Fixer-Uppers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Friday!

[the_merriest]

Rikku was so glad her store was still here. Not that she expected that it wouldn't be! Just that, you know, she'd been away for a bit, and it was a relief that it hadn't been eaten by those giant spiders Reno had mentioned or whatever. Although really, he would have brought that up. And besides, she just liked looking at it, especially the horrific really cheerful reassuring sign.

(OPEN-OCD-FREE)

Comments

[dollpocalypse]

Repairs and upgrades and fixing, oh my!

Topher had decided, after creating a plan with Peter that would lead to him getting paid, that getting money was a good thing. So that was what brought him into town today, looking for a job. And this? Looked like a place where he could work.

He could totally fix stuff. And break things, but only when he was trying to. Like those spiders.

He opened the door and wandered inside, then went right up to the counter. "Hey."

...Yup, that was how he was going to start. Hey.

[the_merriest]

"Hiya!" Rikku chirped back at him. Don't worry, Topher. She could totally be verbose enough for the two of them. "Welcome to Fixer-Uppers. Did you need something fixed? Or upgraded? People usually need stuff fixed more than upgraded but we can totally do both, here. We're awesome like that."

Just FYI, Topher.

[dollpocalypse]

...Right.

"Nah, I'll pass on the, uh, fixing and upgrading, thanks," he said with a little private grin. "Uh, hey, I was kind of wondering... are you guys hiring at all?"

Kid got right to the chase.

[the_merriest]

"Well, I am," Rikku said, lightly. "Because I own the place. I'm Rikku, pleased ta meetcha. I've only got one shift open but I'm totally hiring. Do you like fixing things? And making new stuff? Sometimes with the bits you've got leftover that don't go anywhere else?"

[dollpocalypse]

"Oh, yeah, I'm totally good at that," Topher said, perking up a little at the thought of getting to brag about himself. "Like, those metal spider robots? I took those apart and I'm in the process of making them into a fan."

...Don't ask, Rikku. Just don't.

[the_merriest]

"That is so cool!"

Warnings only worked on sane normal people.

"Was there venom? On the metal spiders? I mean, did they have like venom sacs or were they just spider-shaped? I totally missed the spiders and I'm kind of down about it. They probably dropped good loot when you killed them, you know?"

[dollpocalypse]

"Aw, you missed them? That sucks," he said regretfully. "They were awesome. No venom, but they bit and snapped and stuff." Then he grinned. "I can bring you some of the extra parts I have left over..."

Topher Logic: Bribe people and they'll do what you want. Partially inspired by Peter Wiggin.

[the_merriest]

"Really?" Oh, Rikku liked this guy. "I can trade you some explosives. I have all kinds of neat things I can dig up here. You can use them for upgrades or just blow cool stuff up. Do any of the spider-bits do cool things, still?"

This was why no one should have let Rikku teach. Because she failed the 'role model' side of things.

[dollpocalypse]

"Sometimes they scuttle around," he said, waggling his eyebrows a bit to make it seem like The Most Interesting Thing Ever. Which it had been, you know, the first day he'd seen 'em. Now it was kind of old news.

"Tell you what," he said. "I can bring in the parts I've got if you give me a job here..."

[the_merriest]

Rikku was giving him A Look. It wasn't very successful as A Look. It was too amused. But it was trying.

"What kind of employer would I be if I hired people based on bribes?" she asked, sounding like she was trying not to laugh. "I don't even know your name or anything."

She was so going to hire him. She just felt like teasing him, first.

[dollpocalypse]

"Christopher Brink," Topher said, holding out a hand for her to shake. "I go by Topher. From LA, top of my class everywhere I went..."

Which wasn't quite true, as he'd been kicked out of half the private schools in Los Angeles.

"...And it's not like it would be a bribe," he pointed out. "More a... demonstration of my committment."

[the_merriest]

"Does anyone just muss your hair up while you're talking?" Rikku asked. "Because I'm so tempted but you'd probably think I was doing something weird like hitting on you and I'm not."

The Hello Kitty ring on her left hand probably gave that away. Not that it was a wedding ring, exactly. They weren't sure what they were, but they'd never been concerned with labels, anyway.

"I don't need demonstrations, but you should come in tomorrow, anyway. So we can trade and so I can show you around the place. Because I don't have any employees named Topher yet and you'd fill a really important gap."

[dollpocalypse]

Uh?

"Can't say anyone's ever tried that before," he said, amused. But then that wasn't important, because whoo! He was employed! And no, it wasn't the seven-figure neurologist gig he was hoping for, but he would probably have to get through med school before that was on the table.

"But yeah, I'll stop by tomorrow. 'f anything, it'll give me an excuse not to go to to the picnic, so..." He swung his arms loosely. "Seeee ya then."

[the_merriest]

"Oh, the picnics are fun!" Rikku bounced. "You should totally go! But only when you're not here, because you should come here and we can blow some stuff up and then you can go to the picnic."

Wait.

"Don't blow up anything at the picnic?"

Rikku kind of sucked at "grown-up."

[dollpocalypse]

Whoa. Picnics were in no way fun. But oookay, whatever.

"Sounds like a plan," Topher said with an amused little nod. He did his best not to laugh, because... come on. Really?

Topher kind of sucked at "civilized."