"Seriously, I can't believe you're actually considering this again," Alex said with a look that had nothing short of exasperation. An understandable response but not one the brunette would let herself be hindered by. She needed this right now.
"Alex, please," Rutile said as she looked her friend dead on, the older woman rolled her eyes and glanced out the window, casually observing the bustling streets. Seeing that she was on vacation at the moment Rutile and Jade invited her to a Café to have lunch, treat her to lunch, so she's in a good mood then pop the question.
Jade sat adjacent to either of them, her middleman position quite clearly illustrating her place in the conversation. More an observer than a contributor, which wasn't really helping.
"What is with you and your obsession with that person? I thought you said you were putting them in your past" Alex pointed out with a disappointed sigh. At least Jade tried to get her, Alexandrite just thought she was being silly about this whole matter. Which wasn't exactly something she could dispute, but it also wasn't what she wanted to hear right now
"I did put them in the past. But". She raised the poster up and pointed at the figure in it. "there's no mistaking that face. This is Padparadscha, and I need to meet them".
Alex blinked at the poster before glancing at Jade who gave a sheepish smile. She then took a sip of her Coffee before outstretching her arm to it. "Can I see?"
Rutile complied and handed it over, letting the Teacher scroll through for a good minute.
"So this is that Pad, well he definitely matches your description… I'm not so sure if attending's best for you" Alex said a bit offhandedly. Rutile winced slightly at the sharp words, but just as quickly as the words left her lips did Alex retract them. "Sorry. I'm not trying to be harsh here, but I just don't think it'll be a good choice for you to go."
She certainly wasn't accustomed to this sort of negativity from Alex of all people, but when she got serious she usually knew what she was talking about.
"Why not?" Rutile replied. "A year ago I literally took a leave of absence from the hospital just to find them, and when an opportunity literally shows up at my feet you want me to let it pass by?"
"Well, yes…" Alex had to take a moment to articulate herself. "Jade may be too nice to say it, but you almost became a different person last time this Padparadscha entered the picture. Burying yourself in work, sulking during lunch hours and not talking to anyone about your problems for months at a time."
They were words the doctor was expecting, but the knowledge didn't little to lessen their sting.
Pausing Alexandrite took another sip from her mug. "To begin with. Have you even thought this through? Even if you want to meet them do you think this Padparadscha wants to meet you?"
That she wasn't expecting to hear, and she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt her resolve. Frowning she shifted her gaze to the side.
"Hey, don't be so harsh. You know how much she wants this" Jade cut in with a frown.
"You know she needs to hear this, Jade" Alex responded
"You could still be nicer about it."
"How would that help if things don't pan out well?" Alex replied as she narrowed her eyes at Jade who went quiet. Silently acknowledging her words. "What if Padparadscha's moved on? The Poster certainly tells us losing contact hasn't stopped them from advancing. What if it was all a fling to begin with? What if they think Rutile was just toying with them? They'd lash out if they saw her. She has literally no clue what she's walking into if she meets them again."
It wasn't like this thought never went through her head, but she didn't want to think of them, knowing the possibility they'd stop her from going through with it. What she had with Padparadscha that evening was special, she truly believed the feeling was mutual. But what if she really was the only one that was still just as interested in meeting again, Pad had no reason to believe she didn't just merely throw what they had to the side and carry on with her life. It was a terrifying thought she didn't want to entertain.
Alex was right, she didn't need to risk this, to gamble with her feelings. She had zero dating experience, there was so much she didn't know… And yet, she wouldn't be disgruntled. She knew at her core that she HAD to do it, no matter what happened she needed some kind of closure.
"Rutile, you invited me here for my opinion. And I say you don't have to do this" Alex repeated. Wanting to make the risks clear to her. Always ready to be honest when she felt it was necessary, that was how Alex always was.
Rutile inhaled and turned back "Your right. I don't have to do this. Of course, there's a chance they don't want to see me again. But Alex I don't have to do this. I NEED to do this. At very least I need to know I tried to see them again or I'll never live this down. It'll hang over over like a bad Omen for God knows how many years." She replied in a single breath. Her determination renewed.
The two stared each other down for several seconds before Alex smiled. "Fine, I know better than to argue when you get that look in your eye. Good luck" she said with a smile before finishing off her mug and standing up. "Give me a call whenever you're ready to go. I'd like to meet this Padparadscha in person."
The day of the performance was roughly just a week off, meaning she'd have to ask for a leave of absence from the hospital manager, a leave she knew was only granted because of her generally positive work record. One of the perks of being the worker that entirely devoted herself to the hospital but even then she could tell it was something she only got grudgingly.
Either way, she wasn't complaining. She took a photo of the poster before placing it into their hospitals 'lost and found' desk. Asking about the photo did cross her mind, but after looking up the venue herself, she found it was surprisingly easy to book tickets for and ultimately decided there was no need.
After booking her own seat, she linked Jade and Alex to the website, and the trio decided to meet up in Alex's truck for the long drive to the capital.
The trip was Roughly a four-hour drive without breaks and half a days journey if the driver wasn't the sort that could sit at the wheel for an extended amount of time, the train had been tempting for only an hour thirty minutes on the time, but tickets were far too expensive between the three of them. Rutile could pay the toll without really denting her wallet. Nevertheless Jade and Alex certainly weren't coughing up 300 credits for a trip to somewhere they could drive to.
Jade didn't have a license, so she was out of the equation as far as driving shifts went. Alex had offered to drive the whole way but with a bit of prodding they decided to split the drive into Rutile taking the first two hours and Alex would take the other two.
Naturally, the thought of just going there, spending a day and coming back the next was none too pleasant, so they arrived a day to the performance and booked a decent motel to spend the weekend in.
Frankly, the fact that an opportunity to meet Padparadscha again was something she'd convinced herself would never happen. It had been said before, but Rutile wasn't one to think of destiny or some form of higher intervention. It just wasn't how she was raised, yet for a poster left behind by a random patient she ordinarily wouldn't have even treated if she wasn't on break to have their face plastered on. Well, it made her wonder a bit.
Speaking of Pad, she was both excited and nervous at the prospect of seeing them. And the fear only seemed to get stronger the further along they got in their trip. And now here she was, sitting cozily In a motel in the capital with her two friends, Jade and Alex.
"Ugh, I can't believe I actually did this" Jade muttered into her pillow as she stretched out on her bed. The greenette would be sharing a bathroom with Rutile with separate beds while Alex got her own private bedroom for tonight. Mostly to minimise their expenses with the agreement being that they'd all get one night in the singles room over the weekend.
"Well, I did say I could go on my own. But you two insisted" Rutile replied as she took off her jacket and sat on her bedside. Eager to lie down for a little bit. After taking on the last two hours and booking their bedroom Alex was quite adamant on taking the first night in the singles room to unwind for a bit.
"Yeah because I need to know what all the fuss is about. Besides your always too eager to shoulder stuff on your own, even when you're in over your head" Jade replied as she sat up and looked over at the brunette across the room.
Rutile gave a dry smile in response though her back was turned to Jade, in-between taking off her shoes. "Lucky me," she said, though only half sarcastically
Jade snorted at the emptiness in her response before sitting back. "By the way. If you actually meet Pad and they end up wanting nothing to do with you… What are you gonna do then?" she asked very offhandedly. Enough to give Rutile pause.
"I… I don't know. Go back to the hospital and try to bury this in the past I suppose" Rutile with a sigh, the mere thought of the entire trip leading up to that being particularly souring.
"I guess that would be the only thing you could do… Sorry, I'm being a downer, I just want to be sure you know what you're doing" Jade said pausing and recalling where they were. "Though considering were already here that's probably pointless to talk about now."
"I appreciate the concern Jade, but I've made up my mind," Rutile said as she walked over to the rooms little mini-fridge and opened it up to store the water bottle inside.
Jade gave a slight grimace in response. "Well, If nothing else we should have some fun around the city before the performance… When did you say the time was again?"
"8:30 pm. According to the website."
"Right, plenty of time to get a lot of stuff done tomorrow, assuming we can actually stick to a schedule."
"With Alex's sleeping habits? Good luck getting her to step out of her room anytime before 11:00 am."
The last camping trip the trio had a few years back gave them lots of familiarity with Alex's do infamous sleeping schedule. At their worst, they were more like hibernation periods where the hope of a productive morning was all but lost. Alex slept like a log and kicked with the strength of a charging bull at the slightest prodding.
"And she's supposed to be a history teacher, aren't her classes like really early, how does she get to them with a sleeping schedule like that?" Jade muttered as she placed a contemplative hand on her chin.
Rutile shrugged with a slight smile. "She sniffs out the salary at the end of the month and strengths her will to get out of bed," she said dryly.
"Yeah probably," Jade said with a little snicker. God knows the person in question would be less than amused by all the jabs, but hey Alex never hesitated to take her down a peg when she wasn't around and the same with Jade.
With her confidence strengthened she snickered lightly before walking over to her bag. "Alright, I'm heading into the shower first," she said as she slung her towel over her shoulder with a toothbrush in hand.
"Sure. I'll just lay here for a bit" Jade said with a tired look that had the heart surgeon raising a brow. Considering she didn't drive a lick of the last four hours the roles should have been reversed. She said nothing however, and closed the door behind her