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A few years ago, a comment like that would have warranted a blush from the brunette. Now, though, she only chuckled. "That's right." It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, she supposed, though, she didn't think it would come to that. The redhead didn't strike her as someone who'd randomly hit on the bartender. If she'd wanted to, she would have done so already.
The brunette's brows furrowed then, green eyes looking over the redhead's face. "Don't say that about yourself." Her voice was a little stricter than intended, but she didn't want anyone talking badly about themselves like that. It wasn't fair. As if the world didn't put enough strain on people - they didn't need to put more by themselves.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Not if you show up like this." Unless she was the kind of person who liked going on dates with people who looked like they should rather be at home, resting. She was hardly the person to ask about these kinds of things, though. Her brother was the one who'd inherited these kinds of notions, after all. She barely understood the concept.
"I'm a terrible liar." She reminded him with a shake of her head. And she didn't exactly feel like lying to their father was the right way to go. He'd much rather appreciate the truth. "And he's not stupid." Though, she said that more to herself than what she did her brother.
Of course, she had a hard time telling her brother no, too. "He'd be madder if he found out himself." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Colby to tell their father, or is she was trying to convince herself from agreeing to keeping it a secret.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Lux had never been one to seek out things in life that made her sad. She wasn't going to dig too deep into the subject he'd offered, but that didn't change the fact that she thought it was terrible. Hopefully, the family would figure out a way to help themselves. Knowing other people, there was likely no one else that would.
"Thank you." She offered, grinning sheepishly.
Taking another bite of the pancakes, she nodded. "That makes you better than most of us." As much as she wanted to say the same, she wasn't sure she could. She wouldn't ever claim to be a particularly judgmental person, but she was skittish. She had a tendency to be afraid of everything she didn't know. Maybe that made her ignorant. She wasn't sure. "I wish more people thought like that."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Fetching a straw at the redhead's request, Lux could only chuckle. This job had helped her in more ways than she cared to admit. She'd never been particularly good at conversing with people and yet, here she was, doing exactly that. She supposed she could only take the good with the bad. This job had taught her a lot.
"You're not so bad." She offered, shrugging. After all, she could have behaved much worse, and Lux happened to like this person. She was nice, a bit of a mess and there was this trait she had that made Lux feel drawn towards her. Almost motherly, in a sense. She liked that.
"At least you're not trying to bed me for the night." She added, smiling.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
The brunette remained silent as her brother told her about what had happened. It was clear that he'd much rather have her let it go, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. He might be considered an adult, but he was still, and would always be, her baby brother. She'd never stop worrying about him.
With one hand still holding the ice over his, she lifted her free hand. Ruffling her younger brother's hair, she issued a low sigh. How could she possibly be angry over something like that? Yes, it was stupid of him to get involved, but his motive had been pure.
"So, she was cute, huh?" A small smile formed on her lips at that. Her expression grew somber again. "You do know you're going to have to tell dad about this?" It wasn't as if their father wouldn't notice that his son looked like he'd gotten beaten up, after all.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
He'd made a valid point. Even if she'd wanted to, which she didn't, she didn't have anything to say that'd counter his point.
"It doesn't have to be." In this case, she supposed it wasn't. It was different, though. "And it isn't." She added, more for his sake than for her own. "It's just something... new to get used to."
Genuine sadness colored the brunette's eyes at that. "Oh, that's so sad." She rarely, if ever, involved herself with politics. She wished she had more of an interest in it, and a talent, like this gentleman, where she could potentially help. Or at the very least, allow people to share their stories. "Well, you can't really blame people for being afraid of us." She offered, looking down at her pancakes. "Wouldn't you have been, if you were in their shoes?" Lux had grown up around mutants, but even to this day, she found herself backstepping whenever she came across someone who had the ability to create fire out of seemingly thin air.
A smile formed on the brunette's lips. "Try mixing it with the bacon. The mix of sweet and salty makes the entire dish." Of course, that was just her personal preference. Most people who came here to eat, ordered the dish without the bacon. She couldn't understand why, but to each their own.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
It was such a quick change of pace; The girl had seemed so eager to hold her cards against her chest. Or so it seemed. She was more willing to offer more of herself now. Of course, that was often the norm when it came to alcohol.
She filled a small mug with water, put some ice in it and dropped some slices of lemon into it as well. She placed it on the bar top. She wasn't going to comment on it further; The redhead was an adult and could do with the water as she pleased.
The question had her pausing, though, brows furrowing in thought. "I don't think I'd go so far as calling it harassment. I mean, people flirt, but that's to be expected." She gestured towards the safe barrier of the bar top, then. After all, it usually stopped anyone from making her feel too uncomfortable.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Putting the coffee can down on the table, Luxanna moved her hands to her apron, fiddling with it. It was a bad habit - she didn't know what else to do with her hands. At least the girl seemed nice. Nicer than she remembered, but that was hardly fair. At least four years had passed since she'd seen the other brunette and four years was a lot of time for someone to change.
"Beats the alternative." She offered with a simple shrug. "Did you just move back?" She asked, head tilting. She couldn't remember seeing her around before, but then again, Luxanna hadn't been part of the school for the past two or so years, so she could easily have missed the brunette. Especially as their only common friend had moved away after graduation.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She should have scolded him more. She probably should have outed his position the very moment he'd been trying to hide from the trouble he'd undoubtedly been a part of causing, but try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to. She should have been madder, too. But he was her brother. Her younger brother. She didn't think she'd ever stop feeling protective of him, and if the roles had been reversed, she took great comfort in knowing he'd take care of her the same way.
She looked at him for a moment; She could see a lot of her own personality in him. Or maybe she'd been the one mimicking his for all these years. Maybe they'd both gotten their inability to admit how hurt they really were from their parents. It didn't really matter, but it caused a small smile to form on her lips. "Just because you've had worse, it doesn't mean it's not bad." Letting go of his hand, she reached for a cloth and moved towards the ice machine.
Filling the cloth with ice, she offered the other bartenders an apologetic smile. She knew they wouldn't sell her brother out. They were good people, after all. Returning to her brother's side, she took hold of his hand once more. "This might sting a bit, but it'll help with the swelling." She said before placing the cloth filled with ice against his sore knuckles.
"What happened?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She could only smile at that: He made a fair point, after all. "Fine." She simply said, head shaking. She could hardly fault him for it. In truth, she liked him better this way. She couldn't really picture him acting like what society deemed to be a proper adult.
Her dad wasn't the kind of person Lux would ever tell someone not to be themselves around. He was understanding, though, she knew a whole different side to him than most did. He, like everyone else, had a professional side. "I'm sure you'll be fine." She offered with a chuckle. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"Oh yeah?" She asked, genuinely curious. "If her being a 'hands-on kinda girl' is the first description that pops into mind, I'm not sure she's dinner material." She wondered if he really talked about all the girls in his life that way. She wasn't about to reprimand him for objectifying girls that way, of course, but it was... Well, it didn't matter.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
The two seemed to settle into a comfortable silence. That was often what happened - she had never been good at carrying a conversation and he was rarely one to force one. Not for long, at least.
But then he spoke. Green eyes shifted to the side. Studying him. Did she expect a laugh? A smile? Anything that would indicate him joking? Perhaps. But then again, he wouldn't joke about that.
She didn't give herself a moment to think about it; "Yeah."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Whatever you say." She chuckled. Pasta was fine, sure, but there was a million of other dishes she could list that was both healthier and better. She was never one to argue, though and simply shrugged. If he wanted pasta, she could make pasta. At least it didn't take a lot of effort on her part.
Again, the brunette laughed. "You're supposed to be the adult here." She reminded him. Though, she supposed it was nice to see him still carrying a childlike youth. It was a trait she hoped he would never lose.
"You're probably right." She agreed with a simple nod. "I'll see if dad and Colby are around, too." She wasn't sure if either of them would be home, but she wasn't about to throw them out if they were, either. "Anyone else you want on the guest list?" She asked, leaning forward. "A lady friend?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Lifting her gaze, green eyes locked upon very familiar blue ones. She was surprised to see her underage brother in a bar, though, before she was able to voice that, he moved towards her, seemingly hiding from someone. She looked towards the door and her eyes narrowed. "Not again." She said with an exasperated sigh.
Waving the other bartenders off, signaling that she would handle it, she looked down at her brother. "What did you do?" She didn't dare keep her gaze at him too long, less the clearly angry group of people would find him. She might not have agreed with his actions, but she wasn't so cruel she wanted him to end up in more trouble than what he clearly was already.
Waiting until they looked away, the brunette dropped down to sit beside her brother, taking his damaged hand in hers.
