"What hole, rend, tear, shred, or disintegration have you done this time?" Her voice was just short of a growl and not only did it bring Vincent up short, it caused an eyebrow to try and disappear into his bandanna. However he knew that she would talk about it eventually, she always did. So he handed her his rent shirt, the seams of the sleeves at the shoulders having torn loose in several places.
Looking at the shirt and then back up at the taller man she raised her own eyebrow and asked. "I reinforced those seams for a reason, how the hell did you pop them like that?"
Hearing that the seams had been reinforced and shouldn't have popped like they had made Vincent wince internally at what he was going to have to tell her. She knew most of his story already just from their short conversations and from his clothing. That she had no clue as to how this happened meant that he was going to have to tell her one more of his secrets and hope that she reacted like she had for the rest of the ones she had learned.
"You have a story for me, I can see the debate in your eyes Vincent Valentine." Stepping around her machine and the tables that made up the work area of her shop her passage drew his eyes to what she had previously told him was her "In Box". He now had a good idea as to what was making her cranky today as the rack for today was not just full, but had things piled across the top to the other racks as well. He heard the lock on the door snap into place and as he turned to see what was going on noticed that she was putting up her out to lunch sign.
"Come on up, I'll make something to eat and drink for the both of us and you can tell me just what it is that you did to yourself that caused those seams to pop." Moving through her apartment living room to the open kitchen area she let Vincent settle himself before presenting him with a cup of tea. Satisfied that he'd be ok for the short term she headed back to the kitchen, knowing that he was watching her. He always did.
Comfortable silence filled the apartment as Maiya moved around with common efficiency to make a few sandwiches and pulled out some salad makings before setting them both up with a plate of food each. She always brought the first plate out to him, but seconds were his responsibility. In a way it was her own way of keeping tabs on how well he was doing and if he was keeping up with himself. After they both had a chance to eat and watch the other, Vincent was the one to break the silence. "This falls under the same rules as everything else I've told you about my life." His eyes boring into her as she nodded, knowing that despite her light response, she was taking this seriously now that he'd gotten her attention.
It was a short time later that she discovered that her customer was very much beyond human, yet so human it disgusted her at how he had been treated in the past. To have the strength of will and mind to hold at bay no less than four demonic entities that would have taken over his body and used its enhanced abilities for nothing good was nothing short of heroic in her mind and she said as much. Seeing that he didn't believe her, despite the fact that they had been nothing but honest with each other up to this point she shot a frustrated look at him and pulled one of her votive holders over to her before holding it out to him. "Is this a votive holder, or the candle it's holding?"
Immediately seeing what she meant his eyes warmed some, the slight smile he gave her erasing the look of frustration on her face. "How is it that you've become so exceptionally understanding?" It was a frequent question from him, and it had the same answer every time.
"I take the time to actually learn from my mistakes." Except this time Maiya elaborated some, giving Vincent yet once more insight into the mind of his seamstress. "I once lost someone very dear to me because I couldn't look past something that had happened to them." Changing the subject she held up the shirt that he now realized she had brought up to the loft with them. "Now that I know what happened, I can make this so you don't lose the fabric of the shirt again should you ever be pushed to transform. It won't be that hard to add a panel of fabric to the side seams and then close them up with break away seam work so that it fits as your shirts should fit you when you're this size, but it will give you greater strength in the arm seams when they break away when you change to fit your larger form."
Vincent was uncertain as to how this would exactly work, but knew that she could do what she said and he would feel no difference in the clothing. All he was worried about was when he'd get the shirt back. "How long?"
Picking up the shirt Maiya headed for the door to the stairway and Vincent followed knowing that now that they were starting to talk business, their time for visiting was over. "Minimum of three weeks Vincent."
The time quoted caused the man to blink. Normally she had his clothing back to him within days of his arrival. "Why three weeks?"
"Because I need to take the shirt apart and reassemble it. But that has to be done in the order it was received and in case you hadn't noticed, I've been exceptionally busy today." Her voice took on a note of exasperation before she put the shirt down on her work table and reopened her shop.
"I see. What would you charge to get it back in a few days?" The question was reasonable considering he really was limited on his clothing. It reminded him that he should probably order a couple more shirts at the very least from her. Preferably when she isn't so busy that she's popping off at him.
"Rush order's are charged double." By this time she was back behind her sewing machine and running full speed when one or the other of them were not speaking. It was a talent that Vincent found himself admiring as she was quite capable of knowing exactly when she needed to stop and set the stitching at the end of a line without looking right at it. He knew however that he has several skills that she respected greatly as well so they got along well respecting the other's skills and while it happened rarely, the occasional trodding on each other's toes in their conversations over their respective skills and professions was blunted by the understanding that it was never intentional.
Vincent thought about his finances and then nodded. He needed his clothes and he could afford to short himself a trip out to eat to cover it. "Please do so then."
"Three days then. I'll see you that afternoon." Standing she tagged the pants she had just finished patching and folded them over before putting them in the finished rack with their claim ticket before writing up one for Vincent and his shirt. Putting the shirt at the bottom of the three day pile which was mercifully short she smiled and walked him to the door. Despite how her day was going, her friend was a breath of fresh air, and today had been an unexpected surprise for them both.