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]

[ he will admit it's... really good to hear Peter's voice. ]

Has she sworn me to an oath of secrecy about what? She's god a lot of secrets, you know.

[nostalgiabomb]

About her birthday, duh. The day of her birth. I know you've probably had so many they kinda blur together, but it's that day that most Terrans celebrate with cake and candles or whatever?

You think she was born with the hood on?

[animated]

Don't "duh" me. You in no way tied those two statements together.

And no, she hasn't, because I don't know when it is.

[ thaaaat is a lie, but Charlie figures Kasumi wouldn't want to spread that information around. And he doesn't know if she even remembers blurting it out at him when they were kids. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ he lets out a whistle. ] Someone woke up on the wrong side'a the bed today.

And alright, was worth a shot. Her buddy was asking -- the dude she threw that party for a while back.

[animated]

Hey, I'm just saying. When you've got a friend whose business is secrets, you just need to be a little more specific about which secrets.

Oh. Uh. Speaking of birthdays, you feeling up to social interaction?

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah, figured it was worth a try, seein' as how you're her bestie or whatever. Her friend was just lookin' to repay the favor of the party she threw him, I guess?

[ ... that's. weird. ]

Uh, what did you have in mind?

[animated]

We're throwing a party for me and Ken this weekend. I was wondering if you wanted to come.

[nostalgiabomb]

This weekend?

[ ... it's. Too soon, he thinks. And he shifts the device from one ear to the other to hide the way he swallows thickly. ]

Not sure if that's a great time for me, actually. [ He says it smoothly enough, no hint of his nervousness at the thought of being in close quarters with Charlie again slipping through. He did, after all, spend a decent amount of time playing a conman. ] You got a time?

[animated]

Pretty much all day. It's gonna be a barbecue kind of a thing. But don't feel obligated to come.

[ Charlie still doesn't know what kind of toll that took on their friendship, or if Peter will ever want to see him again. He doesn't want to push- in his right mind or no, Charlie did stab the guy- but he figured he'd at least offer. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

I appreciate the offer. I'll-- see if I can shift something around.

[ Charlie's not the only one to tell lies this conversation. Peter's just not going to show up. Make excuses after the fact. ]

How old are you gonna be, anyway? Five hundred?

[animated]

And here come the age jokes. I was wondering when they were gonna surface.

[nostalgiabomb]

Six hundred, then.

[animated]

Eighty-one, thanks.

[nostalgiabomb]

What about Ken? Six?

[animated]

Try twelve.

Numbers really aren't your thing, are they?

[nostalgiabomb]

Terran ages aren't my thing. I add two and two and get twenty six, just like everyone else, bro.

[animated]

No, I uh. I think you might be alone in that one.

[nostalgiabomb]

Really? Coulda sworn that was pretty universal.

[animated]

Maybe just on your end of the galaxy.

[nostalgiabomb]

I mean, math on Earth is kinda primitive.

[animated]

What, do you use hyper-advanced space math or something?

[nostalgiabomb]

I mean, yeah. As if there were any better types of math.

[animated]

Yeah, yeah. Keep your multimodal reflection sorting to yourself. I'll stick with normal people math.

[nostalgiabomb]

Unimaginative, but to each their own.

So when's your birthday actually?

[animated]

If I'm being honest, I don't actually know enough math terminology to make up anything of my own.

It's the 21st.