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 Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:21 pm
Kelly was more excited and nervous than she cared to admit. She had planned for nearly a week for this dinner and now that it was here, she felt as flustered as a chicken with her head cut off.
The salad with the ingredients from the Farmers Daughter sat already on the table, and she was getting together the items from the Jewish deli and heating them up, glancing at the clock every few seconds to see what the time was. “Leander? Is he here yet? Do you think he’s still coming? What if he doesn’t show up?”
She had been talking about Elsa—Levi for days now, having told Leander all about how they had fought, and how Kibirev had almost killed him…and how they had somehow turned everything around and become friends…It was a lot to take in, she knew but…she just wanted this to work so badly.
Biting her lip, she idly stirred the soup and hoped that Levi would show up. He still had a few minutes but still…
This was kind of a big deal. The first dinner party in her and Leander's new home. The first other DMC Leander was going to meet…there were a lot of firsts here, and Kelly just wanted perfection.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 7:02 pm
"He's still not here," Leander said, not quite exasperated with his sister, but unable to resist shaking his head at her nervousness, even if he did find it endearing.
They hadn't moved in that long ago; the place was still sparsely decorated, but it was still visibly coming together. It was a new home; neither of them had much of anything when they moved in. Leander had been able to make the apartment payments, had been able to get them the necessities. He was sleeping on the couch in the living room and had moved next to nothing into his room yet, but the door was closed so he couldn't be judged for how little he'd had in there.
There was a television, a coffee table. A dining room table--a kitchen, where it even looked like they had everything they needed to cook.
There were a few pictures they'd picked up at a thrift store--nothing amazing, but something to make the walls look a little less bare.
"But I'm sure he's coming. He's still got a few more minutes."
The dining room table was set; they had just enough for their little dinner party, and Leander seemed proud at how well things were coming together.
Kelly was having a friend over. Kelly had friends. Dark Mirror Court friends, albeit--it was just something he was still getting used to. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet some guy who had fought with his sister, and there was a part of him that wanted to let his big brother instincts kick in and brawl with the guy, but...
Kelly seemed so happy. He'd have done anything to have her smiling like this for the rest of her life.
"Dinner's smelling really good, Kels. He's not going to miss it, I'm sure. You need help with anything?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:29 pm
Levi was...nervous. That was definitely a word for how he was feeling. Nervous and excited all in one, really. Getting to know Kibirev--Kelly--as a person and not just as someone he ran into sometimes when she was having a hard time was great.
And now he was gonna meet her brother, and they were gonna have a nice dinner, and...it was a little unreal, actually.
He paused for a moment in front of the door to take a deep breath, tugging briefly on the ponytail he'd shoved his hair into so he hopefully looked like slightly less of a punk-a** gremlin than usual, and then raised a hand and knocked.
And hoped he had the right address, because this would be very awkward if not.
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:50 pm
At the knock, Kelly let out a squeak of nerves. “Leander! I think he’s here! Oh!” She was flustered, and in her sudden panic, she nearly knocked over the soup, and managed to launch the spoon into the air, squealing as hot liquid fell around her. “Damnit!” She wasn’t hurt but…now she had to clean quickly…and change. “I’m okay! Don’t get worried or anything I just got excited…but can you get the door? I have to clean this soup off the floor and change my clothes…it got all over me…”
She sounded close to tears and all but threw the dirty ladle into the sink, grabbing another from the drawer and placing it back into the soup.
The burner was turned off quickly and she sighed, trying to brush at the large splotch on her top and then sighing when she realized it was honestly useless.
“I’ll be right back! Tell him I’ll be right back, okay?”
She scurried off as soon as the floor was wiped up
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Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:29 pm
Leander opened his mouth to assure his sister that the spot wasn't that noticeable, but he was pretty sure she could see through that lie just as easily as he could see that the food on her outfit had suddenly become the focal point of her attire.
"Yeah, go on, go on. I got it," he assured, moving from where he'd just finished setting the table across the room. He smoothed his shirt out as he walked, combed his hair out of his face with his fingers and drew in a reassuring inhale as he stood in front of the door.
This was fine.
This was just one of his sister's friends, coming for dinner, and all he had to do was not mess it up. Kelly was all jittery already, overexcited and making a mess of things, and he was worried that the excitement had rubbed off on him.
But he was supposed to be calm, collected. It was his job to get along with people and build rapport.
...Actually, wait.
He did this all the time, what was he worried about?
Dinner with strangers was normal. They weren't always in his house, or his sister's friends, but this was just some guy he had to make it through a meal with.
The stress rolled off of his shoulders a bit and he breathed a little easier. He opened the door, smile on his face, and sized the man up in a simple sweep of his eyes.
"Hey, come in. You must be Levi?" he chanced. "I'm Leander. Kel's been real excited for tonight, it's nice to meet you." He jutted out his hand to shake as he stepped aside to allow him into the house. "She's just changing clothes real quick, she'll be right out. Did you find the place all right?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:28 pm
Levi fidgeted a little as he waited, but when the door opened, he relaxed--at least briefly, until he really took in the person on the other side of the door, who had to be Kelly's brother.
Who was 1) quite a bit taller than Levi, and 2) absolutely gorgeous, which Levi felt he had been insufficiently prepared for. He considered it a minor miracle that he got through extending his hand and shaking Leander's without some kind of idiotic stuttering, and that he managed to keep what he hoped was relatively cool.
"Yeah, hi, I'm Levi. It's nice to meet you." Okay, well done, that didn't sound absolutely stupid. Now he just had to keep that up. "I found this place just fine," he said, as he stepped through the door and looked around, "and it's really nice. You guys clearly have a pretty good thing going, here."
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Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:37 pm
Kelly was rushing, she knew it, and when she managed after the third try to get her shirt on, she realized that she was kind of being an idiot. But. Maybe not. She was having such bad luck with friends. December had all but disappeared…she hadn’t seen him since the summer. She had Levi and her siblings and really…that was it.
And Rhona. But…but she still wasn’t quite completely sure what to make of either of her Dark Mirror friends. And honestly? She was still waiting for the explosion to go off.
…That and she didn’t want Levi trash talking her to her brother if the conversation about Altea came up…not that…not that she thought he would. But…
But just in case…
Raking a brush through her hair and braiding it quickly, Kelly made her way back out to the kitchen, more apprehensive now than nervous, though she smiled at Levi, glad that he had decided to actually show up. There was a warmth in her chest and she tried to shove it away, but she couldn’t stop herself from hugging the male. “You’re here! This is Leander, he’s my brother and…I’ve been really excited…I…spilled the soup…on me, but there is still more than enough to eat…I um…”
She was rambling. She always rambled. Damnit.
“I’m…glad you came.” Her eyes moved to her brother and they were pleading for him to fix this. He was so much better at talking than she was.
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Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:22 am
Leander didn't so much as raise a brow at Kelly; when she was close enough he just rested his hand over her back to quietly reassure her. "Kelly works too hard in the kitchen," he explained to Levi. "I'm excited for dinner. It's been torture smelling it for so long."
He offered Levi and Kelly both a smile. He'd settled into a more relaxed role, maybe just because Levi wasn't particularly intimidating and seemed nice enough.
"But thank you, Levi. We're working on getting the house a little more touched up, but it's an improvement from where we were staying before. Nice to have a real home to come to at the end of the day. Come on, come make yourself comfortable. Kells has spoken highly of you. I'm excited to get to know one of her friends. Tell me about yourself?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:53 pm
Levi met Kelly's hug with eager reciprocation, squeezing around her shoulders and smiling broadly. It felt so nice, to have someone else this excited to see him, and to be excited to see her in turn.
Lord, he needed more friends, but he was fairly content with the ones he had.
"Of course I came. I always keep my promises," he said, and he gave her one last squeeze before stepping away a little. It was obvious Kelly was nervous, which, ironically, helped put him a little more at ease. If they were both nervous, awkward idiots, surely it would all cancel out and they'd meet in the middle. "And I'm really glad to be here." His smile was genuine and fond, and he glance din the direction of the kitchen. "And no kidding, it really does smell good. I can't wait to try it."
This...was going to be really good, Levi was pretty sure.
"Yeah, I'm glad to have the chance to get to know you? Uh, about myself." There were things, Levi acknowledged, that were probably not ideal for sharing right off the bat, but plenty that was. "I'm in the Court, obviously, it's how Kelly and I met--she saved my life during some craziness a couple years back. Right now, I'm working on a Master's in political science at DCU? A lot of my work focuses on activism and organization; I'm hoping to go for a PhD next. I've lived in Destiny City most of my life, but I travel sometimes for activist work. I have a twin sister, and I'd love for you guys to meet her sometime." That was...a lot, and none of it stupid or embarrassing! Excellent.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 10:07 am
Kelly scoffed slightly when Levi mentioned that she had saved his life. That was a joke if she ever heard one…even if it might be true…but. She had also almost killed him before she saved him…if it hadn’t been for her…he wouldn’t have needed saving.
“You have a sister? What’s she like?”
She perked up at that news, looking excited. “I didn’t know that, I don’t think…That’s really neat!”
It was another thing she had in common with her friend, and it made her happy, helping to dispel the awkwardness. “We have another sister too, her name is Charlotte, and thankfully she’s…um. Normal. Not involved in any of that…and mom and dad actually like her so…that…”
Kelly paused and coughed slightly. “So she’s still at home. She’s the baby of the family.”
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2020 4:26 pm
Leander let out a long, agonized sigh. "Lucky," he muttered, shaking his head. "But at least, if they like her we don't have to worry about her. And if anything happens," he shrugged, "She'll have a place with us."
He pat Kelly's back again, offering her another little smile--just in case she needed that little bit of extra reassurance. "A Master's is impressive, good for you." He might not have known everything that could be done with a degree in political science, but he wasn't one to judge. He was living out of his car not too long before this, and he got away with taking pictures for a living.
As long as the pay was good he didn't need to push himself for anything more.
"Kells didn't mention she saved your life. Proud of you," he said, nodding approvingly at her. It was still hard to imagine his little sister being a hero but it just made him figure he should apply himself a little more to make sure he could keep her safe.
"A twin sister sounds exciting, though. Is she in the Court too, or...?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:09 pm
Levi nodded. "Yeah, she's in the Court; she actually helped bring me in, so we've kind of been in this together since day one. Or, day one for me, at least. She's kind of a force of nature, and if you ever meet her, never tell her I said this, but I don't know what I'd do without her." He'd have to find a chance to introduce Lav to the both of them, powered up or no. It would be good to see what happened. "But I'm glad your other sister is out of all of this. It's been good, in some ways? But not good, in others." He sighed. "Like almost dying--I don't know how much you know about the incident where a bunch of us in the Court got trapped in Mirrorspace with this Queen Altea? But it was...bad, for a lot of reasons and in a lot of directions, and I nearly died, and would have if Kelly hadn't saved me." He flashed her a quick, grateful smile.
"And yeah, getting my Master's has been a lot of work, but I'm glad I'm doing it. And that I'm getting a chance to--I made a lot of choices when I was younger that could have screwed up my chances, but I've been working hard to be better." He looked a little ashamed, to admit to it--but he'd been angry at the world, and he'd let that explode in every direction, and it had taken him a long time to get it under control. Now, he liked to think he pointed it in much better, more productive directions than barfights and street brawls.
"Anyway, that's a lot about me? I'd like to hear about the both of you. You said you guys moved into this place pretty recently, right?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:12 pm
Kelly felt a cold chill enter her at the mention of Altea and for a moment she had to look away, stretching as she turned and running her tongue over her teeth in an attempt to distract herself from any unpleasant thoughts. After a moment she drew in a deep breath and forced on the cheeriest of smiles. “Um! How about we just don’t talk about court things anymore, okay? I um…I think that might be best for this very moment in time so…let’s um…let’s eat? I’m super hungry, aren’t you two? And…that was the whole…the whole point. Not to talk about dumb…uh…memories.”
That she didn’t want to examine right now.
Nor did she want it to get out that she had almost killed Levi. And if the conversation kept down this path well…
It would obviously get out and then Leander would never be able to look at her the same and…
She would tell him…just now right now. When they were alone, she would tell him.
“So….let’s go you too!” Kelly said, forced cheer in her voice. “Dinner is served, right?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:02 am
Leander had heard about Altea, of course, and his view was a little different than most members of the Court--partly because he had heard the story from his sister, who loved her, and partly because he hadn't been there to experience it himself. He trusted Kelly, although she was a bit of a dreamer. He didn't know what to make of the nervousness she suddenly had but he wasn't going to push her buttons.
He reached over to rub her shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm excited," he said, and smiled to her as if he hoped to reassure her quickly. He glanced to Levi and said, "Sorry about all that 'work stuff'. It's all still new to me. I'm curious about everything. But," he followed after Kelly, very ready for a meal, "We did just move in fairly recently. I was living out of my car for a while. It was just convenient--saving up money and all. I didn't really need to get a place until Kells was ready to move out. And then it just seemed like the right time. It's a little bare," he confessed, "But she's the best at making it a home. I mostly only have what I can carry in my car, but. I'm working on spreading out. It's a little hard. Any tips?" he asked, smiling at Levi as he moved to take a seat at the table.
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