MHA #6, Monday Afternoon

[firstofitskind]

The island was being weird again. Because of course it was. Though at least this latest bout of weirdness seemed... relatively benign?

It hadn't actively interfered with any of Liam's usual morning routines, anyway. So that was good, he supposed. And now that it was a bit later in the day and he could be reasonably certain the person on the other end would actually be awake, he dialed a certain number on his Global. There were a couple of things he needed to take care of.

It rang once, twice, and then...

"Heyyyyyy, hot stuff!" the redhead on the other end chirped at him as the video feed connected.

"Street," Liam grinned. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "Who's fault is that?" she asked pointedly. Because it was absolutely Liam's fault, yes.

"Point taken," Liam acknowledged. "Listen, I need-"

"A favor," Street chorused with him in unison. But she didn't look put out or anything, just amused. "You know, only giving me a ring when you need something is a guaranteed way to give a girl a complex. But what do you need?"

She listened attentively as Liam outlined just what it was he needed her to do, nodding occasionally.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Street said finally. "I'll let you know when everything's good to go. And- just 'cause this isn't your home anymore, doesn't mean there's not people who love you here, you know?" ... Though by 'people', she mostly meant 'her', since everyone else Liam cared about was either dead or off exploring space. "Maybe try calling more often?"

"Yeah," Liam said, smile turning soft around the edges. "I'll do that, Street. Thanks again."

With a wink and a little wave, Street shut off the connection on her end. Liam slid the Global closed and pocketed again. Now all he had to do was let Verity know things were in motion.

[ooc: mostly establishy, but also open.]

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

"I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't think it was a good idea," Verity said quietly, her hand splayed over his.

Or if she'd thought it could be used against them, but the inclusion of Taelon tech pretty much negated that possibility.

"I don't ever want to lose you without a way of getting you back."

[firstofitskind]

"Okay," Liam said, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "It's set, then. She'll need a bit of time to get everything ready, so I figure sometime next week?"

[arboreal_priestess]

"Sounds good," Verity said, reaching out to hold his hand. "It'll be a nice break from Dino Paradise, if nothing else."

The humidity was murder.

[firstofitskind]

Ahahaha, the humidity right now had nothing on what was in store for them next week. But neither of them knew that, of course. Liam's ability to glimpse future events apparently didn't extend to things like the island deciding to cycle through different realities.

Liam curled his fingers with hers, smiling softly. "You've shown me your world. Now it's my turn to show you something of mine." Well, beyond the Peruvian rainforest, anyway.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Yeah, but mine seems to involve a lot of blood and murder for some reason," Verity said with a sigh. "Here's hoping yours is a lot more relaxed."

[firstofitskind]

"I was thinking more of this past Christmas," Liam clarified. "Only a little blood, and no murder."

And with the Resistance no longer active due to there being nothing to resist... the chances of blood and murder being on the agenda were fairly low in Liam's world.

So long as he stayed out of sight, anyway. Public opinion towards the Companions and those who worked for them had swayed pretty hard in the other direction after he'd 'died'.

[arboreal_priestess]

"We stayed much longer and you'd've had to revise that sentence," Verity teased. "Timmy and I would have killed each other."

Let's be real; Antimony would have murked Verity. No contest.

[firstofitskind]

Which Liam, loyal boyfriend that he was, was absolutely not going to say.

"It was just the right amount of time," he agreed. "Long enough that everyone relaxed a bit, but not that relaxed."

[arboreal_priestess]

Loyal and smart boyfriend.

"Hey, I knew better than to try to inflict the entirety of my family on you for more than a few days at a time. They're...a lot."

[firstofitskind]

"They are," Liam agreed. "But I liked seeing where you came from, how you grew up." Of course, as someone who'd never had a family of his own, it had been something of a two-edged sword at times, but for the most part? It had been nice.

Pit traps and all.

[arboreal_priestess]

See, this was why they were perfect together. A sane boyfriend would have run.

"You just liked sneaking off into the attic to talk to the mice," Verity accused. "I don't even want to know what weird holidays you learned up there."

[firstofitskind]

"Well," Liam said slowly, because he couldn't actually deny that, no. "Not just. I also liked getting to meet your cousins who weren't Sarah."

[arboreal_priestess]

"That reminds me," Verity said, snapping her fingers. "Antimony wants to know if you're in on the pool for whenever Sarah and Artie are going to figure their nonsense out."

[firstofitskind]

Liam laughed. "There's a pool? Of course there's a pool. Yeah, tell her I'm in."

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity giggled. "Of course there is," she said. "Did you see them?" She poked him. "Buy-in's fifty. Whoever guesses the date closest without going over."

[firstofitskind]

"Am I going in blind or do I get to see other people's guesses before I make my pick?" Liam checked.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Pffft, like we're giving you any help," Verity snorted. "There's $250 on the line. And bragging rights!"

[firstofitskind]

"Mean," Liam declared, mock-glaring at her over the rim of his stupid-healthy-smoothie glass. "Do you know how much fancy tea I could buy with $250?"

... Like he needed bet-money for that. He was absolutely in it for the bragging rights.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Doesn't matter," Verity said. "Because I'll be using that money to buy fancy coffee."

Bragging rights and shit-talking, honestly.

[firstofitskind]

"But I already buy fancy coffee!" Liam pointed out. Because he was kind and thoughtful like that, even if he didn't drink the stuff.

[arboreal_priestess]

He was and she loved him for it.

"So then what do you think I should spend my winnings on?" she asked innocently.

[firstofitskind]

"Well," Liam said slowly. "I was actually thinking, forget fancy tea, fancy coffee... we've got an advantage here, in that there's two of us, we could totally cover a reasonable spread of dates here. And-" he grinned. "There's that fancy restaurant in Portugal." She knew the one. The one they'd been drawn to, the last time they'd taken the shuttle out to go a little further than Baltimore for a date night. But then they'd looked at the prices on the menu and mutually noped right out and found another place with a little less sticker-shock.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Ooooh," Verity said, taking a moment to remember how that little bistro had just smelled that night. That was what had lured them both in, the scent of herbs and spices and garlic wafting on the warm night air. "I like the way you think, Kincaid."

[firstofitskind]

“It’s all about the strategy, Price,” Liam said solemnly, leaning over to kiss her nose.

[arboreal_priestess]

"All right, but we're taking this to the grave," Verity said, pulling out her phone. "Because if Alex or Antimony hear that we've teamed up for this, they're gonna team up, too."

And not for the pool.

Price family games were intense.