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@imprintedink
Indie fandomless original character. Sideblog, follows from @armasdefuego
E. B. Sully, refusing the call of adventure, getting dragged along anyway and realizing it's what you needed all along.
About. Verses. Lore.
Rules under the cut
γγγSarsi just laughed at his little childish display, responding by sticking her tongue out at him in kind.
γγγγAs painful as it had been watching her best friend pass away in her arms, she couldn't really imagine the torment of not knowing whether a friend was going to be okay or not. That kind of limbo sounded like agony to her.
γγγ"If that's what you feel like you have to do, but I would question the reasons why you feel that way," she replied with a shrug of her own. "Why you feel you have to get over it?"
γγγγThat was just her two cents, though, he could take it or leave it.
She sounded so nonchalant about it while the question made his chest tighten. It felt like a grip around his throat. Wasn't that better than staring at the sealed box where Schrodinger's Cat either did or did not remain? Either he woke up or he didn't and here he was in fucking limbo not sure if he needed to let go or hang on. He was just a coward. That's all it boiled down to. You've always been a coward and that's why you couldn't let anyone have fun, that's why you couldn't take the bull by the horns. It's probably why you're alive at all, but is that something to celebrate?
"Let's...let's uh, we should... I don't want to talk about this anymore," Sully said, voice thin and shaky as he looked anywhere other than at her. He scrubbed hard at his eyes before they could betray him. "I d-don't gotta think about it and I'm not going to. Thanks for the armchair psych session, though."
γγγγSarsi was just being goofy to break the tension, though she might have gone a little sideways with it. She cringed inwardly at herself for half a second before pulling her phone out again. While Sully was out handing off his keys, she made a quick call to her shop, explaining the situation and to clear a spot for the incoming Toyota.
γγγHanging up her phone, she was putting on her seat belt just as Sully was getting back into her car.
γγγγ"About 20 minutes from here to my house and then 30 from there back to my shop," she replied, waiting for him to get settled. "I was on my way home when I caught you. Hopefully this won't take too long. Just long enough that by the time we get back to my shop, they'll have figured out what's going on and we can get on with fixing it. I just need to be at home to fill out all the paperwork and stuff these delivery folks need from me."
γγγShe was excited for this. A whole new project to start on. It wouldn't look pretty upon arrival, but that was the beauty of it. Some girls like to give other girls pretty make overs, and while Sarsi liked doing that too, she preferred working her magic on old beat up classics.
"Yeah, I gotcha," Sully nodded, clicking the seatbelt locked. There was a moment of fear-- not being behind the wheel, trusting a whole stranger, the stupidity of being in someone else's car at their mercy. How did this always happen with pretty faces? It was like all his caution was tossed out the window and he just let his dick lead him.
It would be a pretty wild scheme, though. He had to admit, the two truck had shown up and she hadn't just killed him out here. She had the opportunity, right? Sully held back a laugh. He needed to stop being so paranoid. Maybe he ought to stop watchin so many crime dramas.
"So... how long you been doing this?" Sully said, once they started on their excursion. He hated small talk like most every other person in the world, but he wasn't sure how else to pass the time in a car with a pretty stranger. He kept fidgeting with his phone, anxiety creeping up his spine; an unwanted guest. He chewed his lip. "Rescuing strangers off the side of the road, I mean, heh."
"Taka Sushi. Hole in the wall with the best sushi in the city, hands down. Sunday, 7pm?" If there was one thing Sully was good at it was making plans on the spot. He had a second of hesitation as he considered his financial situation, and then disregarded it. Maybe this was what he needed.
"What?" Sully shook his head as he looked up from his phone again, leaning forward. "It's not..."
He deflated, lips pursed.
"I mean." Where was he trying to go with that one? Sully swiped a hand through his hair. "I'm just going through some shit... I guess. It's stupid, it's not even about me, really. I'm fine." He fidgeted. "Gene's in the hospital but it's not like he's dead, and it has nothing to do with me. It's not a big deal, so I shouldn't be working through a damn thing."
γγγγ"Perfect," Sarsi replied, a small smirk on her face. Either he was just quick on the draw, or he'd been thinking about it for awhile. Not that it really mattered either way. "It's a date then."
γγγ"Someone you care about is in the hospital. How would that not affect you?" She asked no judgement in her tone. Her voice had completely lost it's seductive edge and taken on something much softer. His words about his friend not being dead made her think of Corso, the hole in his chest. She scrunched her eyes shut and shook the thought away before returning to the conversation.
γγγγ"It's okay to be worried about your friend. I'd be upset if it were one of mine. Whatever the reason for them being there might be."
It shouldn't have made him feel... Fluttery. Like there were butterflies. It should have brought a smirk to his own face. Challenge accepted, and all that. Sully stuck his tongue out instead of saying anything else.
He shrugged at her assertion. He debated with himself whether he should explain at all. It wasn't her problem and she didn't have to deal with. Still, sometimes, Sully wanted to talk about what happened. He wanted to tell someone about the guilt. The fear.
He wasn't so sure Sarsi was the right person.
"It's been months," Sully said crossing his arms over his chest. "Either he's going to wake up or he's not. I have to get over it."
γγγγ"Aw, why not? Those are a lot of fun!" Sarsi said, doing a little dance in place to music only she could hear. She knew what he meant; she was just being silly about it.
γγγ"Okay, I'm down with that. Name a time and place," she replied, flashing him a grin.
γγγγShe stopped dancing when his expression soured.
γγγ"This is really bothering you, huh?" Her tone wasn't judgmental or anything. More sympathetic, really. Her sister had sometimes complained at her about Sarsi's own reckless behavior more than once. She was curious as to why this was bothering him so much, but they were still getting to know one another. Besides, if he wanted to tell her, she figured he would.
γγγγ"We can change the subject if you don't want to talk about it."
"Taka Sushi. Hole in the wall with the best sushi in the city, hands down. Sunday, 7pm?" If there was one thing Sully was good at it was making plans on the spot. He had a second of hesitation as he considered his financial situation, and then disregarded it. Maybe this was what he needed.
"What?" Sully shook his head as he looked up from his phone again, leaning forward. "It's not..."
He deflated, lips pursed.
"I mean." Where was he trying to go with that one? Sully swiped a hand through his hair. "I'm just going through some shit... I guess. It's stupid, it's not even about me, really. I'm fine." He fidgeted. "Gene's in the hospital but it's not like he's dead, and it has nothing to do with me. It's not a big deal, so I shouldn't be working through a damn thing."
γγγγ"And you haven't taken me up on it," Sarsi answered, half heartedly pouting at him. It was followed up with a shrug at his 'question.' "If so, you wouldn't be the first and, more than likely, not the last."
γγγShe couldn't stop people from catching feelings, but she could at least help manage their expectations early. If that didn't work, well, she'd just move on and let them cope. Get the law involved if things got out of hand.
γγγγ"I don't mind slowing down every once in awhile," Sarsi agreed. Her mind turned to lazy mornings in a hotel somewhere near a beach, probably in Italy or somewhere like that. "Some people just have different preferences in how they want to live their lives."
"Not my fault you didn't catch my drift the first time," Sully said, sticking his tongue out at her. "I'm not interested in being part of a conga line."
A pause.
"If you want me, dinner first," Sully said, smirking. To some it might have seemed like he was being stupid, offering more than what she was putting on the table. But, really, who was the one bringing it up so often, anyway?
His expression sobered again. This time it was his turn to pout, though it looked far more dismal.
"Yeah, well..." Sully dropped his gaze to his phone, swiping mindlessly through his instagram feed. "I think people who want to speed should do it on their own, then. Make sure they can live their selfish lives without hurting anyone else."
dream 1.
He knows he's dreaming. They say when you lucid dream, you can control things to a degree. You can fly if you wanted to-- that's what most people do. He'd rather be flying than whatever is going on here: there's a vast, vast wasteland under charcoal gray skies. Everything seems leeched of color, even his companions. There's about twenty of them. Some people he recognizes, others he's never seen. They all look variations of exhausted and when he asks how did this all happen? They sigh and reply, Your guess is as good as mine.
He presses them for answers. It's uneasy, prodding carefully without trying to make it seem like he doesn't know what he's talking about. He thinks he's bad at it when a bald man gives him a piercing stare that traces over his face like he's trying to find something amiss. Penny steps in and laughs-- You can't just go asking things like that, Bean! Did you hit your head again?
She drags him away. They settle for the night under a jet black sky with no stars and she turns to him with such seriousness. Sully's never seen her look so serious in their lives.
You can't go asking weird questions like that. They're going to figure it out. And then they'll think you're not you anymore.
What do you mean, he asks, because she's safe, right?
Penny stares at him like he's not safe. Like there might be doubt in her mind, too. She sighs.
You've never come when it's bad. You wouldn't know.
The answer explains nothing.
Am I not me anymore? He asks, suddenly, and he's not even sure why he does. But he means it. He means it and he hopes, beyond all hope, that she says he is him.
Whatever that means.
Penny stares at him, and grins.
Yeah. You just need to wake up.
Sully does, an hour before the alarm and with no desire to go back to sleep.
γγγγ"Sometimes," she answered with a shrug. "I like keeping things as casual as I can. Some guys can get the wrong idea, you know? My offer still stands."
γγγAs flirty and forward as she was, Sarsi wasn't much of a romantic. Big fan of pleasure, no strings attached, but love was messy, complicated. Her life was enough of a tangled mess. She didn't need to make it worse.
γγγγ"Tomorrow's never guaranteed," Sarsi replied, her grin fading into something more pensive. She knew better than most how quickly luck could run out. His words made her think of Corso, the bullet wound in his chest, and waking up in the hospital several days later. "And because of that, some of us would rather live today to the fullest. Maybe that's selfish, but better that than to never live at all."
"You've given me the offer since we met," Sully said, crossing his arms over his chest. "People get the wrong idea even when it's spelled out for them. A dreamer's going to dream. What if I fall in love with you?"
It wasn't a real question. He was the farthest from love he could be with her. They were barely across the threshold of friends, having only known each other barely a few weeks.
He sucked his teeth.
"It's not. But you don't have to run into traffic for that to be true." Sully leaned his head back, stared up at the ceiling. "You miss all sorts of beautiful things when you're chasing thrill rides. You have to go slow to catch butterflies. That's still a moment worth living."
(( One new pic for his expression.
(( Have this pic here today.
(( Finally some new Niragi's pictures. Enjoy.
"It might," Sully said, shrugging, coy and embarrassed at the same time. "But, uh... Depends what we plan on doing about it."
He shook his head, giving her a look that said in spite of her antics he was still a little annoyed.
"Yeah, that's what you all say, until you can't."
γγγγ"I mean, I can give you an amazing blow job, or I can ride you. Whatever you want! The options really are endless." Sarsi answered, still grinning at his embarrassment. She really does not have any shame.
γγγProbably best she tone it back, though. If that look was any indication.
γγγγ"I mean, for me it works out 99% of the time. Why? Did something happen?"
Jesus. Sully glanced away again. Why was she such temptress?
"Wouldn't you like to get wined and dined, first? Let someone ask you out..."
Sully offered the slightest hint of a smile. Just a touch. And then at her next question, he cringed.
"No. At least, not recently. It's just the kinda thing that happens. You don't have infinite luck. One day it's fine, and the next... Shit hits the fan and maybe you're okay, and maybe you're not." He bit the inside of his cheek as he realized he was getting a little too worked up. He rubbed his face. "People do whatever they want, though. Screw everyone else who cares about them."
"You want me angry and horny?"
Sully frowned at her, glancing away as his cheeks reddened.
"You tease too much. You must get in tons of trouble."
γγγγ"Well, I'm kinda hoping the horny cancels out the angry."
γγγShe couldn't help but grin at the sight of his cheeks reddening.
γγγγ"Oh, all the time! But I'm usually able to talk my way out of it. Or tease my way out of it."
"It might," Sully said, shrugging, coy and embarrassed at the same time. "But, uh... Depends what we plan on doing about it."
He shook his head, giving her a look that said in spite of her antics he was still a little annoyed.
"Yeah, that's what you all say, until you can't."
γγγγ"Okay, you're upset. I get it, but would you still be that way if I was, say, sitting naked in your lap?"
"You want me angry and horny?"
Sully frowned at her, glancing away as his cheeks reddened.
"You tease too much. You must get in tons of trouble."
He nodded at her first point. It left a sour taste in his mouth. Sounded like he would be taking a ride with the tow-driver and Sully wasn't sure he was up to meeting another stranger. He didn't have much choice in the matter, but his sociability meter was running low. Sarsi was enough. There was a part of him that was almost terrified just thinking about it, and he didn't understand why.
Maybe he hadn't brushed off the earlier breakdown as quickly as he thought he did.
He was about to say something when she continued. Sully blinked. Options? It seemed rather roundabout, but Sully really didn't want to drive in the passenger seat with a complete stranger. Sarsi was a stranger, but they had talked enough that he felt less anxious at the thought of riding with her.
"If it's cool, I'd rather hang with you." Sully said, smiling sheepishly. "How else am I gonna find my inspiration?"
Just as he quieted, the sound of tires coming up the road alerted him that they were no longer alone.
γγγγ"Excellent choice," Sarsi replied, only momentarily surprised by his response. She heard the tires on the road as well, and leaned back to look out the rear window to see if it was who she thought it was. Yep, it was him. Perfect timing.
γγγ"And hey, if you need inspiration, well, then ta-da!" She said, holding out her arms as if she could be his inspiration. "I'm rescuing you in multiple ways."
γγγγLaughing at herself and her attempt to break the tension she'd built between them, Sarsi turned in her seat as the tow drove just past them, pulling over just in front of Sully's car. She watched the tow back up for a second, before she remembered they'd need the key.
γγγγγ"Do you want me to give him the key orβ¦? My boys are gonna need it to figure out what's going on."
Sully couldn't help laughing at her antics. Wasn't that what she meant before? He scratched the back of his head, amused but also a little confused. Not that he should be entertaining any propositions. He must be more desperate than he thought if the sight of a pretty stranger was enough to make him consider sleeping with them.
"Oh, no, that's alright," Sully said, waving off her offer as he slipped out the car, phone in hand. He fished for his keys in his pocket and closed the distance between himself and the tow. "Uh, hey, you need the keys right?"
Sully looked over his car, momentarily wondering if this was just a drain on his resources. What was the p4oint of all this? To waste her time? It should get impounded. It wasn't as if he could pay for this all. Cringing, Sully handed over the keys.
"How long is this detour of yours, again?" Sully asked as he came back around, connecting his phone again.
γγγγSarsi had to bite her tongue to keep her from saying 'I already did.' She figured it was time to back off for now, stop muddying the waters any further. Sarsi was an honest business woman, at least when it came to her auto shop and cars, she was. Never mind what business she got up to with Caden, that was a whole other can of worms.
γγγ"It's about a ten minute drive from here," Sarsi answered. Cringing inwardly, she remembered her little dilemma, and decided now was as good a time as any to mention it. "So, I'm still going to help you with your car, but I do have one tiny hiccup I gotta take care of back home. I'm expecting a car being delivered to my house in a little while, and I have to be there to sign off on all the paperwork.
γγγγ"Now, I figured there are two options here," she said holding up a finger. "One, you go on with my tow guy to my shop, my boys, probably Jack, will take care of you while I go and take care of things, I'll call him, tell him what's up, and I meet you there after I take care of business." She held up a second finger as she continued. "Two, you can come with me, let the guys handle your car, and we can catch up once I'm done getting everything settled at my place. Should have a diagnosis by the time I'm finished and back at the shop either way."
γγγShe kind of figured he'd take the first option. The second option sounded nuts even as she said it, but regardless, she needed to be at home to catch the delivery. If not, she'd have a mess trying to get them to deliver it to her a second time. Plus, she'd been looking forward to this for the last two weeks.
He nodded at her first point. It left a sour taste in his mouth. Sounded like he would be taking a ride with the tow-driver and Sully wasn't sure he was up to meeting another stranger. He didn't have much choice in the matter, but his sociability meter was running low. Sarsi was enough. There was a part of him that was almost terrified just thinking about it, and he didn't understand why.
Maybe he hadn't brushed off the earlier breakdown as quickly as he thought he did.
He was about to say something when she continued. Sully blinked. Options? It seemed rather roundabout, but Sully really didn't want to drive in the passenger seat with a complete stranger. Sarsi was a stranger, but they had talked enough that he felt less anxious at the thought of riding with her.
"If it's cool, I'd rather hang with you." Sully said, smiling sheepishly. "How else am I gonna find my inspiration?"
Just as he quieted, the sound of tires coming up the road alerted him that they were no longer alone.
γγγ"I think even the bathroom quickie can be a kind of art," Sarsi replied with a slight shrug. "The brief fleeting kind they way a firework can be, you know?"
γγγγThat seductive smile returned, and this time, it was not brief.
γγγ"I might know someone," she replied, giving him a wink. She was asking, essentially, but not right this very moment as much as she'd like to. For one, Sarsi already kind of considered him a client, and it wasn't in her to mix business with that particular kind of pleasure too often. Once the business had concluded, then perhaps.
γγγγPlus, the guy coming to tow his car was kind of a creep. As much as she was an exhibitionist, there were certain people even Sarsi didn't feel the desire to put a show on for, and while she trusted him to get cars to her shop, that was as far as that trust went with this particular guy.
γγγ"Perfect." Sarsi pulled back as she typed his instagram handle in her app. Upon finding it, she hit follow. Her own page was very different from his. Full of pictures of her posing with brightly colored cars, either newer sports car or some classic car she'd remodeled, as well as some photos of her having fun with her friends or sister.
γγγγ"Your tow should be here any moment," she said, checking the time on her phone. "He said he was close."
Sully offered a noncommittal shrug. He had a few thoughts on it at all, but it didn't really matter. Not important, especially not when it wasn't a serious conversation in the first place. Instead, he was caught up in the clear proposition. It would be crazy, absolutely the kind of thing he'd warn Penny against. And yet, here he was considering. It's not like anything else had been going right for him lately.
"You'll, uh, have to put me in touch." He arched his brows, hoping he was following along and showing the same kind of interest.
She pulled back and Sully tried to be subtle as he let out a breath through his nose. He hadn't been going out much, and to have such a meeting when he thought his day was just going to get worse? Maybe he was getting carried away.
He followed her profile, skimming the page. He was in over his head. This was the type of life Gene fit in easy. Sully stuck out, too cautious, pressing down on the brakes while everyone else stepped on the gas.
"Cool," Sully said, clearing his throat as he straightened up in the seat. He hadn't realized how lax he'd become. His gaze flicker toward his car again, back to reality, back to all of the problems he was trying to run away from. He was running wasn't he?
Sully brushed a hand through his hair. God, what an idiot he was being. This woman was probably just toying with him so she could convince him to spill all his cash the second they were on their way. He'd be caught up in the promise of skin and she'd be the fox with more money lining her pockets. People weren't just nice to be nice.
"How far's your shop?"
