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| Meet the Fuckers; 5/23 - Night, Rachel, Calvin, Others | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 9 2013, 11:04 PM (675 Views) | |
| Mimic | Nov 26 2013, 09:21 PM Post #46 |
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One Man X-Team
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Jesus, had Drake just stuck his fucking tongue out at him? Hell yes he had, the slushy fucker. Calvin shook his head. Some things never changed. The fact that Iceman never made it outta middle school was obviously one've them. Next Drake was talking to the damned stuffed Bear Hope had shoved into Rachel's hand like a hand off at the Superbowl and he and Rachel were going on about Ewoks and M&Ms and whether Ewoks liked M&Ms while Hope hid out behind the chair arm, inching up a little more here and there as curiosity and suspicion fought it out to see which one won. And while he wondered how the fuck an Ewok was even gonna know what an M&M or chocolate in general was. Wrong damned question, apparently, from the looks that was getting him from both of them. “Same way it worked in the movie,” Rachel informed as Drake chimed in, shit eating grin and all, with,"Exactly, like he knew what the hell he was even talking about. Well, excuse the fuck outta him for not remembering every second of the Star Wars movies. So yeah, hell, what did he know? They could be shooting M&Ms off into space for the Shi'ar or the Kree or who the fuck knew. It wasn't like they passed out the New York times out in the Bronx so they could keep up on world news. World news for them was stale toast for breakfast instead of gravel and mush. “That might improve their general demeanour, at least,” Rachel pointed out and he had to admit that was a fair enough point. "Hey, as long as they're sending them to the Moons of Endor, it's all good," Drake chimed in again and the winged man let out an amused snort. Drake was grinning over at Hope who was just looking confused now, on top of curious and suspicious. And she still wasn't coming out from back there for that M&M, no matter what Bear thought of them, apparently. Rachel must've caught that, too, since she plucked the M&M outta Drake's hand and decided to demonstrate just how good they were. Or, hell, maybe she just wanted an M&M. “Here, see?” she asked, as she turning her head so that Hope had a good view of her popping it into her mouth, complete with chewing and savoring of delicious candy-coated chocolate goodness. “Mmm. Definitely good for any and all bears and Ewoks that might be about,” Hope's sister assured her. Curiosity seemed to be gaining an edge there as Little Ewok number two (the little girl sized one) watched every move Rachel made, shooting looks over at Drake, too, as he nodded along. Still a little wary and Calvin was tempted to just scoop her the hell up and hug the hell outta her, but he curbed that impulse for now. She was doing just fine on her own, really, and this kinda thing was probably good for her. Hope needed to learn that every offer didn't come with strings, or mean somebody wanted something. Especially the people who loved her and were taking care of her. So he just gave her all the reassurance that everything was fine that he could from across the room as Rachel apparently decided there needed to be more incentive to get her to come out the rest've the way. A wiggle of her fingers and M&Ms came floating outta the bag Drake had and straight over to her as Hope watched with more and more interest and Calvin himself let out as soft chuckle. Hell, maybe he should help her 'demonstrate'. He wouldn't mind an M&M or two, either. “All good and tasty here, Little Sis,” Rachel told her, and Hope inched up from behind the arm of the chair a little more, giving the whole thing such a look of serious consideration he couldn't help that same damned sappy smile again, “I promise.” That seemed to tip the scales finally and there Hope went edging out and toward her hand to pick up one've the green M&Ms. The way she put it in her mouth was halfway like she expected it to explode, or...well, maybe she expected it to do something he'd as soon not think about. "What do you think, Hope?" Drake asked as he crouched down closer to her eye level. Hope froze for just a split second, blue eyes going wider as she looked from him to Rachel in rapid succession. Calvin just kept smiling at her and stayed where he was, as relaxed as he could make himself. When Drake didn't move any closer, just smiled, too, she relaxed again. "Should we send them off to the Ewok's planet? Or just keep them here for us? Because y'know, I like M&Ms a lot, too." Her mouth was all puckered up as she seemed to roll the piece of candy around in her mouth, expression like she still wasn't sure what the hell to think about this. Damned if that wasn't cute as hell, too, and he shot a brief grin over to Rachel. Jesus. Making a wrinkled up, not quite sure what the hell she was doing face, Hope bit down on it, chewed a little, then grinned and snatched another one outta Rachel's hand and popped it into her mouth, too. "Good," she pronounced around the piece of candy in her mouth, still giving Drake a look like she was trying to figure him out, head tilting a little. Then she looked at Rachel, then him again, then back to Drake and pronounced, quietly but plenty loud enough to hear and pretty damned matter-of-factly, "Icedork." Having decided the M&Ms definitely met her approval, Hope reached toward Rachel's hand for another one as Calvin let out a bark of laughter and grinned over at Drake. "You oughta feel pretty lucky, Drake," he told the other man, "It's a hell'uva lot better than what she's calling me." That was still Forge's damned fault, the Fucker. He was gonna get his ass later, too, one way or another. |
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| Marvel Girl | Nov 27 2013, 11:44 PM Post #47 |
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Needs her powers to dress herself
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Well, he might be - as Little Bro had apparently gotten hold of out of someone’s head - a ‘crazy’ Ice-guy with a ‘not-dead’ girlfriend, but that hadn’t taken away from the essential facts of the Uncle Bobby that Rachel had known. Protruding tongues, bait M&Ms, and a faultless memory for the finer points (i.e. the parts with Ewoks) of Star Wars. Didn’t need to know what M&Ms were, you just had to see the right person eat them at the right time, that was all. And see, Mimic was totally capitulating to the experts here, retiring from the argument with an observation regarding M&Ms and the Shi’Ar, which (if true) could probably only do good things for their Angry Birds Destroy All the Things personalities. "Hey, as long as they're sending them to the Moons of Endor, it's all good," [Uncle Bobby] pointed out, with a smile in Hope’s direction that seemed to shoot a little ways over her head. Maybe not a bad thing, if it kept her curious, but curious wasn’t yet to curious enough to drag Little Sis all the way out from behind her chair to join Bear in the pseudo-Uncle treat-inspection party. In view of this, Rachel figured on taking matters into her own hand, snabbing the proffered M&M out of Uncle Bobby’s hand and chewing it in a full service display for the little girl, certified by the official Big Sister seal of being good for both Bears and Ewoks. Not quite enough, still, to really pull Hope out of what little piece of familiarity she’d figured on so far in all of this, but that was okay, they could escalate. If the Hope wouldn’t go to the M&M supply, they could bring a little more of it back to the Hope, which was what Rachel did, telekinetically threading out a few more M&Ms from Uncle Bobby’s bag and holding them out on her palm at just the right height for little sisters. She added on another promise about the generalized goodness of them, just for good measure, though probably the soft, relaxed chuckle from Hope’s father that did as much good at setting her at her ease enough to take that big step and carefully lift off one of the M&Ms from the selection on offer. "What do you think, Hope?" asked Uncle Bobby, crouching down and smiling encouragingly at the very involved display of eating of a tiny piece of candy that was going on here. Hope started, stopped, and turned to her Dad and to Rachel herself, getting a big encouraging smile and an aura of nothing to worry about here from the redhead to go with the reassuring note in Mimic’s too, which seemed to settle her down again. "Should we send them off to the Ewok's planet? Or just keep them here for us? Because y'know, I like M&Ms a lot, too." Hope didn’t hurry to come up with an answer to that. The tasting was professional, the action drawn out, like Brian pretending he knew what he was doing when tasting wine, rolling it around her mouth before finally biting down, while Rachel shared a smile over top her head with Calvin. After that, it went much quicker though. Another piece snatched, popped into her mouth before the final verdict was delivered. "Good," she pronounced around the piece of candy in her mouth, still giving Drake a look like she was trying to figure him out, head tilting a little. A measuring look from Hope, a brief glance back at Rachel, as though for confirmation of an opinion that older redhead couldn’t quite place, but which she returned with a bright smile all the same, and then back to Uncle Bobby, as the little girl delivered another carefully considered verdict. "Icedork." “Uncle Icedork,” Rachel corrected, while Mimic laughed and Hope - apparently as indifferent to this hair-splitting about titles as she had been to her father’s attempts to suggest a different name for himself - snuck another M&M from the dwindling supply on her older sister’s hand. "You oughta feel pretty lucky, Drake," [Calvin] told the other man, "It's a hell'uva lot better than what she's calling me." And what could you say to that? Nothing really, or nothing Rachel could see, though she did nod in agreement. Hope, on the other hand, seemed to have a definite idea herself. Without further ado, she plucked the last of the M&Ms from Rachel’s hand, carefully securing it between one little thumb and forefinger, snuck one quick glance toward Uncle Bobby, before dashing the short distance over to her father’s chair. “Fucker!” she insisted happily, trying her best to climb up onto his lap one handed while pushing the piece of candy toward his mouth or his hand, or whatever she could get close enough to. Grinning broadly, Rachel turned her own gaze (one eyebrow slightly raised) on Uncle Bobby, to see what he was making of that. Most adorable use of swearwords ever, hands down. Definitely. |
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| Iceman | Nov 29 2013, 10:46 PM Post #48 |
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Giving new meaning to "Freeze!" since 2007
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Her mouth was all puckered up as she seemed to roll the piece of candy around in her mouth, expression Hope froze as he crouched down, and Bobby forced himself to keep his smile intact as he continued speaking. It was obvious she wasn't sure what to make of him, but that was okay. Kids did that - he'd done that as a kid, anyway, and he remembered Mary literally running away from Cousin Joel at least once. It wasn't any big deal. Of course, he and Mary had kept trying to avoid Cousin Joel for years, but he still figured they were justified in that, and he was nowhere near as scary (or boring) as Joel had been. At least Hope wasn't running. She relaxed, apparently reassured by him not moving closer, apparently turning her attention back to the M&M in her mouth, which she seemed to be pushing around with her tongue. Bobby waited expectantly, and finally curiosity got the better of her and she bit down. And grinned and snatched another of the M&Ms out of Rachel's hand, and proceeded to pop that into her mouth, too. "Good," she declared, tilting her head as she looked him over. Bobby just grinned back, waiting as she looked over at Rachel for approval, then back to him before speaking again. "Icedork." Oh man - Bobby's eyebrows climbed as he looked up at Rachel, lips twitching as he fought simultaneous urges to laugh and to strangle Rankin, who had to have supplied that. He was going to get even for that. Eventually. The guy'd never know it was coming. But damn, it sounded awfully cute coming from a four year old. “Uncle Icedork,” Rachel corrected, because sure, throwing "uncle" in front of it did made it perfectly okay. Or...well, okay, it maybe did, but he was still going to kill Rankin later. "No chance she'll go for Uncle Bobby, huh?" he asked hopefully as he watched her pry another M&M from Rachel's hand. He sort of doubted it, but you never knew... Rankin, shithead that he was, just laughed and grinned over at him. "You oughta feel pretty lucky, Drake," he told the other man, "It's a hell'uva lot better than what she's calling me." "Oh, I can think of plenty of things to call you right now," Bobby countered lightly, grinning back at the shit. Finally, he gave in and just laughed and shook his head. Uncle Icedork. Kit was going to have a field day with that when he told her. Meanwhile, Hope had managed to pry the last of the M&Ms from her pseudo-sister's hand, and with one last glance at him, as if to make sure he wasn't going to intercept her, she made a dash over to where Calvin was sitting. “Fucker!” she announced as she tried to shove the M&M at her father and simultaneously climb into his lap. Bobby stared at her, his eyebrows climbing higher. Okay, that...yeeah, he had gotten off easy, hadn't he? He tried to imagine Jean's reaction to her daughter calling her father Fucker, summoned up a mental image involving a lot of shocked sputtering (damn, that looked kind of like Jean's mom the first time he'd met her, actually), then caught Rachel's grin. Still trying to pull his brain back together (and if ever an occasion warranted the need for that, he figured this one did), he grinned back, then let out a snort of laughter and shook his head. "Well, I can't argue that one," he joked, turning half his attention back to Hope's attempt to cram candy down Mimic's throat. Which was just too damn cute, and the look on his former teammate's face suggested that his daughter was going to be calling him whatever she wanted for a very, very long time. "Gotta admit, that's what Hank and I always called him. It fits, don't you think?" Because yeeaaah, he wasn't forgetting the "Uncle Icedork" bit, and he kind of doubted it had come from his not-quite-niece, even if she was going along with it. No way he wasn't going to have fun with this, if Rachel'd cooperate. |
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| Mimic | Nov 30 2013, 10:07 PM Post #49 |
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One Man X-Team
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Looked like the M&Ms finally got the Hope seal of approval, even if she didn't quite seem all that sure about Drake, yet. Hell, not a surprise there. He hadn't been sure about Drake for years. Damn but that was a cute as hell look she was giving him, though. Like she was trying to decide what he was all about, all serious and little kid intense. A look over to Rachel like she was trying to see what she thought and her big sister just gave her big smile. Then right back to Drake, as she looked him over again. And pronounced him Icedork. “Uncle Icedork,” Rachel corrected and that didn't do a damned thing to keep him from laughing his ass off, especially when you threw in that look on Drake's face. He didn't even need telepathy to figure that one out. "No chance she'll go for Uncle Bobby, huh?" he asked hopefully as Rachel nodded agreement for the likelihood that that wasn't gonna happen and Mimic let out an eloquent snort of 'not very fucking likely' that should answer Iceman's question well enough. Hell, he should be glad it wasn't worse. He hadn't heard what Forge had her calling him, yet, but Drake oughta be damned thankful to get off that easy. "Oh, I can think of plenty of things to call you right now," Bobby countered with a shit eating grin of his own before he just gave the hell up and laughed, shaking his damned head. Yeah, now he was getting it. No point trying to fight it, it wouldn't do him any fucking good at all. "Probably wouldn't be the first time," Calvin shot back as Hope grabbed another M&M from Rachel's hand, holding it between her finger and thumb, shot another look at Drake, then came at him at a semi-run, calling out a happy sounding, “Fucker!”, like she was hitting a cue. That had him laughing again and sending out a "Told you," to Drake, who looked like his eyebrows were about to jump off his head and hit the ceiling, just before Hope started trying to climb him like a jungle gym. And tried to shove the M&M in his mouth, or maybe his eye or up his nose. It was hard as hell to tell for sure since she was trying to do it all at once. Rachel was grinning over at Drake, who'd gave up and was just laughing again because that's about all the hell you could do. And Mimic started laughing again himself. Not the brightest move, since the M&M nearly went up his nose for sure that time. "Well, I can't argue that [Drake] joked, turning half his attention back to Hope's attempt to cram candy down Mimic's throat. Which was just too damn cute, and the look on his former teammate's face suggested that his daughter was going to be calling him whatever she wanted for a very, very long time. "Gotta admit, that's what Hank and I always called him. It fits, don't you think?" "Hold on, Hope," he told her, chuckling as he reached down to scoop her up and set her on his lap. Mostly in self defense, before she could kick the hell outta his shins again. Though truth be told he couldn't have managed to much care if she did. Not when she looked that happy. "C'mere." He settled her on his lap and managed to dodge the repeated attempt to feed him that M&M long enough to shoot back at Drake, "Bullshit. McCoy would've used some word ten times that size at least." Then he gave up, obedientely opened his mouth, and nearly got Hope's whole hand in there for his trouble. "Good," she assured him, with a happy smile as she moved her hand and let him chew it and Calvin managed a few appropriate "Mmmmm," sounds that seemed to satisfy her that he thought so, as he nodded and swallowed. Hell, it was good. Probably been half a decade since he'd had an M&M. "Real good," Calvin assured her with one've those sappy damned smiles she kept putting on his face, but still couldn't really be bothered to care about. Cocking his head toward Drake and wrapping an arm around Hope as she snuggled closer, he added with gentle suggestion, "Wanna say thank you to Uncle Icedork for the candy? 'Cause that was pretty nice of him." Peeking around him, Hope gave Drake the once over again and said a quiet little, "Thank you," along with a hint of a shy smile before burying her head against his shoulder and, well, the only thing he could figure was that she was trying to peek out through the feathers of one wing. With any luck, maybe she wouldn't start yanking on them again, but that didn't matter that much anyway, so he just gave her a gentle one armed hug and let her give checking the world out through a bunch of feathers a try. If that made her happy, it was fine with him. |
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| Marvel Girl | Dec 3 2013, 11:35 PM Post #50 |
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Needs her powers to dress herself
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And there was the ‘Icedork’ name again, signed, sealed, and - with a little big sisterly intervention to try to make sure it got its appropriate prefix attached - delivered, from the mouth of Hope, who was luckily more than cute enough to get away with it. "No chance she'll go for Uncle Bobby, huh?" the newly designated Uncle Icedork tried all the same, because wishful thinking was still alive and well in this Helicarrier zip code. Of course there was exactly no chance, as Rachel communicated with a grin, and Mimic rather more eloquently - though not elegantly - with a loud snort, and the very truthful observation that Uncle Bobby had got off pretty easily, considering what Hope had taken to calling her own father like a duck took to being roasted in hot duck grease. "Oh, I can think of plenty of things to call you right now," Bobby countered, getting into the spirit, then dropping that challenge in favor of laughter, which was about the only thing you could really do in the face of Hope’s name for Mimic. But maybe that wasn’t really a problem, or at least not for the winged man himself (god knew what Mom might think of it), because he was grinning himself, and making his own snappy retorts right on back at Uncle Bobby. Probably, they could have gone back and forth like that, over and over for however long it took, but this time, Hope forestalled all of that when she snabbed the last M&M from Rachel’s palm, and dashed it over to her father, embarking on a mission of stuffing it in his face, his hand, or possibly one or both of his ears. And providing Uncle Bobby, at the same time, with his first ‘had to hear it for yourself or you wouldn’t believe it’ firsthand witnessing of the name they’d been alluding to. "Told you," Mimic managed, from the onset of that small, but definitely determined assault on the parts of his person, while Rachel turned to grin widely at Uncle Bobby. Shared amusement, totally the best kind. "Well, I can't argue that one," he joked turning away back to watch Hope do her exceedingly cute thing of massive cuteness. "Gotta admit, that's what Hank and I always called him. It fits, don't you think?" Her own gaze going back to watch her little sister being asked to hold on, then scooped up into her father’s lap with a softly gruff, ”C’mere.” Rachel’s grin went back to something that was a bit softer than wicked amusement. Which was bad form for the continuation of mischief and heckling, but hard to avoid when you stopped to watch those two together. “She seems to like it, anyway,” she agreed. "Bullshit. McCoy would've used some word ten times that size at least," Calvin spoke up then, between narrow misses of the M&M which Hope hadn’t yet given up on trying to feed to him, or possibly to probe him with. “He’s kind of got you there,” Rachel had to remark, with a suitably niecely show of semi-reluctance to pointing this out. Meanwhile, Hope seemed to be doing her best to worm her father with the M&M, sticking both it and a good portion of her hand into his mouth, while conscientiously informing him of her own new discovery, that M&Ms were ‘Good’. No argument from him, and with the little hand safely back outside the realm of teeth, he proceeded to chew and appreciate obediently, as well he should. "Real good," Calvin assured her, and smiled too, in a way that said that even if things weren’t really anywhere close to okay, some really important things, like daughters and dads, were going to be just fine. Hope snuggled down against him, and he wrapped her up in his arm, before directing her back to Uncle Bobby with a, "Wanna say thank you to Uncle Icedork for the candy? 'Cause that was pretty nice of him." As another round of Hope carefully inspecting her new pseudo-uncle ensued, followed shortly by a careful, but adorably smile-finished thank you, Rachel found herself smiling again in the way that had seemed years and years away from ever being seen again just last night. Not bothering to hide it, or change it, or do anything about it at all, actually, the older redhead shifted herself in her chair again, pulling her legs up once more, and wrapping one arm loosely around it, till she could rest her chin on her knees, and then sent Bear floating gently over to rest beside her sister in amongst the feathers she was experimenting with as a sort of veil. Not okay, no. Plenty of things weren’t okay, and maybe weren’t ever going to be. But those two would be. Hope and her Daddy. Or her... yeah, okay. Still, it was important. And it was good. |
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| Iceman | Dec 4 2013, 10:18 PM Post #51 |
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Giving new meaning to "Freeze!" since 2007
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No, it definitely wasn't the first time that Bobby'd felt an urge to call Rankin things not generally said in polite society, but he had justifiable cause this time. Well, he'd had justifiable cause all the times, really, but this one topped the cake. Was it too much to ask that his newly discovered niece actually meet him before being told to call him Icedork? Not that he imagined that Rankin would've waited forever, but c'mon. A few days would've been nice. One thing became obvious just a moment later, though. Rankin hadn't been kidding when he'd said that the munchkin was calling him a whole lot worse. Laughing, he watched as she attempted to climb up on Calvin's lap and stuff M&Ms in his mouth. He and Hank had always maintained the guy was a fucker. Hope had just made it official. He had to admit, though, that he'd never expected to see the fucker in question reach down to scoop a four year old girl into his lap, or to have that particular sappy look on his face. It seemed almost out of place, and not, all at the same time. Of course, he also managed to dodge the attempt to feed him M&Ms long enough to toss back, "Bullshit. McCoy would've used some word ten times that size at least." And thus, the universe balanced out once more. “He’s kind of got you there,” Rachel observed reluctantly as Calvin surrendered to the inevitable and let Hope shove her M&M into his mouth with an adorable smile and the promise that it was good. "Yes, but when I asked him to translate, he assured me that "fucker" summed it up well enough," he assured Rachel with a smug grin, then turned back to see that Rankin's smile had somehow gotten even sappier as his daughter snuggled in closer. Much to his surprise, his former teammate jerked his head towards him and said quietly, "Wanna say thank you to Uncle Icedork for the candy? 'Cause that was pretty nice of him." Hope's face peeked out from behind him and once again looked him over. "Thank you," along with a hint of a shy smile before burying her head against his shoulder and, well, the only thing he could figure was that she was trying to peek out through the feathers of one wing. "Good," she assured him, with a happy smile as she moved her hand and let him chew it and Calvin managed a few appropriate "Mmmmm," sounds that seemed to satisfy her that he thought so, as he nodded and swallowed. Hell, it was good. Probably been half a decade since he'd had an M&M. "Real good," Calvin assured her with one've those sappy damned smiles she kept putting on his face, but still couldn't really be bothered to care about. Cocking his head toward Drake and wrapping an arm around Hope as she snuggled closer, he added with gentle suggestion, "Wanna say thank you to Uncle Icedork for the candy? 'Cause that was pretty nice of him." Peeking around him, Hope gave Drake the once over again and said a quiet little, "Thank you," accompanied by a smile that made him decide, then and there, that he needed to find a large stash of M&Ms, just to dole out so he could see it again. Just as it disappeared behind Calvin's wing, which apparently made a great hiding place. He could see that, actually. Not that he wanted to try it himself, but still. Definitely a smart kid. "You're welcome," he replied, then took a step over towards them and handed Calvin the bag, even as an ewok-disguised bear floated over to join its owner. "There's a couple more in there, and something else. It's not much," he disclaimed, shrugging as he smiled crookedly, "but I didn't exactly get a chance to shop." His smile faded into something more serious, though, as he met Calvin's eyes. "You doing okay?" he asked quietly. He wasn't, Bobby knew. There was no way he could be, even based on the no doubt abbreviated account Rogue had given him of the events. But if there was one thing he knew from when Kit had died, it was that everyone asked anyway, and at least you knew they cared enough to listen to you lie in response. |
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| Mimic | Dec 5 2013, 07:58 PM Post #52 |
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One Man X-Team
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Hell, McCoy might've called him something. Probably several somethings, but he knew damned well Beast would've said it with words at least ten fucking times as long as 'fucker'. “He’s kind of got you there,” Rachel had to remark kinda reluctantly to the Icedork. Calvin was guessing for the sake of having to side with random guy who happened to be her sister's father over pseudo-family. Or...Jesus, whatever. He was confusing his damned self at this point and it wasn't helping that he was having to dodge an M&M up the nose from a happy, enthusiastic, and determined little girl. "Yes, but when I asked him to translate, he assured me that "fucker" summed it up well enough," Drake insisted, because he couldn't just let shit go, as Hope actually managed to get the M&M in his mouth and not his ear and he did the obligatory chewing and agreeing with her that, yeah, it was pretty damned good. Especially since he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had an M&M or anything even close. Hope seemed to snuggle in for the moment and that damned look was back on his face, Mimic knew, as he wrapped an arm around her. Cutest damned thing on earth as far as he was concerned and here she was, sitting on his lap and feeding him M&Ms and telling him how good they were. Since it really had been pretty damned nice of Drake to think of bringing them for her, least Hope could probably do was tell him thank you. If he could talk her into doing that. She seemed to be trying to check her new 'Uncle Icedork' out through this wings and Calvin shot a look over toward Rachel with a soft chuckle and an amused shake of his head. Dammit, how did anybody manage any defenses against something like that? Hope did manage a thank you, though. Quiet, but with a little smile to go along with it. Then kept trying to peek at Drake through his wings and Calvin gave her a little squeeze with his arm. Lucky as hell, that's what he was. Lucky Hope was doing this good after all she'd been through in her four years. "You're welcome," Drake told her moving a little closer and holding out the bag in his hand. This time Hope didn't seem so much wary as curious and just kept trying to watching him from behind her shield of wings and feathers. And god, he wanted to be that for her more than anything. He wanted to be that safe place she'd always come to. Meanwhile, Rachel had curled up in her chair over there, floating Bear over which immediately got Hope's attention. With a big grin, she popped out from the cover of his wing and held out her arms, opening and closing her hands in the universal language of 'gimme'. "There's a couple more in there, and something else. It's not much," Drake continued as Calvin took the bag with his free hand, giving it a curious look of his own as the other man shrugged, "but I didn't exactly get a chance to shop." Calvin let out a chuff of sardonic laughter by way of agreement. "Yeah, no shit." He was gonna have to do some serious checking around himself, since he was pretty sure keeping Rachel around to help with redressing Hope when she needed it wasn't exactly an option. And SHIELD hadn't kept a lot on hand here that'd work for a four year old. Hope grabbed Bear outta the air, grinning at her sister, then hugged the crap out of it as Drake stopped smiling and looked him in the eyes. "You doing okay?" he asked quietly and wasn't that a hell'uva question. One probably without any kinda real answer. Or any that'd make any sense, but Calvin gave it a shot all the same. Expression sobering and Hope babbled away quietly to her bear, Calvin looked at the other man a few seconds, then lifted his shoulders in a semblance of a shrug, wings rustling slightly behind him. "Hell no," he told Drake honestly, wrapping his arm tighter around Hope as she snuggled in against him, attention still on her bear, but peeking up at Iceman now and then, too, "And yeah," he continued, looking back over at Rachel with something probably resembling a wan smile, "I've had a hell'uva lotta help not losing my damned mind this last couple've days. Fuck knows what kinda what kinda mess I'd be by now if I hadn't." Forge, Rachel, Clarice, Kara, they'd managed to keep him sane. Some damned how or other and despite everything that'd happened in Rugby and the fact that he still didn't have much of a fucking clue about this being a father thing. For Hope's sake more than his damned own he was thankful as hell for that. "Bear," Hope announced, only a little hesitantly, as she looked up at Drake with solemn blue eyes and held up the bear in question by way of example and apparently introduction. Then she paused, getting that creased brow look like she was thinking something over before looking up at him, then back over at Rachel with a bright grin again and say, very carefully. "Thank you." |
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| Marvel Girl | Dec 7 2013, 12:34 PM Post #53 |
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Needs her powers to dress herself
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It was a good thank you. Shy, just a little hint of smile peeping through there as Hope took cover under her father’s wing, but in the best of good cute ways. A chuckle from Mimic - and an amused shake of the head, possibly at the way too adorable for words way that the little girl was using her new fort to peer through to Uncle bobby - had Rachel grinning back as the winged man looked her way, after wrapping an arm around her little sister as he did. The only thing that was missing right then and there seemed to be Bear, and Marvel Girl didn’t delay taking care of that matter, floating that well-clothed stuffed animal over. "You're welcome," Uncle Bobby replied, stepping closer to the chair himself while Bear made her journey. Even Hope popped out from behind the wing long enough to happily await her furry companion with open arms, but while her attention was occupied with the glide of the stuffed animal, Rachel watched Bobby pass the bag he’d been holding over to Mimic. "There's a couple more in there, and something else. It's not much," he disclaimed, shrugging as he smiled crookedly, "but I didn't exactly get a chance to shop." Another laugh from Calvin Rankin met that, this one gruffer and less sappy (not surprising probably, since it wasn’t directed to an adorable four year old girl who was his daughter). "Yeah, no shit," he said. Rachel instead lifted her eyes back from her sister to grin just a little at Uncle Bobby as she offered a drily amused, “Giftstore’s on the third subbasement.” Alright, back to Hope, who’d grabbed Bear out of the air and was proceeding in an attempt to hug the stuffing out of her (hopefully not literally, but they were people who could fix that, if or when it happened), and was grinning back at Rachel in a way that would have been infectious even if she hadn’t already wanted to smile at her little sister. She grinned back widely, lifting one hand from wrapping around her knees long enough to wave a little, and... "You doing okay?" [Uncle Bobby] asked quietly. Not in the fun joking Uncle Bobby voice either. The other one, the one you forgot he had sometimes, quiet and serious. It took Mimic by surprise, at least - or maybe it didn’t, but it still seemed to take the big man a moment of thinking and rethinking, his own expression sobering, before he had an answer. "Hell no," he told Drake honestly, wrapping his arm tighter around Hope as she snuggled in against him, attention still on her bear, but peeking up at Iceman now and then, too, "And yeah," he continued, looking back over at Rachel with something probably resembling a wan smile, "I've had a hell'uva lotta help not losing my damned mind this last couple've days. Fuck knows what kinda what kinda mess I'd be by now if I hadn't." “Fuck doesn’t want to know,” Rachel told him, her own lips twisting into something that like a smile that was equal parts wry and understanding. Details might have been different, but she’d been there, or enough parts of there, enough times to know that it was other people - friends, family, whatever the terms that hadn’t been invented for the relationships that didn’t quite fit either one of those - that kept you there, helped you out till you could find your way through keeping your mind. “It doesn’t get easier,” she added, tightening her own grip around her knees and pulling them a little closer to her chest to keep away the press of feelings and memories that had heard their name called and jumped back up from where they were normally kept to seek attention for themselves. “But there will be less days where it jumps up and bites you in the face, eventually.” Not easier, but when you had the help, the support, and the will, over time there were more days you could keep it in proportion, and keep it away from trying to swallow everything. "Bear," Hope announced, breaking some of the spell. Focusing her gaze once more from Mimic to his daughter, Rachel watched her sister lift the so-designated Ewok in Uncle Bobby’s direction, as if to familiarize the animal and pseudo-Uncle with each other. A thoughtful pause, marked by the kind of heavy thinking that could only be accompanied by a well-furrowed brow, and then Hope seemed to come to a decision, looking from Uncle Bobby to Rachel herself and breaking into a bright, wide grin. "Thank you." Very solemn, very careful, and very deliberate, and Rachel couldn’t quite help herself. She laughed, glancing toward Uncle Bobby with eyes twinkling in amusement, before recovering her own gravity and turning back to Hope with a matching wide smile. “You are quite welcome, Hope and Bear,” she told them, “Any time you need pajamas, bear search and rescue and novelty food testing service, you just ask - I’m your full service Fairy Godsister Phoenix.” A little complicated by the fact that it probably wouldn’t be too many days she could be here, before the need to deal with going home got unignorable, but... yeah. Right now, that definitely seemed even more than the literally worlds away problem that it already was. For now, Hope was the thing. |
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| Iceman | Dec 8 2013, 09:16 PM Post #54 |
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Giving new meaning to "Freeze!" since 2007
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Realizing he wasn't likely to get close enough to Hope (oh god, she was playing peek-a-boo through Rankin's feathers, that was awesome) to give her the bag, Bobby handed it to Rankin himself. It wasn't much - nothing like the stuffed animal and kid-sized baseball glove he'd sent to Madelyne when Nathan Christopher was born - but the shopping opportunities were kind of limited. His former teammate let out a snort of laughter at that. "Yeah, no shit." to which Rachel added, “Giftstore’s on the third subbasement.” "Damn, missed that," he said, returning her grin and shaking his head. "I've really gotta get a map of the place, huh?" Not, he suspected, that there was actually a gift store anywhere on the helicarrier (did helicarriers even qualify for subbasements? He'd have to think about that later), but there probably was some kind of store on board. Might be worth checking out, if everyone else hadn't already raided it. Not important now, though, and Bobby pulled his attention back to the situation at hand, asking the question to which he already knew the answer. Was Rankin okay? There was no way he could be. Bobby knew that - had been there himself, two years earlier, and Kit having returned didn't erase the memory. How much worse would it have been to have actually been there? He wasn't clear on exactly what had happened - didn't want to know, even though he probably should. But as horrible as it had been to wonder what might have happened if he'd been there, he couldn't imagine actually being there and watching. Maybe Kit had a point about that, after all. Rankin stared at him for a few seconds, as if unable to believe he was even asking the question, then shrugged. "Hell no," he said, tightening his arm around his daughter. She tore her attention away from her bear for a moment to peek up at him, and Bobby wrinkled his nose and grinned at her, hoping Calvin would realize he was still paying attention. He couldn't exactly ignore the munchkin though, could he? "And yeah," [Calvin] continued, and Bobby looked back up at him, smile fading, to see him looking over at Rachel with an attempt at a smile. "I've had a hell'uva lotta help not losing my damned mind this last couple've days. Fuck knows what kinda what kinda mess I'd be by now if I hadn't." Yeah. For a moment, things blurred as he remembered the days after he'd gotten the news Kit was dead. He'd been a mess, yeah - but how much worse would it have been without Rogue dragging him out of his room to eat, without Johnny barging in at all hours and tugging him off on missions? He didn't want to think about it, and yet... “Fuck doesn’t want to know,” Rachel said, pulling him out of his thoughts, and he looked over to see something resembling a smile on his older niece's face. “It doesn’t get easier,” she added, tightening her own grip around her knees and pulling them a little closer to her chest to keep away the press of feelings and memories that had heard their name called and jumped back up from where they were normally kept to seek attention for themselves. “But there will be less days where it jumps up and bites you in the face, eventually.” "Few and far between," he added, adding his own crooked smile to the mix, though his eyes were still clouded. "But they show up eventually." And maybe, just maybe, they would've come faster, or more often, if he'd let them. If- "Bear," Hope said suddenly, and Bobby looked over to see her holding his bear up for him to see. "Hey Bear, good to see you again," Bobby said, forcing a more genuine smile for the benefit of both munchkin and bear. Hope, though, was already apparently thinking of something else, and a moment later she turned to Rachel, smiled broadly, and said, "Thank you." “You are quite welcome, Hope and Bear,” [Rachel] told them, “Any time you need pajamas, bear search and rescue and novelty food testing service, you just ask - I’m your full service Fairy Godsister Phoenix.” Phoenix. Bobby blinked and tried not to stare incredulously. This was the girl the other Jean had referred to when talking about a Phoenix host in their dimension? Had Kit...he frowned a little, trying to remember if she'd ever mentioned that, but drew a blank. Which wasn't surprising, considering he felt as if his brain had broken a little. He gave his head a shake, trying to dismiss the mixed emotions the name summoned, and looked back to Calvin. Forcing a crooked smile, he shrugged. "I can't claim that kind of expertise, but...you need anything, you know where to find me, okay?" He glanced over at his younger redheaded niece, then back to her father. "She's my family, too." That, he didn't doubt. Not for a second. Other-dimensional Jean was right - Hope needed family, and on her mom's side, at least, it looked as if he was it for this dimension. Still...he grinned at Calvin. It was shaky at best, but some things had to be said, if only because sometimes, that was all that kept you going, too. "I guess that means you are, too, by extension or something. You want to freeze hell over, or should I?" |
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| Mimic | Dec 9 2013, 05:01 PM Post #55 |
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One Man X-Team
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Hell, wouldn't actually surprise him if there was a damned gift store, or Super Wal-Mart for that matter, on this thing somewhere. It seemed to have just about everything else, so why the hell not? Still, Drake didn't need to feel like he had to bring Hope presents or whatever. Nice of him, and fuck knew it wasn't like they were overflowing around here with stuff for kids, but right now, he figured she needed people more than stuff. Though he wasn't stupid enough to say no to more M&Ms if he happened to find some lying around. Calvin forgot about the bag the other man had just handed him, though, as Drake stepped closer and asked him how he was doing. Well, shit. Sounded like something that should be easy to answer, but sure as hell wasn't. On the one hand, hell no, he wasn't okay. He wasn't anything close. On the other, fuck if he wasn't better than he any right to be, because there were people that'd done everything they could to make sure he was. Fuck knew what kinda mess he'd be by now without that. “Fuck doesn’t want to know,” Rachel told him, her own lips twisting into something that like a smile that was equal parts wry and understanding. Something there, too, told him that yeah, she knew. She knew in a personal way that he was damned careful not to pick up any stay bits and pieces of that might be slipping past her. “It doesn’t get easier,” she added, tightening her own grip around her knees and pulling them a little closer against whatever memories that she was bringing up and he hugged Hope a little closer. “But there will be less days where it jumps up and bites you in the face, eventually.” Eventually. Eventually, he wouldn't spend every minute, or every other minute, thinking about it. Yeah, he knew that, and he had a damned good reason to get to that point, but it was good to hear it confirmed out loud all the same. "Few and far between," [Drake] added, adding his own crooked smile to the mix, though his eyes were still clouded. "But they show up eventually." Yeah, he knew some've this, too, didn't he. Took losing the Pryde girl hard, that'd been easy to see. She'd come back, in a way he knew Jean never would, and it was hard not to envy that in a way. But he was damned glad for him all the same. No matter what everybody thought or how it seemed, people didn't get that second chance all that often, even in this bunch. "Eventually," he agreed with a gruff nod, then put that aside, where it was gonna have to learn to stay, as Hope decided to introduce Drake to Bear again, maybe in case he forgot. "Hey Bear, good to see you again," the other man told her with a smile that wasn't quite as happy go lucky as the ones he used to wear. But it was good enough for Hope who smiled at him again, then got this look like she was thinking really hard. Looking around at him for a second, she turned back to Rachel with a happy Thank you. Maybe for floating her bear over to her, or for finding it to start with, or for dressing it or maybe for all of the above. Couldn't help but smile at that again, himself as Rachel laugh and shot an amused look over to Drake. “You are quite welcome, Hope and Bear,” she told them, “Any time you need pajamas, bear search and rescue and novelty food testing service, you just ask - I’m your full service Fairy Godsister Phoenix.” Hope was giving her a look, though, like she didn't know what the hell she was going on about, then that turned more considering before she smiled at her sister and pronounced her, "My Rachel," with a nod that said that was the end of that discussion as far as she was concerned. Drake was blinking and frowning now, looking a little gobsmacked, and Calvin sent him a half-way sympathetic look. Easy enough to guess where that came from. "You get used to it," he told the other man, figuring he'd probably looked a hell'uva lot more stunned when he'd found out about the Phoenix stuff than Drake did, he'd just had a little more time to stop looking like that. But then the Icedork - or maybe Uncle Icedork now, he guessed - shook it off and and looked back his way with that half-assed smile again. "I can't claim that kind of expertise, but...you need anything, you know where to find me, okay?" He glanced over at his younger redheaded niece, then back to her father. "She's my family, too." Wouldn't even try to argue with that. It's what Jean would've wanted and he knew it. She'd have wanted it and, hell, he wanted it. Wanted it for Hope, so she could have as many connections with her mother as he could figure out how to give her. "Yeah, I guess she is. Can't have too much of that," he agreed as Hope reached for the bag Drake had handed him, giving it a curious once over before peeking in and Drake himself grinning at him. Looked a little like he might fly to shit, but he was holding it together anyway. All any of them could do. "I guess that means you are, too, by extension or something. You want to freeze hell over, or should I?" As Hope reached into the bag and popped what he hoped was another M&M in her mouth, then started digging around again, Calvin let out a snort of amusement. "I think it probably froze itself over after that without any help from us," he countered, glancing back over as hope pulled what looked like a baseball cap outta the bag and frowned at it. Probably hadn't seen many of those around and for a minute she turned it over and around, obviously trying to figure it out. "You can sit your ass down, y'know," Calvin added, waving his hand from Drake to the chairs and couch around the room, "The furniture's not booby trapped. Forge hasn't had time for that yet." Meanwhile, Hope was looking from the cap to Drake, tried to hold it by the bill and put it over her face. That didn't work very damned well though and she gave it a look like it wasn't doing what the hell it was told that had him chuckling. Reaching in the bag again, she apparently scooped up whatever was left of the M&Ms in one little fist, stuck bear under her arm and her cap tight in the other, and squirmed her way down off his lap again. Calvin tried like hell not to grin, without any success, as he helped steady her as she climbed down. Then settled those blue eyes on Drake again, like she was trying to come to some kinda decisions, before walking over to him carefully, holding out her fist with the M&Ms. "Here," she told him, still a little shyly and with a little bit of a smile again, dropped an M&M on whatever part of him was convenient, then trotted over to Rachel and held out the camp, with a hopeful, and still kinda confused, "Help?" Guess baseball hats fell under Fairy Godsister Phoenix duties. |
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| Marvel Girl | Dec 12 2013, 05:31 PM Post #56 |
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Needs her powers to dress herself
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There’d be days, eventually. Days a little like the last couple of hours of this one, where nothing had really come right at all, but there were other things that snuck in too. There’d be more of those days, and less of the kind that liked to jump up and bite you in the face. Eventually. You didn’t need to be able to read minds to know that there wasn’t an adult in this room that didn’t know that, just faces, though it was a habit that Rachel had never really been able to break that kept her doing both. "Few and far between," [Uncle Bobby] added, adding his own crooked smile to the mix, though his eyes were still clouded. "But they show up eventually." Mimic put the touchstone on that, with a gruffly echoed "Eventually." Yeah, some of this really wasn’t new for him either, was it? All those years in the Camp, thinking Mom was dead already, he’d had his own versions of both types of days, for sure. True to her name, it was Hope that broke that particular cloud of gloom, announcing the name of Bear into the midst of what probably had to feel like uncomfortable adult silence, and calling all three of them back to thoughts they needed to be having. "Hey Bear, good to see you again," Bobby managed, smiling obediently as was clearly expected of him. Satisfied, Hope then turned her attention on Rachel, and see, that smile? Made it a whole lot easier to set everything else aside and smile back, especially when it was tied to a careful thank you that was too adorable not to laugh just a little over, before informing her little sister that she was quite welcome to any and all previously performed actions, or really any others she might choose. She was totally at Hope’s disposal as her full service Fairy Godsister Phoenix experience. That met with some serious consideration - a good deal of looking like ‘what the hell is this person even talking about?’ - from the little girl, but given that she got that look on a nearly daily basis from people who weren’t four years old and having the busiest day of their lives, Rachel didn’t see anything to be worried about with that. After a few second’s consideration, Hope came round all the same, grinning and announcing her to be, "My Rachel." A tiny - but decisive - nod sealed that, and Rachel had to grin a little harder as she replied, “Yeah, that’s less of a mouthful, huh?” Not to mention it had Fucker beat solidly, though if it was kind of lacking in originality. Yeah... not complaining about that, not one little bit, just watching as Hope moved on to other thoughts, and blithely ignoring the looks going on around them between the two men over the whole P-word in casual conversation thing. "You get used to it," Mimic told Uncle Bobby, like he hadn’t stared at her like a stunned fish off and on for half of this morning, but Rachel decided on the cause tact in this one case, and didn’t bother pointing that part out, keeping her eyes on her sister as this version of Uncle Bobby shook himself out of that particular brain freeze. "I can't claim that kind of expertise, but...you need anything, you know where to find me, okay? She's my family, too." Yeah, she was, thought Rachel, mostly to herself - that was how this family worked, and Hope would have people. All the people she needed. The older redhead grinned, at her sister and at no one in particular, leaving it to Hope’s father to say what he needed to say, agreeing to that and all the rest, while the little girl directed her own notice toward the bag Uncle Bobby had left for her with Mimic, starting some first explorations of its contents. At least one more M&M was discovered and internally disposed of as Uncle Bobby and Mimic went through an obligatory male bonding ritual of ‘what, us have feelings? Let’s bury it in stupid jokes about freezing things’ over top of her head, and Rachel kept her own gaze tightly fixed on her sister’s every move, storing up every piece of cuteness memory for a grayer day. Another dip into the depths, and what was that Hope was lifting out there, like a new prize fish...? Oh man. Rachel broke into a wide grin, both for the old (and appropriately well-loved) Mets cap, and for the puzzled frown that Hope was treating it to as she turned it over in her little hands, possibly to investigate whether it might be a source of extra M&Ms. "You can sit your ass down, y'know," Calvin added, waving his hand from Drake to the chairs and couch around the room, "The furniture's not booby trapped. Forge hasn't had time for that yet." Whether Uncle Bobby had taken that direction or not, Rachel didn’t immediately know, because that was the moment Hope seemed to click onto the idea that the hat might be a piece of clothing, and tried it on like a catcher’s face mask. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t work out so well, not even when an insistent, and peremptory little stare was directed at it in a clear attempt to instruct it to behave better. Mimic was chuckling, and Rachel was too (how could you not, when it was like Mimi-Mom, insisting her will be done?), but Hope didn’t seem to be bothered by that. She clearly had a plan in mind, in fact, one fortified with an extra handful of what might be the rest of the M&Ms. With Bear tucked under her elbow for a wingman, and the Mets cap itself in a tight hold, Hope made her way down off her father’s lap with what looked like a little bit of judicious help, made her way over to bestow a tribute M&M on Uncle Bobby with a shy little "Here," and a brief smile. Clearly a girl on a mission, Hope was off again just a second later, this time angling over toward Rachel and lifting the cap up with a helpless, but still undaunted expression. "Help?" “Of course,” Rachel assured her, already unfolding herself from the bundle she’d made of her knees on the chair, and leaning down to gently take the cap out of her sister’s hands and get ton with seeing about setting it on her head, tilting her own head slightly to the side and poking her tongue out a little as she tried to figure out the best logistics. Okay, pushing back the Ewok hood, that was the first place to start, and Hope seemed to like the way it fell in a big pile around her shoulders, so that was good, and on to the cap itself. Still a little big to fit properly... maybe Uncle Bobby should have saved this particular gift for her other new little sibling of the day? Though the blue and orange would probably crush the ‘hawk, and do terrible things to the pink, so odds were Quentin wouldn’t have appreciated it anyway... but if she scrunched up Hope’s hair like that, in a little bun sort of thing, and set the brim over sideways and backwards, catcher-style, so it couldn’t fall down over her eyes, then conjured a couple of discreet, nearly invisible bobby pins out of thin air to hold it on in the back... “There,” Rachel declared at the end of ten seconds or so of cap and hair arrangement, grinning at her sister and encouraging her to spin around so she could be properly admired by dads and uncles. The effect, if she did say herself, was one of the cutest things going, in any universe. “Even Grandma and Grandpa Grey would have to forgive the Mets, the way you make them look adorable.” The words got out of her mouth before she realized the potential for misjudgement there, between he belated memory of what had happened to Mom’s parents here in this world, and that Uncle Bobby had probably been right there when it had, not to mention Hope’s curious, but half-way hopeful question of “Grandma...?” “Story for another time, Munchkin,” Rachel added in hastily, before that question had had time to develop into a thing, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on her sister’s cheek before finishing it off with a conspiratorial wink and a significant jerk of her own chin toward the hat benefactor. “How about Uncle Bobby, huh? Pretty good uncle, don’t you think?” she asked. With a solemn expression on her face that was only a little ridiculous underneath a crooked, and adult-sized baseball cap, Hope surveyed her uncle very carefully, as though she might be trying to figure out what that question meant. But she nodded all the same, then turned to glance at Rachel with a new look of query, one that the older redhead gave an encouraging nod to in answer. Looking like someone who was satisfied at having solved some complicated puzzle, Hope turned back to her uncle then, offering up another careful, “Thank you,” followed up by another little smile. |
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| Iceman | Dec 14 2013, 09:51 PM Post #57 |
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Giving new meaning to "Freeze!" since 2007
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It was pretty obvious everyone in the room got the whole "most days suck, but eventually some suck less" thing, and Bobby didn't see any point in playing "whose days have sucked worse." No point to it, and right now? He didn't want to think about Jean any more than Calvin probably did. Eventually, it would sink in, he knew that. But now... Well, now he was willing to go with change of subject via Hope, who decided just then that thank yous were in order. Even if Rachel accepting the thanks dug up a whole new set of memories. Phoenix. He hadn't been there, hadn't seen it all first hand. In some ways, maybe that made it worse, but in any case, it wasn't something anyone really talked about much. What the Phoenix had done, while pretending to be Jean... He pushed that thought aside as best he could, though he must've still looked pretty shocked, because Calvin chimed in with "You get used to it," Bobby shrugged, mouth quirking crookedly to suggest he wasn't so sure about that. Still, it gave him an opening, and he pointed out that while he might not be a fairy Phoenix (thank god), if Calvin needed anything, he knew where to find him. Hope was his family, too. He'd half expected Calvin to dispute that (and he might've had a point, considering that there wasn't an actual family relationship involved, but his former teammate apparently didn't think it worth the hassle. "Yeah, I guess she is. Can't have too much of that," he said as Hope reached over and got hold of the bag containing her present. Keeping half his attention there, to see what she might make of the hat, he grinned back at Calvin, and pointed out that family was probably transferrable. Fortunately, there were two of them who could freeze hell over, because if anything would necessitate that, the idea of them as family would probably do it. Calvin snorted, sounding amused. "I think it probably froze itself over after that without any help from us," he countered, glancing back over as hope pulled what looked like a baseball cap outta the bag and frowned at it. "You can sit your ass down, y'know," Calvin added, waving his hand from Drake to the chairs and couch around the room, "The furniture's not booby trapped. Forge hasn't had time for that yet." Bobby let out a snort of his own, but obligingly sat down - on the floor, where he could get a good view of Hope trying to figure out just what to do with a baseball hat. "You're sure about that?" he asked, eyebrows rising. "Because y'know, it wouldn't take him all that long. I wouldn't put it past him." Not that he knew Forge all that well (he still couldn't figure out what the guy'd been doing posing as some kind of cult leader in the camp, however many times Kit tried to explain it), but he'd heard enough stories over the years about the guy's technical abilities to realize if he wanted to gimmick something, he could probably do it without anyone noticing. Much to his surprise, instead of her heading over to Rachel, she headed for him. Stopping in front of him, she held out her hand and dropped an M&M into his lap. "Here," she said, offering a shy smile. "Thanks, kiddo," he replied, returning her smile with one he knew was more than a little sappy, and made a show of retrieving the M&M and popping it into his mouth as she headed off towards Rachel with the hat, asking her to help. Okay, maybe not his best plan ever, Bobby mused as he watched Rachel play around with Hope's hair and the hat, which was pretty obviously way too big for her head. Still, he couldn't help but grin as Rachel said, “There,” and encouraged her sister to spin around and model. Bobby had to bit back a laugh at the sight. The hat was too big for her - way too big, though Rachel'd somehow managed to get it to stay put on her head. Backwards. She looked adorable, though, and he grinned encouragement and applauded softly. "Best the Mets have ever looked," he said, even as Rachel pointed out that, “Even Grandma and Grandpa Grey would have to forgive the Mets, the way you make them look adorable.” Smile fading, Bobby's eyes flipped over to his older niece, wondering if it was possible she hadn't heard, but quickly realized from the "oh shit" expression on her face that she obviously had. Hope, not so much, and she asked aloud, “Grandma...?” “Story for another time, Munchkin,” Rachel said quickly, leaning over to kiss her sister's cheek and then jerk her chin towards him. “How about Uncle Bobby, huh? Pretty good uncle, don’t you think?” she asked. Hope turned to look at him, apparently sizing him up before she was willing to answer that question. Bobby grinned back, raising his eyebrows once more and waiting for an answer. She glanced back at Rachel, who nodded, then turned back once more and smiled. “Thank you,” followed up by another little smile. "You're welcome," he replied, patting his leg in case she wanted to come over and have a seat. "I'll have to see if I can track down a ball; if I can..." he said leadingly, then grinned, "we'll have to see if we can find somewhere up here to throw it around sometime. Never too early to get started, y'know," he pointed out to the adults in the room. "By the time the Mets get a team together, she might just be old enough to play on it." Which...okay, was just an excuse for a chance to teach his new niece how to play baseball. But he figured that was pretty obviously, anyway. |
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| Mimic | Dec 15 2013, 10:34 PM Post #58 |
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One Man X-Team
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Hell, Drake didn't have to keep standing his ass up and hovering around like a maiden aunt. He could sit his ass down with everybody else. It wasn't like Forge'd had a chance go booby trap the furniture. Yet. It'd probably make Hope more comfortable with him, too. Though she seemed occupied enough with the contents of the bag the other man had brought not to be too worried about it, even if it didn't look like she knew what the hell to think about that baseball cap. (The Mets. Jesus, Jeannie would flip her shit if she saw that and damned if he didn't wish that she could.) Hope tried it on her face and Calvin tried like hell not to laugh as Drake let out a snort and plopped his ass down on the floor instead. "You're sure about that?" he asked, eyebrows rising. "Because y'know, it wouldn't take him all that long. I wouldn't put it past him." Watching Hope check out the cap and then the bag, gathering up whatever was still in the bottom, Calvin let out a soft chuckle. "Neither would I, but the Fucker's been too busy to get up to too much no good yet." Between him and the kids and Kara, Forge sure as fuck had his hands full the last couple of days. They all had and it was good just to sit here and watch his daughter and not think about it (or try not to, anyway, which was about as close as he could get, but even that was progress he guessed). Couldn't change the past and couldn't do a damned thing about the future, but he could sit here and watch Hope stuff her bear under her arm, fistful of M&Ms in one hand, old, worn Mets cap in the other and looking like she was on mission as she did an M&M drive by on Drake then hurried over to her sister for some help. Jesus. Yeah, cutest damned thing in the world. "Thanks, kiddo," Iceman told her as she hurried off on her way. Then she got an, “Of course,” from her sister at the plea for hat related help. Had every damned one've them wrapped around her finger, including Drake down there on the floor the winged man was pretty sure, but fuck it. Wasn't that the way it was supposed to be? How the hell Rachel was gonna get that cap to stay on her, Phoenix or no Phoenix, Calvin wasn't sure, but damned if she didn't manage it. With her hair all bunched up under it and the thing on backwards, Mimic had to revise any past assessments of cute. Because that sure as fuck had to be the cutest damned thing on earth. Right there. “There,” the other redhead declared and Hope spun around obediently to show it off, though she kept tilting her head back and rolling her eyes up to try to look at it at the same time, nearly stumbling over her own feet in the process. "Best the Mets have ever looked," Drake insisted, and Calvin let out a snort of his own at that. "That's not saying much, Drake," the winged man couldn't help but add with a completely unrepentant hint of a grin, even as Rachel said, “Even Grandma and Grandpa Grey would have to forgive the Mets, the way you make them look adorable.” The other man's smile faded and Calvin's did, too. Yeah, too bad Jean's parents weren't around here anymore to see it. Hadn't ever met them, but he knew they'd never made it outta Inferno, just like their grandson hadn't. Sounded like they'd maybe at least fared a little better over in that place Rachel was from. “Grandma...?” Hope asked curiously and Calvin felt something tighten in his chest. Would've been nice if Hope could've had one've those, but he barely remembered his own mother. It wasn't like they were on their own, though, he reminded himself as Rachel deflected that question pretty deftly. “Story for another time, Munchkin,” her sister told her, planting a kiss on her cheek and then directing her attention toward Drake again. "How about Uncle Bobby, huh? Pretty good uncle, don’t you think?” she asked. Calvin turned a not-exactly-smile toward Rachel, but it was close enough. No, they weren't on their own and it was a damned good thing, because he still didn't know how he'd handle half this shit. “Thank you,” Hope told him again, after another good, long considering look as Drake grinned at her. She followed that up with another little smile that made him want to just scoop her up and hug the hell out of her all over again. "You're welcome," he replied, patting his leg though that just had Hope giving it a funny look. "I'll have to see if I can track down a ball; if I can..." he said leadingly, then grinned, "we'll have to see if we can find somewhere up here to throw it around sometime. Never too early to get started, y'know," he pointed out to the adults in the room. "By the time the Mets get a team together, she might just be old enough to play on it." Oh, Jesus Christ. Eyebrows shooting up, Calvin looked over to Rachel, shook his head, then looked back to Drake as Hope whispered something to her bear, patted the hat on top of her head curiously, then made her way back over, still watching the Icedork curiously. "You're gonna teach her how to play for the damned Mets?" he asked Drake more than slightly damned incredulously, pausing to smile at Hope as she came back over, watched Drake for another minute, then plopped down on the floor, too. Next to his legs but just a foot or two from where Drake was. "You remember Jeannie was a Sox fan, don't you?" If he didn't, Drake had lost more of his mind than Calvin would've thought possible. "She'd kill us both for just talking about something like that," he told the other man with a shake of his head before looking over to Rachel. "Am I right, or am I right?" Little blue eyes moving from one of them to the other, and apparently not at all sure what the hell they were talking about, Hope trained those same eyes on Drake for a few seconds like she was trying to decide something. Then she reached over gingerly to pat his let by way of getting his attention. "Mets?" she asked, pronouncing it carefully and little face all wrinkled up as she leaned back against his leg. Well, Drake had started it, he could try to explain it. |
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| Marvel Girl | Dec 20 2013, 09:08 AM Post #59 |
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Needs her powers to dress herself
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Oooops... yeah, okay, Grandma and Grandpa Grey mentioning fail, working at killing the good vibes both of the men had had going. Or if not killing the good vibes, because there was only so much dent that could be put in the cuteness that was Hope modeling her new, ancient backwardsly lopsided Mets cap, at least giving it an impending pretty severe setback. Nevermind, they weren’t on mental fixies here, so backpedalling at speed was still totally an option, and one that Rachel exercised very rapidly the moment Hope turned a questioning gaze, and a questioning question of ”Grandma” her way. That was definitely a story for another time, and altogether it seemed like a much better strategy to deflect her little sister with a kiss and an only somewhat leading suggestion about Uncle Bobby, and his general pretty goodness, as far as Uncles went. Thus prompted, Hope fixed the pseudo-Uncle in question with a rather scrutinizing look, then seemed to catch on, thanking him carefully. And adding a smile, which really made everything and more worthwhile. "You're welcome," he replied, but the suggestive leg pat he accompanied it with seemed to go astray a little, with Hope treating it only to an odd look that could have easily belonged to a doctor considering whether he had a blood clot. "I'll have to see if I can track down a ball; if I can..." he said leadingly, then grinned,"we'll have to see if we can find somewhere up here to throw it around sometime. Never too early to get started, y'know," he pointed out to the adults in the room, and Rachel at least nodded sagely to that. [b"By the time the Mets get a team together, she might just be old enough to play on it."[/b] At least until that follow-up, which upon second thoughts had the red-haired telepath widening her eyes, just in time to meet the bushy and very raised eyebrows of Hope’s father as he turned an equally surprised look her way. "You're gonna teach her how to play for the damned Mets?" asked Mimic, with sufficient incredulousness to convince anyone in at least the next four rooms that this was a suggestion that was... well, pretty doubtful as a strategy, really. Slight interlude to follow though, as Hope finished a quick conversation with Bear with a pat on the head, and headed back to her father, sitting herself down on the floor by his legs on the side closest to Uncle Bobby, while the winged man smiled that goofy smile that shouldn’t have fitted his face as well as it did down at her. "You remember Jeannie was a Sox fan, don't you?" he followed up, in the kind of tones that suggested that if he knew that, someone who’d known her since she was a teenager totally should have too. "She'd kill us both for just talking about something like that," he told the other man with a shake of his head before looking over to Rachel. "Am I right, or am I right?" Her own sacred baseball allegiances warred with the truth in Rachel’s head for a moment, but finally she nodded, only slightly reluctantly. “You’re kind of right,” she admitted, before having to let out all her breath in a big shrug and capitulate. “Okay, totally right. Daddy was the Mets fan, not Mom.” But at least two of the versions of Mom she knew had dated David Wright, so that was... ...yeah, okay, not really. At all. Making the Mets gear look adorable was one thing, actually helping them to win - okay, helping them to lose not quite as badly as they would otherwise - that was kind of a no starter with Mom, especially in this new and still very odd case of a Grey family son-in-law who was pretty obviously not a Mets fan either. Awkward. Turtles. Or at least it was until Hope took matters into her own hands - literally - reaching over with extra carefulness to tug at Uncle Bobby’s trouser leg. "Mets?" she asked, and despite her lifetime of devotion to that team that could only be described as ‘special’ (shortbus style), Rachel Summers found herself very - no, scratch that for extremely - glad that the onus of explanation of their unique brand of hapless brilliance to a four year old fell on someone that wasn’t her. Seriously. |
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| Iceman | Dec 23 2013, 10:31 PM Post #60 |
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Giving new meaning to "Freeze!" since 2007
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No doubt about it. Hope would definitely be the cutest player the Mets had ever had. All he had to do is track down a ball (well, and eventually a mitt and bat, but one thing at a time) and find a place to practice. He was pretty sure he'd been playing T-ball at four; she was just the right age to start. "You're gonna teach her how to play for the damned Mets?" Calvin asked, as if he'd just proposed throwing her over the side of the helicarrier. Bobby shrugged a little, trying to figure out what the problem was, then said, "Umm, yeah. That's kinda the idea." He smiled reassuringly at Hope, who didn't take him up on the offer to sit on his lap but who plopped down on the floor too, not far away. It was a start. "You remember Jeannie was a Sox fan, don't you?She'd kill us both for just talking about something like that," he told the other man with a shake of his head before looking over to Rachel. "Am I right, or am I right?" “You’re kind of right,” she admitted, before having to let out all her breath in a big shrug and capitulate. “Okay, totally right. Daddy was the Mets fan, not Mom.” Bobby shrugged, then directed a grin first at one, then the other. Yes, he knew about Jean's misguided attachment to the Sox - they'd had plenty of arguments about it over the years. All that meant was... "All the more reason to teach her what team she should be cheering for," he pointed out with a decisive nod, then shrugged. "Besides, if I don't get an early start, Kitty'll try to get her to root for the Cubs. And nobody wants that." Granted, the Mets might not have fielded the best teams in recent years (even before they'd just stopped playing altogether). But even Jean wouldn't have wanted her daughter to turn into a Cubs fan. He felt a pat on his leg, and looked over to see Hope looking at him with her face all scrunched up, as if she was trying to figure something out. "Mets?" she asked. Okay, who could resist that? Bobby turned just a little so he was facing her, and smiled and nodded. "Mets," he confirmed, pretty much forgetting there was anyone else in the room. "The Mets are the best baseball team ever," he began, "and you've got one of their hats." He pointed at the hat that looked as if, despite Rachel's machinations, it might fall over her eyes any second. "Someday Uncle Bobby'll take you to see a game, but first? We've gotta teach you how to play." He grinned mischievously and jerked his chin towards Calvin. "We'll probably have to teach your dad, too. Which might be kinda hard," he added, pretending to consider it for a moment as he rubbed his chin, "but I think between us we can probably manage it. I'm just gonna have to track down a ball first." There had to be one somewhere on the carrier, right? It seemed as if everyone was finding everything else; some SHIELD guy had to have a baseball around somewhere. |
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3:33 AM Jul 11