Aedus nodded, maybe he would take it back and hand it to the woman behind the counter with just his name and number on it.

“Yeah, comic book guys are typically a little bit more timid around the average female, but in their own domain, you’ll have to keep your defenses up. once you have the job you’ll have to tell me how that works out.” a mischievous grin dominated his features.

Aedus tilted his head as a man that was oddly familiar did his thing in the store…his thing involved a lot of variations to the left and right. He now felt a little bit bad about leaving this situation in Rebecca’s hands, but then again he was pretty sure she would have to deal with worse, than a man dancing to his heart’s content with absolutely not a care in the world.

He said he would let her handle it so he would. Hey, it was Akshay! He took a step back so he would be out of Rebecca’s sight, though flappy McGee up there was making a fine distraction. Once he caught Akshays attention he would point to his eye. Waves his hands and shake his head. Point to his nose. And point to Akshay.

Eye,Don’t,Nose,You.

Was the message he was attempting to get across. He wanted Rebecca to feel she got the job on her own, then again she might be grateful and impressed that he could pull strings for her….Come on Aedus! She’s 18! leave the girl alone...unless she initiates something. Gah! The signals would immediately stop if Rebecca happened to look to him.

Ka-CHING! The song resounded!

Akshay beamed as he shifted into the next position of the dance step, just dancing his little heart out, being completely oblivious to the rest of the world around him. The wordsmith did so indeed love to dance and therefore he always wanted to fill his spare moments with it. Strutting, hip shaking, head bobbing, all of it only added to his enjoyment and made the young artist revel in the empty space of the comic store.

Or…at least his store USED to be empty. He would have gotten away with his dancing if it were not for those meddling kids!

In a particularly difficult looking spin, Akshay looked like he was going to nail it when suddenly a voice startled him from somewhere near the entrance of the store.

>> "Um, 'scuse meh sir, d-dae ye wark here?"[/color]

Akshay was immediately thrown off his spin and he stumbled briefly, losing his footing, and tumbling into a free standing pillar rack of comics. The shop worker was quick though, catching the comic holder before all of the merchandise could be shaken off. Breath held, he slowly pushed it back into place and called out over his shoulders as he fixed comics.

“Oh! Yes! One second!” he called out. It took a second but he finally managed to fix the comics. When he did he regained his composure and turned. “Welcome to One Comic to Rule Them All, how can I—“ he paused the second he spied the young redhead. “Heeeelllllllllllooooooo NURSE!”

He practically howled those words as he deftly switched of the music with the remote in his pocket and began to sliiiiiiiide towards the pretty girl with the pretty hair and the VERY pretty accent. But before he could get too close, he spotted the larger man that was standing behind her. At first Akshay paused in his tracks, terrified that he had hit on someone else’s girlfriend or something. If there was one rule that this dancing wordsmith always adhered to, it was to respect over people’s relationships.

But as he tried to choke out an apology he had to tilt his head because the man looked…SO familiar. Why though? He thought for a few seconds before the man’s face finally managed to dredge up a memory in the back of Akshay’s head.

New Years? His eyes widened in surprise and familiarity as he grinned at the man, Aedus if he remembered his name correctly and started to wave to him.

”HEY AE—“[/b][/color] he paused when he saw the frantic signaling from Aedus. Being well versed in sign language, Akshay was about to comment that he had no idea what Aedus was signing until he began to piece them together. Eye. No. Nose. Akshay…He…doesn’t…KNOW…me? His head tilted curiously as he quickly reworked his original exclamation. “Aeeee… good looking couple!” he beamed. “Ugh, how…can I help you?”

The young man was evidently caught off guard by the interruption to his interpretive dance, almost taking a clumsy fall and just avoiding bringing a rack of comics down with him. She stifled the laughter she felt surging at his awkward recovery. She was here for a professional reason, after all.

>> “Oh! Yes! One second! Welcome to One Comic to Rule Them All, how can I— Heeeelllllllllllooooooo NURSE!”

Suddenly the whole experience was feeling considerably less professional. Rebecca was not sure what the context or reason was for the howling call he ended with, but she knew it was something worth blushing over. Her motivation to apply for a job was starting to waver. The job might be a challenge if all comic fans were like the employee.

>> ”HEY AE— Aeeee… good looking couple! Ugh, how…can I help you?”

Rebecca looked back and forth between the male worker and her male guide, perplexed. What an odd level of enthusiasm for the comment.

The comment about how lovely a couple they were. Rebecca could feel the heat escaping her ears. "Ack, no, he's nae mah boyfriend!" She worried the tone she took was too defensive and could offend Aedus, and quickly attempted to recover. "Um, nae 'at Aedus isnae good looking, but it's just-- well, he's a really nice man."

Maybe there was a class at the Mansion that could help Rebecca handle high-pressure social situations without spazzing out or rambling. Resigning herself to moving on, she took a breath to compose herself. "Ah am here tae see if ye micht be hirin? If nae, that's fine tae..." At this point, maybe it would be easier to just cut her losses and find the next employment opportunity.

“Nope, not the boyfriend, just an acquaintance actually.” Aedus let the sting of the initial shock be healed by the compliment, and then the odd qualifier. He was Nice and that was a bad thing? Odd.

She hadn’t turned around to see him at all so Aedus gave Akshay the thumbs up. and then began nodding when she asked about the job, though based on the hello nurse, she was already in, with out his help…
She then asked about the job and so he nodded up and down vigorously, it was a bit silly, but to be fair Akshay had been flapping and was within a comic shop, the silly gloves were off. He stood back and watched the pair.

Aedus proceeded to browse while the pair talked shop.

( I think I will let you guys go back and forth until the deal is done, if that’s cool.I don't want to keep slowing you guys down.)

>> "Ack, no, he's nae mah boyfriend! Um, nae 'at Aedus isnae good looking, but it's just-- well, he's a really nice man."

>> “Nope, not the boyfriend, just an acquaintance actually.”

Oooooh, buuuuuuuuurn… Akshay thought to himself as he glanced across at Aedus who looked to have just the tiniest, smallest glimmer of defeat. Poor guy. Burned and by such a pretty girl with an adorable accent, no less! Double ouch.

But Akshay stood there, tilting his head a little as he looked between the pair of them. They were just friends, huh? Well stranger things have happened. But he had to admit that it was nice to see Aedus again! After their meeting during the New Year’s party, he wondered if he would ever run into that crazy-pretending-to-be-famous life saver again! Apparently he got his answer! And, just like last time, he had an extremely adorable gal on his arm. Though she was not nearly as all over him as the last one.

Hmm…he’d have to ask about that.


>> "Ah am here tae see if ye micht be hirin? If nae, that's fine tae..."

Ears perked. A JOB applicant?! Immediately his wheels started to turn in his head as he straightened up a bit, and arched a brow looking at her, taking on a faux-stern, general-in-an-army-like face.

“SO! You think you can work in a comic shop, do ya?” he asked, channeling his inner General Patton as he paced in front of her pretty redhead. “I have to warn you that it will be the toughest, hardest, smelliest occupation you will EVER have the good fortune of being employed in!” He stood straight up, puffed out his chest, and pretended there was a riding crop tucked under his arm. He watched WAY too many war movies.

He blinked when he turned his attention on her. He was either terrifying her or making the poor thing crack up with laughter on the inside. Either option he was sure was true so he finally just took a more relaxed posture and grinned.

“I’m just playing with you! Besides, we definitely need some new people working in this place. Come on over to my ‘office’,” he grinned as he walked back towards the counter. He glanced at Aedus wandering about. “If you see anything you like, um, ’SIR’, don’t hesitate to ask!” he announced. He then slipped behind the counter and began to look through files. Finally he found a job application. Holding it off to the side, he shook off the dust and slipped it over to Rebecca. “So, I assume you have at least some general knowledge of comics, correct? Their small books with various drawn pictures that tell a narrative story…” He grinned in such a humorous way.

Akshay, such a flirtatious kidder.

>> “SO! You think you can work in a comic shop, do ya? I have to warn you that it will be the toughest, hardest, smelliest occupation you will EVER have the good fortune of being employed in!”

Rebecca was not ready for the sudden shift in the shopkeep's tone from casual and flirtatious to aggressive and intimidating. Was working here that difficult? She was quickly beginning to worry that she had made quite the mistake. She found herself trembling, doing her best to stand at attention. She may have even let out a tiny whimper.

>> “I’m just playing with you! Besides, we definitely need some new people working in this place. Come on over to my ‘office’. If you see anything you like, um, ’SIR’, don’t hesitate to ask!”

She stared blankly at him initially. So apparently his facade as a shouting superior was a joke, or at least for someone who got jokes. Rebecca's sense of humor was still underdevelopment. She pouted, but she would not scold him for being rude. She did want a job after all.

>> “So, I assume you have at least some general knowledge of comics, correct? Their small books with various drawn pictures that tell a narrative story…”

This next joke was easier for Rebecca to catch, relaxing her from the tension she was plagued with seconds before. "Ah knoo tha' much," she admitted with a nod and a chuckle. "Tae be honest, Ah dornt know much aboot comics, but Ah'd be willing tae learn! An' Ah'd work really hard!" Though to be fair, when she walked in, he did not give the impression that work ethic was a sticking point.

Rebecca tried to recall the man's name so she could use it to be more polite, but in the end, she realized she did not know it because they had skipped introductions! "Ah'm Rebecca, by th' way!" She extended a freckled hand to shake his hand."

>> "Tae be honest, Ah dornt know much aboot comics, but Ah'd be willing tae learn! An' Ah'd work really hard!"

“Good!” he announced boisterously. “We need hard workers around here, especially thoughts that can be molded in true, comic loving machines!”

Akshay was liking this idea more and more. The girl was adorable, she was willing to learn about comics, and she really wanted the job which meant that she must have had a strong work ethic. Not only would she make a valuable asset to the shop in labor, but her pretty looks were sure to drawn in a crowd. After all, how many comic nerds actually get to SEE real live girl’s up close? Especially ones as pretty as this accented little lass?

No, this could definitely serve to their benefit. And even though she was easy on the eyes, and Akshay was indeed a flirter, she had yet to slap him! So that was always a plus! Besides, Akshay was harmless. Flirtation was good for ego, he always said.

He handed the application over, found his favorite Lightsaber Pen and slipped that over as well so she had something to fill out the application with.

>> "Ah'm Rebecca, by th' way!"

He grinned as he gently took her hand, put on his best searing romantic look, and gazed at her.

“Enchanté, mademoiselle,” he beamed. He then finally turned her hand loose and gave a comically extravagant bow in her direction. “My name is Akshay Malik and I am at your service.” He straightened up and nodded to the application. “If you fill that out, we can get this ball rollin’!”

>> “Good! We need hard workers around here, especially thoughts that can be molded in true, comic loving machines!”

Things were looking up, Rebecca thought with a smile. It seemed there could be hope for her yet! Trying to be helpful, she added, "Mah friend back in Scootland read them alot. Ah 'ave no issues learnin' if ye'll teach meh!"

>> “Enchanté, mademoiselle. My name is Akshay Malik and I am at your service. If you fill that out, we can get this ball rollin’!”

Akshay handed Rebecca a pen with a colorful top; it looked like a replica of something based on the pseudo-technological appearance. She smiled warmly at the helpful young man. "It's ay pleasure, Akshay." She took the application and began to fill out her information.

As she filled it out, she figured she would ask questions about the position to stave off awkward silence. "Sae wha' will Ah be doing here? Cleanin? Sortin? Sellin?" There were plenty of things she could and would do. She could do all of those things if it meant a regular paycheck.

>> "Mah friend back in Scootland read them alot. Ah 'ave no issues learnin' if ye'll teach meh!"[/color]

That’s good! Akshy thought. At least he would not be dealing with a COMPLETE blank slate. The last time that a girl like her had wandered in here looking for a job, she had completely misjudged the clientele and work. She complained about the nerds asking her question, about the geeks asking her if she would like to cos-play sometime, and a bunch of other nonsense that she simply could not handle because she came into this job with the wrong attitude.

She came into the comic shop to just be a worker; a worker who did not need to know anything about the product she was boxing, cleaning, and selling. That was a big mistake. And though the pretty Scottish girl here knew nothing about the product, she was at least willing to learn. That would go a long way.

>> "It's ay pleasure, Akshay."[/color]

“Oh, no,” he beamed. “The pleasure is ALL mine.”

In reality Akshay loved to meet new people and Rebecca certainly was a nice one. She was pretty, had a warm personality, and she indeed seemed eager for the job. He really had no problem hiring her on the spot but he would need to run it through his boss first. They were looking someone to fill in a vacant position but he did not know how the boss man would feel about the young strawberry blonde. Girls rarely lasted in this type of job unless they were true fans, and those types of girls were easy to spot.

And it was obvious that Rebecca did not fit that category. But Akshay saw something in her mismatched eyes. He definitely had a feeling that she could do it.

>> “Sae wha' will Ah be doing here? Cleanin? Sortin? Sellin?”[/color]

He nodded.

“A little bit of everything. Help unload shipments every Tuesday, prepare them for Wednesdays, make sure the shop looks neat and tidy, kick out the riff-raff, selling,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Pretty basic stuff. BUT, you should probably brush up on your comic knowledge since sometimes we get the real rabid fans that like to grill the cashiers. But I can help bring you up to speed.” He grinned. “Also, I do hope you’re not afraid to wear a costume every now and then…”

And there was that smile, a smile that didn’t reveal if he was joking or telling the truth. Heh, Rebecca would just have to wait and find out...

>> “A little bit of everything. Help unload shipments every Tuesday, prepare them for Wednesdays, make sure the shop looks neat and tidy, kick out the riff-raff, selling. Pretty basic stuff. BUT, you should probably brush up on your comic knowledge since sometimes we get the real rabid fans that like to grill the cashiers. But I can help bring you up to speed. Also, I do hope you’re not afraid to wear a costume every now and then…”

Rebecca stopped writing for a moment, unsure about what Akshay meant by that, exactly. The meat and potatoes of the job seemed simple enough, and she was fine with learning about comic books to appease the masses, but what did he mean by... costumes?

Trying not to sound too unwilling to compromise, Rebecca asked more questions about it. "U-Um, Ah mean... costumes dornt sound like a horrible idea. Well, um, y-ye dornt mean anything too revealing, right?"

She looked back to the application, where she had reached the place where it asked for her preferred salary. The idea of asking for an amount of money felt too rude to her; it was presumptuous to ask for too much, right? She wrote in "Whatever is fair, thank you."

She finished up the last few sections and held the paper and pen out, returning both to Akshay. "Ah think Ah'm done!" she exclaimed proudly, smiling uncontrollably. It was, after all, her first job outside of her parent's shop. She felt mature, even if the job was at a comic shop.

>> "U-Um, Ah mean... costumes dornt sound like a horrible idea. Well, um, y-ye dornt mean anything too revealing, right?"

…

…

…

He blinked and shook his head before he carefully shifted into a slight nod but also turned that into a quick shrug. That was going to be a hard sell for Rebecca. They had female workers before but the majority of them were major fans so they had no problem wearing costumes when it came time for promotions. As a matter of fact there were few times that they actually had to BUY the costumes for their female workers.

But Rebecca here was a different story. She had absolutely no knowledge in comics, except for the ramblings of a friend of hers. Getting her into a costume was going to be tough, unfortunately, it was one of those things that the management demanded of their employees. Even HE had to wear costumes during promotional days!

Well…not that he complained…

Ahem…

>> “Ah think Ah'm done!"

“Congrats!” he grinned as he took the application from her and set it aside. Once that he was down, he fished down underneath his counter until he found a photo album and set it down in front of the girl. “As for the costume, well…SOMEtimes they can be revealing, but they’re tasteful!” he said with a nod.

He opened the book to the first page. It was one of the stores former employees, a young woman, who looked rather sternly in her costume. She was always such a ball bu—He shuddered at the thought. He then flipped to the second page. Heh, Kelsi. He really should give her a call again. But before he fell too deeply into this reminiscing, he blinked as he turned his attention back to Rebecca.

“Um…I-I guess ‘too revealing’ can be relative?” he shrugged as he closed the book so that he didn’t frighten the redhead too much. “Well, you know what, I can work with you. On promotional days, which are like once a month, I’m sure I can find you a nice, decent costume that isn’t revealing, if you like.” He beamed in a friendly manner. He then took the application and filed it away. “By the way, I’m fairly certain that you’ve got the job.”

>> “Congrats! As for the costume, well…SOMEtimes they can be revealing, but they’re tasteful!”

Akshay was certainly friendly and welcoming, but there was something to be said about the moment of hesitation she seemed to notice in regards to her costume inquiry. She saw a photo album emerge from behind the counter and apprehensively watched as he flipped through pages.

The first outfit... well, that was certainly plenty of yellow and black leather... though the chest and the thighs did not leave as much to the imagination.

The second page changed her stance a bit. The yellow costume was a bit tame now in comparison to what looked less like a costume and more like red cloth ribbons wrapping around a few areas of skin. She imagined her bare freckled midriff and shoulders, not to mention ALL the leg and... accompanying areas the outfit highlighted.

Was that how superheroes dressed? (She thought back to a recent conversation with her friend Gina, terrified in hindsight at the apparent professional attire.)

>> “Um…I-I guess ‘too revealing’ can be relative? Well, you know what, I can work with you. On promotional days, which are like once a month, I’m sure I can find you a nice, decent costume that isn’t revealing, if you like."

The shopkeep must have noticed the wide-eyed response to the last costume, because he returned the album to its place quickly. Thankfully, his compromises sound fair enough to ease her worries. If the job was good enough, she might even be able to compromise a little bit as well, (as long as they would not mind a ruby-red promo girl.)

>> "By the way, I’m fairly certain that you’ve got the job.”

The quick reassurance left Rebecca beaming. "Really?! Stoatin!" How lucky was she to so quickly stumble into a job? She would have to thank Aedus somehow!

Aedus! Wrapped up in the job success, Rebecca almost forgot the white knight that had given up his afternoon to help her find a job. She looked back to Aedus meandering around, turning her attention back to Akshay. "Well, Ah shoulds probably get back to Aedus. He fond meh on th' sidewalk lookin' fer a job an' was sae nice helpin' meh out!"

If what Akshay said was true, he was now basically her coworker, so she politely extended a hand. "It was nice meatin' ye, Akshay! Ah look forward tae workin' wi' ye!"

Heh, the look in the girl’s eyes was priceless. She looked like an owl that had been caught off guard by a flashlight. It was everything Akshay had to keep from laughing. Though he did not want to make fun of the girl. She really was sweet and cute and perfectly innocent so why spoil that? Instead he offered her the compromise. That was the best way to deal with the situation. There were plenty of female comic book characters that did NOT wear clothing as if they were posing for Playboy. He was sure he could find something acceptable for Rebecca.

Anyways, that was for later thoughts! For now though he was just happy to have a new recruit! And he informed her of such.

>> "Really?! Stoatin!"

…

…Now he just needed to inform the manager. God he hoped the man was not going to kill him for this. But hey, the man said that he wanted him to take more executive decisions, didn’t he? Akshay was only following orders! Yup…that was going to be the argument he used when he told his manager.

>> "Well, Ah shoulds probably get back to Aedus. He fond meh on th' sidewalk lookin' fer a job an' was sae nice helpin' meh out!"

“Lucky guy,” Akshay grinned as he looked over to Aedus.

So THAT was how the two of them met. Well, it was apparent that Aedus simply had a knack for rescuing people in distress. He had done the same for him when he was at the New Year’s party and now, all of a sudden, he was rescuing someone new! What, was he just the nicest guy in the world, or something? Akshay had to admit that he had definite bro-spect for the man! They really needed to run into each other clubbing again.

He shook his head when he turned his attention back to Rebecca.

>> "It was nice meatin' ye, Akshay! Ah look forward tae workin' wi' ye!"

“Ahh, pleasure was all mine,” he said cheerfully as he reached out and shook the young lady’s hand. “Stay by your phone, and you should hear from me concerning the details!”

He beamed as he let her loose and glanced down to her application. He arched a brow as he noted that she wrote: ” "Whatever is fair, thank you."” and he just had to smirk. She really was just too damn adorable…

>> “Ahh, pleasure was all mine. Stay by your phone, and you should hear from me concerning the details!”

Rebecca nodded politely, failing to hide the enthusiasm and excitement of being (essentially) employed. Finally wrapping everything up, she returned to the generous friend who had been patiently waiting for her.

Aedus was not facing Rebecca, so she tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. "Sorra fer making ye wait, Aedus! Ah'm ready tae go now if ye are!"

He of course had been eaves dropping it was hard not to. He was nosy by nature and was happy when things went smoothly. he pretended to be occupied by the game section, comic book stores had some weird stuff in them, munchkin, call of Cthulu, something called eat your neighbors. A shudder ran down his spine as he thought about real zombies.

He looked over as the petite faye creature pulled on his shirt sleeve, Aedus smiled at the tug. " No problem, I volunteered. It sounded like it went well?"

He could see she got the job from the way her cheeks rose into a smile that was too cute. " So, where too now?"