Log: Complete

[lady-turk.livejournal.com]

When; Backdated to Jan. 23rd
Rating;PG
Characters; Jr./Rubedored_dragon_666 & Elenalady_turk
Summary; Promising virgin drinks, Jr. goes over to share with Elena the good news about restoring MOMO's memory. All Elena can add is a very bad line about why her hands are cold.
Log;

Elena continued to watch amusedly as Jr. moved about the kitchen, still mixing up different varieties of drinks, some with alcohol though most without. She had been a little startled when Jr. had just shown up at her door with an armful of bottles and mixes, but a short declaration later, he had settled his load on top of Elena’s counter and set to work. The blonde hadn’t honesty expected to have Jr. carry out his promise, but it was still pleasing to have him do so. The firm but quickly made statement that Elena was NOT going to be drinking anything alcohol after her last binge made the blonde smirk slightly in amusement. She still hadn’t touched a single drop since she had become sober yet, and Elena imagined it’d be a few more weeks before she felt the desire to again.

She could tell as soon as Jr. walked in the door that he had something good or at least, pleasant to tell her; but rather than pressing him about it, she was content to wait. Besides, Elena wouldn’t ever admit it, but Jr. looked rather cute bouncing around all cheerful and happy like he was. Anything to prolong the state couldn’t hurt matters any. Jr. would tell her when he was ready.

Rubedo wasn't exactly a pro at mixing drinks or anything, but he had a good memory, and he'd picked up enough from either stray books or simply watching the bartender when he and Elena had previously gone out to drink. Soon he'd mixed up a Pornstar for himself, not caring too much about the bright purple color. It tasted good, damnit, fruity or no.

After that, a pina colada minus the rum was a piece of cake, though rather noisy to make. Once that was through, he slid that glass over to Elena and hopped up to sit on the edge of the counter.

"Okay! Guess the good news."

Accepting the drink, Elena played with the rim of the glass for a moment thinking over what could have possibly made the redhead so happy. She didn’t think he’d found an exit, because then it’d be more of a matter of who Jr. would want to leave more and that would have put a thoughtful expression on his face. She knew it wasn’t that he’d found out how his life was returned to him, because Elena doubted that would put a smile on his face. So that meant that whatever it was, it had something to deal with one of the people from his world.

Still, it might be more fun to tease him till he burst. “You’re in love?” she guessed jokingly.

Her faux guess did bring a light blush to his cheeks, but he was quick to cover that up by laughing and winking. "No worries, buttercup! I wouldn't cheat on my dear wife. This is different."

Rubedo really couldn't hold it in any longer. Leaning over, he draped one arm over his knees and took a small sip of his drink before continuing. "I might have found a way to return MOMO's memory to her! There's this guy who says he can do it through music. I'm not really sure how, since last time I checked my harmonica could NOT alter memories, but...so many different types of people are in the City, I believe him. Now all I gotta do is convince MOMO to go along with it!"

Pushing aside any reaction she might have felt about being called ‘buttercup,’ and the mention of being a wife, Elena focused on the tumble of words that spilled out from Jr.’s lips. Now that was some good news! No wonder he had been nearly bursting and eager to tell her. Even Elena couldn’t help but laugh and smile along with him and for his good fortune. “I’ve heard of stranger things, so I’m sure it’s possible. That’s a great discovery Jr.! I know how much she means to you and I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to convince her to go along with it. If not, you always have Sakura to help convince her as well.”

Smiling again, Elena raised her drink in a small toast. “At least you’ve found a way and that’s a good start.”

"Hell yes!" he readily agreed and leaned over from where he was perched to clink their glasses together before leaning back to take a good drink. One bad thing about cocktails was that they were so sweet it was easy to get drunk without meaning to.

Fortunately, Rubedo was the one mixing these drinks, so he wouldn't let that happen.

Setting the quickly emptied glass down on the counter beside him, he waved a hand. "I felt like maybe I'd waited too long, like maybe the guy I was looking for wasn't there anymore! Then I found him, but he tried to act all dodgy. It took awhile, but he agreed to help her out… Then it got all weird. He could tell I wasn't a kid. Think he's one of those psychic types running around the City?"

Rubedo snickered a bit. "I pity anyone who goes inside my head."

“I’d imagine it’s rather busy with a lot of things going on inside your head. Anyone who tries probably be in for one hell of a headache.” Elena commented, drinking her glass, but not draining it. Those things, with all the ice involved, went straight to your head if drank too fast. And Elena wasn’t in the mood for a brain freeze. “I wonder what it’s like though. To be connected to someone like that. But I guess if you’re used to it, you don’t even notice. ”

Laughing lightly at the only comparison she could come up with, Elena smirked and shared. “I guess it’s like being a woman or a man. You can’t compare or share since you’re used to being one or the other.”

Elena's examples made him laugh all over again. "Well I dunno! Gaignun got turned into a girl for a day while he was here, so I guess he's experienced both sides of life!" With a shake of his head, the redhead slid off of the counter to land and turn, trying to figure out what drink to make next for himself. Rum and coke seemed simple enough...

"To be able to share thoughts with others... I know what that's like, I guess. Not normal people, really, but all of us URTVs when we were kids...I guess we didn't have a lot of thoughts to ourselves? I was pretty good at keeping some things private...and I know Albedo had to be, or I would have been able to...um...prevent stuff..." He trailed off, staring at the drink he'd just finished making.

If he'd been able to understand what Albedo had been thinking, he could have kept him from sneaking into the Sakura's subconscious, and maybe saved her.

...He hadn't meant for the topic to get all gloomy, so he tried hard to smile, and glanced back over to her. "But now it's just Gaignun for me. With our link, I mean. And we're damn good at keeping our walls up. It just takes a lot of concentration all the time... Kind of a pain in the ass? To actually be able to read ANYONE'S mind? I can't even imagine, man. The people who live here are craaazy."

“I guess the City’s useful for some things if it can help with some things like that. And to think, other places still have the debates about how the male and female are so different from one another and how it all can’t be explained. They just need to turn into the other to understand. It’s all so simple!” Was she being sarcastic? Well, only slightly. There were a few aspects of truth and amusement to that statement, humor and enjoying the suffering of others aside.

Elena blinked and stayed silent while Jr. trailed off, easily figuring out what he was talking about. She really hadn’t meant to take such a serious turn to their conversation either, but even though she was glad that Jr. changed the subject so quickly, it was kind of a sore point to have done something, even unintentionally.

“I knew of someone once, who was connected with all the souls of the entire planet. She never seemed pained by it, but I didn’t know her very well so maybe I just couldn’t tell. But I’ve heard of mind readers. Never met one though.”

Rubedo almost wanted to ask which planet, but he had to keep reminding himself that in Elena's world, they hadn't yet discovered other planets. Still... The very idea of being connected to everyone on the Durandal almost gave Rubedo a headache. "The souls of an entire planet? That would have to give anyone a migraine. Maybe she was just really good at hiding when she was in pain."

Pulling himself back up onto the counter to sit, he took a sip of his drink before letting it rest in his lap, the back of his head touching one of the cabinets as he shut his eyes in thought.

Shrugging, Elena finished off the last of her drink. She had forgotten what it was like drinking something that was known for having alcohol without it. Reminded her of when she was a child almost. Except she never let her age stop her from trying at least a taste of the real stuff. Elena hadn’t liked it as a child, but she was daring enough to sneak in a taste, no matter what people told her otherwise. “Maybe I should have elaborated. She was connected to all the souls, but she could only hear the voices of the dead. And even then, they had to be of a certain race of people. But then again, you could be right and I just never knew her that well.”

Only a certain race of dead people? If he hadn't known for a fact that Elena's drinks were virgin, he might have called her crazy. But like he said earlier, the City and the worlds connected to it all had people with some amazing powers. Others... not so amazing.

Opening his eyes, Rubedo's head tilted to the side and his azure gaze settled on her while he offered a small, but sober smile. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how well you know someone. Some things will always remain a secret."

Wasn’t that the truth? Toying with the rim of her drink, Elena mused over Jr.’s words for a moment, reflecting on just how true those words were. Everyone always had those little things, or sometimes not so little things that they kept to themselves. Even amongst those that were supposed to have been closer than anything, hid things. To say nothing of what you hid from complete strangers. But it wasn’t always a bad thing.

“Sometimes it’s better that way. Some things just don’t need to be known or shared. It doesn’t do any good so why cause unnecessary suffering.”

He shrugged. "That's one way to look at it. Everyone's got their reasons..." Rubedo knew that there were some things he would rather keep private. His past used to be one of those things...but after so much had been revealed to his friends in the Encephalon, it had sort of seemed like a moot point.

"The reasons aren't always good ones, though. Some stuff people don't need to know... Either because it's not related to them, or because it will just cause pointless pain. But some secrets should be shared! Like...did you know...that I'm your father?"

He couldn't hold in the cheesy grin there, and even if he knew Elena wouldn't get that terribly old reference, it still HAD to be said.

Elena might not have gotten the reference about where the line had come from, but even she had to laugh at that one, quickly breaking the somber mood the two had fallen into. “First you say you’re my husband and now you say you’re my father? What next? Do you plan on saying that you’re my fairy godmother too?”

Still snickering Elena stood up and moved to put her glass in the sink, spinning around to face Jr. “If that’s true than I have a confession to make too. Because Jr. … I’m your long lost second cousin’s roommate sister’s aunt, twice removed!” She finished by pointing a finger and in an overly dramatic voice, sounding almost serious except for the snicker that escaped at the end.

Of course, the line was funny by itself, but just seeing Elena spin and point so dramatically was the real icing on the cake. With a laugh, he reached out to catch her outstretched hand, lowering it while shaking his head. "Man, I can study quantum theories for hours lately, but I think that just about broke my brain."

Sitting back, he idly kept hold of her hand in his lap while staring up at the ceiling. "I never did like those weird shows. Give me a good old fashioned adventure book any day."

While she was a little alarmed at letting Jr. hold her hand like that, Elena knew that withdrawing her hand would only become a cause for curiosity and suspicion. Least she didn’t have to worry about revealing her hesitation in any other way. Moving so that she was standing besides Jr. and in a slightly better position to have her hand stay captured the way it was,

“You’re still reading up on those things? Maybe you should take a break and just read an adventure book instead. It might help clear your mind. I knew it helped me. I never could stand to read only a single book at one time.”

"Aw, but it helps a little. I can't do anything by just yelling at the jokes who run this place, and my powers would be pretty much useless in a confrontation. I can't do anything to the carousel, and even if I could, I don't know what would result from it. The theories--JEEZ your hand is cold, Elena. I thought it was from holding your drink. Why isn't it warming up at all?"

Genuinely concerned, now, he lifted set his drink aside so that he could clutch her hand in both of his, rubbing at it lightly to create friction. "This isn't good. Is the rest of you feeling cold?"

Okay now this? This was a bad thing. This was a very bad thing. But she still had to play it casual otherwise Jr. would get suspicious. Not that he probably already wouldn’t be regardless, but at least she could keep it to a minimum. So all Elena did was shrug and withdraw her hand from Jr.’s rather futile attempts to warm her hand up. The blonde made sure to make it seem like it was no big deal and that it was normal for her hand to be cold.

“Well it’s been colder in the city lately, so I’ve been wearing gloves everywhere to keep warmer. I’ve always been one to take to the cold by having my body temperature drop a few degrees. I might have been able to handle the cold better, but it always made my skin really cold to the touch. Something in the way my blood pumps or the way my body handles things. It wasn’t ever a big issue to dwell on.” Shoving her hands into her pockets, Elena shrugged again and changed the subject, like it was no big deal.

“Anyway, you were saying about theories?”

Elena's reasoning seemed logical enough, but it made Rubedo feel pretty bad for her. If he'd known that, he would have gotten her a bunch of blankets and mittens for Christmas.

"Forget about 'em! You just said I should take my mind off of them. Gimme your hands." He held out both of his own, plainly waiting for her to comply. "I'll keep them warm."

“It’s all right,” Elena insisted, trying not to sound or show any clue that would reveal her true feelings. At least she knew she could lie well and with a straight face easily enough. “I normally don’t even notice things like this until someone points it out to me. I’ll just go turn up the heat in this place and that’ll be enough.”

So saying, the blonde left to do just that, her mind working to try and think of what other ways she could keep her hands to herself after this. It was a small blessing that she wasn’t known for being all touchy-feely, otherwise that would really create problems.