The past two days had been long, and humiliating. After setting half the jungle on fire, Michael had retreated back to his apartment and holed himself up, reading and watching DVDs of something called Coronation Street that Rose had recommended to him on the last New Moon. Only once something happened where two characters met for lunch to talk about things did he remember that he'd promised Janet he would tell her about just how ahead of her he and Eleanor were, and immediately shut the player off, scrambling down the hall to find and knock on her door.
"Janet? Janet, it's Michael! I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner, Janet, are you there? Are you upset?"
"Hi there!" She opens the door and beams at him. "I hardly noticed you were gone!" She jabs her elbow in his direction. "Actually, I didn't notice at all. I made a potholder out of yarn instead of raw matter. Do you want to see it?" She holds it up. It looks like a diseased lemon.
Most people might have taken offense at having gone unnoticed, but really, Michael knows Janet means none whatsoever, and that she was probably just so wrapped up in Doing Human Things and figuring them out that she didn't have time to think about him. It was totally cool - as was the knotted stringy thing she thrust toward him. To anyone with an eye for crafts, it probably looked like an eyesore, but this was Michael, Ultimate Cheerleader of Human Things and Also Of His BFF.
"Wow, Janet, that's great!" He took it from her and turned it over in his hands, beaming. "It's a little scratchy, and really bright, and the sort of thing you give to someone who'd never use it - it's the most human thing I think I've ever seen! And you made it? This is incredible!"
"Thank you! My internal temperature is rising again. Isn't that fun?" After a moment of consideration. "I was going to put it in my closet, but I want you to have it." Because he would never use it.
"Now will we eat? My stomach is hungry." The good news could happen later.
"Oh, thank you! I might even use it once or twice out of strange obligation." It was so great, so very human, and he tucked it away in his pocket happily.
"Absolutely. Where would you like to go? Carnation Cafe or the Red Wagon? I think we're dressed well enough for either."
"How about the Red Wagon? It's nice there, and I don't really go as often as I probably should. It might be less busy, too. We'll have a nice quiet place to talk." He gets the door for her, and gestures to the hallway.
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momijizukamori
Backdated to 9/15, Carnation Cafe
Date: 2019-10-11 06:12 pm (UTC)"Janet? Janet, it's Michael! I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner, Janet, are you there? Are you upset?"
no subject
Date: 2019-10-11 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-11 09:08 pm (UTC)"Wow, Janet, that's great!" He took it from her and turned it over in his hands, beaming. "It's a little scratchy, and really bright, and the sort of thing you give to someone who'd never use it - it's the most human thing I think I've ever seen! And you made it? This is incredible!"
no subject
Date: 2019-10-11 09:24 pm (UTC)"Now will we eat? My stomach is hungry." The good news could happen later.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-12 03:31 am (UTC)"Absolutely. Where would you like to go? Carnation Cafe or the Red Wagon? I think we're dressed well enough for either."
no subject
Date: 2019-10-13 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-13 04:49 am (UTC)