[PCA] REMEDY HOUR

[skinstealer]

[image id: a karacel standing boldly in a retro-inspired spacesuit, complete with bubble helmet and tight bodysuit. her figure is curvy and exaggerated, and the entire piece has a comic-like feel.]

 

SYNNA: You're up late.
 

Maes can tell without seeing that Synna hasn't looked up to address her, a memory of her hunched over textbooks as a teenager coming to mind.

She's always been like that. Buried in her work.

They had never minded, at least.

MAES: I wanted to come visit.
MAES: Are you working overtime?
SYNNA: Not exactly...
 

Her chair creaks as she leans back, finally turning to face Maes.

SYNNA: Got another one of those model kits.
MAES: ...the little robot ones?
SYNNA: Yeah. The kind with all of the pieces you gotta punch out and put together.
SYNNA: I figured I could take on the next level of difficulty assembling these things, but this sucker's giving me trouble.
MAES: Maybe it's time for a break, then.
SYNNA: Yeah, yeah...
 

There's a smile to her voice, something that makes Maes feel a little warm inside.

SYNNA: Your chair's where it usually is. You can sit.
MAES: Thank you.
 

"Their" chair sat a few feet away, pushed against the wall. It wasn't a particularly comfortable chair, but Synna had put in a cushion years ago, and even now, as they sit down on it-

It still fits my shape.

MAES: You really kept this old thing.
SYNNA: Guess I always wanted you to swing by again.
SYNNA: Even when you pissed me off.
 

Maes lets out a noise halfway between a sigh and a laugh.

MAES: I guess we did our fair share of pissing each other off as adults, didn't we?
SYNNA: Teens, too. But when we got up here, it...it was different.
SYNNA: Dunno how to explain it.
 

I never meant to-
It wasn’t intentional, but…

MAES: ...me neither.
MAES: But I'm glad to be here.
SYNNA: You're just saying that, I know for a fact that chair is brutal on your ass.
MAES: Well, you could always replace it.
SYNNA: Nah, it's sentimental.
SYNNA: ...but if you were to swing by more...
MAES: I can try to arrange that.
 

There's a comfortable silence between the two of them, Synna's chair creaking more as she rocks back and forth- another familiar tendency to Maes. Sometimes it meant she was nervous, sometimes it just meant she was thinking.

MAES: Something on your mind?
SYNNA: Guess I'm just trying to process that we're like...hanging out again.
SYNNA: Trying to be friends proper. Like old times.
MAES: About that...
MAES: I...actually talked about old times with Papaya today.
MAES: About us being friends.
SYNNA: No shit, really?
MAES: Mhm.
SYNNA: How'd that go?
MAES: They think that it'd be good for me to swing by more and talk over things...
MAES: Not...just serious things.
MAES: I-it actually, ah-
MAES: It came up that we used to make those stories t-together-

The chair creaks hard, Synna leaning way forward in it.

SYNNA: No way, you actually remember those?
SYNNA: Dude, you haven't brought that up in like-
SYNNA: In ages!
MAES: Y-yes, well...
MAES: I thought about them today. And both Charon and Papaya think I should mess with them again.
MAES: With you.
 

Synna's quiet for a moment.

Oh god, did I offer too much?
Is she- did I offend her somehow?
What if she doesn't want to-

SYNNA: Damn.
SYNNA: Fuck my little robot guy, we're messing with this now.
MAES: H-hold on-
 

There’s the sound of Synna shuffling plastic parts into a box, Maes’ ears flopping in surprise.

Oh god, she’s jumping right into it-!

SYNNA: Nope, you've opened a box you can't shut so easy.
SYNNA: You have any idea how much I miss working with Nebula? That character, was like-
SYNNA: She was so important to me, dude!
SYNNA: ...she was important to both of us.
SYNNA: And...
SYNNA: It never felt right to scribble anything down about her again without you.
SYNNA: You just handed me the keys to the fucking kingdom, man.
 

Their growing stress over the sudden plan change freezes in its tracks, Maes processing Synna’s words slowly.

MAES: I had...no idea you still thought about it. About her.
MAES: You could have said something…
 

There’s a moment of silence aside from the robot pieces being put away, the box being slid into some kind of shelf.

When Synna speaks, it’s with some heaviness in her voice.

SYNNA: You were so busy, Maes.
SYNNA: If I was hesitant to even invite you over to watch a movie together, you think I'd ask to do something I thought you lost interest in entirely?
 

The words sting deep in Maes' chest, and they can tell Synna's bothered by their pained expression.

SYNNA: I'm- I'm not meaning to get on your case.
SYNNA: It's just-
SYNNA: This is a huge deal for me. Getting back to this.
SYNNA: You're really serious about like-
SYNNA: Even just talking about those stories?
MAES: ...I am.
MAES: I talked about Neb to Charon earlier, just to see what he thought...
MAES: ...he was really enthusiastic about it. Even my parts.
SYNNA: I mean, your parts are what made the whole thing work.
SYNNA: I just wanted to write some stupid horny stories about a space traveler, but you-
SYNNA: You designed all of the planets! The aliens!
SYNNA: You made the world!
MAES: M-maybe...
SYNNA: No maybe about it, you were the mastermind behind the lore.
MAES: But...
MAES: Nebula only held up because you were so good at writing her...
MAES: I still can't write characters for anything.
MAES: I just...can't get a grasp on how people work.
MAES: You've always been better at that.
 

Synna thinks for a moment, tapping a pen against her desk.

SYNNA: More reason for us to work together, right?
SYNNA: I've still got whatever notes I could save from back then...
SYNNA: ....
SYNNA: Even translated some to touch script when I had some time.
 

Maes' ears perk right up.

MAES: You did?
MAES: Could I-?
SYNNA: Hell yes.
 

Rifling through file cabinets, Synna grumbling as she tries to find the right folders.

SYNNA: There we go.
SYNNA: Handing it over.
 

The folder's placed in Maes' hand, the karacel feeling the label with their claws.

A GALACTIC ADVENTURE

They can't help but smile.

SYNNA: Yeah, it's pulling you back in, I can tell.
MAES: I haven't even read it yet.
SYNNA: But you've got the look. You're thinking up alllll kinds of ideas.
MAES: Maybe.
SYNNA: Go on, then.
SYNNA: Just make sure to tell me what you're thinking.
 

Maes nods, slowly opening the folder and letting their fingers glide.

Nebula, a brave and beautiful space traveller....