17649/A Friend Of A Friend

A Friend Of A Friend
Date of Scene:	14 April 2024
Location:	Vanessa's Apartment
Synopsis:	Mrs. Diaz brings tamales by for Vanessa. Robbie tracks her down at Vanessa's apartment, and fixes the abomination that are her water pipes.
Cast of Characters:	Vanessa Carlysle, Robbie Reyes

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Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle is sitting on a yoga mat in her apartment, wearing a pair of shorts and a workout top. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail to stay out of her way as she is currently working out. Doing sit ups. Which from the sheen of perspiration that she's worked up, the late twenty-something's workout has been well underway for a bit.

Her door is left open. Which is very un-Vanessa-like. She keeps peering over at it, practically developing a tick at the urge to go close it. She pauses in her current set, deciding to do just that, when the reason she had it open finally arrives.

Mrs. Diaz is an elderly woman who lives further upstairs. She's been alone since her husband died several years ago. Someone who befriended Vanessa, the sweet old abuela arrives at Vanessa's door, carrying a box of tamales.

As Vanessa moves to rise, she waves her back down and says, "You work out. I good." The woman who speaks only broken English takes the box over and sets it down on a table before returning to stop at the door and look back. She asks Vanessa a string of Spanish, before switching to English. "You skin and bones. Starving. Eat more, Vanessa!"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie was here to see an old woman. Mrs. Diaz has little relation to him personally, but she's *always* been a kind woman to Gabe and keeping an eye on him while Robbie is off becoming a deadly demon hunter. This is one of those moments where he tries to show his appreciation, though imagine his surprise when Mrs. Diaz is *not* in her apartment. "Mrs. Diaz?" He asks into the room, though he happens to hear a *very* particular voice just a few levels down.

"Agh, she's off being friendly..."

And his heavy footsteps take him down a few levels as he approaches the origin of Mrs. Diaz's voice. Unlike Vanessa, Robbie is dressed casually. He wears his favorite leather jacket that he received from his father, a black jacket with white racer decal on his chest. He wears a simple white T-shirt underneath that jacket with black jeans and combat boots on his feet. Though as he rounds that corner, he looks into the apartment to see Mrs. Diaz, seemingly demanding a woman to work out and come get some food.

Then he sees Vanessa.

*Whoa.*

"Uhm." He knocks on the doorframe. "Hola Mrs. Diaz-" he looks at Vanessa. "Ma'am. I uh, got some food here for Mrs. Diaz. Mind if I step in?"

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The grey-haired older woman is diminutive, her short frame turning towards the door that's right there near her as Robbie sounds the knock. In Spanish she tells him, "Ah, Robbie! Hello. I'm just dropping off some tamales with Vanessa. I have some for you and Gabe back in my apartment. I made a big batch of them," she says, the sweet old woman giving Robbie a soft smile.

Vanessa looks up at the knock as well, leaning a bit to the side, one hand on the floor as she looks around the sweet abuela to see who it is. Her dark, soft eyes sweep over him quickly before looking to Mrs. Diaz as she greets him. "Please, come in," Vanessa says in English. "Any friend of Mrs. Diaz, and all," she says, flashing Robbie a small smile.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
<<Oh, thank you Mrs. Diaz. You honestly don't have to do all that for us...I just wanted to thank you for being there for Gabe while I'm away. It means a lot to him and for me. So I made you some Enchiladas. My mother's recipe.>>

When she was still alive, anyway. But Robbie has a container full of the stuff for Mrs. Diaz, though as she reveals the name of Vanessa? He turns his eyes to look at her more directly. His own eyes were heterochromatic. Though his multi-colored eyes look at Vanessa with a soft smile when he meets her soft brown hues.

She's stunning.

He clears his throat though, stepping into the apartment with a slight smile. "Thanks." And he'll walk into the kitchen, largely to offer Mrs. Diaz the enchiladas in question. "Nice place you have here." He tells Vanessa. "Sorry if we interrupted your uhm..." He looks at the mat. "Yoga?"

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle grabs her hand towel and pops up to her feet, "Sit ups and crunches actually," she tells Robbie, patting her midsection as if to indicate where the exercise is aimed. While not ripped, she still must do a lot of those as her belly is quite flat, her torso pleasingly toned.

She dabs at exposed skin quickly and wipes her hands before offering one to Robbie. "Vanessa Carlysle," she offers him. "And thank you," Vanessa says, her eyes going about the place. Thank goodness she knew Mrs. Diaz was coming and quickly picked up the various clothing that had been lying about the place just an hour earlier. "I try, but you know how the building is here," she says, letting out an exhalation of frustration.

A new landlord took over the building a few months back. And somehow managed to get rent increased even on the rent-controlled apartments. The residents have been muttering to each other about it. Probably some bribery involved.

Mrs. Diaz moves over to Robbie. "Robbie is good boy. Takes care of his brother," she says in her hesitant English. "And best enchiladas. Gracias, Robbie!" She reaches up to take his head and pull it down so she can kiss his cheeks, making Vanessa break out in a grin.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Huh. Well, it's definitely working for you." Robbie tells Vanessa with an unintentional flirt regarding her midsection. He was right, of course, her toned chest - pleasing to the eyes - and her powerful abdominal muscles were looking great with her workout routine. Course, Robbie mostly got his exercise in via his work at Canelo's Auto and Body. Thoug hhe should probably do more conventional workouts like Vanessa, he'd probably look a bit more bulky than lean.

That hand extended to him is met with a firm, strong handshake from Robbie. "Robbie Reyes. Nice to meet you, Vanessa." He probably keeps that contact slightly longer than aboslutely necessary, but he releases her hand, a little smile. "Yeah. It's a pain in the ass. But hoping that after a second, the new landlord will figure their shit out." They never do, but at least the last landlord had some class.

Then his head is being grabbed by Mrs. Diaz as she calls him a good boy and kisses his cheeks. "De nada, Senora Diaz..." He smiles, standing back up straight as he looks at Vanessa. "So uh, how long have you known Mrs. Diaz?"

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Unintentional or not, the comment might be responsible for Vanessa's smile growing further, plus that bit of pleased warmth that shows in her eyes. "And you, Robbie," she tells him. Waiting until Mrs. Diaz has his attention with the cheek-kissing to get a second, longer look at the handsome Latino in the leather jacket.

The comment about the landlord draws open laughter from the sweet older Latina. << When hens grow teeth, >> she replies in Spanish, using an idiom similar in meaning to English's 'when pigs fly'. She shuffles over to Vanessa's cabinets, getting herself a plastic cup.

Meanwhile, Vanessa finds her gaze stealing back over to the open doorway. She drifts over that way while responding to Robbie, "Oh, since not long after I moved in, years ago. She stopped me on the stairs, told me I was too thin, and what room was I in so she could bring me food." Vanessa closes the door, locking both deadbolts and the chain and then turning back with a warm grin. "And obviously nothing has changed since- Oh, Mrs. Diaz, no," she says quickly, spotting the woman about to fill the glass from the sink.

The faucet and pipes making an unpleasant sound and then dirty brown water issues from the tap into the glass. Vanessa hurries over as Mrs. Diaz is dumping the cup out. "I have some bottled water," she says, opening the fridge and pulling out a gallon jug. It's an old milk jug that was washed out and filled with water, rather than store bought. "Here it's cold already," she says, getting a clean glass and pouring for the woman. "Robbie, do you want a glass?" she asks. "The super hasn't fixed the pipes yet as you can see."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Vanessa's smile in response to his compliment makes Robbie smile a litle bit wider himself. "Anytime." Robbie stayed on her eyes in that moment. She's an absolutely stunning woman. Though he gets the impression he would've said something stupid or completely un-cool without the arrival of Mrs. Diaz, leaving him blissfully aware that the same woman he was making eyes at was making some eyes at him while his attention was focused elsewhere.

<<Never know, it might happen.>> Robbie remarks softly to Vanessa. Though Robbie continues to listen to her. "Huh. Yeah, that sounds like her. I met her when I desperately needed someone to watch my younger brother so I could go to work. I tried to offer her $100 for the gig, but she wasn't having it. She did it for free and gave me some lunch to take with me. Nicest woman you'll ever meet." Robbie remarks, and he's about to say something else before Vanessa is moving past him to save Mrs. Diaz from drinking bad water.

"Ah, Christ, they've been needing to look at the pipes in this place for awhile now. I can see if I can come down and fix it. I normally fix cars but, plumbing's probably not all that different." Robbie tells Vanessa then in offer, before he nods. "Yes please, if it's not too much trouble."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Mrs. Diaz dismisses the brown water with a little wave of her hand, taking the cold water from Vanessa instead. Two more glasses are forthcoming. One bearing the logo of Angelo's pizza. The other has No5 Orange on it, orange letters on a black background. Vanessa fills them up and passes the one from the pizza place over to Robbie before replacing the water jug back in the fridge. "I fill it over at the fire station," she says of the water.

Turning back to the others, Vanessa leans against a kitchen counter. Her eyes return to Robbie and he earns a soft smile from her. "If you think you could do something about it," she replies to him about the pipes, "It sure would be nice to be able to drink from the tap again. I have a hammer and a wrench somewhere but that's about it I'm afraid."

Mrs. Diaz pats Robbie's shoulder in an approving way. "The building, she fall down one day I tell you. Just like in San Juan." She shakes her head and sighs and holds both hands up as she looks upwards like she's thinking a little prayer up to the sky. << Robbie, thank you for the enchiladas. I will get them up and into the fridge before they get cold," she says.

Realizing the woman is leaving, Vanessa goes to unlock the trio of locks on the door for her.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Two glasses are forthcoming! Hope is not lost yet. Though Robbie accepts the water cup from Vanessa, he smiles at her. "Thank you. Filling it up at the fire station is pretty smart. Nice guys, most of the time." Course Robbie has no idea what her relations are with the fire station. Maybe she works there? Who knows. But, he takes a sip of the water with a satisfied sigh. He hums for a second, as if in deep thought when she tells him the tools she has. "I'll make it work. Here, where's the tools?"

He starts to look around, but he stops, realizing it's probably super rude to look through someone's private domicile when you just meet. So he looks at her for permission, though as Mrs. Diaz pats Robbie's shoulders, he turns to look at her. "Well, hopefully the building won't be falling down anytime soon." He remarks with a little smile on his face. <<Of course, Mrs. Diaz. You take care of yourself.>> and as Mrs. Diaz leaves, Robbie realizes something.

Then there were two.

While Vanessa's back is turned, he tries to straighten himself out a little bit, check his hair in the microwave glass, the usual.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle turns back after letting Mrs. Diaz out. She relocks each of the locks and then pauses, hands on hips as she looks around her apartment. "That's a good question. The window was stuck and I used the hammer and a screw driver to get under it and pry it open. But then I used it for... oh yes."

She crosses the room, looking in kitchen drawers. They aren't exactly neatly organized. Silverware is in one, the rest are kind of a grab bag of different things.

"Hammer," she says, pulling it up from a drawer. "Though I'm not sure if that's much help with pipes?" she asks, giving an unsure shrug as she passes it over. "Wrench..." she says, going over to a small chest at the end of the couch. She opens it up, and Robbie might notice a leather garment at the top. Which Vanessa hastily stuffs deeper before she digs around in it. "Ok, wrench," she says, retrieving that and bringing it over to him.

Which brings her up close to him again. "Thank you for this," she says, eyes meeting his and giving him a soft smile.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Vanessa is relocking the door.

For a moment, Robbie knows he's probably gonna get a little bit messy, depending on if the pipes are clogged with something nasty, and he reaches for his jacket to take it off and fold it neatly, setting it over one of the chairs in the apartment, leaving his muscular arms bare for her viewing pleasure, if she so desires. "Hammer and screw driver? That'll help too." Though as Vanessa grabs up the hammer and passes it over to him, Robbie accepting it and setting it aside as he opens up some of the drawers to be able to access underneath the sink.

And when she has the wrench? She brings it over to him, leaving them close together as he meets her eyes. "Yeah...anytime." He stays right where he is, his hand lifting to accept the wrench from her, which...coincidentally enough, causes their hands to touch..

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle's finger lingers there for about an extra second before she relinquishes the tool. "Right," Vanessa says, her eyes seeming to search his face for a moment, before a thought seems to strike her. She leans forward a little, and for a brief moment the furthest prominences of her body brush against Robby's chest.

And then she's leaning back, straightening as she draws her arm back from where it had reached past him to another drawer. "Screwdriver," she says, holding it up and offering it to him. Her eyes have a bright sparkle, but her lips don't give any sign if she noticed anything special about that contact.

"You're wearing your nice things though. If this would be better to come back another time in something you don't want to get messed up," she ventures, glancing down at Robbie again a moment before looking back up.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Right." Robbie repeats her words, even as he's looking at her eyes. She's leaning forwards towards him, and he finds himself leaning right towards her in that moment, their bodies brushing together in that moment of contact, before she's leaning away, offering him that screw driver without breaking eye contact. "Yeah...." He clears his throat a moment, though his eyes have that same sparkle to them, moving a little bit past her as their bodies brush against one another again.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. If I have a pair of jeans without some oil on them, I'd be surprised."

He winks at her, before he takes his tools and gets to work on the sink. Though every now and again? He'll turn to look at Vanessa.

Heh. Jackpot Robbie?

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
"So I'm guessing, mechanic. Or fry cook," Vanessa comments as she moves back to get out of Robbie's way as he turns to the sink. "Or you really like to go for that sixties greasy hair look," she finishes, her tone conveying a grin even if Robbie maybe can't see her face right now.

She moves across the room, footfalls light but the floor creaky enough he can tell. "Sorry you walked in on me all sweaty-faced and everything," she says. "I try to do this stuff early in the morning, but it was kind of a bleary-eyed morning today."

The bathroom door swings shut for a moment. She comes back out a minute or so later, the ponytail gone, her hair looking really nice for having just a run a brush through it, if that's what she did. A more thorough toweling seems to have taken place as well.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Oh yeah, I'm a mechanic at Canelo's Auto and Body." Robbie admits to Vanessa with a slight smile. He takes the wrench, curling it around one of the pipes as he gets to work. "Do I give off a greaser vibe? I try to be easy." Robbie suggests to her. "Been fixing cars all my life."

"Oh, don't worry about that. If it helps, I think you look great." Robbie remarks then. "I hear you though. I was looking for Mrs. Diaz...sorry if I kinda just showed up and interrupted your whole days." He chuckles.

By the time she's come out of the bathroom, Robbie has a hint of sweat to him, and a little bit of dirty water on his shirt. "Whew. Almost done. Just need a little bit to clear it up..." and he turns to see Vanessa all prettied up.

"Hey." He greets her with a little grin.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
"Wait, you mean, you figured it out?" Vanessa asks in a surprised tone. "Not that I didn't think you could. Just, I'm going to have to learn what you did if it's only taking a couple of minutes to figure it out," she says.

The creaking of the floorboards sounds her approach, and soon Vanessa is crouching down there where Robbie is lying on his back, head under the cupboards. She spots a flashlight he found under the sink, reaching over to take it and point it where he's working rather than having it just beaming up at the bottom of the sink to spread the light as best it can.

"Hey," she says back when they are able to see each other eye to eye. "So where's the problem?" she asks, peering at where he's working.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Course I figured it out."

Robbie's not a genius in a lot of fields, but when it comes to mechanics and engineering? As long as it's not like...a bomb or something, Robbie can probably fix it. Yet, as Robbie is lying there on his back, grunting as he wrenches loose one of the pipes, using the screwdriver to dig up some of that sediment that lines its side.

"See, normally...when you have dirty water, it's because there's a problem in the water main. But...sometimes, you can get dirty water from weird water pressure kicking up all of this gross shit in the pipes." Robbie then looks, seeing how close they are to each other. A little smile then, before he looks back at the pump. "Now I just gotta tighten this and we can try running water."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa is watching what Robbie is doing, as well as listening to him. She leans down a little more to get a better angle of vision on the pipe, her hand coming to rest lightly on Robbie's chest on her side. She shines the flashlight into the pipe, being careful not to shine it in his eyes.

"I had cleaned out the line once before, like three weeks ago and it was fine. So I didn't imagine it could be that," she says. She aims the flashlight back in a more general way to help Robbie rather than looking down the exposed pipe.

"So are you as good of a mechanic as you are a plumber? I don't have a car though I'm afraid," she says. Her hand still resting where it landed, whether she's aware of it or not, unclear.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie looks down in that moment, a hint of his focus failing him as he feels her palm on his muscular chest, his eyes looking at her as she delights in information and asks her question. Oh yeah, he's gonna be down bad.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, these pipes suck, but it'll probably be a recurring problem until they can fix that main water line-" He finishes tightening that pipe with the wrench, his hand rubbing at his forehead to deal with the sweat. Her next question earns a smile as he checks his work.

"Better." He admits in pride. "But hey, I'm probably the best Mechanic in the city for a low low price." Ge smirks at a wimpy attempt at a self-ad. He looks again at her hand, then back to her. "I know a good spot where you can get a car for cheap."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
"You'd think they could put some kind of filter where the water line comes into the building," she says. "But oh wait, that would cost the landlord money!" she says, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Her hand gives a small little rub. "Thank you, but it would just be an unnecessary expense for me. Plus it would probably lose its wheels before the week was out. Most places are walking distance for me. Or if not, subway."

Vanessa grabs a towel, her hand finally moving to do so, and then she leans in and wipes at a pipe before it can deposit some gathering drops on Robbie. "So how do I thank you for this? I'd offer to cook you something, but botulism is a horrible way to thank a person. I could probably order some takeout though if you wanted to stop back for dinner?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie gives her a little laugh. "Yep...usual suspects." he shakes his head. Landlords are just loan sharks trying to take all of your money and keep all of theirs. "But, hopefully they'll fix it up. If they don't...I bet I could find a good water filter."

Her hand rubs his chest and she manages to save him from getting anything on his face. "Hey, fair enough. Figured I'd offer - since you have a mechanic living two floors above you who'd make it a free fix anyway." He chuckles. She asks about payment and he shakes his head. "Nah, I don't need anything."

Though she offers takeout and as he sits up a little, he finds himself /quite/ close to her face. An unintentional risk...but certainly not an unwelcome one on his end. "Dinner it is...There's a few good spots around here..?

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle gives a smile to the handsome Latino as he sits up. "Excellent," she says, and leans over to give Robbie a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for fixing the sink," she says, rising then, and reaching down to offer a hand to help him up.

Afterwards, she turns on the water, letting it run a bit. "I should probably buy new... I don't know what they are called. The little filter things in the faucet. After that water ran through them," she says.

She glances at her phone which is sitting on a kitchen counter. "Time for me to go down to the hardware store for some before they close. And then I can clean up and get some food. See you tonight at... eight? Or seven if that's too late?" she offers.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
A peck on the cheek given and Robbie can't help but smile quite a bit, a red flush of heat pouring through his skin. "You're welcome." He smiles at her, and he lifts his hand to accept her help back to his feet.

"Youcould or I can take your sink apart and clean it with some good chemicals or something like that." Robbie shrugs. "But, well, we'll figure it out."

He smiles then. "Eight. If that works for you." They speak for a short time more before he leaves, all to get ready for date night.