Damn Paperclip [Open]

[telekinetic_badass]

Julian glared at the paperclip. Or, rather, the charred shard of metal that used to be a paperclip, which was sitting on the floor of an otherwise empty sensorium.

He had tried to pick it up and move it, something that should be a simple task for a telekinetic like him, but his precision control was still shot to hell. He ended up using too much energy in too small a space, which resulted in an explosion.

For the fifth time in a row.

It was getting annoying. He used to have perfect control. Hell, he was on the verge of learning how to disassemble molecules. Now, thanks to Emma unleashing him into overdrive, he can move a mountain through sheer force of will, but can't pick up anything smaller than an SUV without exploding it.

He was getting better at it with practice, but it was slow and frustrating. But damn it all to hell if he was going to ask for help. He could do this on his own. He'd just have to try again.

Which he did, having the sensoriums make another paperclip for him. All he had to do was concentrate, focus, grab hold of it, lift it and then.... then shield his eyes from shrapnel as that one exploded too.

"Dammit..."

Comments

[starlightace]

"But not the rest of it," she countered.

"...I don't think you ever actually told us your name, either."

[telekinetic_badass]

"You never asked," he teased. Then held out a hand for her.

"Julian Keller, codenamed Hellion. And nicknamed about a thousand other things." The most popular of which seems to be 'Hey, asshole!', but she didn't need to know that.

[starlightace]

Nanoha took his hand in hers, giving it a firm shake. "Well, if we're going to be formal," she smiled. "Nanoha Takamachi, callsign Stars-1. And Fate Testarossa-Harlaown, callsign Lightning-1."

She turned her head to the other girl. "Fate-chan, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

[thunder-ace.livejournal.com]

Fate had flown over shortly after the battle ended, but had been keeping her distance; it was obvious she didn't want to get too close to Julian again.

"... I guess not." She said reluctantly. It really wasn't that bad, compared to most of Nanoha's sparring matches, but Fate still preferred it not even happening. "Now you better rest all day, like you said you would."

[telekinetic_badass]

Man, why'd they have to be lesbians?

"Taka... mara... and Testa-harley?" Yeah, he knew he was way off. "Yeah, it's gonna take me a minute; I suck with names alright?

"Can't we just stick with Dollface and Sweetheart?"

[starlightace]

"I don't like nicknames," Nanoha shook her head. "It's not that hard! Na-no-ha," she paused. "Taka. Machi. See, just break it down!"

[telekinetic_badass]

"Why don't you like nicknames, Na-No-Ha-Ta-ka-ma-ki?" He was genuinely curious about that.

[starlightace]

"Machi," she corrected. "And is there something wrong with preferring to call people by their names?"

[telekinetic_badass]

He shrugged some. "Names are something other people give you, especially if they want to remember you. Calling you the same thing that everyone else calls you seems rather... impersonal." As if he were calling her by her rank, social security number, or some other cold arbitrary identifier.

"Besides, I suck with names anyway. It's easier to just make one up for you that I can be reminded of every time I see you, rather than having to flip through some massive mental rolodex." Because you really don't want to know how many women he's hit on over his lifetime. "Dollface and Sweetheart suit you both, anyway."