Heroes and thieves at my door. I can’t seem to tell them apart anymore.

[theshameofcain]

On 1854 W North Ave, a street address mentioned in a very specific journal entry there is a small bookstore. Fairly innocuous, really, and more than a little worthy of being completely overlooked, but if you happen to be a wanderer, intrigued by the words in the journal entry, it might be worth poking around inside

Comments

[casanovapoptart]

"..but really, I think Tiny Toons is a classic and was very much under-appreciated."

Who knows what the hell they're talking about, but Syd and Will have strange conversations. So that's okay.

They're nearing Bambi's shop, and when Will notices that, he grabs Sydney's arm and slows to a stop. "Hey, um... I just wanted to suggest something," he says, a little reluctantly. "Just... I don't want to sound insensitive or bring up painful memories or anything, I just think it's worth considering. Okay?"

Way to get to the point, Will.

[mademeaweapon]

Sydney stops and pivots to face him, frowning a little. Well, that was an abrupt change of subject, and yeah, the question is really encouraging. "Okay... What is it?" Because clearly Will's going to need some prompting to get to the actual point.

[casanovapoptart]

"Um." Calm. He's not actually proposing, that would be silly, because they're just friends. She's his best friend ever, but they're not like that. And she's still in love with Danny, he knows that, and he'd never try to dishonour his friend like that even if he did feel that way, which he doesn't. But this is a good idea and he knows it, so it needs saying.

"Well, I was thinking... a lot of shit happens around here, right? And you've already been in the hospital once, and either one of us could end up in the hospital later, so... I was thinking maybe we should get a marriage certificate from this lady. So we could be guaranteed access to each other in hospitals and so forth."

He's really hoping she doesn't get upset by this. He's really not trying to be insensitive.

[mademeaweapon]

Sydney just stares at him for a moment. Of all the things he could have said... that wasn't one she was expecting. But... it makes sense, and the way her life seems to be going, he's probably right about the hospital thing. She sighs and rubs at her forehead, trying to ignore the vague, distant ache in her chest somewhere around her heart.

"I... Sure. Just in case I get stabbed again... not that I'm planning on it." She smiles faintly, mostly as a reassurance that she's okay, really. Just the same old ache, and she'll get over it, eventually. She can deal with it.

[casanovapoptart]

Will is pretty attentive to her and how she's doing almost 100% of the time lately, and that goes double right now. He slings an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a hug. "You sure you're cool with it?" he asks quietly. "I mean, I'd suggest siblings, but we don't exactly seem related.. at all. But we could figure something else out, I'll bet, if you wanted to..."

He does not want to cause her undue emotional distress, especially after everything that's happened since they ended up here.

[mademeaweapon]

Sydney snuggles against him for a second, resting her head against his shoulder. "Yeah. I'm sure. Now come on." She pulls lightly away from him. "The sooner you actually exist, the sooner you can get a job and find people other than me to be ridiculously nosy at."

With that smile, she could only mean that comment in all love. Really.

[casanovapoptart]

Will salutes. "Yes ma'am, Ms. Bristow, ma'am!" He grins at her and loops his arm through hers. "So are we going to be the Bristow-Tippin household, or what? You know we'll have to come up with a whole story of when we got married, where, the works. In case people ask. Maybe we eloped. In Rio de Jinero. Or New Orleans." He's still talking as they walk into the bookstore.

This should be interesting.

[mademeaweapon]

Sydney laughs, rolling her eyes a little. "I'm not taking your name. Though if you want to be Will Bristow, I won't stop you. Have you ever actually been to Rio de Jinero?" She glances around the shop as she steps inside. Odd place for a forger to be working out of. It's not exactly what she's used to (never mind that most of the time, when she needed fake ID, she'd get it from SD-6).

[theshameofcain]

Every time a bell rings, an angel emerges from the basement- one specific angel, anyway. The wayward wanderers have been coming in droves and she's up to her neck in forged documents, but she works quickly. If one thing can be said about Angels of Knowledge, they are hard workers.

She can't actually smoke when she's working, so there's a cigarette tucked behind her ear when she parts her beaded curtain and steps into the bookstore.

"Hey, kids. You here for the specials?" Not that they usually come for much else. One day someone's going to walk into her bookstore and actually want to see the books and she'll be confused as hell.

[casanovapoptart]

"Yes, ma'am, we'll have the two-egg omelette with bacon and whole-wheat toast!" Will says cheerfully.

...He's special.

[theshameofcain]

Bambi arches her eyebrows. Cute. "Yeah, I'll get right on that." She turns around briefly and then turns back. "Oh wait. No kitchen. Can offer you any number of my other skills?"

Provided they aren't feds, but Bambi's got a good eye for a cop in disguise and even if they were, she's not particularly concerned with it. It's not like her bosses can't wrap the police force around their fingers when they want to.

[mademeaweapon]

Sydney takes a moment to give Will a sideways look probably best translated as Maybe you shouldn't talk. Occasionally, Sydney wonders why she takes him out in public. "You're Bambi?" Yeah, she looks like a Bambi.

[theshameofcain]

"The one and only." She pauses, frowns a little. "Besides the deer, but whatever." She pulls the cigarette out from behind her ear and lights it, because she's been without nicotine for long enough today and it's time she had one.

"Wanderers, both of you?" She blows a puff of smoke over her head and goes back over to the register to get a notepad to take down notes. "So what's the sitch, kids? Basic ID package or are you two looking for something special?"

It's like she knows. Thus is the power of an Angel of Knowledge.

[casanovapoptart]

"Um." Will glances at Sydney before speaking, just... still a little worried it's going to upset her.

It's possible Will's a teensy bit too protective of his biffle sometimes.

"We also wanted a, ah... marriage certificate?" His voice cracks, just a tiny bit. He can do secretive. He can do undercover (theoretically). But this is just awkward and vaguely weird.

[theshameofcain]

Bambi tilts her head to the side and then points at them, shaking her finger between the two of them and scrunching her face up in a rather amused expression.

"And judging by that reaction, you two aren't even a little married, are you?"

That's a new one on her.

[mademeaweapon]

And Will gets another of those why are you saying words? looks. Oh, Will. Sydney loves you, really, but you're embarrassing her. "We're friends. I've been in the hospital once already since we got here." And is likely to be again, if her life continues the way it's been. Lucky her. ...She's going to take a moment to reflect on how much she hates Sark.

"What are you getting out of this, exactly?" Someone does not do things for perfect strangers out of the kindness of their heart. At least, not things like this.