The Perk, Tuesday Morning

[bookbeltof_love]

It really hadn't been her idea to just fall mostly off the face of the planet. (Multi-verse?)

Like, upon consideration, Nina was sort of surprised it hadn't happened more often, and she didn't mind, but she was also pretty sure that she was due to be scolded by… several people? Probably several people.

Unless, like, they'd forgotten all about her. That was also an option.

(She was hoping it wasn't really an option but, like, she had to leave it open, if only so that she was prepared in case it was…)

Gods, but she was tired. Tired enough that, even though she was wearing clothes that Aine would wear, instead of what Nina would wear, she detoured to the Perk. She was in a weird in-between state anyway.

It wasn't like anyone here would care if Nina was wearing clothes she wouldn't usually.

Not that there was anything scandalous about her forest green skinny jeans, yellow tank top, black jean jacket, and the boots Dad had gotten her for Christmas. Even her hair, currently a pale, washed out brown and then stuffed into a wildly curled ponytail, wasn't exactly outrageous.

But it wasn't Nina.

And it was. Just not here.

Nina wrapped her hands around her cup of tea, letting the warmth sink into her, and watched out the window, idly, her mind a million miles away, troubled and turning over what she'd been doing for the last—

While.

She still wasn't sure what she'd tell people when they asked. Of course, that depended on the person and on what exactly they asked.

Iggy was probably not going to like not getting answers. He usually did when it came to Aine's work.

Not this time. Not for the next good while either.

Her orders were straight from the King and the only people she answered to now were King Regis, Clarus Amicitia, and Cor Leonis.

Part of her loved it.

More of her was, and would keep on being, worried. Things were moving in the silence of the war and she couldn't see the shape of it yet.

Nina hated that.

[Open, yes!]

Comments

[firstofitskind]

Liam had come in with the intent of picking up a cup of tea and a danish, but the second he saw Nina-

Well, a change in hair color and clothing style might make her easy to be overlooked by most people, but Liam wasn’t most people.

Thoughts of breakfast abandoned, he made a beeline for his kid, intending to wrap her up in the biggest bear hug possible.

[bookbeltof_love]

And, you know what, Nina wasn't exactly going to try to get away, even though she yelped, startled.

"Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[firstofitskind]

“Nina,” Liam replied, tone a mix of exasperation, fondness, and relief all at once, somehow. And not letting go quite yet. So no, he certainly had not forgotten all about her.

[bookbeltof_love]

She wasn't really trying to get away either, hugging him back tightly. Nina wasn't going to say anything about the way she was relieved that--

Well. That she was still important to him.

But she was.

"I'm back," she said, and then giggled.

[firstofitskind]

Perhaps someday there wouldn’t be that relief, just knowledge that that’s the way things were. But that was someday, and this was now. One final squeeze and Liam pulled back, giving her a once-over in the process.

“I can see that.”

Even if she hadn’t quite slipped back into being Nina (or the version of Nina people usually saw) entirely.

[bookbeltof_love]

That would come once she hit the dorms and had a chance to shower and change. Getting here had been more of a--leave quickly before they needed her to stay sort of thing.

"And," she said, "I'm in one piece!!!!!!!!!"

She was! Even if she was wearing her work clothes still.

[firstofitskind]

A vast improvement over the last time she’d come back after an extended trip away, that was for sure.

“So you are.” He didn’t actually add ‘you look tired’, not out loud, but someone as experienced as Nina at decoding hidden meanings in general and Liam’s facial expressions in particular could probably detect that in the way his habitual frown changed just so as he spoke.

[bookbeltof_love]

Yeaaaah, she got that.

"I, like, just hit the island," she said, a little defensively.

[firstofitskind]

“Okay,” he said, relaxing slightly, smile reappearing. “Well, since we’re both here, why don’t you catch me up on what you’ve been up to?”

And then she better head straight back to the dorms and get some rest!!

[howareyanow]

On his way to the shelter to check in on the puppers (which he still totally did all the time), Wayne figgured he'd swing by the Perk fer a pick-me-up on the way. Put in his order, simple enough, and that was going to be that until he did a double-take on the girl at the table .

Then nodded.

"Nina," he said. "How are ya now?"

[bookbeltof_love]

That double-take made her smile.

"I'm good," she said, since saying anything else would break the flow, "and you?????????"

[howareyanow]

Saying anything else broke a lot of things, but that didn't seem to stop most people, anywhey!

"Ohhhh," Wayne drawled back dutifully in response, "not so bad.

"Headin' over to the shelter," he offered, now that that was properly taken care of, "check in on the pups."

[bookbeltof_love]

Let her enjoy the tradition just this once!

Though she was pretty sure she followed it more than a lot of people did.

"I bet they'll appreciate that!!!!!!!!!!!" she said, smiling. "Though I hope you're going to hurry away!!!!!!"

[howareyanow]

She was, in fact, one of the three people Wayne could think of 'round here that followed it consistently (enough), and he might not say it, but it was appreciated.

"Don't imagine the puppers are going to go anywhere any time soon," he noted, though, if they did, they would either have a lot of adoptions on their hands, which would be great, or a lot of escaped puppers, which would be...

...adorable.

"It's been a bit."

He wouldn't ask where she'd been keeping herself, that seemed a bit rude, but it seemed a bit rude not to acknowledge it at least a little, too.

[bookbeltof_love]

Okay but, like, if they had all escaped, Nina wanted to know.

For cuddles.

"Little bit," she admitted. "Like, I bet your breakfasts just aren't the same when I'm not around!!!!!!!!!!!"

[howareyanow]

"Well," said Wayne with the solid confidence in the nuanced fact that this next statement was, "it's certainly been a lot quieter!"

Verifiable and in more than one way!

[bookbeltof_love]

"I'm taking that as a compliment," she said loftily.

Because otherwise, well, it was going to get a lot louder here too and she was tired.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had been doing a lot of his own disappearing, which was the main reason he hadn't noticed that she'd disappeared, too.

But he was Making an Effort today, dammit, heading out into town for more than just class or the diner. He didn't pay much attention to the brunette as he came in, and didn't recognize her until he'd placed his order and turned around to idly survey the shop while he waited on it.

". . . Nina? That you?"

Look, even back home, people sometimes showed up with the same face but totally different hair and style. He wasn't going to assume anything.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Live and in the flesh!!!!!!!!!" she said chirpily and, like, sure someone might have her face and but what were the odds that someone would have her energy?

"Hi, Duke!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

Or answer to Nina, for that matter.

Duke gave her a broad smile. "How's it going?" He nodded to her outfit. "Dig the new look."

[bookbeltof_love]

Well...

She didn't always answer to Nina either.

For the moment, though, she looked down at her outfit and then back up, mildly scandalized.

"This," she said, "is something that will be consigned to the back of my closet as soon as I get up to the dorms!!!!!!!!!!!"

Seriously, though, there was nothing wrong with her outfit. Nina was just... Nina.

"And, like, I've been busy," she said, with a sigh that was surprisingly content. "People are, like, trying to run me ragged!!!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke honestly liked her current look, yeah. But he knew better than to argue with a lady about her clothes.

"I hate when that happens." He accepted his coffee from the barista with a quick nod of thanks, then headed over to join Nina with it. "Drama back home?"

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Like, there's always drama," she said cheerfully, "but in this case it was, like, a re-org of the line of command?????? And that's always a bit of a mess!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded. "Shit, yeah, I can imagine. You, uh, end up with a promotion?"

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina wiggled one hand back and forth.

"I haven't decided yet," she admitted, frowning slightly. "Mostly because I haven't figured out why I've been put where I've been put????????"