Marie was sitting with Nora, listening but not. There were other things on her mind. One was huge and sitting just behind her. All she wanted to do was turn and look at him, but she couldn’t. That’d be too obvious. But he was there and there was no avoiding the fact that the tattoos up her spine that were visible in the dress she wore at the party would be visible in the shirt she had on today. The meeting was starting to wrap up, Daryn had been speaking and now she couldn’t avoid him, could she? Not if the guy from the party that was staring at Nora was going to talk to her. Or any of the other people at the meeting who liked her more.
Rick had recognized those tattoos and when he remembered who they belonged to, all he could do was smile. When the meeting wrapped up, he leaned forward and tapped her on the shoulder then quickly covered his eyes with his hands, peeking through his fingers as a makeshift mask. “Remember me? This isn’t as fancy a mask but still…”
Marie froze when he touched her. Slowly she glanced over her shoulder. She didn’t need the makeshift mask. She’d know him anywhere. And yet he was here. “You’re new,” she blurted softly, voice barely there, but she wasn’t sure what else to say to him. He was so close. He hadn’t been that close since the party. And now here he was. She couldn’t spy on him any more.
“I am new. I joined up,” He said, smiling a little more at her as he lowered her hands. “Is that ok?” He asked, seeming to really want to know how she felt about it. Maybe this was something she didn’t want other people in on? How could he know? “I just want to help, with all the stuff that keeps happening. I want to help how I can. Hey, do I need a cool code name?”
Was that okay with her? Did it matter what she thought? She frowned, not sure what to say. “I...don’t make that decision.” No, it was not okay. It was not okay that he was here and she wasn’t sure what to do with herself now that he was here. And at the same time she was thrilled that he was here. He was right there. He’d touched her. “I...you do…”
“Well I’m a little tapped out of secret code names. Why don’t you tell me yours and then help me come up with one on my own?” He asked, hopeful that she’d help him make sure his name wasn’t completely ridiculous. “If you don’t, I’m gonna have to be Captain America by default.”
Marie felt her cheeks heat up, shaking her head. “It’s not good. Just...what I am.” She couldn’t look him in the eye, though looking towards his chest was distracting enough. He was huge. Even up close, in regular clothes, he was giant. And it was hot. Not that she’d ever let on that information, but it was. “I’m Blender.”
“Blender? That’s cool. Maybe I should be….King Kong or something?” He had no real idea what Blender even meant but he thought that King Kong sounded cool enough and he didn’t think he needed real justification for why he wanted to be called that. It was somehow more original than Captain America too.
“Captain America would be more accurate. King Kong was just large. Physics dictated his strength. Yours is more like Captain America’s giving his size and proportions.” Marie realized what she said the instant she said it, that she knew what his skill was. Her eyes went wide even if she didn’t look at him, instantly hating herself for it. How could she be so stupid?
Rick watched her for a moment, trying to piece together what she’d just said, but then he ended up just grinning. “I guess I wasn’t being as secretive as I thought, huh? Well, Captain America it is then. Do you like that as a name? I still..sort of feel like I should give you my real one too. I’d like yours, Blender.”
“It’s a fine name,” Marie said, still not looking at him, not sure how he was grinning. How? “My name?”
“You have a real name too, right? Or did I pick the one person in the world named Blender for real?” He asked, still smiling.
“I have a real name.” Why wouldn’t she have a real name. Who would name her Blender? “Marie. I’m...Marie.”