RP Something to Remember


The compliment hits Lark unexpectedly hard, and they can’t fight back a small, sharp smile even as they shake their head lightly and turn half-away. “You’re too kind.”

Really, they don’t think they’ll ever be the one turning heads, especially not when they’re standing next to Lily, but they’ll privately admit that maybe, just maybe, they picked the skirt with her in mind. Just for today, they remind themself again. Let’s not get carried away.

“Forgot my name already? You just said it,” they deflect easily, opening the door for her to go through and following on her heels. It’s somewhat novel to walk out of an apartment the normal way, but it’s novel in a nice way. Old-fashioned, almost. Sedate. Chill.

They let her lead the way, since she definitely knows the area better than them, and settle into a comfortable pace beside her. It’s just a little bit amusing, that a light jog for her is on the faster end of walking for them, but they’re not going to diss the advantages of being a beanpole. It means they don’t have to lean on their time powers to keep up, at least for now.

They frown lightly in the wake of her question, trying to think back, and their eyes go a little wide as they realize exactly how that might have looked. They almost miss a step, actually, catching the toe of their boot on a crack on the sidewalk, but they flicker back upright without missing a beat. “Oh, shit. No, I didn’t. It totally slipped my mind. I just crashed.”

They send her an apologetic look, guilt creeping in to smear its sticky fingers across their mind. Well now they’re extra glad that they didn’t dip this morning. The entire point of this whole affair is to give her a proper goodbye, after all. “Sorry. I hope you didn’t wait up on me.”

And they can’t even fix their mistake, because she’s already told them that she didn’t hear anything. Damn temporal inevitability.

They try for a smile, even if it doesn’t fit quite right with their mind still fighting itself, and seize upon the next question in the hopes of distracting from their struggle. “No, I just make that sound naturally.”

Removing a hand from their pocket, they show her the shuriken they’ve fished out, one of the smaller ones that they tend to keep on their person at all times. With a quick, deliberate gesture, they set it spinning around their finger. The smile comes a little more easily, now, they discover with muted relief. “Not all of us can summon cool glowy weapons. Some of us have to carry them in our pockets like any Average Joe.”

 

Occasionally she forgot just how tall Lark was. Their stride was longer than hers, and they kept up pretty easily just by walking. She was half-tempted to pick up the pace, get them to move a little more, but knowing Lark they’d probably just stop time to catch up with her without breaking their stride. She barely managed to hold back a laugh as they nearly ate shit on the sidewalk, stumbling forward before snapping back upright as though nothing had ever happened. Lark’s words from yesterday echoed in her head.

Don’t discount the mundane applications of time travel.

God, was that only yesterday? It felt like it had been a week since they showed up unannounced on her front step. She should have expected time to feel different when traveling with someone who could practically bend it to their will. She waved a hand at their answer, and the look they sent her way.

“No no, it’s fine. I didn’t wait up, I figured you’d just gone to sleep.” Lily lied easily, embarrassed at her reaction from the night before. They always said goodbye, why had she thought they would just take a shower and run away? They weren’t a drunken hookup, they were Lark for fuck’s sake. They were Lark, and they were here, and they were enjoying a warm summer’s day and it was just…nice. It was nice.

That sly grin crept across Lark’s face as they stopped at an intersection, the robotic voice commanding them to wait. They looked like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar after they’d already eaten all its contents. Of course they kept shurikens in their pockets. Why wouldn’t they? “Ah, but the glowy ones are more fun.”

To prove her point, a cobalt shuriken formed in Lily’s palm, which she quickly took and imitated Lark, sending it spinning around her index finger. “See? Regular metal is dull and cold. Glowy and blue is what’s hot this season. Cmon Lark, you gotta get with the times.” The crosswalk beeping at them to move gave Lily a head start on avoiding Lark’s punishing gaze for her pun, but she knew they would catch up eventually. She put on a stern expression and gave them the most serious look she could, which was slightly difficult when you had to look a little bit up.

“Also, let the record show that Lark LastName referring to themselves as “any Average Joe” is a crime and shall be punishable by Lark answering any burning questions that I may have.” Lily raised a hand to silence any retorts. There's a playful gleam in her eyes even as she attempts to continue the stern voice and expression. “Any defense that may be raised is rendered null and void by the defendant being from Oklahoma.”
​
 

The relief they feel at her reassurance almost makes them feel worse, but Lark pushes the whole tangled knot aside before it can consume them. They’ll still try to make out with - uh - make it up to her. Today. Wow, is the sun getting to them already?

They tuck the shuriken against their palm so that they can roll their sleeves up without stabbing themself, tugging the fabric up to their elbows. You win this round, sun. At least they can pretend the pink on their face is from the burning ball of flame in the sky and not the equally hot woman beside them.

They can’t resist rolling their eyes fondly at her jab even as they coast to a stop on the edge of the curb. Feigning compliance, they tuck the boring metal shuriken back into their pocket and bump Lily lightly with their elbow. “Ah, yes, clearly what I need to do is pilfer your stash. If the Queen of Blades, Lily Pond, has so decreed it, what else is a humble traveler like myself to do?”

Then she speeds away, and they huff something that’s almost a laugh as they jog a little to catch up. “Oh, burning questions, you say? Well I’m just a simple country bumpkin, but I’ll do my best to answer I suppose.”

This is kind of fun. No, scratch that, this is really fun. Lark is having fun. It’s comfortable in a way they didn’t know they were missing, banting with her. They can even excuse the heat, and the walking, and the presence of other people. Maybe this is the kind of day they should give her, they think. Something small, and casual, and normal. When was the last time they had a wholly normal day?

“Fire away,” they tell her, and are surprised to find that they mean it. They’re almost eager to answer her questions. Within reason, they tell themself. They won’t reveal anything too damning, not today.

 

“Queen of Blades, now that’s a title I can get behind.” The phrase conjured the image of a crown of knives atop her head, perhaps in a regal silver dress with a couple slits up the side so she could still kick someone’s ass. And of course, every queen needed somebody to rule beside them, and what do you know she had the perfect person right next to her. She let the thought of Lark wearing a similar crown, clad in a floor-length emerald dress sit comfortably in her head for a moment before the sun burned it away like mist.

There was nothing wrong with picturing her friend in a nice dress, right? People always joked about being kings and queens, so it was fine. She chose to believe it was fine. And nobody could say otherwise. Damn, it sure was hot outside. She should’ve checked the weather before they left. That summer heat really snuck up on you sometimes.

Lily turned her gaze to the figure walking beside her, sleeves rolled up to their elbows. There were a million things she wanted to know about Lark, and about half a million of those she couldn’t ask or else she’d explode on the spot. She figured that after learning they were from Oklahoma, they wouldn’t get any more specific with personal information. She’d known them not long enough (ish) to know they liked to misdirect. They were a trickster after all.

“Alright, first question, for the person with the lovely silver haircut.” Lily put on a fake announcer voice that fizzled out halfway through as she started to laugh through it. Do you like me?

“What’s your favorite time and place you’ve been? And don’t say the ship we were on yesterday, I already know I made that one of the best days ever.” It was easier to have false bravado when she was smiling, and it helped push the unspoken question out of her head.
​
 

Lark refuses to let the offhand comment distract them, instead narrowing in on the question with a considering hum. “Oh, that’s a difficult one. I don’t know if I have a true favorite. Maybe the clearing, as a resting place, but that’s probably disqualified if pirate times are off the table too.”

Their eyes narrow a little, their gaze going distant, and they chew lightly on the inside of their lip. Memories flash behind their eyes as they rifle through them, considering and discarding several in rapid order before landing on a few acceptable answers.

“Okay, top three.” They hold up three fingers, their smile surprisingly eager. They feel kind of silly, bragging about their adventures like a kid at show-and-tell, but it’s a fun kind of silly. The air is warm, with a slight breeze to offset the sticky summer heat, and they can feel something light and fizzy expanding in their chest when they breathe. It’s nice. “The Great Pyramid has to be up there. It’s pretty easy to get to a time before they put the restrictions in place, and the view after dark is absolutely worth the climb.”

One down. They fold their ring finger into their palm, leaving them with a slightly jittery peace sign. “Eiffel Tower, as well. I popped back to see the construction, actually, it’s pretty neat seeing it go up.” And it was criminally easy to hide a temporally-inappropriate sticker in one of the beams, but that’s neither here nor there. Another finger goes down, and they let their hand fall back to their side with a smile and a shrug. “And I’ll count the World’s Fair as its own trip. Maybe more than one, if you want to get technical about it.”

Considering that they made a point to visit all of the World’s Fairs while they were in France, definitely more than one. But she doesn’t need to know that. Or that they went back a few times, to see the parts that they didn’t poke around in before they got tired the first time.

They tuck their hands into their pockets and offer her a smile that would be called bland if they weren’t clearly enjoying themself, watching her with their too-sharp eyes. “I can’t believe that was your burning question. I take it back, where’s the challenge?”

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top