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Tessa sipped her coffee, letting the burn on her tongue distract her. "Hm. And of course, we couldn't ever consider taking up legal jobs. What are we, barbarians?" She flashed a small smile, attempting to cheer Nik up.
nik snorted, slipping back into a smile.
"i was trying to say that people don't love to hire criminals, but you're right. who's to say we're wanted, if we're in a different city?"
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"Different city, different city officials, different prisons…" She shrugged and knowingly tipped her head. "Perhaps no record of what we've done, or if there is, they might be under the assumption we're trying to start over. Or that we're just dicks that want to fuck shit up there as well."
"tch, bold of anyone to assume i can fuck anything up. tried to join a syndicate when i was younger and they straight laughed at me, they thought i was 12." he paused.
"i was 16." he cracked into a big smile, resisting from laughing at himself. he remembered the skeptical and mildly concerned looks, and the "kid, go mess with somebody your own size. we don't fuck with babies. what are you, 11? 12?"
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She snorted and covered her mouth to keep from laughing, though her grin was bright and amused. Her eyes mirrored that, the amusement lighting the golden color up as her shoulders shook with silent laughter.
((sorry!!! working on a comic, it's consumed all of my energy))
nik felt like he had been punched.
fuck, she's pretty.
he looked on, dumb grin still on his face, trying to ignore the fact that when he looked her in the eyes he lost his breath.
you're in for it now, idiot.
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((it's all good! I've been lacking energy as well lately, though it's just a combo of a lot of things. Good luck on your comic!!))
Tessa sobered up, though not enough to dim the gleam in her eyes as she took another sip of her coffee, using that as an excuse to keep from laughing. She felt happy for once—that was the gleam in her golden eyes, highlighting the color and absolutely lighting up her face—and that was just because of Nik telling her a simple story. She had a feeling there was a different, hidden reason behind that, though she was too dense and stubborn to acknowledge it.
((thanks!))
he had a vague sense of warmth, and a dim realization that nobody had ever done this to him before, but it was pushed to the back in favor of being positively excited by the way tessa was looking at him. she had never had color like that to her face before, all of her seeming to shine gold.
she reminded him of the sun, in the best sense possible. he tried to keep it rolling, easy mirth gleaming in his eyes. instead of the rolling clouds that seemed to cover his personality when he was in public, it was more like the constant rain that fell over neon.
refreshing. between his shockingly pale blue eyes and the bright, happy smile, he lit up in return.
"i've been mistaken for 12 my entire life. even when i was 9, people thought i was older, and now that i'm nearly 20 people still think i'm a minor. the first time i visited a bar the bartender commented on how he'd never seen a middle schooler look that tired."
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"Staaap,* she hissed over the lip of her coffee cup, hand coming up to clasp over her mouth and nose, trying to stop her laughter. Her eyes cast skyward, as if asking for the strength to keep in her amusement and remain the stony badass she worked so hard to look like. It didn't work, because as she let go some for air, she snorted, then let out a small burst of laughter that startled ever her before getting shut out by her hand again.
Her eyes darted back down to Nik, and she couldn't help but stare at how bright and mirthful he looked right then. It was a nice sight, and she found herself liking this side of him. She wanted to see more of this.
alex sipped their coffee, watching the pair from where they were making idle conversation with connor.
"hm. 10 bucks says they end up dating. look at them, the fools." they commented to connor, looking over at him and gesturing towards the lovestruck idiot that was one nikolas fischer.
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Connor looked over and snorted, downing his coffee relatively quickly. "That is the happiest I've ever seen Tess," he commented, raising a brow as he looked back to Alex. "I'm amping it up to fifteen because I just know she'll have him wrapped around her finger in no time, if she's that happy to be around him. Tess is everyone's type, as she likes to say. All it takes is her interest and bam. Rejection because we have issuesssss."
He opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head sheepishly. "I'm rambling. Point is—they look cute, she's definitely interested, he's definitely interested, it's only a matter of time. Now I'm shutting up."
"awh, don't do that. i like hearing you talk. although, you are right, so what's our bet?" alex finished off their coffee, then turned to toss the empty cup in a trash can, and turned back to offer,
"so, i bet 15 that they'll be at least "fooling around" within a week and a half. what's your bargain?"
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"20 bucks that they're gonna make excuses to hang out with each other within a few days," Connor said, smirking cheekily when Alex said they liked hearing him talk. He tipped his head back, catching the last few drops of coffee left before licking his lips and tossing it into the trash can.
"it's a deal, then."
they offered their hand to shake.
meanwhile, nik was still trying to resist from laughing.
"tch, the only good stories are the funny ones. and there's a few crazy as hell ones, but i save those for when i get to know people better." he tossed a playful wink to tessa.
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Connor took Alex's hand and shook.
Tessa grinned, full and bright with a hint of mischief. "Oh, do you now? Any chance you could hook me up with the secret to these stories, or shall I suffer in ignorance—oh, and of course, the constant knowledge that I'm not good enough for you," she playfully scoffed, feigning sadness as she sipped her coffee and looked wistfully off to the side. The illusion didn't stay long, however, as there was a smile tugging at her lips and threatening to break character.
"the secret, madame?" he played along. "ah, it's not a matter of you being good enough, more of a matter of weird ass stories and i'm afraid anybody who heard them that didn't owe me something would likely kill me on sight." he sighed, continuing slowly.
"one of them involves a pent up rich man, a broke ass reporter, and a brand. as in, metal brand."
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Tessa rose her brows, not expecting that as an answer. "Drama. We all just love drama, don't we?" She flapped her hand and took a slightly larger sip of her coffee. "Don't worry about telling me. I get it." She shrugged and happened to look over at Connor and Alex, happily chatting away. "They seem to be hitting it off," she observed.
"yeah. alex seems to be a pretty social kid." he shook his head, putting a hand into his pocket. "think it'll be good for both of them."
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((Stress and sickness. Ah~ Perfect combination :/ ))
Tessa nodded. "Connor is social too. It's a matter of who'll listen to him or give him the time of day." She reached up to run a thumb over her bottom lip, clearly thinking something over but not voicing what it was just yet. Her gaze darted around Nik's face.
((almost messed up and typed Nikolas instead of Connor. Whoops))
"didn't think it of him at first, but now it makes sense." he glanced over, noticing her looking around.
"penny for your thoughts?"
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((hey. Sorry, things blew up again and I needed some time to cool off and sort through it all. Not the best at emotions, and a very very very buried pot of frustration/anger just boiled over not long ago, so yeah, just a heads up if I'm not very present))
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Tessa took a moment, then said, "Any chance we could just… hang out?" She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, but she was internally freaking out. I really hope he doesn't say no. "Dunno, just thought it would be nice to meet up without the intent of taking down a world-class asshole."
((super sorry about that. if you ever need someone to talk to, i can give you my discord))
nik seemed mildly taken aback, but after a small pause he nodded. "yeah, we can do that. did you have a certain time in mind, or do you mean just in general?"
alex glanced over at the others, and sighed. "fuck, i guess i owe you 20. hold on."
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((I think I'll be fine? I've had a few days since the breakdown, so I should be good. But I'll take you up on that offer if things don't steady out. Thanks, though!))
Tessa flapped her hand in a dismissive gesture, even if a wave of relief washed through her. "Just in general. Finding interesting people is hard, and even harder to find interesting and likable people. Ones you would like to spend time with, rather than mess with."
((no problem! :)))
"you flatter me, love." he flushed, playing off the slight embarrassment he felt at being complimented.
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She flashed a cheeky grin, the tip of her tongue stuck at the corner of her mouth and between her teeth. "It's what I do. So is it a go?"
Connor had spent a minute watching the two when Alex mentioned owing him 20 bucks, and he was smirking behind the hand over his mouth. "I believe you do, Alex. Pay up," he turned and held out a hand, fingers curling in a playful 'gimme' motion.
"it is, indeed." he reached out, offering his hand to her in a handshake.
"ah shit, i thought it'd be later. here, doofus." alex finally found their wallet in their jacket, shelling out two 10's and tucking it back.
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She offered another rare, genuine smile before reaching out and taking his hand. "Glad to do business with you," she said with a wink.
Connor snorted as he grabbed the two 10's. "Doofus. You wound me with such vulgar language used at my expense."
he shook her hand, pressing back a smile, before breaking into silent laughter at the formality of it all.
"vulgar? never." alex sassed, crossing their arms. "we'd never want that, would we?"
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Tessa broke out in a brilliant grin, also amused by the formality. To make up for it, she loosely hooked her arm around Nik's neck in a side hug, pulling him closer. "In glad to've met you, Nik. Chaotic reporter tendencies or not." She then added a wink for some flair. "Makes it all the more interesting."
Connor rose a brow at the sass. "Honey, I'm the sass god. Don't think you can out-sass me with that attitude."
