Summary:A phone call during the day clears some of the air between Keiko and Piotr, maybe. Log Info:Storyteller: {$storyteller} |
Related LogsTheme Song{$themesong} |
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Ice Cream. Keiko wants ice cream and for the first time seven years she can go and get it herself. No relying on demons to slip through a portal. No gambling about whether they get the right thing.
She's slipped out of the house where they all live now in the odd assortment of clothing she's taken to wearing. The t-shirt she's modified to display her stomach and the leather pants that Illyana had dressed her in.
She's assumed Piotr is at work, Elena with him - attending her own classes at school. For the first time in seven years, she's free to do something on her on her own and not worry about challenges to her or her … family.
It’s about mid-day, and Piotr is getting ready to sit down with lunch and Elena. Taking out his phone - which gets a strange look from the girl, he smiles. “We’re going to call your mama. Make sure she is okay, little star.”
The idea that Piotr could just call Keiko confuses Elena. “Are you summoning her?”
“No, not like that.” he sighs. “It is not like Limbo.. Here.. I still have her number from her ad. Hopefully the phone did not get disconnected in the short time we were gone.” Swiping through his contacts until he finds the ad, it’s just a picture of it for her. He frowns. He’ll need to change that. He presses the button and waits for it to ring.
Summoning Keiko might not be too far fetched. With the changes she's experienced that's possible.
She'd found her phone at her old room, along with her toolkit and backpack. She didn't have much else to begin with and she was happy, in a way, to leave most of it behind. Glancing at the number when her phone does ring, the Peruvian frowns at the number. She'd been advised to take some time to heal, the work could wait, and she's tempted to try that. Which is why Piotr might start to wonder when the call rings for so long.
"Hola, this is Keiko." it's that quiet muted tone she's been using. She can't say the rest of the greeting. //how may I help you? //
Piotr starts to hear the ring going on for a while. And when he was just about to disconnect, Keiko picks up. And when he hears her, there’s a long pause. As if he’s not sure what to say.
“I will not bother you.” he says quietly. And then without another word, he starts to reach to disconnect the phone, but Elena speaks up. “I made a new friend, mama!”
Piotr has to swallow the audible groan. Nothing’s going right. She had no choice but to be by his side for the last seven years. And the back of his mind, the old phrase is yelling at him.
‘If you love something, set it free…’
"Piotr?" Keiko answers. "I… It's good to hear you." She's trying, dammit. Trying to find a way through the numbness. Through the corruption that's burning through her veins. She can hear the resignation in his voice but it's so hard to feel anything.
Even if those feelings are there. "Are you bu—-" There's Elena piping up. "A new friend, pequeña estrella. They are lucky to have you as theirs. You will tell me about them, da." Never asking questions. It's not her way anymore.
"Piotr. There is lamb for dinner tonight."
“Her name is Becky, and she can see all the lights and through walls and stuff.” Elena reports, because she was asked. “She likes Oreo cookies, and she has an allergy to peanuts so I can’t have any peanuts in my lunch anymore, and her favorite color is orange!” She’s so proud of herself, because she learned so much on her first day.
More that Piotr has in seven years, he realizes sourly. Does he even know if Keiko is allergic to peanuts? They weren’t exactly readily available in Limbo. “Lamb sounds good, Keiko. I will make sure to have Elena home in time for the food to still be hot.”
There’s a thoughtful moment. “Have you had any calls on work? Is that.. Something you are ready to do again yet?” he finally asks, trying to find a way to bridge the distance he feels, though that was more like using a pint glass to try to drain the Pacific ocean.
Keiko doesn't smile as Elena babbles on but the silvery pink lines about her collar glow warmly as she listens. "You will take her Oreo's for a present." If it had been anyone else, that would be rude. The way she talks. "Ag'thaaz is looking after you with Papa." She's not aware that they've got a nickname for the little purple demon.
"You will be home for dinner, Piotr." it sounds to Keiko like he's planning to be out or something. "If not I will put a plate aside for. We a fridge now." and food doesn't corrupt here like it did in Limbo.
Hearing the pause, the small Peruvian touches the carved bone clips in her hair and before Piotr asking his question she adds "Mama is wearing the clips Papa made for her. You know the ones, pequeña estrella."
"I… There are messages, Piotr. I will return them at some point. SHIELD has said to not work for some time. I will fix the sink in the communal bathroom, the cupboard in the bedroom Illyana uses and the railing on the stairs out the back."
"I…" She pauses now, trying to find the words. "I will be seeing Doctor Yenven on Thursday. He was away today." She's taken the first step needed to heal. "You are enjoying classes."
“Okay, mama.” Elena responds cheerfully. She definitely has her father’s spirit for trying to help.
“Zyozdochka, it’s time for you to return to class.” Piotr reminds her.
Elena’s voice has a pout to it. “Okay, papa. See you later, mama!” And there’s the sound of a door shutting as she heads off.
Piotr lets out a breath. “She’s doing well.” he says finally. “Jean’s offered to help her with adjusting. And there are a few others. I worry that they will see her as a curiosity. She’s not. She’s our daughter.” An expression of something between them. Even if it’s not explainable.
“I will be there for dinner.” He avoids saying the word home, because he’s not sure, and that uncertainty is in his voice. After seven years of having to be sure, there’s doubt, and that makes things dangerous. “Take the time that you need, Keiko. I will not push.”
Then she mentions she’s seeing the doctor. “That’s good!” he hopes. “I am not sure I want to talk to a stranger about what happened. There are a lot of doctors here. But.. they may also be skewed. I’ll have to find a way to balance it. I considered starting a new piece. I had some granite brought from the quarry.”
"See you tonight, pequeña." Keiko's quiet, finger idly brushing the clip in her hair as she finds a spot on the small stone wall that runs along the path to sit on. Piotr won't know it, but he has her full attention.
"You know these people, Piotr." it's much quieter than the other things she's been saying. She doesn't. None of them. She's met Jean, long ago now, but the name she was given was 'Red'. She's unlikely to meet these people either unless they agree to meet her away from the school.
"She is a curiosity, Piotr and our enemies will use that against us." She's still there, stuck in Limbo in many ways. It's hard to change your thinking when this is what you've done for most of your life. "She is our daughter. And her father is strong and wise."
"SHIELD offered me work as Illyanas live in caretaker before…." She swallow "… we were taken. I had said yes and was going to move soon. They will pay for doing the work. We will have money." She's misunderstood his 'I won't push you'.
Talking about what happened with a stranger doesn't appeal but she knows if shatters she can't protect her daughter, or Piotr, for that matter.
"There are packages for you with names. Ones who are able to deal with what happened. Maybe you will find one in there."
That he's sculpting again is good. "Wha What does it lend itself too?" That's a question and it cost her. "You will make something beautiful, you always do."
“I am not sure what I will make yet. I will let my hands lead, and I will follow.” Piotr glances at the phone and frowns. These conversations were much easier in person. “I will see.”
At the comment about those that know him, he frowns, it’s audible. “They knew a me seven years ago. For them, it has only been a few days. They have changed in my mind. I have changed in theirs. It is as if having to introduce myself all over again.” he closes his eyes. “You are the only one that knows what it is. What I became.” there’s no regret in his tone. He did it for them. Their family. He did it for her.
“I am feeling neither strong or wise, Keiko.” he says finally. “I am feeling as though- since we are back, that I am no longer…” he stops himself, he can’t say the words. Because he knows the truth now. She doesn’t need him in her life. He’s just another complication.
“You are braver than I at the moment, solnyshko.” The name slips from his lips without him even realizing it; but the moment he does, there’s an audible pause as if trying to figure out if that was a mistake. “You went to SHIELD to speak to them. I went and hid with friends. I will have to step out. Soon.”
“When my powers first manifested, the State wanted me. My brother was cosmonaut. I was mutant. It was a shining example of what State will do to support family of good party member. But then they wanted to make me weapon. I was not a human to them. I was steel golem. Powerful, strong. But they did not want me to have a soul. I broke rank when I rescued submarine. Not what they wanted.” It’s the first time he’s said that to anyone.
Are these conversations easier in person? Keiko isn't sure. These conversations aren't easy at all. But she's trying.
"Show me photos." of his work as it takes shape.She had enjoyed sitting on the couch in the workshop he'd created. Elena curled on her lap as she watched him work. Does he remember? Or is the pain of her 'rejection' too much?
When he speaks of his friends, Keiko listens. "That is true. Only you and I know what we did, what we became. I wouldn't change that, Piotr. I had you by my side."
After another short pause she adds "And yet you have taken our daughter to these people because you trust them. I…." She stops for the longest of time "… have trust in your judgement. These people are strangers to me."
What she doesn't add is that they don't trust her. But Elena will be safe. That's enough.
"SHIELD sent the information, Piotr. It was… enough for me to go to those offices." and she has to do it again on her own.
"You feel like what we had together is gone…" She finishes that thought. "It is, Piotr. We have something else that we can create. Together if we can."
Listening to the story he relates, Keiko let's out a long sigh. "They are fools for not wanting you. You are more than skin and being a golem. You are what I want, mi Rey."
“I should have discussed things with you first before bringing Elena to the school.” Piotr makes the admission. It’s not exactly an apology, but it’s close. He should have involved her in the decision, and he realizes that now.
“I will go with you to SHIELD, if you want to talk together. Or I can try alone.” he leaves that up to Keiko for now, because right now, he’s trying to process what she said last.
“They wanted me. For my strength. And invulnerabilities. I wanted to be something else. Something more. You have brought that out in me, Keiko.” he admits quietly. “Maybe I will bring this block home. There is plenty of room. Illyana will not mind.” She better not, at least.
“I feel like that the last seven years.. I do not regret us, Keiko. And I worry that you did not feel the same. That I did not court or try to romance you properly. That I never asked you on date.” he lets out a sigh. “You are what I want, solnyshko. But I know you are more valuable to me than what you think I am. You are not just Elena’s mother, or a summoner…” he trails off, because he’s not sure.
“We will talk on this later. Elena enjoyed the zoo. But perhaps.. We can go somewhere alone?”
How can Piotr understand when Keiko barely understands herself. "You can't speak for how I feel." is what she says. For the moment letting down the Bastion she's built around herself. "I gave myself to you, Piotr. Not once did you force me." She was strong and stubborn and still she did that.
"I am not what you need. I am… broken." She says sadly.
Then the barriers are up again.
"Come home tonight, Piotr. We will talk and go somewhere alone when Elena can be safe."
—-
“And you cannot speak for what I need.” Piotr responds firmly. “You are right, though. I feel like I did not do enough to earn the right to bring Elena into our world. And if we .. if /I/ want to be a family, I should at least learn more about her mother.”
Not that he doesn’t already have feelings for her, he’s trying. It’s in his tone. There’s a hint of proactive beneath the layers of confusion. “We are both broken. Everyone is broken in their ways. But as I tried to say one.. When we take pieces of each other to try to meld back together, we could be stronger. It is art that Ilyana told me about once.”
Then she’s telling him to come home. “I will. We will see each other tonight. Until then, solnyshko.”
Piotr will realise as things progress that Keiko is taking control of the only part of her life that she can. Rebelling in small ways against the hand life has dealt her.
"Enjoy your classes, mi Rey." she hangs up the phone and looks at, sighing when she remembers she hadn't asked what ice-cream he liked.
That's ok, her payments had come through from last week, or seven years ago. She'll get one of everything in the store.