Fandom Island Museum, Tuesday Daytime

[hasaknightjob]

Steven made it to work on time and with no problems, which was always good. There wasn't much immediately grabbing his attention so he used the quiet to do some personal research. Nell had asked him to donate the things she couldn't take with her, so Steven was looking online to find a charity shop which felt appropriate for someone of Nell's background. Not work related, but it did need to get done, didn't it?

[open!]

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[flamesburned]

Now that she was feeling a lot better after the last couple of weeks, Liz decided to stop by the museum later that morning with a box of vegan pastries.

“Hi,” she said quietly as she approached, “are you busy?”

[hasaknightjob]

Steven brightened up when he saw her. "Liz! Never too much for you. How are you?"

[flamesburned]

"Better than what I have been," Liz admitted, "um ... I wanted to thank you, for helping me last week," she knew she had thanked Steven last week but she had also been a mess of tears than as well and she knew she had to thank Marc, "I got these for you as well," she said as she handed the box towards him.

[hasaknightjob]

"Didn't need to but I won't say no," Steven said, accepting the box gladly. "How are you doing? I've been meaning to check in. You're looking well. Feeling all right?"

[flamesburned]

“I’m still feeling a bit tired,” Liz admitted, “but after the last couple of weeks …” she hesitated, “I’ve been eating and sleeping again,” she admitted, recalling what Summer had mentioned to her about looking after herself.

There was another pause, “I even went to the 3MD on Saturday, I wouldn’t have thought I would have been up for that,”

[hasaknightjob]

"Would you like to have a seat?" Steven asked, indicating the benches in the lobby. "It's good you're getting some sleep now. And that you're eating. We can share these pastries then, can't we? And was that you? I thought I spotted you they're but Llewellyn and I got roped into it before we knew what was happening. Met some lovely people though. As friends, obviously."

[flamesburned]

“Thank you,” Liz said softly, “I might actually take a seat and we can share the pastries if you’d like,” she told him.

“The event is a good way to meet people,” she nodded, “I did it a few times when I was a student and then when I moved back here, even though I suppose I won’t be able to go to the next one,” she added, glancing down at her little bump.

“I’m glad you were still able to have a nice time, even if you weren’t planning on attending,” she added.

There was a pause, “how have things been going with Detective Watts?” she asked, not feeling comfortable with calling him Llewellyn, she felt bad that she hadn’t asked Steven before.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven sat beside her with the pastry box between them. He opened it so they could both help themselves.

"Well, actually," Steven said. He looked at Liz uncertainly. "I'm sorry I've not spoken much of him to you. With things being the way they are with you and Prompto it didn't feel right. Saying I was happy while you're there suffering."

[flamesburned]

Liz took one of the pastries, staring at it for a moment as she looked back up at Steven, considering what he had told her.

“That was really nice of you,” she told him softly, “to think of me, I … you didn’t have to do that, I’m really happy for the both of you,” she added with a warm smile.

[wildgalegirl]

Marc at the Welcome Picnic had told her she should stop by the museum to meet his friend, Steven, so Charlie had decided to do just that. Imagine her surprise when she saw Marc himself behind the counter. "Well, hello you," she said with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc had very much not warned Steven about this possibility, which was something Marc would feel retroactively smug about given Steven's recent meddling with Jaye. As such Steven looked up, bewildered, at Charlie. "Sorry, have we met before?"

She hadn't called him by Marc's name, which made him suspect he might have met her himself and forgotten. Wouldn't be the first time his memory had played such a trick on him.

[wildgalegirl]

Charlie tilted her head at him. "I thought we did, but now I think maybe your identical twin was playing a trick on me." Charlie had identical twin sisters, so this was far from surprising.

"I said I'd tell you that your handsome but grumpy non-friend said hello. And decided to inflict me on you."

[hasaknightjob]

That explained it easily enough. "Ah. Marc's having a laugh. Suppose I can't blame him."

Steven may have assumed a wrong order of events between Three Minute Dates and when Marc had met Charlie. Marc, for his part, was fine with how it all worked out and glad he didn't have to make extra effort to get revenge on Steven.

"I'm Steven," Steven said, holding his hand out to shake. "With a V. Not Marc, who normally doesn't have a sense of humor."

[wildgalegirl]

"Nor a wonderful British accent," Charlie said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Steven with a V. I'm Charlie. With an ie. Short for Charlotte, which I will most lkely not answer to unless it's one of my Aunties."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven smiled at the compliment. "It's only the way I talk but thank you. And Charlie. Ie. I'll remember that."

Steven did appreciate the desire for people to call you by the version of the name you preferred, after all.

"You're new in town then?" Steven asked. Given her age and the start of the school year it seemed a fair guess.

[wildgalegirl]

"I am, yes," she said cheerfully. "Latest crop of students and so happy to be here!"

Charlie looked around the lobby area. "Your comedian twin Marc told me there was all sorts of Fandom stuff in the museum. Normally I'm not much for your average museum - sorry - but I thought this one sounded cool."

"Plus he told me that we'd get along great and - here's where I should have caught on a little quicker - that I'd love you because you were British."

[hasaknightjob]

"Anglophile then?" Steven asked. He pointed in the various directions as he continued. "And we do have all sorts of things about the island. There's insects that way - not as disturbing as it sounds, I promise. Upstairs is art. To your right we've got fish. And downstairs is history. Any of those strike your fancy?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana came in midday, hoping to catch Steven at lunch. "Hello." She smiled and nodded. "How have you been?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Lana, hello," Steven said. "It's good to see you. How are you?"

[unusual_sith]

"I'm well, thank you." She smiled. "I brought you more holobooks if you're interested."

[hasaknightjob]

"Who's always interested in reading?" Steven asked. "That's right, me. Thank you. By the way sorry Marc and I haven't had that chat with you yet. Time got away from us with Liz and then Nell moving away. You doing all right with that? Nell gone?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana handed him the reader with the new books on it.

"I'll miss her. I hope she can come back soon, or at least keep in touch. But she's doing what she needs to do, and I respect that.

"We should set up a time to have that conversation," Lana said. "Unless you've got time now?" She wasn't sure if it were too private for the museum, but she was here now.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven took a moment to see what Lana had given him, then tucked them safely away in his satchel under the desk. "I've time if you do? Only it'd need to be private, if that's all right? Not where squirrels could hear."

[unusual_sith]

"Of course," Lana said. "Be polite and don't report it," she said, raising her voice to address any nearby squirrels, "and I'll get you Rishii rum."

[hasaknightjob]

"Don't know what that is but it sounds impressive," Steven said. He motioned towards the office. "We could go in here if that's all right? Have a sit?"