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The Perk, Friday afternoon

Eliot's head wound had faded down to just a mess of pink lines on his temple, and the corresponding headache was also down to vague, manageable levels. With the last remaining physical evidence gone from Hardison and Parker, things were finally starting to approach normal again. Normal enough that he hadn't gone to hunt Hardison down at the diner yesterday to make sure he was safe. Normal enough that he no longer felt the urge to grab everyone he cared about and hole up in a non-existent bomb shelter under his house.

Normal enough that he wasn't planning to build a bomb shelter under his house.

So he and Val stopped by the Perk at the end of their daily run. Eliot ordered his usual (Americano for him, bowl of water for Val), and graciously accepted the dog treat the barista offered for Val. Val enthusiastically accepted the treat and the accompanying cuddles, and the two of them settled in at one of the outdoor tables for what they both hoped would be a nice, quiet Friday-before-Graduation.

[ooc: work is going to suuuuuuuuck today. Please to be distracting me? Open!]

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Today was one of those rare days when Ringo was actually riding ATs along the streets, instead of over the rooftops. She wasn't going very fast, either. In fact, it would be pretty easy to mistake her for some girl out rollerblading. Well, except that she didn't seem to be moving her feet, but whatever.

She had a list of things she needed to get, but she didn't know where to start. Where did you get empty boxes for packing? And even if she found some, she'd need somewhere to stash them once they were actually packed.

These were normally the sorts of things she'd go ask Kathy about, but, well, that wasn't an option.

But where in the world was she supposed to find someone with the right sort of knowledge about, you know, the normal world? Because Dante totally wouldn't have any idea how to do any of the stuff she needed.

She probably should have been paying more attention to where she was going rather than getting lost in thought. She wasn't quite on a collision course with Eliot and Val's table, but she was closer to it than she probably should have been.

Val jumped to her feet and started barking when she saw the girl start to get too close. Eliot gave her leash a tug to remind her not to try to go chasing.

"Hey kid," he called, scooting his chair back a bit just to be sure he wouldn't get knocked into. "Might be a good idea to keep a closer eye on where you're goin', round here."

Ringo's head snapped up at the barking, and she twisted sharply to change direction, then spun in place and came to a stop once she was sure she was clear.

"Oh! Sorry about that." She flushed, clearly embarrassed, and fell back on old formality. Her hands came together in front of her and she offered Eliot (and Val) a polite bow. "I apologize for not paying enough attention."

Eliot tipped his head down to give a small bow in return. He'd spent enough time in Japan to pick up on the pleasantries. "Don't worry 'bout it. Just glad you didn't hurt yourself on anything." He tilted his head slightly. "You doin' alright?"

She'd been a few of his classes now, and he'd gotten the sense last summer that she was generally better about keeping her eye on things when she was riding her special skates.

"Yes. Just, um, thinking about something."

Actually, perhaps Mister Spencer could help!

"Um, maybe you could help me?" Just like the narrative suggested. "I need to find a place to get some boxes for packing. And also, what would someone normally do if they needed to store some boxes? To, you know, keep them safe?"

"You can probably get some boxes at the post office," Eliot suggested. "If they ain't got any here then -- well, not on Candyworld, but back in Baltimore, definitely. And for storage, most folks'll leave 'em with a friend who has space, or rent a storage locker somewhere. You lookin' to pack your dorm up for the summer?"

He'd heard about college students doing that sort of thing. Made sense if they did it for boarding schools, too.

Ringo shook her head, expression turning complicated for a moment. Awkward, and showing a hint of that still-fresh pain.

"No, it's not for me. I'm, um, packing up some things for some friends. In case they, um, decide they want them if they ever come back."

Ah. Eliot recognized that look. "You're one of Kathy's friends, ain't ya." He nodded. "That's a real good idea. I'm bettin' they'll really appreciate that when they get back."

"Yeah." Ringo tried for a sort-of-grin. "When they get back."

No one was confirmed dead until you saw the body. Especially in Eliot's line of work.

Sometimes they weren't really dead even after you saw the body, actually.

"You'll probably wanna store that on the island, then. Make it easier for 'em to get it back."

Ringo nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. "And I don't think I should just fill my room with boxes." She didn't have a roommate, so there was space, but, um, the truth was she didn't really want the reminder right now.

"'Course not," Eliot said. "Those dorm rooms can't be that big. Tell ya what, I got an attic I ain't usin' for much other'n storing gardening supplies. I should have plenty of space for Kathy and Raven's things."

He'd have to warn Parker about them so she didn't decide they were free reign for stealing, but other than that, it wouldn't be any trouble at all.

Ringo blinked. "Really? You, um, wouldn't mind? They'd be safe there?" It wasn't going to, like, get rained on, or anything, was it?

Eliot would be a terrible housekeeper if things in his attic got rained on. "Nah. Kathy's a friend of mine, too. And Raven was my boyfriend's TA. He'll be glad we got an extra excuse for 'em to swing by when they get back."

"Okay. Um, could I bring them by sometime this weekend, then? That's not too imposing, is it?" She still needed to find boxes.

And get up the emotional energy to actually pack up the room.

"Sounds good," Eliot said. "You want my number, so you can text when you're ready to bring 'em over?"

"Oh, that's a good idea."

Ringo smiled, then frowned. "Um, how do you move a bunch of boxes around, anyway? Should I just carry them over?" One at a time might take a bit.

Eliot smiled a little ruefully. "You could, but it'll probably take ya a long time. I'd suggest hirin' a rickshaw or two. Maybe recruitin' some friends to help you load 'em up at the school."

"Oh, yeah." Ringo tended to forget about rickshaws. Except when she was dodging them on ATs.

"So, um, I guess I'll text you? This weekend?"

"So long as it ain't during the graduation ceremony, that'll be fine," Eliot said. "I'll even see about getting Hardison to help unload on our end. Guy's a lot stronger'n he looks."

Ringo managed a smile. Not a strong one, given the topic of conversation, but it was still there.

"Thank you." And not just for getting help unloading.

Ringo's posture shifted, going formal again, and this time the bow she gave Eliot was long and deep.

Eliot had never seen the two of them interacting much, but he heard about Kathy and Ringo on the radio all the time. And interacting with the girl, he could see where the two of them had been tight friends.

"You're welcome," he said formally, and bowed his head back to her again. "Now get goin'. And try not to run anyone over, huh?"

She straightened and smiled.

"Hai!"

And with that, she headed off, going much faster than she had been when they'd stopped to talk. Fewer worries weighing her down, and now all she had to do was get to the post office before it closed.

Like any good fan of staring awake, Kitty had popped in for some quick caffeine after getting her office cleaned out, and felt like she should check in after the last weekend.

Not that she still felt guilty or anything, no.

"How's it going?"

"Hell of a lot better'n it was last week," Eliot said. He'd done enough tiptoeing around guilt this week, Kitty. Sorry. "You doin' alright?"

Edited 2016-04-29 20:18 (UTC)

"Could be worse. Still want to give the island a hug and bribes, though," she admitted.

"Those things ever try to follow you home before?" Eliot asked.

"Nope. I've run into them a couple times, but that was all safely in my world," Kitty sighed. "If they don't stay there after this time, I'm just going to burn down all of space."

"Yeah, good luck with that." What with space being a vacuum and thereby not flammable and all. "Still, sounds to me like they broke their patterns a bit, here. Ain't no reason for you to've predicted that."

"Yeah. And that logic'll sink in at some point. But for a while I get to feel bad," she said honestly. "How are Parker and Hardison?"

"Hardison's doin' the same as you," Eliot admitted. "Only with a little less self-awareness. Parker seems mostly just worried about us."

"You can send Hardison at me if you need," she offered. "I've both been infected and had infected people try to murder me a little so I get it. It mostly takes adjusting time."

"That actually could be real helpful," Eliot said. "Thanks."

"Sure," she smiled. "Anything you guys need, just let me know."

"Much appreciated," Eliot said. "You know that goes the other way too, right? You and Clint need anything we can help with. . . ."

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The Perk, Friday afternoon

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