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Post by Daeran Winters on Apr 14, 2018 12:47:21 GMT -5
The whole swimwear issue wasn't something that Daeran had thought of either. And of course Tommy didn't think about it. He just wanted to get in the pool. Katrina had "grounded" him from the pool for two weeks due to the spaghetti incident and yesterday was the last day of that two weeks. The kid had been dying to get in the pool and splash around. The cannonball was his favorite thing to do. It wasn't something he could do very often though, because of his powers. One good jump in could empty the pool. It took a little over two hours to fill the pool with their limited supply of water. Franklin was working on that, of course, tech wizard that he was, but there were more pressing matters that he had to attend to. Namely the place's defenses.
"I'm sure there is," he started to say as he noticed a wire clothes hanger floating towards him, a two piece swimsuit hanging from it. He pointed to it. Katrina using her powers. Magnetism was a crazy thing. The woman walked by the pool and stopped. "I had a feeling," she said with a smirk. She gave Tommy a quick glance. Realizing that he was supposed to ask her and not Daeran, he quickly took a deep breath and lowered himself under the water, drawing a laugh from Katrina. "I'll show you to somewhere that you can change, honey," she said to Vanessa. "I'll go get changed too," Daeran said, looking over to Tommy, who had just resurfaced. He held up his index finger and stepped out of the room after the ladies did. He was immediately met by Eric. "Cedric and Sara finally reported in, bossman. Said they should be back within a couple hours. They found a good spot for us to send out a team to gather necessities."
"Thanks, Eric. Any word from Alex, Trevor and Marie yet?" Eric shook his head, and Daeran nodded. "Ok, keep me posted, yeah?" After another nod from Eric, Daeran went to his room to change into his swim trunks. He returned a few moments before the ladies would get back. Franklin was still there now, tinkering with something. Tommy was yelling for Franklin to watch his laps, but the technopath was just too involved in what he was doing. He even went so far as to throw out a, "Great job, little one." No one ever wanted the boy to think they weren't paying attention. Daeran turned to look just as Katrina and Vanessa were returning. Katrina was whispering something to her, and chuckling with the whisper. Daeran shook his head, he didn't want to imagine what the woman had just said. He smiled then, unable to take his eyes off of Vanessa, vision that she was.
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Post by Patch on Apr 21, 2018 13:14:49 GMT -5
It was almost like magic. Once she’d asked for a swimsuit, one came mysteriously floating toward her. Where it had come from, she wasn’t really sure. Obviously someone had the power to make this happen. And then the culprit appeared. Katrina. That was the woman’s name, right? Nessa wasn’t always good with names, but she was trying really hard for this group. If they were Daeran’s people, it was that much more important to her that they think well of her. Besides, one glance at their auras told her immediately that they were all good people, just trying to survive. It really made her wish she could help somehow. So much for her getting a little extra time alone with the man himself, though. Oh well. You’d never know she was disappointed to look at her, she was very careful to hide any trace of it in her smile. “Great!” was her response, allowing Katrina to lead her out of the room to an empty one where she could disrobe freely.
Now that she was alone, she took a better look at the swimsuit that had been offered to her. A bikini. Of course it had to be a bikini. She never wore them, didn’t even think she owned one. Just the thought of wearing one made her a little uncomfortable, exposing that much skin. It wasn’t that she thought of herself as ugly or anything. She’d worked hard to keep herself in shape, and in general thought of herself as cute. It was just difficult to get certain things out of her head sometimes. She would have to put her own insecurity to the side, at least for now. After all, she had a breath-holding contest to win against Tommy. That’s right. Stay focused on the kid, and get through the awkwardness. Everything was fine.
Nessa changed quickly and headed back to the pool with Katrina, holding her folded towel in front of her in a dumb attempt to cover part of her stomach. Even while she was doing it, she knew it was dumb. She’d have to let go of the towel eventually if she was going to get in the water. The poor towel damn near got dropped, though, when they turned the corner and she spotted Daeran standing there in his swim trunks. She forced herself to look away quickly so she wouldn’t be caught staring. Nothing could have prepared her for that, even knowing that she’d seen him sort of shirtless the night before when she was trying to heal him. A dip in the cold pool was sounding pretty necessary right about now. She laid her towel down and quickly dove into the water, her head resurfacing once she was close to the kid. “Alright, you ready for our contest, Tommy?”
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Post by Daeran Winters on May 24, 2018 19:52:43 GMT -5
"Katrina! Watch!" Tommy yelled as the two women came back into the pool area. The boy dove under and came back up quickly, using his momentum powers to propel himself upwards and came splashing back down. Katrina shook her head, flipping water off her her. "That's great, honey," she answered. "Maybe you could work on being splashing a little less?" "No way! I like the splash!" he answered. She shook her head again and laughed. "Okay, love. Have fun." Daeran got a good laugh at it all as well. He noted the hesitance in Vanessa though. Was she uncomfortable with the swimwear? The brief glimpse he got from her dropping the towel and diving into the water made him wonder why that would be, if it were the case. Jesus, that woman was insanely gorgeous from head to toe. How was that even possible?
Franklin put a hand on Daeran's shoulder. "Looks like it's time for you to get in too, boss," he chuckled and walked off, still tinkering with whatever it was in his hands. "Dammit," he muttered as he exited the room. Katrina turned to leave, but got a wicked grin on her face and used her powers again, pulling one of the screws out of the object. "Dick move, Katrina!" Franklin shouted back in a comical tone. Katrina left, twirling the screw around above the back of her hand, leaving the three of them by themselves. "I guess I have to be the judge for this contest now, huh?" Daeran asked.
"That's right," Tommy said quickly. "You ready?" he asked Vanessa. Daeran smiled over at her as he lowered himself into the pool. He leaned back and got his hair and face wet, running his hands over his face after. It felt good to relax. First time in a while. But he knew that he couldn't do this on the regular. "So what are the rules?" he asked. "I know how you like to change rules around when you're losing, little one. None of that for this."
Tommy smiled sheepishly. "Simple. We both go under water, the first to come up loses."
Daeran nodded. "Those terms acceptable to you both? And what's the prize for the winner?"
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Post by Patch on Jul 14, 2018 14:11:37 GMT -5
Nessa nodded with confidence, smiling at Tommy. “Oh, I’m ready.” Maybe not as ready as she thought. That is, not ready at all for Daeran to join them in the pool. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her attention on Tommy, rather than not-so-innocently ogling as droplets of water trickled down his collarbone before returning to the vastness of the pool. That was the quickest way for her to lose this competition before it even started. Not like it really mattered who won the breath-holding contest. It was just for fun. Still, she didn’t want the kid to think she’d lost on purpose or something. Based on what Daeran said, though, Tommy might actually not mind that. Changing rules if he was losing, huh? She was pretty sure she’d pulled similar shenanigans when she was a kid.
She thought the contest was just going to be for fun. Then Daeran had to bring up prizes. Thinking about the kind of stakes to wager for a bet with a small child was difficult for Nessa. She didn’t even know what they had here that could potentially be a prize, apart from more bacon or something. Always an option. She also didn’t really know what Tommy liked, apart from swimming and watching tv. This was a real problem. Daeran would be no help either, apparently. It was only fair, though. He was supposed to be the neutral observer. Wouldn’t make a very good judge otherwise.
“Umm… winner gets to paint the loser’s face? Either that or winner gets cake. That’s about all I got.” She shrugged her shoulders. Having to come up with this kind of stuff on the spot was difficult. “You have any better ideas, Tommy?” She found herself actually kind of hoping he would go for the cake idea. Nessa had a bit of a sweet tooth, so basically any excuse she could come up with to satiate the craving was good in her book.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Aug 11, 2018 17:04:03 GMT -5
Tommy couldn't wait. This was so much fun for him. No one else would do this, but that was mostly just because either no one else had time, or in Rob's case, couldn't swim. Even Daeran had a grin on his face looking forward to this happening. It wasn't often that he got to relax. He had to admit, it felt kinda good. But he couldn't allow himself too much time like this. Today would have to be good enough, and so far it was. The brief glimpse that he'd gotten of Vanessa in that swimsuit was enough to make him have to compose himself quickly. Angelic wasn't even a good enough word to describe her. Perfect was the closest word he could think of.
"Katrina! Cut that shit out!" they'd hear from down the hallway. "I'm gonna tell Jen, and she's gonna cut you!" Daeran shook his head. You'd think those two were together as much as they picked at each other, but they'd just been good friends before all of this had come to be. "What about both?" Tommy asked with a grin. "I think we have some cake here, don't we, Daeran?" A wide smile crossed the man's face when the thought of Tommy painting Nessa's face while eating cake went through his mind. Not that he thought Nessa would lose the competition, it was just the first thought. "I'm pretty sure we do," he answered. "Okay, so the rules," he continued. "Both go under at the same time, the first to surface loses. No changing the rules, Tommy. We in agreement?"
After getting the okay from Tommy he waited for one from Vanessa. When it came he nodded. "Okay, so we're set. Go under in five....four....three....two....one.....now," he said, counting down until they'd both go under. Now it was just a matter of waiting until one of the two of them came up. Daeran wondered who would win. He honestly had no idea, not even a speculation. Time would tell.
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Post by Patch on Sept 8, 2018 23:57:40 GMT -5
This was all so silly. It had been a long time since Nessa had been able to kick back in this way and have fun. She spent so much of her time working, or alone. Here with this group, in a lot of ways Nessa already felt more comfortable than she did with some of her actual friends. They’d opened themselves up to her with open arms. All because she happened to stumble upon Daeran’s unconscious form last night and had been able to help him a little bit. She was actually grateful for that coincidence, even though the circumstances behind him being injured and unconscious in the park were not at all good. He’d lost people. This whole group had lost people, and yet they were still able to laugh like this. It was a resilient group. One that obviously cared a lot about each other.
The others didn’t know about the most recent losses, she had to remind herself. Some of them may have guessed since the rest of the team hadn’t returned with their leader, but he hadn’t actually told them about what happened yet. Why he’d been unconscious. Daeran was probably waiting for her to leave before he broke the news to them. It made sense. Despite how welcoming they were to her, she was still an outsider. For now. She couldn’t deny her desire to get to know these people better. How could she ignore a group of people who so obviously needed her help?
For now, though, the contest. She chuckled when Daeran re-emphasized to Tommy that there would be no changing of the rules. Apparently that was a common thing for the young one. He was obviously very competitive, so she couldn’t blame him for trying to give himself an extra hand when competing against grown-ups. Nor could she blame Daeran for wanting to break the boy of that habit. It wouldn’t serve him very well later in his life if he relied too heavily on bending the rules. When Daeran looked to her for confirmation, she also nodded her head. Then the countdown began. Nessa took a deep breath and went underwater. At first she kept her eyes closed, figuring that it was best to avoid sneaking a peek at Daeran’s torso while she was in the middle of a very serious competition. The temptation was too great, though. When was she going to get an opportunity like this again? Maybe never. She opened her eyes under the water. Everything was blurry under there, but she was still able to get a decent view of that body. He he he… She damn near forgot the reason she was underwater in the first place.
After she’d gazed her fill, she closed her eyes again. By that time she was just about out of breath, though, so she surfaced. Taking a big gulp of air, she brushed any wayward hair away from her face and wiped the water away from her eyes so she could open them. But had she won? She’d been too distracted to even really know whether Tommy had come up before her or not.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Sept 15, 2018 19:24:42 GMT -5
This kid sure did know how to bring people together. It was something that Daeran had often thought about little Tommy. He hoped, at least with a little bit of grooming and a lot of time, that the boy would eventually become a leader. He had the potential, that was for sure. And in the life that this group lead, there was no guarantee that their leader would make it through the next day. Daeran's head dropped a bit at the thought of that. The thing was, and Franklin had many times reminded him of this, that he had to live his life for what it was. He had to make the most of every opportunity. That's how Franklin had ended up with Jen, after all. Sure, he'd been afraid that the woman would snub him because of his alien appearance, but it hadn't happened that way. And Daeran couldn't have been more happy for the two of them, especially for the man who'd slowly become his best friend.
Damn, these two were holding their breath for a long time....
That's when Tommy came up, gasping for air and looking over at Daeran after with a defeated expression. The group's leader could only smile and chuckle at that. A few seconds later, that beautiful face came up from the water too. Stunned for a few moments at just how gorgeous she was, he couldn't say anything. That was broken when Tommy laughed. "You won," the boy said with a big smile. He'd accepted defeated, which only added to Daeran's stunned expression. "So how are you gonna paint my face?" he asked excitedly. "You two both were under there for a long time," Daeran added to the conversation.
He pulled himself up out from the water and sat on the edge of the pool. "Katrina, you know where Tommy left his paints?" the leader called out. He knew the woman wouldn't have gone too far. She always watched after the boy, almost as if she were his mother. Unfortunately, the woman had been left barren. But that didn't stop her from keeping that can do personality that she had. "He left them in the common room. He was watching something and painting. He got a little bit on the floor."
"No I didn't!" Tommy yelled out. "Rob did that. He set me up!" Daeran laughed again. It wasn't like it really mattered, but Rob would do something like that. He grabbed Vanessa's towel from the side of the pool and held it out for her to get out of the pool. He picked up Tommy's and threw it on the boy's head as he got out. "Hey!" Tommy laughed. "I'll go dry off and meet you in the common room," he said as he met Katrina at the door. "Did you win?" she asked. He shook his head, laughing the whole time. "He's a good kid," Daeran said to Vanessa. "Thanks for appeasing him with this."
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Post by Patch on Oct 13, 2018 17:22:27 GMT -5
By the time Nessa had cleared enough of the pool water out of her face for her to open her eyes, Tommy was laughing and grinning at her. She won. “Wooo Nessa is the best-a!” It was a small miracle, probably, considering how damned distracted she’d been the entire time. Honestly, Nessa needed to cool it. Get him out of her system, somehow. The best way for to get over these fiery crushes in the past had always been to force herself into the friend zone. Her attraction to them would always wane with time. Luckily, Tommy seemed more than happy to be a distraction for the flustered woman. That would help her get over the surge of hormones that flooded her brain the minute Daeran got too close.
All she had to do was focus on Tommy. What was she going to paint on his face? “Hmmm well that’s a very good question. Maybe butterflies and flowers. Maybe tiger stripes or dragon scales. You’ll just have to wait and see. But first, my cake!!” She heard Daeran ask a question out toward the hall, and was surprised when she saw Katrina turn the corner and come into view. Nessa wondered briefly at the kind of relationship this woman had with both the leader and the child, that he’d known she wouldn’t be far away. This group obviously knew each other well. She couldn’t help but laugh in response to the conversation about someone getting paint on the floor. Rob… she remembered a guy by that name in the mess hall, but he hadn’t really said anything while they were in there so she hadn’t gotten much of a sense of his personality. That made it especially interesting that Tommy had made this accusation and no one batted an eyelash. A prankster sort, maybe? Nessa would have to keep an eye out for that one.
Handing her a towel. That was so nice of him. She used the ledge to push herself up out of the pool and stand, grabbing the offered article and using it to finish drying off her own face before tying it loosely around her hips. “Oh, no need to thank me. Are you kidding? He’s great. You guys really are like a family down here.” It was only natural, probably, considering all they’d been through and the amount of time they’d been stuck down here. There were undoubtedly fights. All families had those. But damn if she wasn’t a little jealous of the closeness.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Oct 27, 2018 21:36:24 GMT -5
"Nessa IS the best-a!" Tommy repeated loudly. The boy had really taken to her quickly, almost as quickly as Daeran had himself. It bothered him a little, only in knowing that she probably wouldn't stay. For her safety that would likely be the best thing, but the leader of the group had to admit, to himself at least, that he wanted her to stay. It was a selfish wish, he knew. He wouldn't push it though. Ultimately, the decision was hers. Tommy was a great distraction for now, but he wouldn't be there all the time. Eventually, somehow, Daeran would have to tell her what he was feeling. He only hoped that she was feeling something similar. She had helped him, but he looked at that as her being naturally generous and caring. There was no denying that she was that. Seeing her in that swim suit though made it very difficult for him to keep calm.
"You should paint Daeran's face too!" Tommy piped up quickly. "Yeah, that's not happening," the leader answered quickly, maybe a little too quickly, but with a small smirk on his face. Everyone within this family knew that Daeran could relax from time to time, but he wasn't one to do so often. His mind pretty much always stayed on how to keep these people, his people, safe from harm. The whole conversation about Rob framing Tommy pulled the boy out of the room with Katrina. She really was good with the kid. "We'll go get the paints ready," the mother figure said with a laugh. "I vote butterflies, by the way." "But I'm a dude!" Tommy protested. "You've been hanging around Franklin too much, little one."
Daeran couldn't help his gaze as Vanessa tied the towel around her hips, but he did manage to divert it before she'd notice, or he hoped that it would be before she noticed anyway. He nodded to her response to his thank you. "We are. That's the idea anyway. We look out for each other. I, umm, I realize that I probably sounded like I was giving off mixed signals earlier. The truth is, I would really like for you to stay with us. I know you have your own life, and I know this would be putting you in the same danger that we deal with. I couldn't bear to see you get hurt, but total honesty here.... I don't know that I could bear to see you leave, either." He looked away momentarily, just in time to see Tommy run by with his towel draped over his shoulders like a cape. It made him think about their future. "These people, they're, they're good people, deserving of a better life than this, and I'm trying to give them that better life. Maybe one day I can, and I'll keep working on it until I succeed or die trying. Franklin always gets on me about not doing anything for myself, not taking anything that I want. I can tell you what I don't want. I don't want to see you leave." He paused briefly. "Is that selfish of me?"
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Post by Patch on Nov 13, 2018 19:33:13 GMT -5
“Oooh, someone’s a party pooper,” Nessa teased when Daeran refused to allow her to paint his face. It was understandable though, so she definitely didn’t think any less of him for it. It was difficult for her to imagine anything he would do that would make her think badly of him. Sure she’d only known him for a day, but he seemed like the perfect guy. When he was able to live a normal life again, he was going to make some woman incredibly lucky. And make Nessa wild with envy, although that hopefully wouldn’t last long. This was a good man, and he deserved to be happy. The whole group did.
That was part of why she was so surprised by what came out of his mouth next. Selfish? Seriously? Nessa blinked a couple of times in confusion, not entirely sure whether or not he was being serious, before she loosed a chuckle and shook her head. “Daeran, I’ve known a lot of selfish men in my life. You’re definitely not one of them.” Her eyes also followed Tommy for a moment. These people really did need someone around who could heal them. He’d be a poor leader indeed if he didn’t at least attempt to get her to help them. “You’re trying to do what’s best for your family. There’s nothing wrong with that. I want to help out however I can, but I can’t stay here all the time.” She had too many other obligations, an entire life outside this underground lair of theirs. Meeting him last night had changed a lot of things for her, but she couldn’t just drop everything for a group of people she’d known less than 24 hours.
“Maybe I’ll actually be able to help more if I stay up top,” she said hopefully. She’d stopped walking and was leaning back against the wall as she considered her options. There were maybe people she could talk to who could help clear up this issue and allow the entire group to come back to the surface. Tommy deserved to be able to go to school, make friends. It wasn’t fair to him that they were all stuck down here for something that wasn’t any of their fault. “I have access to food and supplies that I could bring down. I could try to figure out who is after you…” And whether or not anything could be done to stop them. It couldn’t be the entire government, probably just one branch. If she could find a way to make their case and get their name cleared, they would be free. Hopefully he would understand that she definitely planned on being here whenever they needed her. She would always be just a call away.
She realized they were nearby where she’d gone to put on the swimsuit. “Oh, I should probably change back into dry clothes too before we head to the common room. Just a sec…” She patted him lightly on the shoulder as she crossed the hallway, removing the towel from around her waist so she could finish drying off her hair before she put her normal clothes back on. Daeran would undoubtedly want to do the same while she was in the room. Him putting a shirt back on would be a tragedy to all women, but it would have to happen at some point or she really might never leave this place.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Nov 17, 2018 11:08:21 GMT -5
Daeran couldn't help but to chuckle at Vanessa's little tease. Sure, maybe it would be fun to get a little paint on his face, but he also had to be firm in his decisions. That was part of how he'd kept these people knowing that he had all the answers, even though he didn't. Quick thinking and solid confidence on his choices....
A large part of what went through Daeran's mind though was loneliness. Sure he had his friends here, but that just wasn't the same. A woman's touch went a long way towards keeping a man leveled out. There were moments that he thought he would lose it, and moments when he thought living just wasn't worth it anymore. But there was so much more to him. There was so much that he had to do. There were people that depended on him. Without them, he had nothing. And a man who has nothing generally doesn't have a reason to keep going. But for Daeran, whether he found it unfortunate or not, his toughness always superseded his lack of a need to keep living. How many times during a battle had he shook off a wound that would have killed a superhero like one of the Spartans? Too many to count, he was sure.
Listening to her answer him, he simply nodded. It was kind of her to say that it wasn't a selfish thing. He still couldn't help but think that it was. What right did he have to hope this woman would turn away from everything she'd built for herself just to join his group? What right did he have to hope she'd want to be with him? This wasn't the type of life that a man was supposed to provide for his woman. Living underground in secret, on the run from a branch of the government that he barely knew anything about, except that they were trying to kill them to cover up their mistake, it just wasn't how you took care of your girl. He was getting ahead of himself there too. "As long as you're careful about it," he answered, a glum expression on his face. But at least he'd get to see her from time to time. There was that, at the very least. "Don't do anything that would put yourself in danger. But should you ever need to run or hide, you've got a home here."
He nodded when she mentioned changing back into her dry clothes. He waited for a brief moment while she crossed the hall and watched as she removed the towel from her waist. When she was out of view, his eyes widened and then shut quickly. Wow. Compose yourself, man. "You okay, bossman?" he heard Franklin as he passed by. He just nodded. Franklin handed him one of his shirts. "Kat said you were going to get your face painted. I'd pay to see that." Daeran shook his head as he pulled the sleeveless shirt over his head. "Tommy is," he answered. "Vanessa won the bet." Franklin chuckled and continued on. "Ten bucks says you get paint on your face before their done!" he shouted back at just about the time Vanessa was coming back out.
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Post by Patch on Dec 1, 2018 14:25:04 GMT -5
Nessa forced a smile onto her face in an attempt to comfort him. “One thing you’ll learn about me very quickly: I’m always careful.” It was a promise, and one that she fully meant to keep. In more ways than one. She’d have to be careful out there in the world if she wanted to find any information that would help them and keep herself safe at the same time. And she’d have to be careful when she was here in an entirely different way. The type of danger this group’s leader posed to her was not physical, but could be nearly equally damaging.
Once she’d entered the changing room, she shut the door behind her, taking a moment to lean back against it and collect her thoughts. That look on his face when she’d said no… it tugged at her heart. Obviously he was just worried about her, the idea of a new friend putting herself in harm’s way, but it still meant a lot to her that he cared so much. She would have given anything in that moment to take back her own words if it meant keeping a smile on his face. That fact scared the crap out of her. Was she really considering throwing her entire life away for this man and his cause? Yes, she was. Leaving this place and returning to her home would be fighting against her gut every step of the way. Logically, though, it was what had to be done. If she was feeling this way already, there was no way she’d be able to stay here with him. Not if she wanted to get over this growing infatuation with a man she’d only known for a few hours. She would need some space, and time. There was no way in hell she would be able to get past this if she had to worry about being distracted by his presence all the time. Time alone would allow her to think things through better, so her mind could fully convince her heart that there was no way the two of them could ever be together. That he would never want to be with someone like her. She knew that to be the truth, and yet there was part of her that thought there was maybe a chance. That part would need to be silenced before she could return to this place and see him again after today.
Before that, she’d have to get through the rest of this encounter. The rewards from the bet with Tommy had to be collected, and then she could find a way to politely take her leave. Before she had a chance to be alone with Daeran again. Those times were way too tempting. Nessa quickly changed back into the clothes she was wearing before and put the bikini back on the hanger to finish drying. When she returned to the hallway, she found that a crime against all women had been committed. Daeran was wearing a shirt again. It was probably for the best, but dammit… she’d really loved that view. He still looked down, though, so she smiled at him again. “Come on, cheer up and maybe I’ll let you have some of my cake.” She started walking back toward the common room, figuring he would be quick to follow.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Jan 5, 2019 8:49:03 GMT -5
Daeran was glad to hear that she was always careful. It was good, of course, because he didn't want any harm to come to her. Clearly, she was able to take care of herself. Hell she'd even taken care of him while he'd been hurt, but that still didn't stop him from worrying. Worrying was sort of a part of his job anymore. No, she wasn't officially a member of his team, but in his heart she was. Knowing that she would take any and all necessary precautions before delving for any information comforted him a bit, as did that forced smile that she gave. He'd known her for a short time now and he could already tell the difference. He already cared about her.
It actually scared him a little bit that he'd come to care for her so much in so little time. Of course the physical attraction was there, fuck sake she was gorgeous, but it went even further than that. Her touch had been so comforting, and one look in her eyes showed him her soul. Kind, warm and loving was her soul. She was a good person, and didn't even seem to know it herself. How was that even possible? When he'd called her an angel, he wasn't wrong, wasn't even exaggerating. But he knew that this feeling wasn't going to work out. Whatever it was, this life he led wasn't one for her, wasn't one that he would see her living. On the run from people trying to kill you all the time, that was no way for anyone to live. This angel had shown him that even more now, and Daeran steeled himself to fight even harder so that his team didn't have to. The interaction with Franklin couldn't have come at a better time, as the team's leader almost felt a tear welling up in his eyes. He fought it back and gave a slight smile as Vanessa came out and made her comment about cake. "Don't tease too much. I devour cake," he shot back.
"He really does!" Tommy shouted from the common room as the two crested past the doorway, Vanessa first and then Daeran close behind. "Hope you brought your ten bucks with you, chief," Franklin said with a laugh, holding Jen close to him now instead of the tech he was looking at earlier. That warmed Daeran's heart a little to see that sort of love was a possible thing despite this life. Those two were perfect for each other. Tommy was sitting on the floor, Katrina next to him holding the paintbrush. "What colors should we start with?" she teased Tommy as she floated the brush to Vanessa using her magnetic powers. It still amazed Daeran just how powerful Katrina was, using something so minute as that little metal ring on the paintbrush to move it showed that she had some serious control. Daeran took a seat on the other side of where Franklin and Jen were and waited to see how this was going to play out.
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Patch
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Posts: 25
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Post by Patch on Jan 26, 2019 16:55:28 GMT -5
Hearing Daeran’s words and Tommy’s affirmation brought a lift to her eyebrows. “Hey now, don’t get too greedy. I offered you some, not all. If you take too much I might never forgive you.” He could take damn near anything he wanted from her and she wouldn’t complain in the slightest. When it came to cake, though, she might put up a bit of a fight. Depending on the flavor, of course. She had no clue what kind they would have down here. Maybe she would make one for the next time she came down to visit, though. Knowing she would have a few appreciative mouths would make it worth the effort. That was why she rarely cooked or baked for herself these days. It wasn’t as much fun without someone to share it with.
Ten bucks? Nessa briefly looked between the two men, having no idea what Franklin was talking about. Apparently they’d made some kind of bet, but what it might have been about there was no clue. Something that was going to happen in this room, she had to guess. Maybe there was a prank of some kind in the works? Maybe they’d bet on what she was going to paint on Tommy’s face? Only time would tell, she guessed. It might end up not having anything to do with her.
“We’re going to start with red!” she replied triumphantly to Katrina’s question. “I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to have an audience, though.” She laughed a bit looking over at Franklin, Jen, and Daeran before taking a seat on the floor directly in front of the young boy. She plucked the paintbrush out of the air, dipped it in the red paint and got to work. “Close your eyes, Tommy.” Starting with the forehead, she put a large swath of red. Then came some black for the outlines and around the eye and lips, white accents, a bit of yellow on one side. The adults in the room would quickly understand what she was doing. When she was done, she giggled a little to herself. He really did make a cute little pirate. The black goatee and eyepatch she’d painted on worked especially well. “Okay, go find a mirror so you can take a look.” Maybe Katrina had brought one with her, but she didn’t want to assume anything. She was just excited to see Tommy’s reaction. Hopefully he would like it. Pirates were the kings of the water, after all.
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Post by Daeran Winters on Feb 23, 2019 22:47:48 GMT -5
Daeran let out a belly laugh when she hit back again about the cake. He just couldn't hold back a laugh. "No problem," he answered, defeated by words. It was all playful, and he found that he really enjoyed that. Now, in the common room, the leader's smile grew as he realized what Vanessa was doing. Oh, Tommy was going to love it, and would most likely ask to watch some pirate movies before he went to bed. And, as per the normal Katrina would say 'We'll see, honey.' She would eventually give in and Tommy would fall asleep about a quarter of the way in to the second movie. Katrina always finished the movie though. She was a bit of a cinephile. She'd seen every movie they had at least a dozen times, and there were a few she could recite line for line. It blew Daeran's mind, considering he barely had time to sit down and watch a movie. He always kept busy.
No one really reacted to the comment about the audience, except a bunch of smiles around the entire room. Daeran had found a winner, or more accurately, she had found him. After Vanessa was done painting, Tommy rushed off to a bathroom to look at the handiwork. "I love it!" he shouted as he came running back out from the bathroom, laughing hysterically. "Aaaar, matey!" he said with a giggle as he fake stabbed at Franklin with an imaginary cutlass. Franklin got up and pretended to sword fight with him. "Footwork, you two," Jen said playfully. Franklin pretended to be defeated, and dropped to his knees. "I'll relinquish my ship, just please don't steal my girl," he said, barely containing a laugh as he shot a wink at Jen. "Hmmmm," Tommy thought. "Okay you've got a deal. But you're my new first mate."
Tommy immediately turned around. "Katrina, can I watch some pirate movies before bedtime? Can Vanessa stay and watch?" he quickly asked. "We'll see, honey," came the expected answer. "That last part is up to Vanessa though." Daeran stood up and went to the door. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want, and welcome here anytime. If she wants to, she can definitely stay and watch," he said to Vanessa, though he was more answering the boy's question. By now, she already knew that she was more than welcome here. "I'll be back in a minute. And Franklin, ten bucks, buddy."
"Dammit. Jen, you got ten bucks on you?" he asked with a laugh.
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