Peter Kimura Whelan (itakunai) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-03-11 10:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2020 [03] march, mina kulseth, pete whelan |
Who: Pete Whelan and Mina Kulseth
When: 3/2/20, early evening after work (5pm-ish)
Where: Dick's PIzza & Ball Pit
What: Two unlikely friends talking through Hellhound acquaintances and other such delightful topics.
Mina was super gay, so Pete was trying really hard to not make a million jokes about her eating Dick's. That wasn't stopping him from texting Savannah at least half of the jokes, though, every time he had a chance to sneak away. And it definitely wasn't stopping him from enjoying Mina's company -- and he really was, jokes be damned -- or eating as much pizza as he could get. Ever since they'd happened to both be in the wrong place at the wrong time last September, the two of them had somehow found a friendship that had seemed to surprise both of them when it first took shape. They had very little in common, but maybe that was why it worked so well. Pete had never regretted going into business with her on the Orphanage, and he always liked catching up with her. "So what do you think of Dick's?" he asked her brightly, barely managing to keep a straight face as he looked at her across the table. "Good sausage, right?" “This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, but last time I got the pizza with chicken and pesto on it. This sausage is good, though,” Mina responded, unaware of any innuendo that Pete might be making. Cutting her pizza primly, she took another bite, before adding, “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we have actual pizza again these days, isn’t it?” "I know. I mean, we never had it bad as some people did." Pete still felt pretty guilty about the fact that relatively speaking, UMCB and Capitol residents had gotten the best of the resources they'd been allowed. "But this was always some kind of far off fantasy that we'd never get back. I can't believe it's been almost a year since everything changed." “Time flies when you’re having fun,” Mina said with a smile as Pete nodded his agreement. Most of the time she heard that phrase used sarcastically, but her intent this time was quite genuine. Sure, there had been some ups and downs of adjusting to this new way of life, but things were constantly improving in the city. She felt grateful for their second chance of living normal lives. “It’s still hard to come to terms with the fact that the Hellhounds aren’t criminals anymore. Even stranger when people move to the city without knowing that history at all. Do you ever feel jealous of the new people in town? Because they don’t know?” It wasn't something Pete had really considered much; he didn't have a lot of deep connections with those who hadn't lived through Austin's dark days. "Yeah, kind of," he said after a moment's consideration. He still had his own small hangups, but he was slowly becoming self-aware enough to recognize that he'd worked through many of them. "I think I know what you mean. It's easier to go about your day when you don't have that in the back of your mind." “I’d like to hope that we can all come together, despite our pasts, and build a better future here in Austin,” Mina said optimistically. At least, she hoped so. Selfishly her motivations were centered on her developing relationship with Violet but she did hope for the sake of the city, everyone would learn to live together to ensure that the city continued to grow after the past few years of oppression and stagnation. "Me too." A few months ago, he wouldn't have been able to say that so readily, let alone mean it. That alone must've meant something, Pete thought. “It also makes me curious about traveling to other parts of the country now to see how things have changed. Do you think you’ll travel anywhere now that the airport is open again?” "I'd like to. I haven't really thought about it, though. Not yet, anyway." Pete had become so busy over the last few months, but he figured a girlfriend, pseudo-stepkids, and two jobs would do that to a person. He grinned across the table at his friend. "Where do you want to go?" “I’m not sure yet. As strange as it is, considering everything we’ve been through, Austin is home. But I’m curious what it’s like up there. I went to college in Michigan and grew to like the winters. I heard one time that Minnesota has parades for Christmas in the winter. That would be something interesting to see,” Mina said, thinking out loud as she responded to Pete’s question. "That's too cold for a parade," he objected. California weather had been perfect for parades year-round, but Minnesota winters? "I guess if you were used to it, it wouldn't be a big deal. I guess." Shyly she added, “It’s still too early to make these kinds of suggestions to her, but the woman I’m seeing is from Chicago. Maybe she would show me around if if we ever went there together.” "Maybe she would." Pete eyed Mina with more interest; it wasn't a surprise that she was seeing a woman in particular, as he'd seen her at that table during the previous fall's speed dating -- plus, she was super gay -- but he hadn't realized she was dating anyone. "How's that going for you?" Mina blushed slightly, wondering why she’d even brought this up in the first place, but she was happy and excited and curious about what was going to happen to Violet that mentioning her had just sorta happened. “It’s been nice. We’re still getting to know each other, but I’ve been enjoying it. She’s--uh, she’s the chef at Burgatory. So she’s a great cook, which is nice because I’m completely hopeless in the kitchen.” "Oh! My buddy Max's Mrs. Claus last December." It had taken a long time for Pete and Max to get to the 'buddy' point again, after everything that had happened, and things likely wouldn't ever be the same as they had before, but Pete was glad they were in a better place now. He held his fist out to Mina, aiming for a reciprocal bump. "Nice," he said, barely resisting the urge to make a lewd comment regarding eating. Blushing deeper now, Mina looked helplessly at Pete’s first for a moment before reaching out and bumping her own fist against his. This wasn’t really her style, but with Pete it was easier to cut loose. Probably because he could be so over the top, but in perspective, it made her deviations seem almost normal. “Thank you?” The question obvious in her tone, though she figured it was the only appropriate response in this situation. "You're welcome," he replied amiably. It was impossible to not notice the momentary discomfort on Mina's face, but she hadn't told him to stop, so Pete didn't see any harm in it. She'd already made it clear in the past that she would say something if she was actually uncomfortable with him. "I'm glad it's working out so far." Mina thought she and Violet had been doomed because of their differing views on the Hellhounds, but she had been pleasantly surprised that they were able to work with their circumstances and find a way forward. Because she was working on self-awareness and transparency with her feelings, after a moment she said, “My roommate Cherry is dating your friend Max actually. We had a falling out when I found out she was living with the Hellhounds, back when I first found out she was still alive here in Austin. I had the same problem with Violet living in the Greenbelt, but I’ve been realizing it would be awfully hypocritical of me to look past that with Cherry and not Violet. So. It hasn’t always been the easiest, but it’s been getting better. With both of them.” "Oh! I know Cherry." Austin was such a small world, but Pete guessed the entire world was smaller than it used to be these days. "And I also... " He gave a sheepish shrug as he trailed off for a moment, wondering how best to put things. "I think the Hellhounds have kind of affected everyone, good or bad, you know? I'm not exactly their biggest fan, but. I've come around to certain things, too. So I get what you mean." “I keep having to remind myself that if they’re willing to repent for what they did in the past, it would be wrong not to give them a second chance. We… well, we were all just trying to survive before. And now things are different.” Mina pursed her lips. She hadn’t necessarily meant to be a downer, though she appreciated that Pete could understand where she was coming from. He was right, after all. The Hellhounds’ actions had certainly affected a lot of people. She just hoped that the same could be said for the new leaf they were turning over. "It has been almost a year," he reminded her, though his tone was gentle. Pete hadn't had the easiest time dealing with this, either. "Give or take a few assholes who ended up leaving them altogether, anyway, things have been okay. Even if they did bust up my house for a little while." He aimed a brief, hopefully-reassuring smile in Mina's direction. "We've all done things that were kind of sketchy, I think. Maybe not you, but. I'd be pretty surprised to find someone in Austin who'd lived through that and not done something that could get them arrested, back then or now." A weird thing to say, maybe, but it was true -- even for him and Savannah and her girls. Well, maybe not Maizie, but the other three? Definitely. Mina had certainly done her fair share of “illegal” things by bringing resources that were meant for Capitol and UMCB use only to the ghouls in the tunnels. While she could find endless justifications about how she was helping people and protesting against unjust laws, she knew the Hellhounds could say the same. It was all relative. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just happy things are moving forward and that we can move past all of that,” Mina said then smiled. Their recovering city still had problems but she was hopeful that they were building a better future. |