Diner

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Roy Lane
King of Sirens



"Music's like life, it can be filled with mistakes or with the most beautiful moments."

Rose cookies, huh? Roy had them once or twice. Homemade, he meant. Whenever friends from the Home Ec. class wanted to show off their newfound talents they would bake cookies. Of course, none of them were good enough to give him memories like that, unless it was the hospital memory.
Before Roy could say anything, two enormous plates with mountains of hot dogs were set on the table. The white-haired man gulped as he gazed at the tower. He was expected to eat all this?! Sure he was hungry, but this was a little much, wasn't it? He could probably down two at best, three if he was really hungry. He craned his head over the pyramid to look at Dana. Maybe three hot dogs was all he needed. Or one. She looked like she'd be out for the count after one bite.

"Only you can control that."

 

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☸ Dana Klein ☸

"There's only one person who really matters to me..."

But Dana looked calm, almost as if she were about to drink hot chocolate in her living room before watching Lifetime. She looked up at the waitress, nodding once. "Can I have a bowl of water?" she asked, smiling a little when one was presented to her and set down beside the plate. She turned to Roy, smiling as innocently as she could. "First one to finish gets the bear." A whistle was sounded, and her attention returned to her plate.
With the speed of a true competitor, Dana lifted her first hot dog and ripped it in half, dipping both halves int he water before cramming them down her throat. She swallowed, and the first dog was gone. She lifted the second, then the third, keeping up a steady pace and never slowing. Compared to her last competition, this was cakewalk, and she was at her leisure. True to her training, she never turned to look at Roy, focusing on her art and putting away hot dog after hot dog.

"... And it's not you."

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[Its Smiley]

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Roy Lane
King of Sirens



"Music's like life, it can be filled with mistakes or with the most beautiful moments."

Roy quirked his eyebrow. She looked so calm! No beads of sweat or wide eyes. And what was with that weird request? A bowl of water? Why a bowl?
When the whistle sounded, the man learned a horrible truth.
He watched in horror as Dana devoured a handful of hot dogs in only a matter of seconds. She was a machine! She could eat them whole if she wanted, he bet. Shaking his head and closing his gaping jaw, Roy settled back in his seat and looked up at his own platter. Gawking wouldn't help. She's got a huge lead, and he would have to go now if he wanted to win. Taking a deep breath, Roy grabbed a hot dog and took a large bite.

~~~

"Blugh..." Roy slumped forward in his seat, a wilted three-fourths of a hot dog in his fist and crumbs covering his mouth. His eyes were closed but not tight enough, resembling squiggly lines.
That was his fourth hot dog. He hit his wall after the first bite of three and couldn't recover. He felt so full, like he'd explode. Letting out a small and weak burp, the man opened one eye to see how Dana was doing. Maybe she was the same. Sure she looked like she was devouring them, but maybe she wouldn't be able to hold anything. He knew he couldn't.

"Only you can control that."

 

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☸ Dana Klein ☸

"There's only one person who really matters to me..."

Unlike Roy, the tiny German girl was already finished with her plate and taking hot dogs from his. She leaned back in her chair, grabbing two of his and grinning at him. She tore them both in half, then swallowed them back. She then reached for a glass of ice water, taking a sip before crossing her legs and turning to face her failed competitor. "Perhaps I should reintroduce myself." She wiped her mouth with a napkin then held out her hand. "My name is Dana Klein. I'm an internationally-ranked speed-eating competitor." She giggled a little, tilting her head to the side and clasping her hands on her lap. "Betcha wish you'd challenged me to bowling or something, huh?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"... And it's not you."

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Roy Lane
King of Sirens



"Music's like life, it can be filled with mistakes or with the most beautiful moments."

Incredulous disbelief mixed with the nausea that showed on Roy's face when he saw... nothing. That entire plate was empty! All... hundred thousand those hot dogs were gone! His wide eyes rolled up to Dana's smiling face. That tiny girl ate all of that?! When she reintroduced herself to him, he felt his face go as pale as his hair. A competitive eater. Her? As in eating contests?!
Tightening his grip on his hot dog, Roy pointed accusingly at her. "You-"
His head fell against the table in thump heavy enough to rattle the silverware. Unfortunately, his body had to pull all its energy into absorbing his food and the new information, and that meant shutting down his mind.

"Only you can control that."

 

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"Uncle Leon," started Aysun from across the table. She swung her legs carelessly in her big seat, but there was plenty of care on her face. "Where's Uncle Nikki?" She hadn't seen him in a while, and what's more, Uncle Leon was acting differently.

 

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Leon Court




He shook his head, taking sip of his drink. "He's not going to be hanging out with us anymore," he said, gesturing to the waitress who was coming back. "Hey, your milkshake is here."

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"Why?" she frowned. She looked at the milkshake that was delivered, and though it brought a smile to her face, her concerned look was quick to return. "Are you two fighting?" she asked after a while. She remembered the last time she thought that, and it was Leon that told her she'd know if they were fighting. Well she had a sinking feeling that she knew. Her parents would act like this whenever they were mad at each other, after all. Sometimes her dad would leave and wouldn't come back until up to a week passed.

 

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Leon Court




He shook his head, looking down at his drink. "I really don't want to talk about it, Aysun," said Leon quietly, his hand touching his pocket. He could feel the ring. The next flight to Concord was in about three hours, so they couldn't stay at the diner long. Aysun wouldn't have much to do on a farm, but it would make do until they could get to his former family home.

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Aysun frowned and sadly took a few sips of her milkshake. It was delicious, but it lost its appeal without Uncle Leon and Uncle Nikki smiling and making things fun.
When she got halfway through her shake she felt someone standing near them and turned her head. "Uncle Nikki!" she gasped. Standing at the end of her booth was indeed Nikolai, a solemn look on his face and guilt in his sleepy eyes. "Hello dearie." he replied quietly to the little girl, though his eyes stayed on Leon.
Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a roll of quarters and handed them to the girl. "Go play the crane game, dearie. Your Uncle Leon and I have something to discuss." Aysun looked at Leon with uncertainty, though the crane game had far too much appeal. She gleefully took the roll and ran off. With these many quarters she was bound to win something!

 

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Leon Court




Leon was far too caught up in his thoughts to feel a presence, but hearing Aysun's gasp, he knew who was there. As she said his name, Leon kept his eyes down, not wanting to look at him. He was still so angry, but the pain of lost love was far greater. when she was given the quarters, he nodded that she was allowed to go, then looked out the window. "Go away," he ordered coldly when his daughter was out of sight. He didn't want to see him, didn't want to be near him. Leon knew that he'd probably end up forgiving Nikolai no matter what he did, but he just wanted to be angry. Why couldn't Nikolai ever just let him be angry?

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"I'm afraid I can't do that, dearie. I walked here, so that should tell you how determined I am." the Sin attempted to joke. He knew Leon wouldn't laugh, but hopefully it lightened the mood, if even by a fraction.
Nikolai sat down in the booth across from Leon, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. "Leon," he said. "Give me a chance to explain myself. If you still want to leave after hearing my side of the story then I won't stop you. Just please hear me out."

 

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Leon Court




Leon wasn't amused by the joke, keeping his gaze away from the Russian. Instead, he stared out the window, watching cars pass by. Two hours and fifty minutes until the plane took off. He may as well humor the man. "Fine." No one could say that he wasn't a fair man. Stupid, maybe, but fair.

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Nikolai brightened a little. At least Leon was still willing to listen to him, that was a start. With a deep breath, he began recounting his tale for the second time.
He explained who Miranda was and that she was one of the first friends he ever had in his mortal youth. He talked about how she somehow managed to stay alive through all these years and how she always chased after him. He talked about how nothing he did could keep her away, from locking her up in Hell to putting her in a nightmare induced coma. She always came back, and even crazier than ever.
"She threatened to blow up the entire city in order to kill you and Aysun if I didn't play along. I'm sorry, Leon. I wish I could have told you earlier, but that would have made things more complicated. I never meant to hurt you." Nikolai concluded with a heavy heart. He spent the entire time he talked staring at Leon's face, looking for some kind of indication that this cold wall built between them would break.

 

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Leon Court




Honestly, the story made sense. Sure, Leon was still visibly upset, but he seemed a lot less furious than before. The hurt from it all took the anger's place. "You still should've said something," he said after staying silent for the whole story and a few minutes after its conclusion. It took a little bit of talking himself into it, but Leon finally looked back to Nikolai head on, eyes harder than they'd ever been when looking at the Sin. "I would've done anything to protect you, to help you. I don't care if she would've killed me, you should've said something instead of going around with a crazy woman behind my back. Were you going to keep at it after we got married, if we ever got married? Hell, is she part of the reason why nothing is getting done with the wedding? I don't think you properly understand what I've been going through, Nikolai." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, looking over to where he could see Aysun playing happily.
Two hours. He had two hours remaining until the plane left.

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