Second Floor Common Room: Monday Afternoon

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine had a Really Useful Book. Unfortunately, the fact that its only page was a snippet about remembering the things one's mother had said made the aforementioned Really Useful Book... somewhat less than useful. This had to be rectified. It was high time the book got some new pages.

Therefore, Valentine was flipping through television stations, listening to snippets from daytime soaps and trying to pick out anything that might be considered good advice. Clearly, he needed some assistance. The book was looking scared.

(Open!)

Comments

[the_merriest]

Rikku stopped in the doorway. She'd been wandering elsewhere, but she'd poked her head in just to see if she could recognize anyone.

She blinked before breaking into a grin. "Valentine!?"

[dark_slippy_thing]

There was a blinking, grinning someone in the doorway, who apparently knew him, or something of the like. Perhaps his reputation preceded him. Perhaps he really was just that bad with maskless faces.

Whatever the case might have been, he found himself grinning back.

"Person! Who... I should know?"

[the_merriest]

"It can't be you," she said, shaking her head. "Are you still sixteen, then?"

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine would have arched an eyebrow at the woman, if it was possible at all for him to do so.

"To the extent of my knowledge, I've been eighteen since February, and I've been me my entire life. Should I be otherwise?"

[the_merriest]

"You're eighteen?" Rikku stopped to think. "That's right, you did graduate earlier than I did. It's been so long. Would it kill you to write? But if you're still you, I can't yell at you about that."

She laughed again. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"Valentine!" Jack thundered. "You juggler!"

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine suddenly found himself vaguely paranoid that he might stop being himself at any given moment.

This was Fandom. It had happened before.

"I haven't the faintest clue," he confessed.

[dark_slippy_thing]

"Yes, yes I am?" Valentine glanced up, turning the television off so that nobody would catch him paying close attention to a particularly twisted episode of meta for Passions.

"So nice of you to be aware of this?"

[the_merriest]

"You aren't back for the reunion, then?" She gave him a curious glance. "You hadn't noticed, lots of people suddenly being twenty years older than you remembered them?"

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"You've thrown enough crap at me for me to remember," he said, picking up a couch pillow and flinging it at that masked man that masked man.

Ooh, metaPassions.

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine shook his head and stared somewhat dumbly at the woman for a moment.

"Naminé and I got back from France yesterday, went out for dinner, and called it tonight. This is the first I've been out today, and you're the first person I've seen since we returned. Which, once again begs the question... Do I know you?"

[dark_slippy_thing]

There was a couch pillow being thrown at him.

This, of course, necessitated Valentine catching it and staring at the man.

...

And then throwing the remote control back at him. Because it really seemed the thing to do at the time.

"What the bloody hell was that for?!"

[the_merriest]

Rikku smiled. "All right. Fandom's being strange again. Some of us are here for a school reunion, and some of you never left, and no one's sure which group is the one Fandom's being weird with. And you knew me when I was your age, much more hyper and inclined to wear crazier outfits than this, although I've still got the crazy urge to hug people uncontrollably. You should watch out for that."

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"I don't know!" he said, catching the remote and throwing it back at Valentine. "You kept doing this for months! Just throwing crap at me!"

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine was now concerned that he would both stop being himself at any moment and that he might get a flying tackleglomp from the woman who could only be...

"Rikku?" He had to stand up and turn around to actually get a better look now. Blond. Wears a good deal of orange. Really, there wasn't anyone else it possibly could be. "Knowing Fandom, I'd have to put my bet on 'it is messing with both groups,' really."

[dark_slippy_thing]

"Well, you seem to be catching it. And throwing it back!"

Valentine caught the remote, grabbed the TV. Guide, and threw both back at the man, one after the other. That ought to show him.

[the_merriest]

"Look at you," she said, folding her arms and restraining herself from tackleglomping rather valiantly. "I can't quite get my mind around you. I'd ask how you've been but I suppose I already know that. Knew that. Valentine."

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine was going to look down at himself, to ensure that he was still there.

Okay, good.

"How have... you... been?" That wasn't quite right if she was from the future, was it? "How have you... will be?" That didn't even make sense. "How are you, then?"

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack caught both, in succession, and flung them back at the instigator. "So there!" Becuase he was mature.

[dark_slippy_thing]

So very mature. Valentine was shocked and astounded by this man's spectacular sense of maturity.

Which is why he caught and juggled the book and remote, and then grabbed a very distressed Really Useful Book, threw that at the strange individual, and then followed it up with the other two items he had just caught.

He'd make it up to the book later, perhaps.

[the_merriest]

"I'm good," she said with a smile. "I'm very good. I'm flitting around doing crazy and dangerous things as usual, although I'm in semi-retirement at the moment. Just until the kids are a little older."

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

"Well, there's a face I haven't seen in ages," Sokka chuckled, as he walked into the Common Room. "The great director Valenteen! How has life been treating you?"

[dark_slippy_thing]

"Kids. Older. Your kids? You have kids? And they will someday be older?"

Valentine's brain wasn't breaking too terribly. Really.

[dark_slippy_thing]

Valentine had a feeling that this was a face that he hadn't seen for reasons of twenty years that were currently scrambling his brain somewhat.

"Life has been--" Valentine paused and leaned forward to scrutinize the man standing before him. "Decidedly more short than yours has been at this point, I imagine? As I haven't graduated yet, and whoever you are, you seem to have been there, and done that?"

[the_merriest]

"Kids do that," she said with a smile. "They grow up on you. Yes, I have two. No, they're not as bad as I keep saying they are. Yes, this is just as strange for me as it is for you, but I'm a mom now. I can take a lot of things and not look fazed. See, I'm even not hugging you."