered in an instant and...
"Ah hell. It was, wasn't it?" Blue frowned.
Kaelee Knodel
The barista seemed surprised and giggly at the bite, but nothing more. At least there was some satisfaction to be had by that. The noodle chef folded her arms tightly to her chest, an undeniable smirk on her mangled face. Until he quipped about her mother, then she scowled, making the fat of her lip more grotesque than it was. “Dob’t call be ‘Bib.’” It was meant to be the nickname Larsen taunted her with, but Kae struggled through some of the G-sounds.
Kae unfolded here arms and looked at Larsen, not to just see him, but in the disbelief that he and Rydel were now history. It came as a bit of a shock; she thought they were tight like Gorilla glue. She wasn’t sure what to say to that, especially since she was trying to get over a breakup right now. “It wab a mibtake,” she agreed irritability, taking the ice herself and placing it gingerly over her face, muffling a little what she said after. “To bink we could be frebs.” It’s true, but she was probably a bit more open-minded, but she never really considered the fact that it can be awkward for others. Some times, wanting to be friends when you’re the ex is asking too much.
Kaelee hissed scathingly. “Wab mabes you bink i bon’t press charbes?” Although admittedly, Larsen had a goddamn good point, and that shut her up for a moment. The accusation made her squirm uncomfortably. “I’b no stalber. Dob’t… dob’t tell. I wob’t eiber.” It was a meager request from a helpless bleating lamb.
Kae hesitated a moment, not speaking or moving for a time, before making up her mind and gingery opening up her messenger bag, extracting a wallet. She shoved it wordlessly against Larsen’s shoulder. “Take wabbeber creb you wab.” If Larsen took it, he’d only find her Galaxy standard ID, a decent amount of credits to pay for the latte and pie, and a candid, physical photo of her family—Jaheira, Aurumy, Two, Kae, and a small golden retriever pup all wearing goofy Yule outfits (including the dog).
There was also a photo of the throuple; herself, Quinne, and Raali, their Space Disney adventures immortalized beside her family photo, but unable to suppress the sheer misery it brought whenever she looked at it, the photo was violently crumbled and torn to pieces. Kaelee had come to regret doing that, for she still could not get over her love for them, and so after fishing the pieces back out from the bin, she put it together with some tape and put it back into her wallet. There was no undoing her mistake… and there was no helping her get over the breakup. This might perhaps be a bit telling to Larsen, too, without outright saying.
Emroidz
“What was that, Ginge? What nickname didn’t you like?” Larsen grinned wickedly. Kaelee had struggled with two too many G’s once already, and here he was trying to get her to say it again! Ginge might not stick, but Lars may very well call Kae Bib now unto forever.
Unable to keep himself from scoffing as Kaelee finally calling their first encounter what it was—a mistake, from start to finish—Larsen was able to purge his soul of whatever remnants of bad blood he harbored over what felt now like a relationship that had been doomed from the start. “…it’s not very fun to get an obligatory invitation to dinner by the SO’s parents only to stand there and watch them love on their son’s ex like she’s the daughter they always wanted.” Unflinchingly candid and exceptionally bitter in that moment, even in hindsight, it was clear there remained a lot here that was left unsaid all this time—things that might still have been unsaid to Rydel himself.
“Calm down, GTS, I’m not gonna turn you in. If you call us square, we’re square. With all of it. Deal?” He wouldn’t turn down the credits she offered him, however. Taking out just enough paper creds to cover the cost of the dessert and beverage she’d insulted, rather than anything more that might have come across like a bribe for his silence to Andromeda.
He’d see the pictures then: friends made family; one happy, one sad. One whole, one in pieces. “Cute dog,” was all Lars said, but it was enough for Kae to know he’d seen the photos.
Kaelee Knodel
At ‘cute dog’, Kae snatched back her wallet, suddenly anxious, not wanting to entertain the idea that Larsen had been snooping. Not that the photos were hard to miss, but she didn’t feel comfortable giving him more ammunition than he already had. Sudden exertion made her wince, but she ignored the pain and fiercely stuffed her wallet back into her bag.
“BIB.” She nearly shouted this, spittle flying from her mouth. “Stob ib. Shub ub.” Frustrated, she slammed her palms on the table. “Stob bullying be!” No, Kae, you honestly deserved this; you did nearly run off without paying, and got caught red-handed stealing someone’s identity.
Hearing Larsen explain his feelings over being shoved aside in front of Rydel’s parents made the girl freeze, thinking. Yeah, she can completely understand where he’s coming from. She couldn’t blame him. It sucked. The information, rather than inspiring more anger, softened her instead. It was this that enabled her to confidently say what she had to say without it sounding insincere.
“I ubberstab,” she said calmly, but her hands was busy clutching the table. “I’b… I’b sorry.” She hesitated, then relaxed. “Deal. But ib dob’t chan’ the fabt tha’ I still bucking habe you,” she added fiercely. No more than a tiny kitten with claws and a little hiss.
The coffee was probably cold by now, and the ice cream had all but melted over the pie. Sniffling, Kae took her fork and poked the item, feeling miserable still. “Ib wabn’t tha’ bad. Your frebs made ‘em, yeah? Probab’ for the best.” Her mouth twitched. “I biddent mean do hurt your frebs. They biddent beserve it. My beef ib wibb you, not your frebs.” Kaelee gave a loud, awkward sniff and leaned over to take another bite of the pie. Objectively, it wasn’t as good now since it had been sitting out in room temperature ice cream, but Kaelee, having just endured a whoopin’ of a lifetime, thought it was the best damn thing to ever grace her swollen mouth.
Emroidz
Larsen smirked and snickered…only to stop cold when Kaelee accused him of bullying her. “What? I’m not.” Blue balked, only to double down immediately thereafter on his insistence. “I’m not a bully!” He…he’d gone and yelled at her now, unable to keep his voice from pitching in a way that sounded—whether Kae knew that him or not—like old Lars. Weak Lars. He might be a cripple now, but he was a coward then.
The silence that grew between them was as awkward as it was uncomfortable; he was visibly tense, at least until she apologized.
“…I’m sorry.”
Holy shit he actually apologized.
A moment more with that same, intense quiet between them: then came that little hiss from this tiny, ginger kitten.
He smiled.
“You just keep telling yourself that, GTS.” Blue said with a smirk.
Deciphering what all Kaelee had to say moving forward was a concerted effort, but Larsen figured it out, and when he did, he realized with a start that he’d yet to answer Leane’s text. “Ah shit, Ginge. Look, you want to make it right to my freb, you gotta come with me somewhere right now.” If she objected, or looked at him with any skepticism, Lars rolled his eyes unabashedly at Kae. “It’s either that or I’m dropping your ass off at the clinic. Someone needs to keep an eye on you until we’re sure you don’t have a concussion. I’m not taking the rap for having bludgeoned you to death: the bloody splatter of your piggy nose print is on my door frame.”
He gestured with a thumb over his shoulder to the evidence he’d mentioned, though it may currently be out of the poor girl’s swollen eyesight.
But there was something he could offer her that she would be able to see. Pulling out the cafe menu and laying it down before Kaelee on the table, Larsen pointed at Leane’s picture. “I need to go pick her up. Now. You coming or not?”
Kaelee Knodel
The noodle chef almost slipped out of her chair when Larsen yelled. Shocked, the girl peered at him through the slits of her eyes, gaping reproachfully. What followed was one of the most unpleasant silence she never wanted to live through again; fortunately Larsen must have felt the same, for he entreated her with a rare apology. Thunderstruck, she just sat there and gave a little shrug since she found it hard to make any discernible expression of approval without hurting herself.
Larsen’s offer to go with him was about to be quickly rejected. He seemed to catch on to her disapproval, and casually threw in a rebuke while he was at it. Kae pouted; she did not have a piggy nose. Anyway, Leane was his friend, not her’s. Then again, could she really live with herself if she went home, right now, and missed out on the opportunity to make things right? Or—at least—better. Whatever that may entail, Kaelee resolved to see it through at Larsen’s behest, and gave a tiny nod of assent.
“Alrigh’, butthead. Leab the way.”
Emroidz
“Hey! You finally found an insult you can say properly with a fat lip. Congratulations Bib! Such a momentous occasion.” Larsen went from his indebted apology…right back to teasing Kaelee, and unfortunately for the poor girl, it seemed her insistence that he not call her Ginge had given birth to an even more nonsensical nickname. At least a redhead called Ginger would have been apparent! Who was gonna get him calling her Bib? No one, that’s who!
“Here, put this on so I can situate the cold compress behind the visor.” Larsen took the melting bag of ice from Kaelee and swapped out out behind the counter for a smaller, artificial cool pak from the first aid kit Leane kept stocked under the register. Along with the break-and-shake appliqué, Blue would supply Ms. Goody Two Shoes with his speeder helmet. She would have seen it coming in, perhaps even recognized it as Valxina’s work. One of the Liahice twins might have broke him out of the bubble and built him some robo-legs, but the other gave him a fun-filled death trap to strap his crippled ass into.
There was something to be said about how Larsen actually helped Kaelee in silence. He wasn’t nearly as forceful with her this time, and even reached inside the open visor to suppress the chin foam so that it would not smoosh her already abused nose on the way down from overhead (because otherwise she would definitely cry—that dense safety padding had zero give to it). Fitting the cold compress in such a way that when the visor closed over it, it remained sandwiched between tinted shield and her swollen face, Larsen smirked. “Betcha could have benefitted from wearing this earlier, huh?” He teased Kaelee, suggesting had she been wearing it, he wouldn’t have been able to whack her with the swift vengeance of a pulled-open door.
Still, Blue guided his nemesis out the door and didn’t put her through it this time. She might have only had a thin view, and one that was partially obstructed at that, but Kae would still be able to observe the obvious severity of Lars’ handicap from the way he literally had to bolt the artificial mechanics of his otherwise useless, organic limbs to the flat-footed, custom pedals.
“Well? Hop on.”
If ever Kaelee was going to bow out and try to run off again, now was the time. Larsen was literally fused to the bike right now, both mobilized in one way and immobilized in another.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee made a sound like an angry cat, but accepted the ice pack all the same. She stared at the helmet, wondering how in the world she was going to fit her puffy, broke-ass face in it. She took it, then gingerly slipped it over her head, wincing at some feeble pain, but otherwise surprised herself by managing okay, then stood still as Larsen put the cold pack in.
“I cab’t see shit.” The helmet muffled her words, but it seemed her speech was improving a little. Larsen’s remark earned a low, out-of-earshot rumble of insults. Out of earshot, because at least Larsen was being gentler.
Kaelee allowed herself to be steered, but stopped short when the speeder came into view. Immediately she recognized the make and model being one of Valxina’s, but that isn’t the only thing about the speeder that ensnared her interest. It had obvious modifications, and if she weren’t so broken right now with limited visibility, Larsen would catch the noodle girl fawning over it. A good thing that she can’t really see—a good enough excuse not to give in and somehow find herself relating to her enemy. No, no, can’t have that. Can’t deny how cool it looked, though. How cool Larsen looked, seemingly fused with his vehicle. Maybe Larsen would notice anyway, in how she stared hungrily at the entire mechanical ensemble.
‘Hop on’? Kae looked on in disbelief and uncertainty. “Are you crazy?” It’s not that she was scared, but she knew what she would have to do if she sat down. “I’b not holding on to you, hell no.” Time was running out, and it didn’t take much for Kae to be convinced. I mean, the speeder looked dope, after all. Fuck it. YOLO. She hopped on.
Emroidz
“Why do you think I’m not having you drive? You can’t see shit!” Larsen piped up. Kaelee may notice, however, that ever since her accusing him of being a bully—while the schoolyard teasing undoubtedly remained—any put downs had been decidedly packed away.
“I mean, I’m pretty fucking crazy. You do realize I’m essentially bootstrapped into this thing, right? Hell, you should want to come along for that reason alone!” Larsen laughed with bitter irony and Kaelee would once more hear that self-loathing and -destruction she’d noticed from him earlier as not-Andromeda rear its head again. “Think about it: if we crash, all you gotta do is tuck and roll and then you can watch me get burned alive or broken in half because I’m literally inspector gadget loaded into this thing!”
If him painting such a vivid image scared her, Blue would glance over his shoulder at her hesitancy—especially any concern that came with it—and roll his eyes impatiently. “Just get on. I’m a pro, alright? Trust me.” Oh, if only she knew how much of a pro Larsen truly was. Not only had he logged the most consecutive hours and possessed them highest associated score on Mobius cart, but played mecha street fighter on the weekends on Vitr10l (and no longer remotely, either!)
Waiting for Kaelee to reconsider, Larsen thumbed out a quick text and finally shot that off to Leane: OMW (On my way!)
Smirking as Kaelee’s hell no inevitably turned to a YOLO, Larsen scooted forward to make room for her on the modified chassis. Surprisingly? The one thing he didn’t tease her about probably would have been the easiest thing to piss her off with…as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
One had to wonder why this topic of conversation—ripe for the picking—was left wholly untouched by the crippled smart aleck.
Lars had given Kae his helmet, which meant he wasn’t wearing one now, either. All joking aside…did Blue here have a death wish…?
There was no time to really wonder. As synapses fired to command legs, pistons responded in kind as man connected fully with machine and they zoomed off in the direction of New Haven Town Hall and its archival building.
—
Hugged close, Kaelee—being the glutton she was for noodles, firearms, and all things mechanical—would surely appreciate (and breathe easy) as she felt the easy way the rider in front of her leaned into every turn. Better yet? He’d gone completely quiet, almost like Blue was put into a trance by the speed beneath him as it built. The redhead might not be able to see much between the visor, the ice pack, and her poor, still-blackened eyes, but what she could see from their swollen periphery was the way all of Lars’ shaggy, overdue-for-a-dye, blue to (mile long) brunet root, Fabio-esque locks snapped and swirled from the wind.
Kaelee Knodel
“That’s okay,” Kaelee grumbled. “I’d likely crash and kill us all, anyway.”
Larsen seemed like the kind of dude that didn’t hold back, especially when it came to his self-deprecating behavior. Rather than feeling sympathetic toward Blue, Kaelee felt a slight stab of annoyance. “You’re a big baby, aren’t you? Well luckily for you, I know someone who’s pretty good at piecing people back together. I might put in a good word. That’s a BIG maybe. I mean, I might enjoy Roasty Toasty Larsy first before I make that important call.”
The one inevitable thing that made her reluctant to ride with Larsen actually happened, and it wasn’t without a grumble-glower-glare. She held on tightly to his waist, only because she really didn’t want to fall off, thank-you-very-much. No comment was made about that, either. It wasn… uncomfortable. When they took off, Kae noted how smooth the ride actually was. Okay, not bad. She knew she’d be impressed, because Valxina always made spectacular speeders. And this one was special.
Before long, Kae peered as best as she can at their destination as they smoothly rolled up to it. “Here?” she asked, notably confused.
Emroidz
Larsen scoffed, seemingly annoyed right back as Kaelee presumed he needed pieced back together. He’d always been broken, even before he’d been crippled, thank you very much! …now the outside just matched his inside. (The boy’s depression had been kept on ice all this time; it was inevitable that it thawed out with him.)
”NOT LARSY.”
Rather than comment, Larsen gave Kaelee a good jostling as he tapped his brake hard enough that the rear wheel popped up for a moment, the abrupt stop likely shoving her flush against his back in the process. That’d teach her! You know…to…offer…help! PFFT LIKE HE NEEDED THAT! Denial (and blown raspberries) increase.
At last arriving at their destination, Larsen unbolted himself from the speeder and stood to look up at the archival building with the same sort of confusion Kaelee had one her face. “Huh…” Blue scratched his stubbly cheek. When Leane had run off on him, he had assumed she had a plan in mind: something crazy, something rebellious, something intended to stick it to the man, as it were.
“Well, come on. She’s gotta be inside.” A pause, as Larsen snickered and smirked as he looked back at Kaelee. “You might want to consider keeping that helmet on: the doors to that building look awful heavy.”
…asshole.
Once more, Larsen pulled out his commlink and thumbed a quick message to Leane.
We’re here. Where you at?
…we???
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee had largely been ignorant of Larsen’s… ‘problem’. Her rather… ah… negative perspective of him skewed everything that was real on the surface and beneath it. Larsen certainly didn’t help her opinion of him after he slammed hard on his break in revenge, resulting in flattening herself against the flat of his back. Thankfully the helmet assisted the passenger from breaking her face even more.
“OH FUCK! WHY!” She held on even tighter before their initial destination. Let’s face it, she didn’t actually want to be unseated in case her enemy got any funny ideas. “A warning would have been nice, asshole!”
Once Kae took a good look at the place, she forgot all about her irritation with Larsen—at least, until, he made a jab about the door. Kae scoffed, then took off the helmet and attempted to whack him with it. “Maybe YOU should wear it, shame if something happens to YOUR dumb pretty head.” She flipped him not one, but two birds before stomping away (not far, but enough to put some distance between herself and him) shouting something that sounded like “God I HATE him”.
Rae
Leane was sitting on a bench located within the main lobby of the archive building. She was glued to her commlink with her left leg bouncing - she wasn't nervous; not at all. Truthfully, she didn't know how Larsen would react. Would he scold her? Punish her like a parent would their child?
She had so many emotions running through her, her mind was racing as she was still absorbing the information she acquired about her... past self? It bothered her that she didn't remember any of it. All she could remember was saying goodbye to her best friend. That feeling of just... utter loneliness. Not only she lost Dwade, but she lost her best friend. Larsen didn't know it, but she carried that pain through to her second chance of life, thinking it was her that everyone was running from.
So she had to know - she had to know if she found happiness. She did, but the news didn't just make her happy... it just made her feel sad all over again.
A distraction was needed while she waited for Larsen to pick her up. Scrolling through insta-spacegram, she saw the harsh review that was left and the earthling frowned. "..Is my pie that dry?" She muttered, fearing she was losing her... baking touch.
Larsen's text was received and she blinked, "We...?" She whispered, only to feel her heart sink. Was he on a date?? Oh lord. Talk about embarassing. Rising to her feet, she'd peer through the large window to see her bestie with a red haired gal walking away from him.
Pushing through the doors, she quickly jogged towards Lars. Eyes already swelled with tears as she basically threw herself into his chest. Arms wrapping around his waist, burying her face into his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She muttered before adding, "I know I shouldn't have left, but... I had to know, Larsen..."
Emroidz
“A warning would have defeated the purpose,” Larsen snickered as Kaelee complained. Once more, the redhead would earn raucous laughter from Blue as she paid him back with abuse in equal measure, giving him several good whacks in the chest and nearest bicep with that speeder helmet turned battering ram. “Ow! Ow! Fuck! Shit! Damn! Alright, alright, message received!”
…apparently not though, because the moment Lars took a step away from Kae—enough to be out of arm’s reach and no more—he was right back at his teasing like a dog with a bone. “You know, people usually put those words in a different order there, GTS. Most would have said my head was pretty dumb, but you called it dumb and pretty.”
Ooo, if she was mad at him already, pointing out that bit of unintentional syntax was really going to piss her off! Larsen was twisting Kaelee’s words!!
…or was he?
Hearing the doors open to the archival building, however, Larsen seemed to sense Leane coming down the stairs at him before she even spoke. Turning on a dime, all dysfunctional play with Kaelee halted as Blue caught his best friend mid-launch…just in time for the poor girl to go all to pieces.
Kae would bear witness to perhaps the most drastic change in Lars imaginable: from pompous ass…to pillar of support. “Hey. Woah. It’s alright. It’s my fault. Shh. I know why you left. I get it, I do.” Blue hugged Leane with a sympathetic sigh and looked beyond her, back up at the building she’d felt a strong enough pull towards that she’d run away from home.
“Not exactly where I imagined you’d end up on your first solo excursion there, Leane,” Larsen chuckled, trying to lighten the mood—albeit with a far more gentle bit of teasing than what Kaelee had endured thus far from him. “…why here…?”
Introductions were inevitable, of course, but Larsen really needed to understand.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee inhaled sharply, her face going from its usual pale to bright red in a matter of point-zero-one seconds, a record for her. “Quit trying to be a smart ass when you’ve already got the ass part covered just fine!”
Then the situation got awkward the moment Leane exited the building. Kae watched as Larsen flipped like a switch in front of this girl. It was hard not to listen in (as Kae was a natural busybody anyway), but she at least had the decency to try to give them their moment while feeling like the biggest third wheel in the galaxy. Meanwhile, the noodle chef crossed her arms and worked on how she might introduce herself. Hi, I’m someone you never met before, yeah my face looks like a truck smacked into it and then had the balls to go into reverse, yes I’m aware it’s bad, thanks. Nice to meet you, Leane. Sorry I trashed your pie on SpaceGram.
Well, there’s all her problems solved in one paragraph, but to execute it was a whole different ballgame. Kae didn’t quite have the nerve to try and speak to Leane yet, so she cast Larsen tentative looks in hopes he might instigate their introduction. He seemed a little preoccupied, which grated Kae’s skin, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“Y’all definitely have the whole drama scene straight outta The Notebook down, damn. At least get a room before y’all start locking lips or something.”
That was not what Kae had in mind as a greeting; it was something she might say to people she was close to that knew her brand of humor. To a stranger, it might come off as offensive, and Kae realize that, so she tried to backpedal and put on her best smile.
“Ummm… hi, I’m Kaelee. Kaelee Knodel. Your pie is the bee’s knees.” She didn’t know Leane had read the review. “Sooo… this place. Yeah. Annnybody care to explain the how’s and the why’s or…?”
Part 2
>
Rae
Leane pulled back from Larsen, wiping at her cheeks and sniffling before taking a breath to explain why she decided to go to the archive building. "My last memory... Was when I had to say goodbye to you. It's just... Stuck in my head, that feeling of sadness and loneliness because I had no one left." Sniffle. "So I needed to know... If I found happiness after I lost my best friend." Talk about pulling on those heart strings, Leane. But it was the truth.
Leane glanced up at Larsen with red puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks before her attention shifted to Kae as she spoke rather boldly. The earthling blinked a few times. "You hit her in the face with a door, didn't you, Lars?" She asked glancing up at little boy blue. Oh yes, Leane could tell a door injury, but she didn't seem mad, because it either had to be an accident or she deserved it. No way Larsen would do it on purpose. Right?
Right? But her suggestive statement went ignored, letting Larsen tackle that.
Kae's greeting had her squinting her eyes at the woman, "You said my pie was dry." She said simply, "Do you really think it's dry??" If Kae knew just how much love Leane put into baking every single pie.
Blinking, she shook her head and gestures between Lars and Kae. "Did I interrupt some... Weird date? Is this how you date in New Haven??" She asked, looking up at Larsen with an arched eyebrow. Clearly she didn't know the New Haven customs... Because if this is how one dates...maybe it was best if she was alone...
Emroidz
Oh Kaelee, when were you gonna learn? “So you think my head is pretty and you think my ass is fine?” Okay now he was twisting her words! Despite having lumbar support which ran from hip bolt to hip bolt and largely covered the seat of his pants, Larsen turned around and threw his crippled self into reverse, managing to get in a few good booty pops before Leane came flying at him and his body was needed elsewhere.
Taking the moment necessary to address his best friend’s leftover woes from an entire lifetime before this one, Larsen pet the short, rose gold locks of Leane’s pixie cut. “And did you?” He asked gently, sounding almost afraid to hear the answer. After all, this was an entire Leane he never got the chance to meet: a grown up, a career woman, a wife and mother; an entire person he couldn’t even fathom.
Turning his attention back to Kaelee at long last, Larsen scoffed and glared at her over Leane’s head, which he had tucked protectively under his chin like a mother hen. Rather than dignify her passive aggressive comment with a direct response, Blue instead looked rather devious when Kaelee tried to precede and offset her review with a verbal compliment instead of her written insult.
Of course, this was only made funnier by the fact that Leane went full on squinty accusation at Kaelee…only to immediately know who and what was responsible for the ginger’s busted up face. “Don’t take it personally Leane. Kaelee here was paying me back with an equally inaccurate review of the cafe after I trashed her noodle shop. I ran her face-first into the coffee shop door until she admitted your pie was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.”
…ehehehe, fucking asshole. While definitely an exaggeration as to how the events that preceded their arrival here actually played out, somehow, Larsen managed to show Kaelee in a better (yet absolutely absurd) light.
Not just that, but he had also just subtly admitted to Kaelee that his review of her shop had been unfair and inaccurate (when previously he had only vaguely copped to deserving her retribution).
But the remark from Leane on if she had interrupted some weird, futuristic courtship ritual had Larsen full on spinning out. “What?! No! She stalked me wearing an Andromeda synth-skin disguise!” Oh jeez, Lars. Kae was definitely not going to appreciate that retelling of events.
“She hates me,” Larsen insisted, before turning to Kaelee for some confirmation. “You hate me, right? Tell her you hate me. You said you hate me.” Oh dear…
Kaelee Knodel
“I swear to god, I’m about to help shove that foot down deeper into your throat,” Kae snarled, jabbing her finger in Larsen’s direction threateningly. She rounded on Leane, ready for a retort about the door, but sputtered to a stop before she could get any coherent words out. “I—that’s not—no—“ Despite her gruesome face, she tried to look at Leane sincerely through the slitted eyes. “It was—Larsen, shut up—Larsen—LARSY—NOPE THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED—LALALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOUUU~”
As fast as an agile cat, Kaelee pounced on Larsen and attempted to quiet him by slamming the palm of her hand over his mouth in what would be a struggle to speak over him. “What? Dating? GROSS. I’d NEVER date this asshole.” She tried to press her hand over Larsen’s mouth and keep it there. “Anyway, I thought y’all were dating! Honey, look, there’s plenty of nice fish in the sea, and this one is a rotten guppie if I ever saw one—ANYWAY—that’s—your pie—look, I can explain l—“ Larsen was intent on making it worse, not better. She felt a sting, knowing now that Leane had actually read the review. Word spreads fast, it seems, and it made the guilt bubble and froth all the worse in the pit in her stomach.
“You deserved it!” Kae’s nails briefly bit into Larsen’s skin, not enough to bleed, but to emphasize a point. She looked back at Leane. “Your asshole boyfriend went and gave the Hummingbird a bad review. I wanted to pay him back in kind. Admittedly, I was feeling a bit petty, alright? And yes, I admit it was wrong, alright? I mean—what I wrote—I didn’t mean it… I honest-to-goodness… thought your pie was actually pretty amazing. There, I said it. Now stop twisting my words around.”
Kaelee gave a great big sniff and released Larsen. “Besides, I didn’t even want to post that… my… my finger slipped when Larsen discovered my identity, alright? Was scared, I was venting some hard feelings… but that doesn’t mean I don’t think Larsy deserves it, but I also… dragged his friends into our war and… I’m sorry about that. It was a dirty rotten thing to do.” She paused and gave Larsen a hateful look. “Yeah, guess I do hate you. But you also kinda helped my face not be swol, so. You get ONE kudos point because I’m feeling generous today, ya bastard.”
Rae
Leane slowly nodded, giving her best friend a small smile. "I got married and started a family." She said, sounding almost jealous. It made her wonder if she'd be able to find the same amount of happiness in this present time.
"Larsen..." She almost sounded disappointed, knowing he wouldn't continuously beat a woman with a door. "That's not funny." She warned, giving him a small shove in the shoulder. Despite what you might think, Kae. Larsen here isn't as vindictive as you would think.
The Earthling eyed Kae as she backpedaled and revealed how much she loved her pie, which caused Leane to smile, but what was more interesting was how she reacted to Larsen as well as how Larsen reacted to Kae. "Larsen, you do forget what I was going to school for..." She mused, eyeing him curiously.
She couldn't help but inwardly smile to herself, snickering almost. The two easily reminded her of two school kids picking on one another because they didn't know how else to show their feelings. Her assumption was merely growing with each retort the two made to one another. Her eyes widened, staring at Kae when she assumed the two were dating as she explained the reasoning behind this feud. Like, Lars, she simply ignored the implication and spoke of the elephant in the room.
"Right. I call bullshit." Pointing to Lars. "If you hate her as much as you say, she wouldn't be here and you would have left her to deal with her own black eye. And you--" Points to Kae, "If you hate him, you wouldn't be stumbling around with your words, grabbing him AND you wouldn't have gone with him to pick me up." Shaking her head, she crossed her arms, "I may be a clone, but I wasn't born yesterday."
Again, she eyed Larsen, "Lars, I've seen you hate people and this?" Wagging her finger between the two of them, before stuffing her hands into her pockets, "Isn't hate." With that, she'd step between the two, "Shall we head back?"
Emroidz
Somehow or another, almost as though it were written into his DNA how best to annoy the absolute bejesus out of Kaelee, Larsen was ready for her the instant she slapped that hand over his mouth. In a second, it seemed, an entire warm, wet tongue snaked between the closed shutters of her fingers and slathered the webbing of her index and middle digit with saliva.
Larsen Isaac Pryce! What were you, five fucking years old?! This was getting ridiculous!
"NOT. LARSY!!" Blue howled in defiance when the redhead inevitably yanked her hand away from his mouth in disgust and mortification.
"Listen here, Bib, because this is a subject we actually agree on: Leane could do plenty better than me, but you? Oh boy, between knowing Rydel personally and hearing all the shit he talked about--oh hell, what was that uptight douchebag's name--Quinne! If I'm a rotten guppy, then I'm plenty your type: hook, link, and sinker!"
...um...
So yeahhh...Leane? Maybe this was how dating worked in New Haven.
Unfortunately for Blue, his petulant reaction to Kaelee’s equally childish lalala’s only served to prove his bestie’s hypothesis about them being nothing more than kids on the playground together. In lieu of kicking sand and pulling pigtails, every bit of all of this evidence supported her theory and then some.
His friend’s chastisement was not likely to end there, especially with the cripple having doubled down on behavior his Madonna could not possibly condone. “Leannnne,” Larsen puffed out his cheeks in embarrassment and exasperation, obviously not fond of being scolded by his Mom Friend in front of anyone, let alone someone with the indignation and audacity to use it against him! They were both girls! Lars wasn’t stupid! The last thing he needed was them teaming up against him!
But Larsen only truly looked mortified…when Leane up and invited Kaelee to walk home with them! “What? No!” Larsen tried to head the two young women off at the pass. “I was just gonna get her a cab, Lee.” Heaven forbid the redhead step in line with the rose gold clone; he’d get desperate! “How are we going to get my speeder home? I can’t just leave it here!” (Oh yeah, Larsen, because if it was gonna get chopped and scrapped for parts anywhere, it was parked in front of the damn New Haven City Hall.)
Leane truly had the power to bend Larsen to her will. He’d always seen her as the ultimate good in his life, and therefore, when she spoke? He listened. So if the clone doubled down again and offered an invitation to the noodle chef to come home with them, how was Blue to refuse? He had never ever short-changed his responsibility of escorting a lady home: Kaelee might not know that, but Leane did. And she was indemnifying him with that responsibility right here and now.
Kaelee Knodel
“EWWWWW!” The girl squealed, quickly withdrawing her hand from Larsen, and promptly wiped his spit on his shirt. “Dude, GROSS! Why!”
Kaelee went impossibly redder than she was as Larsen criticized her choice in men, close enough to do her best impression of a tea kettle about to steam and whistle. And… ‘Bib’? Really? Needless to say, Larsen succeeded in ‘annoying the bejeesus’ out of Kae.
“Oho, Rydel talked about me? Two can play that game… I could tell you some shit about Mr. Famous Mech Wars Pilot that would make your fucking ears curl. And don’t you DARE…” She poked her wet hand on Larsen’s chest, fuming. “…insult Quinne.” Kae was no doubt still raw about the breakup; the fact that Larsen brought the android up touched a nerve. “He is an asshole ONLY to the people that are rude or mean to him, but he treated me like a goddess.” Treated, past tense, admitting that they were history, too. “Not that it’s ANY of your goddam… business…”
The noodle chef faltered, abashed at what Larsen was saying. Did he really just say that he’s her type?
“Ha! Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA—“ Kae was doubled over, clutching her sides from laughing so hard at that little nugget of info, wiping a tear away from her screwed up eyes. “Oh my god, you’re joking, right? …right?”
Larsen may not have realized it, but his words did open up the floodgates to the possibility… that somehow, she was attracted to bad boys and douchebags. Leane wasn’t helping; in fact she was encouraging it. This left Kae thunderstruck as she contemplated this world-shattering revelation…
…broken, of course, when she heard something Leane said that hit oddly close to home. The bickering was all but forgotten by Kae, whose generally one-track mind had new information to process. The noodle chef slowly turned to peer at the other girl, stepped closer, and whispered, “You’re… you’re a clone?” Something about the tone of her voice spoke volumes of her familiarity about the subject… being one herself. She snapped out of it for a moment, pulled back by Larsen’s stammering about calling for a cab. She scoffed.
“I—I don’t want to intrude—but—you’re a clone! So… so am I! I… I have so many questions!”
Rae
Leane just watched as the two bickered and poked fun at one another like they were in school. It was so painfully obvious and it just made her chuckle to herself.
"Jesus..." She muttered through a chuckle at Larsen who squealed as if he was five years old. You're not helping your case here, Larsy and Bib over there isn't doing much to deny it either. It was a classic case and it just tickled her. "Just go on a date already, geez. It's PAINFULLY obvious."
Turning to Kae, she arched an eyebrow before chiming in, "Lars here does the same thing. He's an asshole to everyone except the ones he cares about. Maybe you and this Quinne should meet." She said, giving her bestie a nudge with her elbow against his side. "If he treated you like a goddess, why did you break up with him?" Leane asked, even though it wasn't any of her business, but she was STILL Larsen's friend and a little tag team didn't hurt anyone. ( don't worry, Kae, Leane will turn on her bff, too. )
But it seemed whatever Leane said triggered something in Kae and the rose gold earthling just stared at the approaching noodle chef. Her inquiry caused Leane to give Larsen a side glance, before nodding. "...Yes..." She'd confirm hesitantly.
Looking back to Larsen when he vehemently refused to give Kae a ride back, using his bike as an excuse. "Oh please, you can EASILY have someone pick it up for you." She stated, eyeing him. Did he forget how rich he was? "Just call someone." Leane shrugged. It wasn't rocket science.
"See. It's settled. Apparently your friend here has questions." It was clear, the earthling wasn't taking no for an answer, Larsen.
Emroidz
Larsen swatted away Kaelee’s spit-slicked pointer finger and shooed her like a fly. “I don’t know the dude from Adam. Maybe if your ears weren’t curled so much you’d have heard me: Rydel didn’t talk about you, I mean, he did, but nothing bad. Why the hell do you think I couldnt stand you straight from the jump? How could anyone possibly hope to live up to—“ he gestured at literally all of her irritably. Some say you never completely get over your first love: for Larsen, that was true, so…why not Rydel too? No wonder he’d been so embittered and jealous; he had been up against the memory of Kaelee, it seemed, before they’d even met in person.
Rolling his eyes as the redhead descended into maddened laughter over him declaring he was as much of an asshole as any of her exes and therefore her type, Blue once more didn’t balk or complain otherwise about her finding it so funny. He didn’t think he was good enough for Leane: he didn’t think he was good for anyone.
But Leane’s observation about Quinne earner a finger waggle. His best friend might not be intrusive enough to double down and pry on that one…but Larsen sure was. “Yeah! Why?”
It was too little, too late, however. The girls had all but taken off on him, both physically-speaking and socially! “Hey! Wait up!” Lars grumbled and jogged (the activation of his hydraulics subtle but not inaudible) after the two. “…you’re a clone?” Blue blurted out when he caught up and shoved his entire existence between the two young women. Why did Lars suddenly sound so…concerned?
Leane knew why. He’d cried into her arms when he confessed to her the selfish reasons why she was here to begin with.
The walk back to Larsen’s place from City Hall wouldn’t take long. He lived in what one might consider “the historical district” (if a subterranean city could have such a thing) of New Haven: upscale but still trendy; essentially as close a suburb as you could get to downtown.
It took just long enough, however, for the artificial sunlight to fade…though the street lamps had yet to kick on. In other words? Primo bioluminescence reveal time. Oops.
Kaelee Knodel
Kae made a gagging noise at Leane’s seemingly innocent request. “NO. Not even if you paid me a thousand credits.” She gave Larsen a dirty look before grumbling at his rosy friend. “Don’t try and hook us up, lady. It ain’t gonna happen.”
All childish conduct dropped like a stone when both Leane and Larsen brought up the subject of Kaelee’s exes (and Larsen’s too, it would seem). Feeling vulnerable and very sorry for herself, she wrapped her arms over her chest as if this would protect them from their accusing stares.
Rydel might have never talked bad about Kaelee, but she certainly had. There were many late nights filled with tears and anger as Kae talked relentlessly about the Fayenal to her two supportive sisters. Whether deserving or not, the noodle chef felt a painful stab somewhere inside so overwhelming that she could no longer feel the hurt in her face. “He did?” She said in a small voice.
The information rocked her world, alright. But it wasn’t the end; the best friend duo bore down on her with their questions about Quinne. It made the girl step back. Kaelee clearly wasn’t ready for the question, especially since it was a follow up from Rydel. The noodle chef went pale and forced down a hard swallow, but there was no beating back the tears. Unable to look at Larsen or Leane, she kept her messed up eyes firmly on her boots.
“Look… can we… not talk about this? I don’t even know you guys and… honestly these are very personal questions, and…” Kae tried to control the quavering in her voice. “I just don’t want to hear anything bad about Quinne and Raali… they didn’t do anything wrong. No one did. Just… drop it? Please?”
It didn’t help that Larsen was bearing some of his feelings about Kaelee, who could do nothing but stand there and listen, feeling helpless and out of control. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted to Larsen dully. There was more she could have said, probably should have said, about all the brief moments she tried to reconnect with Rydel as a friend, and how he spoke about Larsen with nothing but love and adoration. Some times frustration, too. Too choked up to say much else, she pulled away from their stares and left it alone. Some other time, perhaps…
Kaelee’s mood took a steep nosedive, so she took the rest of their path to Larsen’s place in silence. In the meantime, she used her neurotransmitter to text Jaheira and Aurumy to let them know that she will be out a while. After some thought, she finally replied to Larsen in a tired and somewhat dismal voice: “Yeah… I am.”
Her mood lifted somewhat as she found herself in a part of New Haven she hadn’t been in before. With the dimming faux sun, and the lamp lights that had yet to shine, something told her she was in for a treat. So she stayed quiet, and waited.
Rae
Leane held her hands up, dropping the subject of Kaelee and her particular choice in men ( don't worry Kae, Leane as a type as well. ) But she smirked when the noodle maker adamantly denied even a sliver of a thought to dating Larsen. Even IF he was actually her type ( Kae's words. ) "A thousand credits?" She asked, "Is that a lot?" Heck, the earthling didn't know.
Dropping the subject and shifting gears to a more... interesting one? She eyed Kae, "Why are you a clone?" Leane asked, unsure if it was impolite, to which she quickly followed up with, "I'm sorry... I.. don't know if that's a nice thing to ask." She gave Larsen's frienemy a half apologetic look. "Do.. you like it?" The earthling asked as they walked into the historical district of New Haven.
Seeing the street lights flicker on, she instinctively reached for Larsen's arm, looping hers with his and staying close to her best friend.
While they were walking and the night grew darker, Leane noticed something about her hand out of the corner of her eye. She was.. glowing? Blinking, she looked down and could see her skin glow, which caused her to pause abruptly. The look of fear and puzzlement crossed her features as she held both hands up. "Larsen!" She squealed in a panic, hands now touching her face. "Why... WHAT IS HAPPENING?? Why do I look like a glowworm!?" She asked, as she glanced around to see others looking at her with arched eyebrows. "What.. what did you do! Make it go away!" She cried out, clearly in full panic mode as she stared up at her best friend for answers.
Emroidz
Larsen gave Leane a look as Kaelee seemed to…shrink up into herself. Clearly under duress, the rose gold clone need not tell her blue best friend to back off: he did all on his own. See? He was not completely unsympathetic. I mean…he had gone through his own breakup. Granted, not nearly as recently and certainly not…eh…entirely amicably either, but still!
Where Larsen’s line of questioning on the next subject—Kaelee having revealed she too was a clone—ended at one (his face having drained of color to her confirmation, which might have been overlooked), Leane carried on with the inquisition…
…at least, of course, until she lit up like a human glow worm the moment New Haven flipped the switch on the subterranean sunlight off for the night.
Oh yeah. That’s right. Leane hadn’t been allowed out after dark. Larsen, being in charge of her schedule at the cafe, had always ensured she was home in plenty of time, knowing that she hated the dark anyways, it wasn’t so much him hiding it from her as making it a non-issue.
“Oh. Um. About that…” Larsen grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. “It seemed like a good idea when the scientist suggested it? He upsold me on the bioluminescence! I told him you were afraid of the dark and he was like well she doesn’t have to be, have some of this glowing plankton DNA!”
Larsen looked to Kaelee for assistance (hah! Fat chance, Blue). “…I mean…it’s kinda cool, don’t you think?” COOL?! SHE WAS A WALKING GLOWSTICK LARSEN!!!
Ave
kk: “Uhhh… no, actually,” Kae admitted, frowning and tapping her chin. “I should have said like… a billion credits or something.”
The noodle chef took a moment to pick apart her brain and think about what she ought to say to Leane. “Well…” She twiddled her fingers anxiously. “That’s kind of a loaded question. My uh… my OG self… died pretty young because of some disease.” Kae shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not a fun story. Uh… what about you?”
And, oh! Leane was glowing. kae stopped and squinted her eyes at the rosy girl like she was an interesting exhibit at the zoo. “Woah,” Kae remarked, her bruised, fat lip hanging open in awe. “That’s dope, not gonna lie to ya.”
At least Kae wasn’t insincere; she really did think a glowing clone was neat! “Now I’m mad that none of the scientists gave me some cool glowy powers or some long Wolverine claws, you know?” Yes, sweet Earthlings, the Nikrusis-born noodle chef knew about Wolverine, you can calm down.
She snorted derisively at Larsen. “Oh, pfft, how thoughtful of you.” Thoughtful. Was Larsen really the sweet person Leane made him out to be? No, Kae thought firmly.
Rae
Leane was too busy panicking to respond to Kae regarding her reasoning for cloning. Perhaps Larsen could take charge, after all it was his idea to clone the earthling in the first place.
Quickly she looked between the two of them, quickly shaking her head. It was clear, she wasn't finding this as cool as the two of them. Kae, you forget, Leane didn't grow up in this galaxy. So this??, wasn't as cool as both of them think. "I'm a walking LAMP, LARSEN!" She squealed in tears, "I already have a hard time fitting in as it is, and now.. this??" She asked, gesturing to herself.... "No one would want to be around me... no one would want to date me if they knew I was just a damn moth attracter...." Pout.
Besides, what was so wrong with walking close with a cute guy at night? Not that she was PRETENDING that she was afraid of the dark. She truly was... (it was just an extra perk.)
"I want it gone." She demanded, staring up at Larsen.
Emroidz
Had Larsen truly been the all bark and no bite little blue Maltese his loving narrator described him as, he might have laid back his ears—might even have rolled belly up in submission—when regarded with such sternness from Leane. But he was not a lamb-fleeced pup in any manner of speaking other than metaphoric, which meant he was just a man left frowning in the face of his dearest friend’s displeasure.
Still. Larsen was Larsen, so Leane should know what was coming next. “Well if the goal is to make you dateable, maybe I should have them turn up the phosphorescence instead. I would say I’d like you visible from space, but oh! we’re already here!” Yep, see Kae? Lars even sassed Lee with the same amount of ferocity.
…the only difference being that Leane knew, when push came to shove, she was the sort of Mom friend who could level his attitude with just one look. Hell, she didn’t even have to pull out the full name on him much these days! A squint was just as good as her hollering Larsen Isaac Pryce, you fix this and you fix it right now!
It would take a moment, and a beat longer than that (most likely because Kaelee was there and he was trying to be tough), but Larsen would kowtow to Leane’s will soon enough. “Alright. Damn, okay okay! I’ll make some calls. Jesus. You try and do something nice for someone…” Grumble, grumble. “…what good is living in the future if…” Grumble, grumble. Blue had his commlink out by now, and was browsing through his contacts. Finding what he was looking for, he’d thumb out a quick text and send it off. Mere moments later, he received a favorable reply.
“There, see? Done. Frankenstein cleared his schedule for tomorrow. We’ll get it taken care of. Happy?” The barista grumped, and scowled twice as hard at the noodle chef, as if to say don’t say a word.
Yep.
He was whipped.
Leane needed to teach Kaelee her secrets.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee knew she said the wrong thing when Leane reacted poorly to her comment on the glow. Filled with compassion for the girl, Kae’s smile turned into a frown as she rounded on Larsen. “How could you do this to her?” Oh, how quick as a whip the noodle chef one-eightied. She turned back to Leane with a smile.
“Please don’t worry. I think you’re pretty and cool. I hope you stop by the Hummingbird and hang out with me some time! Do you like noodles?” Woah, was Kae flirting? This was honestly the first time Kae openly chatted up a girl in this way.
Larsen’s sass towards Leane was met with an irritated grunt from Kae, who got between them. “Don’t listen to him. I’d love the chance to date or just hang out with a cool girl like you. You’re cute as a button with or without the glow! And you make bitchin’ pies, girl! Whoever your S.O. is in the future will be one lucky son-of-a-gun.” Take THAT, Larsen. “I also really love your hair! It’s so pretty!” Smitten or no, Kae knew deeply the importance of building a woman up. It was never her style to tear them down. She hoped at least her sincerity would give Leane the ego boost she clearly needed.
Larsen’s good news was met with a nod of approval. “Guess you’re not such a wretched bastard after all.” Don’t ruin this, Larsen. Kae was just now starting to think you have a heart!
Leane pulled back from Larsen, wiping at her cheeks and sniffling before taking a breath to explain why she decided to go to the archive building. "My last memory... Was when I had to say goodbye to you. It's just... Stuck in my head, that feeling of sadness and loneliness because I had no one left." Sniffle. "So I needed to know... If I found happiness after I lost my best friend." Talk about pulling on those heart strings, Leane. But it was the truth.
Leane glanced up at Larsen with red puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks before her attention shifted to Kae as she spoke rather boldly. The earthling blinked a few times. "You hit her in the face with a door, didn't you, Lars?" She asked glancing up at little boy blue. Oh yes, Leane could tell a door injury, but she didn't seem mad, because it either had to be an accident or she deserved it. No way Larsen would do it on purpose. Right?
Right? But her suggestive statement went ignored, letting Larsen tackle that.
Kae's greeting had her squinting her eyes at the woman, "You said my pie was dry." She said simply, "Do you really think it's dry??" If Kae knew just how much love Leane put into baking every single pie.
Blinking, she shook her head and gestures between Lars and Kae. "Did I interrupt some... Weird date? Is this how you date in New Haven??" She asked, looking up at Larsen with an arched eyebrow. Clearly she didn't know the New Haven customs... Because if this is how one dates...maybe it was best if she was alone...
Emroidz
Oh Kaelee, when were you gonna learn? “So you think my head is pretty and you think my ass is fine?” Okay now he was twisting her words! Despite having lumbar support which ran from hip bolt to hip bolt and largely covered the seat of his pants, Larsen turned around and threw his crippled self into reverse, managing to get in a few good booty pops before Leane came flying at him and his body was needed elsewhere.
Taking the moment necessary to address his best friend’s leftover woes from an entire lifetime before this one, Larsen pet the short, rose gold locks of Leane’s pixie cut. “And did you?” He asked gently, sounding almost afraid to hear the answer. After all, this was an entire Leane he never got the chance to meet: a grown up, a career woman, a wife and mother; an entire person he couldn’t even fathom.
Turning his attention back to Kaelee at long last, Larsen scoffed and glared at her over Leane’s head, which he had tucked protectively under his chin like a mother hen. Rather than dignify her passive aggressive comment with a direct response, Blue instead looked rather devious when Kaelee tried to precede and offset her review with a verbal compliment instead of her written insult.
Of course, this was only made funnier by the fact that Leane went full on squinty accusation at Kaelee…only to immediately know who and what was responsible for the ginger’s busted up face. “Don’t take it personally Leane. Kaelee here was paying me back with an equally inaccurate review of the cafe after I trashed her noodle shop. I ran her face-first into the coffee shop door until she admitted your pie was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.”
…ehehehe, fucking asshole. While definitely an exaggeration as to how the events that preceded their arrival here actually played out, somehow, Larsen managed to show Kaelee in a better (yet absolutely absurd) light.
Not just that, but he had also just subtly admitted to Kaelee that his review of her shop had been unfair and inaccurate (when previously he had only vaguely copped to deserving her retribution).
But the remark from Leane on if she had interrupted some weird, futuristic courtship ritual had Larsen full on spinning out. “What?! No! She stalked me wearing an Andromeda synth-skin disguise!” Oh jeez, Lars. Kae was definitely not going to appreciate that retelling of events.
“She hates me,” Larsen insisted, before turning to Kaelee for some confirmation. “You hate me, right? Tell her you hate me. You said you hate me.” Oh dear…
Kaelee Knodel
“I swear to god, I’m about to help shove that foot down deeper into your throat,” Kae snarled, jabbing her finger in Larsen’s direction threateningly. She rounded on Leane, ready for a retort about the door, but sputtered to a stop before she could get any coherent words out. “I—that’s not—no—“ Despite her gruesome face, she tried to look at Leane sincerely through the slitted eyes. “It was—Larsen, shut up—Larsen—LARSY—NOPE THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED—LALALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOUUU~”
As fast as an agile cat, Kaelee pounced on Larsen and attempted to quiet him by slamming the palm of her hand over his mouth in what would be a struggle to speak over him. “What? Dating? GROSS. I’d NEVER date this asshole.” She tried to press her hand over Larsen’s mouth and keep it there. “Anyway, I thought y’all were dating! Honey, look, there’s plenty of nice fish in the sea, and this one is a rotten guppie if I ever saw one—ANYWAY—that’s—your pie—look, I can explain l—“ Larsen was intent on making it worse, not better. She felt a sting, knowing now that Leane had actually read the review. Word spreads fast, it seems, and it made the guilt bubble and froth all the worse in the pit in her stomach.
“You deserved it!” Kae’s nails briefly bit into Larsen’s skin, not enough to bleed, but to emphasize a point. She looked back at Leane. “Your asshole boyfriend went and gave the Hummingbird a bad review. I wanted to pay him back in kind. Admittedly, I was feeling a bit petty, alright? And yes, I admit it was wrong, alright? I mean—what I wrote—I didn’t mean it… I honest-to-goodness… thought your pie was actually pretty amazing. There, I said it. Now stop twisting my words around.”
Kaelee gave a great big sniff and released Larsen. “Besides, I didn’t even want to post that… my… my finger slipped when Larsen discovered my identity, alright? Was scared, I was venting some hard feelings… but that doesn’t mean I don’t think Larsy deserves it, but I also… dragged his friends into our war and… I’m sorry about that. It was a dirty rotten thing to do.” She paused and gave Larsen a hateful look. “Yeah, guess I do hate you. But you also kinda helped my face not be swol, so. You get ONE kudos point because I’m feeling generous today, ya bastard.”
Rae
Leane slowly nodded, giving her best friend a small smile. "I got married and started a family." She said, sounding almost jealous. It made her wonder if she'd be able to find the same amount of happiness in this present time.
"Larsen..." She almost sounded disappointed, knowing he wouldn't continuously beat a woman with a door. "That's not funny." She warned, giving him a small shove in the shoulder. Despite what you might think, Kae. Larsen here isn't as vindictive as you would think.
The Earthling eyed Kae as she backpedaled and revealed how much she loved her pie, which caused Leane to smile, but what was more interesting was how she reacted to Larsen as well as how Larsen reacted to Kae. "Larsen, you do forget what I was going to school for..." She mused, eyeing him curiously.
She couldn't help but inwardly smile to herself, snickering almost. The two easily reminded her of two school kids picking on one another because they didn't know how else to show their feelings. Her assumption was merely growing with each retort the two made to one another. Her eyes widened, staring at Kae when she assumed the two were dating as she explained the reasoning behind this feud. Like, Lars, she simply ignored the implication and spoke of the elephant in the room.
"Right. I call bullshit." Pointing to Lars. "If you hate her as much as you say, she wouldn't be here and you would have left her to deal with her own black eye. And you--" Points to Kae, "If you hate him, you wouldn't be stumbling around with your words, grabbing him AND you wouldn't have gone with him to pick me up." Shaking her head, she crossed her arms, "I may be a clone, but I wasn't born yesterday."
Again, she eyed Larsen, "Lars, I've seen you hate people and this?" Wagging her finger between the two of them, before stuffing her hands into her pockets, "Isn't hate." With that, she'd step between the two, "Shall we head back?"
Emroidz
Somehow or another, almost as though it were written into his DNA how best to annoy the absolute bejesus out of Kaelee, Larsen was ready for her the instant she slapped that hand over his mouth. In a second, it seemed, an entire warm, wet tongue snaked between the closed shutters of her fingers and slathered the webbing of her index and middle digit with saliva.
Larsen Isaac Pryce! What were you, five fucking years old?! This was getting ridiculous!
"NOT. LARSY!!" Blue howled in defiance when the redhead inevitably yanked her hand away from his mouth in disgust and mortification.
"Listen here, Bib, because this is a subject we actually agree on: Leane could do plenty better than me, but you? Oh boy, between knowing Rydel personally and hearing all the shit he talked about--oh hell, what was that uptight douchebag's name--Quinne! If I'm a rotten guppy, then I'm plenty your type: hook, link, and sinker!"
...um...
So yeahhh...Leane? Maybe this was how dating worked in New Haven.
Unfortunately for Blue, his petulant reaction to Kaelee’s equally childish lalala’s only served to prove his bestie’s hypothesis about them being nothing more than kids on the playground together. In lieu of kicking sand and pulling pigtails, every bit of all of this evidence supported her theory and then some.
His friend’s chastisement was not likely to end there, especially with the cripple having doubled down on behavior his Madonna could not possibly condone. “Leannnne,” Larsen puffed out his cheeks in embarrassment and exasperation, obviously not fond of being scolded by his Mom Friend in front of anyone, let alone someone with the indignation and audacity to use it against him! They were both girls! Lars wasn’t stupid! The last thing he needed was them teaming up against him!
But Larsen only truly looked mortified…when Leane up and invited Kaelee to walk home with them! “What? No!” Larsen tried to head the two young women off at the pass. “I was just gonna get her a cab, Lee.” Heaven forbid the redhead step in line with the rose gold clone; he’d get desperate! “How are we going to get my speeder home? I can’t just leave it here!” (Oh yeah, Larsen, because if it was gonna get chopped and scrapped for parts anywhere, it was parked in front of the damn New Haven City Hall.)
Leane truly had the power to bend Larsen to her will. He’d always seen her as the ultimate good in his life, and therefore, when she spoke? He listened. So if the clone doubled down again and offered an invitation to the noodle chef to come home with them, how was Blue to refuse? He had never ever short-changed his responsibility of escorting a lady home: Kaelee might not know that, but Leane did. And she was indemnifying him with that responsibility right here and now.
Kaelee Knodel
“EWWWWW!” The girl squealed, quickly withdrawing her hand from Larsen, and promptly wiped his spit on his shirt. “Dude, GROSS! Why!”
Kaelee went impossibly redder than she was as Larsen criticized her choice in men, close enough to do her best impression of a tea kettle about to steam and whistle. And… ‘Bib’? Really? Needless to say, Larsen succeeded in ‘annoying the bejeesus’ out of Kae.
“Oho, Rydel talked about me? Two can play that game… I could tell you some shit about Mr. Famous Mech Wars Pilot that would make your fucking ears curl. And don’t you DARE…” She poked her wet hand on Larsen’s chest, fuming. “…insult Quinne.” Kae was no doubt still raw about the breakup; the fact that Larsen brought the android up touched a nerve. “He is an asshole ONLY to the people that are rude or mean to him, but he treated me like a goddess.” Treated, past tense, admitting that they were history, too. “Not that it’s ANY of your goddam… business…”
The noodle chef faltered, abashed at what Larsen was saying. Did he really just say that he’s her type?
“Ha! Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA—“ Kae was doubled over, clutching her sides from laughing so hard at that little nugget of info, wiping a tear away from her screwed up eyes. “Oh my god, you’re joking, right? …right?”
Larsen may not have realized it, but his words did open up the floodgates to the possibility… that somehow, she was attracted to bad boys and douchebags. Leane wasn’t helping; in fact she was encouraging it. This left Kae thunderstruck as she contemplated this world-shattering revelation…
…broken, of course, when she heard something Leane said that hit oddly close to home. The bickering was all but forgotten by Kae, whose generally one-track mind had new information to process. The noodle chef slowly turned to peer at the other girl, stepped closer, and whispered, “You’re… you’re a clone?” Something about the tone of her voice spoke volumes of her familiarity about the subject… being one herself. She snapped out of it for a moment, pulled back by Larsen’s stammering about calling for a cab. She scoffed.
“I—I don’t want to intrude—but—you’re a clone! So… so am I! I… I have so many questions!”
Rae
Leane just watched as the two bickered and poked fun at one another like they were in school. It was so painfully obvious and it just made her chuckle to herself.
"Jesus..." She muttered through a chuckle at Larsen who squealed as if he was five years old. You're not helping your case here, Larsy and Bib over there isn't doing much to deny it either. It was a classic case and it just tickled her. "Just go on a date already, geez. It's PAINFULLY obvious."
Turning to Kae, she arched an eyebrow before chiming in, "Lars here does the same thing. He's an asshole to everyone except the ones he cares about. Maybe you and this Quinne should meet." She said, giving her bestie a nudge with her elbow against his side. "If he treated you like a goddess, why did you break up with him?" Leane asked, even though it wasn't any of her business, but she was STILL Larsen's friend and a little tag team didn't hurt anyone. ( don't worry, Kae, Leane will turn on her bff, too. )
But it seemed whatever Leane said triggered something in Kae and the rose gold earthling just stared at the approaching noodle chef. Her inquiry caused Leane to give Larsen a side glance, before nodding. "...Yes..." She'd confirm hesitantly.
Looking back to Larsen when he vehemently refused to give Kae a ride back, using his bike as an excuse. "Oh please, you can EASILY have someone pick it up for you." She stated, eyeing him. Did he forget how rich he was? "Just call someone." Leane shrugged. It wasn't rocket science.
"See. It's settled. Apparently your friend here has questions." It was clear, the earthling wasn't taking no for an answer, Larsen.
Emroidz
Larsen swatted away Kaelee’s spit-slicked pointer finger and shooed her like a fly. “I don’t know the dude from Adam. Maybe if your ears weren’t curled so much you’d have heard me: Rydel didn’t talk about you, I mean, he did, but nothing bad. Why the hell do you think I couldnt stand you straight from the jump? How could anyone possibly hope to live up to—“ he gestured at literally all of her irritably. Some say you never completely get over your first love: for Larsen, that was true, so…why not Rydel too? No wonder he’d been so embittered and jealous; he had been up against the memory of Kaelee, it seemed, before they’d even met in person.
Rolling his eyes as the redhead descended into maddened laughter over him declaring he was as much of an asshole as any of her exes and therefore her type, Blue once more didn’t balk or complain otherwise about her finding it so funny. He didn’t think he was good enough for Leane: he didn’t think he was good for anyone.
But Leane’s observation about Quinne earner a finger waggle. His best friend might not be intrusive enough to double down and pry on that one…but Larsen sure was. “Yeah! Why?”
It was too little, too late, however. The girls had all but taken off on him, both physically-speaking and socially! “Hey! Wait up!” Lars grumbled and jogged (the activation of his hydraulics subtle but not inaudible) after the two. “…you’re a clone?” Blue blurted out when he caught up and shoved his entire existence between the two young women. Why did Lars suddenly sound so…concerned?
Leane knew why. He’d cried into her arms when he confessed to her the selfish reasons why she was here to begin with.
The walk back to Larsen’s place from City Hall wouldn’t take long. He lived in what one might consider “the historical district” (if a subterranean city could have such a thing) of New Haven: upscale but still trendy; essentially as close a suburb as you could get to downtown.
It took just long enough, however, for the artificial sunlight to fade…though the street lamps had yet to kick on. In other words? Primo bioluminescence reveal time. Oops.
Kaelee Knodel
Kae made a gagging noise at Leane’s seemingly innocent request. “NO. Not even if you paid me a thousand credits.” She gave Larsen a dirty look before grumbling at his rosy friend. “Don’t try and hook us up, lady. It ain’t gonna happen.”
All childish conduct dropped like a stone when both Leane and Larsen brought up the subject of Kaelee’s exes (and Larsen’s too, it would seem). Feeling vulnerable and very sorry for herself, she wrapped her arms over her chest as if this would protect them from their accusing stares.
Rydel might have never talked bad about Kaelee, but she certainly had. There were many late nights filled with tears and anger as Kae talked relentlessly about the Fayenal to her two supportive sisters. Whether deserving or not, the noodle chef felt a painful stab somewhere inside so overwhelming that she could no longer feel the hurt in her face. “He did?” She said in a small voice.
The information rocked her world, alright. But it wasn’t the end; the best friend duo bore down on her with their questions about Quinne. It made the girl step back. Kaelee clearly wasn’t ready for the question, especially since it was a follow up from Rydel. The noodle chef went pale and forced down a hard swallow, but there was no beating back the tears. Unable to look at Larsen or Leane, she kept her messed up eyes firmly on her boots.
“Look… can we… not talk about this? I don’t even know you guys and… honestly these are very personal questions, and…” Kae tried to control the quavering in her voice. “I just don’t want to hear anything bad about Quinne and Raali… they didn’t do anything wrong. No one did. Just… drop it? Please?”
It didn’t help that Larsen was bearing some of his feelings about Kaelee, who could do nothing but stand there and listen, feeling helpless and out of control. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted to Larsen dully. There was more she could have said, probably should have said, about all the brief moments she tried to reconnect with Rydel as a friend, and how he spoke about Larsen with nothing but love and adoration. Some times frustration, too. Too choked up to say much else, she pulled away from their stares and left it alone. Some other time, perhaps…
Kaelee’s mood took a steep nosedive, so she took the rest of their path to Larsen’s place in silence. In the meantime, she used her neurotransmitter to text Jaheira and Aurumy to let them know that she will be out a while. After some thought, she finally replied to Larsen in a tired and somewhat dismal voice: “Yeah… I am.”
Her mood lifted somewhat as she found herself in a part of New Haven she hadn’t been in before. With the dimming faux sun, and the lamp lights that had yet to shine, something told her she was in for a treat. So she stayed quiet, and waited.
Rae
Leane held her hands up, dropping the subject of Kaelee and her particular choice in men ( don't worry Kae, Leane as a type as well. ) But she smirked when the noodle maker adamantly denied even a sliver of a thought to dating Larsen. Even IF he was actually her type ( Kae's words. ) "A thousand credits?" She asked, "Is that a lot?" Heck, the earthling didn't know.
Dropping the subject and shifting gears to a more... interesting one? She eyed Kae, "Why are you a clone?" Leane asked, unsure if it was impolite, to which she quickly followed up with, "I'm sorry... I.. don't know if that's a nice thing to ask." She gave Larsen's frienemy a half apologetic look. "Do.. you like it?" The earthling asked as they walked into the historical district of New Haven.
Seeing the street lights flicker on, she instinctively reached for Larsen's arm, looping hers with his and staying close to her best friend.
While they were walking and the night grew darker, Leane noticed something about her hand out of the corner of her eye. She was.. glowing? Blinking, she looked down and could see her skin glow, which caused her to pause abruptly. The look of fear and puzzlement crossed her features as she held both hands up. "Larsen!" She squealed in a panic, hands now touching her face. "Why... WHAT IS HAPPENING?? Why do I look like a glowworm!?" She asked, as she glanced around to see others looking at her with arched eyebrows. "What.. what did you do! Make it go away!" She cried out, clearly in full panic mode as she stared up at her best friend for answers.
Emroidz
Larsen gave Leane a look as Kaelee seemed to…shrink up into herself. Clearly under duress, the rose gold clone need not tell her blue best friend to back off: he did all on his own. See? He was not completely unsympathetic. I mean…he had gone through his own breakup. Granted, not nearly as recently and certainly not…eh…entirely amicably either, but still!
Where Larsen’s line of questioning on the next subject—Kaelee having revealed she too was a clone—ended at one (his face having drained of color to her confirmation, which might have been overlooked), Leane carried on with the inquisition…
…at least, of course, until she lit up like a human glow worm the moment New Haven flipped the switch on the subterranean sunlight off for the night.
Oh yeah. That’s right. Leane hadn’t been allowed out after dark. Larsen, being in charge of her schedule at the cafe, had always ensured she was home in plenty of time, knowing that she hated the dark anyways, it wasn’t so much him hiding it from her as making it a non-issue.
“Oh. Um. About that…” Larsen grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. “It seemed like a good idea when the scientist suggested it? He upsold me on the bioluminescence! I told him you were afraid of the dark and he was like well she doesn’t have to be, have some of this glowing plankton DNA!”
Larsen looked to Kaelee for assistance (hah! Fat chance, Blue). “…I mean…it’s kinda cool, don’t you think?” COOL?! SHE WAS A WALKING GLOWSTICK LARSEN!!!
Ave
kk: “Uhhh… no, actually,” Kae admitted, frowning and tapping her chin. “I should have said like… a billion credits or something.”
The noodle chef took a moment to pick apart her brain and think about what she ought to say to Leane. “Well…” She twiddled her fingers anxiously. “That’s kind of a loaded question. My uh… my OG self… died pretty young because of some disease.” Kae shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not a fun story. Uh… what about you?”
And, oh! Leane was glowing. kae stopped and squinted her eyes at the rosy girl like she was an interesting exhibit at the zoo. “Woah,” Kae remarked, her bruised, fat lip hanging open in awe. “That’s dope, not gonna lie to ya.”
At least Kae wasn’t insincere; she really did think a glowing clone was neat! “Now I’m mad that none of the scientists gave me some cool glowy powers or some long Wolverine claws, you know?” Yes, sweet Earthlings, the Nikrusis-born noodle chef knew about Wolverine, you can calm down.
She snorted derisively at Larsen. “Oh, pfft, how thoughtful of you.” Thoughtful. Was Larsen really the sweet person Leane made him out to be? No, Kae thought firmly.
Rae
Leane was too busy panicking to respond to Kae regarding her reasoning for cloning. Perhaps Larsen could take charge, after all it was his idea to clone the earthling in the first place.
Quickly she looked between the two of them, quickly shaking her head. It was clear, she wasn't finding this as cool as the two of them. Kae, you forget, Leane didn't grow up in this galaxy. So this??, wasn't as cool as both of them think. "I'm a walking LAMP, LARSEN!" She squealed in tears, "I already have a hard time fitting in as it is, and now.. this??" She asked, gesturing to herself.... "No one would want to be around me... no one would want to date me if they knew I was just a damn moth attracter...." Pout.
Besides, what was so wrong with walking close with a cute guy at night? Not that she was PRETENDING that she was afraid of the dark. She truly was... (it was just an extra perk.)
"I want it gone." She demanded, staring up at Larsen.
Emroidz
Had Larsen truly been the all bark and no bite little blue Maltese his loving narrator described him as, he might have laid back his ears—might even have rolled belly up in submission—when regarded with such sternness from Leane. But he was not a lamb-fleeced pup in any manner of speaking other than metaphoric, which meant he was just a man left frowning in the face of his dearest friend’s displeasure.
Still. Larsen was Larsen, so Leane should know what was coming next. “Well if the goal is to make you dateable, maybe I should have them turn up the phosphorescence instead. I would say I’d like you visible from space, but oh! we’re already here!” Yep, see Kae? Lars even sassed Lee with the same amount of ferocity.
…the only difference being that Leane knew, when push came to shove, she was the sort of Mom friend who could level his attitude with just one look. Hell, she didn’t even have to pull out the full name on him much these days! A squint was just as good as her hollering Larsen Isaac Pryce, you fix this and you fix it right now!
It would take a moment, and a beat longer than that (most likely because Kaelee was there and he was trying to be tough), but Larsen would kowtow to Leane’s will soon enough. “Alright. Damn, okay okay! I’ll make some calls. Jesus. You try and do something nice for someone…” Grumble, grumble. “…what good is living in the future if…” Grumble, grumble. Blue had his commlink out by now, and was browsing through his contacts. Finding what he was looking for, he’d thumb out a quick text and send it off. Mere moments later, he received a favorable reply.
“There, see? Done. Frankenstein cleared his schedule for tomorrow. We’ll get it taken care of. Happy?” The barista grumped, and scowled twice as hard at the noodle chef, as if to say don’t say a word.
Yep.
He was whipped.
Leane needed to teach Kaelee her secrets.
Kaelee Knodel
Kaelee knew she said the wrong thing when Leane reacted poorly to her comment on the glow. Filled with compassion for the girl, Kae’s smile turned into a frown as she rounded on Larsen. “How could you do this to her?” Oh, how quick as a whip the noodle chef one-eightied. She turned back to Leane with a smile.
“Please don’t worry. I think you’re pretty and cool. I hope you stop by the Hummingbird and hang out with me some time! Do you like noodles?” Woah, was Kae flirting? This was honestly the first time Kae openly chatted up a girl in this way.
Larsen’s sass towards Leane was met with an irritated grunt from Kae, who got between them. “Don’t listen to him. I’d love the chance to date or just hang out with a cool girl like you. You’re cute as a button with or without the glow! And you make bitchin’ pies, girl! Whoever your S.O. is in the future will be one lucky son-of-a-gun.” Take THAT, Larsen. “I also really love your hair! It’s so pretty!” Smitten or no, Kae knew deeply the importance of building a woman up. It was never her style to tear them down. She hoped at least her sincerity would give Leane the ego boost she clearly needed.
Larsen’s good news was met with a nod of approval. “Guess you’re not such a wretched bastard after all.” Don’t ruin this, Larsen. Kae was just now starting to think you have a heart!
