Fixer-Uppers, Monday

[the_merriest]

Rikku had a new employee! That was awesome. Maybe if she came in today, she'd get another one! Or a customer, or just one of her employees wanting to hang out. And if none of that happened, she'd just hang out with the engine parts all day, and that was a totally awesome day all by itself.

(open/ocd-free!)

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[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

Even though Butters could have guessed it from the fact that it wasn't on the map, he was still disappointed to discover that there were no Bennigan's on the island. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about a place with no Bennigan's. Oh, sure, there was an Outback Steakhouse, but it just wasn't the same.

It helped, though, that there were plenty of other interesting places, and currently, Fixer-Uppers was catching his attention. He gave the door a little push to see if it was open and, finding that it was, he went ahead and peeked his head in. "O-oh, boy," he said, "is this a...a place for fixin' things up?"

[the_merriest]

"It is!" Rikku said. She wanted to ruffle the boy's hair, just from his tone. "That's why I named it that! Hi, come in! Do you have stuff that needs to be fixed up?"

Because sometimes, Rikku could get right to the point. It shocked her, too!

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Er, yes, ma'am," said Butters, as he edged into the shop and let the door close behind him. He tapped his fingers together as he looked around at all the different things in the shop. "I have lots of things that need fixin' up. God build me wrong, just wrong, and I...I need to behave myself. Can you fix that?"

[the_merriest]

Okay, this boy was apparently trying to break her heart. She reached to put one hand on his shoulder, reassuringly.

"Nobody is built wrong," she said, firmly. "Ever. We're all special and unique and that happens to be awesome. It'd be boring if we were all the same."

It was apparently Touchy-Feely time at Fixer-Uppers.

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well, I guess," said Butters, looking at the Touchy-Feely lady with some skepticism. "I...I take it that's a no, then?"

[the_merriest]

"I can't fix the, uh ..." She stared at him. "I can't fix whatever ... you think is wrong with you? But I bet it's not really wrong with you?"

If he could follow that.

"I fix, like, engines and things," she said.

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Well, there is that...herniated colon that I've got," said Butters thoughtfully, "but I should probably let a doctor fix that. I mean a doctor of people, not a doctor of engines, ma'am. But, boy, I like engines and cars and things! Why, they're all sorts of fun to fix!"

[the_merriest]

Rikku was beginning to wonder if maybe ... there was something wrong with the boy, in the sort of "dropped-on-his-head" way that it really wouldn't be nice to mention out loud.

She felt mean just thinking it, for that matter.

"You do?" she asked. "Me, too! That's why I bought this shop. So I could come here and fix engines all day long, if I felt like it."

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

Dropped on the head was light compared to what Butters had been through, really.

But all that seemed to be pushed to the back of his mind as the nice engine lady talked about her job. "Oh boy! That sounds like a great way to spend some time, and no one saying to you, 'Now, Butters! You get inside and do your homework, or...or else you're grounded, buddy!' Just work on...on engines and building neat stuff and robots, unless you didn't want to for that day, and then you could stop. An'...and do homework."

[the_merriest]

"That's totally what it's like," Rikku said, lifting an eyebrow with some amusement. "I mean, people who work here? They come in and they tinker with engines or build robots, and if they'd rather work on their homework, they can do that! I just wish I had more people working at the store. I don't have all my days covered yet ..."

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Well, hey," said Butters, after a moment of thought, and he pulled himself up importantly, "I just got here, for camp, but I bet I could work here, ma'am! I can build good engines and robots and things! Or I can sure try, boy, I...I sure will!"

[the_merriest]

Rikku was going to do her best to pretend she was shocked by this brilliant and helpful suggestion.

"Oh, that sounds perfect!" she said. "Would you, really? You could come in on Mondays, or Fridays, and I'd appreciate it so much!"

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well, Fridays might not be so good," said Butters, tapping his fingers together a little nervously, "on account of the fact that I've got two workshops on that day, but, well, Mondays, I could do that! I just have the one workshop in the morning, and then I've got the whole day. And instead of spending it trying to find Bennigan's, I can spend it working! And then I might even manage to make enough money to start payin' my parents back for all that money they lost when they couldn't sell me to Paris Hilton."

[smartestone]

After class, there was something Hermione just had to check. She'd heard radio, heard Rikku mentioned, and well, how many people were there named Rikku? So once she figured out exactly where Fixer-Uppers was, she came over, poked her head in the door and said, "Hello?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku glanced up, eyes widening, and barely managed to hold on to the rotor she'd been cleaning.

"Hermione!!!"

And then the rotor was being tossed aside so she could dash over and attempt to squeeze the life out of the other girl.

It might have occurred to Rikku, had she thought about it for more than two seconds, that this could very well be another Hermione, some kind of alternate-universe who was going to have no idea why she was being tackle-hugged by a badly-dressed blonde girl.

It would not be the first time Rikku had glomped someone by mistake, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

[smartestone]

That was about the reaction Hermione would have expected from the person she'd gone looking for, which was why there was a strangled sort of laugh in response. "So it is you!"

[the_merriest]

Rikku would probably let go in a second. After she stopped bouncing so violently.

"Oh my gosh, you're here? You're back! You came back? Did you save the world? Is everything okay? I mean, yes! It's me! Hi!!!"

Okay. This was probably a good time to let go enough that she wasn't at risk of crushing one of Hermione's lungs.

"It's really you!??!!"

[smartestone]

"It's me," she said with a big smile. "Everything's okay now, but so much has happened. And of course I get here and find out it's been three years as opposed to my two so that was unexpected... How are you? I can't believe you're still here!"

[the_merriest]

"I'm not!" Rikku laughed. "Wait, it's been two years? I want to hear all of it! And I left. I mean, I graduated? So I left! And I went home and we fought with everybody but that wasn't fighting-fighting, it was politics. But things are better. And then Reno came back here and then I decided to come back, too. That was ....... a few months ago? I think? Fall! Probably?"

Rikku's babbling was even worse when she was excited. As Hermione probably remembered only too well.

[smartestone]

"I'm so glad you did. I still know some of the same people who were all my teachers who are now coworkers... This feels so much more normal." Maybe because there was excited babbling. "Do you have time to talk? I don't want to disturb you too much at work... You work here, by the way?"

[the_merriest]

"Oh, I know," Rikku said, shaking her head. "I actually taught last term and I kept thinking, okay, um, who thought this was a good idea, letting me teach? But it was all kinds of fun stuff with science and I had a blast. Even if I totally felt like an imposter or something."

She went around the counter to find a couple of chairs.

"It's a slow day," she said. "And this is my shop, actually. I bought it. Isn't that neat? Now I get to come here and work on stuff whenever I want."

(I failed at hitting "post." WTF SELF?)

[smartestone]

"You bought it? Congratulations! That sounds like you're planning on being here for a while." Not that Hermione was going to complain, since she had no idea how long she'd be here yet.

[the_merriest]

"Thanks!" Rikku laughed. "I kept coming back to visit Reno, anyway? Because he was teaching? And I felt all restless back home so I decided maybe I'd just stay here and next thing I know, I bought a store. Which is kind of weird but seriously cool, just, going, hey, it's my store, I mean, that's awesome."

There! She'd put the chairs next to each other and now, she perched on one.

"So!" she said. "It's only been two years? So is that just a weird hiccup or did you get stuck somewhere for a whole year and you've lived three but the calendar says two?"

[smartestone]

Hermione sat down, maybe a little primly since some things just didn't change. "Hiccup, I think. It's still 1999 at home, which is two years after I left here, but time's never been exactly right between here and there," she sighed. And don't think that didn't bother her. It was so much easier when the only time weirdness she had to think about was when she was using a Time Turner, and at least that had made sense. "I spent one year out traveling with Ron and Harry and one back at Hogwarts and now I'm here."

[the_merriest]

"So how long ago was ... the whole world-saving thing?" Rikku asked. That seemed to be a good place to start. "You said everything's okay, yeah? So ... it's over? I mean, the bad guy's gone, the world's not in danger, however it goes?"