Trooper Station | Saturday

[knife_bender]

Diego had to go back to the mansion tomorrow and grab some stuff before Klaus looted the place, but he and Annie did catch a portal back to Fandom last night and he was at work this morning. Frankly, he needed the space and time away from his siblings. Just that one day was bad enough.

He wasn't doing much in the way of work, but he was here.

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[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie's hair was still a little damp from her post-run shower when she ducked into the trooper station today, bearing the usual two cups of coffee.

"So, it's apparently fall at the Perk already," she greeted Diego with a little smile. "Do you want pumpkin spice, or the new apple thing?"

Both were iced. It was like a high of 90 again today. (And Annie had still gone on a longer run than usual, because she'd felt like she needed the time to kind of burn off all the...yesterday.)

[knife_bender]

"Surprise me." Both sounded just as appealing to him, as someone who regularly drank black coffee.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Well, then he got the apple thing. Maybe he'd love it.

(And if he hated it, she'd hand over the PSL. This was about trying to provide good feelings for Diego in whatever little ways she could find.)

"Anything thrilling in the world of Fandom crime?" she asked, handing the drink over and taking herself a seat.

[knife_bender]

"Absolutely not." Diego took a sip of the drink and shrugged. It wasn't terrible, so he'd take it. "I kind of wish there was."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I know," Annie said, offering a small half-smile. "I think the new semester starts Monday so, like...probably won't last long?"

But that wasn't helpful when he needed a distraction now, and she got that.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Hopefully I won't be out of town for too long. I'd hate to miss the next weird thing that happens."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'll keep you updated. I'm not expected back at the tower for a few days, anyway," Annie assured him. "It's going to be so weird to have the apartment to myself."

Being apart was something she was used to, but usually Annie was moping around that giant sparkly penthouse that still barely felt hers, rather than the space she actually shared with Diego.

And, usually, she wasn't this worried about him. That wasn't helping any, either.

[knife_bender]

"You gonna throw a wild party?" he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And miss the chance to get locked in a closet with you again?" Annie teased. "No way. I'll probably actually just watch a whole bunch of TV you'd hate."

Saying yes to dresses and catching up with housewives various, that sort of thing.

[knife_bender]

"I appreciate you holding back until I was gone," he said with a smile. "Well make sure the plants are taken care of."

[defenderofdesmoines]

As though she would neglect the plants. Please. She'd probably get two more while he was gone.

Annie nodded along, smiling before sobering just a little. "You're going to be okay?"

She knew that he knew she'd go with him if he asked, so she wasn't going to push. But she would kind of just...fret until this felt a little more resolved.

It wasn't just how badly she could tell he was doing with this, emotionally. There was the actual apocalypse that she never thought about, too.

[knife_bender]

"I think that's going to depend on how much of the house Klaus looted by the time I get there," said.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's not like he could have gotten a van or something," Annie pointed out logically. "And please. I feel like Klaus would have trouble carrying anything heavier than that fire extinguisher he threw yesterday, anyway."

Even that had looked like something of a struggle.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve had swung in expecting to cover Diego's shift, not to find him here.

"Oh, hey," he said, looking surprised. "Back already?"

[knife_bender]

"For now," Diego said. "I'm going back tomorrow to grab some stuff."

[grenadesandohana]

Steve nodded. "Makes sense."

Not everyone moves into their dad's house, after all.

"What are you grabbing?"

[knife_bender]

"A lot of knives, mostly." Were you surprised, Steve? "Probably will scour the attic to see if there's any Umbrella Academy merch that Pogo somehow missed to give to Annie."

But she had come back with a lot. He didn't even know where she was going to put it.

[grenadesandohana]

"Umbrella Academy?" Steve repeated.

[knife_bender]

"Oh yeah, you're speaking to a former child star," Diego said. "The Umbrella Academy was my superhero team."

[grenadesandohana]

Steve grinned. "Man, I'm totally outclassed on this island. I just played football."

[knife_bender]

"We can't all be superheroes, Steve," he joked. "Those high school football teams need players too."

[grenadesandohana]

"That is what the cheerleaders told me," Steve said, grinning.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, that's the part I skipped out on," he said. "My only company was my siblings, and I'm not gross, so..."

[grenadesandohana]

Steve made a face. "Gross, man."

[knife_bender]

"Super gross," Diego agreed. He was not going to mention that he did have two siblings who had weird tension together.