Girl Talk

[Zuka]

A small heh came from Zuka when Neva explained that she had been trying to get Teo out of his cave. That was unlikely. There were times when they had to go make wellness checks on the guy when no one heard from him because he would work for days straight. Neva had a better chance at winning the lottery instead. The small heh turned into a snort at the mention of Teo not having set himself on fire yet. ”I’m honestly surprised that hasn’t happened yet.” Zuka took another sip and had a after thought ’but give it time and I’m sure you’ll get your chance.”

Neva’s comment about how it would take awhile to happen put an idea in Zuka’s mind. The real challenge would be if you could get him and Kenji out at the same time.” The two of them were all work work work and while Zuka’s work (both in and out of the mask) was important to her she knew when to cut loose.

It took a moment for Zuka to realize that she had brought Kenji up as she had tried to avoid talking about the subject of him as much as she could around Neva given her earlier line of relentless questions. Zuka didn’t say or do anything outwardly but she wondered if it was safe to talk about him yet, if Neva had given up on her quest.

When she was asked if anything new was going on in her life Zuka thought that maybe she might be in the clear given the fact that Neva didn’t jump at the opportunity to pry more. ”Not really” Zuka said with a shrug ”my times been pretty occupied” It was quite the balancing act trying to keep all of her secret lives separate.

[Neva]

“The real challenge would be if you could get him and Kenji out at the same time.”

Now that made her a little hopeful. Zuka voluntarily talking about Kenji was a first for her lately, as she’d pointedly avoided that at all costs. Maybe she was finally going to tell her what was going on, and then Neva wouldn’t have to resort to drastic measures to try and pry it out of her. She shook her head, “That’s one challenge I don’t think I’m ready to take on yet.”

She waited for Zuka’s answer to her next question, getting ready for Zuka to give her something to work with. Instead, she shrugged it off with a generic response. The hope left Neva; there was no way that Zuka was going to budge on her own. Try as she might to give Zuka the chance to tell her, it would never happen at this rate.

Well, time for Plan B.

“You’ve got a packed schedule that’s for sure,” Neva agreed, drinking the last bit that was in her glass. She reached for the bottle to add more and then paused, looking down in her glass. Angling it in the light and tipping it more towards her, she frowned. “There’s a crack in this glass. Hang on, I’m going to get another.”

Neva stood from the chair, taking the glass with her and moving across the room to the door. She opened it and stepped out halfway, looking down into the empty hallway. Then she stopped, backing up as if she was going to let someone through and said with surprise, “Oh, Kenji! What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were stopping in.”

All the while she kept herself positioned so that she could see Zuka’s reaction from her peripheral vision, waiting to see what that comment evoked.

[Zuka]

Zuka just slowly nodded her head in understanding. Kenji was a handful if you didn’t know how to navigate him and Neva had not been working with him long enough to know the ins and outs when it came to Kenji. Hell, Zuka still struggled with it from time to time.

You’ve got a packed schedule that’s for sure”

”That’s a understatement” There was always something going on. Zuka didn’t mind..most of the time but it was always one thing right after the other. At least life was never dull. The mention of there being a crack in her glass made Zuka frown a little and she put a note in the back of her mind to replace that glass later. A crack was no good. While Neva got up to go get another glass Zuka started taking a drink from hers.

”Oh Kenji! What are you doing here?”

The surprise caught her off guard and Zuka nearly choked on her liquor. The liquid shot to the back of her throat and some up her nose where it burned and she began to cough to try to clear it from her lungs. What was he doing here now?! Zuka thought he said he had a case he was working on and would be busy most of the day.

Zuka kept coughing, lightly hitting her chest to get it to pass faster and once it did she set the glass down. That was enough of that right now and she had to try to recover to make it look a little less suspicious ’went down the wrong pipe” she said, trying to play it off.

[Neva]

Neva had not been sure going into this what type of reaction she was looking for. But Zuka choking on her drink from what appeared to be her being caught off guard told her exactly what she needed. Had there been nothing, Neva would have been inclined to let it go. But this told her that she definitely wasn't going crazy. On some level, she'd been right.

"Aha!" Neva said as she looked fully in Zuka's direction, "I knew it!"

She pulled the door shut behind her and went back over to the desk, dropping into her seat and fixing Zuka with a look that said she was not letting it go like she had been. Whatever Zuka was about to do when she inevitably realized that Neva had purposefully given her a scare, she braced herself for. But she wasn't backing down this time.

"You've been acting strange ever since I got back," Neva said with her eyes narrowed, frowning. "Specifically with Kenji. And you can't tell me I'm being ridiculous."

She'd have none of that when clearly she was more on the right path than ever. "Spill. What is going on with you two?"

[Zuka]

Zuka realized she had been tricked the moment she heard a ‘a-ha!’ from Neva. It had all been a trick to get her to react and Zuka had fallen for it. Ugh, that sneaky little-. The radio silence on the subject had just been a rouse to try to give her a false sense of security. Here she was thinking that Neva had finally let the topic go but how wrong she was.

As Neva shut the door and sat back in the seat and gave her that ‘look’ Zuka knew she was done for. The only way to avoid this now would be to get up and leave but that would just egg Neva on more. ”Nothing” Zuka insisted ”I don’t know why you keep insisting that something is going on.” Maybe if she tried to play it off, try to detour away from her obvious slip up that it would make this all go away. Zuka knew that was unlikely, she might be able to lie well but she wasn’t anything on like Kenjis level and she was sure the liquor wasn’t helping.

Wait a minute…

”You did all of this” Zuka motioned to her glass and the bottle ”just so you could get something out of me?” Neva really tried to get Zuka drinking so she would be easier to pry information out of? She’d almost be proud if she wasn’t embarrassed that it had nearly worked.

[Neva]

Nothing? Really? Neva raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Zuka, crossing her arms. She had to realize by now that that wasn’t going to work, and that Neva wasn’t going to listen to that for a second. If there wasn’t anything happening, she wouldn’t be suspicious in the first place. This just further proved her point. She gestured to Zuka, motioning her hand up and down, “This is why I’m insisting.”

“You did all of this just so you could get something out of me?”

“I had to take drastic measures,” Neva answered. She felt a little guilty about it, she really did. Neva did not enjoy being dishonest, and trickery wasn’t her forte. But, it had been necessary. “Between you avoiding me and my direct questions, I was out of options. And you obviously weren’t going to tell me straight.”

She leaned back a little, keeping her arms crossed. “Which I have noticed all of those things. The more you deny it, the less convinced I am that something is up. So, what is it?”

Neva paused, and then, because she did feel bad and was concerned, added, “Is it honestly so bad that you can’t tell me?”

[Zuka]

”This is why I’m insisting”

Neva motioned in her general direction and Zuka chewed on her lip slightly. In all of her trying to act like nothing was different she had done the opposite it seemed. Neva wasn’t going to let this go and seeing how far she had been willing to go today she only imagined that it would get that much worse if her and Kenji kept up the secrecy.

Zuka gave a exasperated sigh and flopped back into the chair. Eventually they knew their luck was going to run out but Zuka had been enjoying the sneaking around and wanted it to last a little bit longer. Guess their time was up though.

”I wouldn’t call it bad….” Zuka said tentatively. It wasn’t bad. Ok, so maybe when it first happened Zuka thought it was a horrible idea but the longer things went on the more right it started to feel. ”Just…complicated.” Maybe that would be enough to slate Nevas curiosity on the subject. Doubtful but she could hope.

[Neva]

Okay, so she certainly wasn’t going to be hearing bad news then. That was better than nothing. Zuka was giving in slowly, but Neva could tell she was holding out hope that the vague responses would be enough to satiate her curiosity. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to stop her. Neva was in far too deep now to quit. She’d gotten farther than ever, and that only encouraged her to keep pressing for more.

“I’m used to hearing about complicated,” Neva answered. Since she met Zuka, she had to admit that nothing was ever simple. She didn’t mind of course. Neva had never been one to take the easy path, anyways. It only prepared her more for situations like this. Except this time around, Zuka didn't exactly want to tell her about whatever was going on. That made it a little more difficult to hear about it. “How complicated can it be compared to everything else?”

Part of her really wanted to take a guess, but Neva wasn’t sure what she’d even attempt to guess at this point. And suspicion wasn’t enough to go off of. Right now she’d just have to try and prompt Zuka to say it. She held her hands out as if weighing the options. “If it isn’t bad, it has to be good in some way, right?”

[Zuka]

She really wasn’t going to give this up, was she? Neva had to know, or at least have an idea and if not Zuka was sure she could easily piece together the pieces and figure it out herself but nooo. Neva wanted her to come out right and say it.

How complicated can it be?” Zuka snorted a little

Complicated. Trust me.” Ugh, this was stupid she should just come out and tell her. Neva was her friend and this is what friends did but…she also made a promise to Kenji to keep her mouth shut.

With a big sigh Zuka shifted in her chair to get more comfortable and looked across the desk at Neva. ’Look, I can’t tell you. There are a lot of reasons why but I just cant.” before Neva could try to push for more details Zuka added ”but, if you guess…then theres nothing I can do to stop you.” It would take some of the blame off of her when word made it back to Kenji, could say Neva took a lucky guess and leave it at that.

[Neva]

Right when Neva thought she had Zuka on the edge of admitting, her friend still refused to say it. Honestly, she shouldn’t have been surprised. It took a lot to get anything out of Zuka, and she definitely wasn’t budging on this one. It looked like she had no choice but to guess after all.

She could do this. No harm in taking a shot at this point, especially with Zuka’s permission. Neva hummed to herself before she held up her fingers, ticking off each of her points as she thought it through out loud. “Well, we’ve got you avoiding any mention of Kenji, being weird whenever he’s brought up, you conveniently missing at times, and being secretive about anything about either of you…”

Of course all of this had an inkling of an idea in the back of her mind, but Neva hadn’t wanted to assume it. That was a strong kind assumption to make, even if she was suspicious. But, since Zuka refused to say it herself, Neva would have to go with what her instincts, and all the evidence, told her.

She looked at Zuka suspiciously, still opting to state her response as a question. Even if Zuka wouldn’t give her a straight yes or no, Neva hoped her reaction would tell her the answer. “I’m convinced that there is something going on between you. Did you two get together?”

[Zuka]

Zuka rolled her eyes slightly as Neva listed off all of the things that she had done that made her look suspicious. Neva had a point, Zuka could have handled this all much better but...this was all kind of new to her. Zuka had been in relationships in the past, a few of them but they had all been fleeting. Everything had been short term or just to get her kicks and Zuka wanted more out of this one and she wanted to keep it to herself for as long as she could. She really shot herself in the foot with this one. In all her attempts to keep it secret she had just been waving big flashing signs and Neva had picked up on them all.

When Neva finally came to her grand conclusion and asked if she and Kenji had gotten together Zuka chewed on her lip. She did tell Neva that if she could guess then she would tell her and she had but... Even if she hadn't given a definite yer or no Zuka was sure Neva would take that as a 'yes' "Well..."

[Neva]

Neva grinned, her eyes lighting up. Zuka didn't have to say yes, she knew that she'd gotten it right. She leaned forwards excitedly, her hands on the desk, "You did! You are together!" 

This was something that Neva had been waiting for since...she couldn't even remember the first time she had the suspicion. Ever since Zuka had first started talking to her about Kenji, back when they were constantly at odds with one another. Neva had been waiting for something to happen between them, but as time went by and there was still nothing, she stopped estimating when. They were both stubborn and Neva knew it would take a lot to get either of them to make a move. So while she'd wondered and considered if and when there would be something between them, she certainly hadn't seen it coming now. 

She knew Zuka had given her what she wanted and that she should stop. But this was big news, probably the biggest news of their personal lives in a long time. And Neva couldn't resist asking questions. She sat forwards, arms on the desk. "Okay, I know I'm pestering you but I have to ask. How?"

[Zuka]

Neva's face instantly lit up once she had her conformation about her and Kenji and Zuka tried to fight back her own smile, biting her lip harder to keep it under control. Now that it was out Zuka felt a little better, she didn't have to keep lying to Neva or trying to avoid her..which had sucked. Neva was her friend and not talking to her out of fear of her interrogations had made things difficult.

"How?"

Of course she would want to know the details, if the situation was reversed Zuka would have been prying and poking for all the details she could as well. With a large sigh Zuka finally gave in, they had gotten this far might as well dish on all the events that lead to this point. "It's a long story. A story that does not leave this room." Zuka looked at Neva pointedly, she was sure the urge to tell others would be there but this was all between them. A lot had happened to get them to this point "when you were gone we were following a lead and Kenji was using me to try to charm his informant" Zuka explained how the guy never showed up, how they ended up staying and drinking anyway and all the events that led up to the bar fight. "We tried leaving the bar before we got pulled in but as we were walking out I got grabbed and..things just kinda went downhill from there. That's how Kenji got stabbed. Broken bottle."

Zuka paused there to let Neva soak it all in for now. The next part would be all the good details that she was sure Neva was dying for and given everything that she had done to try to get Zuka to spill the beans she didn't mind making Neva wait a little for them.

[Neva]

Neva held up her right hand, one hand over her heart. "I swear the story stays between us."

Contrary to her nosiness, Neva was very good at keeping secrets. She'd kept plenty after all, so as exciting as this was she could keep the details to herself. Besides, this was a typical girl conversation. There was no one she would go and tell everything to. Sure, she would mention to Teo that Kenji and Zuka were finally together, but that was only to keep him in the know. Otherwise he'd be oblivious for months, if not longer. And she trusted he would take the information, tuck it away, and probably never mention it. 

The details would stay in the room, as promised.

She listened to Zuka's story eagerly, even as she took her time getting to the good parts. But, Neva had waited this long, and even though she was dying to know, she reminded herself to be patient. Zuka could drag it out all she wanted; Neva knew this was a small bit of payback for being a nuisance. 

"I was wondering how that happened," Neva mused. She hadn't asked because she was used to seeing cuts and gashes on both Zuka and Kenji. And while sometimes she asked to start conversation, the two of them had been acting strange that day and the thought to inquire about it had slipped her mind.

At the pause Neva let it go on, and then when Zuka seemed to be letting it draw out she let her eagerness show, asking, "And then?"

[Zuka]

"And then Zuka started again "I took him back to my place to try to patch him up. I did what I could but I'm no healer so after cleaning his shoulder I did a patch job on it and decided after the night we had that we could use more drinks. It was still pouring out and I knew Kenji was probably going to need more healing the morning so I told him to stay....on the couch." She made sure to add. Zuka explained it all to Neva, how the two of them kept coming back to the old man at the bar and what he said, the awkward exchanges "Things were so awkward. It was like both of us wanted to make the first move but no one did. Eventually I got up and went to bed, figuring that the feelings would pass like they always did."

Zuka told Neva about how when she walked out to go back to the living room to make her move Kenji had been coming to her and they both just awkwardly stood there "Oh Neva, it was so awful!" Zuka put her face in her hands at the memory "I had been so ready to just go to him but as soon as I saw him coming for me I completely chickened out. I told him that I forgot my glass. I went and grabbed it and ran back to my room." Saying it outloud made it sound that much more awful and Zuka was almost embarrassed saying it.

"I sat in my room trying to psych myself up and when I finally got the courage to go back out there I opened the door and Kenji was on the other side and well...Things just kind of went from there" There, it was all the good details she had on how. IF Neva wanted more things she was going to have to ask for them.