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When Emmett returned to the kitchen, she noticed the way her friend clung to her coffee like a lifeline. It was then that she noticed April's attire. Emmett shook her head. It was January. Even if Oregon didn't have very harsh winters, it was still something to dress appropriately for. With her own lined denim jacket on, she turned back to the pile of clothes in her hamper. Half of them were clean, only moved when a very attractive and intimidating lawyer had come into her home. She reached in and found an sweatshirt as well as a thin jacket.
"You're right. Shooting someone sounds perfect right now." Really, she wished it could be whatever asshole wrecked her shop, but she didn't doubt that this would help take out her aggression anyway.
Stretching out her hand, she offered the sweatshirt and jacket. "I don't care if it's indoors, just wear this for now." Emmett grabbed her coffee again, as well as her keys. "Aiight, let's get out of here."
A warm and welcoming embrace brought a more genuine smile to Emmett's features, as did the familiar feeling of her friend's lips against her cheek. She let out a laugh, closing the door once April was through the threshold. It was then that she immediately moved towards the coffee brought to her. She lifted the lid, bringing the paper cup towards her nose and sighing with content. April knew her so well. "I do know that." Her high energy was hard to ignore, and it was often contagious.
As she was securing the lid back onto the cup, she looked back towards the pyro, eyebrows shooting up. It was rare for Emmett to consider saying no to any time out, but her garage was a disaster. Then again, she probably needed a break from cleaning up the mess made. Especially if it included good company.
The mechanic took a quick swig of the warm beverage before turning to grab her jacket. Shit? Where'd she put it? "Where are we going?" Emmett asked, heading towards the bathroom where she had thrown all the clothes previously resting on a now empty chair. There it was. She came back towards the kitchen, slipping an arm into the sleeve.
She had left the garage for all but a few minutes, just to grab something that might scrub off the bright red spray paint that ran across one of her garage doors. It was when Emmett realized it was going to take more than anything she had handy in her apartment to get it off, there was rapid knocking at her door. Even with her agility, she couldn't make it to the door quickly enough for there to have been less than a dozen knocks.
"Jesus Christ." Emmett exhaled heavily, not in the best of moods since she returned home to find her shop completely destroyed. With a green scrubby in one hand, she used the other to swing the door open. At her doorstep, she found blonde hair, a familiar face, and the sweet smell of coffee. "Oi, tell me some of that is for me." It was enough to draw a smile out of the mechanic as she backed up, inviting April inside.
Emmett and Rya - Not sure if they met yet, and if they had they probably did something physical. They would have been in school around the same time but with a three year age gap, so I dunno about that. Maybe they could meet now instead? What are your thoughts?
...PS Penelope and Rya probably definitely know of each other and I have no doubt Penny hate's her.
In the disorder, Emmett had attempted to check everything she could think that someone might have wanted to take. There were thousands of dollars worth of equipment and tools in her shop, all left to be scattered across the floor. "Nothing. Weird, right?" It almost would have been easier if they had taken something - at least that would have been a motive besides hate.
"Officer Vaccari went over everything. Took some samples of stuff from the door and other places, saying something about hoping to get DNA or see what they used to break in." Emmett shrugged, pushing herself up to her feet again already. "I have cameras, but they got smashed, too. So They took the cards out of them hoping to recover something. Do you want some coffee or something?"
It wasn't long before Emmett sourced another chair. She didn't really care about the state of one that she herself sat in, though now that someone sat in her home who could probably purchase it with the scribble of a check, she realized how unkempt it must have looked to a professional eye. Her hands sat in her own lap as she glanced down to the way this woman crossed her legs, and then up again.
"I'm really agile." Emmett explained quickly. "But I don't really brag. I mean, if it comes up in convo I'm not gonna hide it." Did she show it off from time to time? Probably. "Sometimes it comes out in the open. Coulda dunked a few hoops in front of some people. Or when I hit the ice rink." They were likely the most common occurrences to bring up, but it was such a normal part of her life it was hard to say.
When she finally caught the woman's intense eyes, Emmett exhaled heavily. She couldn't stop moving, hands pressing to her legs while fingers tapped against her jeans. Within moments, she was walking again, hauling keys out of her pocket as she lead the lawyer up a set of stairs to her apartment. Though it wasn't necessary, she had locked it again for good measure. Paranoia that they'd come back for what they hadn't ruined, maybe.
Inside wasn't dirty, but it wasn't entirely impressive either. It was simple enough for the relatively simple life Emmett lived. At least there weren't dishes in the sink - it might have made up for the normal chaos she lived in. "Let me get you a chair..." Emmett mumbled, shuffling things around the kitchen. The pile of clothes on top of one were quickly thrown into the laundry room before she presented it.
"No, not really anything too bad I guess." Her lips pursed together with thought, nose crinkling. "I mean, when I first started here - before I think more people were bothered that I was a girl than a meta. But nothing like this has ever happened before."
Emmett nodded towards the bartender as he rang up her tab that ended up being smaller than she had originally planned when she opened it. No harm, though. With a quick scribble, she pushed the receipt away from herself before standing up, shoulders rolling backwards as she gave her counterpart a grin. "Any time you want, babe," she laughed as they made their way towards the door.
When outside, Emmett sucked in a sharp breath of the cool winter air and looked up to the sky, stars dimmed by the surrounding city lights, but she could still make out a few of them.
Her gaze eventually fell back to Alice, eyebrows raising with curiosity. "Watcha wanna do?"
Right. She hadn't invited her inside. Emmett tried for a smile as she gestured to the bay door that was open, walking inside the garage and closing the door with the hit of a button against the wall. Inside was a mess - a large, red tool cabinet had been shoved over, hundreds of dollars in tools spilling out onto the concrete floor. Any signs of personality in the form of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posters and hockey jerseys had been ripped from the walls, scattered now. Any and all shelving had been emptied or knocked over. Emmett squeezed the back of her own neck in an attempt to calm herself down. Every new place she looked, she felt overwhelming anxiety build up in her again. So she focused on Teddy.
"Good. Like really good. I was thinking that I'd have to hire someone for an extra set of hands. 'Cause it's just me, and it's not that I can't handle it, but the work is steady enough." She tapped the toe of her boot to the floor. "Today was an exception. I was out of town for the weekend and had decided to close shop for the morning so I wouldn't have to rush back."
Pained, dark eyes looked around again. "I have a proper place upstairs, if you want to sit."
Teddy. At least it was more approachable of a name than the former. The mechanic nodded with acknowledgement, dark eyes glancing down towards the hand offered to her. She wiped her palm on her already geasy pants one more time before taking a firm hold of it and giving a shake.
"I am," Emmett puffed up. Even in a damaged mess, she was still proud of the title. It was her greatest accomplishment, which was probably nothing compared to the person standing beside her.
When reminded of her situation, the blonde frowned. "Yeah, it's just - fuck - I mean. It sucks."
The car that pulled up towards the shop was sleek - it suited the lawyer image, that was for sure. Still disgruntled, Emmett crossed her arms as she waited for the person that would be representing her. Theodora, she was told. What kind of name was that? Admittedly, it sounded professional at the very least. She could only hope this person would be of some help. The mechanic could barely keep up with paperwork for the shop, let alone anything of a larger scale.
Someone very different to the sound of their name stepped out of the car. Eyebrows shot up and her hands dropped to their sides. Although the woman's eyes were shielded by dark glasses, they didn't hide the rest of her stunning features.
"Yeah." A pause. Too casual. "Yes." The mechanic stuck a hand out, only to realize it was covered in engine grease. She quickly dropped it and ran it along her dark jeans. "You're Theodora?"
Her garage - her home - was trashed. What was a weekend trip out of town turned to disaster the moment the mechanic returned home Monday afternoon to find it broken into, covered in abusive language with spray paint.
"Fuck!" She probably had cursed dozens of times, but it still didn't release the bubbling anger inside her chest every time she found a new piece of damaged property. The authorities had already came and gone, and she was now waiting on a lawyer. Emmett wasn't the brightest when it came to any legal matter, but even she knew it was necessary in a hate crime that was clearly labeled in bright red spray paint across the garage doors.
META SCUM.
They - whoever they were - were lucky that Emmett hadn't been home. She would have defended her garage with her life, and she so wished she could take her aggression out on someone. Instead, the already damaged bay door would have to do. The kick hurt her foot, but she did it again for good measure. "Christ!" Shaking hands ran through bright blonde locks as she let out a heavy sigh, turning in time to catch sight of someone pulling in.
A brief kiss had Emmett leaning forward, but instead of stealing her lips for something longer, smart words caught her ears. A verbal repose seemed to sooth the mechanic. Her eyes softened despite the way her chest still burned with every breath that dusted her features from close proximity. Because at the very least, it was a sign that she didn't want to stop. Deb was clever, turning a fast drive back to the garage into something of a challenge was plain smart to make Emmett move.
Her hand dropped, fingertips dragging lightly along the line of Deb's neck before falling into her own lap. Her grin returned to her features with ease. "You gonna show me up again?" She asked, eyebrows shooting up with the idea of driving fast again. "Do it."
Though Emmett loved cars, it was a little uncomfortable working around the middle console. The space left between them was an annoyance, especially when she felt the warm touch of a hand at the back of her head, suggesting she shouldn't pull away. Not that she even considered the idea until a suggestion hit the air. What they should do, and even if they weren't all that far away from her garage, the idea of stopping kissing this girl for long enough to drive back pained her.
"Right." She exhaled heavily the single word. An agreement. Really, it was a good idea, but she couldn't find the strength to move herself back, especially when a hand held her in place. Her fingers brushed through some of her colorful strands of hair, tucking it behind her ear. "We should go." She repeated, but it didn't help her move.
Emmett was proud of her own skills behind a wheel. She could maneuver a car without a breaking a sweat, but that was a rare quality to have. More often than not it got her into trouble or scared people off, yet there was someone in this town that enjoyed the rush all the same, and she was staring at those lips that made her chest tighten. She was like a tease.
Or perhaps not just a tease, because those soft lips pressed against her own again and Emmett gave no time to hesitation. She lifted a hand, fingertips crossing along the length of her jaw before tangling within brightly colored locks just to keep close for as long as her breath could take it. When she drew away, it was only for a moment, because temptation got the better of her as she pressed them against hers once more before opening her eyes again.
