nexus_crossings | Now you're just somebody that I used to know.

Now you're just somebody that I used to know.

Adia is sitting at a computer terminal in the Plaza with a pint of cookie dough ice cream and a carton of boxed wine, watching cute animal videos online and occasionally wiping at her red-rimmed eyes with the back of her hand.

It's every bad break-up cliché, but Adia does not care. After recently experiencing the (second) worst day of life, she needs a break. And unfortunately, the only place she can get that is the Nexus.

She clicks on a thumbnail of a hamster eating a tiny burrito and takes a swig of wine while it loads. "How do you get over someone," she asks the Nexus unhappily, "When they've clearly gotten over you?"

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In the time it takes Adia to respond and start her walk to the cafe, 'Josh' has been thinking about what he's done: the potential consequences of his actions. Can he tell Adia that his voice was being altered by a filter? Is it really the right time to reveal that he's a serial killer game show host? There's a voice in the back of his mind reminding him of the truth.

She'll hate you forever. She won't forgive you for your choices.

He's seated at the back of the cafe, but quickly stands and packs up his laptop. Hastily, he drops enough money on the table for his coffee, then heads for the front door with all his belongings. He's a coward and can't face the truth just yet.

The timing is almost on point: he manages to flip up the hood on his jacket and head out the door mere seconds before Adia steps up to the entrance. He conceals himself by slipping into a large group of teenagers (with attitude) who happen to be leaving at the same time, and once he's well out of view of the cafe, he's briskly walking away by himself.

As for the cafe, it's busy like usual, but most customers are leaving after the mid-day food rush. The pastry counter is where most of the action is right now, as groups of people and children are seated there, watching Katsuya perform his cooking magic. Even though she isn't visible, it's safe to assume Radio is in the back, micro-managing the bills like always. Ice Bear, meanwhile, is shifting between picking up bills and supervising some part time help who manage the cleaning.

He's also the somewhat attentive door greeter, so when Adia comes in, Ice Bear turns to look while putting away some money.

((thank you! ^_^))

Edited 2017-03-12 16:32 (UTC)

Adia pays the group of people leaving little mind, waiting patiently for the door to clear so she can enter the cafe. Perhaps Josh will find out who hurt her another time and plan his revenge accordingly, although he might very well meet his match if the opportunity ever arises. The Cylons have far, far higher a body count.

Taking a bleary look around, she suddenly feels very vulnerable and out of place. There are happy families here enjoying good food and the cheerful atmosphere. She must look like some sort of drunk vagrant. She hurriedly throws the empty ice cream pint into the closest trash can, followed by the mostly empty carton of wine. Then she thinks about leaving, but by then Ice Bear has seen her, so she freezes in place and gives him a small, embarrassed wave.

If he knew the truth, revenge might easy go by the wayside. If he can't even face one woman and reveal who he really is inside, then fighting against the Cylons is impossible.

Ice Bear, meanwhile, shuts the register drawer and walks over to the entrance. Oh! It's Adia, so his attentiveness is up more than usual. Although, he's a very observant bear and notices that something is wrong. Really wrong. Instead of calling Adia out on it right now, Ice Bear politely bows to her instead.

"Ice Bear welcomes you to Crossroads Cafe, Adia."

He's going to do the gentle-bear thing and offer her a paw. "Please let Ice Bear get you seated." Regardless on whether or not she takes his paw, Ice Bear will happily lead her to a table in the back, so they can talk in due time. He catches the scent of wine, which makes his black nose twitch every few seconds.

"Ice Bear will get you some water, if Adia is okay with that."

Edited (bears do not have hands lol) 2017-03-12 17:00 (UTC)

"Hi, Ice Bear." She returns his bow with a shaky smile, afraid if she says much more, she'll start crying. She blinks at the offered paw before accepting it gratefully. A table in the back is exactly what she needs, away from the other customers who don't need her sorry mess as an unwelcome distraction.

Once she's seated, she lets go of his paw and folds her hands stiffly in her lap, trying to be as meek and unobtrusive as possible. "That would be nice, thank you." Her mouth is parched and sticky from all that wine and ice cream.

"No trouble at all."

Adia's look reminds him of Han Solo a few months back, who partook in Ice Bear's cooking in order to feel better after drinking. The bear hopes that Adia has no allergies, as he walks back to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. It takes him a few minutes, but he comes back out to the table with the drink, he's also carrying a steaming bowl.

"Here. Adia should eat something. Ice Bear's specialty after drinking."

He places both items on the table, leaving Adia to stare at the warm bowl of ramen, filled with different ingredients. The salty pork broth, wavy noodles and soft boiled egg blend well with slices of pork and scallions. It's a dish that Ice Bear has to keep ready in the cafe, as many people ask for it daily.

"Please let Ice Bear know how it tastes." Thankfully, he's left her with a fork and large ladled spoon for eating said noodles, instead of complicated chopsticks.

Adia sits with her head bowed, not making a sound other than a quiet sniffle here and there. With no one to talk to and no cute animal videos to distract her, she has only her heartbreak for company.

What's going to happen when she returns to New Caprica? How will she learn to move past the pain of being pushed away by the one person who understood her best?

And then Ice Bear returns and there is suddenly a bowl of the most delicious soup Adia has ever seen. The steam wafts up to her face along with the savory smell of the broth, and she leans forward despite herself to inhale its warmth.

She looks at Ice Bear, who is essentially a cute animal video come to life. "For me?" she asks in disbelief. She gingerly uses the fork to pull up several strands of noodles. She blows on them to cool them, then takes a bite, delicately slurping them into her mouth.

Her eyes fill with tears. It tastes even better than it looks. She doesn't know if she'll be able to finish it, and that fills her with intense regret. "It's very good," she says after swallowing. She cries silently while forking up some pork and a bit of egg. "It's very, very good. Thank you."

Thankfully, no one in the cafe seems to care about how Adia looks, given most of their attention is elsewhere. Probably for the best, given all the things she's been through.

Ice Bear is a gentle soul, much better than all those internet meme animals by a long shot. He takes a seat across from Adia and merely puts his paws in his lap. He politely watches her eat his homemade ramen, nodding his head yes to her question.Seeing Adia become happy gets a smile from Ice. "Food heals the soul, body and mind. Take your time, Adia. Ice Bear will look after you." He won't force her into anything, just lets her eat in peace, attentive and eager to give Adia anything she needs.

"Ice Bear was not expecting to see you here today, but Ice Bear always enjoys Adia's company."

Adia wipes at her face in between bites of noodles and hot spoonfuls of broth. She'd probably benefit from a napkin, but otherwise she is oddly content. Ice Bear is right, food heals the soul, or at least settles her nerves. For a long time she doesn't say anything, simply eats the soup and lets her friend fill the silence with his warm and fuzzy presence.

She manages to eat nearly all of it, just a few lonely scallions and noodle bits floating in the broth. Setting down the spoon for the last time, she looks at Ice Bear in gratitude. "Thank you," she murmurs. "That was the first good meal I've had in a long time."

It takes a moment or two, but Ice Bear's words finally register. "You weren't? But... but I thought you texted me..." She trails off, confused, wondering if she misread the texts, then blushes with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dropped in unannounced. Especially like this."

Oops. Ice Bear hastily offers Adia a cloth napkin, borrowed from another empty table, and offers it to her. Getting caught offguard is simply something Ice is not proud of and there's some redness in his fur/cheeks. He just sits there, occasionally getting up to fill Adia's glass if it gets close to being empty.

"Good. Ice Bear is happy that Adia is happy." Awww. He smiles and nods to her in his usual polite manner. He's about to take the bowl back to the kitchen, but stops when Adia speaks up. Cue the turn of the head, trying to make sense of her words. "Ice Bear has been too busy for texting." The second comment gets him to frown. "Ice Bear would never be inconvenienced by Adia. Especially not while at work."

He will need to step away from the table in order to pick up a few tables and retrieve money, so hopefully Adia doesn't mind that. "Ice Bear would like to get Adia dessert. Would Adia like something?" He's going to wait until he gets an answer before leaving the table.

Adia wipes at her face with the napkin, finally looking a little more like herself and less like an emotional mess. If she notices Ice Bear's blush, it's only to think about how cute he looks. She takes a long sip of water once it's refilled, the cool water a refreshing contrast to the hot, salty broth.

"Happy" is a bit of a stretch. But right now she is calm and content, albeit still a little confused over the texting situation. But Ice Bear makes a good point, he's too busy working to text anyone. She must have misread the text. Maybe it was one of those spammy bots that disguise itself as a real person.

By the time Ice Bear comes back from clearing tables, she has put the whole thing from her mind. "Oh..." Her eyes well up a little in the face of Ice Bear's generosity. She wishes she were in a better position to appreciate it. "That's very kind of you, but I don't know if I have the room." She bites her lip and peers at the pastry counter, wishing she hadn't eaten all that ice cream. "Do you have anything with fresh fruit?"

Ice Bear is going to give Adia all that necessary space, but not enough to make her feel like she's being forgotten. Bear job duties is a good chance to step back and reassess the situation: Ice knows that something is very wrong, but doesn't have the heart to outright ask. People have been probably doing that all day and he's not about to fall into that trap.

Cleaning aside, Ice returns to the table after a few minutes, taking a seat across from Adia once more. The request is simple and gets a large nod of the head. "Yes. Ice Bear can give you something that can be taken home." His beady black eyes are on her though. "Adia is not going back to homeworld yet. Ice Bear is taking Adia back to Ice Bear's home tonight."

What. Someone talk this fuzzy ursine down, please.

Adia is about to thank Ice Bear again for his generosity, something she doesn't entirely believe that she deserves in her fragile state, when her fuzzy friend announces that she's going to spend the night at his apartment.

"Oh... Ice Bear, I can't." She looks at him sadly, wishing she could take him up on his offer of a safe, comfortable place to sleep. "If I'm missing from my world too long, people will start asking questions." And not just friends concerned by her absence. How suspicious would it look to the Cylons that she has disappeared so quickly after being interrogated by them? She suppresses a shiver and adds, "I appreciate the offer, but... no, it wouldn't work. I'd be putting myself in more danger."

"Adia doesn't look good though. Ice Bear is very concerned about Adia's safety." That's his non-invasive way of hinting to her that he can tell she's been drinking alcohol. Although, if she can't spend the entire night, the next best thing Ice can do is to offer her a smaller deal.

"Ice Bear will let Adia sleep for a few hours, then wake Adia up." Mentally, he's already planning out the details, but he has to get the ok from her first before going into anything complicated. For a polar bear, he sure has a way of being pushy and friendly at the same time. He'll wait on getting her dessert just yet, knowing full well that her health is more important than a sugary treat currently.

"I'll be okay... I'll be PINpointing right to my bed." But Ice Bear's insistence is wearing her down. How long has it been since she's slept in a real bed? Whether it's because of the wine or her full stomach, she's suddenly very tired. Today has been emotionally exhausting. She needs rest.

"...all right. But no more than three hours. I absolutely have to be back by then." She trusts Ice Bear to take good care of her, but it's important that he understands. "The... part of the reason I'm like this is because I was in a detention center today, and I don't want to give them any reason to put me back there."

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Now you're just somebody that I used to know.

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