Nova + Chisaki: Home

[taking_names]

Who: Nova and Chisaki
When: Sunday late morning
Where: Nova's house in Omghan
Before/After: After Nova attacks Ravi with happiness
Warnings: TBD



The fact that Omghan had been merged with some unfamiliar earth city complicated Nova's homecoming a bit. He had expected the trip to be effortless once he emerged from the warp into the small town, but the familiar twists and turns bled into some mysterious streets dotted with tropical vegetation.

He wandered long enough that he began to consider calling someone (how? he could find an old conversation to reply to, maybe...) for help. Just as he was near to surrendering, though, he caught sight of his house, nearly hidden as always through its own collection of bushes and trees.

He walked up to the door and let himself in, seeing no reason to knock at his own place. He stepped inside, looking for housemates.

"Is anyone home?"

Comments

[taking_names]

"Being about to die, mostly," he said.

Even though it would have made her feel better, he was a little too embarrassed to mention that she'd crossed his mind in those moments as well.

"And--and moreover when I was in the Dark I had a long talk with myself about how I'd gotten everything wrong and I feel much better about life in general now."

[a_wrong_turn]

"Oh..." She trailed off, not sure what else to say at first, and looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. "I'm..."

Chisaki looked back down at the ground. Her hands shook again, so she balled them up into fists and nudged them into her pockets. She frowned at him. "I'm sorry, Nova," she said, quietly. "I didn't know things were so hard on you. I was so distracted by everything over here and all the shit that went wrong that I just--I didn't think about the things I was saying."

[taking_names]

"Oh--no, it wasn't you. I made that stupid plan the day after I found out I wasn't real."

He had thought he'd damaged her life irreparably, too, but decided it was best to edit that out.

"I hadn't gotten to tell you yet, but I made... kind of a mess when I did it. With mess being an understatement for something you might hate me if you hear."

[a_wrong_turn]

She frowned at that. It wasn't the idea that it could be something horrible and unforgivable; Nova had done something horrible and unforgivable to her, and it hadn't poisoned her against him, even if she had never quite found it in her to forgive him. It bothered her that he could think she would hate him, after all of this.

"What was it?"

[taking_names]

"I'd been feuding with one of the players -- he created a friend of mine and built a crushing loss into his past. I wanted to make him angry with me and give him a taste of that, so..."

He looked at her directly, in case he was about to cause an even greater meltdown in their relations and this turned out to be a last look.

"I poisoned his sister with cake frosting."

[a_wrong_turn]

"Oh."

It wasn't all she had to say, nor all she felt on the matter, but it took her a moment to process that. His grievances with players ran so deep that he murdered someone who had done nothing wrong? It should have infuriated her, she thought. She should have screamed at him and told him to leave for doing such a thing. But, she thought, she wasn't what she was supposed to be. Instead of outrage, she just felt a sense of disappointment.

Nothing else vanished. She was still relieved he was here, grateful that he had been resurrected, and furious that he died. The same complicated emotions stayed where they were, lodged firmly in place. "Don't do it again," she said finally. "Killing a guy's sister instead of him is kinda chickenshit."

[taking_names]

"I fought him afterward, that was how I died."

That was a factual response that didn't really address the heart of the problem, but he wasn't sure how to come at it. He didn't have any excuses. She hadn't earned it. It was in no way an accident.

"Then in a strange twist of fate he became the leader of the clerics and brought us both back to life. Mine was convenience to him -- my friend who gave you the squid toy wanted me back and he wanted her powers to dispose of the cleric leader's body. And then he needed to resurrect someone to prove he'd inherited the heart."

[a_wrong_turn]

She nodded at him, but it was loose and distracted. It meant that Nova was lucky; they couldn't count on that happening ever again, especially if he got it in his head to murder the Vahishta's sister a second time. More than that, she couldn't protect him against the Vahishta. Her anti-holy enchantments did a lot, but there were limits, and she had no illusion that the Vahishta could overcome those limits easily. She frowned.

"Don't do it again," she repeated. "You can't--"

She looked back at him, instead of past him, and her lips hardened into a line. She still felt a sting in her eyes, but she was mostly through doing that thing that Chisaki Andrews never did. "It fucking sucked without you here," she said. "I don't doubt this guy was an asshole. But getting revenge on him and leaving me and everyone else behind would have--I mean, I guess I can't tell you I'm worth not getting your ass killed for." She was just a monster, after all. She looked down again. "But don't get your ass killed."

[taking_names]

It sucked without him? But all he'd ever done with Chisaki was complain and drag her into danger and get her turned into a monster. He could be better, now! But as for the past, he didn't know what there was to miss.

But it seemed that being a murderer hadn't ruined whatever Chisaki saw in him, just as being a miserable coward and accidentally stabbing her hadn't.

He was thankful for that.

"Never again." He held up a hand in promise. "I've sorted myself out and I'm all right with being what I am, now."

[a_wrong_turn]

"Good." She put some finality into the word and some fierceness. She did not linger on it, though, and instead sighed and moved away from the door. There was no reason to pin him down metaphorically any longer; she leaned up against the wall next to him, folding her arms again.

"I'm sorry for what I said before," she added. Chisaki's voice grew softer. "About... I mean, about the stuff I lost and all. I wasn't in a good place with the whole Alex and the Mano dying thing, so I..." She bit her lip and looked down; further away from him, if such a thing was possible. "I said some things I shouldn't have and wish I could take them back."

[taking_names]

He relaxed a little, taking the signal that he was no longer in Big Trouble, and turning to face her as she settled against the wall.

He opened his mouth to tell her that it was all right for her to vent at him about the things that being a molavvas had taken away from her, but then he thought about the fact that he'd used it as an excuse to write off her feelings since he couldn't fix her.

"I was the one who overreacted."

[a_wrong_turn]

She looked up when he turned to face her, glancing sideways at him without quite turning her head. She looked forward again, then, and frowned. It was true; she did not intend to argue that he hadn't overreacted.

But still, something bothered her about it.

"There's still things that I'm glad that I have. And even if I wish it hadn't happened..." She flustered and folded her arms, drawing them in around herself, and looked down at the ground. She kept her red eyes there, instead of looking up at them. "I wouldn't want to lose some of the things I've gained since then. Uh, some of the people. In my life."

She coughed awkwardly. "Or something."

[taking_names]

"You met people because of being a--" ...wait he wasn't certain Iravati wasn't home. He finished the sentence with a vague hand gesture and an incredulous look.

[a_wrong_turn]

"Oh my God," she groaned. "You're an idiot."

[taking_names]

He reddened.

"Be nice to me, I just got back from the Dark!"

[a_wrong_turn]

"Uh huh." She looked sideways at him, sighed, and looked forward again. "I meant you. I'm glad I got closer to you or some shit."

[taking_names]

That wasn't helping reduce his embarrassment any.

"Oh. You said it like it was new people and I was definitely already in your life when that happened because that's what got you in trouble."

[a_wrong_turn]

She covered her face with her hand, letting out a long sigh into her hand. "I just meant it like--are we really gonna have to break down exactly what I said when we both know what I meant now!"

[taking_names]

"No, we don't have to break it down." He made a face at her exasperation.

"I'm just trying to explain why I'm not an idiot."

[a_wrong_turn]

"Uh huh." She gave him an incredulous look, at first, but then she realized that she missed this. It proved impossible to stay annoyed, then, and she finally smiled at him. She hesitated, before she haltingly took a couple of side steps to be closer to him. Each was jerking, like an over-exaggerated sneaking motion. Once she got closer, she hugged him with one arm.

It was awkward and hesitant, like she had no idea what she was doing. The angle was all wrong, too, but her small smile became a real one. "I'm just glad you're back."

[taking_names]

He watched the halting, awkward hug in progress, staying still while she attempted it in case a sudden movement might frighten her and make her bolt.

Once she had completed it, he smiled a little and brought his hand up to rest on her arm.

"I think I'm out of bad news, so you can stay glad, this time. If you want."

[a_wrong_turn]

She smiled at that, before she shrugged her shoulders. "I think I can do that." Her eyes turned to where he laid his hand on her arm, before she looked up at him. She should try to talk to him, she thought. The things that came out from talking with Harriet still hovered there, unaddressed. But, one thing simply stood out to her.

It was haaaaaard!

Instead, Chisaki sighed. "So, you know, Iravati's out--uh, our roommate," she said. "So we have the house to ourselves." She turned her head, raising one eyebrow while she looked at him. "I can think of something both of us could do while it's just us..."

[taking_names]

The things which Chisaki could not bring herself to tell him were not as great a secret as she imagined, but he had his own reasons for not rushing into that particular conversation.

But this meant her ambiguous invitation received a somewhat panicked look.

"Ah?"

[a_wrong_turn]

She was not nearly as observant as she wanted to think.

Chisaki switched their positions, pulling forward and tugging her arm away from his. She grabbed him by the wrist and with a flustered look, she began to pull him along towards the kitchen. She stomped into it, before she let go of his wrist, and turned around. She looked at him and nodded. "I got a surprise for you," she said. If it was supposed to be a sexy or cute surprise, her tone of voice did not betray that. "Close your eyes."

But this was Chisaki. She walked to the kitchen cupboard, assuming that he would obey her command. If not, he might catch her hand moving towards the whipped cream can...

And then she spun around, pulled out the bread crumbs she grabbed, and hurled one into his hair with perfected aim. "Yes!" she cheered. "I've still got it!"

[taking_names]

Nova let her lead him to the kitchen, and then closed his eyes at her request with some apprehension. There were a few different ways that this could go, and he wasn't sure how he felt about any of them.

At the familiar sensation of being pelted in the head with some small object, he opened his eyes and clawed at the crumb, watching her jubilation with a scowl.

"I have no idea why you get such joy out of that!" he grumped.