(Untitled)

[stillbecoming]

Buffy is by the fireplace, attempting to toast marshmallows on a polearm.

It's going about as well as you'd expect.

Comments

[cutting_edgex23]

"That is not efficient," X observes.

She has a keen eye for the obvious.

[stillbecoming]

"Laura!" says Buffy, waving her over. "Let me explain something to you: the whole point of s'mores is inefficiency. Otherwise we'd just rig up some kind of dishwasher-friendly 20-marshmallow microwave rack, and somebody would invent a way to eat graham crackers without spraying neighboring countries with crumbs."

[cutting_edgex23]

"I think sticks are okay," she ventures, carefully.

"And they are smaller. Mr Simmons likes them."

[stillbecoming]

Buffy sighs, and looks sadly at one of her early attempts (sliced neatly in half).

"Yeah, sticks are okay. Who's Mr. Simmons? Remember that talk we had about introductory phrases?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"He is my landlord."

It is the simplest explanation.

"He is good at repairing things."

She makes no comment about introductory phrases.

[stillbecoming]

"That's a good quality for a landlord to possess," Buffy muses, tipping the partisan. "So how's the place working out?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"I like it. And I have fish."

Beat.

"I am learning how to repair things, too. It is useful."

She picks up a marshmallow, holding it carefully as if it might break.

Or make her hands sticky.

[stillbecoming]

"Cool." Buffy takes one, too. "Like what? Furniture, TVs, clothes?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"The roof. And the plumbing. And the electricity."

All of these things are more useful than clothes.

(Clothes are not difficult to steal, for one.)

[stillbecoming]

"All good to know how to fix." She nods approvingly. "If occasionally gross. Why, is the plumbing an issue?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"Sometimes there are leaks," X says. Carefully.

"It is not new building. You do not have problems like that?"

[stillbecoming]

"I don't know, sometimes we do." Her marshmallow is a nice crispy brown; she hauls it out of the fireplace. "But Mom usually takes care of it."

[cutting_edgex23]

"Oh."

X does not know how that works.

"She is very good at it?"

[stillbecoming]

"I guess." Buffy looks like she knows about as much about how that works as X does. "I mean, I've trashed the house on a pretty regular basis since we moved, and it still looks fine."

[cutting_edgex23]

"It is because you get upset?"

The house trashing, that is.

It is usually the cause of X's bouts of furniture and infrastructure-destroying.

When she had those.

[stillbecoming]

"What?" Buffy looks blankly at her. "Is what because I get upset? I don't really mind if the house looks trashed, my room generally does anyway..."