WHO: Richie & Adora (and the cutest puppy, Spirit) WHAT: Bonding and exercising WHERE: Vallo City streets WHEN: Backdated to Friday, March 5th WARNINGS: Nothing to speak of! STATUS: Complete
Running. What a drag.
Richie Tozier wasnât born with the spirit of a warrior, shall we say. He wasnât the type of person who converted emotional pain into the number of miles ticked off on an odometer, how many his feet chewed up on pavement or sand or whatever type of terrain. He didnât need to feel the air, the earth beneath him, didnât need to absorb the various hues of the daytime. No, heâd rather stay inside and play video games while stuffing pizza rolls into his face. It helped that he always had the metabolism of a hummingbird and all his anxious energy burned off whatever he ate but he also didnât have the best diet. Despite being broad-shouldered thanks to Maine lumberjack genetics he was still pretty thin, and distinctly not swole - maybe looking better naked wouldnât hurt.
The only person seeing him naked was Max, who seemed to have no issues there - but still, feeling good about oneâs self was important, along with being heart-healthy (he wanted to stick around and be there to watch Enola enter adulthood) and Richie had to admit he sorely needed the esteem boost.
It was the second (or third? Whatever) time he was meeting Adora for a run and he even completed the crunches assignment beforehand, not that he had any defined abs yet to show for it. He waited for her in front of the penthouse building, wearing appropriate âfleeingâ shoes, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and pants that were also good for running in - they werenât exactly sweatpants but tighter, yet the airflow was good and his junk didnât feel cramped so that was a win. Vaguely he attempted to get some pre-death stretching in, already looking forward to coffee and a bagel after this. Christ.
Adora had been lazy since she started settling in Vallo. She had spent the first couple of weeks looking for any way to get out, but once sheâd realized the weight of an entire universe was off her shoulders, sheâd started enjoying herself. And for a while, that had meant no job, no big responsibilities, and much less of her usual physical activity. That was yet another reason Spirit had been such a miracle in her life. Catra refused to get up early and go running with her â or go running with her at all, really â but Spirit was always eager to get out and be active. There were times she tired out before Spirit did, but she loved that. He was the perfect exercise buddy for her.
Richie, however, was a very welcome addition to their runs on Mondays and Fridays. He seemed a bit, uh, hopeless, but Adora could tell he was genuinely trying. Not everyone was raised as a child soldier and trained from sunup to sundown for the first eighteen years of their lives. She had to give him credit for hanging in as long as he had. They were slowly working their way past a mile, but she wasnât pushing hard. She was patient, and eventually, they would get there. In the meantime, they got coffee, bagels, and a puppuccino for Spirit when Richie had hit his limit. That made everyone happy.
Now that Darla was here, and she and Catra had settled in there and turned it into something resembling a home, Adora had started taking a waypoint in from the forest to meet Richie in front of his apartment. She caught a glimpse of him stretching from down the street as she approached with Spirit â and once they were within ten feet of him, Spirit leapt at his favorite uncle. Adora chose to let the leash out of her hand voluntarily instead of having her arm loosened in its socket.
âHey,â she greeted him, chuckling as Spirit jumped up on him, yipping and whining for hugs and kisses. âAre you as excited as this little guy?â
Aw, look at his little buddy - Spirit was the best, and definitely helped to fill the puppy-shaped void in Richieâs life (which he hadnât even been aware existed until Spirit filled it, you see). He and Enola had Crumpet, and had briefly talked about getting another cat sometime soon so sheâd have company, but cats just werenât as slobbery as dogs - Crumpet could be affectionate, just not like this. It was a more reserved affection. For someone as bombtastic as Richie, he did appreciate the enthusiasm.
âHey nephew, hey, how ya doinâ?â he cooed at Spirit, loving all up on him with butt scratches and giving him a smooch at the top of his head. Heâd spoil the hell out of this ball of fur, he really would, so maybe it was a good thing he could only visit Darla to bring treats and he wasnât there 24/7 to turn Spirit into a dog diabeetus case. âIâm totally pumped for a run. Letâs do this thing.â
He stood up straight, with one last back stretch-glowstick crack and shaking out his hands. As the weeks went on, he was sure that heâd get better at it - a lot of his issues probably stemmed from the fact that he still hadnât quit smoking entirely either but heâd definitely cut back a lot. Surely Adora who was in perfect soldier shape was side-eying him a lot but sheâd also been patient and was willing to help him on his journey to fitness, so that was something. âIâll just pretend Iâm chasing a cup of coffee,â he added cheerfully.
âWhatever inspires you,â Adora chuckled. If the reward at the end helped, she wouldnât argue with him. She usually had enough of a natural high going by the time they reached the coffee shop herself, but she would never down his motivation, whatever it was. She crouched down for a minute to grab hold of Spiritâs leash and make sure his harness was secure, kissing his little head and looping his leash around her wrist before standing.
âPower walk first?â she suggested. She always tried to work up to a reasonable speed. They never outright ran, but they got some good jogging in. And breaking into that first thing in the morning wasnât the easiest thing for someone who was still working on getting in shape. âThen you can tell me what you want for your birthday because Iâve never had to buy a birthday present before.â
Power walking reminded Richie of old ladies at the mall before it opened, like seven in the morning, doing laps by Contempo Casuals and Auntie Anneâs pretzels. But, hell, probably better to walk rather than jump right into running - he used to say the only time he ran was when he was being chased by a demonic Eldritch horror that looked like a clown, but. Here he was.
âCool,â he agreed, taking off at a fast clip - more like a trot, he guessed, if he was a horse. Theyâd get to the jogging part soon enough. âWait, youâve never given a birthday present before? Thatâs wild. Life was pretty sad in space, huh?â Heâd gotten some details from Catra (whom he recently started doing yoga with too, so he was getting in shape and getting bendy) and from what he gathered there was a lot of war and that Horde Prime guy was a major cockscrunchie. âBut, uhhh - I dunno? Iâm always good with comic books. Or used video games. Or food.â
No need to break the bank, and he had plenty of gaming systems by now at the penthouse. Building up his collection of games was a work in progress.
Video games, comic books, food. Adora nodded and made a mental note of those suggestions. She didnât think food would necessarily work as a gift, but they were having a party she was contributing to, so that would work. Maybe sheâd just get a gift card as an official gift â that way he could choose whatever he wanted. That was probably the safest way to go. She doubted he would give her a hard time if she chose wrong, but sheâd prefer not to take that chance on the first birthday gift she purchased.
âGot it,â she confirmed. âAnd, uh, you know we didnât actually live in space, right? We were in space before we came here, but we have our own planet. Etheria. We grew up there, and getting out into space was this whole big thing.â She didnât want to get into the deep details, but she wanted to make that part clear. âSpace is definitely cool, though. Kind of scary and lonely and, yeah, sad. But still cool. I wish we could take you up in Darla.â
She had thought about taking Darla for a test run to see what would happen, but she wasnât sure it was smart to test Vallo that way. Catra had mentioned it flinging them back if they tried, and Adora wasnât ready to risk that. If it was somehow damaged â well, there might be someone here who could fix it, but they werenât Entrapta.
âOkay, youâve traveled through space on a spaceship and I guess itâs like - anything not on Earth I just think of as space,â was Richieâs explanation of his line of thinking there (which maybe didnât always make sense to those who werenât entirely used to how his brain operated). âEven just chilling in Darla is good enough. Visiting space would be amazing - â All the stars and the galaxies, the endless colors and the endless spinning, so awesome. âI traveled a lot for work back home, but obviously Iâm not doing much traveling here.â
Because it was fucking impossible, and Vallo didnât let you leave - not until it was done with you. He was sure that part bugged a lot of people but, to be honest, he was okay with it. Richie definitely missed the Losers, especially Eddie and Stan (knowing he wouldnât see them again if he ever vanished) but heâd made a whole new band of Loser-family here. It was touching.
He picked up the pace a little, breathing correctly (through both the mouth and nose - he knew things) so he wouldnât set his lungs on fire. âYou and Catra all settled in on your ship home though?â
Okay, that made sense to Adora. Sheâd never really put any thought into there being other planets out there until pretty recently â mostly because there werenât any other planets to see back in Despondos. The whole âbeing a part of the galaxyâ was a new thing, and a lot of it was still âspaceâ to her. She wanted to explore more of it, at some point, but where sheâd left off didnât leave her much time to explore.
âYeah, weâre pretty settled, youâve seen it.â The ship was fifty times the size of their tiny apartment at Morningside. It was a piece of home that made her feel a bit closer to Glimmer and Bow, even Mara. Even Catra seemed to have settled in pretty nicely, despite having no super positive associations with the ship. Theyâd made it as homey as possible, and Spirit loved to zoom through the hallways and from room to room. It was better suited to their needs.
âI was thinking, though. She really loves playing those video games with you, and Iâd kinda like to try it, but we need one of the systems. So, maybe you can help me figure that out? I think we can adapt it to play on the ship, but I donât really know anything about whatâs bestâŠin any way.â
Oh shit, video games. Well, that was Richieâs specialty - he perked up considerably and hoped that it distracted from the way he was trying not to pant. Or how sweaty heâd end up getting. The morning air smelled like the onset of spring, all pine forests and the earth awakening - even here in the city, everything just seemed fresh this early (for him, it was early - that was just the schedule he was on, being that he worked at night).
âShe seemed into Street Fighter - âcause itâs fun to hit people without actually hitting them,â he grinned (narrowly avoiding a wheeze). âBut letâs see - thatâs like, old school. You might want something newer so you can set it up on Darla easier. Iâd check out the Nintendo Switch - there are a lot of fun games for it and really no bad parts about owning one.â He had one as well and loved it - fuck, heâd be way into getting his pals on Animal Crossing or Mario Kart with him.
Adora noticed the way he was panting and consciously slowed a half step and put a hand on his back. There was no rush, and since they were actually having a full-on conversation, she didnât mind slowing to a normal walk. She wasnât just here as Richieâs de facto personal trainer; they had started becoming friends, too, and she really valued that.
âIâll have to check out the Nintendo Switch,â she commented, committing the name to memory. If there was one thing she was good at even without a She-Ra assist, it was doing research and making plans. And this world and the level its technology were at made that a whole lot easier. âDoes it come with games? Or can you help me pick ones we can play together? Like, all of us and me and her?â
âI can help you pick,â Richie promised, definitely slowing up a little - just so he didnât faceplant (too quickly) but he was still determined to go at a moderately decent pace. Coffee and a bagel awaited, it was the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow - and he wanted to earn that shit after a substantial bout of cardio. âIt doesnât come with any games. You just make an account with their e-shop and download whatever you want, so itâs pretty simple. There are lots of multiplayer games.â
In addition to the couple of games he was already thinking of (his favorites) they could all play Mario Party together, Luigiâs Mansion, for sure Super Smash Brothers - maybe Overcooked 2 as well, though that game could be a relationship ruiner. It got pretty intense and pretty shit, fuck, throwing the controller.
âWeâll go shopping whenever though? Iâm always down to clown, when it comes to the vidja games.â Except with no actual clowns, thanks.
Adora grinned and nodded. She had no idea what âdown to clownâ meant (though she knew for trauma reasons Richie was not a clown fan), but she knew enough to understand the vibe he was giving her. She was more than grateful he was willing to help her out and make sure she got it right. Sometimes all the research in the world didnât measure up to practical experience, of which she had literally none. She didnât even know if video games existed in Etheria.
âYouâre the expert. Iâll defer to you,â she declared, giving his back a pat. Spirit tugged on his leash ahead of her, full to bursting with energy and wanting to pick up the pace. âReady to go a little faster? I can let Spirit pull you if you need a boost,â she joked. He was still small, but there was definitely some strength to that puppy.
Well, if Spirit wanted to pick up the pace - Richie knew he had to be able to keep up with the pup (though, honestly, it was kind of a high bar to set with all that spaztastic energy and four legs instead of two). âIâm ready,â he promised, and he managed to get that out with zero wheezes. See, he just needed to warm up and then he was good to go.
Maybe he felt a little empowered, feeling the wind on his face and the sun shining down on him - and maybe running wasnât so bad after all.
âThanks again for like, helping me,â he added, once heâd started going faster and was out of the trot and more into jog territory. âIf Iâm gonna torture myself like this itâs best to have friendly company.â And someone who knew what they were doing in terms of actual physical fitness.
âYou donât have to keep thanking me,â Adora assured him. âIâm glad to help out and have your company. Just let me know if you ever start to hate me for breaking you.â She flashed him a teasing smile, tightened her grip on Spiritâs leash, and picked up her pace to a steady jog, too. They werenât even close to matching her speed on days she and Spirit went off on their own, but they were also in the city instead of in the forest. They had to be a little more careful and civilized here. Even early in the morning, there were plenty of people to navigate.
She really did enjoy having this time, combining her efforts to stay in shape and bond with Richie. He had been Catraâs friend at first, but she felt like he was her friend now, too. He made her think of Sea Hawk, but a much tamer version. Funny though and a little on the wild side.
âNah, Iâd never hate you,â Richie grinned, a toothy sort of smile and genuine even at ass oâclock and while he was close to dropping dead. Okay, maybe not that dramatic but still. âWeâre friends âtil the end, lady.â He didnât have his own band of Losers here, not like at home, but he had gotten pretty close to Catra and looked at her like the younger sister he always wanted. Adora was cool too, he wanted good things for her - for the both of them.
And if âfriends til the endâ meant that he dropped dead at the coffee shop, so be it. He would have gone out with style.