[ her mouth twists off to the side, eyes narrowing. ]
... Ugh! Fine. Not like that's a choice we're going to have to make, but sure. If it makes you feel better. I'll-- I'll drag him if I have to.
[ she really doesn't want to think about having to do that, being forced to bodily tear them apart because it's what eddie wants. a conditional. she wonders if their friendship, even as solid as it is, could survive that. or if steve would just end up hating her for it. no matter the outcome-- she loses.
it's better for her morale not to consider it an option at all. ]
You know, it's really- it's so stupid we can't just get special summoned passports or something. If we're such a big deal, why do we have to basically swear allegiance to one of the major territories?
[ robin leans her head back to sigh through her nose. the mention of wanda is a good one; they don't know each other very well yet, but robin has enjoyed taking lunch with her several days a week. sometimes dinner and breakfast, too, if she spends the night in one of the spare rooms. she's taken a particular liking to one high up in the tree house, tower-like and brimming with books. though not the ones she wants to be on the lookout for right now.
still. the small library of solvunn will be a start. ]
Well. Unless cross-territory travel suddenly becomes a thing, we'll just have to put a pin in that. Maybe we can ask a summoned from there to help? But I'll comb through what we have at the primary settlement before we go chasing after other options.
[ she places fists on her hips, arms akimbo. they have the makings of a game plan; nancy's shot in the dark had been a bullseye, who's to say they can't pull off the same hat-trick twice? ]
We should brief Steve about it over dinner.
[ though she can already guess he's not going to take eddie's terms and conditions all that well. ]
Yeah, well if we’re ridiculously lucky, it won’t even come to that. But just in case? That's our backup plan.
[ It might destroy him if it comes down to Robin dragging Steve along with her, but he refuses to be the reason why anyone cuts off their entire lives back home. It will hurt either way, but they’re just going to have to hope that they get lucky and things go a different direction.
Not that him being left behind is being seriously considered as an option at all, but he doesn’t know that part. ]
You tell me. We didn’t even get to choose territories they want us to pledge loyalty to.
[ He snorts humorlessly. He doesn’t dislike Solvunn, not by a long shot. As of now, it’s his home, but it never sat well with him that not a single one of them chose to come here and not a single one of them was given the option to leave. Basically, there isn’t a whole lot of choice here. ]
I know some people in Thorne who might be able to look. Not sure about the Free Cities.
[ He may reach out to some people there too, but he’s heard more about their military than he has about any libraries.
But Robin brings up the idea of taking this to Steve, and he huffs out another anxious laugh an drags his hands down his face. ]
Uh, no, we shouldn’t.
[ He already knows that Steve is going to refuse his terms and conditions, and even if he somehow didn’t, he won’t hold to it. And Eddie can already picture the look on his face, because they’ve been through this and Steve isn’t likely to go back on his word, even if that works was spoken at least a year ago.
Ugh. ]
But…
[ He sighs and, throwing out his arms and dipping his head in a slight bow, he relents: ]
[ robin concedes in a deadpan tone. just because it's the smart thing to do doesn't mean she has to like it. or actually follow through.
her brows cinch together when eddie says they should keep all of this from steve. ]
Uh, yes we should. You just started dating and you already want to get into the habit of keeping secrets from your boyfriend?
[ she rolls her eyes so hard her head participates. ]
Maybe math isn't your strongest subject, doofus, but three pairs of eyes are objectively better than two.
[ she really knows how to sniff out and dig her fingers into all the soft, squishy parts of someone, doesn't she? her tongue is a weapon all on its own.
but even after neatly cutting him to the quick, her hands find his shoulders again to give them a conciliatory squeeze. her expression is gentle with sympathy. ]
Eddie... he'll be more than just mad if we don't let him help, he'll be hurt. I know you want to avoid having to talk to him about your silly-- [ read: pointless. ]-- fine print before he signs on, but that's kind of what being together is all about. Talking.
[ she tips her head back and groans theatrically. ]
I can't believe I'm giving you relationship advice when I haven't even been in one yet! This is cruel and unusual punishment!
[ It’s not like he’d have many secrets to keep. Eddie is an open book—it’s just hat a few o the pages are stuck together. What you see is typically what you get, but he rarely talks about himself in depth and often gets scared and thinks he can handle his problems on his own. He rarely can and he’s aware that he wouldn’t have survived as long as he did back home without help.
He sighs rolls his eyes upward, either suddenly finding the ceiling very interesting or pointedly avoiding her gaze. Because she just dug right into him, and he can normally let even the most finely crafted insult roll right off his shoulders, but he’d be lying if he said that didn’t sting a little bit. Math really isn’t his strongest subject unless it’s tied to D&D scoring, but she didn’t need to go there and critique his relationship at the same time. ]
This is my first one, so. Still plenty of time to fuck it all up.
[ He doesn’t mean that. Steve means a lot to him, and all of this is coming from a desire not to fuck things up. He’s scared—of what could happen and what might happen and what might not happen. It just seems like the only way any of them are going to get what they want out of this is if Eddie gets out of here too.
And that requires all three of them. ]
I’ll tell him. But if he never lets himself sleep again? I'm blaming you.
[ robin says with confident assurance... and then her mouth adopts a teasing smile, eyes all a-twinkle with amusement. ]
But Steve might.
[ she turns to lift herself back up onto the counter with her hands, sitting on the edge and swinging her legs. she pulls a lollipop out of the display cone by the register to pick open the wrapper. when she puts it in her mouth, she makes a surprised sound before leaning back to check if the trash bin is still next to the money safe like she remembers it.
she kinda expected food not to really have any kind of flavor here. it's not like it ever has in her dreams. but to her surprise it tastes exactly like whatever candy makers think passes for "watermelon."
when she straightens, she's already trying to chip away at the candy layer with her teeth to get to the underlying gum at the center. proper freak behavior. she pauses only to gesture at him with it. ]
He's not going to lose sleep over it, okay? He'll probably take it as well as I did. He'll-- he'll think it's stupid you're making him agree to something that will never come up anyway, because you not coming home with us isn't an option.
[ like it's that simple. vecna hadn't been. vecna had killed a frightened girl in his uncle's trailer, a girl that- maybe!- could've been his friend. and then he'd extracted his blood price from eddie, too, in the end.
but maybe that's why robin is so insistent. they've been given their second chance, and she'll be damned if it gets snatched from her, from them, like it had the first time. even considering it feels like bad luck. ]
[ Eddie doesn’t look particularly amused by that comment. He doesn’t respond, but he shoots Robin a withering glare as he pulls himself up onto the counter beside her and follows her lead almost exactly. He obnoxiously reaches over her to swipe a lollipop of his own from the display, rips the wrapper off with his teeth, turns to spit it ever so politely into the garbage behind him, and begins to partake in the exact same freak behavior of chipping away at the hard candy layer.
But his thoughts are the opposite of hers. As a connoisseur of only the finest junk food, can’t help but think that sour apple doesn’t taste nearly sour enough here in the Horizon, but it’s what he has available to him, and he chomps away at it with his brow furrowed in thought. ]
Guess I’ll, uh, just have to soften the blow somehow.
[ It’s his turn to shoot her a teasing grin, and he chuckles, leaning into her shoulder like they’ve been proper friends for years and not just for weeks. ]
You two ever going to sick of coming to my rescue?
[ Well, Eddie, you see, they didn’t come to your rescue that one time because you said you wouldn’t try to be a hero… ]
Edited (SORRY HAD TO FIX A WORD) 2024-12-26 00:23 (UTC)
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... Ugh! Fine. Not like that's a choice we're going to have to make, but sure. If it makes you feel better. I'll-- I'll drag him if I have to.
[ she really doesn't want to think about having to do that, being forced to bodily tear them apart because it's what eddie wants. a conditional. she wonders if their friendship, even as solid as it is, could survive that. or if steve would just end up hating her for it. no matter the outcome-- she loses.
it's better for her morale not to consider it an option at all. ]
You know, it's really- it's so stupid we can't just get special summoned passports or something. If we're such a big deal, why do we have to basically swear allegiance to one of the major territories?
[ robin leans her head back to sigh through her nose. the mention of wanda is a good one; they don't know each other very well yet, but robin has enjoyed taking lunch with her several days a week. sometimes dinner and breakfast, too, if she spends the night in one of the spare rooms. she's taken a particular liking to one high up in the tree house, tower-like and brimming with books. though not the ones she wants to be on the lookout for right now.
still. the small library of solvunn will be a start. ]
Well. Unless cross-territory travel suddenly becomes a thing, we'll just have to put a pin in that. Maybe we can ask a summoned from there to help? But I'll comb through what we have at the primary settlement before we go chasing after other options.
[ she places fists on her hips, arms akimbo. they have the makings of a game plan; nancy's shot in the dark had been a bullseye, who's to say they can't pull off the same hat-trick twice? ]
We should brief Steve about it over dinner.
[ though she can already guess he's not going to take eddie's terms and conditions all that well. ]
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[ It might destroy him if it comes down to Robin dragging Steve along with her, but he refuses to be the reason why anyone cuts off their entire lives back home. It will hurt either way, but they’re just going to have to hope that they get lucky and things go a different direction.
Not that him being left behind is being seriously considered as an option at all, but he doesn’t know that part. ]
You tell me. We didn’t even get to choose territories they want us to pledge loyalty to.
[ He snorts humorlessly. He doesn’t dislike Solvunn, not by a long shot. As of now, it’s his home, but it never sat well with him that not a single one of them chose to come here and not a single one of them was given the option to leave. Basically, there isn’t a whole lot of choice here. ]
I know some people in Thorne who might be able to look. Not sure about the Free Cities.
[ He may reach out to some people there too, but he’s heard more about their military than he has about any libraries.
But Robin brings up the idea of taking this to Steve, and he huffs out another anxious laugh an drags his hands down his face. ]
Uh, no, we shouldn’t.
[ He already knows that Steve is going to refuse his terms and conditions, and even if he somehow didn’t, he won’t hold to it. And Eddie can already picture the look on his face, because they’ve been through this and Steve isn’t likely to go back on his word, even if that works was spoken at least a year ago.
Ugh. ]
But…
[ He sighs and, throwing out his arms and dipping his head in a slight bow, he relents: ]
You, Robin Buckley, are the boss.
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[ robin concedes in a deadpan tone. just because it's the smart thing to do doesn't mean she has to like it.
or actually follow through.her brows cinch together when eddie says they should keep all of this from steve. ]
Uh, yes we should. You just started dating and you already want to get into the habit of keeping secrets from your boyfriend?
[ she rolls her eyes so hard her head participates. ]
Maybe math isn't your strongest subject, doofus, but three pairs of eyes are objectively better than two.
[ she really knows how to sniff out and dig her fingers into all the soft, squishy parts of someone, doesn't she? her tongue is a weapon all on its own.
but even after neatly cutting him to the quick, her hands find his shoulders again to give them a conciliatory squeeze. her expression is gentle with sympathy. ]
Eddie... he'll be more than just mad if we don't let him help, he'll be hurt. I know you want to avoid having to talk to him about your silly-- [ read: pointless. ]-- fine print before he signs on, but that's kind of what being together is all about. Talking.
[ she tips her head back and groans theatrically. ]
I can't believe I'm giving you relationship advice when I haven't even been in one yet! This is cruel and unusual punishment!
no subject
[ It’s not like he’d have many secrets to keep. Eddie is an open book—it’s just hat a few o the pages are stuck together. What you see is typically what you get, but he rarely talks about himself in depth and often gets scared and thinks he can handle his problems on his own. He rarely can and he’s aware that he wouldn’t have survived as long as he did back home without help.
He sighs rolls his eyes upward, either suddenly finding the ceiling very interesting or pointedly avoiding her gaze. Because she just dug right into him, and he can normally let even the most finely crafted insult roll right off his shoulders, but he’d be lying if he said that didn’t sting a little bit. Math really isn’t his strongest subject unless it’s tied to D&D scoring, but she didn’t need to go there and critique his relationship at the same time. ]
This is my first one, so. Still plenty of time to fuck it all up.
[ He doesn’t mean that. Steve means a lot to him, and all of this is coming from a desire not to fuck things up. He’s scared—of what could happen and what might happen and what might not happen. It just seems like the only way any of them are going to get what they want out of this is if Eddie gets out of here too.
And that requires all three of them. ]
I’ll tell him. But if he never lets himself sleep again? I'm blaming you.
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[ robin says with confident assurance... and then her mouth adopts a teasing smile, eyes all a-twinkle with amusement. ]
But Steve might.
[ she turns to lift herself back up onto the counter with her hands, sitting on the edge and swinging her legs. she pulls a lollipop out of the display cone by the register to pick open the wrapper. when she puts it in her mouth, she makes a surprised sound before leaning back to check if the trash bin is still next to the money safe like she remembers it.
she kinda expected food not to really have any kind of flavor here. it's not like it ever has in her dreams. but to her surprise it tastes exactly like whatever candy makers think passes for "watermelon."
when she straightens, she's already trying to chip away at the candy layer with her teeth to get to the underlying gum at the center. proper freak behavior. she pauses only to gesture at him with it. ]
He's not going to lose sleep over it, okay? He'll probably take it as well as I did. He'll-- he'll think it's stupid you're making him agree to something that will never come up anyway, because you not coming home with us isn't an option.
[ like it's that simple. vecna hadn't been. vecna had killed a frightened girl in his uncle's trailer, a girl that- maybe!- could've been his friend. and then he'd extracted his blood price from eddie, too, in the end.
but maybe that's why robin is so insistent. they've been given their second chance, and she'll be damned if it gets snatched from her, from them, like it had the first time. even considering it feels like bad luck. ]
no subject
But his thoughts are the opposite of hers. As a connoisseur of only the finest junk food, can’t help but think that sour apple doesn’t taste nearly sour enough here in the Horizon, but it’s what he has available to him, and he chomps away at it with his brow furrowed in thought. ]
Guess I’ll, uh, just have to soften the blow somehow.
[ It’s his turn to shoot her a teasing grin, and he chuckles, leaning into her shoulder like they’ve been proper friends for years and not just for weeks. ]
You two ever going to sick of coming to my rescue?
[ Well, Eddie, you see, they didn’t come to your rescue that one time because you said you wouldn’t try to be a hero… ]