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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 3, 2012 15:01:49 GMT -8
Gabrielle went cross eyed to look at her nose then felt it. The bump and crooked quality didn't feel like anything but bad to her. Maybe Rust was shortsighted?
The next thing just made her laugh and tilt her head.
"Are you serious? You got hit in the face by a girder because you were checking out your see-through muscles. That's.... That's special."
She laughed again, then paused.
"Wait...Can it?"
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 3, 2012 15:16:12 GMT -8
Rust pouted like a six year old banned from the Playstation for a month.
"Hey, it was for science! And the result? Well, when I control it's size and shape slightly, turns out flexing doesn't appear to be that much of an issue." He shrugged. "Well, it wasn't worth getting hit in the face with a girder for at any rate."
Still, better than the time you tried to perform.........activities, with it.
Shuddering at THAT memory, he continued.
"Anyway, enough about my looks. I think we've shattered my self-confidence for the day already."
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 3, 2012 15:30:22 GMT -8
"Just say that you did for science with an exclamation mark and then you can feel almost not ashamed of it." Gabrielle said, "That's what I do anyway, You'd be surprised how much it helps, except when it's almost set yourself on fire bad. ...Or actually set yourself on fire."
She tried not to look shifty about that, then gave him a friendly punch on the arm.
"Come on, there's always a little more self esteem to shatter. Let me at it." she joked.
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 3, 2012 15:42:22 GMT -8
Rust just blinked.
"Are you trying to tell me that you once set yourself on fire for science?" he eventually said, grinning. "And ow! The hell was that for! Psycho woman, trying to beat me up just for being friendly. Give me a migraine and it ain't enough!"
He stuck his tongue out at her childishly.
"No more self esteem jokes for you!"
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 3, 2012 15:56:11 GMT -8
"It wasn't that I tried to set myself on fire for science, that'd be dumb. I just tried to do something else, and accidentally set my coat on fire that way."
She went red. "...It's not as dumb as it s-sounds! I had really bad aim, that was all! I had a grate in front of the fireplace and everything! And that was a g-gesture of affection. I was trying to be nice."
She thought about it. "Maybe it's a gesture that doesn't work with everyone. It's kind of weird, actually, as a gesture. It'd be like if throwing a plate at someone was saying 'you look pretty' or hooking up someone's nuts to a car battery was 'You light up my life'. I-I'm really making a good c-case for m-myself, aren't I?"
She facepalmed. "I don't t-think about this s-stuff, really. You're a b-bad influence."
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 3, 2012 16:07:11 GMT -8
"Hey. Hey."
An arm found it's way slung around her shoulder as Rust gave a quick one armed hug of friendship. Gabrielle was starting to stutter again from getting over excited.
"S'cool. Don't fret too much, yeah? We've been down this particular road before, right? And I'm a bad influence? Says the girl whose first instinct upon seeing her friend again is to nearly give him a concussion." he joked playfully, treating her like normal. Besides, that's what mates did. Rib each other. Constantly. Without mercy or cessation. Even at funerals.
Then Rust felt a few vibrations.
"That your sister texting back?"
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 3, 2012 16:22:28 GMT -8
Gabrielle stiffened up as he put his arm around her, going deep red and baring her teeth slightly. She nodded, trying to ignore the weight of his arm and his body heat.
"Uh, y-yeah." she said, fighting the urge to shove him away. "And hey, y-you should feel h-honoured. Most of my f-friends only get p-poked in the eye."
She felt the vibration too, and used it as a chance to move away.
"Y-yeah, it's her." she said gratefully. "She says... Oh for fuck sake."
She showed him the phone.
Tell him I'll make him feel far more honoured when I get there, if he wants. =P
"S-she's not serious. She just likes teasing, that's all."
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 3, 2012 16:30:31 GMT -8
Letting her go answer the phone, Rust noticed the redness.
She got suncream on or not? The sun's really getting to her again, it seems. he thought, wondering if he could help in some way. He did laugh at her joke though. "All honesty? Would rather get a concussion than a poke to the eye. All eye things aren't good in my book. Stings like nothing else."
He then read the text, blushed heavily and facepalmed.
"She's going to KILL me at this rate..." he muttered. "And if she's teasing then she's bloody good at it. Don't even know what she looks like, fer God's sake!" Grumbling a little, he wandered a bit further up the beach and took a seat, surf lapping at his flipflopped feet.
"I take it you get on with your sister a lot then?"
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 3, 2012 16:46:17 GMT -8
"Well, I can also step on your foot or p-pull your hair." Gabrielle said, "I'm a variable person. I offer many types of punchy pain, specified to the client."
She started flicking through pictures. "Gimme a minute.... There. She looks like this."
The picture showed Gabrielle and another woman, clearly Artemis, standing on the stone steps in front of a church, Gabrielle wearing the clothes she'd been wearing when Rust met her first.
The two women looked similar and were the same height, but Artemis' features were on the softer side and she didn't have Gabrielle's muscle or tired look and her eyes were a gentle purple instead of a sharp grey.
She's amazing." Gabrielle said fondly, stroking the screen. "She got everything worthwhile from mother. She's like her before.... Oh fuck, I'm flashbacking. Quick, stop me before I do a monologue!"
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 3, 2012 16:57:15 GMT -8
"Hmm, alright then. If I ever find myself needing someone to beat me up, I'll definitely come looking for you so we can discuss a price," Rust continued the joke, laughing. "I'd have to use your talents to find the one specific to me though. Please, no girders though."
Looking at the phone, he saw Gabrielle and her sister, standing side by side. He gave a smile at that.
"D'aww, sisterly love." he said, looking back to her. "Never had siblings so that's really sweet to see." He didn't comment on their looks, that was a whole other minefield that he knew not to get into.
"And hey, remember. No selling yourself short." the mechanic admonished Gabrielle again. "And yes, no flashbacking! It'll just mean you get taken out in two issues time before the authors need you again for backstory purposes!"
Laughing, he nevertheless jumped when his own phone went off.
THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTNING! VERY VERY FRIGHTING! ME!
Rust just let out a breath, still slightly startled.
"My mom," he explained as he began to open it.
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 4, 2012 3:49:03 GMT -8
Gabrielle peered at Rust, scratched her chin and pretended to think.
"Well, for you, I reckon it'd have to be be a wrench, or a dishwasher." she said slowly, "Maybe a tire, but good beating tires are hard to find. They end up on cars, or in swings. Y'know, useless things."
She poked Rust in the side, not hard.
"I'm not selling anything short, I'm just trying to show how amazing my sister is."
She stuck out her tongue out at him and laughed "Sisterly pride, so nyeh."
The sudden blare of music from the phone made her jump too and stop laughing. She mouthed 'Oh right' and put her hands over her mouth.
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 4, 2012 4:37:09 GMT -8
"Oof! Christ, stop poking me!" the Brit mock-whined. "It's like you WANT me to hook up with your sister or something. Isn't that the opposite of what you should be doing? You know, "Touch her and I'll cut your nuts off"? Isn't the the norm?" He shrugged, chuckling and going back to his phone. Clicking open the message, he scanned it. Good to hear things are going well! Head down and study hard, Rusty! Everyone here is pulling for you.
Don't worry about me too much, I'm fine here on my own. See?Attached was a picture of a fairly beautiful red headed woman, blue eyes and a stunning smile, giving the peace sign like Rust had been doing not a few minutes before. In her other hand, she held a sign that said "I'm embarrassing you, aren't I? GOOD!  " Rust just stared at the message before groaning. "The woman will be the death of me, I swear." |
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 4, 2012 5:06:59 GMT -8
Gabrielle took her hands away from from mouth once she realised it wasn't a call, but a message.
"Well, I just figured you already knew." she said, shrugging. "After all, if I almost gave you a concussion just for saying hi, imagine what I'd do if you" she made a face of mock horror "held hands with my sister. Well, I'd have to drop you off a building or something."
She laughed. "But no, really. I'm not trying to set you up, I'm just really proud of her. I can't help it, I'm a big sister. Can I see?
She stood next to Rust, tilting her head to look at the picture. She smiled.
"That's your mother? I can really see the resemblance. She looks sweet."
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 4, 2012 5:18:00 GMT -8
Rust just gave her a mock glare.
"Seriously, half this conversation has been you wanting to injure me in various ways and doing so. There something you wanna tell me?" he asked with a laugh. He showed Gabrielle the picture with pleasure.
"Yeah, s'my mom." he said, kind of awkwardly. "And thanks, I'd prefer to take after her. One hell of a woman. Taught me most of my social skills along with three or four of her friends."
He trailed off a little, realising he was getting sappy. He then switched the picture off and shot of a quick reply.
Good to see you're okay. Love you. R.
Then he pocketed the phone and looked at Gabrielle.
"So, fancy doing anything? I have the day free."
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 4, 2012 5:49:07 GMT -8
"Oh, I'm actually an escaped lunatic, only here to make friends with people then menace them. Just menacing, mind. Occasionally I bother, but only on special occasions." Gabrielle said promptly, then saw the way he was getting wistful. She patted his shoulder.
"Well, it seems to have worked. You seem, um... very nice." she ventured. "You're very lucky anyway, to have someone like that."
The next question surprised her somewhat.
"Wait, you mean properly hang out instead of just running into each other. Uh.... I don't know, I still have to unpack and stuff. And I have to write letters, because the clergy apparently still live in the dark ages of communication. But, uh..." she scratched her head. "Are you free on Friday? We could hang out then, if you still want to."
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 4, 2012 5:59:13 GMT -8
Clergy? The hell? She was part of the church?...wait a minute you dolt, she was standing in front of a church with her sister. She must have...lived there or something?
Hearing Gabrielle mention the clergy, half of Rust's comedic material was sunk down the drain. Seriously, it may have been funny, but he didn't want to offend. A pity, really. There was some gold in there.
"Hey, no problem. What day is it now, Monday? Yeah, I should be free. I have that afternoon off." he replied. "Might be tired since it's a workout class but I'll try and perk myself up a bit. Or I could skip." he shrugged. "Not the first time I've done that."
He did grin a little though.
"Letters? Wow, I don't think anyone I know has sent one of them since 2001. Doesn't your hand ache after a while with cramp?"
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 4, 2012 6:18:58 GMT -8
"Sounds good to me anyway. Uh, the cafeteria? I'll just hang around there until you show up, study or something." she said, then looked horrified. "Oh fuck, I'm going to have to actually study here. Shit. And hey!" she gave him another friendly punch on the arm.
"Don't insult my mama and papa. It's not their fault that they can't use anything with a chip not made out of potato."
She shook her head. "It took them years to move them up from wax tablets, and don't even get me started on getting them them to use actual paper."
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 4, 2012 6:27:19 GMT -8
Rust raised his hands as a peace offering, trying to stop her hitting him again.
"I'm going to end up black and blue before Friday!" he moaned, before giving her a playful shove back. "And the cafeteria sounds good, yeah. Hope they do decent enough food.
And yeah, alright. I apologise.....though you should totally give them a mobile phone and watch their minds just flip. Can't imagine you or your sister preferring to write things out, that's all."
The mechanic looked up to the sun again for a moment and took a breath.
"Well, if you've gotta be off, you've gotta be off. I guess I'll catch you on Friday then, Gabrielle. Hopefully I'll have a bit more to talk about next time around."
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Post by SarahSyna on Jul 4, 2012 6:53:13 GMT -8
"Even if they don't, I'll bring some of my own. I make more than cookies." Gabrielle said in a whisper, as if imparting some great secret. Then she laughed, "I wasn't being serious, Rust. Trust me, my foster parents have never used a wax tablet, not even for fun. For one, it would melt in the mail."
She patted her pockets to make sure that her phone was still there, then pulled out the package of cookies and gave them to him.
"Here, have these. They'll keep you going until Friday. Now... Where did I put my shoes?"
She started looking around. "Alright, Rust. I'll see you then. I hope they didn't get washed away...."
Gabrielle frowned then ran off, waving to Rust as she went.
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Post by JDGreat on Jul 4, 2012 6:58:00 GMT -8
"Cookies are always good." Rust agreed, laughing slightly. He took the bag from her and stuffed them in his jacket pocket. "Alright, fine you twisted my arm. I'll have the bag," he muttered, shaking his head before looking up again at her frown.
"See ya later then, Gabrielle. Good luck with the shoes! Tides hasn't come in too far so you should be fine!" he reassured, carrying on his way with a wave over his shoulder.
Hmm, not a lot left to do. Home, study, dinner, bed. Sounds good.
And so, the quick plan was implemented.
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"