Amelia, Ch 396- Sveta
Living on base had its perks, like not having to pay for my own room or electricity. It also came with drawbacks, like being at work for an average of twenty hours a day. I slipped on the biosuit that Vicky gave me as a Christmas-in-July gift. She refused to say how much she had to pay Avalon's Tinkers to make something with absolutely no real combat value at all, but I suspected it was either an awful lot, or completely free. All I knew is it was awesome.
"Sundress four. Medium red, white trim." Shimmering silver light formed around my hips and down my legs, generated by shielding from Khonsu tissue. The mass of Yggdrasil making my suit spread along the shield in thin, organic sheets. The shields collapsed and the skirt fell around my knees, acting like any other fabric. I looked at myself in the mirror. I frowned at the contrast of the look against my skin. I may have the shape of a beautiful young woman, but I look more like those dumb Roswell aliens, with creepy gray skin and solid black eyes.
"Add long sleeves, add gloves, add leggings." I watched as the shimmer extended, covering every inch of skin below my neck. The new additions were white. Great, now I look like alien Santa. "Medium blue trim." I waited a second, looking in the mirror and deciding if I enjoyed the color pattern enough. "Light blue trim." Okay, that's a lot better. No, not quite. "Shorten sleeves to halfway between elbow and shoulder." My arms were exposed again. I am not going to hide who I am.
I walked out into the living area. Derek was there as usual. The boy lived here as well, and I often wondered why he never put a TV in his room. I smiled, it was nice to see him around at least. "So, how are you holding up?"
He looked away from the nature documentary he was watching. "I'm just... I dunno. The place feels so empty, now. First we lost GL, then Boost, and now Crystal's finally left. What are we supposed to do? What's going to happen to the rest of us?"
I don't know. What would Vicky do? Rush in and save the day with sheer badassery, that's what. I walked up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We keep moving forward. We're still scary powerful. And we're still part of the most powerful team in the universe."
"What about-"
"Eidolon doesn't count."
He smiled. "I just miss them, y'know? Well, GL and Crystal. Boost was kind of a-"
"Self obsessed douche bag?" I let him nod, then continued. "Yeah, I know. I miss them, too." GL was always everyone's big brother, in the not-unfortunate-implications meaning of the word. Always ready to help, never willing to let others help him. Crystal was much the same. They were closer to each other than any other combination on this team. If they ever talked about their own problems, then it was only to each other.
"Does this mean that Sabah's in charge, now? Where is she, anyway?"
I really hope not. "I think she's dealing with her latest breakup with Lily."
He rolled his eyes. "Again? What was it this time?"
"Again. Apparently they're mad at each other for flirting with another woman."
"Well, if they both did it, then what's the point of fighting about it?"
"They were both flirting with the same other woman. Or at least that's what Vicky tells me." Derek just looked at me like he couldn't figure out what I just said. "Yeah, she thought it was stupid, too." And mentioned a few creative solutions I'm not going to repeat. "So, I was about to head to the deli. Would you like me to pick you up something?"
"Uh. Sure, that salami you brought back last time was really good. See if they have more?"
"Got it." I lifted up the plastic bucket I normally used to collect my supplies and headed off.
....
'Deli' wasn't quite the appropriate term. 'Giant meat market' was more accurate. With all the Asian refugees, a dead Leviathan, and the need for large amounts of food to ship to the colonies, the newly revitalized fishing industry was doing wonderfully. I took a deep breath as soon as I got close. Most of the people here shopping were Asian, with the other ethnicities mainly being limited to the dock workers. I chose to pretend the stares I got were for wearing such a beautiful outfit to a place like this. This outfit, this body, both gifts given to me by Victoria. We are both beautiful.
I made my way straight to Wu's Butcher Shop and Deli. After Lily introduced me to sushi, I discovered I had a taste for fresh, raw, seafood. Wu was an older Korean man who barely spoke enough English to not need my translation device, and had a wider variety than pretty much anyone. More importantly, he didn't blink an eye at my abnormal request. He even refused to charge me. I still paid for everything else, despite his arguments that he owed his success to what I did against Leviathan.
I smiled as I stepped in. Tony was in today, I recognized his medium brown mop of hair immediately. He smiled right back. "Hey, Sveta, here for the usual?"
I glanced self consciously at a few of the others. Most of the customers didn't speak a lot of English, and neither did the employees. Tony was one of only a few exceptions, hired because, to quote the boss, 'white people money good as anyone else'. The part where he was young, fit, and worked more in the stockroom than out front was probably part of it, too. "Yeah, the usual. And two pounds of salami."
He smiled, and tapped the counter. A younger asian girl, who was probably only barely old enough to be allowed a job approached. He pointed at the salami and held up to fingers, then pointed at me. She smiled and nodded. Then Tony reached out and took my bucket, heading into the back. By the time the meat was sliced and packaged and paid for, all done by simple gestures and the numbers shown on the cash register, Tony had returned carrying the sealed five gallon bucket.
"Here's the second half of your order." He held it out for me. It wasn't that heavy, only twenty or thirty pounds, but he used both hands anyway, so I could easily grip the center of the bar while my other hand was full. He hesitated, not taking his hands off the bucket, his thumbs brushing against either side of my fingers where I held. "I wanted to ask you something."
I looked up at him. He wasn't that tall for a guy, about average. But I wasn't tall for a girl, either, so he had a few inches on me. "Okay?"
"Well, uh, I was wondering if you'd, umm, like to go on a date?"
What?
I said nothing. I just stepped back, turned, and walked out of the building as fast as I could, carrying the roughly forty pound bucket with me.
....
It would be three weeks before I returned again. I had my outfit low key this time. Shoes, jeans, a hoodie. Maybe if I was lucky I could slip in and out without being noticed. There was a new guy there. Black, highschool or maybe college age like most of Wu's employees. School was due to start soon, so probably college. He stared at me for a second after I approached, the look of a deer in headlights. Prey terrified by a predator. Scared of a monster. The natural reaction when first seeing my face. "I'm here to make an order. Just tell Mister Wu that Sveta's here for her usual. He'll know what to do."
"Umm, yes ma'am." The guy bolted for the back. Another of the other newbies stared at me, as well as several of the customers, while I purchased a large slab of halibut for the whole group to enjoy. There was a general chatter and some people angrily hissed at the rude ones under their breaths. I recognized my name, and the words 'Pantheon' and 'Leviathan' from a couple of those. I could guess the tone of the conversations from that.
The new guy came out carrying the bucket, and it turns out that yes, black people are capable of sickly pallor. He held the bucket as if it were filled with gallons of Ebola, with one hand, and trembling the whole time. When my hand brushed his to get the grip, he pulled back as if afraid I'd be taking his hand with the bucket. If not for my superhuman reaction speed, the bucket would have dropped and spilled its contents all over the floor. Wu's going to fire this guy so hard the moment one of the other employees tell him about this. I didn't feel as bad about that as I would have liked.
I was almost out the door when I heard a voice behind me. "Sveta! Wait!"
I hesitated, glancing back at Tony. Dammit. I couldn't decide if I wanted to run or stay, and in my hesitation I stayed. Tony caught up to me. "Look, about the other week. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just... I'm sorry. I'll never bring it up again, okay?"
"Why would you be interested in the first place?"
"I don't know how to explain it. You're smart, and nice, and I just like you, okay?"
He likes me? God, that sounds like a silly middleschool thing. What's next, passing papers with little hearts drawn on them? And as stupid as it is, it still makes me happy. I met his eyes now. I suppose he is attractive, in an average sort of way. Certainly not ugly, certainly someone who wouldn't have much trouble finding an ordinary girlfriend. Maybe he's just a pervert? "You don't know anything about me."
He shrugged. "I know a few things. I know you are brave enough to fight Leviathan one on one in the middle of the ocean. You're a major celebrity with all kinds of cool tech, but you still walk miles down to the docks to buy your food yourself. Which you pay for despite knowing the owner would happily give you all of it for free."
Okay, maybe he does know something about me.
"And I suspect that you don't even eat the food you buy. You prefer." He hesitated, his eyes going to the bucket I was carrying. "Well."
Full of the heads and tails cut off of the fish Mister Wu sells. My own personal dining preference. I didn't enjoy the entrails, though I didn't mind them too much, either. What hit my pallate just right were the bony parts. Something with a good crunch to it. Raw and as fresh as I could get it. Straight off the still living fish was my favorite, but that bothered me on a different level. I didn't like killing. I didn't like that I did like killing.
I noticed he was waiting for me to say something. "Well, I guess that's a start."
He smiled nervously. "And most importantly, I know I'd like to know more."
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A/N- D'aww.
Also- for those not reading the comments section. I edited the bottom of the last chapter at some point last night. The last two paragraphs might be new for you. And they're a LOT better than what was originally there.
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