Pick Your Poison, Friday Afternoon

[joan_of_bark]

Well, Adrian was a plant, so dinner wasn't happening tonight. Pam could live with that. It gave her time to finish up the salve she'd been working on for Octavia.

Which meant spending most of the day upstairs, messing around with chemicals, but... eventually, it was done.

Done and tested, if in a limited way.

She eyed the little container, and let out a breath. Right. Time to go downstairs, make some coffee, and blow off some steam.

Maybe, she reflected, once finally downstairs, she could get Adrian some fertilizer, as a treat.

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Comments

[joan_of_bark]

"I was dying," Pam said, and drained her cup of coffee, before setting it down. "It seemed like the easiest way to kill two birds with one stone."

Why yes, Harley, she had changed since college.

[totalwildcard]

Harley looked perturbed.

Just possibly not for the reasons the average person would have. "Was it gross?" she asked. "Jesus Christ, Pam, not to get all literal with toxic masculinity, but that sounds like it would give a gal the shits like no other."

[joan_of_bark]

Pam looked at her.

And-- surprised herself with the laugh that followed. Oh, Harley. (Was that affection on Pam's face? Probably dangerous territory.)

"It was really gross," she said. "They always say 'eat the rich', but they never warn you about the taste."

[totalwildcard]

Harley was maybe still too caught up in making faces to really pay too close attention to what was happening on Pam's, luckily.

(That was the story she was sticking to, anyway.)

"Guess ya should just -- well, guess that it's gonna be fucking rank," she scowled. "'Cause some people've gotta suck all the to their last second on this rock suspended in space!"

[joan_of_bark]

"He was also full of poisonous fungus," Pam added. "It definitely hurt."

She gave her ponytail a tug. (Ugh, Harley-not-Harley had her fidgeting.) "But he won't be bothering me again," she settled on erroneously. "So that's a win."

[totalwildcard]

The fidgety thing really hadn't changed since college.

"Good," Harley replied, with a firmness that bordered on comical. "Means I don't have to start considerin' a revenge mission. Which is it's own kind of good 'cause I don't think I could stomach a guy like that."

She was going to think about... her Pam. Eventually.

And wonder.

[joan_of_bark]

She'd finally be joining this Pam, then. Who had wondered. A lot. Since the very first time she'd spoken to this Harley.

"No, I don't think you're the man-eating type, peanut," Pam said - gently, for her standards. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

[totalwildcard]

Harley could have made several comments about man-eating, all of them either inappropriate or too much information or both, but --

"Wait, what'd you call me?"

[joan_of_bark]

What had she--?

Oh. Oh. Pam winced. "Sorry," she said. "'Peanut'. It's a thing-- I lost track for a moment, I'm sorry."

[totalwildcard]

Harley waved a hand. "No, it's fine, it's cute, kinda makes me sound like a circus peanut?" she said - but she was clearly chewing on the inside of her lip right after, as she paused. "Just... don't think ya mean me when you say it."

[joan_of_bark]

"You're-- a lot alike," Pam said. Helplessly. "Which... seems like an obvious thing to say. But sometimes you sound even more like her..."

[totalwildcard]

"What, when I talk about eatin' guys?"

Very Harley how the end of that question went all sorts of high.

[joan_of_bark]

"When you respond like her when I tell you that I ate a guy."

She really needed to keep that affection out of her voice, ugh. At least she somewhat hid it behind something wry and dry this time.

[totalwildcard]

"Well, there's only one response to you eatin' a guy," Harley replied, sort of accidentally proving a point. "'Cause I don't care how much you've changed, you're only gonna go literal man-eating for a reason, and that makes the guy not my concern."

[joan_of_bark]

"You'd be surprised how many people think other answers are acceptable," Pam said, her mouth quirking into a wry smile. "Of course, I don't particularly care about their opinions."

[totalwildcard]

"As you shouldn't," Harley replied, pointing at her, raising her eyebrows. "'Cause you're one of those, whatsits. Strong independent woman! Girl power!"

[joan_of_bark]

"Girlboss?" Pam said dryly. "I've buried a few of those, too."

That was definitely the flat confidence of a woman who knew perfectly well what she was capable of and (had convinced herself she) was comfortable with that.

[totalwildcard]

Harley raised her eyebrows in a different way.

And then shrugged. Yanno, enh, what could ya do? "I'm sure they deserved it, too."