Luke's Diner - Wednesday, 4/1

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

Johnny decided to April Fool's the kitchen staff by sending tiny fireballs their way. It was totally amusing to watch them scatter, duck, and run for cover.

"Okay okay okay," he laughed, "No more. Honest, guys."

As soon as they settled in to work again, Johnny started all over with the fireballs, entertaining himself entirely. As far as April Fool's went, fireballs didn't exactly fit, but he didn't care. If he was amused that's all that mattered.

"Okay okay okay, guys. I'm done. Honest!"

By now they didn't believe him and all took to wearing a pot on their head.

Today's Special
Grilled Ham & Cheese
Tomato Soup
Strawberry Tarts

Luke's is open!

[No OCD!]
 

Comments

[withoutverona]

Romeo came into the diner around lunchtime to wait for his handwavily planned lunch with Rikku. It had been too long since he saw her; it would be good to catch up, even if much of what was on his mind was still concern over the zombies.

He nodded a casual greeting to Johnny, then took out a notebook and started jotting things down in it as he waited.

[the_merriest]

"Oh, my gosh, grilled cheese and tomato soup," Rikku said, as she bounced into the booth where Romeo was sitting. "I would come more often if I knew that had that all the time. Do you ever dunk the grilled cheese in the tomato soup? It's wonderful."

Rikku, apparently, thought that was her invention, right there.

[withoutverona]

"That's the best way to have grilled cheese," Romeo grinned, setting his notebook down and aside. "How have you been? You look like you're keeping well."

[the_merriest]

"I'm good!" Rikku bounced. "The satellite-thing is working! I can call people at home now! Okay, kinda only if they're near the tower, and the calls drop a lot? But this is huge."

She was still amazed that nothing had blown up, to be honest.

[withoutverona]

"You worked hard on that," Romeo said, nodding. "Congratulations. I couldn't do as much."

[the_merriest]

Rikku flushed. "Thanks," she said. "But sure you could. I mean, look at everything you're doing to try to get to Tokyo. Is that still on? I mean, is she letting you ... ?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo shrugged slightly and reached for the little container of sugar packets, mostly for something to do with his hands. "We haven't discussed it since before the cruise."

[the_merriest]

Ouch. Bad territory, right there. She nodded sympathetically. "But you guys ... you're ... you're okay, right? Back together and ... and all that?"

[withoutverona]

"All that," he agreed, still sorting the sugars and the artificial sweeteners to opposite sides of the sugar caddy. "We're good, in fact. We fought zombies together Monday. We're just not talking about anything after May."

One of those sentences was not like the other.

[the_merriest]

"Sometimes it's easier not to," Rikku said.

... wait.

"There were zombies?" she said, jaw dropping. "And I missed it? Dammit!"

[withoutverona]

That reaction was so Rikku Romeo could have hugged her, really. "There were," he nodded. "I went on the Girls with Guns field trip Monday, and they were all through the mall."

His face went a little grim. "They were frightening."

[the_merriest]

"Ohhhh, I thought you meant here," Rikku said, trying not to sound mildly disappointed. "You know, I totally should have joined that group, I just always had too much else going on. Is everyone okay, though? Zombies can be ... pretty messed up."

[withoutverona]

"I didn't finish reading the aftermath threads but I believe no one was hurt in any serious way," Romeo said. "They got to Dojima and I in Hot Topic. We had to kill them with spiked boots and the butts of our paintball guns."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You sound like you wish you were there, where I would have been much happier not to be."

[the_merriest]

"Hot Topic is the place with all those neat t-shirts, right?" Rikku asked. She blushed, playing with her silverware and not meeting his eyes. "I, uh. I haven't gotten to do any world-saving lately, or monster-killing, you know? I kinda miss it. I mean, the harpies were cool and all, so that was nice."

[withoutverona]

"And the clothes for girls who want to look like vampires," Romeo nodded.

Amusement tinted his eyes. "I've no urge to save the world. I'll fight to protect the peace, but when peace is here I'd rather see it unbroken. you're braver."

[the_merriest]

"I'm more easily bored," she laughed. "Totally different thing. It's too quiet, here. That's all. I guess we'll have to make do with harpies and the usual crazies. Peace isn't something to take lightly, yeah?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo shook his head. "It's not," he said thoughtfully, then quoted something at her. "I've heard, 'they sicken of the calm, who know the storm.' That is you -- you know the storm. Where I've seen storms all my life, but I always want the calm, even when it makes me restless."

He gave a little smile. "People have to be different."

[the_merriest]

"They do," she agreed thoughtfully. "And ... I mean, it's been different storms for us. You've lived through people just kinda ... senselessly going after each other, because of who they are. That's horrible. If I could make that stop, on my world, I'd never complain about needing something to fight again."

[withoutverona]

Romeo smiled slightly, grim. "And I would probably feel differently if I had to kill evil beings regularly just to stay alive, as you did. I might miss it, if my world were like that."

[the_merriest]

"Probably just the adrenaline," she said easily. "I dunno. You know what I think it is, though? I miss ... feeling like I'm needed. I'm not really, here. Back home, I protect people."

She hesitated before adding, "I wonder if ... that's why Dojima's so into her job. I mean, she's saving people, too."

[withoutverona]

Romeo sighed and finally stopped fiddling with the sugar packets, and his eyes when he looked up at Rikku were keen. "I think that's what it is," he said. "I ... I've never felt that way, you know. Not about anything."

[the_merriest]

Rikku swallowed past a lump, reaching over to grasp Romeo's fingers with hers. "Needed?" she asked gently. "Like you have some kind of ... I don't know. Purpose? You know, Reno told me. About how you're getting a weapon and learning to use it, just so you can go with her to Tokyo. I mean, this isn't your thing at all, but you love her so much that nothing else matters. She needs you."

[withoutverona]

"She might," Romeo allowed.

Really, he thought she needed someone better.

"That is the one thing I'm good at, you know. Love. And I even broken that so badly that Ino thinks I don't know what it is."

[the_merriest]

"Don't say that," Rikku said quickly. "Either part of that. You're good at plenty of other things. I mean, you're a great friend, so there's that, yeah? And Ino had no right to say that. You ..."

Rikku bit her lip, trying to think of how to phrase this delicately. "You kinda suck at impulse control, a little?" she said, carefully. "But that has nothing to do with how much you love."

[withoutverona]

"I do," Romeo admitted. "I know it and I try to get better and then I make another mistake. I'm not built for caution."

He smiled. "And thank you for saying that. I try to be a good friend, at least."

[the_merriest]

"It takes time," she said, gently. "I mean, you're trying, yeah? And you are a good friend. You've got a big heart, and you'd do anything for someone you care about. The rest is that sometimes your brain doesn't keep up, that's all."

[withoutverona]

Romeo smiled bigger at that. "Thank you," he said, and smiled again. "Let's not just talk about me, though. What have you been doing while I was off killing zombies? How is Spira?"

[the_merriest]

"I gave Lulu a phone," Rikku laughed. "And Reno beat the crap out of my ex. My kinda-ex? I'm not sure if we were ever something to be an ex from, but he was a jerk and Reno knocked his teeth out. It was awesome."

[withoutverona]

"He must have deserved it," Romeo decided. "Did he say something to you?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku stuck her tongue out. "He calls me 'Cid's girl.' And he messes my hair up. Not nicely, like, he's trying to make it all messed up. And he makes fun of me and rolls his eyes at everything and then he laughed at Reno and went 'so who's this clown?'"

Gippal had brought new meaning to the phrase "asking for it."

[withoutverona]

"So he deserved it," Romeo repeated, in summary. "Like Hannibal."

[the_merriest]

"Oh, he was practically begging for it," Rikku sighed. "I mean, Reno even gave him a chance to back down. He just got worse."

Love really came out in the details. Like when your hot-headed boyfriend kept from beating someone to a pulp long enough to make sure you weren't going to object.

"What did Hannibal do?" she asked.

[withoutverona]

"If you listen to him," Romeo said grouchily, "I am an ill-formed, ill-mannered snob who has no desire in this world but to take him to bed."

He sighed. "I'm not supposed to fight him again."

[the_merriest]

"He thinks you want to go to bed with him?" she giggled. "That's kinda out of left field, with the rest of it. Maybe he's projecting 'cause he's got a cruuuuuush."

The sing-song on that last syllable was required.

[withoutverona]

"Probably," Romeo said seriously. He was terribly irresistible, after all. "It was about Angela, to start, but now I think it's just that he's an ass."

Never mind that Romeo had provoked it.

[the_merriest]

Okay, that made more sense, and Rikku was surprised she hadn't put the Hannibal-Angela-Romeo math together herself. But she wasn't going to say that to Romeo, because it wasn't all that tactful.

"He might be," she said instead. "Why aren't you allowed to fight him? I mean, who said? Sometimes a good throw-down settles things quickly."

[withoutverona]

"Yurika," Romeo said. "We had a throw-down, and there was a good bruise on my jaw for days. It ended nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at Rikku. "I'm not really one for fistfights, you know."

[the_merriest]

"Oooooh, I taught her to punch better," Rikku said brightly. "Uh. Which you probably don't appreciate all that much right now, so, uh, never mind? I'd rather have a weapon, but I'm okay with fistfights. Maybe I'm just big on adrenaline or something."

[withoutverona]

Romeo looked utterly confused for a moment before he sorted that out in his head. "I was being confusing," he said. "Yurika didn't hit me -- well, she did, but not that hard. Hannibal did."

[the_merriest]

See Rikku. See Rikku facepalm.

"Sorry?" she said sheepishly. "I thought maybe she wanted to smack some sense into you. Not that I think your girl is evil. Just that sometimes a girl has to use her fists. Uh. This is all going around in circles, isn't it? And did you kick his ass? Do you want me to? I can be all stealth-ninja about it and he won't know who did it."

[withoutverona]

"Oh, and that would help my pride, havign a girl fight my battles," Romeo said. "No offense. We seem to be leaving each other alone now, and I'm happy to leave it there."

[the_merriest]

"I wouldn't be fighting your battles," Rikku said. "Okay, I guess I kinda would, huh? It was more like me wanting to punch him for punching you, but that just gets circular as all heck after a while. Ignore him, he's probably just insecure or whatever."