outsiderslogs | like a big pizza pie (open)

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like a big pizza pie (open)

who. Marco and you!
what. Delivery boy shenanigans.
where. Zeta District.
when. Right now!
warnings. How questionable can a 13-year-old get? (Don't answer that.)

[ Moving people's food around the district for them beats hauling rubble, though Marco could do without the cheesy delivery boy uniform. However, he approaches this delivery business with all the highly directed tunnel-vision of someone who has played lots of video games and knows how to scoot all over the map in the most efficient manner. Having to fake smiles and suck up for tips wasn't the worst thing, either. ]

(OOC: I have no preference between prose or action spam, so I will reciprocate whatever you start with! Scenario options are presented below, but you're welcome to start a new top-level thread with anything else if you have something in mind.)

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I'll give you that much, I guess. I was never much for math, myself.

[didn't mean he wasn't good at it, though. there had been very little in school north hadn't practically excelled in from an early age, and his attention to detail had bled into adulthood and how he chose to deal with things.

still. that eyeroll is met with another shake of his head and a chuckle. except that chuckle abruptly cuts off at the mention of someone messing with him. he's automatically back into protective mode, eyes narrowing.] .. Hold on a second. Who did that?

[don't mind him. he's not going to go beat anyone up for you.

~~yet.~~

it's all good in the neighborhood.]

I dunno, some pissy batarian enforcer dude or something?

[ He shrugs; after living with an equally overprotective giant robot for a little while, Marco's used to the hovering. But he's also never mentioned the thugs who roll by to shake him down for money whenever Prowl's not around, mostly to avoid getting a Cybertronian lecture about responsibility and punctuality with regards to paying up. ]

Sorry, I didn't think to stop and ask him for his calling card because I was mostly motivated to make him happy and send him on his merry way as soon as possible.

[ He pauses for a moment. They've reached his target, a machine shop that put in the pizza order. ]

I'll be back in a sec.

[the word batarian makes him twitch a little, just because on his arrival he'd been .. accosted by a group of such fine gentlemen and has since come to side-eye them at the very best. he knows they're just more of aria's thugs, only in it for themselves and what they can get out of it, and the idea that they're already taking it out on an innocent kid trying to make things work in his favor doesn't sit well with him.

he's scowling, pretty damn hard, and if marco catches on to it, well .. you caught him. congratulations.

he stops when the other does, sliding his hands into his pockets and trying to look as casual as possible, even though he's already upset at the fact that someone he's come to call a friend is being treated unfairly. this, ultimately, will be north's downfall: more-than-occasionally wearing his heart on his sleeve and caring too much about the people he meets.

but he nods at what marco says.] Sure, yeah - I'll be here.

[ Marco's noticed the scowling for sure, and he doesn't quite know what to do with it. As much as he likes knowing that someone bigger, trained, and armed has his back, he hates feeling like someone's going to feel bad if something bad happens to him. There's enough lingering guilt over his accidental abandoning of home that he keeps having to shove to the back of his mind already.

So he's glad for a breather for a moment while he ducks into the shop.

Except not two seconds later, Marco's tearing ass like a bat out of hell, pizza bag still over his shoulder. ]

Sorry, sorry, wrong shop! Lay off, you four-eyed assholes!

[ Because speaking of batarians, Marco just walked into a bunch of them who seemed pretty displeased that a small human boy was attempting to sell them a pizza. He sprints past North with an apologetic wave as one of them comes after him with a wrench the length of Marco's arm. ]

[it isn't as though he would feel .. bad if something ends up happening to him. it does have to do with the fact that he's taken to looking after him when he can, because it's difficult for him not to take a protective role with someone he thinks may end up needing it.

he nods as marco trots off, leaning against the wall of one of the shops to the side and folding his arms over his chest, gaze never straying far from the one the other had entered. theta is buzzing in the back of his mind, attentive as always, and he's just about to speak up and ask if north is all right when marco shoots back out.

it takes no more than a split second for him to fully block the batarian's way, shooting a glance over his shoulder just to make sure the other is well out of the way. he then turns his attention back to the alien, that scowl deepening and turning into something a little more menacing as he addresses him.

he's really had enough of these guys. he's still irritated about his first encounter with them.] Hey, now .. why don't you put that down? There's no need for violence against someone mistakenly trying to sell you a pizza.

[ A puny little kid is one thing for the batarian to threaten, but a big angry dude is another. Still, North's line isn't going to talk the raging mechanic down. Really, not much anyone could say at the moment could. Four eyes narrow to North's two; the wrench lowers a little, but the batarian isn't shy about giving a solid shove against North's chest as he growls a warning. ]

Stay out of this. It's not your problem.

[ Meanwhile, Marco slows his escape once he gets a reasonable distance away, far enough that he doesn't think a thrown wrench is likely to reach him with any sort of accuracy. He turns back at the exchange and pauses for a moment; he could just take off, sure, but he doesn't feel right just ditching, so he just stands his ground for the moment with a calculating look.

There's another batarian standing in the doorway, simultaneously glaring at both him and North. Multiple sets of eyes, man. ]

[after his initial run-in with the local "badasses" of the station, north has more than become acquainted with the fact that batarians don't let things go easily. it always seems as though they're looking for any reason for a fight, and this, of course, is no exception to the rule.

he isn't expecting this to end quickly, or easily, but he isn't going to rise to violence just yet. the shove to his chest has his eyes narrowing, and while he keeps his stance loose and nonchalant, the fact that he is a trained soldier has him more than prepared to react if this continues to escalate.] It's my problem if you're thinking about hurting someone that didn't do anything wrong.

[a quick glance over his shoulder assures him that marco is well out of harm's way, and then he turns his attention back to the alien in front of him.] Put it down.

I'll be putting you down, human, if you don't get out of my way.

[ The batarian's wrench hand tenses, and it's obvious that he's getting increasingly annoyed that North was neither escalating, nor actually stepping aside. His teeth are bared and he's puffing alien breath into North's face; he's on a hair trigger, and another millimeter of provocation is probably going to launch him into brawling mode.

Marco's seen enough schoolyard tussles to smell a fight brewing, but getting chased around the jungle gym is nothing compared to this batarian growl-off. He's more worried about the one in the door at the moment; North looks pretty confident in his ability to deal with one of them, but two on one is rarely a fair fight. Against his better judgement, he's now inching closer to the edge of the rage bubble. ]

[there's a very brief moment of silence in which north considers his options. he can either step aside and risk marco getting seriously hurt because of an honest mistake, or he can take care of this here and now, before it has the chance to get any worse.

he sighs. he never enjoys violence when there's no need for it, but at this point, he doesn't see any other options.

north may be large, but he runs stealth missions for a reason. he's quick, and in a flash of movement he's grabbed that wrench-wielding hand and twisted it, shifting until he's holding it behind the batarian's back and he's just short of threatening to yank his shoulder out of its socket.

his voice doesn't raise in tone at all when he speaks, but the flatness of it speaks volumes.] You aren't putting anyone down. Cut your losses, and let him go.

[ it's not what wrenchbro expects, and squirm as he might, he can't break himself loose from north's grasp.

the one at the door is obviously the more level-headed one, and he's just there to watch his buddy's back more than anything else. he tenses when north makes his move, but relaxes again once it's clear that north isn't actually about to take him out; if batarians were capable of looking amused at the misfortune of a friend being outwrangled by a human, this one would.

there's a few moments of struggle and frustrated growling, but north's capture finally eases down a notch while giving the skulking marco the worst set of stinkeyes he's ever received. ]

Fine. But the puny one leaves here, and if he has the foolish courage to walk this street without a personal guard dog again, he's meat.

[ marco's not going to argue that one; he starts backing up again, hands up in defense. ]

Dude, you don't need to tell me that yourself. I am gone. Gone with the wind.

[of course it isn't what he expects, just for the simple fact that anyone that might have looked at north, seen that kind face wouldn't have thought him capable of something like this without too much provocation. it gives him the upper hand, naturally, and if he's smirking a bit at how the batarian is squirming, he dares anyone to blame him.

he hasn't liked these guys since he first got here. this .. is just a little bit of payback that he's been waiting for. and if it helps someone else, that's just par for the course.

north's hold tightens infinitesimally before he finally lets go, looking from the batarian to marco and back again, and he nods.] I'm not leaving until you're back in your shop.

[because he doesn't trust them enough to ever turn his back on them. but he thinks that goes without saying. possibly.]

[ a wrench gets shaken in marco's direction, but the batarian doesn't even give either of them the benefit of a last word before storming back into the shop and slamming the door. ]

So, uh. Batarians. Yeah.

[ it's about as much of a thanks as the deflated marco is capable of giving, until he remembers the bag on his back. after his brief sprint, the pizza's got to be too jostled to be presentable, even if he manages to sort out where the order was originally supposed to go. ]

Wanna get out of here and help me polish off this pie? I'm just gonna like, write it off as a loss or something. This happens enough that no one cares anymore.

[oh, scary batarian, shake that wrench some more and see where it gets you.

but once he's finally back in the shop and the door is closed, north turns his attention back to marco.] Yeah. Batarians. [filthy, disgusting, angry batarians.

he doesn't think he's ever going to get over how much he dislikes them.

but he rolls his shoulders in a shrug at that question, something of a small smile sliding across his mouth.] If it keeps you from getting roughed up, sure. What kind is it?

Bacon. Not sure what animal it's from, though. We probably don't want to know.

[ He walks until he finds a bench several blocks over, more or less out of the batarian aggro radius, and flips open the box. The pizza's pretty beat up, but Marco's not going to complain about having just granted himself a free one. ]

Dig in, dude.

.. I think I'm all right with just 'bacon', if you don't mind.

[because if he doesn't know what animal it had come from, he can pretend it's just an ordinary pig and eat it without much care in the world.

he takes a slice when they finally sit down, and surprisingly enough, it isn't too bad at all.]

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