South side? What? Wait- you're serious? You're stuck in a hut? Oh my god, okay. Yes. I'm coming.
[ she's too drunk for this.
she's been here for a couple of days now - not that long, in the grand scheme of things, but long enough that it's starting to feel like she's trapped. she's turned to the bar because of that feeling, and now? now she stands, too quickly, and blinks a couple of times before she starts to move. ]
[ He's been here too long too. And he's a little tipsy to boot. He'd partaken in a little more drink than he probably should have but he'll blame the bartender for pouring heavy handed instead. After all, he was made up of some kind of combination of metal and alloy. ]
Look for a hut with something in front of the door
I thought it was a joke! I didn't think you'd actually get stuck. These doors don't have locks. Also- how can you not remember the number? They're on the door! There aren't that many of these! Okay, no, it's fine! It's fine. I'm on my way.
[ Or maybe he would. He doesn't know. The hut is spinning and his shoulder hurts from trying to ram against the door - it's a whole thing. The point is he didn't mean to end up in this Situation!!! ]
I didn't plan on staying in the hut for very long Someone pushed something in front of the door Something heavy
[ Don't make him repeat himself a third time. This isn't his fault!!! But he definitely deserves to be laughed at. ]
[ or maybe he would. karen thinks he might. or maybe she's just likes to think that he might. either way, she's on the move. ]
Hope you found a better parking spot that I did. I planned on being here for like three hours. That was four days ago and my car's still gridlocked out there somewhere. Hope you have better luck.
Why would someone push something in front of a door to a hut? With someone in it? Are you in trouble?
[ She's on the move while he's half-heartedly trying to shove against the door one last time to be met with the same result. Eventually he just sinks to the floor. ]
It was the same for me Can't say if that's the case now It probably is
No. Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time But it could also be that they were also drunk - I heard some swearing
Because I don't think you really wanted to be locked in a hut? I couldn't have boxed your car in even if I wanted to. Also- not how I would do that, anyway. I like to ask to hang out- like normal people. :p
[ oh she can see him joking!!! that has been noted. ]
I'm glad your boss is apparently more forgiving. Maybe I should work at your job next.
That...makes literally no sense. It might include? Or be something else? Are you drunk?
I'm almost there. You sure you don't remember what number? Wait I think I see something.
[ a few minutes later he might hear some knocking, or maybe the knocking will be a hut over. who knows. ]
You seem resourceful And I never underestimate a woman with a gun
[ There's a pause before he replies, or a lag rather between his brain and his fingers as he stares at the little :p in her text. Slowly, there's a tug at the corners of his lips. ]
Do you always ask people you're about to rescue to become coworkers?
[ And before he can reply with a very firm, "No I'm not drunk," to her question he hears a set of foosteps just outside the door. Scrambling up he pounds on the door on the hut several doors down. Surely there can't be more than one hut with something in front of the door. ]
You know- I'll take that as a compliment. Even if I'd never intentionally strand you. And yeah- probably a good life idea. Women with guns tend to have reason to carry them.
[ part of her very nearly doesn't answer that last question, too focused on finding this door, or this hut, or whatever it is that happened over here. except that cassian asks a question that karen... well, she ends up stopping just to reply. ]
Usually? No. Actually- last job I got was because I was being rescued, in a way. Or- I mean. Technically both times I was the one being offered the job. It doesn't matter. I think I see your hut!
[ she doesn't, it's the wrong one, but she hears a bit of pounding down the row and she laughs a little to herself, stepping over a fallen android. ]
Cass? Hi. Oh shit- [ she absolutely does not stub her toe on whatever it is that is blocking the door and is definitely, gracefully, just leaning down and trying to tug it off to the side. there is indeed some kind of android, propped up on its side, pressed against the door. it's... well, once karen is able to complete the first step of this, she might have the energy to also start thinking about how this all seems really suspicious.
especially since it's happened in front of the last three huts. she shakes her head. ]
[ There's no time to respond to their string of cheeky texts that feel more verbose than drunk texts should be. Despite the somewhat muffled quality, it's impossible not to hear the way she laughs from the other side of the door which only emphasizes the ridiculousness nature of this situation.
He hears the familiar scrape of metal against concrete and it's enough to encourage him to push against the door. Whether or not she's moved from the door is impossible to tell what with the door being solid. ]
Let me -
[ The door budges a little more than it had before. ...Except it also comes into contact with something. Immediately it stops where it is as he presses his face to the tiny crack he's made. ]
[ unfortunately for the both of them, she hasn't moved from in front of the door - so when he pushes on the door and it gives, easily, and bumps right into her. she yelps, and then that spirals into laughter, as she stands and moves away from the door. ]
It's fine! It's nothing. [ her hands go over her mouth as she spirals into more laughter, looking down to the inanimate android on the ground and then to the sliver of his face through the crack in the door.
that's when she realizes she hasn't actually moved the android far enough, so her eyes go a little wide as she leans down and tries to pull it, again, away from where the door is. ]
[ Karen's yelp probably should have been a dead giveaway to him that he had, in fact, hit her, but his brain isn't exactly working on all cylinders at the moment. And though she can't see him, he's definitely wincing - before, inexplicably letting out the briefest laugh of his own the moment they make eye contact through the crack in the door.
If he looks back on it later, he'll probably tell himself it's because the situation is absurd, and that it's the drink (even though he's definitely isn't drunk), and has far less to do with the fact that the carefree laughter she had let out is more contagious than he'd allow himself to admit. That doesn't stop him from the ultimate goal though: getting out of this hut. ]
Stand out of the way this time.
[ And with the android (mostly) out of the way, getting out of the hut is far easier this time. Especially with the excessive force he throws into the door is far more than he needs to. Which is how he ends up stumbling out nearly right into her.
Thankfully he manages to steady himself by reaching out to place his hands on her shoulders. ]
[ at least she's a happy drunk - and even with a little bit of stumbling, with a couple of knocks with the door and then her tripping a little as she works to pull the android away enough for the door to fully open - it does end up working.
stand out of the way this time he says, and she snorts, rolling her eyes as she tugs - one last time - and the bulk of the android moves out of the way. ]
Yeah, well, maybe this time- [ there is something she plans on saying, here. something probably a little clever, a little bit of a clap back. but that's when he uses a little more force than necessary to push open a door she has all but basically cleared for him already, so the bursting open of the door has her turning, abruptly, towards it.
which is part of the reason as he comes stumbling towards him, she's already turned to face him too, so thankfully neither of them go sprawling. her arms are on his sides to help steady him, and his very casual nice save has her laughing again - steadying them both. ]
[ They both know that they can work well together under pressure and that's what matters. A little lack of coordination in this moment can surely be forgiven. When it's clear neither of them are going to barreling over onto the concrete his hands fall back to his sides. ]
I wasn't keeping score.
[ And he does actually mean that. Maybe in another life, another time that wouldn't have been the case. Karen knows nothing of his past, his life before being some sort of rebel operative. The life where he was a thief and man who did actually count his debts and made a point to pay them back when he could (and maybe, once upon a time, felt like it). The goofy sort of quality to his expression fades as realization dawns on him. He holds up a finger, turning back on his heel in order to go back in search of something he had left behind in the hut.
The mystery doesn't last long. He returns moments later with a messenger bag and what is very clearly an android arm sticking out of it. And quite seriously (read: not seriously at all) he motions to the bag. ]
[ right at the same time he drops his arms, she drops her hands too, though the smile doesn't fade. something is funny, or maybe she's just in a kind of funny mood, but that is probably the alcohol. ]
You should- that was very heroic of me.
[ which is a very obvious joke, one that she doesn't even try and stop herself from laughing in the midst of. no, there is no comparison between these two events, but she still feels warm enough to make a joke about it.
his goofy expression faces for a moment and as he lifts a finger and turns back to the room, karen's eyes go wide. she's not really sure what he's doing, but she waits out in front of the hut for him to return with a messenger bag and... an arm. an android arm.
can't forget this.
karen's eyes go from the bag, to cassian, one eyebrow lifting. her pause is unnecessary, in a way. obviously building to something. ] Is that why you got stuck in there? [ and then, before she can even get the words out, her face splits into a grin - very pleased with herself. ]
[ She's being funny. And that's in spite of the drink. Amusement glitters in his eyes. ]
Does that mean I owe you one?
[ The question is a slippery slope. That quiet, joking but maybe not joking implication that they'd both find themselves in situations where the other could very well come to the rescue of another is a promise that he will always find himself racing to keep. He's never enjoyed being called a hero - and it had happened on occasion to which every time he'd simply brushed it off - but as Bix had put it, there was no denying that bravery that came with some of the stupid things he did. Brave, he could at least stomach.
Deep thoughts like that hardly have a place here however. Off in the distance the faint thump of music can still be heard along with raucous laughter. Karen's own warmth that bubbles to her lips is enough to extend its reach to him as if he hadn't just been trapped in a hut for however long. Which is mostly why the dumb joke that nearly catches him off guard is enough to actually earn a bark of laughter from him.
He doesn't miss a beat though alluding to their first meeting that had a vastly different tone than this. ]
[ karen is drunk. she is very drunk. but she's not so drunk that she doesn't cassian's comment - how she had said, not a couple of moments before, that they were even. that everything they'd said so far is a joke. he says does that mean I owe you one? and the amusement in his eyes keeps her smile bright, but she notices something behind his eyes.
she might not know about any sort of slippery slope she is toeing, but she does feel like there is a sort of agreement being made. a silent understanding, maybe the same he's thinking of too - that for all this might be casual, might be light, she's not joking about the fact that all it will take from him is a text and she will be there.
they don't have to acknowledge it here. they don't have to say much of anything about it. but there is something deep in her that knows he knows, just as he should know that she knows, too.
still - music is playing somewhere off in the distance and the moons are high (they always are, they don't move, but the point still stands) and cassian laughs at her joke. that is all she really needs from that, though cassian's follow-up gets a bark of laughter from her, too - which surprises her, almost as if it jumps out of her before she thinks about it, and then she's dissolving into a fit of laughter. ]
That's... amazing. [ the air is warm, the music and sounds of partiers and people enjoying themselves. karen is feeling good, and she sets her hand on cassian's arm as she laughs, shaking her head. ] Do you need to get that in your car? Or are you planning on just walking around with it?
[ Aside from doing some impromptu street racing (against no one in particular; the car he had picked out was simply built for speed and he'd be lying if he said the pilot in him didn't quietly appreciate that), this is possibly the most fun he's had since arriving.
Which is saying something since he can't recall the last time that he'd outwardly expressed to someone he had recently met, rescued, and is quickly becoming someone he communicates regularly with (in other words, a friend).
And while he isn't drunk, he certainly looks like he has to think a little bit hard about that question. ]
Both. I have to walk to my car first. [ There's a pause. ] And find it. [ There's another beat as he casts a glance towards her quite serious all of a sudden. ] Will you come with me?
[ no no he has a point - could he really be considered a pilot if he didn't take advantage of a fast car and open road. still, karen would be especially flattered to know that this is already ranking up there for him on nights since he arrived, because it certainly is for him.
she grins a little at the effort he has to put into thinking, holding back the urge to start giggling again. both. and then a pause, and then and find it and karen can't stop herself. she laughs again, the whole situation feeling a little ridiculous and a little too funny. the serious look he gives her then sobers her for just a moment, mimicking his serious look back to him. ]
Of course I'll help you. [ a beat, and then she breaks into another grin and grabs his arm, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
it's light, quick, and when she pulls away she's about to say something else about their grand adventure they're about to embark on when there is a yell from her left. she looks down the row of huts to see a group of people, maybe four or five, pointing off in their direction. she frowns a little, squinting, trying to get a better view of who they are and what they're doing, when there is a bit of a commotion and they start heading in their direction. ]
[ Trying to keep a straight face, even one where he's clearly genuinely trying his best to think about where he had left his car, is near impossible. Not when Karen has dissolved into giggles and it seems to blend into the warm night air and the music that beats almost muffled in the distance.
His heart, he's certain, is accounted for. But that doesn't stop him from silently marvelling at the contrast between this encounter and their first one. How he vastly prefers this side of her over the one that had so painfully tried to keep it together despite the fear coursing through her veins. Yes, his heart is accounted for, but that doesn't stop him from being so obviously caught off guard by the pull towards her and the lightest press of a lips to his rough cheeks.
For a moment his mind stutters, trying to make sense of what just happened but something more pressing calls his mind back to the present.
His eyes focus on the group, sees how they point and begin to advance on them. Despite his stupor, the usual sharpness and alertness that he's honed over the years pushes through the fog. ]
Maybe. [ And despite this awareness that he's now responsible for taking care of her, ensuring that she doesn't become (more) wrapped up in the trouble he's found himself in, there's a spark of cheekiness in his apologetic explanation. ] About walking - we might have to run instead.
[ And before she can answer him he's stuffing the droid arm further into his bag and wrapping his fingers around her wrist. True to his word he doesn't start in a slow amble, doesn't even look back to see if the group have started to give chase. All that matters to him is the feel of her skin against his hand and the cool air that whistles by them as they take off into the crowd. Bodies jostle and bump against them and he calls out quick apologies as they dive further into the resort both in an attempt to lose the group but perhaps more importantly, to keep this unexpected warmth they had stumbled upon together a little longer. ]
[ Karen still catches him outside his door from time to time, or he does hers. Once or twice, he comes over again, though he never falls asleep like he did that day. Never stays the night a second round.
But he thinks about it. Thinks about how she's let him take her to work a couple more times and the way she beams at him as he leaves. About the way she watches him when she thinks he's not looking.
So eventually, he decides: fuck it. She isn't being coy. God knows he isn't, either. ]
[ they pass each other in the halls, she brings out beer to him a time or two while he works on his bike. she asks him to fix a squeak somewhere under her hood and he comes over one, or twice. he doesn't stay, and karen doesn't ask him to, but she gets the feeling he thinks about it, too.
and sometimes, on the time or two he takes her to work, she thinks about more than that. about thanking him, about leaning in for a quick kiss on the cheek. she doesn't - some combination of feeling this out, of still working herself back together, of waiting to see if he'll make the first move after all - but that doesn't keep her from feeling a little lighter each time he drops her off. each time she watches him ride off again after she steps inside.
more often than not when she's not working, the thought of that dinner comes up. and more often than not, she pulls out her phone, considers texting him.
today - she's at work when her phone buzzes, and she finishes putting in the next order before she slides the phone out, seeing the notification from logan, and then beaming to herself just a bit when she reads the text. ]
[ She answers quicker than he expects, considering he knows she's at work, and he ends up doing the same—pausing in front of a shelf full of mismatched cereal boxes circa 1991 to reply. ]
[ when she first started working at the diner, it had been more empty than croded. even during rush hour, the city was full of restaurants, and many of the people who picks diners to sit and eat do it when there's a lack of other choices.
but as she's started working more consistently, she's noticed a little more of an uptick. karen isn't the type to convince herself it's because she knows what she's doing and whoever was working before didn't, but she has seen groups come in during certain hours, stragglers in others. where her first week or so had been mostly empty, now she spends more of her shifts on her feet, helping customers, than not.
she likes it - talking to people, getting to know more locals. she's heard some crazy stories when it's just her and another drifter, but it also means she has plenty of in between time. time she can easily spend checking her phone. time where she may or may not be sitting there, smiling to herself, waiting for a response.
if he thought her last reply was quick, he might be a little more surprised to find this one is almost instantaneous. ]
[ He's barely had time to tuck a box under his arm before his phone buzzes again. It's all so fucking mundane, the sort of shit he might've done way back when. Not even before the world went up in flames, but before the X-Men. When he was just drifting, looking for a way to kill the hours he spent surviving with some semblance of living.
Truth is, he doesn't know how he feels about it. Maybe some part of him wonders if he's playing pretend here with her. But then he thinks about that night he showed up at her door, after it was over, and it feels like more.
[ it does feel a little domestic. it feels very domestic. karen doesn't remember the last time she felt excited about a text, or the last time she sent one and felt like she was nervous waiting for a response. it makes her feel a little young, but also makes her feel a little...
normal.
it reminds her of those early days at nelson and murdock. where she feels like maybe it's safe enough to let herself feel excited about it. sending flirty texts, feeling the fluttering behind her ribs. she watches her phone after the response, reads her own response a couple of times over and has just enough time to think oh my god, karen and move to try and pocket her phone, when-
the vibration. she glances out the window into the dining room, sees a table she needs to look in on in a few minutes, but they're okay right now.
friday?. friday. ]
Perfect. :) I get off work at 6, so 7? I'd need time to get back and change.
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sometime during " no lifeguard on duty "
Date: 2025-06-16 11:42 pm (UTC)I'm stuck
In a hut
no subject
Date: 2025-06-16 11:51 pm (UTC)Yes I’m still here
Where are you?
What do you mean stuck?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-16 11:55 pm (UTC)There's something blocking the door and now I'm stuck
[ In a hut. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 12:22 am (UTC)What?
Wait- you're serious?
You're stuck in a hut?
Oh my god, okay. Yes. I'm coming.
[ she's too drunk for this.
she's been here for a couple of days now - not that long, in the grand scheme of things, but long enough that it's starting to feel like she's trapped. she's turned to the bar because of that feeling, and now? now she stands, too quickly, and blinks a couple of times before she starts to move. ]
Which hut?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 12:29 am (UTC)It's
Fuck
I don't remember the number
[ He's been here too long too. And he's a little tipsy to boot. He'd partaken in a little more drink than he probably should have but he'll blame the bartender for pouring heavy handed instead. After all, he was made up of some kind of combination of metal and alloy. ]
Look for a hut with something in front of the door
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 12:44 am (UTC)I didn't think you'd actually get stuck.
These doors don't have locks.
Also- how can you not remember the number?
They're on the door! There aren't that many of these!
Okay, no, it's fine! It's fine.
I'm on my way.
I can't believe you got stuck.
[ she's absolutely laughing at him. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 12:50 am (UTC)[ Or maybe he would. He doesn't know. The hut is spinning and his shoulder hurts from trying to ram against the door - it's a whole thing. The point is he didn't mean to end up in this Situation!!! ]
I didn't plan on staying in the hut for very long
Someone pushed something in front of the door
Something heavy
[ Don't make him repeat himself a third time. This isn't his fault!!! But he definitely deserves to be laughed at. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 01:30 am (UTC)Hope you found a better parking spot that I did.
I planned on being here for like three hours.
That was four days ago and my car's still gridlocked out there somewhere.
Hope you have better luck.
Why would someone push something in front of a door to a hut?
With someone in it?
Are you in trouble?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 02:04 am (UTC)It was the same for me
Can't say if that's the case now
It probably is
No. Maybe.
It wouldn't be the first time
But it could also be that they were also drunk - I heard some swearing
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 02:36 am (UTC)I'm also probably unemployed, since I missed my last three shifts.
Hopefully that's not the same for you.
[ she does end up stopping on the path near the pool at that text, needing to read it for a moment as she types out her reply. ]
Maybe?
That's not really a maybe answer.
Are we talking annoyed drunks that you made fun of kind of trouble?
Or like- should I have my gun on me?
[ she keeps going, after then, maybe picking up the pace a little even if she's not exactly walking straight. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 03:22 am (UTC)You didn't box my car in - unless you did then you helping me can be your apology
[ Ah, see? He can still joke. He might even think that that joke is funnier than it actually is thanks to that heavy handed pour. ]
I'll make it up to my boss
He understands the fluxdrifts are unpredictable
It is an answer
It might include what you described or it could be something else
But you won't need your gun on you
[ Probably. And if it comes to that he has his blaster too. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 04:20 am (UTC)I couldn't have boxed your car in even if I wanted to.
Also- not how I would do that, anyway.
I like to ask to hang out- like normal people. :p
[ oh she can see him joking!!! that has been noted. ]
I'm glad your boss is apparently more forgiving.
Maybe I should work at your job next.
That...makes literally no sense.
It might include? Or be something else?
Are you drunk?
I'm almost there.
You sure you don't remember what number?
Wait I think I see something.
[ a few minutes later he might hear some knocking, or maybe the knocking will be a hut over. who knows. ]
Cassian?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 05:15 am (UTC)And I never underestimate a woman with a gun
[ There's a pause before he replies, or a lag rather between his brain and his fingers as he stares at the little :p in her text. Slowly, there's a tug at the corners of his lips. ]
Do you always ask people you're about to rescue to become coworkers?
[ And before he can reply with a very firm, "No I'm not drunk," to her question he hears a set of foosteps just outside the door. Scrambling up he pounds on the door on the hut several doors down. Surely there can't be more than one hut with something in front of the door. ]
Karen - I'm here.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-17 02:53 pm (UTC)Even if I'd never intentionally strand you.
And yeah- probably a good life idea. Women with guns tend to have reason to carry them.
[ part of her very nearly doesn't answer that last question, too focused on finding this door, or this hut, or whatever it is that happened over here. except that cassian asks a question that karen... well, she ends up stopping just to reply. ]
Usually? No.
Actually- last job I got was because I was being rescued, in a way.
Or- I mean. Technically both times I was the one being offered the job.
It doesn't matter.
I think I see your hut!
[ she doesn't, it's the wrong one, but she hears a bit of pounding down the row and she laughs a little to herself, stepping over a fallen android. ]
Cass? Hi. Oh shit- [ she absolutely does not stub her toe on whatever it is that is blocking the door and is definitely, gracefully, just leaning down and trying to tug it off to the side. there is indeed some kind of android, propped up on its side, pressed against the door. it's... well, once karen is able to complete the first step of this, she might have the energy to also start thinking about how this all seems really suspicious.
especially since it's happened in front of the last three huts. she shakes her head. ]
Can you push it open at all?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-18 12:15 am (UTC)He hears the familiar scrape of metal against concrete and it's enough to encourage him to push against the door. Whether or not she's moved from the door is impossible to tell what with the door being solid. ]
Let me -
[ The door budges a little more than it had before. ...Except it also comes into contact with something. Immediately it stops where it is as he presses his face to the tiny crack he's made. ]
Shit. Did I hit you?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-18 07:46 pm (UTC)It's fine! It's nothing. [ her hands go over her mouth as she spirals into more laughter, looking down to the inanimate android on the ground and then to the sliver of his face through the crack in the door.
that's when she realizes she hasn't actually moved the android far enough, so her eyes go a little wide as she leans down and tries to pull it, again, away from where the door is. ]
Push! You should be able to get- out-
no subject
Date: 2025-06-19 12:00 am (UTC)If he looks back on it later, he'll probably tell himself it's because the situation is absurd, and that it's the drink (even though he's definitely isn't drunk), and has far less to do with the fact that the carefree laughter she had let out is more contagious than he'd allow himself to admit. That doesn't stop him from the ultimate goal though: getting out of this hut. ]
Stand out of the way this time.
[ And with the android (mostly) out of the way, getting out of the hut is far easier this time. Especially with the excessive force he throws into the door is far more than he needs to. Which is how he ends up stumbling out nearly right into her.
Thankfully he manages to steady himself by reaching out to place his hands on her shoulders. ]
Nice save.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-19 02:27 am (UTC)stand out of the way this time he says, and she snorts, rolling her eyes as she tugs - one last time - and the bulk of the android moves out of the way. ]
Yeah, well, maybe this time- [ there is something she plans on saying, here. something probably a little clever, a little bit of a clap back. but that's when he uses a little more force than necessary to push open a door she has all but basically cleared for him already, so the bursting open of the door has her turning, abruptly, towards it.
which is part of the reason as he comes stumbling towards him, she's already turned to face him too, so thankfully neither of them go sprawling. her arms are on his sides to help steady him, and his very casual nice save has her laughing again - steadying them both. ]
Guess we're even, now.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-19 03:19 am (UTC)I wasn't keeping score.
[ And he does actually mean that. Maybe in another life, another time that wouldn't have been the case. Karen knows nothing of his past, his life before being some sort of rebel operative. The life where he was a thief and man who did actually count his debts and made a point to pay them back when he could (and maybe, once upon a time, felt like it). The goofy sort of quality to his expression fades as realization dawns on him. He holds up a finger, turning back on his heel in order to go back in search of something he had left behind in the hut.
The mystery doesn't last long. He returns moments later with a messenger bag and what is very clearly an android arm sticking out of it. And quite seriously (read: not seriously at all) he motions to the bag. ]
Can't forget this.
[ The debt wouldn't pay itself off after all. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-19 03:44 am (UTC)You should- that was very heroic of me.
[ which is a very obvious joke, one that she doesn't even try and stop herself from laughing in the midst of. no, there is no comparison between these two events, but she still feels warm enough to make a joke about it.
his goofy expression faces for a moment and as he lifts a finger and turns back to the room, karen's eyes go wide. she's not really sure what he's doing, but she waits out in front of the hut for him to return with a messenger bag and... an arm. an android arm.
can't forget this.
karen's eyes go from the bag, to cassian, one eyebrow lifting. her pause is unnecessary, in a way. obviously building to something. ] Is that why you got stuck in there? [ and then, before she can even get the words out, her face splits into a grin - very pleased with herself. ]
You needed a hand?
[ laugh at her joke, cassian!!! ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-20 08:42 pm (UTC)Does that mean I owe you one?
[ The question is a slippery slope. That quiet, joking but maybe not joking implication that they'd both find themselves in situations where the other could very well come to the rescue of another is a promise that he will always find himself racing to keep. He's never enjoyed being called a hero - and it had happened on occasion to which every time he'd simply brushed it off - but as Bix had put it, there was no denying that bravery that came with some of the stupid things he did. Brave, he could at least stomach.
Deep thoughts like that hardly have a place here however. Off in the distance the faint thump of music can still be heard along with raucous laughter. Karen's own warmth that bubbles to her lips is enough to extend its reach to him as if he hadn't just been trapped in a hut for however long. Which is mostly why the dumb joke that nearly catches him off guard is enough to actually earn a bark of laughter from him.
He doesn't miss a beat though alluding to their first meeting that had a vastly different tone than this. ]
I told you the trip to the doctor cost me an arm.
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Date: 2025-06-21 08:10 pm (UTC)she might not know about any sort of slippery slope she is toeing, but she does feel like there is a sort of agreement being made. a silent understanding, maybe the same he's thinking of too - that for all this might be casual, might be light, she's not joking about the fact that all it will take from him is a text and she will be there.
they don't have to acknowledge it here. they don't have to say much of anything about it. but there is something deep in her that knows he knows, just as he should know that she knows, too.
still - music is playing somewhere off in the distance and the moons are high (they always are, they don't move, but the point still stands) and cassian laughs at her joke. that is all she really needs from that, though cassian's follow-up gets a bark of laughter from her, too - which surprises her, almost as if it jumps out of her before she thinks about it, and then she's dissolving into a fit of laughter. ]
That's... amazing. [ the air is warm, the music and sounds of partiers and people enjoying themselves. karen is feeling good, and she sets her hand on cassian's arm as she laughs, shaking her head. ] Do you need to get that in your car? Or are you planning on just walking around with it?
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Date: 2025-07-01 06:05 am (UTC)Which is saying something since he can't recall the last time that he'd outwardly expressed to someone he had recently met, rescued, and is quickly becoming someone he communicates regularly with (in other words, a friend).
And while he isn't drunk, he certainly looks like he has to think a little bit hard about that question. ]
Both. I have to walk to my car first. [ There's a pause. ] And find it. [ There's another beat as he casts a glance towards her quite serious all of a sudden. ] Will you come with me?
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Date: 2025-07-01 09:48 pm (UTC)she grins a little at the effort he has to put into thinking, holding back the urge to start giggling again. both. and then a pause, and then and find it and karen can't stop herself. she laughs again, the whole situation feeling a little ridiculous and a little too funny. the serious look he gives her then sobers her for just a moment, mimicking his serious look back to him. ]
Of course I'll help you. [ a beat, and then she breaks into another grin and grabs his arm, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
it's light, quick, and when she pulls away she's about to say something else about their grand adventure they're about to embark on when there is a yell from her left. she looks down the row of huts to see a group of people, maybe four or five, pointing off in their direction. she frowns a little, squinting, trying to get a better view of who they are and what they're doing, when there is a bit of a commotion and they start heading in their direction. ]
Cassian- do you know those guys?
🎀 fin.
Date: 2025-07-01 11:53 pm (UTC)His heart, he's certain, is accounted for. But that doesn't stop him from silently marvelling at the contrast between this encounter and their first one. How he vastly prefers this side of her over the one that had so painfully tried to keep it together despite the fear coursing through her veins. Yes, his heart is accounted for, but that doesn't stop him from being so obviously caught off guard by the pull towards her and the lightest press of a lips to his rough cheeks.
For a moment his mind stutters, trying to make sense of what just happened but something more pressing calls his mind back to the present.
His eyes focus on the group, sees how they point and begin to advance on them. Despite his stupor, the usual sharpness and alertness that he's honed over the years pushes through the fog. ]
Maybe. [ And despite this awareness that he's now responsible for taking care of her, ensuring that she doesn't become (more) wrapped up in the trouble he's found himself in, there's a spark of cheekiness in his apologetic explanation. ] About walking - we might have to run instead.
[ And before she can answer him he's stuffing the droid arm further into his bag and wrapping his fingers around her wrist. True to his word he doesn't start in a slow amble, doesn't even look back to see if the group have started to give chase. All that matters to him is the feel of her skin against his hand and the cool air that whistles by them as they take off into the crowd. Bodies jostle and bump against them and he calls out quick apologies as they dive further into the resort both in an attempt to lose the group but perhaps more importantly, to keep this unexpected warmth they had stumbled upon together a little longer. ]
august; some time after the event.
Date: 2025-07-29 01:49 am (UTC)But he thinks about it. Thinks about how she's let him take her to work a couple more times and the way she beams at him as he leaves. About the way she watches him when she thinks he's not looking.
So eventually, he decides: fuck it. She isn't being coy. God knows he isn't, either. ]
Still looking forward to that dinner?
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Date: 2025-07-29 03:57 pm (UTC)and sometimes, on the time or two he takes her to work, she thinks about more than that. about thanking him, about leaning in for a quick kiss on the cheek. she doesn't - some combination of feeling this out, of still working herself back together, of waiting to see if he'll make the first move after all - but that doesn't keep her from feeling a little lighter each time he drops her off. each time she watches him ride off again after she steps inside.
more often than not when she's not working, the thought of that dinner comes up. and more often than not, she pulls out her phone, considers texting him.
today - she's at work when her phone buzzes, and she finishes putting in the next order before she slides the phone out, seeing the notification from logan, and then beaming to herself just a bit when she reads the text. ]
More than I'd like to admit.
You?
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Date: 2025-07-29 07:22 pm (UTC)Guess this is me admitting it.
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Date: 2025-07-29 08:38 pm (UTC)but as she's started working more consistently, she's noticed a little more of an uptick. karen isn't the type to convince herself it's because she knows what she's doing and whoever was working before didn't, but she has seen groups come in during certain hours, stragglers in others. where her first week or so had been mostly empty, now she spends more of her shifts on her feet, helping customers, than not.
she likes it - talking to people, getting to know more locals. she's heard some crazy stories when it's just her and another drifter, but it also means she has plenty of in between time. time she can easily spend checking her phone. time where she may or may not be sitting there, smiling to herself, waiting for a response.
if he thought her last reply was quick, he might be a little more surprised to find this one is almost instantaneous. ]
Oh?
We should probably do something about that.
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Date: 2025-07-29 10:15 pm (UTC)Truth is, he doesn't know how he feels about it. Maybe some part of him wonders if he's playing pretend here with her. But then he thinks about that night he showed up at her door, after it was over, and it feels like more.
Feels like it could work. ]
Friday?
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Date: 2025-07-29 11:10 pm (UTC)normal.
it reminds her of those early days at nelson and murdock. where she feels like maybe it's safe enough to let herself feel excited about it. sending flirty texts, feeling the fluttering behind her ribs. she watches her phone after the response, reads her own response a couple of times over and has just enough time to think oh my god, karen and move to try and pocket her phone, when-
the vibration. she glances out the window into the dining room, sees a table she needs to look in on in a few minutes, but they're okay right now.
friday?. friday. ]
Perfect. :)
I get off work at 6, so 7?
I'd need time to get back and change.
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Date: 2025-07-30 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-07-30 03:33 am (UTC)