blue beetle in: adventures in sleep deprivation (guest-starring a pair of lovely blondes)

[owwmyspine]

WHO: Jaime, Kara, Nill
WHERE: Kord Industries, City streets
WHEN: Today, during daylight
WARNINGS: Naw
SUMMARY: Read the title again!
FORMAT: No

Comments

@THE CITY STREETS, STARRING NILL

[owwmyspine]

Two hours to kill, and his caffeine buzz needed replenishing. Jaime mulled along with the pedestrian traffic, more or less going with the flow with as sluggish a pace as the flow would even allow. He yawned loudly at least three times before he got to the crosswalk, rubbing at the corner of his eye.

Thank goodness for insane levels of franchising - he had two coffee establishments of the same brand to pick from once he crossed, practically next door. Why not?

[brevipennate]

Things like this seemed to be happening to Nill more and more often. Minding her own business just didn't seem possible anymore, at least in the City. She had felt unsafe ever since Damian had had to rescue her the other day--so of course, the one day she let her guard down, she felt as if someone was following her. Whether or not it was true, she didn't know; but the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and she couldn't stop her wings from shaking. So she'd increased her pace, walking as fast as she could without running.

Probably not the best thing to do right before an intersection.

[owwmyspine]

He would've missed it entirely had it not been for that ever-vigilant AI in his head. It had only just begun to chirp out a note about the familiar energy signature making headway through the thickening crowd for the crossing when it became apparent by her speed and the timing of the traffic lights trouble was on the way. Jaime just needed that extra nudge...

"Ow!" He flinched at the sparking at his ear, swatting blindly. "What the hell was th--whoa!"

The flutter of feathers came into view, and be it Scarab or his own instinct, sucked in a sharp hiss of a breath and wedged between two people, reaching out and grabbing her by the forearm and pulling her back quickly as the taxi closest began to rev and bullet past the light.

"Holy-!"

[brevipennate]

Nill turns to face forward just as she's about to step into the intonersec. Her eyes go wide. She's pretty sure her heart stops. This isn't the first time she's been faced head-on with a moving vehicle, and she reacts the same way. Fright, inability to move.

But then something--someone is yanking her arm (and by extension, her body) back towards the sidewalk. She nearly falls, and people shift minutely, disgruntled by this strange winged girl and her apparent savior for disrupting their quiet wait. Nill takes one deep breath, too. She's shaking, but looks up to see who saved her anyway, not sure how she'll thank them.

[owwmyspine]

The other hand reaches out to steady her by the shoulder, keeping her from making one hell of an attempt at a faceplant. He exhales only after he's sure her and everyone else isn't street pizza, shooting glances up at the baffled, alarmed, or altogether annoyed spectators.

He looks down as she looks up, and he blinks.

"Whoa, Nill?" Talk about small worlds.

[brevipennate]

She would exclaim with his name if she could. Instead, a smile spreads across her lips, and her wings flick behind her back. She hadn't seen Jaime in so long. Since before Abby had been 'ported out, she was sure. She knew he was probably still upset about it, so she made a mental note right away to not mention it. But she still smiled, reaching out to place her hand lightly over his. She'd missed him.

[owwmyspine]

Jaime smiled in return, loosening his grip on her forearm at the touch, giving her shoulder a pat before releasing it.

"Man, girl!" he exclaimed. "You almost gave me a heart attack. You're alright though, right? I kinda gave you a good tug there..."

[brevipennate]

Nill rubbed at her shoulder once he released it, but nodded. It didn't hurt so much anymore, she was alright. The blonde tilted her head at him, inquiring: how had he been? It had been so long since they had spoken on the Network. She really did wonder what he'd been up to. But maybe an intersection wasn't the best place for a reunion. She started to look around, searching for a place where they could maybe sit and talk for a bit.

[owwmyspine]

"It's been kind of a while, huh?" He laughed, a little on the sheepish side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw others starting to move. "Oh - are you crossing here? I'm heading to that coffee place right there, so..."

[brevipennate]

The blonde looked to said coffee place and then nodded, starting to move along with the rest of the people. She reached out to grab on to his arm, not wanting to either lose him or possibly get hit by a car again. This was why she walked everywhere; it might not have actually been safer, but she felt it was.

[owwmyspine]

In reaction to the touch, Jaime's arm bent, offered in the fashion any gentleman ought to. He steered her to the furthest side of crosswalk traffic to keep her from getting bumped into or bowled over. He shot another quick glance down at her just to be sure he hadn't misinterpreted; she was welcome to split if she needed to, of course, but if she had a bit of free time, too...well, why not!

"After you," he said, holding the door open.

[brevipennate]

It was strange to her, walking down the street with someone like this. She usually held Damian's hand, or was holding a bag of groceries. Looping arms wasn't something she was use to, but it wasn't uncomfortable. She actually kind of liked it. Nill smiled up at him, and entered the coffee shop, waiting patiently for him to follow.

[owwmyspine]

Following her in, Jaime started gravitating toward one of the tables set close to the windows. He dragged a chair away with his heel, drumming his fingers on the tabletop and stopping himself from having a seat. He glanced over his shoulder at the counter.

"I'm gonna go grab a coffee," he said, looking back. "You want anything? They got like bagels and little coffee cakes and stuff."

[brevipennate]

Nill had already wandered over towards the case where various small pastries and such were on display. She hadn't noticed until that moment, but her stomach was grumbling a bit. She looked back at him, eyes wide. Gingerly, she pointed to one of the smaller coffee cakes; she wasn't much for the beverage, but she really did enjoy the flavor.

[owwmyspine]

"One of those?" he pointed, glancing at her to be sure he'd gotten it right. His other hand had already begun fishing out his wallet, giving the barista a nod of acknowledgment. His turn up. "Not a problem."

He wasn't too big on fancy-schmancy, takes-twenty-minutes-to-prepare coffee drinks, which made the wait virtually nonexistent; Jaime handed Nill her snack and a napkin as they meandered over to the table. He began shrugging off his jacket once he set his drink down, letting out a light, long sigh.

"No idea what this world'd be like without caffeine," he remarked with a wry smile. "I know I'd not be functioning up to par ever at all, hah..."

[brevipennate]

A nod, and she started to reach for her own money when she saw that he had beat her to it. Well, Nill had never been one to argue with someone else's kindness. She smiled and took the pastry once it was offered, following him towards the table. The blonde took a seat opposite him, and opened her mouth in a silent laugh. She hadn't ever actually had much caffeine in her life, but she knew that a lot of people depended on it to stay awake every day.