pimbas | (no subject)

Yeah. You should back up your iPad, it's been a while.

[ And here she was ready to show it to him and ask if he could tell whether there was something wrong with it. ]

... Was that glitchy-thing you.

Youuu have really interesting spam emails.

[He can't help it, he sees all! He pretends to wince.]

[ Nooo who cares about her emails, he saw her sketches?? ]

Oh my god, you can't do that!

[ Clutching the ipad closer to her chest now, as if that'll do anything. This is like the telepath thing, isn't it? Why does Raíz hand out these powers asdfdg ]

You also really need to allow a system update. It's crying and begging at this point.

[But he laughs again.]

I try to tune it out. But I'm still figuring it out.

Yeah, well... tune it out harder.

[ Her little Delphines are hers. Why'd she name them that? She forgo— ]

Or I guess I could help you figure it out.

You won't believe some of the stuff I know about the other people here - don't know a thing about them but their browsing histories? Woof.

[And the smutty texts those twins get up to? Geez.]

... How about I audition for mentee, and you decide if you accept or not.

Somehow I think I would believe it, actually. [ She's been living with these weirdos. The stuff that comes out of their mouth is probably just as wild as whatever they're typing into google. ] Okay, well — how're we having this audition? [ Finger tapping the origami case, ] No touching my iPad again.

You can ask me questions? I'll answer. Give you a demo of my skills...

[He claps his hands together.]

But we should do it over drinks.

[ That's all it takes to bring back her little sunshine-grin. ]

... Okay. I'm driving.

[ Because there's no way she's doing that in the house. Too many people around to take Jewel's attention away from her in the most annoying ways imaginable. And then there's Great. ]

Let's fucking gooooo.

[He grins widely, then holds out his hand to her. Just feels right - like they're...

Like they're

Like they're

Like they're?

Eloping?]

Dork.

[ She's said that before. Where?

Cellar brushes hair behind her ear — it drapes right back into where it was — walks over to her bed to leave the iPad behind and put her shoes on. Sneakers tied, jacket thrown over her tank top, she grabs a small backpack and returns to Th— Ted—, no — what? — Jewel, reaching for his hand, a little in disbelief of how charming he is. Is he sure it's just technology that's his thing? ]

[He clasps her hand as he turns toward the door, feeling their fingers slot together and it's the strangest feeling. Like he suddenly got up too fast? He brings his other hand up to the doorframe, catching himself in a sway, and he stares forward, halting in his step. He's been struggling with existing since... well, when he started to exist. A blank slate behind him, he felt hastily stitched together. Like something was missing.

He's felt her hand before. Seen her tuck her hair behind her ear before.

Heard her laugh before.

He looks back over his shoulder, almost afraid that she won't be there. He looks alarmed, and he holds her hand ever tighter.]

... Babe?

[ Fingers brush against fingers, skin against skin, and reality collapses around them. She stands like she's at the center of a blank universe, staring at a piece of her life that shouldn't fit in any logical place — somewhere in England, in a manor just as ridiculous as this, horror and hedonism walking hand in hand almost every day. She sees them by the pool, she sees them in an abandoned chapel; sees him picking her up from a clinic with a damaged shoulder, sees them sitting outside in the early hours while he shows her how to make art and reveals the many faces he's had. Sees them having sex, saying I love you and meaning it, kissing at the countdown of a new year, huddling in an apocalyptic scenario, making plans for the future when Raíz eventually found her way to their luxurious prison and brought them home. ]

Oh my god.

[ One arm thrown around him for a hug, face to face, she lets go of his hand to complete the embrace, holding Theodore Price so very so tight. She knows his name. He knows hers. ]

You're here. It worked.

[His arms are around her, tightly cinched. He remembers meeting her - remembers the life they laid out together, full of dreams and a future that was almost taken from them. Because he remembers more than that, too. Disjointed memories that are all colliding in his brain, of how his life went on after that... after meeting her, after losing her. After losing everything and vindictively stabbing a knife into the heart of...

And then he was here, in the manor, somehow. Trying to think too hard of how he came to be here makes him feel lightheaded and odd in a way he doesn't want to test. Little does he know that the reason for his split thoughts is indeed rooted in the fact his memories were split from the Theo that was, into the Teddie that will be and the... Jewel Beetle that now exists. A happy ending for both mind and body, it seems.

He's kissing the crown of her head.]

I knew that I knew you. Even though I- didn't have reason to.

[ She feels strange in her own body, old-new memories from a place that's neither in the past or the future, really, except on the date announced to its every guest. Cellar changed while she was there, but she's still ... her, right? And Theo is here. ]

We found each other. And you look exactly the same.

[ She sounds happy, but also — sad? And self-aware. ]

I can't call you— [ She stops, looking up, same feeling translating on her expression, sad smile. Cellar mouths 'Teddie', just in case, ] Anymore.

Not for a while, at least.

[He'll miss that. He feels like he understands her more now, having been separated from Mila as long as she had. He kisses her brow, then each cheek. Slow and methodical, like he has all the time in the world to bless her with these kisses. And, thanks to things working out for once... maybe he does.]

... I'm not sure what to do with our newfound freedom. What - what should we do? Besides... stay stitched at the hip.

[ Each kiss does feel like a blessing; the last one is to his lips, his face in her hands, chaste, sweet, making up for what she thought had been a lost dream. Then she hugs him again, cheek on his shoulder. Cellar's forgotten wish was made years before she ended up in Saltburn, years before she ever imagined someone like Theo could exist, and yet this feels like the confirmation that what's in her contract is real. It came true. ]

… We could have our first date. [ Grinning. ] In the real world this time. Wait, oh my god — a road trip!