~~~
Trigger Warnings - eating
~~~
Rune nodded, glad to finally get away from this place.
~~~
It was a couple days after their visit to Las Nevadas and Sam was concerned. Rune became agitated whenever he mentioned Las Nevadas. Especially when he mentioned Alex. She was insistent that nothing happened between the two of them, but Sam couldn't help but wonder. But even if nothing happened between her and Alex, something was bothering her. She would spend hours just sitting, seemingly lost in thought. And when she wasn't doing nothing, she would throw herself into her work. Whether that was organizing Sam's library or working out, she didn't do anything halfway. It wasn't obvious, but Sam was sure, Rune was hiding something.
He wanted to wait until the right time to bring it up, but that time never seemed to come. Days passed, then weeks, and these feelings began to pass. Rune became less despondent and Sam became less concerned. He didn't know it now, but soon much more pressing things would occupy his mind. But for now, life was good.
~~~
Rune woke to the sound of bacon sizzling and the fire alarm buzzing. She laughed as she sat up and stretched. Sam wanted to learn how to cook, practically begging Rune to teach him. She assumed he wanted to surprise her with a delicious breakfast. Unfortunately, he had only accomplished half of his goal.
Rune slid out of bed and threw on some clothes. Sam had taken her shopping a couple weeks before so she wouldn't have to use his old ones anymore. Rune chose her favorite black pants and a garnet red top coupled with a pair of tall black boots. Satisfied with her choices, she exited her room, ready for the worst. What she saw shocked her.
Sam was standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding a pan of burnt-to-a-crisp eggs and trying to flip the bacon, all while reaching up towards the ceiling, presumably reaching for the incessant alarm. Sam's dog Fran sat patiently by his feet, knowing her master would soon drop a tasty treat for her to swipe.
Rune watched this scene unfurl in front of her for a moment more before speaking.
"Want some help with that?"
Sam looked up, his eyes begging for help.
"Please?"
Rune laughed and moved beside the giant. She grabbed a pot holder and took the eggs from Sam's grasp. She set the pan back on the stove, making sure the burner she chose was cool before doing so. She turned off the remaining burners, then the toaster. Thankfully, the toast was not too burnt, so she took the slices out and set them on a plate. The bacon came next, sliding next to the extra crispy bread.
"I'm sorry." Sam laughed.
"It's fine with me. You should be apologizing to those poor eggs."
"Is it salvageable?"
"Nothing a little bit of jam can't fix!"
Rune placed the doctored meal onto the table, motioning for Sam to join her. They ate and chatted about everything and nothing. The pair knew that they both would have to go to work soon, as Rune refused to sit idly by at home, but a little bit of breakfast with a friend was more important to the both of them.
When they were done, Sam stood up from the table, taking both his and Rune's dishes to the sink, promptly washing and drying them. He set them in the cabinet before turning to the pile in the sink. Rune moved next to him, rinsing and drying the dishes Sam washed. They finished quickly, giving them more time to prepare for the day.
Rune watched Sam leave the house before she grabbed her small sling backpack and headed out of the house. She knew the latent path to L'Manburg well, so she enjoyed her relaxing walk without even thinking of where she was going. It wasn't long before the familiar sights of the city made their way into Rune's sight.
She walked by the water near the houses, remembering the strange man who had once stopped her. Rune hadn't seen him since. She wandered past the many shops and restaurants, saying hi to the friendly faces she now knew. Rune finally made her way to a white building near the center of the city. She pushed open the door and immediately walked into the small lobby of the building. It was a small pharmacy and doctor's office, created to help the very unlucky and the very dumb people who managed to hurt themselves enough to need more than just the healing vials that everyone had.
There was a long counter at the back of the office, with two doors behind it. Rune slid behind the counter and walked through the left door, entering the pharmacy half of the building. Someone was already in the room, humming to himself while he measured out a pinch of orange and red dust.
"Hey, Ponk."
The figure glanced her way.
"Hi, Ruin."
Rune rolled her eyes playfully at the nickname and set her bag down near the entrance to the room. She had been working here for about a week, but had already fallen (platonically) in love with the doctor. His smile was contagious, and so was his laugh. He worked to help people, even the ones who didn't deserve it. Rune couldn't think of a better way to spend her time here in L'Manburg.
"What do you need today?"
Ponk gestured to a closet near the back of the room.
"Can you ummm... organize this? I wouldn't ask this of you, but I know you like fixing messy things."
Rune nodded and tried to open the closet. Then she tried again. She turned to Ponk for help.
"Here, you just have to..."
He hit the wood right over the doorknob, letting the door swing right open. Rune could barely believe her eyes. A chaotic amalgamation of supplies and tools were scattered throughout the ceiling to floor shelves. This is gonna take a while.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Of course," Rune replied, "this is gonna be fun."
~~~
A couple hours later, Ponk had left the room and Rune sat on the floor sorting through a pile of random objects that had been shoved to the bottom of the closet. She hummed to herself as she tossed trash into the bin and dusted off tools Ponk had been missing. A small rectangle with a shiny stripe caught her eyes. She picked it up and a familiar trident design came into view. This was a keycard, one of the ones Sam had used to traverse that giant, black building of his. Unsure of what to do, she stared at the card, watching the silver glint as she turned it.
Rune heard a rustling in the other room, followed by the doorknob turning. Rune, startled, dropped the card, scrambled to pick it up, and slid it into her pocket.
"Hey Rune!"
"Hi, Ponk."
"Look at this!"
Rune turned her head. Ponk was holding a flyer in her face.
"I can't see that! Give it here."
She snatched the paper and held it a reasonable distance from her eyes.
"Green Day Festival Anniversary Dance"
"Yes!"
"Why are we excited about this?"
"Bcause, Rune, I finally get to show off my boyfriend!"
"He finally agreed to go out publicly with you?"
"Yes!"
"That's great, Ponk!"
Rune was genuinely excited about this. Ponk had been talking about his boyfriend since the moment she met him. He always complained about how he didn't want to go public. Seemingly, this mindset had changed.
"I'm excited to meet him!"
Ponk smiled at this.
"You already know him."
"No! Tell me!"
"You'll find out when everyone else does."
"Fine, but it better be worth it."
"Don't worry, it will be."
~~~
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