Kady sat crosslegged on the floor of the garage, fork hovering over the various pie slices inside of the box. There were almost too many to choose from, each one looking more appetizing than the next. As great as a sample platter had sounded, actually choosing which one to start with was harder than she’d thought it would be. She had her phone open and scrolled through the list of options that Jake had been given, trying to identify each of them.
She was probably thinking about this too hard. Digging in like trying out the different oreos and poptart flavors was most likely the way to go about this. Except… “This one says it's better with ice cream.”
It didn’t say what flavor of ice cream though. So scratch that. No need to add more decisions to the smorgasbord of deliciousness.
There had never been any doubt in Jake's mind that he'd invite Kady over to taste test this sampler platter of pies. As soon as he could go and pick it up he'd texted Kady to meet him at the base. Now it seemed she was paralyzed by indecision and he laughed.
"I have vanilla. Let's save that one for last?" That way he wouldn't have to get back up right away. He had no such hesitation, immediately stabbing his fork into the blueberry lemonade. It wasn't quite frozen, but it was cold, and Jake decided that would be close enough.
Indeed, it was. And the pie was delicious, with the pretzel crust adding a layer he wasn't really expecting even if he'd read the description. "Oh, hell, that was the one I expected to be my least favorite and it's delicious." That bode well for this experiment.
Well, fine, she was going to need to have a taste of that one then. It really was far more delicious than she’d expected it to be. But she wasn’t about to wait for the next one, digging into the mojito flavored one. The added rock sugar really did give it an extra pop, ensuring she was going to want seconds of it before taking a swig of water. Some flavors should not be mixed.
“Not quite an actual mojito but I’m not about to complain.” Pie had never really been a favorite dessert of hers but apparently she’d been enjoying the wrong sorts of pies. “I never knew there were this many pie flavors out there.”
"I'd heard of a few but you know," Jake said, taking his own forkful of mojito pie, "You were the one who told me there was more than one flavor of oreos so a lot of this is new to me. Military life and life in the relief zones wasn't exactly luxurious enough to afford pie. Not when there were normal oreos and hot sauce to obtain."
He paused. "Not together."
He focused on his fork and at the pie instead of talking more. "I told that dude I'd be ordering all of these but I really think I'll be ordering all of these." Especially since he was still mostly going in order, with strawberry cream next.
He drank some water and switched forks for the strawberry cream pie, then noted that the white chocolate drizzled on top was what made it. "This is both the best and worst idea I think I've ever had." The sheer amount of sugar he was ingesting was something, though not even that rare of an occurrence for him.
“Machine packed oreos and handmade pies are on the opposite ends of the dessert spectrum.” As much as Kady enjoyed the little circular cookies, there was no comparison between those and the baked goods in front of them. She loved the birthday cake frosting ones, but there was something special about a handmade dessert.
Probably the fact that she’d never had them growing up.
She might have to break down and buy a pie of her own once she determined which of these was her favorite. Maybe she’d even share it with Jake. Even if his plan was to buy all of the pies throughout the month. “We might need to pace ourselves.”
"Oh, definitely. Completely different realm. Why haven't we been out to bakeries before this?" he asked. "I mean, besides the fact that I've been busy with my beautiful bike and we've been participating in questionable methods of wealth accumulation."
He grinned.
"Not that I know anything about that. Anyway, I hope you know you're taking some of this home with you." Two bites from each slice meant leftovers.
Kady scoffed at the idea of that bike being beautiful. It was still an eyesore. Though a nearly functional one and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before it was actually fairly nice to look at too. She’d have to pony up the oreos she owed him when that happened.
“What happens in crime club, stays in crime club, Jake.” Though...would he actually get the reference or not. She wasn’t sure.
“Bakeries cost a lot more than oreos and the like and we’re supposed to be laying low with any newfound wealth we might have run into.” Or that was the plan at least.
Jake knew Kady was reacting to his bike and he just gave her a look in return, awaiting the day she had to admit she was wrong even more than he was looking forward to free oreos. But no, he didn't get the reference at all.
"Right. For all the people here to overhear us," he mentioned. "But also, I forgot. One of us actually has a job and can pay for things like pies and cakes without it being suspicious." He flashed her a teasing grin.
Kady shook her head, unsurprised that the reference had gone over his head. “You need to watch Fight Club. The movie. Not the thing that happens once a month around here.”
She rolled her eyes at his grin and teasing. “I’m keeping my options open jobwise.” Plus school was about to be out worldwide, so getting a job at the university or that witch school Margo was at seemed pointless for now. She’d look into it again in a few months.
Kady turned her attention back to the pies, cutting into the slice of rainbow cake, brow arched as she spotted the candy surprise in the middle of it. Not a pie but it was still pretty delicious.
"Right. Well that's smart. I keep waiting for Margo to say we're ready to go while I'm on patrol duty. There's a job for you, by the way. Work once every four days, on call the next. Unless some crazy lady who can turn into a dragon shows up." Then, admittedly, the defense team required more of his time.
"I need to do more training," he mused. "Maybe learn how to use a crossbow." It was a random thought, but while he was on the ground looking up at the sky, that was the first thought that had entered his mind. He needed a crossbow.
And once an idea lodged its way into his mind, it was hard for him to give it up. The motorcycle. A solo piloted jaeger. Even fixing up a used yacht because why not? He was no longer full-time military or living day to day. He had time.
He punctuated that thought with a bite of pride cake. "Okay this is just fun. And cake. I love cake."
“Pass on patrol duty.” She’d done more than her fair share of saving magic and the world and all of that bullshit back in her home world. And unlike all of the other adrenaline junkies had no desire to fall back into that sort of hole again if she didn’t need to. Heists were way more her speed.
“Crossbows run out of arrows pretty quickly,” Kady pointed out before taking another bite of the cake. That was the problem with most weapons. It had always been better for her to utilize the environment around her when fighting. Though battle magic did come in handy with that too. “So get someone to make something to hold a helluva lot of those.”
She couldn’t dispute that eating the ridiculous amount of sugar being fun though.
"Yes, well crossbows shoot those arrows into the sky. I can't fight a flying dragon with my fists, after all," Jake said. He didn't do well feeling helpless, even if there'd been activity on the ground too. "But yes, I'll get something made."
It was good advice though, and he should sound more appreciative than sulking but pride could be a bastard sometimes.
They had two more options left and Jake had been saving the one covered in chocolate for last but the dragonfruit pie was the one requiring ice cream. So he took a bite of whatever it was called, not an icebox cake or something, with its whipped cream and vanilla pudding and graham crackers and chocolate buttercream, and then sighed contentedly after. "Chocolate. Chocolate is my favorite."
Honestly, at this point he didn't need any more sweets, but he also wasn't about to give up so close to the finish line.
"You know, the base has a movie theater. Not a fancy one or anything, but we could do this next time while watching something. Like Fight Club."
The simplest solution would be to not put oneself in a situation where they had to fight flying dragons, but Kady knew saying that was going to be like talking to air. Why did she consistently surround herself with all of these do-gooders? They could be exhausting. And yet, she just kept doing it. This was why she needed to stop being sociable. Not that it would help with Jake. He’d already been added to her list of ‘people she gave a shit about’.
“You could try a flamethrower.” Sounded more badass than a crossbow. “Someone might make arrows that can be lit on fire. Or jet packs.” Or just wait until he eventually had a solo robot thing to use.
But right. Pies.
“Considering your love of Oreos I am not surprised by the chocolate thing. But that’d work. The movie thing. Get some pizza, order another pie--maybe chocolate. Popcorn. Dollar candy boxes from the store.”
"Those are all good options to consider," Jake said, mulling them over. Because like it or not, he couldn't sit idly by. Not after his sister had drawn him back to military life. Not after he had let her down. Been unable to save her.
No, he was in it, even if he was surrounded by people who had powers and abilities he could never have. "Not all of us have magic, after all."
He looked down to where only one slice remained untouched. "Should I get the ice cream? Think we can manage?"
“Magic is fickle anyway.” Especially when others decided to kill gods and fuck up the world order. Or whatever had happened. “Someone should be able to make you something durable.”
But yes. They definitely should have the ice cream and try the last slice. “We’re not quitters--” Well, not with pie anyway. “We need the ice cream.” Even if she wasn’t sure anything would top the chocolate one.
"Be right back," Jake said, disappearing toward the kitchen and returning a couple minutes later with ice cream and a scoop, along with two small plates, a knife, and clean forks. "Figured we should go ahead and just eat this one," he mentioned, carefully cutting the slice of pie into two thin halves and then dishing out a scoop of ice cream on each.
He handed Kady's over with one of the forks and then took the last one for himself, waiting to see what she thought first.
Kady arched a brow before diving into the dish. The ice cream definitely helped enhance the flavors, though she wasn’t sure how she felt about the crust of it. Rose had never been one of her favorites and while it added a different spin on the dish, it definitely wasn’t her favorite. Good, but it didn’t compare to the others. At least in her opinion.
“The ice cream helps.”
Jake grinned at that, taking a bite of his own pie before deciding that it too, was delicious. His plate was empty before long. "So I think the lesson of this is I like just about anything sweet," he informed her. "And that was more sugar than normal. I should, I don't know… drink some water or something?"
Maybe clean up, as well, put the ice cream back up. But for now he remained where he was. "Definitely gonna need to go back and get whole pies. And that cake. Can't remember the last one I had that wasn't some prepackaged thing. Probably my birthday one year."
He shrugged. "It's been a while."
“Don’t knock prepackaged food. Sometimes it's all you can do.” She’d had many of those boxed cakes where one just added water and eggs as her birthday cake. If she was lucky and her mom remembered her birthday. So maybe only a few times through the years.
The ice cream was going to melt so Kady picked up the carton and opened it again, doling out more of it onto her plate. Might as well finish the thing off so it didn’t go to waste. Since neither of them seemed to be moving just yet.
“You should definitely get the cake again. It’ll go well with movie night.”
Jake flashed Kady a smile. "I'll make plans for that, then. Cake and Fight Club and everything else you said." It sounded like it was going to be another unhealthy night. Not that he was actually complaining. He tended to be excessive on his own in that area. This was why he got up at the crack of dawn to run almost every morning. It all balanced out.
"So did you have a favorite?" He'd already made his clear. "And I feel like we need to go do something exceedingly stupid while we have this sugar rush going on."
“We are going to crash so hard.” That was half the fun of a sugar rush. Or so she’d heard. She hadn’t really had that many of them in her lifetime so far. Kady considered his question as she took another scoop of ice cream. “First one. But is that just because it was first, I don’t know. Going to need to try them all again to really have a favorite.”
She nudged the ice cream carton toward him. “What about you?”
Jake laughed and gestured toward the rest of the sampler box, which had the leftovers waiting for them. "Be my guest," he offered, even turning down the ice cream she was pushing toward him. That was probably a first.
"The chocolate covered one…" He really couldn't remember what it was called. "The cake was a close second."
“I don’t want to try them again now.” The idea of eating more was a little nauseating. At least something sweet. Fried or salty was a different story. She could probably still fit some fries in her if needed.
"Okay, good." Jake teased. "I was starting to wonder if you were a bottomless pit." He paused, and then looked around and started getting everything together to take back inside. "Let's clean up and then I have a brilliant idea."
Kady arched a brow at that. “As brilliant as your apparent bike is?” Because she was going to be a little bit doubtful then. Though, he had done a good job with the pies so maybe she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Funny you should mention my bike," Jake replied with the sort of smile that suggested he knew she'd think his idea was ridiculous. "Because I was just thinking we should take it out and see how it goes."
Oh yeah. She definitely thought the idea was ridiculous. “Is it going more than backwards now?” Because she was pretty sure that was what it had been doing the last time she’d been over, but maybe he’d managed to fix that issue.
"Yes!" Jake said. "Probably. Whichever." He had everything but the ice cream carton gathered and stood up carefully. "Can you grab that?" he asked. "Cause we have a motorcycle to ride."
He led the way into the kitchen, not checking to see if she had followed, placing the dirty dishes in the sink and the leftover pie in the fridge until they divided it up later. He was serious about sending part of that home with her.
She followed him into the kitchen, popping the carton into the freezer. “You have helmets, right?” she asked, because as much as she didn’t want helmet hair, she also didn’t want her brains splattered along the ground.
"Of course I have helmets," Jake replied, grinning because that meant she was definitely in. The dishes could wait for later, he was way too focused on taking the bike out now. He eagerly led the way back to the garage where his motorcycles were stored, ignoring the one that was already in decent working order. Retrieving two helmets, he tossed one to Kady before fastening his, then climbed on the bike.
No, it didn't look pretty. Not yet. But for now it was functional, or functional enough. Probably.
Was she going to keep her telekinisis at the ready, making sure she could right them if the thing crashed before they even made it out of the garage? Yep, because the thing still looked like a hunk of junk. Especially next to the motorcycle that was already road worthy.
She secured the helmet, looking in disbelief at the bike Jake was on before climbing on behind him. “If you get me killed, I will haunt your ass forever.”
"So negative," he commented. "Just hold on tight." That was directed at her but the "please work, please work" that followed was directed at his motorcycle. He started it up without any issue and then put it into gear.
The bike sputtered forward, which at the very least was better than when it would only ride in reverse as Jake tried a couple things before it took off. Sure it was only going about forty miles an hour if that gauge even worked at all, but that was far more than it had been capable of when he picked it up. "Yeah!" he shouted, grinning ear to ear.
Going forward was definitely a plus. It not sputtering to a halt as they were riding was another. But she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of calling this a win just yet. “Is this how fast it goes?”
Was she silently laughing to herself over that question? Maybe. Would she admit to it? Not a chance.
Oh. That was a challenge. Jake didn't hesitate to speed up, but the bike started shaking under the increased velocity and he immediately slowed back down. "Yes," he said, laughing. "Yes it is." It wasn't too much of a surprise, as he wasn't finished and there were many parts that just needed to be replaced completely still, but having his motorcycle fall apart on the road was not in the cards for the day. "Still needs some work," he offered back to her.
“And a paintjob,” she offered up, glad he couldn’t see her expression because she was having fun, even if she was going to have some atrocious helmet hair once they were done. “Not bad though.” It was pretty amazing that he’d managed to get it this roadworthy so far considering the state it had been in originally.
To be honest, if the bike had just sputtered forward twenty feet, Jake probably would have been ecstatic. He'd managed to take it from such a piece of junk that it had been given to him for free to a functioning bike, and it was only going to get better.
"No, not bad at all," he agreed cheerfully, taking them down rarely traveled streets for a bit before he realized there was very little gas in the tank. Oops. He immediately turned back and counted it a win that they made it back to the base without running out, because he never would have heard the end of that.