The past few days had been, in a word, weird. Brain had never actually let herself trust someone so quickly as she was letting herself trust Tox, and after his initial meltdown in the shipping container and how they've repaired their relationship since then, he was nothing short of a prince to her. Though, it was safe to say that sometimes he was a bit overly helpful...
Her whole life, she had developed a learned independence. She couldn't rely upon her parents, because they cared no more for her than they did for the garbage they took out to the dumpster every Wednesday. She took care of herself and her own, though she never did own much, so that wasn't really hard to do. When she had gone to live with her Uncle Lance, after the huge mess at the lake and the following mess, he hadn't made too many attempts to break her open, and she had appreciated that. He took care of her, and got to know her, but he didn't cross lines that he knew weren't meant for crossing. He had recognized her need to take care of herself and backed off.
Tox, on the other hand... Tox knew full well where those lines were, and he seemed determined to get rid of them by invasively forcing himself over them. These past few days had been pushing her, testing her, and showing her something she'd never seen before - trust, and love. The two worked hand in hand, she found, as Tox crossed all of her lines and began gently hammering at the shell she had spent years and years building up around herself.
And she loved it.
She loved him for it, so, so much. No one had ever cared to do that before.
She was a bit flustered when he brought her food, but she managed an appreciative nod in spite of her burning face. When she recovered enough to respond to his second statement, she simply stated, "Sure. But I never liked that infirmary job."
-
Perhaps it was even more infuriating that Reach's response was formal, clipped, and unfamiliar. As formal, clipped, and unfamiliar, even, as her greeting had been. Wire wanted a fight. She didn't often feel so anxious, but this distance had created almost a sort of void within her that she couldn't fill on her own. Desperately, Wire wanted her Reach back - her friend, her only friend.
But maybe Reach wasn't who Wire had thought her to be. Maybe, Reach was just as manipulative as Dumi, but unlike with Dumi, Wire hadn't been able to figure it out as quickly. That's because Reach was better at it. Wire was hurt by her once-friend.
She forced herself to swallow her pain, like she did with Dumi. She forced herself to focus on the here and now, on what needed to be done. That was how she had gotten herself out of the house when he would pick fights, gone to wash laundry for the luckier people. She truly wanted to believe that Reach wasn't Dumi, that there was a valid reason for Reach suddenly turning away from her. But there was no evidence to support that, and the logical side of Wire's mind was winning over.
"Holo, Pyro, and Jet will be on duty for collecting the laundry this week. I want Necro and Flora on potato peeling again. Pore will team up with Domino and clean up the bathrooms of the dorms. Brick, Howl, and Nimbus on the southwest corner of the compound. Jelly, Trace, and Crypt on the southeast corner. Roll, Morph, and Hunt on the northeast. Mythos, Feather, and King on the northwest..."
She began listing what needed to be done. What she needed Reach to write down. There was no warmth in her voice, though, as she spoke. Merely the same formalities that reach extended to her, the formalities of two people who did not know each other very well after all.
-
There was something almost saddening, sometimes, about what she could do. In spite of her pumped mood at having finally graduated high school, Ziva's mood was momentarily darkened when the waitress who came to serve them was definitely sick. Curiosity overcame her, and Ziva had made sure to accidentally brush her hand against the waitress's, in order to feel more about the girl's condition. Breast cancer, stage three. A very low chance of survival.
Yes, there was a moment of sadness, and then the waitress walked off and Ziva glanced back at her only friend. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked as she poked her fork at the salad appetizer on her plate. "Am I gonna visit every month? Or are you simply gonna move out to Madrid?" she teased.
She knew that things would be different now. She wouldn't get to see Diego every morning, or get teased for how loud her video games were. Their communication would be mostly over the phone rather than in person. Outside of school, they had been nearly inseparable. Inside, well. He had a bit of a reputation to keep, and she wasn't necessarily a preppy girl, and jocks hung out with preppy girls.
Of course, jocks preferred those pretty girls who splurged on makeup with daddy's credit card. That's why she knew Diego would never like her in the same way she liked him. Why bother ruining their friendship for a silly little four-year-long crush?
Things would change, but Ziva was used to change. She knew that nothing could really separate the friendship she shared with Diego. At least, she hoped.
Edited By Creativity on 1/4/2019 at 11:11 PM.
Britters
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Posted: 1/4/2019 at 11:45 PM
Post #262
Diego was grinning broadly as he sat across from Ziva at their favorite deli, though really he was rarely not grinning. This was their favorite place to eat and not only because of the cheap menu prices, but also because none of their other classmates ever came here. It allowed them to be more themselves than they could at school together. Not that Ziva ever had to worry about being herself or not, but he had always had more pressure on himself to maintain a certain outward appearance. At least, until today...
"I can't believe its actually over," he said to Ziva, taking a sip from his soda on the table, "Still doesn't feel real." He stretched his arms above is head to pop his back, and then took a quick bite of his own salad.
They had just graduated from high school, an accomplishment Diego had wondered if he would accomplish. He knew Ziva was relieved to be out of that hellish place, and he felt a certain amount of comfort that he would not be returning to those halls. Of course, today should have also been a bit sad, because after the summer was over he an his best friend were meant to be separate while she left for university and he stayed behind, unable to afford to join her. Yes, he should have been sad...
"Oh, I don't know," he said in overly casual voice, his grey eyes sparkling as he shoveled salad into his mouth, "I'm sure we'll figure something out." He shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem disinterested in the subject.
Inside of his pocket was a piece of paper which Diego longed to pull out and show to Ziva, but he wanted to surprise her. He wanted to annoy her with his indifference, get her to the point where the first flicker of fiery temper in her dark eyes, like when she's losing to him at video games, and see her crinkle her nose which she does when shes upset. That was when he wanted to give her his good news, the news that would change both of their outlooks on the future. Neither of them wanted to have to be separated.
"So I joined that local summer football league since I need to make sure I keep practicing."
Edited By Britters on 1/4/2019 at 11:46 PM.
Creativity
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Posted: 1/5/2019 at 12:06 AM
Post #263
Diego was acting nonchalant, and it was kind of bugging Ziva. The way his grey eyes would avoid looking directly at her, focusing on the food in front of him, but still maintaining that sweet little twinkle he often had when he was happy. That twinkle was what she looked for, what she strove for when she would make dumb jokes and pretend to know less about football than she did. Granted, she still didn't know a lot about football, but she'd still ask stupid questions, because she knew that he loved talking about it, and it was something he was passionate about. He was so much infinitely cuter than normal when he was talking about something he's passionate about. Not that he wasn't already exponentially adorable when he wasn't...
Quit that, you little idiot!
The small voice in her head snapped her back to reality, and and easily recognized his brush-off tone. "This is important, Diego," she insisted with a frown. "Our future - um, I-I mean, futures. They're important. If you... If you like being happy, at least. Who doesn't..." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Reset."
That was her code word for when she lost what she was saying and had begun to mumble mindlessly. With a sigh, she looked back at him, unhappy still. She caught his last sentence, and feigned a blank look. "What's a league? Is it like a team?"
She had a lot of strengths, that was true. Ziva was extremely intelligent. She was fantastic at pretty much any video game she played. However, words and social interaction were not included in those strengths. Also, you wouldn't catch her on a football field, pretty much ever. Book smarts, not street smarts. If she were caught in a fight, she knew she wouldn't put up much of one due to her physical weakness. But there was more to life than being strong.
In spite of the distraction he had provided her about the football league, Ziva was still becoming irritated with him. It was almost as if he knew something he wasn't telling her. Slowly, anxiety began to grip her, and she worried that he'd be leaving her completely. Maybe he decided she wasn't worth the loss of rep. Or maybe he just didn't enjoy her company anymore. She shot him a warning look at his obvious avoidance of something.
Edited By Creativity on 1/5/2019 at 12:06 AM.
Britters
Level 72
The Eggstraordinaire
Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 1/5/2019 at 1:10 AM
Post #264
It wouldn't take long, that much Diego knew. Ziva was many things, but when it came to their friendship he could take her from zero to sixty on the annoyance meter real quick. He had always taken a lot of enjoyment in testing her boundaries, because he always knew just what to do or say to cheer her up again. Today would be his most ultimate victory, and it was killing him to wait. He was many things, but patience was not his strongest attribute.
Yeah, as soon as she said "Reset", Diego just knew he was going to reach his breaking point soon. It was one of those things he was glad to know about her. He knew many things about her that others had never bothered to find out, just as she knew things about him that no one else did. They were each other's sanctuary from the outside world that didn't understand them. She should know by now that he wouldn't give up their friendship for anything in the world.
"Yes, Z," he said to her, his voice a mock teacher to student voice,"A league is a team...doof." He grinned at her, and the expressions that were playing across her face just made his fingers itch to reach into his pocket.
Their friendship had been a point of speculation amongst all their classmates for years. From an outsider's perspective they were complete opposites, but Diego and Ziva both knew what made them such close friends. This new chapter of their lives was supposed to be a happy and exciting time, but only if they were able to stay together. This was it, he just couldn't wait any longer. He glanced at her one last time, noting all of her little minute expression changes that meant he had accomplished his goal, and he burst out into laughter.
"Oh, man," he said between loud guffaws, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a simple slip of paper, "I'm sorry, Z. I just had to mess with you." He handed her the piece of paper, his eyes sparkling like grey gems as he grinned. "I got it, Z...I got it."
Creativity
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Posted: 1/5/2019 at 1:23 AM
Post #265
Ziva had speculated for years now that Diego knew when he was making her upset, and he did it on purpose. She didn't really care either way - it was something of a game they played, and if she had a problem with it, she figured she'd tell him. Still, there was that sliver of doubt every time he did it, wondering if he was actually uncaring, or forgetting her, or leaving her. But that was just the foolish anxiety, she told herself. Since she had met Diego, four years ago, her anxiety had actually gotten a lot better. He was just...sweet like that, that she often didn't worry about him unless he gave her reason.
But now? At this moment, she was ready to explode with anxiety. What wasn't he telling her? His conversation had seemed simple enough that she couldn't just figure it out, and she had never been very adept at social interaction. It was literally bugging the hell out of her, until...
...Until he said it. And pulled out a piece of paper. There was a moment when she looked down at the paper in slight confusion, and then it clicked. Her eyes urgently met his again, and she just about launched herself over the table to hug him ferociously.
"Diego, that's amazing! That... That's unbelievable!" she pulled back with a large grin on her face. "I'm so happy for you! I... I will pay for food this time," she insisted, eagerly extracting her wallet from her pocket and beginning to dig through it for her card, so caught up in the moment that she hadn't even realized the fact that they hadn't even received their food yet, only the salads.
It was more than she could have ever hoped for... Diego would be going to the same university as her! He'd actually be there, with her! She was fairly certain that her smile was permanently plastered onto her face, and she was perfectly fine with that.
Britters
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Posted: 1/5/2019 at 5:49 PM
Post #266
When Tox would think back on the last month, he sometimes couldn't believe just how completely stupid he had been. It felt as though he had been a different person then, and perhaps in many ways that was true. He certainly felt like a new person the last few days. Being happy was a new thing, but even though he was still unsure of their future, he was no longer afraid. His happiness and Brain's happiness were now his greatest treasure and he would always cherish it all.
She was so beautiful, Tox thought to himself as he sipped some orange juice from his glass, and he knew Brain probably would never agree with that assessment. He wanted her to be able to see herself the way he did, but if he simply had to keep telling her so for the rest of his life that was fine with him. Her fiery hair, emerald eyes, and even the way she blushed all made his heart skip a beat when he spent time just looking at her. He smiled as he put his juice back down and took his last bite of food.
"Well," he said through his mouthful of egg, "I doubt you'll have to worry too much about going back to work. Reach seemed totally at home there." He swallowed his food and, when Brain had finished her breakfast, pushed back from the table to stand up.
For once anxious to get on with the rest of the day, Tox held out his arm to Brain so the two of them could journey to the infirmary. They spent the short walk mostly in silence, but it was the most comfortable silence in the world. Just being near her was enough to make him feel as though he were walking on air. He had smiled more the last few days than he could ever remember doing so before. Even when they both walked into the infirmary building, and saw that both Reach and Wire were there looking less than happy about things, he didn't stop smiling.
"Morning, ladies," he said brightly, nodding in Wire's direction, "I was hoping I'd find you here, Wire. I thought we should probably have a talk about how things are around the compound." He grabbed a couple chairs for himself and Brain, then sat down.
-----
Every stroke of the pencil, every letter Reach wrote down on the page, caused a pain to arc through her chest. It felt like a blow each time, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything to Wire. She felt as though she had been torn into two halves. One half was still hers, and it felt desolate and alone. The other half was Wire's, perhaps it had been this whole time, and she feared she would never see it again...never feel whole again. The realization was like ice in her veins.
"Mhm," she murmured under her breath at regular intervals as she coped down Wire's instructions with her neat handwriting. It was all she could bring herself to say.
Things had gone wrong, and Reach wasn't sure she could figure out how to change course. As though she had been swept into the ocean with the tide, and was losing her battle against the currents to make her way back to shore. A small voice in the back of her mind seemed to be suggesting it might be easier to just give up, but it was possible she'd been through too much to do that now. She could still try and salvage this, she could still try and just tell Wire the truth...right now...
"Wire," she said suddenly, looking up sharply, naked vulnerability in her eyes, "I..." She never got to finish the sentence, for that was when Tox and Brain entered the room.
For a moment, Reach's vision blurred and she hastily rubbed at her eyes beneath her glasses as she realized they were filling with tears. She worked desperately to put her mask of professionalism back on, and smiled a kind smile at Tox and Brain. She was temporarily distracted from her own woes by the massive, visible difference in her other friends. Their happiness was almost contagious enough to bring her out of her deep pit, but not quite. Even so, she did manage a light chuckle.
"Good morning," she said to the pair of them, giving them a sly glance over the tops of her glasses, "I see you both finally came to your senses..."
-----
Football was Diego's passion in life, what he lived and breathed for, but if he was honest with himself he knew that Ziva was just as important to him. Her friendship had been his oasis for many years now, his place of safety and peace. He could tell her anything and be his true self around her. She was his best friend, and for the first time he stopped to think about what that might mean now that they were no longer trapped in the torture chamber known as high school. His reputation was no longer as important, because he wouldn't have to see any of their classmates again.
The smile that lit up Ziva's face when she read the piece of paper made Diego feel as though he were glowing from the inside. He had begun to lose hope that he was going to hear from the scholarship program he had applied for at all, so long it had been since he'd sent in his application. He knew his athletic skills were good enough, but he also knew he was not the only one. Not to mention no one knew the secret to his success. This morning, however, as he was finishing getting ready to head to the graduation ceremony, the mail had arrived and his fears had been dispelled.
"Thanks," he told her, his broad grin still on his face, "So, now that I've had my fun, we should probably start looking for apartments near the university, but first..." He glanced up as their waitress came walking back over, a knowing smile on her own face, a large slice of cake on a plate with a pair of candles. "Its time for a celebratory wish." He thanked the waitress and turned back to Ziva.
It was another tradition the two of them had, because they both had a weakness for sweets and a love for blowing out candles on birthday cakes, so they had decided that making wishes on candles needed to happen more often. They even kept a supply of birthday candles and cupcakes in the house at all times for any such occasion that called for celebration. Sometimes they would even do it after video game wins. Today was almost better than a birthday.
With a wink, Diego closed his eyes and blew softly at this candle.
"By the way," he said without even opening his eyes, "I already paid for lunch."
Edited By Britters on 1/5/2019 at 11:59 PM.
Creativity
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Posted: 1/6/2019 at 12:51 AM
Post #267
Grinning at their old tradition and Diego's absolute goofiness in ordering a slice of cake for them to celebrate, Ziva didn't hesitate to blow out one of the candles while he blew out the other. Her wishes, she never thought about beforehand. She thought that the most pure wish was one thought up on the spot, in the moment of the wish. It was slightly surprising, then, when her wish this time had nothing to do with academics or video games, which is what they were usually focused on, and instead had to do with Diego.
It was an effort to keep blood from rushing to her face. She knew she had a crush on him, but... Well. That was one wish that she was certain would never come true. Still, she grinned broadly at him, ecstatic for the opportunities they'd have in the future now.
In the back of her mind, she was vaguely disturbed by what she had seen a few days ago - some sort of file with blinking red warning signs at the top, and a brief glance of information that she only recognized the words "containment of virus" in before her screen grew wild and staticky, and she had to unplug her entire computer. It had freaked her out, but her software showed no sign of viruses and she was left merely with the disturbing memory.
"You're awful," she rolled her eyes as she quit digging through her wallet - which was, by the way, filled with coupons and gift cards and membership cards galore, so much that she had been unable to find her debit card - and put it back in her pocket.
"Do you want to do something else today, then? Maybe the theater. Though once it hits Shabbat, you're driving," she gave him a teasing smile, absentmindedly toying with her necklace as she took a bite of her salad.
Britters
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Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 1/6/2019 at 1:58 AM
Post #268
For Diego, his wishes had been the same since he was a young child. He wanted to be a professional football player. Even now, when he knew his wish was almost full within his grasp, he expected nothing else to pop into his mind. He was a simple guy, with mostly simple thoughts. Yet, as he smiled and let his mind focus on the matter of his wish, for the first time ever he didn't think about football. This time what he saw was his best friend's smiling face, clear as day even with his eyes closed.
I want Ziva to come have fun with me tonight...
The wish was there and gone before Diego even realized what had happened. He blew his candle out mostly out of habit and then opened his eyes and blinked in momentary shock. Then there was Ziva, his anchor to reality, smiling and joking with him. He smiled back at her, his jovial attitude back in full force. He took a few more bites of his salad, though his eyes flicked over to the slice of cake several times. It wasn't as though the wish he'd made was likely anyway.
"Yep," he said, with a serious nod, "I'm awful...ly adorable, and handsome, and funny." He laughed softly at his own joke, unable to stop smiling. Yes, today was a great day, and the future looked bright.
As he sat there eating though, Diego began to think...which in his case was almost never a great idea (Ziva would have been the first to point this out...). All these years the two of them had spent in high school and they had never really spent much time together when there were other people from school around. It wasn't really that they'd hid their friendship, they did live together, but Ziva understood his need to keep up appearances for the sake of his sports. Now, though, they were free from the chains of their peers' opinions, and they might be able to actually do something more than just go to the movies.
"Well," he began to say casually, rolling a bit of tomato around his plate with his fork, "I was actually thinking...why don't we go to the big graduation party tonight?" He let the question hang in the air for a second before glancing up at her and hastily adding, "I mean, I know its not really your thing but...its our last chance to do something like this before we head to university." He wasn't even sure what he wanted her answer to really be, but the idea was out in the open now.
Creativity
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Posted: 1/6/2019 at 1:51 PM
Post #269
It was more than a little odd, Diego's request, and Ziva's initial instinct was to decline. She really was never much of a party girl. Hell, her only friend in Spain was Diego. Back in Israel, she had had a few friends, but they abandoned her, too, when she was put up for adoption. They didn't want to deal with someone who would be in that sort of situation, bouncing around in uncertainty, a child of sin herself. After all, her own parents had been sinners, conceiving a child before they wed, a result of a one night stand.
She was a shut-in, and she had turned to video games to help her escape reality - not to mention, she was darn good at them. Never once had she been to a party before, except for maybe a friend's birthday party when she was eight or so.
Her parents had never thrown one of those for her, a birthday party. That's why, when she was initially placed into the foster system, she was shocked when a foster family obligatorily bought her a cake and candles for her eleventh birthday. That's when she had fallen in love with the whole idea - being able to make a wish for the year, for your year. Now that she shared the tradition with Diego, it was even more special.
"I don't know..." she looked down at her salad and anxiously pushed a jalapeno across her plate. "It's Shabbat tonight. And the kids there will probably be the bullies and jerks. But..." she sighed and put her fork down. "I suppose there's nothing Shabbat forbids about partying. Just, like, no working or driving, no fires or anything... The party at Felipe's house, right?" she finally looked at him now, a somewhat skeptical, somewhat unsure glance.
She had never done anything like this before. And... this could be a fantastic night, if she let it. But those were the key words.
Britters
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Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 1/6/2019 at 3:20 PM
Post #270
As he sat there, watching Ziva's face closely, Diego thought about what had made him ask her about the party. He knew why she was against such things, and it didn't even mostly have to do with her religious beliefs. She didn't like social gatherings, and she had good reasons. There had never really been a time she felt accepted by others, though he felt really glad that he was able to be there for her. It made him feel like a superhero.
Today could be Diego's chance to show his friend that she could have fun in whatever way she wanted. He wanted Ziva to know that she didn't always have to hide behind her video games, that he would proudly stand beside her in front of others. He knew she sometimes wondered if he was going to abandon her like her parents had, though he didn't think she knew that he knew of her fear. High school had been rough on both of them in different ways, but tonight could be his chance to show her that college would be different.
"You don't have to care about anyone else," he said to her, pausing as the waitress finally brought the rest of their food, "I'll be there and I'll be by your side the whole time." It was the absolute truth. There would be other people there who treated him like a friend, but tonight would be about him and Ziva.
Looking back on these last four years in particular, Diego knew there were things he wished he'd been able to do differently. At least he knew without a doubt that that she was his best friend no matter what. He honestly wouldn't have blamed her if she'd given him the boot a long time ago because of all the times he'd felt pressured to neglect her so he could maintain his image with the rest of their classmates. Thankfully, she was much more patient than he could have ever hoped for.
"Yeah, Felipe," he said, taking a bite out of his turkey sandwich, "Which means it'll be way mellow. Mostly just people singing bad karaoke and pretending their cups of punch are margaritas. I promise it'll be fun."
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