Tweak

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Tweak says, "I've got you now, Pharaoh!"

Linnaea ~ Sigyn (delicatefire) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-10-20 21:47:00

Entry tags:

changing woman, sigyn

Between you and me...
Who: Kami and Naea
What: Naea's bringing tools to save the day! And... girl chat ensues.
Where: #607
When: 10/20/10
Warnings: Nothing as of yet. We'll keep you updated.

Naea moved down the hall, her little green toolbox in hand. She'd decided a while ago while living by herself that it would be wise to pick one up, just for small around-the-house stuff. Now that Kami was in need of a hammer and a hand, it made her feel good to dust it off a little.

And now that she was on her own, again, she had a feeling it would be used a bit more often. Somehow, Naea managed to compile the loss of her father and the disappearance of David into one big ball of shit mourning. Mainly because she wasn't sure how to deal with either.

Taking a deep breath, she knocks on Kami's door quietly and waits patiently for her new friend to open up.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-22 02:56 am UTC (link)

"I guess so. I'll make sure to return the manners when I visit you and keep off your counters." Kami laughed as she took the hammer and a nail. "Isn't it the biggest pain in the ass to be so short?"

The question appeared to be rhetorical as she almost immediately continued, setting the nail against the wall and aiming the hammer. "But it means you can get more places, I guess. If you're stuck in an elevator, guess who gets to go through the hatch." She adjusted the nail's position slightly before drawing back enough to inspect it critically. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the mirror and back to the wall. "I think this looks about right. What do you say, Naea?"

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delicatefire
2010-10-22 03:09 am UTC (link)

She tilted her head and took a step back, eying the spot and sized it up. "Teensy bit to the left. Like, an inch." Naea was suddenly reminded of when she had first met David, and he had helped her hang one of her thrift store paintings in her small living room. He did the hammering, she did the surveying. The wall didn't fall down, though he managed to break a vase while bringing the picture up to the wall. They had sat at her table and superglued the ugly thing back together. That night was the first time they had been intimate, and there was something truly magical behind it.

Linnaea caught herself frowning and shook herself mentally out of her reverie, flashing a quick smile instead. Goddamn you, David. She waited until Kami adjusted the position, then gave a thumbs-up. "Looks good! Dig there."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-22 03:24 am UTC (link)

"Alright! Ready or not, here I come!" This last was addressed to the wall and, after the first few tentative taps to get the point in, Kami drew her hand back, adjusted her grip lower on the handle of the hammer, and swung hard. The heavy hits resounded through the room, covering the need for talk. It was almost as if Kami had caught Linnaea's brief expression and mood-shift and was giving the other woman time to adjust herself.

In a room with less mirrors, such a thing would have been impossible but this was Kami's room of shiny. There was a chance.

Especially when, after getting the nail a suitable distance in, Kami twisted to sit on the edge of her dresser, legs now dangling, and regarded Linnaea with the hammer outstretched. "Do you want in on the fun?" she offered. "Hitting things is good for the soul."

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delicatefire
2010-10-22 03:55 am UTC (link)

She blinked at the hammer before letting out a chuckle. "No, I'd better not. I'd hate to inadvertently turn your apartment into a studio. I can't afford that bill." Was she ready to get everything out of her system? Probably so. Emma hadn't really been about to lean on and Adam had more important things to worry about than her blubbering about her slimeball now ex-boyfriend who, in hindsight, Linnaea should have dropped like a bad habit a long time ago. "Thanks, though. Do you need help with the mirror itself?" Yes, Naea changed the subject. She came here to help, not to hinder.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-22 04:10 am UTC (link)

"Yes, please." Offer refused, Kami set the hammer down carefully on the dresser and scrambled back up and around to her knees, facing the wall. "It's not too heavy," she added. "Thankfully. I don't know if I found a stud here or not."

When Linnaea handed over the mirror, Kami took it with a firm grip, adjusting her hold until she had a hand on either side. Then, tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration, she squirmed closer and lifted it into place. It took a few tries but, at last, she finally released the mirror and drew back with her breath held.

It stayed up.

Kami laughed with relief and slipped from the dresser. "Who needs a man, huh?" she quipped before retrieving the hammer and handing it over. "Now... Did you want something to drink?"

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delicatefire
2010-10-22 04:37 am UTC (link)

Naea smiled at the now-hanging mirror and nodded. "Chances are if you had to hit the nail more than once, you hit a stud. You're money."

Tucking the hammer back into the toolbox, she smiled at the question of drink. She had a feeling that it was, indeed, the time to chitchat. "I'd love one, Kami. Whatcha got?" She stood upright with toolbox in hand. She was glad to have been useful today.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-22 05:06 am UTC (link)

"Y'know... I don't really know." Giving a little shrug, Kami led the way back to her living room and motioned for the other woman to make herself comfortable. "The stuff I really like is too much of a pain in the neck to make at home," she explained. A few more steps took her into the pristine kitchen and she tugged the fridge door open. She bent inside and Linnaea could hear rustling and the clink of glass. Then Kami's voice drifted out to her, slightly muffled, "A can of Coke, orange juice, milk, water... Hm, a can of Pabst and, believe me, I have no idea how it got in here, ick. Tequila. Oh, and a bottle of rose."

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delicatefire
2010-10-24 03:31 am UTC (link)

Naea wrinkled her nose slightly. "Mm, water's fine." While she likely could have used a harder drink, nothing about Tequila and whatever other various mixers sounded spectacular. And the Pabst was what her father drank, so that was an ultimate no-no. She settled down on the couch after moving a pillow over and looked about the place. Kami definitely had her own sense of style, and it definitely wasn't bad.

"If you don't mind my asking, what do you do for a living?"

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-24 04:02 am UTC (link)

Dead silence answered her for a long moment and then there was an overzealous scrambling from within the fridge, the clinking of glass and a few shifting sounds. Only after another moment did Kami emerge with a pitcher of water. She smiled brightly at the other woman, the kitchen a safe distance away that it masked the brittleness at the edges. "I work at Disney," she answered evenly.

Retrieving two glasses from a low cabinet, she filled them quickly. Then she left the pitcher on the counter and brought them both to the couch. "What about you?" she asked in return as she handed over one of the glasses. This time the smile was perfect, bright and interested and honest. As she waited for an answer, Kami shifted a pillow and made herself comfy at the other end of the couch, bare feet drawn up beneath her.

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delicatefire
2010-10-24 04:29 am UTC (link)

She took the elongated silence as a cue that just perhaps she shouldn't push farther than "I work at Disney." Kami didn't seem particularly thrilled with her situation, so for now, letting it lie as it was seemed the best route.

"I work at a diner and I'm trying to finish school." Naea smiled genuinely when her new friend came into the living room, water in tow. She decided to leave out, 'Debating on whether or not I can still live where I do now because I don't know how far David paid the rent to.' No need to drive down that road right then. "I probably overwork myself, but hey, it's a living until I can get myself into college."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-24 04:39 am UTC (link)

As Kami listened, her smile gentled and she gave a nod to show her understanding. "Y'know," she said gently, "I doubt there's a probably about it. I'm sure you're overworking yourself but you're right. What can you do if you're trying to get through school? It's not cheap." She cocked her head to one side and held her glass in both hands, tilted slightly against her bent knees. She considered Linnaea for a moment before offering a sudden, expressive grimace. "Nothing's that cheap around here, though," she added, easing into a soft laugh. "But I'll tell you something. College? Is so very totally worth it. Totally hard word, though, just a different kind."

She settled back against the arm of the couch and brought her glass up for a sip. "Do you know what you want to major in?"

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delicatefire
2010-10-24 05:13 am UTC (link)

"I want to teach. Just what, I'm not sure." Naea sipped on her water, enjoying the bit of refreshment. "I figure I'll get the basic everything out of the way and go from there. Trust me, if I've learned nothing over the course of my life, it's definitely that college is more than worth it." She didn't go into specifics as to the why or how she'd managed to get into Pax, 'movin' on up' as the song went. David had helped in that. And then... he just left.

Fucker.

She sipped a little longer on the water and smiled as the glass came back down. "Nothing in California is cheap. Every county is like its own little kingdom. At least tuition isn't ridiculous for residents--depending on where you go, of course."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-24 05:26 am UTC (link)

"And there's a couple of places to go, at least," Kami agreed. She had barely touched her own water, so very focused on Linnaea's words and body language that she seemed to forget it. "Some places are like that. You couldn't spit without hitting a college back in Boston."

She lifted her glass in a salute and gave the other woman a glowing smile. "To you and your further education!" she offered in her best toastmaster tone.

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delicatefire
2010-10-24 05:44 am UTC (link)

Naea raised her glass, smiling sweetly. "And to you and evolving friendships." She had to admit-- it was really nice to meet new people. Get out of her own head for once. She'd met Adam, with whom she shared a certain sort of kinship with, and was surprised when Emma had moved in, too. She had struck up a fun conversation with Brighid at a club one evening. Linnaea wasn't entirely sure the last time she had actual people around her who gave a good damn.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-24 05:54 am UTC (link)

"Evolving friendships. I like that." Kami sipped again and squirmed until she could unbend enough to uncurl one leg from beneath her. Then she drew her knee up to her chest and looped an arm around it, the other hand holding the glass balanced on the still bent thigh. She leaned forward, cheek against her upraised knee, smile still lingering. "You know, this is a pretty good building for that," she replied. "For all the weirdness that has been going on. I keep meeting really neat people. Present company included, of course."

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delicatefire
2010-10-25 03:02 am UTC (link)

Naea smiled gently. "I've met a few, but then it seems that not much happens. Everybody's life is busy, and that's not always a bad thing. Just seems harder to find things to do on your own." And now that David was gone, increasingly so. She and Adam were New Orleans bound for a tattoo run, of all things, with the artist who had helped make her own body into a canvas. But, Naea didn't work every single day of the week, and homework only lasted so long. "The weirdness keeps it interesting, that's for sure."

She decided to sit Indian-style on the couch and tucked her feet up. "So, have you a beau or a girl that you call your own?" She smiled, having the feeling that she shouldn't have asked at all--the conversation was likely going to go a way she didn't want. She was just trying to be friendly.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-25 03:27 am UTC (link)

Nothing shifted in Kami's smile at the question; there was no clue about her opinion on the question other than the faintest additional tilt to her head. "Nope," she admitted with a one-shouldered shrug. "I'm totally on the market for now. Which is a good thing, I think. I'm a little too busy to be in a relationship at the moment."

She paused to consider her answer, toying with her glass. Then she smiled a bit more. "Because I kind of like to really be there with a guy if we're going to be at all official. You know," she added mildly, "to spend time together and cook for him and have him rub my back."

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delicatefire
2010-10-25 05:02 am UTC (link)

Naea smiled mildly, taking a moment to listen to Kami. Yes, those were really nice things to want and have-- and for two years, she had that with David (when he wasn't doing whatever it was he did that she didn't know about; and maybe she preferred it that way). He had been a rock when she needed it; and she would severely miss the tracing he did of her tattoos on her back.

"I completely understand. You have to put into it what you want to get out of it." Unless, of course, you were David. Dammit, Naea-- burn his shit and get on with your life. Move if you have to. No one said you had to stay here.

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-25 05:44 am UTC (link)

A slight crease appeared between Kami's thin eyebrows and she twisted to set her class down on one of the delicate little end tables behind her end of the couch. Then she brought both legs up and bent them to her chest, looping her arms around to hold them in place. "Naea," she began gently. Then she paused and offered a lopsided little smile. "Yeah, totally. Not just sometimes either. That's just friends with benefits. Which are fine if that's what you're in the mood for but, if it's your boyfriend, well... Girls like us deserve something special, I think."

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delicatefire
2010-10-25 06:04 am UTC (link)

"Too bad I'm finding out that a lot of guys just aren't worth the effort." Naea's expression soured, and she immediately took a drink of water, holding onto her glass for dear life, almost as if she were trying to get rid of a bad taste that seemed to linger. "And the ones that might be... just don't want you."

Tequila and orange juice wasn't sounding like a bad idea right about then. The water just didn't seem to achieve the result Naea was looking for. "I'm sorry, Kami," she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck slowly. "My... boyfriend--'ex' would be a better term, now--of two years decided to pretty much abandon me here. He took off right after we moved in. Not a word, not a nothing." She bit her bottom lip gently and refused to cry. Again. She'd had enough of that. "I don't mean to dump it on you."

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-25 06:32 am UTC (link)

"Oh." Being proven right was usually nice but sometimes she would much rather have been wrong. Kami quickly untangled herself and scooted across the couch to reach for Linnaea's hands. "Oh, sweetie, no," she murmured. "Don't. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all philosophical about dumb boys." When the other woman's hands didn't seem enough, Kami moved to kneeling and leaned over the Linnaea's bent legs to wrap her arms loosely around her shoulders. She pressed her forehead to Linnaea's and sighed. "What a jerk," she whispered. "If he didn't want you, then he's worse than a jerk. He's a... He's a paramecium!"

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delicatefire
2010-10-25 06:49 am UTC (link)

Oh, Naea had a few select words for David. 'Paramecium' wasn't one of them. She had to admit, as strange as the initial and sudden contact from Kami was, considering she didn't know her well, it wasn't unwelcome. Sometimes it was nice just to have that sense of understanding from someone else.

"He's... an asshole, Kami. Not sure why I never considered his always taking but not overly giving. I really haven't had anybody to really vent about it to, and I really appreciate you letting me get it out. Thanks for listening. Boys really are dumb." She found something of a grin and glanced at her water glass. "Mind if I change my drink order to something a little stronger?"

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sugar_cycle
2010-10-25 07:07 am UTC (link)

"Nope and I'd've been offering if you hadn't asked." Kami gave her another fierce squeeze and then slid from the couch, taking the glass from her guest. She reached out with her other hand to brush a piece of Linnaea's dark hair out of her eyes; the motion was unusually soothing, warm comfort and care. Then she turned on her heel and padded back to the kitchen where the almost immediate clink of glass indicated the retrieval of bottles. "And, of course, he's an asshole," she called back over her shoulder. "I just didn't know if you were ready to say that. Sometimes it takes time to call a spade a spade. What's your poison?"

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delicatefire
2010-10-25 05:53 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, trust me. I've said it plenty of times in the last couple years." Naea considered the question at hand. "And I'll drink whatever doesn't make my eyes burn out of their sockets."

She found herself considering Kami's actions. Naea couldn't remember the last time someone had been as delicate with her. Perhaps her mother, but sometimes the images were fuzzy because they were so long ago. "I admit. I'm not entirely sure if I can stay here, mostly because I don't know how far ahead in rent he paid and lord knows I don't make nearly enough to afford the apartment on this floor. I do all right, but..." She shrugged, her mind bogged down a little suddenly.

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