IC CONTACT | Mask or Menace

[animated]

"Hey, you've reached Charlie Maxwell. Leave me a message. Or just text me. I might get back to you faster that way."

Comments

[animated]

Pfft. Well, if you're old and crumbly looking at 46, I'll eat my shoe.

[stealwithit]

[ she laughs softly. ]

We'll see how that turns out. [ it's very likely, after all, that her line of work would put her in a lot of danger. Kasumi actually hasn't thought that far ahead in her life. ]

You know, I don't think I've ever really asked you what that's like--to have an extended lifespan, I mean. You've lived through so much.

[animated]

[ he frowns a little, contemplating the ceiling for a moment ]

I guess I never really thought about it. It's just kind of how it's always been.

Wizards keep to themselves, so like, I lived through World War II, but I wasn't exactly affected by it.

[stealwithit]

--You do realize how strange that sounds, right?

Like, "oh, ho hum, the world is at war, but eh."

[ She chuckles. ] I actually don't think I'd mind being able to live like that, actually. "Oh, ho hum, galactic destruction is upon us, but eh."

[animated]

I was only five at the time, you know.

[stealwithit]

True--well, the grown-ups might have said that.

Did you still look like a newborn baby by the time you were five years old?

[animated]

God, no. We age normally until we hit our twenties, and that's when it slows down.

[stealwithit]

[ She laughs. ] I thought something like that might be the case--I just wanted to make sure.

I bet you were the cutest five-year-old ever.

[animated]

You already got to see me as a ten-year-old. I wasn't much different at five, just smaller.

[stealwithit]

So, that means I'm right, then.

[ a small pause. ]

Hey, Charlie?

[animated]

[ he quirks a brow at her ] Yes?

[stealwithit]

[ is she going for a hug? Yeah, she's gonna go for another hug. ]

Thanks, for this. Listening and all. I... Really appreciate it.

[ what is having friendship feels, really. ]

[animated]

[ Aw. Well, he most certainly hugs her back. ]

Any time. And I mean it.

If you need someone to talk to at three in the morning, don't even hesitate. Just give me a call.

[stealwithit]

You're going to regret that open offer, you know. I'm as much of a night owl as anyone could possibly get to be.

[animated]

Oh nooo, a phone call from my best friend in the middle of the night. What a truly terrible fate. [ the sarcasm there is practically tangible ]

But speaking of, you really should be getting more rest.

[stealwithit]

Cruel, really, and you deserve better. [ Still, she smiles, then looks away, glancing around at his room. ]

Maybe you can lend me a book to read as a bedtime story. Have I mentioned how much I love books? And how much I love that you apparently love them too?

[animated]

I own a bookstore back in my world. Have I not mentioned that?

[stealwithit]

Have you? [ She hums. ] Either way, books.

[animated]

I dunno. I forget what I've told to who sometimes, what with all the new people around.

Anything in particular you like to read?

[stealwithit]

I can see how that might happen.

I love the classics. And romances, mysteries, thrillers... That kind of thing.

[animated]

What qualifies as a "classic" to someone from the future?

[stealwithit]

A lot of the same things, actually. The truly timeless classics, plus a few more here and there from this century.

[animated]

Ah. I guess classics will still be classics, regardless of century.

Hmm. I think I've got mostly newer stuff around, but I'm sure I can find something you'll like.

[stealwithit]

I trust your excellent taste in pretty much everything, Charlie. I'm sure I'll like whatever you recommend.

[animated]

[ He gets up, moving around the room to shuffle through his various piles of books ]

If you want to cry your eyes out, I've got The Fault in Our Stars. I've also got Gone Girl, that's a mystery-thriller kind of a thing.