Remember me For Centuries

“Thank you. It was my sister’s name.” She considered him for a moment. “Of course, ICA know about this, but I wouldn’t like such private information to do the rounds, so I trust you’ll keep my current state to yourself.”

“At this point, any trouble would be good, great even. Anything to not think about...uh, stuff.” He watched her cautiously, “so, you have any details you can afford to give me, in person or on any sort of storage...device? If I’m going to jump head first into something, I think I deserve to know how much trouble I’m going to be wading into.”

“The part about Dmitry?” she asked. “I don’t see it.”

“Genetic manipulation. He is secretly the Uber Mensch. Wish I coulda gotten that kind of manipulation, but noooo, they had to go with the ‘variety pack’. Y’know, where there’s a really awesome one, but you end up with that one weird one that you didn’t even know what in the series before?” He shrugged, chuckling, “dude, my colors are completely gone. I went out for lunch, like....last week? You know what Conspiracy Guy said?”

Birdie pushed back some of his sopping hair from his forehead and grinned awkwardly at the shorter man. He’d have to come up with an expert explanation for turning up unannounced, especially because Century had never explicitly told him where he lived.

“I’ll buy 50% of that, at least,” Century chuckled, “c’mon in, Birdie-sorry to arrive at the door looking all a mess. And, uh...” He glanced down at his own boxers with a slight frown, “pants....less. That wasn’t planned. Although I do happen to be of the opinion I rock Rainbow Dash better than any girl.”

Despite herself, Diana smiled again at his lighthearted teasing. “Emma,” she said simply, resting a hand on her bump. “And I am happy, believe it or not. Things are… well, work is as chaotic as you might expect, but personally, things are… truly wonderful.” 

“Um......” He trailed off, “I don’t know. I don’t have that pressure of someone breathing down my neck constantly, which has led to a total collapse of structure, somehow. I resolved my plot and I don’t know where to go from here. It’s nice, but apparently you can be too much of yourself.” Century leaned on his messenger bag heavily, propping his head up on the palms of his hands, “if you’re left alone with yourself long enough, you start to realize everything that’s wrong with you. Like me.”

“Honey wings? Mm, well, I do like that they have honey in their name, so I guess that’ll do.” This shirt and those pants, and a pair of underwear and…

“Yeah, they’re great for people who hate spicy foods but still want wings. I think the place serves ribs, too.”

“You should totally show me pictures of your cats. All the cat pictures, I’m all about the cat pictures.” Century yawned, shuffling over to his wardrobe, searching through the drawers for an appropriate outfit.

Katia laughed. “I’ve got plenty of pictures. Peter and Aaron are too cute not to take pictures of.”

“Honey wings? Mm, well, I do like that they have honey in their name, so I guess that’ll do.” This shirt and those pants, and a pair of underwear and...

Diana smiled knowingly at the sight of him. “Century. I hope you’ll forgive me for not getting up to greet you, but we just got comfortable.” She gestured to the table, inviting him to take a seat. 

“A little from column A, a little from column B...” He sat down, shifting the messenger bag into his lap. “I may be of the more eccentric sort, but I do have a certain sense of professionalism. My personal eccentricities and my professional behavior are two completely different things. Plus...the rainbow takes a while, so I figured I might as well stay lazy a bit longer and simply get the brown evened out instead. All I’m really truly grieving right now is the makeup- when I left to get to the airport, the government conspiracy guy in my apartment complex seemed genuinely surprised I’m Asian. According to him, my makeup tricked him into thinking I was a white man.” Century shrugged.

Long Time, No See

In retrospect, he should have called the moment he landed, rather than simply shooting a single text message while leaving his temporary apartment to request the address of their meeting place. Century could have hit himself, realizing after the fact he hadn’t addressed his appearance. Would she be expecting him to walk in all draped in rainbows and pastels as he usually was, or would she be expecting him to wear something more toned down as he was. 

“I was going to show up fashionably late with Starbucks and donuts, but if you’re offering, I’m there. Food is worth the effort to put on pants.” He stood up slowly, shaking his head a few times, “mm?”

“Starbucks and donuts, huh? I’m sure we could arrange that. I have the Netflix account,” she remarked with a slight chuckle. “But yeah I know a great place with killer hot wings.”

“You should totally show me pictures of your cats. All the cat pictures, I’m all about the cat pictures.” Century yawned, shuffling over to his wardrobe, searching through the drawers for an appropriate outfit.

Century stared at his ceiling, kicking his feet absent-mindedly. The blankets and pillows were soft and bright against his back, but they did nothing to alleviate the sensation of complete emptiness he had. He’d finally gotten back almost three weeks ago, and he’d done nothing but sit around and maybe write a few chapters in his books. And nothing helped. 

Birdie hadn’t heard from Century in a while, after their last meeting had cancelled yet again. So he decided to go snooping, that sort of thing usually worked, though he received a bad reputation for it.

The ground was harder than he’d remembered, as he abruptly sat up and tumbled over, off balance. “Holy jesus fuck!” Someone was at his door? His door? That hadn’t happened in.....in....when was the last time he ordered pizza? Last week, so....a week? And now he was stuck, half in bed and half out of bed, with his head and shoulders on the ground but his legs in bed. He always just had to get himself into these positions, didn’t he?