2/11 Instance: A Five-Banana Snow

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Slarti
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Title: Damn Not Given
Nightscrawlearth Character: :icey :phoenix

2/11 Instance: A Five-Banana Snow

Post by Slarti »

Timelined the morning after Keeping You Up

<Shaw> He had stared for at least five minutes, but they hadn't moved an inch. Not a muscle. It was still early, just about dawn, and Sebastian would have preferred to be asleep. Asleep, like his wife and child, through some miracle.

<Shinobi> But, no, he had woken up to Sharky snuffling around his head, not that the little beast needed out. Sebastian rested his back against the sofa Hope had abandoned and sucked at his teeth, which he needed to brush.

<Shinobi> He'd already made the decision he wasn't going to wake them, but it was still a touch and go situation. If, heavens forfend, they were unclothed under that mound of blankets, there would be hell to pay. Specifically, from Tony Stark.

<Hope> It was the best sleep Hope had enjoyed in months. She was hesitant to waken, stirring as she opened her eyes. She blinked, meeting an icy blue stare. She quickly shut her eyes again. Nope, she was asleep.

<Shaw> You do realize I saw you, yes? He sat up slightly, trying to gauge the damage.

<Hope> You saw nothing. You are sleeping. This is all a dream. Hope attempted to move, but discovered her leg was trapped between Shinobi's. She just smirked, opening her eyes again. Or not.

<Shaw> The whining sound Shinobi made when Hope moved was perhaps a tad too much for Sebastian. His upper lip rose in disgust.

<Hope> Hope couldn't help it. She grinned, stopping her movements to lie still. Good morning? she tried at Sebastian again.

<Shaw> Apparently for at least two of us.

<Shinobi> His hand was on Hope's hip, and squeezed it, his head turning to the side as he started to realize this dream wasn't actually a dream.

<Hope> Smirk firmly in place, Hope kissed Shinobi's cheek, feeling to see if he was awake or not. She'd warn him they were being watched. Best sleep I've had in months. Warm fire... good pillow.

<Shinobi> ...we're being watched? His tone was confused, but clear enough.

<Shaw> "Heh." Sebastian decided enough was enough since they were both insolent. He hoisted himself to his feet, entirely unwilling to admit he was a bit stiff and needed a round in the gym.

<Hope> I was not the first awake. And he's grumpy. She watched Sebastian, bracing herself.

<Shaw> I do believe I asked you to sleep on the sofa, little Stark. Sebastian only took two steps to tower over them, arms crossed.

<Shinobi> We haven't done anything, he pointed out, though he knew that was useless, and he had his own problems. Shinobi shifted his hips away from Hope slightly, blinking his eyes open and regretting it when he saw his father's knife-like nose from the bottom.

<Hope> You did. Hope confirmed, smiling sweetly. I found much more... agreeable accommodations.

<Shaw> So I see. He waited until Shinobi looked at him, then met the younger man's eyes with a raised eyebrow.

<Hope> Looking between them, Hope felt uneasy. It was my idea.

<Shaw> I'm sure. His mental tone was droll, his attention completely on Shinobi.

<Hope> She considered getting up, but Shinobi was still warm and he still had a hold on her. Are you going to do this every time you see us together? Or should I start mashing xanax into your mashed potatoes.

<Shaw> He reached down and grabbed her wrist to jerk her up.

<Hope> I'll put it in your pudding too. She told him, staring him down as she was jerked away from Shinobi and to her feet.

<Shinobi> Shinobi rolled away and to his feet, half phase shifted and prepared to get Hope from Sebastian's clutches.

<Shinobi> Once he saw their state, Sebastian let go of her. He looked over at Jessica.

<Hope> Satisfied? She asked, taking her arm back to cross both her arms over her chest. She kept herself between the two of them.

<Shaw> He didn't bother with an answer, just looked over his faux son and turned to go back to the master bathroom.

<Shinobi> He took the few steps to Hope and put his arm around her waist to pull her against him.

<Hope> A breath escaped that she didn't know she was holding, leaning back against Shinobi.

<Shinobi> You're okay? He checked her over and caught the wrist Sebastian had, inspecting it for bruises.

<Hope> A kiss to his cheek led to a smile as she watched him with her wrist. I'm fine. It was to get me away from you. she pointed out.

<Shinobi> It doesn't matter. He shouldn't do that. Shinobi brought her hand up and kissed her wrist.

<Hope> Maybe not... but I did provoke him. Totally provoked him. Hope watched Shinobi with her wrist, smiling softly.

<Shinobi> He shrugged and laced their fingers together. He's an asshole.

<Hope> It doesn't matter, Hope squeezed his hand and nestled into him. What do you want to do today?

<Shinobi> I think we're kind of stuck. What do you want to do? He picked up a blanket for them and started for the stairs, not caring where they went so long as it was away from Sebastian.

<Hope> Well, we could measure the snow bank at the front door. It should be packed in enough that it won't fall in. Perfect for measuring. Hope went with him, not about to be left alone with her glaring dad.

<Shinobi> He paused at the stairs and looked at her, then laughed a little and started down the steps. I'm sure there's a measuring app, but we don't have internet.

<Hope> Hey don't laugh at me! She laughed back, hurrying to keep up.

<Shinobi> I'm not laughing at you Ariel. He stopped on the steps, deciding to pick her up again.

<Hope> Safely back in his arms, Hope wrinkled her nose at him. No? She wrapped her arms around his neck.

<Shinobi> You know how cute that nose is, right? He kissed it and stopped at the kitchen level. The fridge was gone, but surely there was still food in there?

<Hope> No... Hope's face flushed at the kiss. She ruffled his morning hair when they reached the kitchen. Where does she keep the good stuff?

<Shinobi> Well, she threw away the peanut butter... He grinned and set her on her feet.

<Hope> She wrinkled her nose at him again, moving away from him to check the cabinets. I said good stuff.

<Shinobi> She doesn't believe in junk food. He opened a cabinet without much hope, and jumped up to sit on the counter.

<Hope> This is why I usually have take out. And eat it while hidden. Hope paused as she found a bunch of bananas on the counter. Bananas... hmm.

<Shinobi> Yeah, me too. Hidden was relative, considering the security system, and the stupid robot and dog, but he tried.

<Hope> We could start doing that together, you know. She picked up a banana and tossed it to him.

<Shinobi> Shinobi caught the banana. His eyebrow lifted. Eat bananas together? The eyebrow went a bit higher.

<Hope> I meant take out. I have a much better use for the bananas! She picked up the rest of the bunch.

<Shinobi> Sorry, not interested in that use... He dangled the banana between two fingers and practiced his own nose wrinkle.

<Hope> She tugged on his arm. Oh stop it. Come on. I know what we're going to do today.

<Shinobi> He laughed and slid off the counter. "Really?"

<Hope> She paused to tap his nose which he had just wrinkled and nodded. "Oh yes. This way." She laced their fingers together again, leading him toward the front door.

<Shinobi> "What are we doing with the bananas?" He still had the one, and gave it a speculative look.

<Hope> "It shall be our unit of measurement. Because why not? I can't think of a better use for a banana than as a mathematical tool."

<Shinobi> "Well, you can eat them I've heard." He smirked. "Of course, I used to eat them on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sometimes..."

<Hope> "All of that sounds horrible. Nothing about that is appealing!" She grinned and slid her hand from his arm to his hand. "Except jelly."

<Shinobi> "Not even bread? What have you got against bread?"

<Hope> "I forgot about the bread..." she answered, thinking that over. "Put it in the toaster and we have a deal."

<Shinobi> "You've probably hit on the only other thing I can cook, so if we had electricity you'd get breakfast in bed." He looked at the banana again. "Well, on floor."

<Hope> Her face lit up as he talked, pausing in their walk to lean up and kiss him softly. "As long as it includes coffee, I'm so on board with this."

<Shinobi> It took him a moment to realize what had earned him that kiss, but he was quick enough to return it. "I'm guessing Starbucks is closed..."

<Hope> She snickered, and closed the distance to the front door. "I'm guessing everything is closed." She opened the door and stared at the wall of snow in front of them. "Everything is closed..."

<Shinobi> "Shiiiiit." He leaned on the frame, looking out into the street. There were drifts that he could probably get lost in near the edge of the building.

<Hope> "Do you want to build a snowman?" Hope asked, laughing.

<Shinobi> "Ha! No." He was willing to venture a handful, however, and flicked it at her.

<Hope> Grinning, Hope reached to the top of the bank to carefully scoop out a little. "Sure you want to do that?" She attacked him with it, throwing it at him and laughing.

<Shinobi> "Apparently not," he laughed, fending her off with a hand, then realizing he still had the banana and using that with a smirk.

<Hope> "You can't wave your banana at me!" Hope pulled out her own banana to fend him off.

<Shinobi> "No, I really can't." He tapped her banana once and backed off, laugh turning decidedly more suggestive. "But this one is safe enough."

<Shaw> Sebastian gave up on his attempt to make coffee in the fireplace and started down the stairs to see what the hell was going on.

<Hope> Hope snickered, biting her lip a bit and coughing. "Right so. Measuring! Unhand that banana!" She turned to the snow bank and carefully pressed the first one at ground level vertically into the powder. "One banana...."

<Shinobi> He snorted and crouched to add his banana, just above Hope's. "Two banana..."

<Hope> "Three banana..." Hope pressed another one above his.

<Shinobi> "Hand one over." He took it and added it to the stack, amused now. "Do we have enough bananas for this?"

<Hope> "We may have to borrow bananas from the bottom! Four banana... I think maybe... just...." She put a fifth one, which stuck out just barely over the top of the snow bank. "Five banana!"

<Shinobi> "That's... something." He pressed his hand over his mouth, snickering.

<Hope> Hope pretended to fuss over the bananas as she formed a snow ball, throwing it over her shoulder at him.

<Shinobi> "Heeey," he protested, ducking and brushing the snow from his hair. He was so distracted he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.

<Shaw> Shaw stopped at the bottom of the stairs and crossed his arms, staring at the doorway and the two responsible for it.

<Hope> Hope laughed and started to grab more snow when she did notice Sebastian looming at the top of the stairs. Her smile dropped slightly as she spoke up. "It has been a 5 banana snowfall."

<Shinobi> Shinobi realized she was looking past him and turned, straightening up and running a hand through his hair.

<Hope> She closed the door, giving Sebastian a bright smile. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

<Shaw> He looked from one to the other, then back to Hope. When was the last time he'd seen her like this? He couldn't remember. His gaze slid back to Shinobi. Of course, of course it would be these two.

<Shinobi> His father's expression was making him uncomfortable, as usual, and he sidestepped closer to Hope. After a moment of thought, he held out his hand to her.

<Hope> She took it, lacing their fingers and closing the distance to him. She had no idea what Sebastian's look was for, but it was all she could do to keep from laughing. Where was Drake, damnit? He got the Frozen jokes! Hell, was the one who usually made them.

<Shaw> "You probably should retrieve those bananas before they freeze. I'm sure Jessica has plans for them." He turned and started back up the stairs. "When you two are finished, come back upstairs for breakfast."

<Shinobi> He glanced between his father and Hope, eyebrow raised. That was easier than expected.

<Hope> She finally did laugh, though kept it quiet. I think we broke his brain... She told him through her snickering as she pulled him to retrieve the bananas.

<Shinobi> That was too easy. He was suspicious, but the footsteps continued upward, and so he let Hope tug him back to the door by the hand.

<Hope> I'm sure I'll hear about it later, she pointed out, rescuing the bananas by passing them to Shinobi. Totally worth it.

<Shinobi> Yeah, it's... wait a minute. He gave her back the two bananas he had and pointed to the bank, checking his pockets.

<Hope> It's what? She questioned, looking back at the snow bank confused.

<Shinobi> "Put them back," he said, locating his phone. It still had charge, and he grinned at her.

<Hope> It took her a beat, but she grinned and put the bananas back before joining him to watch the photo taking. "I like the way you think."

<Shinobi> "As you totally should." He took a snap of the bananas in the bank, then gestured her over.

<Hope> Taking her cue, Hope crouched down and posed with the banana measuring stick.

<Shinobi> After a picture of her with her five-banana snow, he joined her, his arm around her shoulders to pull her close for another pic.

<Hope> Hope thought fast and turned her head to kiss his cheek. That was so going to be her new wallpaper!

<Shinobi> He was on the same page and shifted his hand to her hair, catching her lips for just one more.

<Hope> Hope returned the kiss happily, pressing her forehead against his when it ended.

<Shinobi> It was nice to stay there, just for a moment, and then he moved his mouth closer to hers again: "And now we get the bananas, before I freeze."

<Hope> Shaking her head and laughing, Hope took the bananas out of the snow again. "But we make beautiful pictures together. You'll send those to me, right?"

<Shinobi> "Yeah, just as soon as we get service back." He set the last one as the wallpaper on his phone and showed her, taking frosted bananas again. "Which from the looks of things, might be a while."

<Hope> Hope took the phone, smiling at it. She shook her herself and handed it back finally, securing the door. "Maybe we can at least get the power back up here."

<Shinobi> "Oh yeah? Are you going to build a fusion reactor out of the fridge coils and the junk Sebastian has up in his workshop?"

<Hope> "No.... Jess would kill me..." but what if she could improve on their power supply? She gave his cheek a very loud kiss. "Come on! We have work to do!"
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