MHA #4; Saturday [09/30].

[somethingwithturquoise]

Well, look at that. Summer was doing the responsible, adult thing and sending a message over to the hotel that morning to be left with Hemorrhage to let him know that she'd be willing to have him come over so that they could talk, and coffee had been made and there was a blaster on the kitchen counter as he sat at the kitchen table not drinking his own coffee (what with the bucket helmet and all ) and she peered at him from where she was leaning against the counter and tried to figure out where to even begin.

"So," she said, "why are you here right now, exactly?"



There was a long pause, a bit of some awkward shifting in his chair. "I, uh...." He coughed. "Heard you were single again."

Summer blinked for a moment before staring at Hemorrhage. "Like, six months ago!"

"So you've already moved on? To someone else?"

"Well, no," Summer said, immediately, rolling her eyes, but then she faltered a little on the uncertain truth of that statement and pulled back a little. "I mean, there is kind of this one guy, but that's, like, nothing serious--"

"--the puny one with the half-mask?"

"That's not fair," Summer protested, "he's been really working out a lot lately! Not that it matters whether I'm with someone else or not right now, anyway, Hemorrhage. We're over. We've been over for a long time, we have documents and everything. Why would I want to go back and rehash old relationships that were bad ideas to begin with?"

"Well, Rick said--"

"RICK?"

"Rick said," Hemorrhage tried again, shrugging a shoulder, looking off to the side, "you seemed pretty interested in revisiting relics of the past lately, and so he thought, maybe..."

"Oh mygod," said Summer, sucking in a breath to keep a bit of her rage from boiling over, "that asshole went and found you to send you here for Parents Weekend, again, all because I decided to use Tiny Planet as a hook-up spot at the exact moment he decided to rehabilitate some pigs???"

WHY WAS THIS HER LIFE RIGHT NOW???

"Soooooo," Hemorrhage hedged, "you're not interested in getting back together?"

"No!" Summer declared, leaving it in absolutely no uncertain terms. "Never! Well, I mean, okay, there was maybe a few times I thought about it directly after the breakup, but that's got to tell you a lot that even in the wreckage of a two and a half year relationship, I still didn't get that desperate."

"Wow," said Hemorrhage, "okay. Harsh."

"Whatever happened to 'you're a total bitch, Summer, I don't need that in my life', anyway?" she said, throwing up a hand in frustration.

"Well, that was almost three years ago," Hemorrhage pointed out, leaning forward a little. "A lot can change in three years. And that bitch was exactly who I feel in love with all those years ago, when the world was just a merciless wasteland and we pissed on the grave of the past."

And, for a moment, there was a small tug of nostalgia in Summer's heart, as she nodded and gave Hemorrhage a small smile. "We did piss on the grave of the past," she said. "But that was then. This is now. I mean, I know you still dress like a Mad Max extra, but it's been a long time since even you've been in that world, right? I mean, god, what is it you're even doing these days?"

"Investment banking."

"Exact--, wait, what? Investment banking? Really?"

Hemorrhage shrugged.

"Wow, well, okay, I guess that just really proves my point, then, doesn't it? I mean, you used to roam the wastelands striking fear into the bowels those who dared to cross your path, and now you're an investment banker. I used to eat the hearts of my enemies to gain their courage, and now I make jello shots and run a general store. What we had, in that moment, was really special, Hemorrhage, but it was just a blip in time. We're different people now. And you can't catch lightning in a bottle twice.



"And also," she felt this part was particularly important, "you should really invest in some pants, dude."

Hemorrhage sighed, nodding a little forlornly as he looked down at that untouched coffee cup. "You're right," he said. "Of course you're right. I just...I just sometimes miss the times we had, the spark between us, destroying everything in our path with wild abandon for all the guts and glory....but the Apocalypse is behind us now. It is time to move on..."

With that, he lifted his hands to his helmet to pull it off so he could finally drink his coffee, and Summer immediately winced, cringing back like she'd just got hit with an eyeful of the burning hot sun reflected off a sheet of metal, which, really, with how pale his face was under that helmet, wasn't too far off from the truth, and she was now going to be finishing her coffee trying to look at literally anything else but that horrible moustache.


[[ expecting some visitors a bit later on, but definitely very open before them in the timeline, and CW for recreational drug use in the comments, because Summer. ]]

Comments

[stykera]

Another sigh and a "no ice cream either" from Chiana.

"You could come here," Stark pointed out. "But the last time I went there we ended up in a dungeon..."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"You got out, though," Summer pointed out, because that was the important part, and she'd now officially set out everything for decorating the cupcakes on her counter. "Alright, you guys, come on, we got cupcakes here that aren't going to decorate or eat themselves."

[stykera]

"I got out of the House too. I still don't want to go back."

Chiana cocked her head at that. Something to ask about later!

"But yes. Cupcakes. Let's have cupcakes!" Stark nodded eagerly. "I've been waiting for these. And... maybe we both. We all need to relax."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"You," Summer stated, with a quirk of her eyebrow and a note of fondness in her voice as she handed a cupcake over to Stark, "always need to relax."

[stykera]

"Not always," Stark said. "I relax with you."

Another snort from Chiana. "I bet you do."

Stark glanced over at her and then took the cupcake and very pointedly started adding frosting and various candies.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer also glanced over at Chiana, and then at Stark and his suddenly very focused cupcake decorating, lifted a brow, and then looked back.

And held out another cupcake for her.

"Chiana. Your cupcake."

[girlofgrey]

"I'm just saying," Chiana said, voice gone overly sweet as she piled candies on her cupcake, "that I know exactly how relaxed you can get."

Stark gave Summer a pleading look and then took a very large bite of his own cupcake.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer was just meeting that pleading look with a very emphatic shake of her head that made it very clear that she did sometimes know when to keep her mouth shut, thank you very much, and this was absolutely one of those times, because she was going to be very busy expertly frosting and breaking apart and crumbling one of those Reese's peanut butter pumpkins that sparked this whole theme on the cupcakes and adding some chocolate sprinkles and a little dusting of cinnamon and pumpkin spice and pulling out her phone because she had an Instagram the needed to see this and that was clearly top priority right now over saving Stark from reminders of his own past.

[stykera]

Stark was going to take another very large bite of his cupcake and chew it slowly. Very slowly.

Poor Stark had no idea how the evening was really going to go.

Chiana shook her head, popped an entire Reese's pumpkin into her mouth, and grinned around it. After she'd swallowed the grin got even wider.

"You're no fun, Stark," she told him.

"I'll be more fun after cupcakes," he muttered.

Maybe.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"I'm pretty sure we'll all be more fun after these cupcakes," said Summer, as she carefully chose her filters for her post, "or I am seriously going to have serious issues with my supplier."

And now, cupcake posted, she could finally actually take a bite, with a small little moan of appreciation, because fuck, that was stupid good.

[girlofgrey]

"She always sound like that when she's happy?" Chiana asked.

She took a bite of her own cupcake before anyone could answer and let out a very appreciative noise of her own. "Frell, that's amazing. And it's gonna get us all high?"

Once it kicked in, she might be confessing her undying love for Summer. Or at least telling her she was amazing.

Stark gave her a look and let out a slightly pained "Chiana!"

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer had a small smirk for Stark's protest, shaking her head over the fact that he'd never know just how merciful she was being by not mentioning what sounds she could make. Very lucky, that she was too busy licking a bit of frosting off her thumb.

"It should start kicking in in about fifteen, twenty minutes," she confirmed with a nod. "Welcome to the amazing, wonderful world of edibles, Chiana."

[stykera]

As long as they didn't start mentioning what sort of songs Stark could make.

"Maybe if we eat faster it will hit faster," he suggested, watching Summer's thumb intently.

Chiana was also watching Summer and decided she really needed to lick some frosting off her own fingers.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"It doesn't work like that," said Summer, sliding her grin over to Stark in time to catch him watching her, and that shifted her smile a little, and her posture, lingering maybe a little longer with her thumb on her lips. "You just have to just sit back and wait for it to come."

[stykera]

"I can be patient," Stark said, still watching her carefully. "But you know that."

"Bet she dooooes," Chiana said.

Stark just shook his head with a fond smile.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer held on to Stark's gaze for a moment, before she shifted it over sideways toward to Chiana. Then back to Stark before she shrugged a little, turned her attention to peeling back the wrapper around her cupcake a little more.

"Well, like, you know what they say. Good things do come to those who wait..."

[stykera]

"I've had a lot of practice waiting," Stark said before he took another bite of his cupcake.

"Sometimes," he continued after swallowing, "very, very good things have come from it."

Chiana grinned at him, licking frosting off her lips.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Come on," said Summer, picking up the tray of cupcakes and a tub of icing and a bag of candy bars, and heading out of the kitchen. "Let's over this party to the living room."

[girlofgrey]

Chiana grabbed another bag of candy and followed on her heels.

"Oh, we're gonna party? Drad. What've you got in mind?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Well, I was thinking more of a chill party," Summer admitted, "especially once this really kicks in, but, I mean, you're the guest, I'm open to suggestions."

[girlofgrey]

"We could always go out dancing later," Chiana suggested. "Or find another way to move around here. If you want to."

Stark gave her a bit of an odd look but settled himself on the couch and finished his last bite of cupcake.

"But hanging out with you two and eating and getting relaxed sounds good too."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"We can see how you feel in a little bit," Summer suggested, as she flopped easily onto the couch at the other end. "I can put on some music on in the meantime, if you want, too. You in the mood for anything in particular?"

[stykera]

Stark opened his mouth to point out that they could dance here but Chiana flopped down between them before he could speak.

"I don't know your music," Chiana pointed out. "Stark, you got recommendations?"

"I...let Summer pick," Stark said.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Well, I figured you wouldn't know specifics," Summer clarified, and her phone was already out again after finishing the last of her cupcake and connecting to her speakers. "But, you know, to, like, set the general vibe."

[girlofgrey]

"Something fun," Chiana said. "Good for relaxing to. You got something that puts you in the mood?"

A beat.

"For relaxing."