Same Face, Different Place

Who: Pandect and Kayos
Where: Hardware store
When: morning

Pandect was displeased. The new roof had held, which was excellent because he wasn't sure what he'd do if it hadn't. Something drastic probably. But he had spent half his morning pulling fuses and trying to sort through wires with a flashlight in his teeth. He had spent the other half trying to get the phone to stop ringing. He had discovered the front desk phone had a really annoying ringer when he was busy trying to stop electrical fires.

The Lamplighter wasn't exactly big on back up supplies so he was in the electronics section grabbing wire and decent pliers.

Kayos was buying up a bunch of shit she figured she'd need, but wasn't even quite sure how to use yet. Sure, she'd done a little home improvement in her time. Or, less home improvement, and more 'home fortification'. Teddy had gotten the paperwork through on her building, so she was now the proud owner of a place that ohhhh so totally needed a shit ton of work. Righto then. Better get started. She was thinking on hiring people to get work done as well, but was going to do at least a little preliminary work first. She was looking over her list and walking around a corner into another aisle when she ran smack into some poor unsuspecting citizen. "OH god, I'm so sorry!" she said, hopping back and looking up, distracted.

Juggling the electrical wire and various other hardware back into his arms (He needed a basket. And to stop running into young ladies.) he nodded tensely at the girl. "Not at all," his tone was hardly welcoming and polite, in fact he worried it might have been a little stern, but given his morning that could be excused. "I apologize as well," he said formally. The girl was lovely in a sort of young fresh way, very blond and blue eyed and it had Pandect's civility acting up. "You'd be surprised how often that happens to me."

There was a crash. Everything Kayos had had in her arms just tumbled out of them, like she'd gone numb. It was the voice first. That struck her more than the visual recognition. Because she even knew the tone. That little bit stern, that formal thing. "D?" she asked before she could actually stop herself, even if she took a step back and immediately told herself to fucking watch what the hell she was doing. But she couldn't help it, it had caught her so entirely off guard that she just...reacted. And was still in the middle of a reaction, really.

"Pardon?" Pandect said warily, leaning away from her a little. He resisted for as long as he could, but finally gave in with an irritated cluck and snagged a couple of those little hand baskets stores had floating around. Bending down and putting her things in a basket for her helped him to gather himself, think up a battle plan as it were. She had recognized him, that was obvious, but from where? He pressed his lips into a flat line. She obviously wasn't a demon, that was some small comfort. But there were so many other things she could be. Even though he was handling her stuff, home improvement, he thought absently; he kept his body tilted away, ready to bolt.

Kayos took a step back. "...sorry, my mistake." she said, sounding distant to her own ears. She reached out to get her things from him, looking to see what else she'd dropped as she attempted to get hold of herself. That wasn't as easy as it should have been. This...this really needed to have been on her list of shit she expected to have to deal with, and had a game plan for. It was just so unexpected, that she couldn't help but have an amazingly bad reaction. "I'll get out of your way." she finished, backing up another step.

Pandect stood quickly, stepping back from the girl, "Very well then," he said calmly, slowly edging backward. Something was upseting the girl, there was no question of that. But other people's problems were not his issues. Getting involved with other people's problems was a great way to get hooked and trapped and then when whoever it was really needed him he'd end up leaving them in the lurch. "Goodbye," he edged away.

It was a little gut-wrenching to hear that. Just a dismissal. Just goodbye. She hadn't actually gotten to say that to D in her time. Things had got too messy and then one day he was gone. And here...he didn't know her and there wasn't that kind of motherly tone, that soft edge that he'd gotten in his voice when she was around, when he was speaking to her. He was just...some guy who didn't know her and didn't care. And that was not a happy thing for little Bridget Reyanne. "...goodbye." she said, kind of sounding like she wasn't connecting her words right. Then she turned, dropping the basket of things she'd been getting on the nearest shelf, and she hurried out of the store, needing to get away from that. Or she was going to do something really, really stupid.

Mon dieu, Pandect had seen that look before on his own face, when his family had disowned him. Pandect dropped his basket on the ground and took long steps after the girl, putting one narrow hand on her shoulder, it was just a girl's shoulder, nothing more, nothing less, no promises. "This is really stupid," he muttered to himself in French and hugged the girl up against his chest. "I have no idea who you are," Pandect clarified in English. "So forgive the familiarity, I'm not really sure how this is supposed to go, but I believe the line is 'you looked like you needed it.'"

At first she thought she was being assaulted. Then she realized she was getting a hug. Which...well if she wasn't all out of sorts before she was now. She had absolutely no idea how to react. Kayos was usually someone who acted and just did things automatically, and this time, she was at a total damn loss. "I..." she started, blanking on what to say. "Er...thanks?" she suggested, not sure if she should hug back, or what. This wasn't her friend D after all. It was just...him-but-not. God this was confusing.

Pandect stepped away from her, looking away and scratching at the back of his head. It was hard not to feel her tense up when the girl was up against his chest, he didn't want her to think he was a rapist or something. He cleared his throat sharply, "No problem, you just looked-" He really sucked at this. Taking a step back he bounced a little on his heels. "I'm not good at helping people," he half laughed, a kind of an out of practice sound, covering his mouth until any sort of smile was gone. "Give me some electrical tape and a flashlight and I can patch up just about anything, but people I'm not so great at. So, um, sorry if I startled you."

It was time to start backing up again.

Yes you are. You're great at helping people. That was your entire fucking lot in life, don't you tell me you're not. She thought, but didn't say because she couldn't. Plus, who knew what this version of him had been through? Maybe he wasn't anymore. Maybe he couldn't be. Maybe he was just a dude who looked like her D, but there was nothing on the inside that matched up. Though, the hug was kind of...that wasn't something that seemed that amiss for her version. God, her head was a mess here. She had to say something. "Sorry. You...reminded me of someone."she mumbled, feeling that excuse wasn't good enough.

He laughed dryly again, covering his smile out of habit, "I seem to be doing that a lot lately." Scrubbing absently at his elbow through his sweater, "Um, I. I work at the Lamplighter Motel, edge of town, keeping things running. Like I said not great with people," he had to put another foot of space in between them so he wouldn't start having a panic attack, "But if you need help fixing stuff up, I can do that. I can fix just about anything. Just ask for..." which name to give her? "Pandect, or I guess Garnier, if you like that better."

Can I call you Dect? Then just kill it down to D? went through her mind. She again, though, managed not to say it. "The Lamplighter...got it." she said. "Again, sorry, I just...you really looked like someone I knew a long time ago." Only it wasn't that long. Just long enough. Enough to miss the guy, and to still feel really ouchie-type pains because he didn't have that recognition or the soft tone for her. She guessed she had to live with a weird hug, and call it good at that. "And Pandect. Check." She tried a smile, and almost pulled it off, but not quite.

Pandect worried at the elbow of his coat nervously, "Are you alright? I don't mean to pry," he said stiffly. "It's your own business of course you just look... sad." He was alright a few feet away from her, he did okay with some space between him and the girl. Her smile was on the stretched side. There had been enough obligatory smiling in his life for him to recognize it.

Shaking her head, she looked away. "I'm alright. I just--you looked like someone I knew. Which I already said, so awesome, I'm repeating myself, I'm sorry." she said, wincing. "I'll leave you alone. I didn't mean to bother you or anything, I should just...go, get my shit together and maybe get some coffee. Maybe I'm just not awake yet or something. Thanks for your time, Deeuuuhhhpandect." she said, starting to back away now. Yeah, leaving was a good option here.

Pandect started to reach out to her, but stopped himself, "Its alright, don't apologize. I know how shocking it can be to see a familiar face where its not supposed to be, I don't have any family myself," shut up Pandect thought to himself, this is not information you need to share. "No one really in fact, just my truck and I, it just. Well, I got what was coming to me, but you're so young," he couldn't get anything off her, it was like staring at static, but what could she have done? "Its not fair for you to be sad."

You got what was coming to you? Eh? Kayos thought, but didn't let herself ask. "Yeah, I'm young, but...y'know, things happen, I guess." she said, thinking that youth had nothing to do with levels of bad. Really not. There was all sorts of bad handed out to people young and old alike, she knew that first hand. Really, kind of from both ends. "And thanks, I just...I'll be fine."

"Alright then," Pandect eased back a little more, back toward the familiarity of the hardware store. "Have a nice day."

"Yeah...you too." Kayos said lightly, then turned to head off in her own direction, to get away and collect herself. God, she needed to be better than this...she really did.