Jul 12 05:59:45 107 PA - Slimed and Sorry

From Chronicles

For the first time in several days, the apartment is occupied, and made use of. There is food cooking merrily away, and in the oven, of all places. With his hair still damp from a shower take for both physical and mental hygiene, Leonard is seated on the couch near a glass of wine and in thought. Considering his last few concrete recollections, he did not expect to find anyone else home when he return, nor was the absence of Vixen's most common belonging a surprise. Unsure of whether racing about to seek her out would be wise or productive, it seems that he chose to wait, and hope, at least for a time.

Obviously, Vixen wouldn't be there when he got back. And not for a few hours at least after the trouble ends. There is a key slotting into the lock, done carefully and the door unlocked. A few moments of quiet pass before the door is opened, nudged inward by someone who remains to the side of the door itself. A few more moments, then Vixen comes around the doorframe, her pistol leading the way. The moment she spies Leo, it points at him. She's armored, a little goo dried on her armored boots and spattered against the side of her armor, but otherwise she seems unscathed. Helmet on, she doesn't leave the doorway as she demands, "Prove you are you."

Leonard is on his feet as soon as he hears the lock worked, and on his way to the door. The sight of her, armor, goo, weapon, and all, provokes a mix of delight and relief. "Vix, I..." Well, the pistol and her demand aren't precisely welcome, yet understandable, and he stops short. "I am myself, and, apparently, an idiot once more. Would a drink, dinner, a hot shower, and a massage help? Not necessarily in that order, of coure."

Vixen frowns, even if it isn't visible. "Back up.." Wary she is. "Stupid is right.. fucking around like that when we needed you. Though I guess I've seen enough.. you probably are you." Though wariness is overcome a bit as she lowers the gun slowly. "RIght now I want to hear you explain and I want to know what you've been doing since you got turned. Everything." She points him at the couch. With the gun, though its just a brief wave.

"No good deed, or attempted deed, goes unpunished." Leonard sighs and turns back to the couch, reclaiming his set and his wine. "I'd hoped to at least hug you before the unhappiness started. If it is any consolation, Tirzah gave me quite the lecture, and her opinion of my competency." This might explain the suspiciously hand-shaped silhouette of reddened skin across his left cheek.

Vixen holsters her pistol and lifts her hands, pulling off her helmet once it's unlocked. She looks like she's been in it for a good few hours and doing a bit of footwork, hair sweaty and tangled, her expression already on the annoyed side. "You want off by yourself. I'm not going to encourage that," she snaps at him. "And don't hand me any lines.. I don't want to hear it, cause I'll be god damned if you wouldn't' react the same." Perhaps not with her colorful language, but.. She tosses her helmet in a brief fit of pique, then steps over, but stops and stays standing, arms crossed. "Start talking."

Leonard takes a moment to look over her face, relieved to see it no matter how irate or unpresentable she might feel. "I went to gather the needed reconaissance, just as we discussed. It just didn't go as well as I planned. What else do you want me to say? Yes, I failed. Yes, it was risky. I would still do it again. You were about to do the same thing, yourself, remember?"

"With you guys ready to back me up at a moment's notice." Vixen corrects Leo. "And what I want to know now is what you did after you got changed over." She considers him with a firm eye. "You were just doing it under the influence, right? So tell me."

"I did my utmost to make you aware of events as they happened," Leonard notes. "The timing was more fortuitous happenstance than planned, I admit. As for what happened after the Mindolar..." The combination of her firming eye, question, and specific reference to 'it' now makes him wonder, and concerned, "I have no idea. The next thing I clearly remember was standing in Tirzah's apartment, with her bound to a chair and acting surprisingly pleasant, for once."

Vixen grunts and stares at Leo hard. "So you don't remember anything?" Her suspicion is obvious on so convenient a possibility. And yet can she really be sure? The conflict is obvious on her face. Believe or not. Which could be flattering or insulting depending. "You're not lying to me are you?" Still a bit too suspicious at the moment.

Leonard shakes his head. "No, I'm not. It could be a result of the influence, but I can't remember anything with any clarity. An image here, a sound there. I might as well have been asleep through it all. You know something, I would guess, but I'm not sure I want to know." He reaches to a piece of shimmering blue cloth on the couch that could be a blouse, or part of one, and drops it on the low table. "After I found this in my pocket, I had suspicions that I was in trouble." His eyes lift to her with both curiosity and dread. "Should I even ask?"

Vixen frowns darkly at the cloth. "All I know is I near you were being inappropriate at the Nightingale," she states, her eyes flicking back to him. "Probably like before, if I were to guess." Her eyes flick away and she seems to be considering something for a few moments before she says, "I suppose if you don't remember.. then its ok." Though it is a bit of struggle to accept that. "I shouldn't hold you accountable when something else was in you." See? She's trying to be fair.

"I'm sorry, Vix, for everything." Leonard lowers his eyes and slumps with a sigh. "I should not have been caught in the first place. That sure as hells wasn't my intention, and I'm as upset as anyone else about it. No memory of what happened does not mean that it didn't happen all the same."

Vixen sighs and starts to reach out towards Leo, but holds back when getting a glance at her own crusty armored hand. "I'm not going to punish you for no reason.. just don't do that again. Acting alone like that. I worry enough as it is." She frowns and turns. "I'll be back." She goes down the hall. Armor needs to come off. Clothes and then water. Lots of it.

Leonard did suggest that might help, and rises to follow her. "It wasn't done to make you worry, that is certain..." Unfortunately, he is detoured by the chime of the oven. As much as he might want to help her out of her armor, clothing and into water, his aid will need to wait. Perhaps just long enough to remove the food and ensure that neither it, nor the apartment, goes up in smoke.

Vixen doesn't answer. She's more focused on peeling herself out of her hated armor. She's not clean about it, just dropping things as she pulls them off. It'll take her some time to get it all off, necessitating pulling, tugging, turning, shifting. And her grumbling and growling the whole way until she's finally in the hugging MDC bodysuit she wears under it. And that's a whole new level of shifting to get it undone.

A perfect time for Leonard to finally reach her, then, given that he is fairly knowledgeable in matters of shifting. "Here, let me help you. As nice as that looks on you, I'd hate for you to get stuck." He nudges the plates aside with a foot so that he can step close to assist. The help is practical and not lecherous, but that doesn't stop simple affection in his touch. "How did everything go?" He now finally asks, since he can put the pieces of his free will and her gooey armor together to make assumptions.

Vixen glances back at Leo as he assists her. "We almost died," she states simply. "It looked squishy and gross, but with three of us tearing at it, we almost didn't make it. But cavalry came and Ash, Cel and me got paralyzed." She trembles faintly, her expression growing tight. The shudder has little to do with the air once the suit is gone. She's got nothing under it and she goes to get a towel at once, her voice low as she says, "I'm going to shower."

Leonard loses the attempt at light humor and tightens his expression, also. He simply nods, and shifts past the topics to a third, taking her statements and firmness as a need for some solitude. "Food will be ready when you're done, if you're hungry."

Vixen pauses at the doorway, the towel held against her, though not for particular modesty as she glances back at him. Her lips pursed. She nods and then murmurs, "I'll be out soon." Her tone softer before she goes out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. The door closes and hot water begins.

Leonard returns to the kitchen to finalize his culinary efforts, even if his meager talents make for simple fare. It should still be edible, if not creative. Casseroles make it easy to just toss in whatever is on hand or wanted into one dish. The reasons for his domestic catering could be many, but all of the probably apply in some way. He will see that the table is set and drinks are prepared prior to her return.

Vixen will be in the shower a bit longer than normal, but not too long. And when she comes out, after a stop in the bathroom, she emerges in a light pair of sweats and a long, black tshirt. Her usual house clothing when she's not planning on going anywhere for a while. She comes towards the table, but pauses a bit shy, her arms wrapping around herself as she looks at Leo. Her expression unreadable in that moment.

It's not candlelit, fine dining, precisely, but it is food. Leonard looks up from the table with a tentative smile as she emerges, rising himself. His start towards her is paused a moment after her own halt. "What's wrong?"

Vixen is quiet for a few moments, but its easy to see her mind working. A few ticks later her face crumples and she moves towards Leo, rushing into him at the end, her arms wrapped around him. It's not something she does often and few ever get to see it. But a heavy weight lifts off the young woman and as she leans into Leo, her face pressed into the side of his neck, she cries. It's not pretty and its not classy. But she lets go and lets emotions seep free in the deal.

Leonard is startled at the rush, but not in a bad way, and not enough to keep him from wrapping her in kind. He's wanted to hold her since she first returned; armor, ooze, and all. The tears were not expected, and he's not sure if they're good or bad, but he takes them just the same. No matter how adept an idiot he is, he's smart enough to not attempt to say anything at the moment.

Vixen is, again, not too long in it. Like a flash flood, she lets it out. A few minutes before she starts to quiet. Slowly so, leaving her at the end of five just standing against him, leaned in with a close, but not too tight grip on him. Her eyes closed, his shoulder a bit moist. She takes a breath and says, "Don't you tell no one." THe threat hardly holding much weight with the softness of her voice. And no further explanation is given as she remains right where she is.

"I won't." Leonard squeezes her lightly. "I'd rather hoard your hugs, and everything else, all to myself." There's some lightness to his tone, but not enough to make it insincere.

Vixen sniffs and slowly draws back. So much for fresh, her eyes are a bit red, he nose a bit runny. She lifts a hand, wiping at her cheek as she pulls herself back together. "Sorry." Murmured as she shifts past him, going into the kitchen for a cloth to wipe her face and her nose with. Getting herself back to being who she is. Fortunately she didn't spend any time bothering with makeup.

Leonard smiles and shakes his head, turning to watch her recover. "I thought I was the one needing to apologize? You don't have to. I don't mind it at all." After a moment, he adds, "But I'd rather only see the happy ones fall, even if I won't tell." That last is part earnest, part mild jibe.

Vixen sighs, leaving the cloth in the kitchen as she comes back out and goes to the table to sit. "HAsn't been a happy time." she murmurs lowly, her hands folding on the table, eyes lowered. "At least, not recently. I never almost died before.." I mean, I'm not hurt but.. it also almost all over for real. She trembles slightly again.

"/Almost/..." Leonard steps around the table to her and wraps his arms about her shoulders in a partial embrace. "That's the important word, and you're not hurt. If..." He stops and forces himself to redirect, as he is attempting to reassure. "I'm sorry that things weren't better, that I wasn't better."

Vixen leans a little into Leo, her eyes closing. "I'll get over it," she murmurs lowly. "It's ok." She looks up at him and says it again, with a bit more conviction. "It's ok." She sighs and says, "Lets eat.. and then I want to sleep. A lot. I still have things to do, but I want to sleep better first."

Leonard releases her with a parting squeeze. "Ok." He steps around to serve up the plates and pour drinks for them both before taking a seat facing her. "Sleep all you need to, please." Leonard rarely thinks she gets enough as it is.

"I will," Vixen promises softly. The dinner won't be too tense, though it will be obvious that she's still shaken from the fight before. But she lets it fade some from her mind. She'll eat ravenously and soon will indeed show a leaning towards sleep rather than continued wakefulness. But she won't go without him. The dishes she'll say to leave for the next day.. maybe letting him get water in them before wanting him with her. Truly not wanting to be alone. And the night will be a little rough. Two bouts of crying in the night will be what it takes to flush her clean again. Or as clean as she gets, the morning finding her more her old self. By noon, it will be hard to tell the same young woman of the night before remains as she's once again Vixen.

The choice between a bed with Vixen and scrubbing dirty dishes is no choice at all. Leonard follows her lead and direction on those and the need for rest, leaving them for later. He's not about to leave her alone, and will be there in the night, as a warm presence and comforting arms. Even if he can get scraped by the rough edges, at times, he does prefer her confident and unflappable.