i ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall

[deadtective]

WHO: Hazel & Tetsuo
WHERE: The arcade in Nonah.
WHEN: Some time before she gets smushed into the clown car up to Maine.
WHAT: Hazel's taking another turn at babysitting someone's powers, this time with the added bonus of trash talk and video games.
WARNINGS: None atm! Will edit if this changes.

[it isn't long after sending off her last zinger that Hazel's wandering through the arcade doors; she's been here before, and the bullet trains more than live up to their name. she barely got in a single game of whatever app's still got achievements to unlock on her phone.

it occurs to her only after she spots Tetsuo and begins making her way over that he's never actually seen her in person. it'd probably be kind of shitty to surprise him like that given the real reason she's here, so once she's close enough to not have to shout she calls out to him.]

Hey, the new monarch's here.

[nailed it. she's even got the shit eating grin to accompany that kind of greeting.]

Comments

[iamtetsuo]

[Fine by him. Tetsuo's answer is a kick in her general direction as he starts trying to scramble up into at least a crouch. There's probably a bruise or two from that, but that's the worst that happened.]

[deadtective]

[the kick connects, but it might as well have flown off into the atmosphere for all that Hazel acknowledges it. she gets her hands back and immediately uses them as a pad to lean on her drawn-up knees. why get up when it's likely he'll just try and shove her down again in the near future?]

Feel better now?

[iamtetsuo]

You...

[Strangely...yeah, he does, actually. But what really stops him from all-out tackling her is the realization that she genuinely didn't feel that, at ALL. That small instinct finally manages to worm its way into his brain enough to get his attention.

The hell, he's not THAT weak. She should have at least felt SOMEthing!]

Why are you still smiling?!

[deadtective]

Why wouldn't I be? I'm having a good time.

[aaand she finally stands up, leisurely and unhurried. she brushes whatever dirt may have stuck to her in that freefall off before flashing Tetsuo another grin - this time it's an actual smile, rather than something cocky or smug. Hazel isn't lying when she says that she's been having fun.]

Aren't you?

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo's expression is pure 'what the hell' concentrate as he slowly follows. This is not how anything, ever, works.

If he ever needed proof that he was about as far from home as it possibly got, this was probably it. She should have felt something. She should have reacted. Why? Some power, he'd suspect - does she null her own powers when doing that, or not? Probably not?

And then something about the absolute weirdness of the whole place, combined with the fact his brain's pretty sure it should be feeling something right about now, strikes him as absolutely hilarious.]

A-are you for real?

[deadtective]

You're the one who was using me as a punching bag a few minutes ago; you ought to know the answer to that better than anyone.

[compared to the jabs from earlier, this teasing is noticeably gentled to the point where it could actually be classified as good-natured. maybe she's trying to be sensitive to the apparent mental break he's having over her freaky body...or maybe she just thinks it's funny too. laughing with him rather than at him for once.]

[iamtetsuo]

[He has to admit, actually getting to hit something - something that didn't hit back, not really, not more than he got in - felt good. And the fact that the only thing he really feels is a few fading twinges... it's almost like, finally, things feel normal again. Except they're not, in the most bizarre way possible.

This whole situation got too weird for him to really work out further than that so far.]

So... that how you got all those, huh?

[Slight wave of hand gesturing towards face]

[deadtective]

What, these? [she taps her cheek idly a few times before waving her hand dismissively.] This was a drunk driver, actually. Pretty shitty, huh?

[iamtetsuo]

[Shrug, leans against the arcade console.]

I've heard shittier. Least it's someone who's supposed to be in the road.

[deadtective]

Somebody who was supposed to be stopped in the road. I was crossing with the fucking light!

[it's amazing how worked up Hazel can get over these lies. maybe it's because she's so shitty at most of them that she's used to pumping them up with bravado and volume.]

[iamtetsuo]

That never stops anyone.

[well this got uncomfortably close to home very quickly]

[deadtective]

It fucking ought to. I've got enough bad luck without having to drag my ass to the hospital every couple of weeks just to get told these still can't come out.

[iamtetsuo]

...

[ooookay new topic time right about now. Tetsuo picks up coins off the ground before making himself get back up fully.]

Yeah, whatever. You still owe me a game.

[deadtective]

[she watches him grab the coins, hands drifting into her pockets. Hazel's grateful for the shift, to be honest; even when it's wrapped up in lies like this, she doesn't like talking about the way she looks. she knows the truth about it, and it always tugs at her painfully.]

Next time, yeah? I'm pretty sure they'll toss us out if we go for another one today.

[iamtetsuo]

Fine -- but I'm holding you to that. This shit isn't over.

[A pause.]

Hazel. Don't tell anyone about this. Got it?

[deadtective]

Do you think someone like me actually has friends to talk to? [but she knows this is serious, and her expression sobers up immediately.] Seriously though, don't worry about it. I promise I won't say anything.

[and for everything that she is (and presents herself as), Hazel keeps her promises. it's one of the few things that she feels capable of still doing - and it's nice, being able to give people something that she no longer had at home.

she shifts a little, and then decides she might as well make the offer now. Tetsuo doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd note the kindness in it the way Josuke would.]

...I'm going on vacation this week, but after that you can call me whenever if you need a break. I've got insomnia so I'm pretty much always fucking awake.

[iamtetsuo]

[It might take a while for him to cave - having to ask is a blow to his pride, even though, like earlier, there's times when he can't take the pain anymore and has to resort to what feel like the most desperate of desperate measures. Like this.

So maybe he won't have to make the call. Or.. he can take the other way and find excuses why it's not because of his problems.]

You too - whenever you want to prove you can win a game.

[It's weird when someone drives him absolutely nuts, but he's genuinely glad for a chance to hang out again.]

[deadtective]

Why would I want to do that when you keep paying for my games as they are?

[a little nothing quip, just to keep things from ending on an actual serious or emotional note. as the queen of lying to herself and others, Hazel certainly won't be calling him out on any flimsy hangout excuses he may throw her way in the future. she never said what kind of break he might need her to provide, after all.]

See you in a couple weeks, man. Hope your pride's recovered by then.

[she gives him a jaunty little two-fingered salute, and then she's off to loiter around the bullet train station. maybe next time they face off in games she'll play a little more like a real human being.

...nah, probably not.]