★ 008

[oneminutemaze]

[ Ariadne has not been having the best past few days. First she gets in a fight with George (which is entirely his fault, obviously), then she tries to hold up a casino that one of her housemates works at with a complete stranger, and now this. 'This', of course, is the mistletoe and all of the ugly side-effects it's causing

Comments

[diastereomer]

[ Since Eames has gone missing, Yusuf's taken to cooking breakfast for the group on the weekends. Neither Arthur nor Cobb have shown their faces this morning but from where he's sitting at the kitchen table, sipping his morning cuppa, Yusuf can hear the sound of the shower starting on the second floor.

Setting his mug on the counter, Yusuf makes his way over to the refrigerator to gather all the necessary ingredients for a proper breakfast. Crepes are all well and fine, but Yusuf can't imagine how one actually starts a day with what is essentially a watered down pancake. No, Ariadne is getting an omelet this morning.

He's heating the pan up, spreading a dab of oil around the bottom of the pan with practiced turns of his wrist, when he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. ]

[oneminutemaze]

[ Anyone who's been in the house since Ariadne started working at City Solutions would have noticed that what she wears to breakfast is a fairly good indicator of what she's planning to do with most of her day. Dressed up fancier than usual? Office day. Same old casual Ariadne? No work, but still planning on going out. Pajamas? She's staying in for a bit. Today, however, it's jeans and steel-toed boots, a conspicuous lack of a neckerchief, and a dark t-shirt. It's an engineering day, power tools and pulling things apart, and it's exactly the sort of day she throws herself into when she gets into these sort of moods -- the nothing is going right, everything sucks, and I kind of want to stab something with an x-acto knife mood.

Yusuf, however, as the breakfast chef, is safe. She gives him a slight smile when she comes down the stairs and everything. ]

What're we having this morning?

[diastereomer]

[ Cracking enough eggs for two omelets into a bowl, Yusuf starts whisking it together, adding a splash of milk when the yolks blend with the whites. Not the best thing for cholesterol management, but Yusuf is too old to care and Ariadne is too active for that to really be a problem at this point in her life. On the counter he has an assortment of foodstuffs (a tomato, an onion, a half finished bag of spinach, a block of mozzarella, a bag of sharp cheddar, and a tupperware with the leftover meatballs from last night among the mess) ready to be chopped, diced, or added as Ariadne sees fit. In no world is Yusuf a picky eater, so he usually lets the others decide. ]

Omelets; come over here and tell me what you would like in yours.

[ With a look over his shoulder, Yusuf gives the boots a look and is glad he forewent the crepes-- today is not a crepe day. ]

I have a number of possible combinations, though from the look of things you'll want something with some protein today.

[oneminutemaze]

I live and work in a sea of testosterone.

[ That's Ariadne-speak for the fact that she needs protein every day. She heads over though, looking at the food for a minute before she starts to pick. ]

Cheddar and meatballs, definitely. A little bit of tomato...

[ There's a pause, and then a reach for the spice cupboard. ]

Black pepper and salt. Skipping garlic and onions today.

[ She has no idea why -- maybe it's the small plant that's beginning to grow on the ceiling, not that she's noticed it yet. ]

[azhdarchidae]

[A great deal of whooshing followed by WHUMP and a kind of rattling.

[Apparently that's the sound Janine makes when landing in several inches of snow and shaking her neck off like a dog might, not too far away. The street's mostly empty. She's practicing landing in less-than-ideal circumstances, such as ones in which there's not much margin for error - like, say, a rooftop.]

[oneminutemaze]

[ It's a bit hard to miss a pterosaur flying close enough to the ground to land, so Ariadne doesn't jump as much as she might, though her head does snap around to see where Janine landed. Tugging her coat around her a little tighter, she glances around before jogging over. ]

All right?

[azhdarchidae]

[She raises her neck and turns to look down her own sloping back. Clumpy snowflakes are accumulating already, sticking to the not-hairs.]

Eh, I've done better.

[And then turning to Ariadne.] You?

[oneminutemaze]

[ Don't mind her trying to brush some of that snow off, Janine; she really is not one for personal space. ]

Same, really. It's been an interesting week.

[ She's glad to see her, though. She had noticed her wishlist on the network, but hadn't been sure what to say. ]

[orangetoughguy]

Hey.

[Guuuurl whatchu doin' workin' on a Sunday? That's exactly what Freddy wants to ask as he's making his way towards the garage. He's only here because he left something in the shop that can't stay there: a comic book.]

[oneminutemaze]

Hey. [ From the looks of things, recently welding. She's got her hair pulled back, no scarf, and streaks of ash on her face. It's making her feel a bit better, if she's honest. ]

Thought you were off today.

[orangetoughguy]

I am. Just comin' in to pick somethin' up so don't ask me to run anything for you.

[An upnod to her gear.] Welding?

[oneminutemaze]

Picking up what, one of Tony Stark's cars?

[ A nod back. ] Stress relief.

[corpsecakes]

[Somehow Jack has remained thus far unaware of today's curse, though he has noticed quite a bit of macking going on around him. No, he's still a bit preoccupied by the heist fiasco from the other day, praying to god he won't have to face any of those three ever again-

But of course, as luck would have it, he runs right into the girl who got him into the whole mess in the first place.]

Oh, god- [He backs up instinctively, hands automatically spread out.] Sorry- I'm sorry. Jesus, I'm sorry for all of that. I'm not usually like that, I swear.

[oneminutemaze]

Oh--

[ Ariadne takes a step back as well, more because Jack is a good foot taller than she is and she's seen bees crawling out of his arm than anything else. ]

Oh, god, no-- I'm the one who should be apologizing, I'm not usually like that either and I just... It was an awful curse and I am so sorry.

[corpsecakes]

No, really, I...

[Unfortunately for both of them, Jack doesn't get much further than that before the curse finally takes hold of him, and he takes a step forward to bend down and kiss her right on the lips.

Whoops.]

[oneminutemaze]

[ Well, at least there are no bees. The curse is helping them along, having Ariadne wrap her arms around his neck instead of pulling away or pushing him back. ]

[ironmanic]

[He's on his way to the cafe when he sees her coming in. Oh wow okay.]

Someone needs coffee.

[oneminutemaze]

I think I need something stronger than coffee, but then I might accidentally weld my hand to something.

[ She's ordering coffee anyway, though. ]

[ironmanic]

Need a glass? I've got like ten down here. Doesn't have to be strong.

[oneminutemaze]

[ There's a moment of consideration. ]

Yeah, sure. Thanks.