Christmas 2016: Paige and Bobby

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Slarti
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Christmas 2016: Paige and Bobby

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<Paige> The holiday music blasted from the speakers in the overcrowded mall. She felt somewhat empty without Ripley to hold onto, but she replaced it with Bobby's arm. It kept her grounded and prevented her from running into the mass of people that surrounded them as they headed to the various stores in search of new clothes. Even the twinkle from the lights or the faint sounds of Santa couldn't bring a smile to Paige's face.

<Bobby> He was happy for Paige's death grip on his arm, actually. It gave him something to focus on other than his own misery. He'd never been a big fan of shopping, and especially now. There was too much greenery around. "Okay, so what else do you need?" He shifted the packages that already rested in the crook of his free elbow.

<Paige> Her blue eyes shifted over to him, her mind processing his question. "I um..." what else did she need? She needed her friends alive again for one, but that wasn't going to happen.

<Bobby> Bobby shot her a look, then another, then winced. "I, uh, understand if you don't really want to buy underwear in front of me, babe. I can just, uh, go get us drinks or something while you do?" Babbling, Drake, he reminded himself. "If that's what you're worried about, anyways..."

<Paige> The blush was slow as it took her a moment. She slowly started to smile, then shook her head. "It's okay. It's just underwear." It wasn't like anyone was going to see it except for her and what he saw her buy.

<Bobby> "Oh... o-okay," he said, wincing at himself again for the stuttering. Now he'd made her blush. This was just... awkward.

<Paige> "I just... I don't want to be by myself..." She told him softly, wondering if he could even hear over the noise.

<Bobby> Just barely, but he did, and nodded. "I get that. It's fine." Spotting the next department store, he steered them inside.

<Paige> It was easy to pull Paige. She followed the tug, trusting his direction. She looked around the store, waiting for something to pop out and catch her eye. However, like so many stores before, nothing did.

<Bobby> There was a pink, fluffy sweater. It looked like something she'd wear, he thought, so he pointed at it. "That looks warm," he said, tone questioning.

<Paige> Wordlessly, she picked up the sweater is a size small and laid it neatly over her arm to hold onto it. Her eyes fell on the same sweater in black. She and Rachel could have matched. She moved on to the next rack of clothing. "Yeah... it's soft."

<Bobby> Well... it was progress, he supposed. "Yep, it looks it," he added, completely unnecessarily. Yep yep yep.

<Paige> Paige paused to compose herself, brushing some blonde hair back from her face. It really didn't do any good to talk or think about Rachel or Lorna or any of the others. Nothing made it better. "We should get some pretzels after this store," she offered. Food sounded good. Her stomach grumbled to agree with her, forcing her to consider when her last meal had actually been.

<Bobby> "Pretzels sound good," he agreed with a nod, looking over at her with a tentative smile. "We should see if this place has an Orange Julius or something, for the full mall effect."

<Paige> "Nooo we need lemonade from the pretzel place," she corrected him, smiling back just a tiny bit. "And hot cheese sauce." A pink dress caught her eyes and she was surprised to find herself in motion going to the thing. It was flowy and beautiful. She grabbed it.

<Bobby> "Lemonade it is then," he laughed, then was surprised by her sudden departure from his arm to go after the pink dress. "That's pretty," he observed, totally helpfully.

<Paige> "I um... feel like I should be buying something black... but I just... I can't." She glanced up at him again.

<Bobby> The smile melted off his face. "Yeah... I..." He was at a complete loss for words and his mouth worked without sound. "No, you shouldn't," he finally said, softly. "It won't do anything but make you feel worse and... what's the point of that?"

<Paige> "It won't change anything," she pointed out, keeping the pink dress and taking his arm again.

<Bobby> "Yeah, that's what I mean." He looked down at her arm in his, then back up at her with a small smile.

<Paige> "How about that pretzel then?" she offered, directing them to the cashier.

<Bobby> "With extra cheese," he nodded, shuffling the packages on his free arm again.

<Paige> "Yes... extra fatty, delicious, comforting cheese." She gave him a tiny smile again, paying for her clothes.

<Bobby> "Cheese, then underwear," he said, putting on a grin. After a moment, he stopped to think about this. "You know, I need some of that too."

<Paige> The teasing was right there on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. "Yeah. I think we could both do with some under...garment... shopping."

<Bobby> "It's just not right to borrow that," he said with a deadpan shake of his head.

<Paige> "No.... no it isn't." She shuddered a little. "Maybe we can find you some cute little boxers," she tried teasing him a little. It was easier than focusing on her emotions at least.

<Bobby> "Pac-Man," he nodded, taking her package and adding it to his collection. "Although, if you think too hard about it, not so much a good idea since it's nomming..."

<Paige> That was the joke that got Paige to laugh. She gave him a good, hearty laugh for that one.

<Bobby> Bobby couldn't have been more proud of himself on that one... and of course, for a dirty joke. He grinned and started for the pretzels.
Slarti
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Re: Christmas 2016: Paige and Bobby

Post by Slarti »

<Bobby> "This... they're joking, right? I mean, we could just live in the fucking ruins of our own house!" Bobby looked up at the towering structure, the engine to the truck still running. He really didn't want to turn it off, and he was really glad that Ripley was with Anna.

<Paige> Paige peered out the window of the truck and pressed her coat around her more. "But... it looks condemned. This can't be safe... it's not safe is it?" She glanced over at him.

<Bobby> "Well... from what I heard, we'd actually be living over there." He waved toward a smaller, greyish building that looked little better. "It's been more fixed up." Leaning forward, he looked up again at the brick monstrosity. Some windows were boarded up, some open, like gaping eye sockets. "But that... that'd be the new school..."

<Paige> "No... no this isn't a school... it's the scene from a horror film." Paige sat back in her seat, shivering a little. "How can they be living here?"

<Bobby> "You're not wrong... it's, um, it was..." Bobby glanced over at her. "Should I tell you what this placed used to be?"

<Paige> Paige just looked up at Bobby with her big blue eyes. "Should you?"

<Bobby> He didn't have to look long. "Nope." Instead, he put on a big smile. "Want to look around at least?"

<Paige> "Want to? No. But I don't want to stay in the truck by myself..."

<Bobby> "Awwww, it's okay. Nothing's going to bite." That he knew of. Maybe hobos? So wasn't saying that out loud. Bobby hopped out of the truck and moved around to open her door for her.

<Paige> Paige made a face and carefully hopped down once he opened the door for her. "Are you sure about that? Spiders count. And Snakes. And ghosts."

<Bobby> "Well... I can freeze them?" He tried another grin to see if she'd buy it. "Actually... it probably is cold enough out we wouldn't have to worry about most... um, critters."

<Paige> "You can't freeze ghosts, Bobby!" Paige pointed out, latching onto his arm. That place was probably crawling with them.

<Bobby> "Yeah, but I can freeze hobos..." He was only half kidding as he moved toward the door of what would be the new school.

<Paige> "There are hobos?!" Paige shrieked a bit.

<Bobby> "No! No... there.... um, well, there shouldn't be hobos... like, SHIELD has been cleaning the place out and I would think they'd, uh, get rid of any squatters..." He wasn't helping here.

<Paige> "Bobby!" Paige shrieked again and held onto him more tightly. "Ghosts and hobos... I don't know which is scarier."

<Bobby> Bobby decided this was one of those times when he just needed to shut up. So he did. And made it to the door. It creaked when he pushed it open.

<Paige> She just kept a hold of him, keeping up as they walked. "Maybe.. maybe if they paint it?"

<Bobby> They walked inside, their footsteps echoing. "A lot."

<Paige> "Like... pink and yellow paint?" She gripped him a little better, pressing against him as much as she could without tripping them both.

<Bobby> "I could go for pink in this instance..." Bobby looked up into the shadows of the high ceiling and the stairway. For a place that had so much activity outside, with SHIELD contractors and tents... it looked truly abandoned in here.

<Paige> "Lots of pink..." Paige whimpered a little. She looked around just as Bobby did, growing more and more uneasy. At a particular shadow, she shrieked and paused. "Did you see that!?"

<Bobby> Bobby jumped and yelled himself, just because. "NO?!"

<Paige> "I saw that, I saw that, I saw that!" Paige pointed to a perfectly empty corner.

<Bobby> "What was it?!" Bobby was staring at the corner now too, the temperature around them dropping. He didn't see anything, but if Paige saw something.... "I see...." he squinted.

<Paige> "I don't know what it was... I don't see it... Bobby what was that? Was it a hobo? Or or a ghost?" She moved to hide behind him, keeping a firm hold on him, despite the cold.

<Bobby> Finally, he remembered he could see heat. Dur. Thermal vision. "I... don't see anything. Nothing warm."

<Paige> "But do you see something cold?! Is that why it got colder?!"

<Bobby> "No... I don't see... well, anything." He squinted, looking all around.

<Paige> "Are you sure?" She bit her lip, loosening her grip a little.

<Bobby> "Yep. Nothing hot or cold." At least in his immediate sight, anyway.

<Paige> "Okay.... okay." She took a breath and his arm again. "So... keep going? Or go home?"

<Bobby> Bobby chewed his lip. This was hard. "What do you want to do?"

<Paige> "I..." She wanted to point out that she had wanted to leave since they arrived. "Stay with you... I don't want to split up. So uh... I don't know. What do you want to do?"

<Bobby> "Um..." He moved a little further in, his Paige shadow still clinging on.

<Paige> "Are you sure about this?" She asked, moving to take his arm again.

<Bobby> He stopped. "Nope."

<Paige> Paige whimpered and looked up at him. "Are you scared too?"

<Bobby> "Yep." He was man enough to admit it.

<Paige> The admission terrified him though. She bit her lip and tightened her hold. "I don't know that I can keep you safe..."

<Bobby> Bobby just stopped and looked at her then. Wait, wasn't that backward? "Um..."

<Paige> "There's ghosts... I totally saw one. I bet he has friends." She told him in all seriousness.

<Bobby> "Let's..." He turned them around, back toward the door. "How about we go take a look at the other scary place... the one where they expect us to sleep?"

<Paige> "Okay... okay I can do that. We might have to sleep there." She relaxed slightly, keeping pace with him.

<Bobby> "But we might not... not right away, anyway... base is... cozy, right?" He led the way back out the door and across the parking lot, giving his truck a fond, fond glance.

<Paige> "So we can stay on base for a long time?" Paige asked, quite hopeful and optimistic.

<Bobby> "It'd be kind of a commute to teach, but... those are my permanent quarters there and all..."

<Paige> "I don't want to take your home though... and you've been on the couch since we got there."

<Bobby> "It's fine, babe... I mean, it's more than fine... and Rip..." He shook his head and shifted their position so he could hold her gloved hand. "You know..."

<Paige> She swallowed and nodded, keeping his hand. "Let's see how these places look. Maybe the bedrooms won't be so bad." She put on a bit of a smile moreso for his benefit than her own.

<Bobby> The snow had at least been cleared, and so he didn't worry too much about walking on the broken concrete sidewalk. It was just old. Old was okay. It was like... grandparents.

<Paige> Paige kept her firm hold on his hand through her glove, careful to watch her step on the sidewalk. "I mean... people are living here... it can't be that bad... right?"

<Bobby> "Right," he agreed, but then he made the mistake of looking up. This close, it looked... worse. Peeling paint and sagging eves and even though the windows had clearly just been replaced - some of them even still had the little stickers - it was scary. "Or... it could be."

<Paige> It was her turn to glance up at the building. She shuddered a little and moved behind him. "You uh... you go in first..."

<Bobby> "We... we don't have to... I mean, commuting would be okay... for a while, right?"

<Paige> "For forever..." Paige pointed out, hopefully.

<Bobby> "Or that." He nodded, then sucked in a deep breath and blew it out, watching the steam rise. "So! I'm hungry.... ready to go?"

<Paige> "Yes! I think we need some burgers... and fries... and pie!" Paige started dragging him toward the truck.

<Bobby> "Pie!" From there, it was a dragging race.
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Re: Christmas 2016: Paige and Bobby

Post by steyn »

<3 Paige so much
Slarti
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Re: Christmas 2016: Paige and Bobby

Post by Slarti »

<Rogue> Rogue pulled up to the base in her rental and showed them her ID so they would let her pass. She did have an agent's baby in the backseat after all. They checked it and waved her through and she drove straight up to Bobby's building with a gurgling little one serenading her. "Ready ta see daddy, sugah bug?"

<Bobby> Bobby was waiting, and jumped up from his perch in the snow when he spotted Anna's boring rental car. Why were all rental cars boring? Beige and boring. Boring, boring... he waved at her as she got closer, trying hard to think of nothing at all.

<Rogue> Rogue grinned through the windshield as she pulled up to park. "Lookie, darlin'! There he is!" She turned the car off and got out, moving to the back to unstrap her niece. "Hey, Bugsy. How're ya doin'?" She pulled Ripley out of the car and bounced her on her hip to get a giggle before walking over to him. "We had fun at tha park, Daddy."

<Bobby> "Awww, good! Daddy had fun at work." He snorted, unable to even keep a straight face for that one, but he did move in and grab Anna for a group hug. "Hey, Dollface!"

<Rogue> Rogue laughed at that and just enjoyed the hug. "Fun meanin' not at all, right?" She kissed his shoulder where it was covered with shirt and pulled back to hand off the groping child. "Y'all okay?"

<Bobby> He gave her the look that he knew she'd understand and shrugged with a grunt. "You know me, babe," he said, shaking his head. "I'm always fine." Bobby took Ripley with both hands and rubbed noses with her, happy with her squeal and rapid babbling.

<Rogue> "Liar," she smirked and rolled her eyes. "Survivin' at least. That's good." Rogue locked the car and stepped back up to them. "What can Ah do ta help?"

<Bobby> "Yeah." He got to the cleared sidewalk and set Ripley on her feet, holding both her hands to let her toddle unsteadily for a few steps. "Just seeing your smiling face helps, Dollface," he said, grinning up at her as they headed toward the barracks.

<Rogue> "Oh! Almost forgot!" Rogue jogged back to the car and grabbed Ripley's diaper bag and blanket. "Ah'm not used ta this kid thing yet... Sorry." She locked the car up again and met back up with him at the door of the barracks.

<Bobby> Bobby laughed. "Neither am I, babe." He opened the door, setting Ripley on the sofa. Yoda bounded up, yipping and dancing around the adults' feet.

<Rogue> Rogue grinned down at the dog and reached down to ruffle his big ears. "Heya, buddy." Rogue moved into the kitchen and started pulling the leftovers of Ripley's baby mush and juice out to put in the fridge or trash, depending on how much was left. "I couldn't get her to eat as much as usual, but she's eaten a bit better today than she had been."

<Bobby> "Awesome, thanks again." He greeted his dog and watched Yoda bounce up onto the sofa to sniff the little person all over. Ripley laughed and tackled her canine companion. "Have you seen that new place yet?"

<Rogue> "Ah've driven by it... Not gone in yet. Probably should, but dang it's weird. I'm still in that hotel near here. Easier f'r Ripley visits, too," she grinned as she looked over her shoulder at said baby. "Have you?"

<Bobby> "Yeah." Bobby caught her eyes and gave her a look.

<Rogue> Rogue's nose wrinkled up at that look and she laughed, "Did ya go in?"

<Bobby> "A little bit... we... uh... kind of chickened out." The nice thing about having a best friend was he could tell her this kind of thing. "It's creepy. We're not gonna move... just... not yet."

<Rogue> "Ha!" Rogue couldn't help but laugh at the fact that he of all people chickened out. "An' here Ah thought y'all loved horror movies."

<Bobby> "I don't want to live in one... or make Rip live there." He made a face. "Just... I think we've been through enough."

<Rogue> Rogue bit her lip and stared out at the babe playing with the dog in silence for a moment. "She shouldn't have to live somewhere that's not safe. Physically and emotionally. I know it's supposed to be safe for the students, but they're old enough to know how to handle themselves."

<Bobby> "Yeah, exactly. That's sort of what Paige and I thought... it's just... not now." Bobby sighed heavily, wandering into the small kitchen to hug Anna again. "When they get it a little more together... but I'll miss you if you move up there."

<Rogue> Rogue held Bobby tightly, "Ah'm not goin' anywhere just yet. Ah ain't leavin' y'all." She turned her face out to look at Ripley, "'Sides, Ah love mah days with miss Ripley over there."

<Bobby> "And she loves her Auntie -Roguey-Anna-Banana." With Paige out to get groceries the name was safe and he held onto her. "We gotta stick together."
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