[rl] in which teddy and hope have a girls' night in

[primary_concern]

Billy was going to drop Hope off in the kitchen area, and so he'd gone down there to wait for them to show up. He was dressed in his pajamas - a tank top and lounge pants, hoodie slung over his shoulders because the Young Avengers Headquarters had, until very recently been a warehouse, and it hadn't quite warmed up just yet. At least it had a finished kitchen area, a bathroom, and a nice room upstairs that served as a little bachelor suite for Teddy. He had the living room couch in there, against a wall with the TV from the apartment he'd shared with his mother across from it, and his bed from home along another wall. There were video games, his family's whole DVD collection, his computer and his mother's, and enough other amusing stuff to keep him busy.

But what it seriously lacked was people. The warehouse had a way of echoing that didn't sit right with the empty space in Teddy's gut, and sometimes when he heard his voice coming back at him like some kind of mockery, it resonated so deeply with his lingering pain of loss that he couldn't think of anything but the fact that he was an orphan who didn't even belong on Earth.

Having someone come over was a godsend, such a relief, and he knew Billy wouldn't mind if him and Hope snuggled on the couch all night and shared a bed. It was a relief.

So he stood in the kitchen area with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, and waited.

Comments

[messiahed]

The whole time he explained, Hope genuinely watched him work. She didn't even really listen to any of the teachers on Utopia. But they were all teaching her useless things she already knew. She knew how to survive and how to fight. Nobody had ever stopped to think they should teach her the basics of the modern world. Like how to cook actual meals for yourself. Beyond the edible point, that is.

"I can try?" She shrugged her shoulders as she looked back up at him. She noticed how much more soft he suddenly looked. Like he was really enjoying this time and it made her all the happier. That someone was actually enjoying her presence for once. In a normal way too.

"No promises on not burning but I'll do my best," She smiled as she took over the stirring.