OUTRAGEOUS test thread [don't touch it]

[xandy pandy]

✄Esmeralda Ingrid Rouse

it's only a matter of time
❝What does that Surplus think she's doing, going out and getting pregnant?❞

Chickadee ll Esmeralda, Ezzy or Ingrid
Twenty-Five ll January 1st
Pansexual ll The Swaying

timid✖self-reliant✖curious

I used to be Surplus Esma.

That is where my story has to start, because Surplus Esma is someone I never plan to be again. I am Esmerald Ingrid Rouse, a human being who deserves more then a life as a servant. I will have a child, and they will be more then a servant, because everyone deserves more then that, as cliche as it sounds. It took me a long time to figure it out though, because like many other Surplus who go to Surplus halls when they're small and grow up there, I was under the same conditioning that many of my peers were and are under.

I was born in a basement in a small town in Maine, and was raised in the house I was born in for three years. I was only allowed outside into our backyard at night, if I was being quiet, and the rest of the time I was in the house. The blinds were always shut, the curtains were alway drawn. Really, it isn't the life that any child should live, and I do believe my parents were selfish for not Opting Out if they wanted me so badly. It didn't go on for much longer after I turned three though. I probably will never know who found out about me, who told on my parents, but someone did, and the Authorities came. It was the dead of night, and I barely remember what happened. All I know is that one night I was Esmarelda, and then the next morning I was Surplus Esma.

She didn't like my name, the House Matron. She tried to change it, so something that didn't at all resemble the name my parents gave me, But the most she could do was shorten it. I was too stubborn and wouldn't respond to anything else. Other then that though? I was obediant. They taught me my place quick enough, and for about thirteen long years, I made sure I never stepped out of line at that Surplus Hall. I suppose my blind obediance did me good, because I was put down as a valuable asset, which meant I was at the very bottom of the list to be put to hard labor, and at the very top of the list to be sent to a good house with Legals, working as their housekeeper, or in my case, one on a staff of housekeepers.

From the very start, the Head Housekeeper, the only Leagl on staff in the house, liked to hit me for even the smallest mistakes. I took it though, because I was naïve and far too compliant. There was one time when she whipped the hell out of me, all for telling the man who lived in the house my full real name. Why? Because Surplus do not have more then one name. I was Surplus Esma. And even if the owner of the house insisted on asking my 'real' name, I was to remain adiment that my name was only Surplus Esma. I'm always going to have scars on my back fom the beating she gave me with that belt. I think that's when I started to get a bit rebellious, after I realized that I had been at that house for eight years and I was sentenced to a life of this kind of abuse. If she was going to abuse me, I might as well earn it, wouldn't you say? Of course she continued to hit me, but I don't ever think she knew what I was really doing, or I would recieve beatings like the one she had given me that day. What was I doing? I was sleeping with the man that asked me my name. The son of the woman that owned the house. He looked to be around my age, but in reality he was probably a lot older, due to longevity drugs keeping him looking young.

I am highly aware of the fact that I was nothing more then a shiny toy to him. He was not much more then a rebellion for me. You see, I'm not as innocent as people would like to think I am. You're kidding yourself if you're calling a pregnant girl innocent. Why did I do it, with him specifically? I don't know. Because he was about as rebellious as it gets. And as the shiny toy, I got all the fun gifts, the special treatment, everything, and I liked it. It went on for about eight months, until one day about three after I turned twenty-five, all the weird symptoms of some over all thing I had thought was the flu clicked when I realized I had missed my period. I was pregnant, and he was the father. Yes, I told him, and maybe it would've been brighter to just leave, because if he ever wants to turn me in to save his own neck on something, I'm sure he would, in a heartbeat. But for now, he's the person who helped me get away, on the condition that I never, under any circumstances say that he is the father, and that I never contact him again.

He got me started, and I had to find the rest of my way on my own. I met Abel at a gas station about five miles from the warehouse. I think everything about me just screamed that I needed help. And I know it's stupid to just go along with some random guy that promises you a place where you can at least eat, clean up, and rest before you move on, especially one as odd as Abel sometimes seems to be, but I was tired, and all I could really think about was what a tired, worn out body was going to do to the baby inside of me, especially if I didn't get some rest soon. The car ride to the warehouse was short, but filled with questions on Abel's part. He was respectful though, and kept away from anything too personal. The warehouse? It caught me by surprise, because I honestly had always thought the resistance was some sort or myth, but I didn't have to be there for more then five minutes among the people who lived at the warehouse and the ones who came and helped during the days to figure out what I was in the middle of.

Abel was the biggest help in adjusting, because after the first two days, it was obvious I was there to stay, and I was a Surplus with nowhere to go. It wasn't until three weeks later that I had no choice but to reveal to everyone that I was a pregnant Surplus with nowhere to go. It's wasn't that bad though. No one has really been on my back about anything, including that, except for one girl. Some people have been saying she's just jealous, but I don't know what she would be jealous about. She's Legal. If she would just Opt Out, then there would be nothing for her to hate me for. And then there's another girl, though my relationship with her is a bit different. She's Legal, and she's not a fully commited part of the resistance. Abel told her I was an Opt Out, making my baby bump nothing that can be a moral conflict for her. Of course, things feel like they're quickly going to grow to an intimate point with us, and I'm not sure if I can do that, when I'm not sure if she would treat me like Surplus Esma and not Esmerelda if she found out my real status.

o u t r a g e o u s KOI

[xandy pandy]

10101010101010101010101010101010perfection comes at a price

Authorities;; A section of the government police designated to seek out and put a stop to both the resistance and any Legal who has not Opted Out and is breaking the declaration. Known for their kill first ask questions later way of doing things.

The Declaration;; Created once the world figured out the major flaw with living forever: overpopulation. Takes away your right to have a child, and every Legal must sign it or Opt Out at age eighteen. Those who break the Declaration are often taken away and not heard of again, while their children are sent to Surplus halls.

Legals;; Anyone born to an Opt Out parent or was born before the Declaration was passed. They are not allowed to have children.

Longevity Drugs;; Drugs that are taken once a week by legals who have not Opted Out. With them, a person is able to live forever, free of disease and sickness.

Opt Outs;; Legals who have chosen to age and die natrually. This choice is often made so that you are allowed one child: a life for a life. Are often treated as outcasts and with suspicion for their choice.

Surplus;; Born to Legal parents who have not Opted Out. They are not allowed to have Longevity Drugs, and are more often treated like slaves then anything else.

can you pay it?

[xandy pandy]

10101010101010101010101010101010perfection comes at a price

●The shy Pregnant girl has managed to become close to two people within the resistance, the Instigator, who like her and many others within the resistance with nowhere else to go lives at the ware house, and the Protector, who's watched out for her personally since day one, acting almost like an older brother to her.
●The Protector and the Opt In have been together for awhile now, though the Opt In is not aware of his boyfriend's double life. The Protector knew what he was getting into from the start, and is now just waiting until he can be completely sure his boyfriend could see what real good the resistance is doing.
●The Selfish is extremely jealous of the Pregnant, and as a result doesn't even try to tolerate her like she tries with the other Surplus. This usually escalates to conflicts that have the potential to become violent, but are usually disfused by the Instigator, ironically enough.
●The Traitor and the Agent have some sort of relationship going on, though the Traitor is the only one in the relationship with actual feelings. The Agent just seems to be using it as a way to keep her loyal. When her job is over? Who knows if he'll keep her around or not.
●The Passive and the Agent grew up together and were childhood friends, though now they're not all that close, do to their conflicting beliefs on how to handle the Surplus issues.
●Through a good friendship with the Protector, the Swaying has met many in the resistance, but the person she is most drawn to is the Pregnant, though she thinks that the other female is a Legal Opt Out, and the Pregnant is too afraid to tell her the truth, since it may ruin the potential relationship.
●The Opt Out is doesn't trust the Traitor as far as she can throw her. She just knows there is something wrong with the way the Traitor is always disapearing off to some mysterious place for whole days sometimes and is always pushing to know more, even about things that don't really effect her.
●Quite aware of her current neutral-ness, the Passive is trying to keep the Swaying loyal to the Legals who want things to stay the way they are, trying to convince his friend that if things were the way he believes they should be, everything would be better and the Surplus will be fine with how they are treated.

can you pay it?

[xandy pandy]

10101010101010101010101010101010perfection comes at a price

Pregnant

Surplus
She had to get out when she figured out she was pregnant. When a Surplus gets pregnant, it's not like Legals having a child. They'll kill the Surplus and it's child. This girl got lucky though. Even when the father of her child turned her away and she at first had no one to turn to, she made her way out on her own. When she found the warehouse was when she really got lucky, because the Protector was quick to make sure everyone allowed her into their small resistance. Even then though, she's always stayed a bit secretive though, not even telling them she was pregnant until they guessed it when she started to get obvious symptoms. She manages to keep to herself despite all that though, still not completely sure of who to trust.

Traitor

Surplus
All she wants it to be Legal, and she was promised that, just as long as she did a good job of infiltrating the resistance. That means pulling out all the stops. Delivering all the information she can to the Agent, learning as much as she can about their plans. Of course, she went in with papers saying she was Legal, playing as a Legal who wanted to fight for equal rights. No one was going to predict that her papers would be the reason she's been stuck there for so long, due to less trust being given to her then if she had gone in a plain old Surplus. She's sticking with it though, meeting with the Agent to give her reports and continuing to dig as deep as she can, doing her best to get past each wall they've built up. Does she feel guilt about betraying her people? Hardly. Is she scared of what they'll do to her if they find out who she is? Of course.

Instigator

Surplus
He has a loud mouth, especially for a Surplus. The will is usually is beaten out of them young, but when beatings at the surplus hall didn't work, he got sent where all disobedient Surplus are sent, to the detention center. How he got away from there is still a mystery, but he did, and here he is to day. While managing to stay off the map, he has also managed to be the cause of the most of the recent riots in the area, even if he is long gone by the time the Authorities show up. He knows that if he sticks around he gets caught and they would probably just kill him on the spot. Of course, a lot of people like to say he's a coward for not sticking around, but others think he's smart, staying under the radar and still causing trouble. On the other hand, he clashes with many people in the resistance due to his violent approach while many others are more for peaceful action.

Selfish

Legal
She could honestly care less if the Surplus got their rights. In fact, she can't stand Surplus. That's not what she's trying to fight for. She wants her rights. The right to have a child, the right she signed away when she turned eighteen in order to have the longevity drugs. Of course, like many people who are young and don't think about it, she now regrets that choice she's made. And like a lot of others who want to stay on the longevity drugs and want children, she has struggled with the choice of whether to opt out or not. In the end she'd rather just break the law and keep her immortal, something viewed as a selfish act among other Legals. Of course, she's run away, joined up with the resistance. Of course, that was awhile ago, and here she is, still without a child and not sure how much longer she can tolerate the Surplus around her.

Opt In

Legal
His parents opted out to have him, and he believes that they did it so that he could experience a long life with the longevity drugs. Of course, no one can really be sure what his parents wanted, they're long gone. But that's what he believes, and because his parents followed the laws about having a child, he's become big on the anti-rights movements, insisting things need to stay the way they are, that things are good this way. He has more ties to the resistance then he thinks though. And the real question is, if he were faced with the chance to stop the resistance in it's tracks, would he be able to, considering what he knows his parents had to go through as Opt Outs?

Protector

Legal
Many people view him as a major leader of the resistance, even with little being known about him. What is it about him that captivates people? He manages to protect the Surplus he takes in, as well as the Legals and Opt Outs. He doesn't seem to be looking after himself and his own interests. What do people know about him? He's Legal, he has close ties to people who are against the resistance (but some people only think that a rumor), and he seems to have an amazing talent for calming down the arguments that are always popping up as a result of the people of the resistance spending too much time together with little chance of getting a break from each other. His own views on what they're trying to gain? That everyone needs to be informed on their choices and that everyone should have the rights that everyone had before the longevity drugs came into the picture.

Passive

Legal
No, he doesn't believe that the Surplus should get full rights. He is not with the resistance, but he also doesn't agree with the way things are handled with the Surplus. In fact, he's sure that if they were treated just a bit better, there wouldn't be the threat of a resistance. Of course, with beliefs like that, people are suspicious of his true intentions, even if they are as simple as he states them to be. Really, he believes that the violence that many people who are against the resistance advocate is just adding to the fire and giving them more power, not taking it away. Stating his opinions out lout though? It’s made him almost as much of an outsider in the normal society as Opt Outs.

Opt Out

Opted Out Legal
No human is meant to live forever. This is why this girl opted out and joined the resistance not long after. Like many who join the resistance, she has her own agenda. Hers is to get people to see what living forever is doing to their world. A person is only meant to live one life, not the equivalent to two or three or four. How is evolution supposed to happen, how are we supposed to learn new things when it is only the same minds on this planet? Her opinion is probably one of the most controversial in the resistance, if only because all around her, there are people fighting to keep the longevity drugs in play, while letting people have the right to children. But they went down that road already, and everyone knows where that led. She can run her mouth all day though, and still have very few people agreeing with her.

Swaying

Legal
Growing up, she's been taught what every Legal had been taught: Surplus don't deserve what everyone else have, Legals who produce Surplus need to be gotten rid of, and Opt Outs are suspicious, because who would give up their lives for a child they won't even know will be good? But that was all before she got to hear a bit of what people of the revolution had to say, before she heard from the Surplus themselves what they had to endure, just because of their parents actions. Now she's not sure where she's supposed to be standing. She's had a few interactions with the Protector, asking him to tell her more about this 'revolution' that the resistance is starting, and how it's supposed to help Legals who already have everything. Of course, all she got from that was more confusion, so for now, she's staying firmly stuck between the two.

Agent

Legal
He's part of a special division of the government, most just refer to them as the Authorities, as if a harmless name will make what they do less horrific. Because essentially, these are the people who go in and kill whoever they feel they have to, with no procedure whatsoever. So what does he himself have going? He's got a Surplus doing his undercover dirty work, promising something he hasn't yet decided if he's really going to give it to her or not. No, he's not the nicest of people out there, but when you do a job like his, do you really expect someone who’s all sugar and rainbows? Exactly. And he's nice when it counts. He just doesn't believe people should be selfish. You either opt in or out. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Not at what he thinks would be the expense of everyone else.

can you pay it?

[xandy pandy]

✄Abel Ravi Beheri

❝Sometimes, too many people may trust him to be their protector.❞

Male ll Just Abel
Twenty-Six ll February 29th
Homosexual ll The Opt In

patient✖responsible✖manipulative

To start at the beginning, I need to start with an end, because I wouldn't be alive without an end. And just whose end was it? My older sister, who was killed after twenty-two years of life, death achieved through falling during a rock climbing trip and snapping her neck. You see, it's some kind of replacement loophole I suppose, where if a family loses one child, the parents of the child are allowed to have another one, if they are able. Seems like a half-assed deal really. Telling a grieving parent that oh, it's okay, because they can have a child to replace their lost one? Yeah, bullshit.

But that was how I was born, ten years after the Declaration laws were put into place. I have two older siblings, fifteen and seventeen years older then me. Someone like me is rare these days. A Legal born after the Declaration was passed, who isn't an opt out, with multiple siblings? No, not common at all. Beyond that? I can't say I had an out of the ordinary childhood. I grew up like an child, on a steady diet of propaganda and constant conditioning to believe in the concept of Surplus ruining the world, and blah blah blah blah blah. There was probably a time when I believed all it, but by the time I was sixteen? All of it seemed like s**t to me. I was seventeen when I decided I was going to change all of it. Yeah, I had big dreams. Still do. And what did I do at eighteen? I signed away my right to have children. You have to be in it to beat it.

How did I get into the resistance? I joined a small group that was made up of Legals, none of them involved still. Most were in it for small rebellions towards their families or whatever. The rest? Well, I grant them my full respect, to this day. For my first year in the resistance, everything I was apart of was relatively small, mostly rallys, and one march. Nothing as dangerous as what I'm up to now. What I'm up to now? Could probably get me locked away for life, or killed on the spot if the Authorities got involved. And could you think it all started with our little group getting too big and us having to break apart into smaller groups. This is where things get a little quick paced. The group I broke into? They for some reason decided that I was the one who would be a good organizer, a good leader. And that was where this all really started.

I made it clear that if I was leading things, we were going serious about all of this. The resistance isn't just rallys and handing out pamphlets. And our group is one of the few in what many within all of this would refer to is the Surplus Railroad. Sure, we take on plenty of Surplus, but only so many can live at the warehouse between it's permenant residents and the people coming in and out that work there. We take in Surplus and depending on the situation, we either send them on or we keep them with us. It honestly depends on what area they're from and who, if anyone is, looking for them. Another repuation our group has that may not be so good? We're known for the riots that break out when we protest and rally. That is something I never really intended to happen, but it did. We're working on trying to keep that kind of thing at bay though. It's hard not to get caught when you're leaving a trail of violence.

Violent or not, I try to look out for everyone within our group. The core members are about five, every one of them except for me living at the warehouse full time, two of them being Surplus that I managed to get forged Legal papers. About ten more people after that four live at the warehouse, most being Opt Outs and Surplus, and about twenty people come in and out every day, doing different things. Yeah, it's a lot to manage, which is why, as I said, there are core members other then me. Mostly it goes by seniority and who I think can be trusted. The only one who doesn't have seniority and is within the core members? That's Esmaralda, and a case like her's is special. You don't come across a Surplus who's been in the machine since they were a toddler with balls like hers, let's just put it that way.

Let's put this all to end with an idea. What if I fell for someone, someone who is quite against everything I do? What if he didn't know that I'm a major leader in the resistace? What if I'm slowly planting little seeds to get his understanding before I reveal the truth, to make it so he hesitates that one fraction of a second? Do you know how many thoughts that can flash through your head in a fraction of a second? How much your morals can change when you size their worth against the worth of losing someone who might mean everything?

o u t r a g e o u s KOI

[xandy pandy]

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text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text

[xandy pandy]

text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text

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[xandy pandy]

Click click click click.

Back and forth, back and forth, that goddamn ceiling fan that had probably been broken long before her arrival. Okay, not broken, just loose. It still made that annoying clicking noise. The one that wouldn't let Esmerelda fall back asleep once her eyes opened even a little bit in the morning, and wouldn't let her fall asleep at night unless she was absolutely beat. Of course, that second one wasn't so hard. Who knew revolutions and pregnancy were both so tiring. And dealing with both at the same time? Well, she was tired from the minute she rolled off the matress she had on the floor of what probably used to be an office when the warehouse had actually been in use.

"Oh well, might as well take advantage of my ability to get up on my own while I still can." she mumbled, pushing herself up. She said the same thing almost every morning, because if the stories about pregnancy were true, the day would come where her belly would be much too large and round for her to be able to get up from her matress. She wasn't complaining though. There had been a short time when she had been using some blankets and a sleeping bag, making a little nest as her 'bed' on the floor in this room. The mattress had shown up no more then a week after she had been given little choice but to be honest about the fact that she was pregnant. Ezzy still had little knowledge as to who had given it to her, the way it had showed up out of the blue and with all the people going in and out of the warehouse.

With a groan and a moan, she managed to sit up, still not completely awake. She ran a hand through her forever curly mane of thick hair before contemplenting and eventaully agreeing with the idea that she needed to stand up and get out of this bare room she thought of as her own. The clock that sat beside her matress on the floor read ten-thirty, and when she had awoken it had only been ten, meaning she had been lying there for half an hour. The Surplus training in her said that that was wasted time that she could've been working. The five month old fetus in her belly was insisting that was time she should've spent having some sort of breakfast, no matter how small. As many could probably guess, it was the fetus that won out on why she needed to get up, put some fresh clothes on, and go see what the warehouse kitchen held in the way of food.

She stood, looking down at the clothes she had fallen asleep in. She had been in them for two days straight and really, they were more wrinkled then anything. Two days in the same outfit wasn't that uncommon around her anyway. No one had the time to gather up everyone's clothing and go to a laundrymat, then stay to babysit the machines while they washed. Instead clothes were more often then not worn for as long as the person felt comfortable in them Esmeralda's span was usually two days before she dug into her assortment of clothes. It helped that she had more clothes then the others around her, especially many of the Surplus. That had been part of her agreement with him before she left. Inexchange for going away and never bothering him again, he would get her as much of what she needed as possible, and for the rest he would give her money. She still had most of that money, tucked away someway safe so she would have at least something to use when baby expenses began to kick in.

Peeling off her clothes, she threw them in a crate that served as her hamper, then moved to another crate that held most of her loose belongings rummaging through until she found clothes she could put on. She slipped on a grey spagetti strapped top and a pair of jeans, letting herself go barefoot as usual. She found a brush and pulled it through her stubborn curls a few times before letting it drop back into the crate and leaving the room.

Outside of her room, the space of the second floor of the warehouse was a wide open space, with a few rooms and some makeshift walls, but mostly it was an open floor plan, which kinda forced all the people who lived there twenty-four/seven to spend time together and get to know everyone. It was a good idea in concept, except there were just sometimes that everyone hit on everyone else's nerves. Or you had a shy case like Esmerelda, who, no matter how much interaction you would think she had to do, she managed to avoid it, keeping her eyes down and her words brief. Even now, as she passed the people who had managed to get up before her and the ones who arrived at the warehouse early in the day, she managed to get past them with a brief nod and a small smile in acknowlegdment of their presence. They knew she wouldn't say much else, whether it was from Abel pulling them aside and telling them they just had to give her time, or it was from repeated observations of her dealing with other people out side a select few.

She made it to their small kitchen, something that had obviously been installed when the resistance moved into the warehouse and was just off in a little nook, everything haphazardly hooked up. Openning the small refridgerator, she pulled out a yogart, the only thing she seemed to be able to stomach in the morning. Finding a spoon and openning the yogart, she began to eat. "Happy?" he murmured at her stomach. Hey, it was perfectly normal for a pregnant woman to talk to her stomach, or she was fairly sure it was. It wasn't as if she had ever met anyone pregnant. And she never has the courage to ask the Opt Out clinic doctor who worked with the resistance that Abel brought her to what was normal aside from what he told her. But she could assume, couldn't she? And no one who had ever heard her talking to her baby had ever said it was odd behavior.

[xandy pandy]

He really needed to go. There were things to do, items to pick up, people to meet. But cutting out this morning with some half assed reason again? Not the best idea. No, Abel just had to wait it out. Make something for them to eat, and then leave, so it didn't look like he was just leaving again. It always seemed like he was leaving lately, but what was he supposed to do? People were counting on him to do his job, yet his job certainly wasn't telling his boyfriend what he really did everyday before he was sure the other could handle it without flipping out and calling the Authorities right on the spot.

And then there was last night, coming home late and falling asleep on the couch without even bothering to say he was home. It had been almost three, which was really far too late, but had to go pick up those documents for today, and the person that made them, he was more then a little eccentric. Abel would like it if he could go at a time when the rest of the world was still awake, but it didn't work that way, and those Surplus needed those papers today. There was no way they were going to move on to the next group without papers. They had already come far enough without them, if only because there were few groups that were able to get ahold of forged papers that were good enough to get past most people, even those in the government.

Abel sighed, pulling his dreads back and tying them up before he started to look under the sink for a pan to make pancakes in. Those papers were in his bag now, sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Abel was assuming that his partner was in their bedroom, though he had yet to go in there this morning. If he was asleep Abel didn't want to wake him, and if he was awake, he apparently wasn't ready to come out yet, so why bother him? Instead Abel would cook, because everyone required food, and he was willing to do anything to cushion the potential blow of the questioning he was likely to be under once his boyfriend did decide to make an appearance.

He checked his watch after he set the pan on the stove and poured pancake batter into it. Ten-thirty. Making a small aggravited noise, he turned back to the stove to tend to the pancakes. Those people had to be ready with their new papers and the things to set them off by three-- that was when the next group that was helping them would have someone at the warehouse to pick them up. Well if anything, Jasmine, Esmeralda, and the others that were known to help keep things moving would know what was happening today, and if he didn't get there soon, one of them could at least help the others get ready. He just had to be there with enough time to give everyone the right papers.

Flipping a final pancake onto the pile of already made ones, he switched off the stove, moving to lean against the counter. Absently, he tugged his hair out the ponytail it was tied in, not needing to worry about it being in his way now. Crossing his arms over his chest, he rolled his neck in a restless action, thinking. He needed to get dressed, but that was something he was waiting to do until he had access to the bedroom. The smell of pancakes would lure his boyfriend out soon hopefully, because Abel was quickly falling in love with the idea of getting a shirt on. He had taken the one he had been wearing the night before off before he went to sleep, and found this morning that it smelled awful, resulting in it being thrown in the hamper in the bathroom, so for now he was shirtless, in wrinkled jeans and bare feet. And hungry, but he was waiting to eat. Abel had always been taught to be polite and wait until everyone was ready to eat after all.

[xandy pandy]

Abel pinched the bridge of his nose. That familar pounding in the back of his head had returned. The pounding that occured when he worried about too many things at once. His relationship, picking things up, organizing rallys and whatnot, making sure everyone was flying safely under the radar... too much. Much to much. But this was the kind of life he had chosen to take up. Most of the time he was completely satisfied with who he was and what he was doing, it was usually only after late nights or too many days of being stretched far thinner then any person should let themselves be spread that Abel would undertake the idea of just letting someone else deal with it, if even just for a week. Just so he could lead the normal life of a Legal who walked around, blind to the huge flaws in the system.

Of course, that was the problem wasn't it? The normal life of a Legal included way too many things that any person with even the slightest bit of a concious had to know was wrong. The use of unpaid Surplus in many households and apartments? Making them do work that you could easily do yourself? That was one thing Abel had never been able to swallow, even as a child. He would be nice to the Surplus who worked in his family's home, do things that were generally prohibited, such as excuse them from their chores and just do them himself when his parents weren't allowed to scold him; slip them extra food when he could. Abel could recall the talk he had needed to have with Soto when they moved in together. Though Abel would never go as far as to even hint he supported the resistance, he had needed to make it clear that they were both capable of doing household tasks themselves, and there was no need to bring in any Surplus, no matter what kinds of programs the government had in place to keep the Surplus useful until they died. 'There are far larger houses that could use them more then we ever would need to.' He remembered wording it carefully, dancing around his boyfriend's strong logic.

The sound of the bedroom door openning and closing caught Abel's attention, and he dropped his hand from his face, smiling gently as Soto came to the kitchen. As the other questioned why he hadn't go into the bedroom the night before, Abel shrugged, looking down. "I wasn't sure if I was going to wake you up or not, it was late." Of course Soto had to have known it was late when Abel had gotten home. The single comment of how he wouldn't have been mad clearly said that he had been awake when Abel had gotten home at three in the morning. The thought that Soto had actually stayed up waiting was definiately a show for something.

Combing his fingers through his hair, he looked back up, meeting Soto's eyes. Again he smiled, knowing that already he was close to being off the hook. He nodded wordlessly at the question of if he was hungry, then watched as Soto moved around the kitchen, getting out plates for them. Again he nodded when asked if they could eat. "Just let me go get into some clean clothes, okay? I'll be right back." he promised before moving to leave the kitchen, going to the bedroom. Unlike Soto, he dressed quickly, pulling on an old worn dress shirt, leaving the top two buttons undone, and a pair of baggy ripped jeans. Abel really had never been one for dressing formally, or owning much of anything that could pass as formal. His job didn't really call for it, and he could never find any other reason to own any of it.

He returned back to the kitchen, walking up behind Soto and touching the other's shoulders lightly. "All ready to eat now." he said, leaning over to rest his chin on the Soto's shoulder. Turning his head, he kissed the other male's temple lightly, knowing that he had to say now that he had to leave after breakfast. Holding it off until the last second would only mean he was leaving just as another argument had the chance of starting.

"I have to go to work after we eat; there are a bunch of papers I need to bring in and I promised I would help some people switch groups today." he was always as truthful yet as ambiguos had he could possibly be on the whole situation. He had never been one to state facts that weren't of any real value, so it couldn't be seen as odd for him to not go into detail if that was just his personality. "I won't be done much later then three though, and I mean in the afternoon this time." he added before he took a step away and picked the plate with the pancakes on it up off of the counter and placed it on the table. Pulling out a chair for Soto, her turned to the other giving a look that hopefully said 'you can't stay angry with me for too long, can you?'

[xandy pandy]

She stared absently at the table as she scooped yogurt out of the cup and into her mouth, her eyes tracing every pattern in the wood. It was so easy for her to get caught up in her mind, that this couldn't have been a more normal sight for people in the warehouse to see. Even when the place was buzzing with activity, Esmerelda could go through in a daze if she was having one of those days. It was too early though to tell if she would spend her whole day like this. It would have to wait until people came along, people she normally would talk to.

Her belly gave a low grumble and Ezzy smiled. She liked to think of it as her baby talking to her, even if it was just her stomach insisting she continue to eat. "I'm sure you would think this is yummy if you could actually taste it." she said quietly, placing a hand on the small baby bump. Not a day went by that she didn't touch that bump what seemed like a hundred times. It was just something amazing, knowing what she was going to bring to the world. Maybe that was a cliche, but it was one so rarely heard anymore that Esmerelda didn't think twice about it.

Baby cliches had been retired long before she was born. The idea of having babies had been virtually erased within the mainstream community. Because if you weren't on the fringes and an Opt Out and you had a child? You had a Surplus really, not a baby. And your child, they would go through hell just to stay alive, as overly tragic as that sounded. Ezzy had personal experience though. She knew that it wasn't so bad if you just kept your head down and your mouth shut. Of course, now that was a habit she had a hard time breaking, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to break it. People seemed the give the quiet girl the benefit of the doubt most of the time because of her meek disposition. Very few people questioned her about the pass she didn't want to talk about, and even fewer had enough nerve to press her when she pretended she didn't here the question. Only two that she could name. And now she was fairly close to both of them; they were people she could trust. It wasn't that she was surrounded by a bunch of untrustworthy people, but these two were different. One had been through just what she had been through, and more, being a Surplus. And the other was Abel.

If you couldn't trust the man who was, by most definition, a well known leader in the underground revolution, who were you supposed to trust? Abel had taken her in and trusted her. He hadn't asked her any questions until others started to pressure him to do it. And even though she had held something back, he still looked after her and trusted that Ezzy would give up what information she needed to, no more, no less.

Caught up in her thoughts, her eyes still on the table, Esmerelda hadn't noticed when Jasmine came around until the other spoke. She looked up, meeting Jasmine's dark eyes and smiling slightly. She nodded at the younger female's first question, scooping out more yogurt. Swallowing, she nodded her head again the second question that Jasmine threw her way. "Pretty hard too. Acts like it's practicing karate or something." she said, looking back down as she spoke. See, that was one of those habits she just couldn't break, even if she knew she was Jasmine's equal. Her mind knew that, but her body still obeyed the rules of Opt Out or not, Jasmine was a Legal, and Esmerelda was Surplus Esma.

If there was anyone Ezzy could call the mothering type, it would be Jasmine. Younger then Esmerelda, she seemed to know so much more about how to take care of things, and just more about what life was in general. She had the life lessons that Esmerelda really wished she could say she had, but she didn't and couldn't. And even though Jasmine seemed willing to share the knowledge that probably just seemed like common sense to her, Ezzy wasn't exactly able to understand it all fully, something she didn't want to admit. Her old habits were something she had to deal with on her own, she couldn't stick them on someone else.

The question of running low on anything caught Esmerelda off guard. She sat there for a moment before shrugging. "I wouldn't know if I did, Abel takes care of all that for me." she said, smiling weakly. It was true. Ezzy didn't know the first thing about what she really needed to get through her pregnancy. She took the vitamins the doctor gave her, and everything else Abel showed up with by what seemed like a surprise. There was very little she asked for, except for when she had the most random needs for certain foods, mostly it was strawberries. Other then that, she didn't feel comfortable asking when she had the money stored away for when she was able to leave the warehouse and go run quick errands, her forged papers always on her.

Esmerelda sighed, catching onto who Jasmine was probably talking about, whether Jasmine meant for her to or not. Why she was so insistant towards the other four in what Abel often called their core group that the girl was not trustworthy, Ezzy couldn't say. Whatever she saw, Esmerelda couldn't. Maybe the other three and Jasmine could, but if the three could, it was awfully odd for them to turn the other way. "You know, you two might get along better if you weren't constantly accusing her without proof." she offered softly.

[xandy pandy]

"I'm sorry." Abel murmured when Soto stated that he had scared him. That had not been his intention, but Abel tended to forget that sneaking up on people usually did turn out with the effect of scaring them. That was the odd thing of his personality. The littlest, most random things would stick, but some major facts, like his boyfriend not liking being snuck up on, were things he had to be reminded about every so often.

Soto's smile was so quick to fade, it made Abel feel guilty. Yes, it had been less and less time lately, between what they both did. Soto with his actual job and Abel with the odd jobs he did to keep somewhat steady money coming in, and then what he viewed as his real job working with the resistance. Of course, Soto didn't know about either of these. He knew about some blurry picture that Abel had managed to put together for him. Of course, Abel wasn't sure if he would blame Soto if the other hated his job. Hell it hadn't even been this busy when he and Soto had started dating. It had just been a build up until Abel's crazy hours had started to take over without him meaning for them to do that. People lived at the warehouse for a reason. It meant that he could leave before midnight from time to time, yet he didn't. Of course, at the same time, he was avoiding another problem.

It wasn't exactly common knowledge, the kinds of ties Abel had outside of the resistance. Of course it had to be known he had connections outside of the resistance, like most Legals, but being with someone so against everything he was looking to bring to the world? He wouldn't blame those he worked with for thinking of that as somewhat hypocritical, and he was stressed enough as it was without having to deal accusations from the more difficult people within their group.

Sitting across from Soto once the younger had seated himself, Abel was the one to put pancakes on their plates, while Soto still seemed to be taking in his news. Not to long after that he moved on to what Abel supposed was his constant plan b for when he wanted to spend time together and Abel had to cut out, because it was definiately not the first time he had asked to come along, pulling out that sweet smile of his and stating how he needed to take a day for himself once in awhile. "I will take a day soon, but there's a lot of things I need to get done with first before I can even think about that." he said.

Push dreads from his face, he sighed, pausing to compose the right answer to Soto's question. Or at least the one that wouldn't worsen Soto's disappointment anymore. Really he could come along, he wouldn't be the first Legal to go into the warehouse completely unaware of what it was and stay unaware. But it required a lot, and many people resented when they had to do that.b Again, Abel couldn't blame them. He couldn't blame much of anyone for anything apparently. "I told you, you'll probably just be bored. All I do is sit in a lot of meetings and set things up. There isn't much that would interest you." he said.

Picking up his fork and knife, he started to cut up his pancakes before putting a peice in his mouth and chewing slowly. Swallowing, he spoke again. "Isn't there something you want to do that can keep you busy until later?" he offered. It was a weak proposal, something he was guessing Soto wouldn't react to all that well, but what could Abel do? He was running out of reasons to keep putting off what Soto couldn't come with him to the warehouse.

[xandy pandy]

Abel looked down as Soto called him out on the fact that it wasn't his first time promising that he would take a day off soon. It was true that he had done so before, and it was true that each time he had to cut out because he got a call about something or another that apparently needed his attention. It wasn't like he didn't try at all though. He did his best to get things tied up so there was nothing that people could call him about on his day off. But oh, they always found something. And when they did, very few people apparently thought it was a good idea to take it upon themselves to deal with the issue.

He opened his mouth to answer, but then thought better of it, closing his mouth and shaking his head. There was no reason to start a fight about whether he tried to take days off or not. It was just a hit he would take, one point that Soto should be allowed to keep on his side of the scoreboard.

Just as Abel anticipated, Soto flipped over his week proposal of doing something else while Abel was gone. Abel probably would've just let Soto continue to blow off steam if he hadn't took it as far as too start accusing Abel of wanting to get away from him and being with someone from the warehouse. Standing, Abel then began to take an active part in the argument, though he wasn't sure how much of it Soto caught since he was still talking also. "Oh please, Soto! That's not fair and you know it. We both know that I'm not the bad guy here, and I have enough goddamn decency that I would never string you along! " he stopped talking the same time that Soto did, and for a few moments they just stood facing each other off, Abel with his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw set hard, Soto practically in tears. If anyone were to walk in on this scene, Abel would of course seem like the bad guy.

Before Soto spoke again, Abel considered openning his mouth and doing so first, but every time he did, he just closed it again, unable to find the right words. Finally, Soto demanded if he had anything to say for himself. Letting his arms fall to his sides, Abel sighed, taking a chance to think over what he was about to say.

"You can come." he said, then paused. "You can come, because I want you to see two things for yourself." he stepped around the table, moving closer to Soto. Lifting a hand, he wiped at Soto's cheeks, pushing the tears that remained away. Taking a breath, he began to talk again. "One is the fact that there is no one at work that I want to be with more then I want to be around you, and two is that I want you to see I was right when I said you're only going to be bored by what I do." he said the last part hoping to summon a smile from his partner. "You need to calm down though, and I need to make a phone call before we go anywhere, okay?" with that he moved away, going to grab his cell phone from his bag that sat on the coffee table and then heading for the bedroom, not giving Soto very much time to say a lot.

When he had decided to let Soto come along during their argument, Abel wasn't all that sure. He had just decided he would do it now, and take the crap from the people who spent their time working at the warehouse later. The day was going to come eventually, and he really did have no reason to put it off any longer. They were capable of keeping people unaware of what was really going on in the warehouse, and that was what they were going to do. Once in the bedroom with the door locked, Abel flipped his phone open, dialing in the number he knew so well for the warehouse landline. There were only two phones there, one that was in completely open space, in the kitchen, so that there were no secrets to be kept, while the other was only accessible by the core members, so that calls that needed to be private were private.

After three rings someone picked up, someone that Abel quickly identified as Esmerelda from the soft voice. "Hey Ezzy, it's Abel, you think you can convey a quick message to everyone else?"

"Uh-huh, what is it?"

"I'm bringing a NSL with me today, so things have to seem like, well, not what they are." he told her. She questioned the term he used, and he was quick to explain himself. "Non-supportive Legal. I'll be there soon, and we've got people moving on today, I've got their papers in my bag--"

"Abel?" Esmerelda asked, ever the shy one when cutting someone off.

"Yes."

"I only asked what a NSL was. You're babbling about things I already know now." Abel couldn't help but laugh. Of course she was right, and that was when he hung up, again assuring her that he would be there soon. Leaving the bedroom, he left the bedroom, going back to the kitchen to find Soto.

Careful not to sneak up on his lover this time, Abel spoke. "Do you still want to eat, or do you want to just go now?"