Sunday 24 September 2017

2.23 Surprise


Not much happened at prom. Tula and Guy went home early, citing fatigue. In truth, Tula wanted to go home because it quickly became apparent that dancing was not something she was good at. All the missteps, the tripping, stepping on people's feet... she has several large bruises on her shins from falling so often. Damned clumsiness. 

Right now she's working on something far more interesting. She's read that certain chemical compounds can induce a temporary intangibility; or in simpler terms, make someone a "ghost" for a short period of time. So far she hasn't had much success; so far all she's been able to make is a short-lasting sleep syrup. 



Or explosive, flammable failures. 

Time to hop in the shower. 



The next morning, Guy wakes up early. He can't fall asleep, so he slips on his...flippers...and goes into the new study room upstairs and plays around on the internet for a while. 

Guy finds it very easy to lose track of time just surfing the internet. He originally was going to look something up for school, but that got boring very quickly. 



When Tula comes into the room, he assumes that she just wants to use the computer and exits out of the browser. He gets up to go, but Tula stands firmly in his way. 

"Is there something...wrong?" he asks hesitantly. The blank look on her face is making him uncomfortable. 



"It's just that I woke up and couldn't find you anywhere," she says sweetly, leaning closely to him. 

Guy feels himself blush, and takes a small step backwards, "Oh, yeah I just uh came up here to use the computer." Why is she acting so weird? He wonders. He's suddenly hyper conscious of the fact that he's not wearing a shirt. His blush deepens. 

Tula scrutinizes his reaction. In her quest to find out more about romance, she's been reading up and observing flirting in the halls of their school. She wanted to put some of the theory she read into practice. Not yet confident enough to try this on anyone at school, Guy seemed a suitable guinea pig; unrelated, her age, and close by. Interesting how such a subtle change in her behavior can garner such a strong reaction. She wonders if others would react in a similar fashion. It definitely warrants further investigation. 




But for now, she's satisfied with the results of her minor test run and pulls back. 

"Like, I looked everywhere for you. I thought you left for school without me," she pouts. 



Guy's face returns to its normal colour. I must have been imagining that, or just overreacting, he tells himself. He feels a huge wave of relief; the idea of him and Tula doing anything romantic together is just...ew, no. When they were younger, their classmates referred to them as siblings. He wouldn't call Tula his sister, exactly, but she feels like a cousin or some other close relative. 

He shakes his head a little. He would very much like to never think about this again. 



"Have I ever left the house without you?" he asks sarcastically. 



And it dawns on her that he hasn't, not even once. They have done certain activities separately, of course, but Guy has never left the house without her. He was bound to her once, before he became a flesh and blood sim. It seems that in a sense, he still is. 

This kind of dependency...bothers her. It's fine now that they're in school, but once they have to start working... Will Guy even get a job? she wonders. 

Tula's intense gaze causes Guy to squirm uncomfortably. "I'm just going to go downstairs and get ready..." he nervously walks around her, and all but dashes out of the room. 

Tula narrows her eyes. She'll have to make a plan. 



It's a day off for Paolo, which of course means fishing at the beach. Winter is slowly but surely encroaching on the small town. Paolo is a bit sad at the prospect of one of his new hobbies being taken away from him for a season. The serenity and solitude of the ocean calm him. He often wonders if his mother felt the same way. 

He never got to ask. 



Once night begins to fall, he makes his way over to his other regular haunt, the library. Today, however, he's being joined by Sun. They wanted to check out each other's favorite authors together. 

"I like the braid," Paolo compliments. 

Sun smiles, "Long hair gets in the way a lot during lab work. I wanted to try something a bit more elegant than the usual ponytail." 

Paolo smiles, "I think it suits you. It shows off more of your face." 

Sun blushes a little. She doesn't get flirted with very often, so most of Paolo's compliments make her feel giggly and blushy. "Let's get inside, I'm freezing." 



After checking out a few books, the couple takes a seat on the couch. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Paolo notices Sun's downcast expression. 

She sighs, "Not exactly. The house is getting too crowded, and we just had a housemate meeting this morning. One of us needs to go, and soon. Greta can't find somewhere big enough for her, her husband, and the baby, and the rest of us are stuck. I'm considering moving in with one of my siblings, but it sucks because they all have kids. I'd be imposing on them." 



Paolo reaches out, his eyes large and sparkling with concern and sympathy. It's so tender and affectionate of a gesture that Sun looks down, overwhelmed. 

"It's not that big of a deal, don't look so sad," she frets. 




"I'm not sad, I'm just worried about you. I don't want to hear that you died from hypothermia after a hard night on the streets," he says, only half-joking. 

Sun smiles, but his words hit close to her true fears. She's been stressing about this since Greta's baby was born. There don't seem to be any places in sight, not soon enough for her to be comfortable. 



But she doesn't want to scare him with such talk, so she kisses him instead. She could use the distraction herself. 



Paolo pulls back. Before Sun can kiss him again, he clears his throat. 

"If it's really that urgent," he begins hesitantly, "You could stay at my place for a while. I'm sure the kids wouldn't really mind. Just until you find a new place." 

Sun blinks, "Do you really mean that?" 



The expression on his face is enough of an answer. 



She laughs, mostly out of relief than amusement. "You sure? You might get sick of me real fast." She internally very strongly hopes that he doesn't take back the offer. She doesn't want to get kicked out with no place to go. 



"Of course I'm sure. I just...need to talk to the kids about it first, to let them know we'll be having a guest for a while. I'm sure it'll be fine." 


The next afternoon once Tula and Guy are home, Paolo surprises them by sitting down to eat. Guy quickly excuses himself, not really liking the serious look on Paolo's face. Besides, this is a rare opportunity to be alone in the house without worrying about Tula coming after him to make him feel uncomfortable. 

"So, to what do I owe this honor?" Tula asks, her words dripping with venom. From her observations at school, a lot of teenagers become snappy and hostile towards their parents. She figures she and Guy have far more than enough reason to be; even though they're getting along without him, Tula has to admit that this seems like bad parenting to her. 

Paolo winces. "Is it a crime to eat with my daughter in my own home?" 




"Crime? You want to talk about crime? How about never talking to your kids? How about never even looking at us? Half the time I think you don't even realize we exist!" she fumes. 

Paolo looks down guiltily. "I don't really have an excuse. But I can change. I'm going to be around more, I promise. And it won't just be me around the house anymore. My, uh...girlfriend's going to be moving in with us soon." 



"...what?" 



"Surprise..." 



True to his word, Sun does show up with her stuff only days later. 

"Nice...outfit," Paolo says in greeting, looking over her clothes skeptically. 

She smiles, "It's my moving outfit! Carrying around this stuff is tiring and makes me all...sweaty. Can't be wearing anything too frilly for that, right?" 

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you wear a skirt..." 

"And it will probably be the last!" Skirts are rather impractical, even if they are pretty. Working in the lab for most of the day doesn't really let her wear pretty clothes. 



Paolo insists on carrying the heavier boxes, which gives Sun a chance to look around the place. It's very bright and colourful, so unlike where she used to live. All white and sterile. Like the lab. She definitely prefers Paolo's place. 

(AN: Ahhh her normal face! How I've missed it) 



After the bulk of her things are in Marko and Persis's old bedroom, Sun and Paolo unwind with a game of chess. 

"I asked if I could be assigned to maintain the robots at the lab," Sun informs Paolo on her work activities, "But they said no. Again. I hate working with plants! I don't think I can stand it there much longer." 




While Sun bitches about her job, Tula hovers nearby, ostensibly to do cardio exercises. She's very interested in their new housemate. They haven't lived with anyone else in quite some time. Tula's looking forward to getting to know the woman her dad's involved with; people are like fascinating puzzles, and they're all put together differently. What are the particularities of this puzzle? How do all the pieces fit together? It's up to Tula to find out. 



After Paolo wins their chess game, Sun and Paolo start unpacking her things. After that and a nice, long shower, the pair flops onto Sun's new bed. 

"This room really needs to be redecorated," Paolo sighs. His parents have been gone for a long time. Now that someone else is living here, it feels wrong to keep their things around. 

"Well, we did try," Sun points out, nodding to her various nickknacks from home. 





Paolo glances at them. A rabbit rug, a pull up bar, the terrarium, glass cat, and cow-plant statuette. 

"Why the pull up bar? You don't strike me as someone who likes sports," he says. It's by far the most confusing item she owns. 

Sun shrugs, "Every so often I like to pretend that I care about my body, ok?" 



"Though, there is a much more fun way to exercise," she purrs suggestively.

Paolo grins, "Really? Well, let's give it a try."

Sun smiles back. She is definitely going to like living here.


6 comments:

  1. Seeing Tula at the workstation like that she looks a lot like her mom!

    No, Tula, don't mess with Guy like that! Manipulating her classmates is one thing, but Guy just seems so much more vulnerable.

    Tula's reaction to Sun moving in was interesting. Was she faking all of that, or was that partly her real feelings, too? Tula seems to be getting smarter and smarter. I really wonder how she'll end up.

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    1. Huh, she does! She also reminds me of Paolo, back when he was unemployed.

      Guy is vulnerable- he has no indicator of "normal" and is so easily manipulated.

      Hmm, hard to say. On one hand, she knows such a reaction is "expected" of her. On the other, has she ever been so emotional before?

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  2. I hate to say it, but I'm with Tula on this one. That IS some bad parenting from Paolo right there. He never talks to his kids and then surprises them with something like this... Luckily Sun is nice :)

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    1. Yeah, I agree with you. Paolo *was* grieving (and grieving 3 deaths in short succession at that), but he still has a responsibility to his kids, and he failed. Thankfully Sun is a nice person, you're right! Still, it was quite the surprise.

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  3. I liked the awkward table conversation between Tula and her dad. And I'm glad Tula or Guy didn't make a big drama of it, even if they're understandably... upset/irritated/whatever.

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    1. Paolo is so awkward around his kids. He's lucky that both Tula and Guy aren't over emotional.

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