kineticcajun | 5th Card Dealt [Action]

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5th Card Dealt [Action]

[Gambit is back from his mission today, and, much as he hates to admit it, he's exhausted. It's not often that he gets worn out, but this mission definitely managed it. But still, tired as he is, he's got a few things to attend to before he heads back to his apartment. He just means to knock them out as quickly as he can so that he can knock out as quickly as he can.

And so, early afternoon finds him slipping into the Item Shop, careful not to make a sound on the way in, so he can leave a card - a joker, to be specific - on the counter as a sign that he's gotten back safely. His way back out isn't quite as quiet as he'd been hoping, though, and just before the door shuts, the bell goes off. Merde. So much for that.

Once that's done, it's off to the grocery store. Food. Food is definitely needed before he sleeps. Too hungry not to eat.

After nearly ten minutes of staring blankly at spices - he suspects he may have fallen asleep on his feet - Gambit shakes his head and decides to just grab a can of soup and some instant cornbread. Nevermind cooking. Easy stuff. Quick.

He hates cooking this kind of stuff, but pride be damned, he's too tired.

Eventually, he finds his way through the town and back to CH1 to make aforementioned soup and lurch his way into his apartment to sleep, but it's very slow going. Feel free to run into him anywhere on his journey~]

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[Adele regains her composure after a moment and steps back as soon as she's certain that yes, it's him, yes, he's back. She looks up at Gambit, eyes just a little watery before she blinks it away.]

Say something next time. I'd rather be aware of it than just find you gone. [Like Giles. Like Anya. It was unsaid, but plain in her manner. She gives his arms a squeeze and steps back, blinking at the paper that should have been in her hand. It was now somewhere in the snow behind her. Ruined.

...she'll just do the shopping later.]

Got it. [He's really not used to people caring where he is. The Guild and the Acolytes were, for the most part, fine with him disappearing and reappearing later on without explanation. And while there's a twinge of guilt - especially at those watery eyes - he's too tired to dwell on it much for now.

He follows her gaze back to the paper, a weak grin tugging at one corner of his mouth.]

Hope that was somethin' you can rewrite.

Good. There was a distinct lack of charming done in French when you were gone, and it is not my fault. [Adele may discreetly wipe at whatever lingering moisture there was from her eyes before coughing into her hand. Er. yes. That.

...Well.] Ginia and Helios tried to teach me to cook. It...didn't end well. So they wish to try again. I'll...just say I lost the list. In the wind. Then I will not have to cook...and you were walking home, were you not? I. You look exhausted Remy. Désolé.

[Remy stares for a moment as the gears slowly pick up speed to catch up with the situation. And then, the thought blooms: Merde. You can't say no, can you.]

S'nothin'. Don't worry 'bout it. You need a hand pickin' out ingredients?

[It's just ingredients. It's not cooking them. Just ingredients. He can manage that.]

Non. Remy, you are dead on your feet. I am walking you home.

[Adele takes him by the arm and turns back in the direction of Community House 1. Odds are he was hungry as well, but...She'd grab something to go from Seventh Heaven after she saw him abed. There was no way she was going to cook for him, unless it was coffee or tea. Those she couldn't mess up.]

[He is hungry as well, and that's really the only thing spurring him on to dig in his heels and resist being led back to CH1.]

I was headin' to the store anyway, doc. Need to eat somethin' 'fore I sleep. Didn't have much left to make anythin' wit' before I left.

Go home. Rest. I'll bring you food. Remy, you look fit to pass out, let me take care of this.

[Let me take care of you. Unspoken, but plain in her expression. This was something she could do. Can't fight, can't cure whatever it is that keeps them here, but this? This she could do. Let her. Please.]

[He looks over at her, trying to stubborn it out, and feeling his usual resolve flickering and fading. He hates to ask anyone else to cook for him - partially because he's such a nitpicky chef - but. Well.

Those watery eyes float to the forefront of his mind and he knows he's lost.]

Alright, alright. I'll go. But I'll help wit' that soup once I'm awake.

Straight home. I'll be up as soon as I have what I need. [She gives Remy's hands one last quick squeeze before turning and walking back to the store. Alright. Soup. Canned soup. She didn't want to poison him. And...bread. He was Cajun so...cornbread? Yes. Cornbread. There was an instant mix. Or...

It took her a moment or two, but he'd help. She found the nearly illegible list, muttered the ingredients she couldn't read but could remember under her breath until she had all she needed, and bolted back to the house.

Not too terribly long later Helios had helped (as in done most if not all of the work) Adele prepare a pot of stew and fresh pan of buttery cornbread. Packing it up to take to Remy's apartment didn't take long and with one more reason to thank the scholar profusely she carries it all to Community House one. Up the stairs and through the door, she has to pause to knock on Gambit's door. It wasn't immediate, and he probably would be a little upset about not helping cook the soup but...he looked exhausted. All the rest he could get would be to his benefit.]

Remy?

[Gambit, to his credit, has been trying not to fall asleep on his couch. He knows he's a deep sleeper and doubts he'd be able to get moving otherwise. So he's halfway nodded off on the couch when she knocks, jumping to attention at the noise, and standing stiffly to go and answer.

His eyes go from her face to the food and back to her face. He's not sure if he wants to wince or smile.]

Doc, you know you didn't hafta bring so much, right?

...this is the smallest pot we had. Apparently when Helios cooks, he cooks for an army. [Adele chuckles and walks into the apartment, a bag with spare bowls and spoons over her shoulder.]

I will leave it in the kitchen on this floor when you've had your fill. That way you do not have to try to have any more than you can stand Rems. [This time, for the first time, it's entirely intentional. It was 'Rems' or 'Emmy' and she was far, far too old to be calling anyone 'Emmy' ever again. Still, she sat the pot down on the closest stable surface along with the pan of cornbread, still steaming as she unwrapped the towel she'd used to cover it.]

[That cornbread makes his eyes light up more than it should. But he can't help it. It's cornbread and he's starving and what kind of a Southerner would he be if he turned down some cornbread? She's really got him pegged.

Despite himself, he's grinning. Maybe it's the nickname, maybe it's the food, maybe it's both combined with a lack of sleep, but whatever.] T'ink I can put a decent dent in it. 'preciate this, Adele. I owe you one.

[Adele pulls a deep bowl and plate from the bag on her shoulder and sets them next to the pot, serving Gambit a healthy portion and cutting a wedge of the cornbread to go along with it. Helios had been...more than a little appalled at the mix and made it from scratch. Adele would have to thank him for that, seeing as how Remy's eyes brightened at the sight and smell of the bread.]

Non, Rems. Consider this payback for teaching me how to throw cards with any kind of accuracy or momentum. And for the sofa. Definitely for the sofa. [A soft laugh at that memory as she brings both over to Remy, feeling oddly domestic for the first time in...years. And not hating it.]

[Food. Food. And it smells good enough that he's not even going to nitpick. He just accepts the food from her and eyes it for a moment, trying to decide where to start. Cornbread or stew. The hardest questions in life.]

I'd take out that sofa again anytime. Had to be the ugliest t'ing I ever seen.

[Cornbread. Yes. Cornbread wins. He doesn't mean to be rude but. Hungry.]

The fact it tried to kill me didn't hurt either. [Adele chuckles and stands, intending to get a bowl for herself and remembering...well. That she forgot something. The coffee. She'd left the thermos of coffee on the counter of the kitchen in the house. Merde But. She checked her bag and huffs out a soft snort. The soda. That she remembered. The snort becomes a snicker and the snicker becomes a chuckle and before she knows it Adele is all but weeping from laughter. She tries to compose herself and manages to a small extent, tucking the two cans into the crook of her elbow as she walks back over.

Still laughing to herself she brings over he own bowl and plate, and two cans of Dr. Pepper. From now on whenever she sees these cans she'll remember Ben's puzzled expression and somewhat curious tone of voice in describing the beverage.]

[No, the fact that the sofa was not only ugly, but murderous, definitely didn't help its case. But he's not in the best position to answer with his mouth full, so he just shakes his head in answer.

And then she comes back into the room with soda. Which is apparently hysterical. He quirks an eyebrow at her, swallows his cornbread, and grins.]

Am I missin' somethin' 'bout the sodas?

I-it was- one moment, please. [Adele sits and sets her food on the coffee table, wiping at her eyes, trying to breathe around the hiccuped laughter. It takes her awhile before she can manage.] Pardon me. It was just, the New Feather party a few weeks ago.

Ben, Obi-Wan, had several cans of soda in rapid succession. He was unaware of the caffeine in them and may have very nearly avoided a heart attack but. These. [She taps the top of one of the cans.] Perplexed him. Because he thought it would taste of peppers. And just- his face when he said it.

[Gambit tries, and fails, to suppress a low snicker.] Can't say I blame him, wit' the name. But it musta been a pretty good face if you're still laughin' 'bout it now.

[As he reaches out to take one of the cans, he gives her a sly grin. One thing piqued his interest more than the rest.]

An' he goes by "Ben"?

I almost wish I had a camera to show you Rems. [Adele chuckles and takes her own can, flicking the top before pulling the tab.]

Mmm? Oh. I think for the most part people call him Obi-Wan or perhaps Obi, but he does not seem to mind my calling him Ben. Why- wait. I know that smile. What are you thinking? That is a thinking smile, Rems.

[Any and all attempts to be stern fail, however, with how much lighter she felt after that fit of laughter and the knowledge that Gambit was safe and home.]

[This is an innocent face, Adele. Except that he's sure you know better because your Remy from back home seems to have the same repertoire of expressions as he does. But he's still assuming the innocent act while he cracks open this can of soda.]

Nothin'. Jus' that I ain't really heard of Jedis bein' much for nicknames.

[Drinking this Dr. Pepper now. Not plotting Valentine's cracks. Nope.]

[Adele is onto you Remy, but. She's too glad you're home to truly press the matter. She simply shakes her head and chuckles, turning her attention to the stew and cornbread.]

He is the first Jedi I have met in person, and he did not seem to mind it, as I said. He is...one of the first friends I've made here, aside from you Remy.

[He'll have mercy. He's too tired to really be at full pestering volume. Some other time. Stew and cornbread for now.]

Haven't run into him yet m'self. Had Luke Skywalker along for the mission, though. He ain't too bad either.

[Having a Jedi for a mission leader is not a bad thing.]

He's around. I think once the weather clears he'll take to jumping from rooftop to rooftop again. [Adele snorts at that, shaking her head. So long as he doesn't fall on his neck again she wouldn't have to worry. Much.]

...I think he still has my scarf.

[Adele nibbles on the cornbread, blinks and stares at it a moment before smiling. Helios, never again will she bother you about how long it takes to bake something. Ever.]

[Adele, you're making it hard to stick to the Don't Crack Jokes thing. They're practically writing themselves. Gambit pauses for a moment, eyeing a spoonful of stew, before he shakes his head. Nope. Leaving it alone. He can do this.]

Not needin' a replacement scarf, are you?

I had one, for a bit. Something pink. I didn't care for it overmuch, but it was warm...I think I lost it in a drinking contest with...[She flips through her journal to the scribbled notes from the weekend she can't remember.] Guy Burgess? Whoever that is. So...I will need to get another one.

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