fridgetothefire | 022 ☣ Video (Open + locks + locked spam)

[Public]

Okay, this is a long shot, but I know we've got all kinds of magic and tech here that I don't know all the capabilities of, so here goes:

Does anybody have, or know of, something that can like...turn memories into photographs? We never really had cameras around when I was little and I guess I'm just. Being maudlin about a few things.

[aka she misses the twins when they were stupid babies]

[Private to Arthas.]

I know things are different. But I wanted to say thank you, for looking out for me.

[Private to Cassel]

Still think I should give him the squid hat?

[Private to Alex

Were you really into the Space Race too?

[Private separately to Babs and Charles]

[With a warm smile]

Thanks for helping me out.

[Private to Tosh]

Would you teach me how to program?

[Private to Touko]

You were a really cute kid.

[Spam for Erik]

[She gives him a little time to himself, after the flood, but there are some things she needs to say. She's not dressed for effect this time, just in jeans and a soft, light sweater despite the summery barge atmosphere.]

[Spam for Jesse]

[She's used to coming in and out of Lua's room whenever she feels like it. She knows it's early, but there's a comfort to being here, for her, simply existing in a space she shares with someone she trusts. She didn't expect to to see Jesse making breakfast, but she puts it together pretty quickly. She leans against the little table, arms crossed, not smiling even though she wants to, a little.]

Well. So. You and Lua, huhn?

[Private to Lua, later]

Hey, are you free? Nothing to worry about, just checking in.

[Because if not she can check in...later later.]

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[She doesn't seem angry, which he expected - he wouldn't even blame her - but he nods, and steps aside, holding the door for her.]

Of course.

[When the door closes behind her, she steps into his space and pulls him into a hug.]

I had a really great time, last weekend.

Thank you.

[It must say something about him, he realizes, that he still expects anger instead of gratitude. When she hugs him, there's a surprised moment before he returns it.]

So did I. [He expects he'll never hear a child call him daddy again, and it was - nice, to be able to enjoy that.]

[When she pulls back, she leaves her hands on his arms, a circuit of touch, contact, connection. Her expression is hopeful.]

I still don't know how to draw.

[He laughs, surprised and almost delighted. He nods, and gestures toward the table near by.]

Do you still want to learn to draw frogs?

[She doesn't blush, just ducks her head for a moment, more happy than abashed.]

We could start with frogs, definitely.

Then maybe ponies and dogs and cats and bears, and...[He can't help but tease.]

[She laughs. A week ago it would have made her twist, awkward and bitter with literally self-defeating jealousy. But it's easier to think of his reactions to the little girl from the comm glitch as something he feels for her, now.]

...and penguins.

Maybe people once we get through all the important stuff.

And penguins. [He smiles at her laugh, really smiles. A year ago, the idea of family would have still felt like an impossibility to Erik, but now, he thinks differently. That maybe one day, without distractions, he could be good at this.]

People are easier, I think. You see more in them.

[She tilts her head, contemplative.]

What do you see? When you look.

The strength of the lines in a face. The sadness or pleasure or anger in eyes. [He shrugs.] I do my best to duplicate it. [It's not like he draws in his free time, not like he ever spent much time on frivolous hobbies.]

[She wants to hug him again. And then she realizes she can, so she does.]

[She does, and it still surprises him, just a little; he's never been much for hugs, or touching in general. No - not never. Just not for a long time.

He wraps his arms around her, cups the back of her head (like a baby, protective and comforting) and smiles over her shoulder.]

[She squeezes a little, doesn't say why. He almost never reminds her of her father anymore, but he seemed so antithetical in that moment; she knows her father was not stupid, was not inherently unobservant. But he dismissed her, dismissed all of them. She remembers the way he stared out the window, too focused on the threat of humanity to look at the newborn Pietro in her arms.

After a deep breath, after lingering, settled and savoring in his hold, she pulls back enough to tug him toward the table.]

Might as well get to work then, yes?

[He laughs, and that's another pleasant realization: a year ago, he never would have expected to move so far forward with any of them, least of all Anya. But here they are.]

No time like the present. [He lives his hand and a couple pencils fly to his fingers; on the table he roots around until he finds some blank paper, then moves the books out of the way. He likes the idea of being able to teach her something - but especially something that isn't violent in nature.]

Yes.

[It's an impulse they have in common, that drive to do, to eschew idleness. It feels like kinship. She feels proud of it, she realizes, being like him in that way. She doesn't deny anymore how much her temperament is like her father's, but this isn't just acceptance: warm satisfaction, a little giddiness.

She's proud of being self-educated too (another thing the three of them have in common) but she's growing to understand the joys of being a pupil here, learning from someone who wants to share. She plucks one of the pencils from the air, a gentle tugging request, at ease with him, eager to begin.]

[He relinquishes the pencil to her, smiles at the ease; he's been careful about using his abilities around her, avoiding it more often than not, and it's made him uncomfortable. It makes him feel like a liar these days, when he doesn't exercise his mutation regularly. But that was his own fault, he realizes, watching her. A smile pulls at his mouth, and he watches her until he realizes he must be staring.

So he lowers his eyes to the paper instead, and shifts his chair around next to hers so he can show her how to sketch out the lines.]

022 ☣ Video (Open + locks + locked spam)

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