5th Card Dealt [Action]

[kineticcajun]

[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~]

Comments

[kineticcajun]

Hm? [Who's talking-- oh. Looking down.

Those eyes and that hairstyle are very, very familiar. And now he's wondering just what he missed, but he still gives her a tired smile and kneels down to her level.]

'm jus' fine, petite. Been a long day, 's all. Thanks for lookin' out for an ol' Cajun, though.

[tinyten]

You don't look that old. [OLD ENOUGH BY HER STANDARDS but not as old as her mom and dad.] Just sleepy.

[Hm. His eyes are kind of weird. They remind her of Kurt's in a way... not because they're strikingly similar or anything, but in the sense that they're not a normal colour.]

What happened to your eyes?

[kineticcajun]

[He tries not to laugh at the comment about him not looking old.] Merci. I'll take that as a compliment.

[The fact that she isn't recoiling from the eyes is a bit of a relief. Really. He's not sure he'd have the energy to deal with a scream or anything right now.]

M' eyes? They always been this way. [And here he'll add a wink.] Never know, though. Maybe I shoulda laid off the junk food when I was little.

[tinyten]

[dfgsjfghfsdghfhds SO IT'S TRUE.

Y U P never touching junk food again.]

So Kurt was right? [nooooooo ;;]

[kineticcajun]

[Kurt. That explains the lack of screaming. He's grinning despite himself.]

Takes a lotta junk food, but bein' careful 'bout it never hurt no one, petite.

[tinyten]

I guess. [NOPE NEVER AGAIN or at least until she's back to normal and spends a day baking sweets to make up for it

OH WELL new topic.]

What's your name?

[kineticcajun]

Name's Remy. [And even though he has a feeling he knows this answer, he asks anyway.] What's your name, mademoiselle?

[tinyten]

[Mademoiselle... she likes that better than 'petite'.]

My name's Melanie.

So why are you so tired? It's not even night yet! [She's curious, okay.]

[kineticcajun]

[He can't guarantee he won't switch back and forth. It's a fun and irritating habit.

And just what he was thinking. Melanie. The Malnosso must've turned the shrink ray on her.]

Enchanté, Melanie.

[He'll play it calm here, even though this is Kurt's girlfriend turned playschooler. What do you do in a situation like this? Take her to the X-house? The welcome center? The playground?]

An' I'm tired 'cause I been runnin' around a jungle all week. Ain't so tired I can't make a few more stops, though.

[tinyten]

[They sure did, Gambit.]

The jungle? Nobody told me there was a jungle here. [She's never been to anything like that before!]

[kineticcajun]

It's pretty far away. [Suppressing a yawn. Give him a sec. ...Okay, he's good.]

'Sides, you ain't missin' out on too much. Unless you really wanna see some giant mosquitoes.

[tinyten]

Blech! [Melanie just sticks out her tongue.] The normal ones are already bad!

[kineticcajun]

[He laughs.] See? You didn't miss anythin'.

[That laugh is cut short by a gust of cold air. Auuugh he hates winter.]

Ain't you cold out here in all this snow, petite?

[tinyten]

No, I like the snow! [Though she'll be a lot less tolerant of cold weather when she's older.]

[kineticcajun]

[Melanie, stop being so adorable. You're going to make him go into big brother mode.]

Not interruptin' you makin' snow angels or somethin', am I?

[tinyten]

[NEVERRRRRR]

No. Why, do you want to make some?

[kineticcajun]

Jus' makin' sure I wasn't stoppin' you from havin' any fun. [Although he can just see the reaction of half the people he grew up with if they knew he was making snow angels. The irony is tremendous.]

'Sides, I'm more of a snowman person.

[tinyten]

[Hmm...]

Are you good at it?

[kineticcajun]

I'm no artist, but I can make a mean snowball.

[LeBeau, why are you getting into this when you're practically dead on your feet.]

[tinyten]

[Even better! 8D]

Me too! Want to have a fight? [THIS IS SO EXCITING. Her parents would be appalled if they knew she wanted to take part in something as silly as a snowball fight, BUT WHATEVER. Parents aren't here so she can throw as much snow as she wants]

[kineticcajun]

[Merde. She's got him. He can't say no to that. It's probably a good thing he's exhausted; it'll keep things a lot more even without making it too obvious that he'll have to go easy on her.]

Sure t'ing, petite. But once it's over, you gotta promise to get inside an' warm up. [He grins and gives her a wink.] Your friend Kurt would be pretty mad at me if you caught a cold on my watch.

[tinyten]

[EXCELLENT.

Melanie nods excitedly, eager to get started.]

So should we count to three? [Might as well start off fair. After that there will be NO MERCY.]

[kineticcajun]

On the count'a three, then.

[Standing back up a bit stiffly and summoning up remaining energy.]

Ready? One, two....

[tinyten]

Three! [AND Melanie immediately moves to form a snowball and throws it in Gambit's direction. Once that first one is thrown, she doesn't hesitate to get started on forming a second one.]

[kineticcajun]

[He'll let that snowball hit. In part, it's because he knows he can't dodge without slipping on the ice, in part it's to humor her. He scoops up the snow for his first throw, pauses just a shade of a moment to make sure he's calculating the throw right, and then launches it to sail just over and to the right of her head. Even if she moves in that direction, there should be just enough clearance.]