Thank You And Hello
In which Lucien tracks down his leprechaun. ft @lucienmelaina
LUCIEN
The last thing Lucien expected when he returned home after spending the night at Mayra's was a clean house. He had never been a particularly untidy person, but somewhere between his own health declining and his brother needing extra care, the apartment had fallen into a state of disarray that was only getting worse by the day.
It took a note on the kitchen counter and a quick explanation from his brother to get him back onto his feet and on the way to the school, looking for the person responsible. Spotting the blonde head he didn't really recognize hunched over some notebooks, he knocked on the already open door to make his presence known.
"Lucy, I presume?" he asked, holding up the note with her signature at the end.
LUCY
She'd been noodling a new idea for the kids when the knock startled her. "What? Oh!" The note was a tremendously handy clue. She was glad past-Lucy had left it.
A push to her feet and Lucy crossed the room. "Yep - hope it didn't weird you out. I didn't mess with anything I thought would be private." The un-confession was blurted, chased with her bubbling laugh. "Which probably sounds way suspicious."
Waving around the room, she added, "Did you wanna sit?" A beat pause to consider his height and Lucy added, "They aren't all kiddie size. Mine even has wheels."
LUCIEN
"That sounds exactly like what someone who has gone through my drawers would say," Lucien replied and partly accepted her invitation, leaning against one of the desks, which were more suitable for his height and easier to get out of whenever he chose to go. "Fortunately for me, I am pretty boring."
He looked over at her for a second, taking in the sight of this new person who had gone to such lengths to help him and his brother live under decent conditions. "That was incredibly nice of you, especially considering you don't even know me. Did you just trust I deserve it because of the name similarity?"
LUCY
Giggles bubbled out of her. "No! I especially didn't see any of the erotica about your neighbors." Leaning in, her voice turned conspiratorial. "And I wouldn't call that description of Father Theo boring."
Lucy watched him, briefly confused before a smile dawned. "Oh, you really *are* Ares brother, aren't you?" She gestured to the note. "You were my assignment! For the Pot of Gold thing!"
She slid into the chair at the desk Lucien chose. "It was kinda tricky to spy on you, what with the reclusive eccentric shtick. Lucky me, I happen to know someone on the inside."
LUCIEN
"Darling, when I finally write the Great Redwood Saga, I will not hide it away. It will be compulsory reading material for everyone," he laughed along with her.
"Oh, I got that. I just assumed pot of gold meant someone getting me a nice mug or something of the like. Not going out of their way to make sure I don't leave in a stable." He looked down to wher she was sitting, intrigued. "I have a feeling I should be insulted, but your actions have granted you the benefit of the doubt. Care to elaborate on this grand scheme of yours?"
LUCY
Her eyebrows shot up, another hoot of laughter. "Saga like Dune or saga like Twilight? Because I - well, actually? Fuck it, I'd read both." She thumbed over her shoulder to indicate the room. "Can't guarantee it'd be approved material here, though."
Lucy pulled a face. "Nah - it was just a challenge to do something nice! I don't think there was a restriction on the form it took?" It'd be wonk if it had to be a physical present.
"About the eccentric shtick? Nah, nah, nah. It was just a challenge is all." Flopping back in the chair, Lucy's grin widened. "I'm afraid I cannot reveal my secrets, lest you install preventative measure against future sneaking."
LUCIEN
"I'd hope for Dune, but knowing the people around this place, it would turn into something much more unhinged," he half-joked. In another universe, the apocalypse gets magically resolved and he becomes a very very rich man from said Redwood Saga. "Do you happen to be a reader?"
"Oh, I think you played by the rules perfectly. I just didn't expect it, that's all. Which, I suppose, was the premise of the whole setup, so kudos on that as well," he smiled back at her. "I am more than okay with you keeping your secrets. And if I find my kitchen mopped one evening, I will gladly pretend it was the elves that did it."
LUCY
"Hell, yeah, dude." She indicated their surroundings. "I may not teach literature, but that doesn't mean I don't love books. Brave New World was always a favorite." Obviously the guy managing all the books would love them; Lucy didn't need to ask.
Fingers laced over her stomach, she stretched her legs out and crossed them at the ankle. "You may be shocked to learn that you're not the first person to find my choices and behavior unpredictable."
She did sit up at the idea that she'd be mopping his place again. "Is the Pot of Gold shit recurring? I didn't think I was committing to monthly chores, performed gratis."
LUCIEN
"Excellent choice," Lucien commented at her book pick, "although nowadays I find myself straying away from dystopian novels. You know, living in the dystopia and whatnot." He was always in favor of using novels as escapism, but some of them hit a little too close to home. "I used to write, you know, before all this. I have a feeling you would offer some valuable reviews," he offered- he wasn't one to incessantly promote his books, but he couldn't resist when he met someone who would either thoroughly enjoy them or completely despise them.
"No, I think you're safe on that front," he laughed at her sudden panic. "Although I don't know what new idea they will come up with after this. Maybe it's reverse pot of gold next time, and you get to wreak absolute havoc on my poor apartment."
LUCY
Eyes sparkling, Lucy giggled. "Thank you. But we were always in a dystopia, dude. Just lost the Somas." That he was a writer caught Lucy's curiosity. "No shit? You any good?" Lucien... Lucien... Hmm. What was their last name?
Lucy's laugh was more guffaw this time. "Yeah, right. That doesn't feel very Morale-y. Intriguing social experiment, though." The bait of nice gestures to the switch of malfeasance. "What'd you do for yours?" She paused and added, "And what would you do?"
LUCIEN
“I mean, some people used to think so. It doesn’t matter at all nowadays, but I made a living out of it once,” Lucien answered, his old life feeling very foreign to him.
“For mine?” he asked with a surrendered laugh. “Luck didn’t grant me any of my favorite people around him, but I chose to be a walking -limping- stereotype and got them a book. Nothing as extravagant or valuable as your gesture,” he explained, thinking back on his awkward but necessary encounter with Zack. “Does it make me a bad person that I didn’t put in much effort solely based on personal feelings?”
LUCY
"No shit," Lucy whistled low, impressed. "Was it wild, having people pay to read a bunch of shit you made up? Did you do tons of research or - I heard sometimes you can hire someone to research for you. Did you love it? Or - wait. Was it nonfiction?"
It was good he could joke about the bum leg. Lucy, however, slid her hands under the table while she spoke. "Yup. Bad person. Worst." She cracked a grin and changed the answer. "You did A Nice and didn't bitch out and those were really the only requirements... Unless you did it to be a little shit because they can't read or something."
LUCIEN
“Oh, definitely. And then a bunch if people decided to pay me to make a movie out of a bunch of shit I made up,” he tried to explain months of his life in a couple of sentences. “But it was definitely fiction, always been a big fan of escapism.”
“I don’t think I have that much spite in me,” he replied to her assumption. “Maybe I’m just too exhausted. But I do not judge people who decide to be little shits,” he glanced over at her, like that’s something that might be of interest to her.
LUCY
A movie out of his book - must have been dystopian YA. "What genre?" Escapism could be nearly anything - for Lucy it had been schoolwork, the kids, work-work. Always keeping her brain as distracted, as busy as possible. Already there had been unwise attempts in Redwood to occupy her attention, and Lucy wondered if taking a book soon wouldn't be a good idea.
"Spite is a great motivator, babe," Lucy tutted. "I survived a lot of shit specifically out of spite." She made little fists in her shirt under the table. Her phantom finger curled with the rest, and Lucy bit back the usual outburst of cursing.
"I'll remember that when I'm hiding from consequences." When she felt it safe, Lucy pushed to her feet. "C'mon, be my arm candy and I'll walk you home."
LUCIEN
"Historic fiction, mostly," Lucien explained, knowing that he shouldn't get into too much detail because he would not stop for hours. "But I've got some murder mystery too, if that's more your thing." He rarely promoted his own work, especially the older publications, but Lucy seemed like someone who would appreciate it. "If you're ever interested, just drop by the library, as you've noticed I'm pretty much always there."
He pushed himself off the desk, linking his free arm with hers, their height difference probably making them look ridiculous. "And I'll take that as a compliment as well. Lead the way."
