Who: Asami and Zelda What: Asami eats creampuffs for heartbreak When: last week Where: Z's place of employment Status: complete Rating: PG
As promised, Zelda had delivered those fabled cream puffs - caramel filling and drizzle, toffee bits sprinkled on top, followed by a hot pour of coffee. A sweet guilty pleasure, and they went over well with her regulars. “I get bored and make different ones,” explained the blonde, dressed in a vintage and frilly little waitress outfit. Mandatory uniforms were a peach. “My nanny mocks and then eats them when I turn my back, but...let me know how it is? Comfort foods are the best kind of cure for a crappy week.”
Not that she knew much of Asami’s problem - usually she came in with another girl, but she hadn’t been around lately. Wonder why?
The mandatory uniform was somewhat adorable. Asami gave her a smile as she settled into a booth. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. “They do look fantastic, thank you. Just the cure I need.”
Zelda’s section was a little bare today - the few tables were taken care of, she’d get them their bill soon. It gave her a window of time to actually chat a bit, but she’d do it standing up. Sitting during work just gave a lazy impression, and she couldn’t have that. Work ethics, even at a quaint diner, were still quite important. “What’s got you so disappointed, then? You’re usually not alone when you come in.”
“That’s… pretty much what has me down,” Asami admitted. She wasn’t usually one to talk about her problems - she tended to internalize that a bit. But it wouldn’t hurt to maybe talk it out. “We broke up. It’s...pretty much my fault.” She didn’t think it had been a nasty breakup, but it was definitely a sad one.
Listening to problems is kind of what she did. Zelda wasn’t a bartender - usually people relayed their woes in a drunken haze and those were often a tad messy to people in that position in the service industry - but she was the one that delivered food meant to console and caffeine that would help people endure. And because of that, regulars usually became good friends.
Coffee pot set on the wooden edge of the booth, she leaned against the opposite side to face Asami, arms crossed. “Relationships take two people to function, don’t they? How was the blame all yours?”
The creampuffs were definitely consoling, even if Asami would have to work them off the old fashioned way. She glanced at Zelda, not entirely sure how to explain the dream thing. Or being in love with a best friend that didn’t actually exist. “I think she got tired of being a substitute for someone I couldn’t have. I didn’t even realize that’s what I was doing.”
Zelda was aware of the dream...things. Thanks to Wendy’s warning that seemed to be also a jinx in disguise, and her and Jonathan rejoiced in being complete ‘newbs’ (was that the term?) in regards to the madness. Every morning she woke with the mild paranoia of her ears suddenly being elongated and pointed, but so far she’d been in the clear.
At Asami’s summation, she winced. “And why couldn’t you have the person you want?”
“It’s complicated.” Asami searched for a way to explain it without sounding crazy. She shrugged her shoulders. “Ever feel like you know someone is out there, but never met them?”
Blue eyes glanced around the diner quickly, making sure no one was actively listening, and even then Zelda would make sure to whisper as if they were discussing some super secret code thing. Which they kinda were, anyway. “Is this a, um...is this a dream thing? Do you know what that means? Because I’m not crazy, I promise.”
Looking absolutely relieved, Asami nodded her head. “It’s...very much a dream thing. I was worried you’d think I was crazy. These dreams, these people I know there, I’ve even gotten….gifts.”
“A friend of mine gave me a warning, I’ve had a couple of my own…” Shoulders shrugged, and she picked up the coffee pot to top off Asami’s coffee real quick. “I’ve officially assimilated to this underground Orange County culture. Slightly.” Zelda chuckled, pushing straggling blonde hair away from her eyes, up into that messy bun. “And if you’ve got feelings for someone you’ve only met in the dreams, well, that will certainly make things fall under the category of ‘complicated.’”
No one truly important had popped into her dreams, nothing happened quite yet. Her father had been the same - the only difference was that he lived there, and he died here. Impa was present in both realities, taking that roll of ‘protective caretaker.’ Things were peaceful. For now.
How most stories start, really.
“It all starts out fairly uncomplicated,” Asami admitted. “Some things are similar. Losing my mother. My father having a dark side. My mechanical aptitude. Some things are way different, like how some people are born with the ability to control the elements.” She fidgeted with one of the creampuffs. “We both started out dating the same guy. Who I haven’t met here yet either.”
Oh, the superpower thing! Zelda heard a few things here and there, how it all somehow manifested - fascinating yet terrifying at the same time. No wonder why people around here drank so much, hm? “I suppose it would be pretty weird, dreaming about someone your dreamself had feelings for…?” Chewing her lip, she hummed in thought. “There is a chance she might show up here, right? And dream the same things? And there’s a chance she might not, so...it really depends if you want that ‘possibility’ of things to control you.”
“She might. And part of me would love that. But I’m also worried about what she might go through. Our dreams are not kind to her.” She wouldn’t wish to see Korra Harmonic Convergeance or the poisoning. “But i don’t think it’s controlling us. I think of it...as giving us another chance. On the other hand, I can’t pine after someone I may never get to meet. I pined for years there.”
“Well, with whatever decision you decide - whatever route you choose - you want to make sure it’s something you can live with. Whether it’s finding someone else you love as much, or waiting for someone who may never come.” Her head tilted, and Zelda scratched her forehead somewhat awkwardly. Maybe she’d been overstepping her bounds? It wasn’t the easiest thing to deal with, and she couldn’t imagine being in Asami’s shoes. To love and want someone you have technically never met, but dream of almost every night.
Did this place enjoy being an emotional sadist? She definitely got that vibe.
“If we even get together there.” Asami sighed. Zelda was probably right. She shouldn’t pine. She should try to move on, try to find someone where. Asami knew, that while she could take care of herself, she didn’t want to. It was just really hard to top The Avatar.
“Don’t wait to see how things end there to live you’re life here,” she said, nudging the plate of cream puffs closer. It was almost time to make the rounds with her other tables, so she couldn’t stand around too much longer. “You can’t control the way things are in the dreams, but at least you’ve got control here. Don’t let that slip by because you’re waiting for someone that might never come.”
Asami had all the money she could ever need. More of it than she could ever need, but she couldn’t use any of it to find Korra - it wouldn’t be right. It would be kind of immoral to drag her into this. “I know. It already ruined one thing and I just need to get over it and move on. It’s just so… real.” She patted her chest. “It’s not fair. None of it is fair.”
“Most things never are,” she agreed, though mustered up a small smile, nose crinkled. “But I think situations get better. And you’re young - very pretty - someone else will come along and sweep you off your feet. You’ll probably still love this other person, but...doesn’t mean you can love someone else just as much, either.”
The ‘one true love’ thing was bogus to her. A lifetime was a long time - enough to love a couple people in different ways. Not that she’d know. Zelda was kind of naive when it came to the romance department (meaning she’d never been romanced, ever), but it seemed like her line of thought made some sense. At least to her.
“But until then, keep gorging on the sweets. And after a couple days, pick yourself back up and start moving on. It’s the only thing you can do.”
“I’m sure I can.” Asami laughed lightly. “I just have to convince myself I want to. Or meet the right person. I can’t let myself miss any opportunities.” Her smile widened, and she nodded at Zelda, as though maybe the blonde was getting through to her. “I can only gorge so much, I want to keep fit.”
“If your workout routine is so extreme, a little indulgence won’t kill you,” Zelda encouraged, a hint of a smirk on her lips. “I’ll leave you to that, alright? Just have to take care of my other tables, and I’ll be right back. And we can talk about something else. Distractions are sometimes a good thing!”
Most of her friends were her regulars anyway - she’d do her best to cheer them up.
“Thank you… I don’t usually… I usually internalize everything. It feels good to let it out.” Even now she was internalizing things a little bit, putting on a smiling face so that Zelda felt better. “If you ever need to talk about anything, I can listen too.”
“My problems aren’t that interesting yet,” she quipped, shoulders cutely shrugging, smirk turning into a cheery smile. “But when they do, we’ll have to gorge on something sweet. It’s the cliche girl way to cope, and it’s got some merit.”
Fingers tapped onto her table as a ‘be right back,’ before she went off to baby the rest of her customers.