#kidgeweek2022

Day 7: Hades & Persephone

Out of all the prompts for this year's Kidge Week, this one was very special to me because A) I'm a big mythology nerd and B) I also happen to be a huge fan of the musical Hadestown, which is a modern adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that features Hades and Persephone as well.

Sunday, April 17th: First Job

Keith walked into the back door of work feeling tired but already anticipating his gaming tonight. Last night, he told Greenie they could stay on much longer tonight with finals being over… if they did not have plans. He knew it was a Saturday and as like Lance liked to say, most normal people had plans on Saturdays. However, they agreed readily, which was great. After that ambush yesterday, he realized he actually wanted to know more about Greenie. He wanted to talk, or even text. And while he did not yet know if they were a guy or girl, honestly it didn’t even matter.

Did they live in the country? State? City? He has learned pretty early on that playing together really did not guarantee anything…but he was leaning towards them being in at least the same time zone which was great. With that in mind, he was planning to ask tonight, where they were from or lived. There was no harm in just asking right?

As he walked into the garage, he went straight to the break room to stow his lunch and was about to throw his jacket on his usual hook, only to find a backpack already on it. What the heck?

Grumbling, he took a closer look and saw the patch sown on it with the initials KH, in a font that made it look like an element on the periodic table. Great, the Holt girl must be here already. Sighing, he figured he never promised to actually talk to her but rather just to look out for her. So, that was a plus. He probably should have asked for a name but, if he wasn’t going to talk to her, did it even matter? Glancing at the clock, he really hoped today went by quickly.

Sighing, he walked to the work area of the garage, where he waved to Kolivan who was already in his office. Keith knew the garage was a success but it was in large part to Kolivan’s buying up beat-up older cars and then rebuilding them better than when they first came off the line. He was almost always here, a workaholic if he ever saw one. Yet, Keith was a little surprised to see the Holt girl in there with him. Usually, new staff was trained by the shift manager, who for days was Thrace.

Slowing down, he tried to get a better look at her without being obvious. Hmmm, even with her back mostly to him, she definitely was not what he was expecting. Stopping, he chuckled quietly. It literally was a girl version of Matt. Same amber hair, except more waves and he thought it was actually shorter than Matt’s. They already put her in the Blades T-shirt which was simply a black cotton tee with a purple insignia on the sleeves. It really wasn’t anything special but the black hid a lot of the grease and dirt that eventually made its way on a person. She had on a pair of well-worn jeans and … combat boots?

That was actually smart. He wore his motorcycle boots to work even when he didn’t ride in, they provide great coverage against things falling and potentially breaking a toe. Well, Shiro has mentioned in the past that the Holts were geniuses. Obviously, this girl was not like his former female coworkers. Thank God.

****************

Just then he noticed Ulaz and Regis waving him over. Time to get to work.

Keith felt someone kick his leg. Rolling out from under the car he looked up at Regis.

“Dude, lunchtime! We all ate since you were in the zone.”

Keith nodded, “Yeah sounds good.”

Before heading to at, he went to the side of the garage and washed up, pulling down the top half of his coveralls. Sighing he feels too much hair on his face and promises himself to get a haircut soon. As he leaves the garage area, he glances into the waiting room and front desk section, where he imagined the girl would be. He had zero plans on walking in even though he knows most mechanics grab donuts or coffee from the freebies for customers.

But, that was before he saw Lotor leaning on the counter chatting up the Holt girl. Suddenly feeling protective he strolls through the door and quietly walks to the fancy coffee machine while unobtrusively trying to spy. Pretending to select a coffee he listened in.

Lotor murmured, “Katie, why are you slumming it? You know you could have simply told me you were ready for your first job and I could have hooked you up with a position at Galra Tech. Then we could have seen each other every day and maybe even night.”

Keith rolled his eyes and tried very hard to not turn around and start something with him. Lotor was the kind of guy that just irked Keith to no end. Rich, spoiled, and full of himself. There was a reason Keith stayed in the back, away from the customers. But he was a man of his work and he promised to watch out for her. He could not bring himself to walk away, hell she was alone up here. And while Keith didn’t see Lotor getting handsy he could be cruel.

As he waited for her response he gave up the pretense of coffee and instead just turned around fully to watch. He caught the gaze of the mini Holt and arched a brow.

She didn’t disappoint.

She completely ignored his comment and instead gave the spiel about the terms and conditions of service. Like she did not even hear him or know him personally. In the end, she even asked if he needed a courtesy ride or a loaner car. At his negative shake, she then ended with, “Thank you for your patronage.” and turned to leave.

Keith felt the corners of his mouth turn up. Lotor looked completely blind-sighted. “Katie! Wait, -“ but she was already gone.

When Lotor turned, he saw Keith and instantly started sneering. “Hey, don’t they keep the grease monkeys in the back?”

Hey everyone, to celebrate Pidge's birthday the Kidge Week Team brings you the list of prompts for this year's Kidge Week, we hope you love them and have fun!

Friday, April 15th: Late Nights

Saturday, April 16th: Archery

Sunday, April 17th: First Job

Monday, April 18th: FREE DAY

Tuesday, April 19th: Cherry Blossoms

Wednesday, April 20th: Rainboots & Umbrellas

Thursday, April 21st: Hades & Persephone