|
Rena
Rena has been pooling her money since she got her Axe job for one specific reason. Calamity's birthday. She's invited them to Amalgam Comics for an all expense paid shopping spree and a milkshake. Because hey, she has money now for the first time in... ever. And goddamn if she isn't going to use it to spoil her sibling.
Calamity
Calamity's actually put on clean clothes for the occasion - except for their ever-present sweatshirt. But their jeans look barely worn in, and their t shirt has neither stains nor holes. What it does have is a simple silhouette of Black Panther's mask, because of course they're gonna wear something comic themed to Amalgam.
They're not even smoking - maybe they finished their cigarette before they got here - and they upnod at Rena as they approach, tugging a little self-consciously at the bandanna around their neck.
"You know you didn't have to do this."
Rena
"I know. But I wanted to," Rena says, beaming. She's picked up a bit of the slack in the looking bad department, a little more out of it and groggy than usual. But she's still wearing her least beat up clothes (a t-shirt reading "I'm Here, I'm Queer, Get Over It" that she got from Atalo's shop and less ratty jeans).
"Whatcha gonna get?" she asks, her eyes already getting caught on an X-Men comic.
Calamity
"How much've you been losin' sleep over this, you look like shit..." It's a lighthearted insult, easy for Rena to brush off if she wants, but there's definitely the slightest undertone of concern as they look her over.
"Haven't decided yet, but they uh...they've got a section of shit in other languages, might pick up something to practice on. 'S so much harder to read shit than it is to just...speak it, though..." They shrug.
Rena
"I'm fine," Rena lies. Her tells are especially obvious right now, as she scratches at the tattoo on her arm. She rapidly and happily changes the subject back to the Birthday Kid as soon as possible. "Shit, Bug, when did you become a fuckin' genius? You could like get a degree with all the languages you got rattling around in your brain."
Calamity
Their eyes follow her hand to the tattoo, and they arch an eyebrow as they regard her, clearly seeing through her lies. "You know you can't bullshit me, why're you even trying?" They give her a long suffering eye roll.
And shift uncomfortably when she brings up the words 'genius' and 'degree'. "Just 'cause I know how to speak some shit well enough to get by, doesn't mean I'm book smart. 'Cause I'm definitely not. An' I don't want a degree anyway, sounds boring as fuck."
Rena
"Just... cravin'." Rena shrugs like its nothing. "Tryin' hard not to. Y'know."
"And c'mon, you're smarter than my dumb ass. You know what? Like seven languages? All I got is English and ASL." Of course, she's neglecting that she used to be a straight A student.
Calamity
"I still only know one'a those," Calamity sticks their tongue out at Rena, letting the subject of Rena's craving drop for the moment. "And 's not seven it's...uh...Spanish, Arabic, plus a little Farsi and German. And English. So...five, I guess. Four and a half, my German's really not good." It's not like Calamity knows what kind of grades Rena got.
"Aw damn it looks like they've mostly just got Spanish shit," they wrinkle their nose at the small collection of comics. "I was hoping for somethin' German.."
Rena
"I mean, maybe your hot German boyfriend has some?" Rena says, barely constraining her laughter. "Or at least he has a house so we could order some from a monolithic megacorp."
"You gotta be the brains of the operation because you sure ain't the muscle," Rena flexes, her noodle arms barely changing.
Calamity
"Oh my god he's not my boyfriend," Calamity huffs. "...I did get some from his family though, but I read 'em all already. Spent most of the time on my phone looking shit up. But I been doing uh...duolingo? For the German at least." They shrug. "An yeah, you're all the muscle I need," they continue, and blep at her again. "Even if I'm not gettin' into enough trouble to need muscle, these days."
Rena
"Still can't believe you met the family," Rena bleps back, "fuckin' engagement shit."
"And hell yeah, I'm the muscle. You get in any trouble, you call me and Guy and we get it straightened out."
Calamity
"He's also not German, but. Fuckin' whatever," Calamity mumbles. "Yeah I know I can call one'a yinz. 'S been...quiet, lately. I mean we're still doin' shit but...whatever beef K an' A and the Italians had burned itself out, or somethin'. I dunno, maybe they're just layin' low." A shrug. "Either way. I'm not gettin' into shit, so I've got time to practice languages. What've you been doin'?"
Rena
"What is he, Belgian?" Rena shrugs. "I can't say all that much when we're in public but like, 'member when we talked about, uh, the guy I was with for a year? I finally got him out of my brain. I met a nice guy in a support group. Been doin' work for Guy and the double secret you-know-what club."
Calamity
"He's Austrian - oh but that's awesome, good for you." Calamity gently bumps their shoulder with Rena's. "Gonna make it easier to stay clean, now that he's not tryin' to tell you what to do, or...'s that separate?" A beat. "Maybe we should get our milkshakes t'go..."
What Calamity decides on, aside from a couple comics, is actually storage - slip covers and boxes for the comics they already have. "Fin's letting me take up a little space in their place so I figured I'd put all my comics there - prob'ly safer, you know?"
Rena
"It's separate. He actually wanted me clean. What's the point of a bodyguard who ain't perfectly reliable, you know?" Rena practically spits those last words.
While they're buying stuff, Rena grabs some pre-made magic the gathering decks and an X-Men trade. Actually buying this stuff was still weird to her. "Yeah, defo. Less chance of your shit gettin' lit on fire for one."
Calamity
"I'm not settin' fires in the house," Calamity grumbles and rolls their eyes. "Not cold enough out anymore, an' besides when it gets too cold I just crash with Fin. I'm more worried about the guys accidentally-on-purpose fucking with my shit."
Rena
"I mean, that's fair. An' I'm gonna spare all the jokes about you and Huck for once. Wasted all my bullying earlier." Rena grins and goes to ruffle Calamity's hair. "Happy birthday, Big Bug."
Calamity
They wrinkle their nose and lean away from the ruffling, but not enough to actually get away. Just enough to keep their reputation intact. "Thanks. I...fuck, I mean I sure didn't think I'd live t'be twenty. 'S fuckin weird."
Rena
"Hell of a mood. Didn't think I'd live long either." She pauses. "Just realized you're two years from outlivin' me. Fuckin' freaky to think about. Still not used to bein' dead."
She looks Calamity in the eyes, an intense look on her face. "I'm going to make sure you have 50 more birthdays, got it?"
Calamity
Calamity can only hold Rena's gaze for half a second before they look away, their face going a little pink with embarrassment from all the Feelings. "Yeah, I...yeah. I know. You...I dunno, 's it weird for me to say 'thanks', now?" They're making a BIg Effort to keep things light and jokey, despite the hitch in their breath and the tiny wobble in their voice.
Rena
"Nah, I'm rad enough that you should thank me all the time, just for knowing you." Rena laughs, trying to defuse the tension in her own Rena way.
|