[ Funny then that the universe sought to shove to avoidant personalities together. Funny and possibly disastrous. But train aside, Cassian has never been one to put labels on things. Labels sometimes define things too clearly, put too much meaning to them to the point where it could hurt more if he lost them And he's already lost so much.
The thought of losing Lottie and whatever it is between them is...well, he doesn't really want to think about that.
There's a soft amused huff at her sure statement. ]
Was I?
[ He is unfortunately in the middle of a project that does sort of require him to complete it if they want to turn the water back on. And being the good, thoughtful roommate he is, Cassian is doing his best to get this plumbing issue sorted before Amos returns. ]
[ But.. He always does? That's the one thing she's sure of in this sea of unknowns, their fantastical connection and simply— them. They've been long in each other's orbit to have a normal a standard she expects from him. Like him being the designated driver, like her being allowed privilege to snack on his food. Or drink! She doesn't discriminate.
Part of that is expecting him to bend, to think her cute and go along with her whims. Part of her forgets that things can not go according to her plans and she goes: ]
Oh!
[ Is that a no?
Is this him politely telling her no? Does he not want to hang out with her?? Is it someone scary third reason she doesn't want to consider, like he knows she sent all those candygrams and now she's a weirdo he kissed?? ]
I mean, it doesn't have to be now! I got some stuff to do, too.. [ She says, in her underwear inside her bathroom doing nothing. ] What about later?
[ Yes, it's true. Cassian has somehow inexplicably become Lottie Person's personal rideshare service. Just without the sharing because very few other people in the Diadem have been extended such a service. It isn't just though, is it?
He's also bent a lot of what he wouldn't stand for with other people for her. A part of him, though he wouldn't outwardly admit it, actually kind of likes it from time to time too. That it isn't really that much of an effort as he would sometimes make it out to be. ]
I'm not sure how long this will take.
[ And he means that. Will it be a straightforward fix? He hopes so. But he's not some clairvoyant that can see into the future. And though he doesn't really want to any kind of ability, even he has to admit that would be a useful ability to have in this moment. The next pipe he's about to tug out of place slips and he curses slightly under his breath. ]
Is there another reason you don't want to drive over?
[ Lottie can tell that a lot of his bending is for her, only. Call it instinct, call it watching him in public enough to see him put his foot down but complying when she tries the same thing. It's cute. It's heart warming, when he makes it out to be a pain.
But he's cursing under his breath, and she's keying into the fact it isn't because of her, or a secret third thing (person?!). Flits of his irritation trickle into the connection, Lottie finally realizing he might actually be doing something and not playing coy. She plays with her hair, the ones framing her face as she mulls over an answer. Is it worth lying? Telling a partial truth? ]
I don't like driving. [ Also, she kind of likes it when he drives her. He's better and can see far cleaner in the dark— and he's just unfortunately cooler behind the wheel. It does something for her (she will not think about this too hard). ] I can, if you think I won't distract you.
[ And then she leans in towards her phone, curious. ]
[ It's true; Cassian has been bluntly unimpressed with others in the past and in front of Lottie too. People who had been trying to ply him for a better deal when he was selling his refurbished wares or trying to swindle him into paying more than what he knew what something was worth. The rest of Panorama rarely got to see the softer side of him and that was perhaps by design.
There's a sigh from the other side of the phone that could sound like it's directed at her but really it's directed at the damn pipe. It comes out with a little more elbow grease than he'd like but at least it's out. ]
Fixing a pipe. There's a clog.
[ In other words, the water is off and he's got a finite amount of time (put on by himself) that he'd like to try and finish the project in. ]
[ Ew. Not manual labor.. But, she guesses, not as ew because it's Cassian. Just a mild pain because that's the reason why he can't pick her up, a pipe. IDLY< Lotte wonders if it was him or his roommate that caused it (probably that other guy, Cassian isn't dirty). ]
Theeeeen.. I'll see you in an hour?
[ She suggests, tone lilting light and edging on casual at the end. But she is very much serious about this. She has to know if he got her things. She has to see how cute his place might look, now. ]
[ Amos isn't that dirty either for what it's worth. Their apartment on the other hand was a fixer upper. Things creaked, some things leaked or in this case clogged. But they'd both put some elbow grease into cleaning and it was arguably far less dusty and grimy than it had been when they'd fist gotten the keys to the place.
All of which to say: Lottie will be horrified at how un-cute this place still looks after only several weeks. ]
[ She absolutely will be horrified. But the only thing that's horrifying her now is the fact she has to get dressed. ]
Cool! See you soon.
[ Still, she smiles into the phone by the time she hangs up, puts her phone face down on the nightstand to run to her closet. The only way for her to tell the passage of time is staring down at the monstrous pile of clothes overtaking her bed. What kind of outfit would he like? A dress? Something like a co-ord? What Lottie does he want her to be? And when she blinks at the scrappy top she holds up, she thinks: Why does she care so much??
In the end, she's parking in front of his place with a pair of sneakers and jeans on, barely on time. The crop top is her marriage of looking cute and nonchalant, like she cares just enough to wear pants, but not enough to wear heels.
She takes a moment mid-reverse (she's over the lines) to text him— ]
[ Cassian hangs up, returning to his work nonethewiser of the chaos that is about to ensue.
And while Lottie takes the time to change, he is preoccupied with the pipes. Luckily the hour is a productive one with him unclogging the sink and putting everything back together in record time. That does mean however that that lives him little time to shower.
His phone chimes with Lottie's text and he looks down, prompting him to think that maybe he should change lest he hear complaints about it. ]
Door is unlocked Apartment XXX
[ By the time Lottie makes it up the stairs into their apartment, Cassian emerges from his bedroom just tugging his shirt on the rest of the way. ]
[ Unlocked? Wow, risky. She leaves him on read, choosing to walk up towards his front door instead. It takes her a moment of reading numbers, figuring directions, but by the time she gets to opening the doorknob and entering he's— ]
Uhhh.. Yeah!! Pretty small complex.
[ Lottie tries very hard to remember the real reason why she's here, because it definitely isn't being nosy at how his new place looks. Then— Candygrams. Right!! She has no time to be distracted by the sliver of stomach she saw when he slid that shirt down, or the fact he made sure to dress proper for her (any bickering on her end is promptly shoved aside, pleased at the change in outfit).
She finds the nearest table to put her lanyard on, the clink of metal on wood loud as she eyes just about everything. Mostly, surfaces where trinkets or snacks could go on... ]
It's pretty big in here.. Almost like my old place.
[ Risky, yes, but he's gotten to know the neighbours in the complex and on the floor and has already made headway in forging some bonds with how handy he is. And besides with how quickly she made it upstairs means that the door wouldn't be unlocked for long.
Seemingly unaware of the effect the sliver of skin she'd seen has on her he nods to her in greeting. ]
In LA?
[ He makes his way behind her, locking the door behind her.
As she looks around she'll notice that it's relatively sparse perhaps because the two men that live here are minimalist to a fault. ]
[ She glances to the walls, like he might've (for some reason) put her sweet trinket up. It's barren, much like the rest of the living area, only the bare minimum furniture present. Lottie doesn't assume it's because he and him roommate are minimalists — no, she thinks it's because deep down they're boys.
(The first priority being fixing the pipes and not painting the walls? Crazy!! She could never relate..) ]
What's on the list? You said pipes, right??
[ Kitchen pipes, maybe? Cassian could be the type to like his sweets cold... ]
[ Honestly it sounds like something that he would expect from someone who's a model. The differences between the lives they led on their own respective planets is once again made obvious to him overlapping in his mind's eyes about how she would have probably fit right into the glittering upper levels of the city far away from its Underworld.
If he were home in his own galaxy, he probably wouldn't be anywhere near Courscant unless it was absolutely necessary. But regardless of wherever he might have taken up residence, the result would probably have been mostly the same. A clean, somewhat minimalist place where he was ready to run at a moment's notice.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't not leave a bit of a mess. Mail - and Candygrams - probably would have been left on the kitchen counter or the coffee table they'd picked off the side of the road in front of the small little TV. But all that sits on the latter is his blaster. Strange. ]
Pipes, tiles in the bathroom, paint. [ He motions above as the light flickers. ] Wiring for the lights. Why? [ The corner of his mouth quirks. ] Want to help?
[ A clean, minimalist space— too clean, she comes to realize as she's eyeing up his home. Save for that blaster of his.. Strange. Also, weird, Cassian having his weapon out in the open like that? All.. Foreboding and tacky? She stares, thinks of things long past and flames when he starts moving. Naturally, she follows with her eyes, almost starts with her body once he mentions lights (maybe she wants to flick the switch, herself?). But she ceremoniously stops when his lips quirk up.
Ughhhhh. Boys!! ]
You wish.
[ Can't a girl with no interest in home renovations ask her friend about all the things he's doing to this place with no ulterior motive (when she has one)?! ]
[ He shrugs casually at the retort as if to say, she's probably right. ]
Just checking. You're asking a lot of questions.
[ Lottie, he's spent too much time with you to know that she wouldn't be asking these questions for no reason at all. But because he's spent so much time with her, it's easier to sometimes leave them unanswered and let them run their natural course.
Now that he's fully dressed he wanders back over to the somewhat tided up kitchen. ]
[ Oh— fuck. Should she ask less? Wait, no. Think quieter. She laughs, the same practiced one she gives when she's unsure how to navigate a situation other than to look pretty and not say too much. Because if she explained why she was asking so much it'd be embarrassing, and cringe. ]
Sureee.. You have any water?
[ She follows after him, leans over a few inches away from the blaster. Her eyes dart down to stare at the gritty details of it, semi-curious, semi-finding a reason to not look Cassian in his eyes because he knows her. He can tell her tells. ]
[ Their time together has meant that he's learned to understand the types of laughs she has. The one where she hasn't found something funny in the least but feels like she has to put on pretenses. The laugh when she thought something was genuinely funny. The laugh where she doesn't quite know how else to react but needs something to fill the space - which is exactly the one that she gives him.
It makes him think that something else is going on. Something that ties back to the whole reason that she had called him in the first place. ]
Good thing you waited til after I fixed the pipes then.
[ The filled water glass is handed over to her and in turn he leans back against the counter to regard her, arms folded across his chest. There's a pause before he nods towards the blaster that she's not so subtly looking at. ]
It changed after I drove through a diffusion zone.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
The thought of losing Lottie and whatever it is between them is...well, he doesn't really want to think about that.
There's a soft amused huff at her sure statement. ]
Was I?
[ He is unfortunately in the middle of a project that does sort of require him to complete it if they want to turn the water back on. And being the good, thoughtful roommate he is, Cassian is doing his best to get this plumbing issue sorted before Amos returns. ]
I'm kind of in the middle of something.
no subject
Part of that is expecting him to bend, to think her cute and go along with her whims. Part of her forgets that things can not go according to her plans and she goes: ]
Oh!
[ Is that a no?
Is this him politely telling her no? Does he not want to hang out with her?? Is it someone scary third reason she doesn't want to consider, like he knows she sent all those candygrams and now she's a weirdo he kissed?? ]
I mean, it doesn't have to be now! I got some stuff to do, too.. [ She says, in her underwear inside her bathroom doing nothing. ] What about later?
no subject
He's also bent a lot of what he wouldn't stand for with other people for her. A part of him, though he wouldn't outwardly admit it, actually kind of likes it from time to time too. That it isn't really that much of an effort as he would sometimes make it out to be. ]
I'm not sure how long this will take.
[ And he means that. Will it be a straightforward fix? He hopes so. But he's not some clairvoyant that can see into the future. And though he doesn't really want to any kind of ability, even he has to admit that would be a useful ability to have in this moment. The next pipe he's about to tug out of place slips and he curses slightly under his breath. ]
Is there another reason you don't want to drive over?
no subject
But he's cursing under his breath, and she's keying into the fact it isn't because of her, or a secret third thing (person?!). Flits of his irritation trickle into the connection, Lottie finally realizing he might actually be doing something and not playing coy. She plays with her hair, the ones framing her face as she mulls over an answer. Is it worth lying? Telling a partial truth? ]
I don't like driving. [ Also, she kind of likes it when he drives her. He's better and can see far cleaner in the dark— and he's just unfortunately cooler behind the wheel. It does something for her (she will not think about this too hard). ] I can, if you think I won't distract you.
[ And then she leans in towards her phone, curious. ]
What are you even doing, anyway??
no subject
There's a sigh from the other side of the phone that could sound like it's directed at her but really it's directed at the damn pipe. It comes out with a little more elbow grease than he'd like but at least it's out. ]
Fixing a pipe. There's a clog.
[ In other words, the water is off and he's got a finite amount of time (put on by himself) that he'd like to try and finish the project in. ]
You won't distract me if you come over.
no subject
Theeeeen.. I'll see you in an hour?
[ She suggests, tone lilting light and edging on casual at the end. But she is very much serious about this. She has to know if he got her things. She has to see how cute his place might look, now. ]
If that's cool?
no subject
All of which to say: Lottie will be horrified at how un-cute this place still looks after only several weeks. ]
Yeah. Let me know when you're on your way.
no subject
Cool! See you soon.
[ Still, she smiles into the phone by the time she hangs up, puts her phone face down on the nightstand to run to her closet. The only way for her to tell the passage of time is staring down at the monstrous pile of clothes overtaking her bed. What kind of outfit would he like? A dress? Something like a co-ord? What Lottie does he want her to be? And when she blinks at the scrappy top she holds up, she thinks: Why does she care so much??
In the end, she's parking in front of his place with a pair of sneakers and jeans on, barely on time. The crop top is her marriage of looking cute and nonchalant, like she cares just enough to wear pants, but not enough to wear heels.
She takes a moment mid-reverse (she's over the lines) to text him— ]
parking! Lol
no subject
[ Cassian hangs up, returning to his work nonethewiser of the chaos that is about to ensue.
And while Lottie takes the time to change, he is preoccupied with the pipes. Luckily the hour is a productive one with him unclogging the sink and putting everything back together in record time. That does mean however that that lives him little time to shower.
His phone chimes with Lottie's text and he looks down, prompting him to think that maybe he should change lest he hear complaints about it. ]
Door is unlocked
Apartment XXX
[ By the time Lottie makes it up the stairs into their apartment, Cassian emerges from his bedroom just tugging his shirt on the rest of the way. ]
You found it okay?
no subject
Uhhh.. Yeah!! Pretty small complex.
[ Lottie tries very hard to remember the real reason why she's here, because it definitely isn't being nosy at how his new place looks. Then— Candygrams. Right!! She has no time to be distracted by the sliver of stomach she saw when he slid that shirt down, or the fact he made sure to dress proper for her (any bickering on her end is promptly shoved aside, pleased at the change in outfit).
She finds the nearest table to put her lanyard on, the clink of metal on wood loud as she eyes just about everything. Mostly, surfaces where trinkets or snacks could go on... ]
It's pretty big in here.. Almost like my old place.
no subject
Seemingly unaware of the effect the sliver of skin she'd seen has on her he nods to her in greeting. ]
In LA?
[ He makes his way behind her, locking the door behind her.
As she looks around she'll notice that it's relatively sparse perhaps because the two men that live here are minimalist to a fault. ]
We're happy with it. It's a project.
no subject
[ She glances to the walls, like he might've (for some reason) put her sweet trinket up. It's barren, much like the rest of the living area, only the bare minimum furniture present. Lottie doesn't assume it's because he and him roommate are minimalists — no, she thinks it's because deep down they're boys.
(The first priority being fixing the pipes and not painting the walls? Crazy!! She could never relate..) ]
What's on the list? You said pipes, right??
[ Kitchen pipes, maybe? Cassian could be the type to like his sweets cold... ]
no subject
If he were home in his own galaxy, he probably wouldn't be anywhere near Courscant unless it was absolutely necessary. But regardless of wherever he might have taken up residence, the result would probably have been mostly the same. A clean, somewhat minimalist place where he was ready to run at a moment's notice.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't not leave a bit of a mess. Mail - and Candygrams - probably would have been left on the kitchen counter or the coffee table they'd picked off the side of the road in front of the small little TV. But all that sits on the latter is his blaster. Strange. ]
Pipes, tiles in the bathroom, paint. [ He motions above as the light flickers. ] Wiring for the lights. Why? [ The corner of his mouth quirks. ] Want to help?
no subject
Ughhhhh. Boys!! ]
You wish.
[ Can't a girl with no interest in home renovations ask her friend about all the things he's doing to this place with no ulterior motive (when she has one)?! ]
I'm too pricey for you to book!
no subject
Just checking. You're asking a lot of questions.
[ Lottie, he's spent too much time with you to know that she wouldn't be asking these questions for no reason at all. But because he's spent so much time with her, it's easier to sometimes leave them unanswered and let them run their natural course.
Now that he's fully dressed he wanders back over to the somewhat tided up kitchen. ]
Want something to drink?
no subject
Sureee.. You have any water?
[ She follows after him, leans over a few inches away from the blaster. Her eyes dart down to stare at the gritty details of it, semi-curious, semi-finding a reason to not look Cassian in his eyes because he knows her. He can tell her tells. ]
I'm like, so parched.
no subject
It makes him think that something else is going on. Something that ties back to the whole reason that she had called him in the first place. ]
Good thing you waited til after I fixed the pipes then.
[ The filled water glass is handed over to her and in turn he leans back against the counter to regard her, arms folded across his chest. There's a pause before he nods towards the blaster that she's not so subtly looking at. ]
It changed after I drove through a diffusion zone.