The Perk, Saturday Morning

[not_a_whiner]

"Oh, come on, LC."

"I'm not doing this again," Kaidan said firmly. "We pissed off the staff at the steakhouse enough last night."

"Seriously?" Ashley said, leaning forward over her cup of coffee. "Is that what this is about? Stop being such a stick in the mud. I'm the one that's supposed to be hungover right now, and yet I feel like singing!"

Kaidan lifted his own cup and took a long sip of it. "I never should have taught you this song," he said. "Just forget I told you about it in the first place. I'm begging you. On behalf of the barista."

"From Omega to Mars..."

"Ash, come on--"

"From the Council to the seediest bars..."

Kaidan groaned.

"From the reaches of space to the pillars of asari grace," Ashley continued doggedly, grinning all the while. She didn't care that her coffee was cooling or that last night's tequila was this morning's headache blossoming at the back of her skull. She was too giddy with the joy of being alive again, just for a little while. "There are battle-worn batarians, lacking in humility... come on, you know how this goes, LC! Turians a-braggin' about their reach and flexibility... At least smile or something! The clutter of the cities spreads to the loneliest stars... Come on. Live a little!"

Kaidan eyed her over the edge of his cup. Now it was getting stuck in his head again, damn it all.

"But no matter what scars you bear--"

He caved.

"Whatever uniform you wear!" he belted.

"You can fight like a krogan," she shot back, grinning.

"Run like a leopard," he supplied, shaking his head,

"But you'll never be better than Commander Shepard!" they chorused.

"Next verse is yours, sir!"

[[ open! because the commander shepard song is the world's most terrible earworm. ]]

Comments

[fewer_explosions]

Well after they had stopped singing, Liara walked into the shop, her eyes set on the counter. "Good morning, Commander Alenko," she said almost distractedly as she passed by, and then went to the barrista to order a drink and some pastries.

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

Ashley stared. "Isn't that--?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Yeah," Kaidan said quietly. "Keep your voice down."

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

"You said you didn't know where she was," Ashley hissed at him.

[not_a_whiner]

"It's not our Liara," Kaidan explained quickly. "Or... she might be, some day. But she's from about five decades before our time."

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

"Seriously?" Ashley asked. She stared. "And I didn't think our lives could get any weirder."

[not_a_whiner]

"You don't know the half of it," Kaidan said ruefully, and took a sip of his coffee.

[icecoldfrost]

When it came to Emma and Christian, the Frost siblings really were mirrors to each other in more ways than one, and that included their need for caffeinated beverages.

The poor barista had Emma's order ready almost the moment they had crossed the threshold, but she held up a finger before she could get rung-up. "Go ahead, my treat."

[frater-glacies.livejournal.com]

"Coffee. Mochas. Lattes. Oh god, I might die for a latte," Christian sighed, pressing a hand to his heart. "Bad joke, I know, but still. Do you have any idea how long its been since I had a decent latte? Wait, don't answer that."

[icecoldfrost]

The barista was making up their most outrageous latte already, and Emma just rolled her eyes at her brother's melodramatics. "Two orange scones, too, please. White chocolate for me, dark for him."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

A blond girl sitting at one of the tables facing the front of the shop looked up from the steaming cup of tea in front of her when Emma came in. She grinned.

She didn't say anything immediately, of course. Emma didn't have her caffeine yet, but once she did...

[icecoldfrost]

Emma had started assuming that her telepathy was fucking with her, to be honest, because Triela's mind had always been strange and there was no way she was back. None.

Emma had stood there for the funeral. She'd seen her roommate dead and buried while the other girls had hysterics, and this was not happening.

So she waited until Christian got up for seconds - and, okay, to flirt with the boy behind the counter - before she went over to the other table. "So, did they manage to jump-start you, or is this just a social call?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela snorted. It was nice to know that no matter how many things might have changed in the past couple of years, Emma hadn't.

"Social call, I suppose." She shrugged a bit helplessly. "You know how Fandom can be."

[icecoldfrost]

"Well, I suppose I prefer that to the idea of you getting a new car battery dropped into your chest," Emma said bluntly, taking a seat. "Have the others found you yet?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"I spoke with Momoko last night. Left voicemails for some of the others..." She shrugged. "That was a bit awkward, I'll admit."

Hi, I'm back from the dead was kind of a weird message to send.

[icecoldfrost]

"I haven't been checking my voicemail," Emma admitted, utterly unrepentant. "I've had my hands full just keeping Christian from running up room-service bills on my credit card. And hitting on my former employers."

She'd had to drag him out of Devil's Nest once he'd spotted Eric.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Christian is the one who came in with you?" It wasn't really a question. "He looks a lot like you."

[icecoldfrost]

"My older brother, although I suppose we're almost of an age now," Emma said, glancing over to make sure he was still, mostly, behaving. "He died when I was about fourteen."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Ah." Triela nodded. "A fellow traveler."

She grinned suddenly. "Well, if he is anything like you, I can only imagine how much fun you've had trying to be responsible for him this weekend."

[icecoldfrost]

"He's worse." It's said with love, Triela, really.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela barked a laugh. "Probably thinks that since he won't be here for long, he doesn't need to worry about any fallout his behavior generates."

[frater-glacies.livejournal.com]

"I never care about the fallout my behavior generates. I'm fabulous," Christian offered, draping himself over his sister from behind. "She's making a face, isn't she? She's always making a face. It's like she thinks she can shame me into behaving, but I have no shame."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Yes. I can definitely see the family resemblance." Triela smiled.

She cocked her head slightly to one side. "I'm guessing that the two of you had a lot to catch up on." Siblings and all.

[frater-glacies.livejournal.com]

"She's had boyfriends," Christian shared in a scandalized tone. "She's thirteen! How has she had so many boyfriends? It's not fair!"

[icecoldfrost]

"I'm twenty," Emma corrected, reaching out to steal his drink. "Time doesn't stand still just because you go and die on me."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"You probably wouldn't have approved of any of them either," Triela tossed in with a small smile, mostly just to dig at Emma's brother.

[not_a_whiner]

Now there was a familiar flash of blonde hair... times two, apparently.

Kaidan gave Emma a wave - just a brief indication of his existence, really - in lieu of picking up the next verse.

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

"Are you trying to get out of singing?" Ashley asked. A point that was important enough to make before she turned to look over her shoulder at whoever the LC was waving at.

... Another blonde kid. Of course.

[icecoldfrost]

Emma looked at Kaidan before glancing quickly at Ashley and then back to her former housemate with a raised eyebrow.

Date or dead person? Knowing Kaidan, the odds of it being a date were, oh, none, but she wasn't going to wander over with her brother in-tow without an invite.

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

Ashley returned her attention to Kaidan, lifting her eyebrow. "You're 34, Lieutenant Commander."

[not_a_whiner]

"She's dating my housemate," Kaidan said, sounding a little exasperated.

He was not always the sharpest crayon in the box, but he could read certain looks just fine. Ashley Williams. Yes, she was dead. And yes, he'd appreciate it if Emma came over and got him out of spending more time torturing the barista with his singing voice.

[icecoldfrost]

And Emma could read certain thoughts just fine, so she snagged Christian's wrist and started dragging him towards Kaidan, ignoring his protest.

"I'd say it was shocking you were out of the house and not off shooting at things out of that Blasto movie, but this weekend is full of surprises," she said brightly. "Kaidan, this is my brother, Christian, of the formerly-soon-to-be-again deceased. Christian, this is Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko, my former housemate."

[not_a_whiner]

"Good to meet you," Kaidan said, sounding vaguely relieved as he offered the man a hand. "This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. She, uh. Is also of the formerly-soon-to-be-again-deceased."

Thank you, Emma.

[frater-glacies.livejournal.com]

"Housemate? Ems, please tell me that's a euphemism," Christian said, taking Kaidan's hand with a wide grin. "Christian Frost, of course. Tell me, does she just go around town collecting attractive men, or is it another aspect of her powers? I'm dying to know."

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

"How old are you, kid?" Ashley asked dryly. "God, I leave you alone for a few months, LC..."

[not_a_whiner]

Caught between Ashley and a double Frost onslaught, Kaidan... attempted to hold his own as well as he was capable of, verbally. "It's, uh. Not a euphemism."

Attempting being the operative word.

"But thanks," he added. "Pretty sure it's not the powers, but... who knows."

[icecoldfrost]

"Nice to meet you, Chief Williams," Emma said pleasantly. "Christian, shut up. If you hadn't been an ass and kicked it, you'd be twenty-seven and perfectly within the dating range of thirty-four, and Kaidan is totally your type. You could start reciting poetry and he probably wouldn't run screaming."

Sorry, Kaidan.

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

Ashley blinked. "Okay, I like you," she said. "You kick this one's ass on occasion too?" Beat. "Not that I'd ever advocate violence, verbal or otherwise, towards a superior officer. Of course."

[icecoldfrost]

"He's not my superior officer, and I rather think if it came down to a physical ass-kicking, Kaidan wouldn't even have to try," Emma replied cheerily. "I'd have to use the element of surprise."

"Verbally, I think he tends to just hope I pick on Jack while he escapes."

[not_a_whiner]

"No, but I used to be hers," Kaidan said lightly. "Can the attitude, Williams."

He didn't for a minute believe that she would.

"And hey. I can fend for myself." Weak, Alenko. Weak.

[frater-glacies.livejournal.com]

"No one can fend for themselves around Emma. She's this evil little unholy creature that ferrets out all your deepest darkest secrets and holds them ransom until you give her chocolate or shoes," Christian offered cheerfully. "Stay a week, Williams, and you'll either be part of her cabal of evil or running in terror."

"Personally, I vote for the cabal of evil, and I'll console your LT."

[withmyboomstick.livejournal.com]

"Not a chance," Ashley said, snorting. "He'd enjoy it too much."

She'd happily ignore that Hey! that came drifting her way from across the table.

[icecoldfrost]

"Are you saying Kaidan's a masochist who'd enjoy us being a criminal duo, or that I was right and Christian's his type?" Emma asked blandly, sipping at her mocha. "How interesting."

[not_a_whiner]

"How about we stop talking about crime and my dating life?"

Or lack thereof. Extreme lack thereof. Survivor's guilt was a real killer.

"How's the past couple of days been?"

Worst segue ever.