i was ridiculous. young icarus

Thank fuck someone had stopped, who knows how long she could have been here and -… hello there. Ireland was also going to thank whoever who ran upstairs for the chiseled jawbones slash cheekbones of who ever had come to help her and he brought jumper cables too-… she swore if this worked she was going to suck his dick-… FOR FREE. Not that she charged but, it was expected that you understood where the situation was going “That would be fantastic because I did not want to be standing out here in the freezing cold until it got dark-… who knows how many Ted Bundy wannabe’s were out here waiting to make me their next prey”  

She commented she watched the other at work; “Cars are my thing -… sort of and I know what it is but it’s like on it’s way out so I just wanna get home and then probably buy a new car or something” the heiress had a lot of money so this was basically just disposable income to her; “Well aren’t you something else. I literally could be here to lure you to your death and you’re inviting me into your car-… I am going to take it someone hasn’t hurt you badly or you would not be this hospitable to a stranger”

“You’re too blonde to be Ted’s type, but if the guy like him had a blonde girlfriend it’s a valid concern.” Zander shrugs, look did he like knowing that Ted Bundy killed girls that looked like his girlfriend exclusively? No, he didn’t like thinking about the connotation either for that matter, but he knew that little fact - he didn’t want to be the only one cursed with the knowledge. “Iceland has the lowest crime rate in the world though, so you would have been more likely freezing to death than anything like that. You’d have to worry about the tourists mostly, I think.” He wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be used as a good-natured conversation, but he was going that route with it - his tone actually lighthearted as he sets up the wires between the cars.

“They’re not really my thing, I can fix the small things you really don’t need the shop for but otherwise - better left to the professionals.” He couldn’t imagine having the kind of money to just go out and get a new car at any point, that’d be several years of saving and zero college classes if he was saving up for the down payment on one probably. He made enough to survive, but it wasn’t exactly a job that gave him that kind of padding. “Maybe I’m trying to lure you to your death.” He shrugs, he had been hurt a lot. It only took a close look at this neck to notice the knife scar on it, and it wasn’t like he could wear short sleeves anymore without people seeing evidence of things he never discussed. “You caught me in a generous mood, holidays and all I guess-  I wouldn’t get used to it.”

“I knew I should have brought fucking jumper cables-… piece of shit” she was stranded on the side of the road and now Ireland grew up in a family that was pretentious as all hell and didn’t know how to get their manicured fingers dirty but Ireland did-… she knew everything there was too know but there was one thing that she didn’t and that was the future because if she did she would have known that this piece of shit car wouldn’t make it to her destination; “Mind helping me out or giving me a ride until I can call someone for this? I’ll shout you petrol whatever you need”

Zander hated doing grocery shopping, but he really needed to do it. Plus, he needed more cigarettes so getting up was really a big motivation to get his shit done, even if he’d rather be anywhere else on his day off. He was making his way back to the Dulac when he saw her on the side of the road, and he pulls over to help, turning off his engine. He gets out, going to grab his jumper cables from his truck before he makes his way over to the girl. “Let’s see if a jump will get this thing back to the hotel, and then we’ll figure it out from there.” He recognized her from the hotel, one of the guests although he didn’t quite remember her name at the moment. “She looks like she’s going to need to get checked up but, cars really aren’t my thing. You’re probably gonna want to call someone after we get her back.” The machines around the hotel were a different story, of course, as he starts running the cable from her car to his. “If you want, door’s unlocked, you can sit in the truck and warm up. It’s chilly this time of year.”

Too cold to be on the side of the road, hopefully she hadn’t been here too long.

Verona was hoping she’d see him in the hotel, remaining in the lobby of all places because it was easy to spot who was leaving and entering the place at all times and if there was anyone to go on their break outside, it was going to be him. So as soon as her eyes laid on him, she couldn’t help but bounce towards him almost naturally. “ Hey, nome .. you got a second for me ? ” She questioned as politely as possible, moving her hand so she could grab at his sleeve and tug him with her a little past the reception. “I thought, you were so helpful when I fell on my butt the other day .. and since it’s the season of gifts, I’d get you a little something,” she told him before quickly revealing a small basket that was filled with christmassy pastries, some chocolate as well as some champagne. “I didn’t know what you liked so I just threw a lot of stuff together.” /  @oficynome​

Nome eventually heading outside to sneak a smoke was inevitable, what had started as an attempt to reduce his stress levels had become a constant itch calling out for him to scratch it. Perhaps he had too much pride to just say flat out he was addicted to his cigarettes, but his actions in regard to them certainly was something others would notice - and only grew more apparent when people used his habits to find him. This was one of those moments, and he resists the urge to look longingly towards the door as Verona pulls him away from the smoke break asking if he has a moment. “Of course, what’s up Verona?” He asks, hopefully it wasn’t any more trouble with ladders. She was lucky the last time, and while he had fixed it - he still hadn’t gone through every ladder on property to double check none of the rest were broken.

His sister had kept him way too busy with the holidays, there was nothing Aurora got more excited about which meant Christmas was equally important to him as he attempted to ensure she had the best one possible, a habit he hadn’t broken after moving to Iceland and one he still didn’t feel comfortable breaking - it’d be an adjustment for both of them, and he still wasn’t willing to make it. He listens to her explanation, a bit of confusion crossing his features as she mentions getting him a gift. All he had done was help her and fix a ladder, that wasn’t gift worthy - there had to be a catch correct? So he eyes the basket closely, trying to gauge the food and champagne as she talks. “You didn’t have to do that, you know. I didn’t do that for anything in return.” He tells her, glancing over to her and reading her expression, trying to figure out what exactly was going on to cause her to do this.  “I appreciate you thinking of me, but I didn’t mind helping you. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.” Was Verona the type to poison him? Probably not, but there had to be something else to go with this.

And he intended of figuring out just what it was.

。·:✧:· LAUGHING, SHE TRIED to imagine cooking with such a horrible smell. she wasn’t much of a cook and really didn’t think she ever would be, most likely because of just that. what if she didn’t like the food? how was she supposed to cook with it then? “i don’t think i want to try german food now. i didn’t think i was picky, but i just might be.” catalina explained. when he suggested a walk, the small event planner nodded with a bright smile. that would be a really good idea. how come she hadn’t thought of it before? “oh gosh, i’d love to! that’d be nice, especially ‘cause it’s been a long time since i’ve just walked around for fun, rather than looking for anything wrong with an event.” catalina loved it outdoors. if she could plan all of her events outside, she would, but not many people liked the outdoors.

“You don’t have to be picky to be wary of something, you know, but I’m willing to bet by the time they’re done, everything will be fine, and they made an amazing dish.” After all, he doubted Amsterdam would make something and serve it to guests smelling like rotten flesh. Sometimes these things were a process, and this one probably involved figuring out which mushroom matured enough to be an issue and managed to sneak in their batch. A causality he couldn’t help but empathize with. “I think most people are avoiding the cold, not that I completely blame them but it’s a beautiful walk.” Winter was truly the season he had the most internal conflict over - maybe even the only - he enjoyed snowboarding, the scenery, and whatever other winter activities he could get involved with, but he hated getting cold. He supposed if he had to freeze though, he wanted to have fun doing it. “I imagine just walking is less stressful though, I can’t imagine just how much attention you have to pay to detail work.” He pushes the door open, holding it for Catalina and letting her go first before her follows her outdoors.

Bristol: Cards, letters, invitations (we know what kind!) and anything else!

Bristol: People really go off during the holidays!

Nome: I mean I knew people mail stuff out, I just didn't know WE mailed stuff out. Thought we were supposed to be.... closed off from all that. Don't tell my sister it's an option, please?

Bristol: We've always had a Christmas card mailbox...

Bristol: Probably a bunch of kids. Ffs!

Nome: I didn't pay a lot of attention last year, I had bigger priorities. Good to know it's a thing now, maybe next year I'll actually send out cards.

Bristol: I want to see whoever put the Christmas card mailbox on a floatie and put it in the middle of the pool in my office before the end of the day.

Nome: We have a Christmas card mailbox?

。·:✧:· BLINKING, SHE LISTENED to his response, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. catalina had no idea what a stinkhorn was, but really didn’t want to know. and to cook with something like that? she’d have to have a talk with amsterdam about that, because who in their right mind would want to eat something like that. “what in the world? how do they even cook with that without falling to the ground in tears?” catalina asked, laughing to herself. all she could do was hope that it would go away soon and it wasn’t really a dying cat. pursing her lips, she looked up at him, a soft smile on her face. “is there a safe space from the smell? somewhere we could go so i don’t feel like there’s a dead cat in my nose.”

“Nose plugs if it has a smell? I’m not sure - they’re used in German cooking mostly I think? Some European country, at the very least.” Nome suggests, honestly foreign cuisine wasn’t really his expertise in the slightest. Maybe he’d pick up a small thing or two every blue moon or so but otherwise, it was better left to the professionals as far as he was concerned. He was better suited for fixing things. “We could go outside, in the fresh air and far away from the kitchen if you’d like. Sometimes a nice walk is great for getting rid of the dead cat in your nose feeling.” He could go for a walk at least, it was beautiful this time of year. Perhaps a bit colder than he would prefer, but that was the case with winter back in the states too so - it was nothing new as far as he was concerned.

。·:✧:· COVERING HER NOSE and mouth, catalina winced, spinning around. there was a horrible smell and she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. whatever it was, smelled like a dying animal that’d been dumped in a pile of garbage. this was a fancy hotel, there shouldn’t be anything that smelled so awful. but then again, it could be her imagination or something outside. it could even be something the chefs were cooking. but in that moment, she didn’t want to move, for fear it’d get worse. instead, she asked the person standing next to her. “oh gosh! do you smell that? it’s like the dying cat parade trash can. where is that coming from?”

“They could be cooking with the common stinkhorn, the mature fungi smell like rotten flesh - there’s a chance they spent a bit too much time near those before getting picked?” Zander wasn't actually sure if the smell could travel that way, but he couldn’t think of any other logical explanation for the smell. Unless there was stray cat murder going on he wasn’t aware of - it being something in the kitchen was the most logical thought.

Another seemingly demagnetized room key, another trip to the front desk in hopes whoever was on didn’t dislike him too horribly at this point. He did seem to come up to the desk a lot, apology on his lips. This time it actually wasn’t his fault though, he had been good, kept his phone away from it, hell he even wrapped it in tinfoil like the Internet said might help. This one though, might actually require a new card. “I’m sorry to bother you but I’m having issues with my card. This one might be harder than normal though, Avignon.” He slides the card across the counter, a small frown forming on his lips when he sees just how scratched up it was. “I was working and it fell out of my pocket while I was changing a light bulb without me realizing it, so it may have become a bit too acquainted with the tile.” He’s already reaching into his wallet, seeking out money to replace the room key.

“You got a point,” she agreed, forcing a short chuckle before taking a deep breath. He was right because she couldn’t allow herself to be injured just a little before the charity event would start. It was essential that everything looked perfect in order for people to be excited to do some donations and enjoy their night because only then, would she be proud of herself. “Alright, you’re the boss – ” Figuring he’d knew what he was doing, seeing as he was one of the maintenance workers here. “It would certainly make me feel better if it was the faulty one between the two of us. I should know how to climb my ladders,” she pointed out, especially because she was used to cleaning from high places anyway. “That sounds just like what I need.”

A walk would clear her head a little, at least that’s what she thought. “ It is in the storage for most of the year so maybe it isn’t the most stable anymore ? ” She didn’t know that much about ladders besides how to use them for her advantage so it was good that people like nome existed. “I’m guessing you’re on lunch break ? I suppose I couldn’t have chosen a better time to hurt my butt.”

“Always better to check just in case.” It was better safe than sorry, even if the ladder wasn’t broken - he’d be able to notice the signs if something was even starting to go wrong. It couldn’t hurt. “I’m sure you do know how to climb a ladder, you’re usually the one who does that, right?” He gestures to the decorating Verona had fallen putting up, if this was the first time she had fallen off the ladder - it was just logical to assume there was a chance he was going to find something wrong with the ladder she was on. “Let’s walk, then.” He starts heading inside, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Verona was actually following before he starts heading in the direction of where he kept his stuff.

“Do it,” she smirked, gesturing to the seat beside her with a grand sweeping gesture. “I won’t tell.” Her eyes lingered for a moment longer before she let them fall shut, relaxing into the lull of the jets against her back. Her muscles shouldn’t have been so tense. She’d been getting daily massages and the bed in her suite was like sleeping on a cloud. The problem was she hadn’t actually spent all that much time in it. 

“Bored,” she answered without opening her eyes. “And yes, I know I sound like an asshole. I just really don’t want to be here. It started off as, ‘oh, it’ll only be a week or two.’ Now I’m hearing ‘at least a few months.’ Like, are you fucking kidding me?” Her teeth were clenched and she pressed her fingers to her templed, already feeling the beginnings of a tension headache as her eyes finally flicked open. “Anyway, sorry. Yes. You should definitely hop on in here and relax with me.” 

“I suppose it is a slow day, I’ll just work through my lunch break.” Zander knew he shouldn’t be actually considering it, but Bel Air really was a friendly face at this point and he doubted whatever ulter motive she had wasn’t something he couldn’t handle. How many times have other members of the staff done things they weren’t exactly supposed to? Just this once wouldn’t get him fired, and if it did - well, he’d find something else to do and set more time working on that engineering degree he was still trying to get. “Just this once, Bel Air, and only for a bit.” He agrees, realizing just how stupid of a decision this really was as he starts to slip off his uniform.

He was going to be dealing with wet boxers for a bit today, and all because of a pretty girl and the decision to just ignore the fact what he was about to do was really stupid. As long as nobody caught them, and as long as nobody uttered a word to his younger sister, well - this was a one time thing. “I’m sorry they’re keeping you here longer than you’d like, suppose if you’re sticking around for a few months I could offer to show you around. Have you checked out the clubbing scene yet?” He settles himself into the seat next to her, relaxing as the jets shoot water at his back.

When was the last time he actually let himself in one of these? This was nice.

“I suppose I can consider myself lucky,” she mused, although shaking her head right away because she didn’t really feel any luck having fallen from that height, more so embarrassment. Even if she had hurt herself more, she probably wouldn’t have taken note of that until the day after, that’s how embarrassed she was. She still aprreciated the help tremendously though, honestly not having expected anyone to hurry in order to give her a hand after the little mishap.

“I’m pretty sure I fell just because I was a little too easy-going, don’t worry ..” she pointed out with a dismissive wave of her hand, which quickly made her realize that she did, indeed scratch herself up while trying to soften her landing. She definitely needed to take care of that. “Unless, you really want to – I’m personally not that shaky on it because I’ve done this these past 5 years already but I suppose I was a little irresponsible today,” she claimed with a short shrug, a smile soon curving up her lips. “I’m glad you came to help.”

“At the very least, luckier than the worst case situation.” The man could tell that Verona didn’t exactly count herself lucky, the shake of her head spoke volumes after her words. He couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, falling wasn’t lucky, getting hurt at all wasn’t lucky, the only thing lucky was truly how minor her injuries seemed in comparison to what they could have been when she fell. People had broken their spines with falls like that in the past, after all. “Easygoing or not, I’d still feel better if I gave it a quick at least. Just to make sure there’s nothing wrong with it.” Nome insisted, glancing over to the ladder again. “If it’s acting up, it’s hardly your fault, Verona. And if it turns out it’s not, we can just blame it. It’s fine. Want to walk with me to grab some stuff? We can get you patched up.”

“Good question .. I guess there’s just one way to find out,” she responded somewhat sarcastically, a little short of breath which was probably due to the shock she just experienced. “ Thank god there was snow there, right ? ” Really, now she was just stallng getting up because she certainly couldn’t allow herself an injury. Nonetheless she grabbed his hand in order to get herself up, just feeling a little tense as a whole.

“Thank you,” she mumbled with a faint smile, shaking off some of the snow that she collected while laying down. “ I’m not surprised if I’ll get a huge bruise on my ass .. but besides that, I think I’m fine ? ” She’d feel it tomorrow but that didn’t matter too much right now.

“Definitely, that fall would have hurt worse without the padding.” It probably would hurt like a bitch, he had no doubt about that, but it could have been worse if the snow had time to melt a bit and ice over too. At least from what he could tell tell the snow was still soft enough to not feel like a million knives in the woman’s back. That was the bright side of the situation. He helps her up, keeping a close eye on her to make sure she was steady before he lets go of her hand. She seemed to be able to keep upright without screaming, that was a good sign.

“oh, you know - that happens a lot.” she took the room key from him and started entering the details. “oh, no, it’s quiet now. it’s alright. but you know, you really gotta stop breaking this - i feel like i see you here every shift!”

“it was…” instead of finishing his sentence, wren punctuated his words with a chef’s kiss. “tis the season for it, you know? and if i can’t surf, snowboarding’s the next best thing.” he hated sitting around in a hotel doing nothing, loved heading out snowboarding until his body felt as if it was going to collapse from exhaustion. “nah, i got it, but you can keep me company because i know you missed me today,” he teased. though he hadn’t been at du lac for very long, he and nome had somehow become fast friends, and it was nice to have company for a beer ( or mulled wine ) when he wasn’t working. “you finished up now or do i have to wait for you, my darrrrrling?”

“That good, huh? Keep giving me hope it’ll stay good on my next day off.” It was better to have a day he could actually dedicate to snowboarding if he was going to do at this point, after a long day at the Dulac, he got tired, and sneaking in some time up on the mountains before work was always disappointing in the end. Who actually wanted to come in for a long day of fixing other people’s messes when you knew you were missing fun? Nome nods a little when Laguna says he has it, but he could keep him company. “I’m off already, actually - thankfully, I hate that shift.” He’d rather the shifts were guests were less likely to break things and call him away, sure, it was part of the job - but he’d rather just fix things then have to deal with the guests on average. “So if you want to put me to work helping you carry that up, by all means - might as well free up your hands a bit.”

“What did I tell you about taking it easy with the snowplow? Just because you can tweak it to go faster doesn’t mean you should, we’ve been over this.” Zander rambles as he tries to piece together the machine again, sometimes he wondered if Thomas did these things just to mess with him at this point. After all, the boy wasn’t stupid, he knew full well that Detroit had the ability to set this back to normal if he was so inclined to. Maybe the man didn’t have to be here while Zander undid the modification, but if he was going to lay in the snow - Detroit was going to be outside too.