solar_flare: (Oh hey!)
Yang Xiao Long ([personal profile] solar_flare) wrote in [community profile] genessia2017-10-08 09:50 pm

Housecleaning

WHO: Mercury Black and Yang Xiao Long
WHAT: In exchange for three favors and choosing Marry over Shag, Mercury helps Yang clean up the old RWBY house. It's like they're starting to become friends or something.
WHEN: October 7th, 2017
WHERE: Genessia City


Houses were funny things. When people stopped living in them, they seemed to fall into disrepair, gathering dust, mold, and dirt seemingly much faster than they did when they were being used. It was as if they got lonely without people around.

Yang wasn't sure if she'd wind up living in this place permanently. She'd wanted to, because it was a goal they'd all worked toward years ago when she was first kicking around Genessia, and she liked the idea of falling asleep in a place that was likely still full of good memories.

But...

As she'd walked through the rooms, hearing the soft creak of floorboards and little else, she knew it wasn't going to satisfy that longing deep inside of her, the need for things to be what they once were. Blake and Ruby weren't here. Weiss was...different. Yang wasn't even sure her teammate still regarded her as a teammate anymore, and it was a strange, lonely feeling. Both Weiss and Sun didn't seem all that amenable to the possibility of renting the vacant house out to anyone else other than Yang, and the thought of being alone in a big empty space just didn't mesh well with who Yang was, or what she wanted to be.

Still, however things managed to shake out, she did want to clean it up so that it was comfortable and cozy...well, as "cozy" as a house of that size could be anyway...if not for herself then for Weiss. Yang had spent the previous days gathering up a host of supplies for the job -- dust cloths, laundry and dish detergent, a broom, a mop, sponges -- so that the place would be as good as new when she was finished. It was a big job for just one person, but honestly? Yang was looking forward to it. She had full use of both hands now, and she was so glad she didn't have to sweep with just her left arm anymore.

The addition of Mercury as a second helper was unexpected. She really hadn't believed him to be the kind of guy who was on board with any of this, but their playful banter had led to an arrangement of sorts. He'd help her out with the chores, and she'd owe him three favors to be agreed upon in the future. ...And there would be pineapple pizza and soda too, to seal the deal. She wasn't sure when he'd arrive to get started, but as for Yang herself, she headed out at daybreak, a stereo in one hand, and a bucket holding the last of the cleaning materials in the other. Her loose-fitting cargo pants were comfortable for housework, as was the snug orange tanktop that bared her right metal arm to the world. Yang's wild blonde hair was tied up into a thick ponytail to keep it out of the way, since the last thing she wanted was her pride and joy tumbling into the toilet while she was scrubbing out the water stains.

She made a list of everything that needed to be done so each item could be crossed off. The chores were separated by room, with asterisks next to the things she wanted to prioritize. After all, the weather was fine for today, but those clouds hinted that rain might be on the horizon tomorrow, so the outdoor chores had to be done first.

Planting the boombox on the counter and cracking open the windows so she could hear her music loud and clear, she cranked up the volume and got to work.

Moving from bedroom to bedroom, she pulled the sheets and blankets from the beds, gathered the towels from the bathrooms and linen closets, and bundled everything into one big pile in the laundry room. There was only one machine, which meant it would take hours to finish every load. Best to get that going since she could work on other things while the machines did their job. Then she grabbed a stepladder from the garage, filled a bucket with soapy water, and tossed a big yellow sponge inside.

And that was how Mercury would find Yang, with the ladder propped up against the house wall. The bucket was balanced on the top step, and she was busily engaged scrubbing the grime off of the windows. Thick suds coasted down her arm, tracing the grooves of her painted arm and dripping from her elbow. Most of the windows were already washed down, still wet and glistening in the morning sun, and needed only to be rinsed with the coil of garden hose she'd hooked up to the spigot.

The window on the side of the garage had been broken, so she'd left that one alone except to seal it with a sheet of plastic and duct tape. Mercury was good with machines, maybe he was able to fix it. She figured she'd ask once he arrived.
sarcaskick: (your MOM was phone)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-09 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Mercury was not in a hurry to get started on this. He didn't even really do much in the way of taking care of his own apartment, so he's not exactly putting a spring in his step for the sake of cleaning someone else's. True, they had made a deal. Pineapple pizza was an uncommon taste, he found (though Emerald would eat it, he thought, but then again Emerald would eat anything), and one he was looking forward to indulging, but the three favors were what really sold him.

He didn't know what his three favors would be yet. He'd make damn good use of them though, that was for sure.

He hears her working well before he sees her, the music carrying loud and clear through the air as he lazily makes his way up towards the house with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed pretty casual - a plain white t-shirt and jeans, and he's finally swapped out his boots for something a little less combat-oriented. The jeans are long enough to keep his legs out of sight still, and he's wearing thick socks to make sure the inside of his shoes don't get shredded by the metal of his prosthetics.

When he spots her he slows his pace a little bit, observing silently for a few moments. Maybe checking her out. Probably checking her out. Definitely checking her out, who am I kidding the dude has no shame and no chill.

"Missed a spot."

He says, ever-so-helpfully.
sarcaskick: (oh no you didn't)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-09 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Board it up and ignore it forever?" he offers, just-as-helpfully. A moment later he shrugs, continuing, "I'd have to get a look at it to know how broken you're talking, here."

A busted window pane meant swapping the glass out, which he could only do if she already had a replacement pane ready and waiting. If it was more structural he might need wood, or some kind of strong sealant - it really came down to exactly how bad the damage was.

"Is that where I'm starting?"
sarcaskick: ([Squall] ... Whatever)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-09 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
He leans a bit to the side to peer over her shoulder, frowning at the sight of the window. Shit. Shit, that was more work than he wanted to have to deal with, and his hands slide out of his pockets so he can fold his arms over his chest.

"Do you have another window pane? I can probably handle taking care of the window frame itself, but if you don't have anything to fill it with it's kind of pointless."

He didn't do chores as a kid in the traditional sense. He did a lot of clean-up, though, and there was no shortage of broken everything in his life growing up. His dad had destroyed furniture, doors, windows... and then left Mercury to put it back together, just so he could break it again.

Yeah, he could fix a window.
sarcaskick: (i do what i want)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-09 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't need a lot. Hammer, nails, a hand saw..."

A pause.

"Which is a saw you use with your hand, not a saw meant for removing hands. Figured you of all people might need that clarification."

He's allowed to make these jokes! He's missing twice as many limbs as she is!

"Aaaaand the measurements for the new window pane. Which, I'm going to take a wild guess here, you don't know."
sarcaskick: (Smell ya later!)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-09 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"You don't have a tape measurer?"

He asks, because of course that's going to be his first question when they're talking about trying to measure something.

"You know, you seem woefully unprepared for this whole house-restoration project. I would have thought you'd get this all sorted out before roping some poor unfortunate soul into helping out."
sarcaskick: (ah yes i see indeed)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
"A professional? Hardly. I can handle this just fine, once we have the right supplies for it. My old place was kind of a constant fixer-upper, so I got pretty good at keeping it from falling apart."

He doesn't specify what old place he's talking about, whether it's somewhere here in Genessia or back in Remnant. It's not important enough to specify.

"So we can either get all of that stuff now, or focus on things that we can work on right this second. Your place, your call. I'm not living here, it makes no difference to me."
sarcaskick: (WHERE ARE THE PICTURES)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
"My favorite out of that list would be putting a bullet in my head."

He offers, again, very helpfully. Sighing, he rolls his eyes in thought to decide which seems the least painful to deal with. Sweeping? Boring as hell. Washing the windows? Nahhhh. Replacing light bulbs? Somehow even more boring than the other two. At least the gutters will let him hang out on the roof.

"I'll tackle the gutters, then. I know you only have about one percent of the supplies you need for all of this work, but do you have any kind of gloves handy?"
sarcaskick: (god i just want to punch his face)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 02:45 am (UTC)(link)
He takes the gloves from her, looking them over for a moment before shrugging and slipping them on. Not exactly stylish, but that's also not exactly their purpose. It's fine. Hopefully, this won't take too long anyway.

"For three favors and free food, it's a good deal. You might not be thanking me once I decide to cash them in." He turns his head a bit, glancing at the ladder as if considering it for a moment.

"As far as doing the 'gross one' goes..." He leans in, the usual smug smirk on his lips twisting into something devilish. "... I never have a problem with being filthy."

A wink, blatantly suggestive - and then he springs up off the ground, flipping once in midair to land nimbly on the roof's edge. Did she seriously think he'd use the ladder? With his legs? Dream on.
sarcaskick: (oh you diiiiiiiiiiiiid)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
He lowered himself to squat at the roof's edge, perching low enough to start grabbing whatever had collected in the gutters to toss it off to the ground below. It was leaves and junk anyway, it was all natural. Probably good fertilizer. Hopefully that was fine with her.

"Self-taught," he replied matter-of-factly, "I didn't count on people to do things for me, and you know the saying - if you want something done right, do it yourself."
sarcaskick: (sideeying the fuck out of you)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
She was getting a little too curious - and he was trying, to be fair, to not shut down each and every question about his past. But some things were a little too touchy. Some things hit a little to close to wounds that had never closed, even if they're closer to doing so now than ever before.

Maybe he'd be ready to really talk about it one day not too far from now.

"Yeah. I lived in the mountains. No siblings. Next question."

This would not be the day he talked about his father - but by suggesting that she was free to keep asking, at least he hasn't shut down the conversation altogether. All the while he keeps at his work, moving gradually along the rooftop to keep tossing gunk from the gutter.
sarcaskick: (What... like a puma?)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
She caught on quick - the flurry of completely different questions, both in subject and tone, catches him just in time to keep his mood from drifting to something a little darker. Draws a laugh out of him, even, shaking his head as he keeps at his work. He appreciates, silently, that she chose not to pry.

"In reverse order: Boxers. Cats. Popcorn and the blood of my enemies."

He peeks down at her from the rooftop, lips quirking into a quizzical little grin.

"Now you answer the same thing back to me."
sarcaskick: (BRAIN BLAST!)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
Oatmeal. Not much to say about that, he doesn't really feel one way or the other about it. Her being a dog person - he shrugs. Cats are more low-maintenance. That's better for his lifestyle. And as for boxers or briefs--

Oh.

Oh ho.

He offers a thoughtful hum, nodding as if approvingly. His imagination's not incapable of picturing it. Not a bad look on her.

"So free with the details! If you're really interesting in knowing how mine look, you'll have to check for yourself some day."

He leans over the roof's edge a bit. flashing teeth.

"We'll compare."
sarcaskick: (uh... huh)

[personal profile] sarcaskick 2017-10-10 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
He's off-guard, and no one is more surprised by that fact than he is. Her playful banter had actually gotten him to lower his walls, so to speak, so he's not at all prepared for the sponge that comes at him like a missile, splatting against the side of his head unopposed.

...

Well, not immediately opposed.

"You might have, actually. Don't worry. I'll get it."

He lobs the sponge back at her - its path isn't nearly as quick or direct, traveling in a higher arch, but it was never meant to hit her. Only to draw her eyes up and away for long enough that he can spring back down to the ground below, right next to the hose that was ready to rinse off the windows.

Instead, as his hand snatches the nozzle up and twists it on to full blast pointed straight at Yang, it'll hopefully be used to wash the smile off her face.

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