MCA #4, Friday Morning

[suitably_heroic]

You know what was a pain in the ass? A move that dragged out for multiple weeks. Having your body just up and turn around on you overnight while you were supposed to be trying to get plugged into the Force. Did you know how hard it was to be a Jedi when your balance was off, half the island was either grumpy, panicking, or banging, and every part of you was cramping?

... Okay, that last part had been the exercise routine Atton had gone through on Sunday night. But still!

Either way, on Friday morning, Atton finally slithered out of the blankets of his bed and away from the tablet screen with the Netflix and stalked into the living room. Squinted at the incoming sunlight, let out a gutteral noise he was extremely grateful for being able to make right now, and then wandered into the kitchen for some steak.

Yes, for breakfast.

Why?

Shut up.

[[ open ]]

Comments

[myownface]

"Just sing Waterfalls at him if he tries?" Sparkle quirked the faintest bit of a smile at that. And then pulled in a breath and made his way over to grab a couple of cups. Because what was needed was apparently orange juice and the sparkly sugar-hit coffee, at the same time.

Sparkle was maybe a touch distracted these days.

"Hey, you'll get to see more of Toronto than the prissiest neighbourhood in the city. That'll be neat."

[suitably_heroic]

"And here I thought Toronto was all prissy neighborhoods," Atton sighed, and took a sip from his coffee, and let his thoughts roll around some more while he sorted out what he wanted to say out loud and what he didn't.

"Look, Sparks, I'm not gonna say 'you know you can talk to me whenever you need to when things get rolling', because if you don't know that already, I need to thump you," he said. Took another sip of his coffee. "What I am going to say is, if you ever need to break away from all of this heavy bantha poodoo for a second to pretend like it's just a normal dumb holovids and throwing snacks at the screen kind of day..." He gave a little wave with the spatula, "You can always come knock on my door too. Or space, go see the Padawans before things really go south."

[myownface]

Sparkle nodded a little, realizing belatedly that there were now two drinks to contend with, and then giving the orange juice a look as though it had personally betrayed them.

... Ah well. They knocked it back and set the cup in the sink before reaching for the glittercoffee again.

"I mean..." Deep breath. God, words. What even were those. "I know you're here for me. I don't think I would do so well if I didn't think you were. And that means the world, you know? That I'm not... like... fucking... running into battle alone. I mean, the arson, maybe I even could. I did that shit staring the consequences in the face and if nobody had been there to haul me out I would've done it anyway."

The Lewis thing, not so much.

They were quiet a moment while they sipped at their coffee.

"I'm going to either be a useless lump or such a fucking hellbeast through this. Seeing the Padawans before all that would be... good. That would be good. Fill Vacta up on sugar and set him loose on the temple, watch Mical pulling his own hair out one more time just to make sure I have that mental image good and locked in my mind for a while."

.. Cuddle pile. Probably do a lot of cuddle piling with the littles.

[suitably_heroic]

"Any time you want to go," Atton said, reaching for his sugary coffee again. "Bet they'd love to see you, too."

[myownface]

Sparkle nodded a little at that.

"Maybe I take a few days to, like, stock up. I bet they haven't had like a marshmallow since the last time I hauled a bunch over, and a lot of them really get a kick out of Earth food." They grinned faintly. "Especially the little tiny treeeeees."

Was Sparkle ever going to stop just randomly throwing broccoli into conversation? Nah.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton made a big show of groaning loudly and rolling his eyes. "How about Friday?" he said. "You can tell them it's taco day and the tiny trees are far, far away."

[myownface]

"Maybe Saturday," Sparkle hedged because the mun will be AFK for a good chunk of Friday, "legal calls don't usually come on Saturdays, if I get one on Friday it's going to hit the kids like a sack of hammers when my brain shuts off and I can't Sparkle like Sparkles do."

[suitably_heroic]

"Fine, fine," Atton said, waving his hand. "Whatever, though a few abandonment issues never killed anybody."

[myownface]

Sparkle contemplated, for a moment, dredging up more group home horror stories, and then just shrugged it off instead.

"I don't want my visit to be a shitty one. Sparkly Sparkles or no Sparkles at all, that's the rule. As much as this is for me, it's gotta be for them, too."

[suitably_heroic]

If Sparkle was going to cough up serious stories every time Atton deflected away from his many personal issues with gallow's humor or complaining, this... was going to be a long haul all right.

Atton had to Atton.

"Hey, you won't see me arguing," he said. "The last time I was there, I beat one of them up. Still has trouble watching her right side, that one."

[myownface]

"Beat one of-- Oh, Asida?" Sparkle couldn't imagine who else it could have been, really. There was all of one Padawan who might feel like there was any cause to try to take on Atton in the first place. "How's she been?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Her aim's not bad but her follow-through's choppy and she doesn't seem to get that 'channel your anger' doesn't mean 'flail wildly in the direction of your opponent'," Atton said.

Yeah, he knew what Sparkle was asking. But again: Atton had to Atton.

[myownface]

It said enough, anyway. What Sparkle was getting out of it was mostly that there still was anger. Enough that it was getting in the way of calming the hell down and thinking things through.

"Well, maybe she'll figure it out eventually. I mean, you got me to a point where I can go for a walk without getting killed, and that's no small feat."

Sparkle would always be a shit magnet. There was no shame in admitting it.

[suitably_heroic]

"She's just lucky there's no friendly neighborhood Sith going around recruiting," Atton muttered, reaching to turn off the stove.

[myownface]

"She's still that mad, huh?" Sparkle's brow furrowed a little at that. "But she's willing to work with you... kinda...? That's good, right?"

Shit, this Jedi and Sith stuff hurt the brain, but Sparkle was trying to follow along, anyway. Asida was a good kid, damn it. Just... a good kid who'd had too much happen.

[suitably_heroic]

"Work with me, kill me, whichever, I don't think she cares," Atton sighed, moving the steak onto a large plate. "That's me at 17 waiting to happen."

[myownface]

Sparkle fell quiet for a moment, sipping at that sugarbomb coffee again before taking a breath and piping up, "Have you talked to her about it? Or is this all lightsaber zip-zoops and attempted murder, still?"

[suitably_heroic]

Atton sighed, cutting the steak up into two large chunks.

"Some of us aren't really the talking types," he said finally. "Get me a plate for you, will you?"

[myownface]

Sparkle sighed and went to get a plate.

"I mean, sure. But do you figure the sparring is helping at all?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I don't know," Atton said. "Either the fever breaks, or she goes cold." He made a noise, a sort of wry, self-effacing snort, and said, "Or both, and not necessarily in that order."

[myownface]

That earned a small nod, and Sparkle set the plate down on the counter.

"That's... something, anyway," they allowed. "I don't suppose you know if she's been like that around everyone, or if you're just special?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I know Mical hasn't had any luck getting through to her," Atton said, shaking his head.

He dropped a big chunk of steak on Sparkle's plate.

[myownface]

"Does Mical know how to deal with teenagers, though? Or even, like, people with damage in general?"

Mical still seemed utterly baffled by Atton, after all.

"I mean, I'm sure he's great for the Padawans, for people who are already on stable ground or who want to turn to the light or whatever. But it sounds like her thing is a little rougher than that."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton sighed. "Pretty much all of the other Padawans like him," he said. "And most of them are a little..."

He waved vaguely with a plate. "It's been a long few decades back home."

[myownface]

"It's been a long few decades," Sparkle agreed, reaching for a fork and knife and just kind of cozying up to the counter to eat right there. "I know, I've seen the looks on their faces before, too. I just mean... Asida's story goes a little different from there. The way she processes her hurt and her anger. She had something good going for her for a while, there. Maybe even let herself dare to hope it would stick."