( closed ) tell your boyfriend if he says he's got beef

[kampfgeist]

WHO: kampfgeist & nichocolatine & fussiest & justscribing & culver, oh my
WHAT: two situationships and an angel walk into a bar...
WHERE: kaveh's garage-slash-workshop
WHEN: mid-early september
WARNINGS: canon-typical bickering & several kings of the nile

[ car, spar, dinner ]

Comments

the car — heine & kaveh, mostly

[kampfgeist]

[fussiest]

[ the workshop has only begun to take shape in the last month or so, and so is caught in that odd in-between that only teenage growth spurts can afford. spilling out past the red and gold sign painted in elegant, moorish-style lettering across a carefully tailored board is what appears to be the beginnings of a bandsaw cobbled together from an actual saw, a sewing machine, and half a staging table. what follows towards the workshop proper like a trail of technical breadcrumbs are wooden racks, three shelves that look like they were pilfered from somewhere fancy and very rapidly losing the sheer veneer of their paint jobs, an eclectic collection of little metal bits in boxes, and what looks to be seven unvarnished prototype bows, each one a little more twisted than the other.

the reasoning for the trail is clear: three cars in four empty spots, the garage doors flung up and open and wide for their exit and anything else movable or, as it stands, even remotely breakable, pressed against the three far walls in uneven little rows. kaveh is moving a drum of something that clanks with great vigour, and only looks up with a grin when he sees the bloom of colour along the walkway up - white and orange and blond. ]

And there's all of you.

[ kaveh puts down the drum. he gives it a knock, letting the clear, crisp sound of brass reverberate like a hollow gong. ] Welcome. Sorry - it's a little messy, and I've been trying to get everything out of the way, but you're here just in time. Here.

[ heine, you're getting the drum deposited into your arms. the brass and iron sink. inside, what looks to be half a deconstructed fireplace sits. kaveh gives heine a gentle, absent tap on the shoulder as he wheels around. ] Put that to the side, would you?

[nichocolatine]

[ badou brings up the rear in their tiny little group, lifting a hand in an idle gesture of greeting when kaveh stops working to pay them all mind. he's already drifted over to inspect the makeshift bandsaw with vague interest, though that doesn't stop him from piping up the second he senses he can be a nuisance. ]

Yeah, Heine, put that to the side, would you?

[ there is functionally no reason for badou to be here, so the fact heine has ostensibly invited him along speaks more to the latter's predilection towards being annoyed than anything else. because what else can one expect from badou when he's got no purpose? naturally, he'll do what he does best. ]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh's grin is a wayward sunburst. he likes you, badou. ]

Ah, I was hoping that Heine would have you along. I've been looking forward to help with supervision. Did you do something new with your hair, by the way? It looks lovely.

[kampfgeist]

[ as they approach up the walkway towards what kaveh had perhaps generously described as gainful employment of some kind, heine takes a look around the space first. he takes in the open garage doors, the cars, and the spill of miscellaneous items trailing out of the workshop space and into the lot. it's immediately obvious why the space looks the way it does—there's not nearly enough space for kaveh's whims with those autos in the way.

distracted as he is by looking around, heine doesn't immediately anticipate the deposit of a large piece of metal into his arms, and he lets out a soft oof as he instinctively adjusts his grip to hold it. it's not hard—heine is strong—but it is unwieldy, and he gives kaveh a bemused look as he studiously ignores the peanut gallery to ask, ] Which side?

[ badou is absolutely correct: the only reason he was invited is because apparently, heine loves to suffer. ]

[fussiest]

[ heine lets out a soft oof, and for a moment, kaveh observes, a little worried that the weight of the thing is going to cause issues beyond documented compare. but heine thefts the drum, and kaveh thinks - that's nearly ten kilos of a half-deconstructed fireplace, and heine's simply looked up and asked him which way he ought to tip it. it's fascinating, kaveh thinks, and then feels a stab of guilt, because someone, somewhere out there had the same fascination, and that's why heine had to go through what he did.

still, he tips his head to the right. ] Right-hand side, next to the red drums. I've been trying to get these cleared out before you came to help with the cars, but I underestimated how many of them I had. I almost want to figure out if these things are capable of multiplying - surely I didn't have this much firebrick just lying around.

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham does not go out to greet Heine and Co (he hears multiple voices, though, and he thought there was only supposed to be one). He's more occupied with one of the car shells, the hood popped up and leaning into the mostly empty front so he can peer at the back of the steering. He can tell its missing whatever power source makes it work, but not quite what that looks like.

But he does look up when the others are entering the workshop proper, raising an eyebrow at the count of three.] So you're all helping. Hello.

[Look, maybe they're all genetically mutated like Heine is with super strength and super healing. He can't judge.]

[fussiest]

[ without even looking up from where he's pulling around a second drum: ]

Just because they are helping doesn't mean you are off the hook, Alhaitham. Have you seen where I put the trolley? I thought it was just here.

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham points to the left without even looking at Kaveh.] Over there.

[kampfgeist]

I'm helping. Badou is here to be a nuisance and Nill is here for moral support.

[ also because heine loves to suffer! and because it's important to him that nill gets to know alhaitham and kaveh under better circumstances than those in the mall.

nill has her own genetic mutation thing going on, but for better or worse (for better, definitely for better) they are not part of the same experiment that created heine. ]

Are you dissecting the cars?

[justscribing]

[Ah. So, like the Traveler and Paimon if you were to split Paimon into two people.]

Not since they'll be moved, but I was looking inside. [He gestures to the hood.] Whatever goes in here is missing. I assume it was some sort of engine and a power core, since it isn't currently functional.

the spar — alhaitham & heine ft. the peanut gallery

[kampfgeist]

[justscribing]

[As it turns out, it's around that time for Heine and Alhaitham's now monthly sparring session. The garage is cleared when it's not quite dinner time, car shells now flanking the open space of the driveway. Alhaitham surveys.]

It's enough space. [He tilts his head over to Heine.] If you're not too tired.

[nichocolatine]

[ yes, hi, hello, the peanut gallery is here to peanut and to gallery. ]

Kick his ass!

[ hands folded around his mouth like a megaphone, though his tone remains as dull and impassive as his expression. who's he even cheering on? tough to say. ]

[kampfgeist]

[ with the cars out of the way as they are and the driveway area mostly empty, it's definitely not a bad space for sparring. heine stands in the middle of it and stretches his arms one at a time across his chest, although his muscles are already fairly loose from having done manual labor all afternoon.

he nods, then affectionately flips badou off. ]

I'm not tired. Same rules as before?

[ asking a third time. a conversation with kaveh comes to mind: it's never about the victory. ]

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham just assumes Badou is talking to Heine, though he doesn't care about an audience much either way. They're here, but he doesn't feel the need to throw off his 'fighting behind the Denny's' schedule just because they're here.]

Same rules. [Same parameters. At the moment, it's still the cleanest test for his own improvement against a strong opponent. He'd be fool to think his little trick last time will work again.

He moves into the open area of the driveway, watching Heine to take the defensive or offensive based on how he moves first.]

the dinner — the whole gang

[kampfgeist]

[fussiest]

[ the cooking bench appears to be nothing more than a sturdy workbench kaveh had disassembled from some restaurant somewhere and rejigged so that it could be mounted on wheels. the wheels, thankfully, lock. the four portable stoves sit in shining rows mounted with ready gas canisters. metal trays sit with fresh ingredients pilfered from the nearby grocery store; beneath the counter, metal buckets filled with carrots, potatoes and water hold at the ready. pots and pans line a side trolley that must've been taken from a buffet. the sole consistency that holds it all together: the thick, sunflower print table cloth that kaveh procured from somewhere, bringing an autumn cheer to the makeshift outdoor kitchen.

then, there's kaveh, marching up to you with a glint in his eyes and with just enough of a stride to inform you that even if there is somewhere to run, you wouldn't make it very far. he has over his arms a set of aprons.

he is also smiling like so. this is possibly the happiest he's been since this entire place went down like a lead balloon. ]

Arms out.

[justscribing]

[Kaveh says "arms out". Alhaitham, who only ever does what he wants to do, and who always acts in the certainty of his own path, disregards Kaveh's request entirely to just try and snatch the pigeon one out of Kaveh's waiting arms.]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh, who hadn't been born yesterday, and most importantly, hadn't met alhaitham yesterday, takes a timed, healthy step backward so that the tips of alhaithams fingers snatch at air. ]

And hands to yourself! Didn't they hammer basic instruction-following in first year Haravatats, or did you somehow sit through that one with your headphones on as well? I'm surprised someone didn't break and hold you upside-down over a bridge.

[nichocolatine]

[ it would certainly not be the first time badou's worn an apron to cook (and it won't be the last! it's just good sense, okay, oil splatters are a pain to wash out) but while he tends to be fairly easy-going about most things, he's also just as quick to offer resistance whenever he's feeling particularly peckish. ]

I volunteer Nill for the abs apron.

[ but, look? he's holding his arms out like a good boy at least. ]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh's grin widens. ]

And not for yourself? I thought you might need it more. [ because nill is Powerful, and badou is a stringbean, look i don't make the rules. but teasing aside, kaveh expertly loops around badou's neck the apron emblazoned with the 'my dog loves my cooking'. ]

[nichocolatine]

[ it's after they've all had their fill that it happens. everyone seated back, basking in the afterglow of a satisfied tummy, the scents of their meals still clinging in the thickened evening air. badou sucking absently on a lollipop because he hasn't yet reached for a cigarette from the pack burning a hole in his pocket, out of some courtesy he scrounges up for their company, despite being out in open air. the rest of the lollipops he'd brought along ("for dessert, see?") are scattered on the table in between them all, yet untouched.

he's been looking between kaveh and alhaitham for the last few moments. sucking on the lolli and chewing on a thought that's been rolling around in his brain since this whole evening even started. ]

So.

[ that should have been warning enough, honestly. nothing good, nothing safe ever starts with the word "so." ]

How long you two been together.

[justscribing]

[The dinner has gone as thus: Hine can't get drunk, Badou and Alhaitham are avoiding getting drunk, Nill isn't allowed to drink, and Kaveh is getting progressively hammered. Which makes him that much louder, and Alhaitham has half a mind to turn his noise-cancelling on properly to muffle the sound were it not the fact that it would probably drown Heine out entirely (Badou, he thinks, would probably just start yelling too). Truly he is the most magnanimous here.

Towards the end when plates are mostly cleared and the energy ebbs down, Alhaitham reaches for his beer to swig the last of it down. It is then that Badou poses the question.

Alhaitham is a split second frozen, staring blankly from across tilted glass. The word comes out slowly.] ... Together.

[And then the grief glance aside to Kaveh, to see if he heard that or if he's too deep in his cups and his current explanation of greenhouse architecture to have even noticed.]

intermittently here, don't mind him, keep tagging without him

[fussiest]

[ at alhaitham's elbow, growing progressively louder: kaveh, swinging side to side his glass, proclaims with no little uncertainty that the angle of sunlight exposure through glass makes a difference in plant yields, the testing of which kaveh intends on doing with a scaffolded rooftop for a greenhouse because you ought to be able to adjust these things - but why on earth was it so difficult to find appropriate motors in this place, even simple ones? what is it about this city that hates action so much. and does anyone have any opinions on soil to fertiliser ratios?

anyway, it's apparent that kaveh has yet to notice any conversation aside from his own - yet. ]