Fandom Island Museum, Thursday Daytime

[hasaknightjob]

Steven had enjoyed his camping trip with Llewellyn. Longer than before, not too long as a whole. Even so, something about coming home yesterday had felt right. Like there was extra reason to pat the walls and tell Midnight it was doing a good job being a home. It was loved and where it was meant to be.

Strange. Couldn't possibly imagine why. Some quirk of the multiverse, perhaps.

Regardless, Steven did manage to leave said home - and his comfy bed with a proper mattress - to come into work. Which was where he was, in his usual spot behind the Welcome Desk, barring interruptions for things like his class with Stark in the morning.

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[totalwildcard]

Harley had been doing so well for a couple of days. Honest! At least comparatively speaking!

But then there'd been the whole 'getting launched into the air to potentially land in water' excitement/terror of Wednesday shenanigans, and -- she'd wanted to tell Marc.

And there was the heist she was planning, and she kept wanting to tell Marc, and the whole thing with him felt like some sort of open wound she couldn't stop trying to poke at, like she couldn't quite figure out how she'd even gotten it.

Maybe that metaphor didn't entirely work. Whatever. Point was, it was Thursday afternoon when Harley suddenly stormed into the museum, all fed up. "Okay, I am stumped, Steven," she announced, loudly - and exactly as if that was the middle of a conversation rather than the beginning, "what the fuck did you say to him, huh??"

[hasaknightjob]

Steven certainly hadn't expected to see Harley today. But she'd been on his mind a not insignificant amount since he'd last seen her - certain radio reports helping in that matter. So while he was surprised he was not as thrown as perhaps he might have been.

"Hello, Harley," he said, as though she'd not said any of what she'd just spoken. "I'm well, thank you for asking."

[totalwildcard]

Oh, yes, antagonizing her further, a splendid idea!

"Don't get smart with me," Harley snapped. She'd made it to the counter, and slammed her hands onto the edge of it. "Best I got it figured out, we had a fight, me and him, and I thought he was just going away for a while! But then I talked to you, and the next thing I know, he's gettin' rid of an innocent motorbike and I'm gettin' dropkicked in the heart and kicked to the curb in front of a buncha baristas, so what did you say, Steven?!"

[hasaknightjob]

Steven jumped back, though he did check to be sure she hadn't broken the desk. Not that he thought she could smash it, to borrow a turn of phrase. But knocking things over wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

"Why do you assume it was anything I told him?"

[totalwildcard]

Maybe Harley was just providing a free quality check for the counter! If it couldn't handle her dainty hands, it had no business being there.

"I just told you! Why would you assume it wasn't?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Because I don't control Marc?" Steven said. "I've shared my opinion with him ample times, Harley, it doesn't mean he listens."

[totalwildcard]

"Not always," Harley retorted. "Okay, probably rarely - but that doesn't mean that didn't happen now!"

[hasaknightjob]

"It didn't," Steven said. He did try to discreetly move the small display of brochures out of her reach though. "Marc makes up his own mind about things, even though he shares one with me."

[totalwildcard]

Harley waved a hand like all of that wasn't important. Or at least not as important, in the moment, as the question she'd already asked twice and got no answer to.

"But you did say stuff to him. Right? About me comin' here?"

[hasaknightjob]

"I did talk to him about you, yes," Steven said. He bit back a sigh. He was already getting the feeling he was in over his head in this conversation but he knew sighing wouldn't help matters.

[totalwildcard]

"And?" Harley pressed, with pointedly raised eyebrows.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven raised his eyebrows back at her. It wasn't as pointed a gesture as he was not a human emoji like she was, but it was eyebrows raised all the same. "And? I'm under no obligation to tell you what I said."

[totalwildcard]

"But it does make ya sound like you talked shit about me."

[deathsmajesty]

Roughly a half hour after her last text message to Steven, Liliana strolled into the museum. "Steven, darling?"

[hasaknightjob]

It having been, in fact, a half hour meant that Steven had managed to gather up most of the brochures from where they'd scattered across the lobby. He was now at the stage where he was sorting them back into their proper groups. He was sat on the floor while he did it and the brochure stand was still on its side in a manner which suggested it hadn't been placed that way deliberately, so possibly Liliana could start to get some hints of how Steven's afternoon had been.

He did look up at the sound of her voice. He immediately looked relieved to see her. "Brilliant. Thank you. I didn't bother you, did I?"

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana's eyebrows raised up to her hairline. "Darling, I assure you, if it had been a bother, I wouldn't have bestirred myself."

Liliana rarely did anything she didn't want to do. Which also meant that people could rest assured that if she was doing something, either she'd wished to, or she had a damn good reason to do it anyway.

"What happened here?" She gestured at the brochure rack. "As a gift, it is somewhat lacking, darling."

[hasaknightjob]

"That's not it," Steven assured her. He stood up, fruitlessly wiping down the back of his pants in an attempt to smooth them out and brush any dirt off of them. "I've it in my bag. That was Harley."

[deathsmajesty]

"What happened? Was she offended by the brochures or something?" Liliana asked, only vaguely aware of what was going on in other people's lives.

She knew Harley had been unhappy when she'd come into the store, but they hadn't really explored the reasons why. Too busy playing with invisibility cloaks.

[hasaknightjob]

"Me, actually," Steven said. Because he didn't share any of Marc's desire to be discreet about the whole thing. "Has some rather strong opinions about what a horrible person I am."

Steven put the brochures he'd been sorting when Liliana came in on the Welcome Desk. Then he went around to the other side of it so he could get his bag and by extension Liliana's present. "Mind your step. I think I found all the brochures but I'd hate to find out I missed one by you slipping on it."

[deathsmajesty]

"You're horrible?" Liliana asked, stepping delicately over the floor to where his bag was. "What is she basing that on, exactly?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Deep psychological insight into who I am as a person?" Steven said, in the closest approximation to a tone that conveyed "Bugger if I know" without him actually saying it. "Possibly she blames me for what happened with her and Marc? Not sure about that."

Steven reached into the pocket of his bag where he'd put the bracelets he'd made in Stark's class. He pulled out one of the nicest purple and gold beads he'd been able to find and offered it to her. "Here. It's a friendship bracelet. I - I know it's not as posh as what you usually wear. But thought that counts? Maybe? I was thinking of how much I appreciated your help and advice."

[deathsmajesty]

"A...friendship bracelet?" If it sounded like she had no idea what that was, it was because she absolutely did not. "Thank you, darling. I adore the color."

Look, she had a signature color for a reason.

"...What happened with them?" Had Liliana known they were even dating? Hard to say.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven smiled, pleased he'd picked well. It really did help when someone had a signature color. He also wasn't sure if Liliana truly loved it or was being a queen drinking out of a finger bowl, so to speak, but regardless he was touched that she didn't make fun of it.

"They... had a fight?" Steven said. His frown now was in trying to explain the Harley and Marc of it all, since arguably Harley and Marc themselves hadn't known they were dating. "Broke up, I suppose you could say. Though that requires them to have acknowledged they were together and - "

Steven made a rolling gesture with one hand to try to indicate the nebulous nature of Harley and Marc's could-you-even-call-it-a-relationship.

[deathsmajesty]

Look, Liliana adored getting presents. Why would she make fun? That led to fewer gifts for Liliana. And that made no sense.

"What does that have to do with you?" she asked, slipping the bracelet on.

[hasaknightjob]

The nervousness Steven had felt about giving Liliana the gift eased when he saw her put it on. Along with some of the raw feelings he'd had since Harley left. It helped talking to someone who didn't make him feel as though he was drowning and they were happy to push him under.

"Two things I suppose?" Steven said. He considered Liliana a friend so didn't mind confiding in her. "I think today was because she thought I had something to do with Marc - for the sake of argument we'll say breaking up with her."

Situationships were so annoyingly complicated when it came to vocabulary.

"I didn't," Steven said. "But Llewellyn and I were a point of tension at the end there, so I suppose in that way I was sort of involved?"