vαи dyиє (punches) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2019-07-19 20:39:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | -complete, christine palmer, hope van dyne |
Who: Hope & Christine
What: A sleepover (gossip, pizza, and sugar comas)
When: Last Friday, probably
Where: Christine's place
Rating: Green
Contrary to what one might think, boarding school wasn't always a constant sleepover. Sure, it was basically living with your best friends - and if any fighting happened, it was over who wanted to ride which horse as opposed to stealing pencil cases or whatever - but there was still room for personal space and lots of homework, no slacking off. From what she understood, normal sleepovers were a heady mix of pizza, gossip, chocolate, and fizzy soda pop that rotted your teeth, with lots of giggling cutting through the mysterious clangs and bangs and scary stories about how the house was haunted. In boarding school, you actually slept. A missing key component of teenager slumber parties. Well, right now, Hope had most of the above - to Christine's place, she brought an extra large New York style pie, funfetti cookies (perfect for Instagram pics and hipster filters), and a whole case of cherry lambic beer. So they had the essentials covered, pizza and sweets and booze. Also, pajamas - Hope's were ombre rainbow, shorts and a top tied at the shoulders. Very comfy. "So," she started, cracking open a beer. Come to her, delicious alcohol. "How's life?" Now if that wasn't a loaded question. In the true spirit of a sleepover, she'd moved her coffee table out of the living room and put an inflatable mattress there, which she piled high with blankets and pillows. The food was balanced on the couch and if it stained? Meh. That's why there were two sides to a cushion. Opening a beer for herself, she wondered where to even start. This wasn't the first time they'd hung out and she was starting to feel more and more comfortable with Hope. She thought the two of them were similar and she really enjoyed Hope's company. Still. Her life was so weird sometimes .... wait, EVERYONE's life was weird. "Mmm...I slept with Stephen?" May as well get that part out of the way. "A few times?" She shrugged. "It was good? And I'm okay with whatever thing we have going, even though I'm talking in questions?" She rolled her eyes. "Not that I would get an answer if I asked anyways. I don't even remember how we started dating the first time. Or the second. Or fifth. Or whatever. It just always happens, damnit. Honest to god, Hope, I'm just stuck with him for life. And ...yeah." She gave a cocky grin. "I slept with the Sorcerer Supreme and I'm okay with it." Hope had been gnoshing on a piece of pizza - chew, chew, chew - when Christine shared her tidbits of info. Those chews slowed down, all as jade eyes widened. Then, finally, swallow. Because it was rude to talk with one’s mouth full. “And clearly ‘forgot’ to give him back his hoodie,” she teased, because obviously that article of clothing Christine was swimming in was not hers originally. “I mean, hey - you do you. If it works, then it works? Or are you hoping it will work and will be disappointed when it doesn’t? The rollercoaster thing can be kind of tiring sometimes.” She was also curious about how the sex was, but given Christine’s expression and attitude about it, Hope guessed it was more than fine. Especially if she kept going back to the buffet for more helpings. Christine shoved her hands into the pockets a little guiltily. "All of my hoodies are his," she mumbled, lowering her head a little into the neck, but still grinning. It was weird how she had never noticed until Tony's wedding. She'd gone back home, pulled all the sweaters onto her bed and wondered how much she owed Stephen for all his clothes. They were nice hoodies too -- American Giant, various name brands. And he didn't complain...much. That would probably be the end of everything, the day she returned them all.... nope. No thanks. As long as she had a sweater or two, there would always be that connection. Taking a sip of her beer, she snuggled in more into her nest of blankets on the air mattress. "It does work. I can't even describe how it works. I was chatting with Jane, and she's got that picture perfect romantic relationship and I thought .. I don't know that I even want that? I mean, look at my place: it's mine. All of it. I pay a ridiculous amount of rent every month to the oddest Chinese lady, and it's my life and my things and he fits in well because his stuff is his stuff and neither of us have any expectations on the other." She paused. "Except to be there for each other. So I think that works for us, and because I know you're dying to ask -- no. It's not all vanilla." She raised an eyebrow with a cheeky grin. "It can be a little rocky road. Maybe a little mint chocolate chip." Cue eyebrows waggling. Hope started laughing - it was probably because of the eyebrow waggle, but aw. She has happy her gal pal was happy, that was all there was to it. “Yeah, I totally get that,” she nodded. “Everyone has a different set of wants and needs - the perfect romantic situation can’t exactly be defined.” What was perfect for someone may not be for the next person, and so forth - on her end, Hope wasn’t all for conventional ideals of love anyway. No need to romance her with flowers and candy - she just wanted Scott, in all of his goofy, snarky glory. He wasn’t perfect but he was perfect for her. “I mean, if he makes you cry or otherwise hurts you I’ll have to shrink to this big - “ For emphasis, she held her index finger and thumb an inch apart, “...fly up his ass, and then grow big again.” Just a polite warning for their neighborhood Sorcerer Supreme - don’t fuck with her friends, okay? Now it was Christine's turn to burst out laughing. It was a good thing she had nothing in her mouth or it would have been all over Hope. "We'll call that one a banana split," she giggled, reaching for a cookie. "How about you? You guys figured out the wedding yet? I still think you should go do a Vegas wedding. It's very in now. Sophie Turner did it.". Christine may or may not have the slightest girl crush on that actresses. "And how cool would wedding pics with Elvis be?" “No Vegas, unfortunately, my mom would be pretty sad about it - and I figure that after thirty years in the quantum realm and missing me growing up, she gets to help me plan something of an actual wedding,” Hope replied, also reaching for a cookie. So ooey and gooey and the sprinkles. The kid in her that had been snuffed out all too soon really appreciated that sort of thing. She broke the cookie in half and ate part of it, feeling the sugar already starting to buzz through her veins. Mmm. “Not that I’d mind wedding pics with Elvis though. I definitely don’t want a big, huge, more ‘traditional’ wedding, is all. So something small and intimate on the beach will be fine. You’re bringing Stephen, right?” she asked, since she assumed the answer was yes - unless Christine had another hot date in mind. Regrettably, Sophie Turner probably wasn't available though, yeah, she was pretty hot. "If everyone is going," and by everyone, Christine meant the network people, "then Stephen will most likely be there because he'll want to make sure your day goes perfect. But don't tell him I said that," she added quickly. "He doesn't like people to think nice things about him." Christine was also not going to get into the fact that they didn't generally interact in public the way a couple would (if they were even a couple). It was too complicated to think about which was why Christine generally didn't. Just go with the flow. She was happy with that. " Is everyone going?" She'd put off messaging T'Challa, what with all this weird Bruce thing and Stephen thing ..but she wouldn't mind saying hi to him again. He seemed hilarious and again -- KING. "Or is it a super intimate thing and this is where I go 'thanks buddy for the super exclusive invite!'" Hope had issued invitations to the whole gang, in fact. There were those who happened to be located in San Fran anyway (like Bill Foster), but otherwise? It was pretty much a travel wedding. “Yep, everyone,” she confirmed. “Well, I invited everyone. If Stephen will be there, that’s awesome. I’ve always liked him.” Maybe he wasn’t super sugary-sweet and nice, but you didn’t have to be nice to be a good person. She also didn’t care what the intricate dynamics were of his and Christine’s relationship - again, as long as she was happy, it really wasn’t Hope’s place to judge or form an opinion about it. “You get the super exclusive details, at least?” she offered with a grin, polishing off her pizza slice (this was maaaaaaybe her third, but she’d been hungry) then stretched out on their fluffy pillow fort-air mattress space. “I don’t really talk to many people about...relationship things.” Jane was one of her good friends, and she liked doing things with Thor and Scott as a foursome (sounded dirtier than it was), but she’d felt utterly helpless when Jane was sick. She wished she could have done something, or even be included on the treatment talk. But Jane was on the mend, and she had Ava now too. A lot of complications in their past though, sure, so she was also glad to have Christine who had always been easy to talk to. If Stephen was invited somewhere, he'd go. And so would Christine. She was actually looking forward to it. Tony's wedding had been the first she'd gone to in years, and this one would be even better because it was Hope's. Even though they'd only known each other a short time, she'd felt an instant connection with the other woman. It made sense to suddenly be texting all the time and chatting and having sleepovers. Christine gave a smile at Hope as she rolled onto her back and flicked her straw at Hope's face. "Thanks, love. I like hanging out with you too. I don't have many girlfriends," she confessed. "Being a surgeon, well ..it's a man's field. There were 6 in my residency group. I'm the only one left. And growing up, I think I told you how I was raised really religious?" She flopped onto her stomach and reached for a slice of pizza and her beer before realizing that somehow her beer had magically disappeared. Shoving the pizza in her mouth, she made a 'gimme' motion' to Hope. Chewing thoughtfully, she continued speaking. "Anyways, all the girls were obviously crazy religious too, so those friends left when I left the church. I don't really have any childhood friends, or anything. We weren't allowed sleepovers becaues the devil would make you want to go down on each other or something." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not kidding, we had to sit through these weird videos about how modesty is how God likes them. In retrospect, it was super creepy." “Whaaaaaat,” was Hope’s drawling response, tone tinged with obvious disapproval and confusion as to why any parent would let their kid hang out with brainwashed losers like that. “Damn. You definitely need this, bringing up the childhood Jesus experiences.” Thus, she happily passed over the beer. “I never went through anything like that, but boarding school also had its creepy moments - I actually didn’t see my father much growing up? He definitely wasn’t religious though.” No, but maybe he could have handled his guilt about Janet’s disappearance better - or at the very least explained to a little girl why her mother wasn’t coming back. Instead of lying about it for thirty years. Still, at this point it was water under the bridge. “I’d say you’re better off without all that crap anyway. Do your parents know about Stephen?” she asked. Why did everyone ask about Stephen and her parents? Christine thought it was funny. "Bruce asked me the same thing when I mentioned we were going there for Thanksgiving. Not ...exactly the same, more along the lines of 'do they get along?'." She opened her drink, and propped herself up on her elbows. "So yes, they know that he exists and they probably blame him for all sorts of things. Long story short -- they all hate each other, but Stephen tolerates them because I tolerate them. I mean, as nuts as they are, they're still my parents and I'm their only child that they prayed and prayed for and were blessed at the ripe old age of 40 with." She laughed. "I have old parents. I think though, they've sort of come to terms with the fact I will never be who they wanted and I have accepted the fact that they raised me how they thought was best None of us are so fucked up we can't function, so I do the bare minimum of holidays, I text my mom cat memes, I ask my dad how his lawn is doing and we're all roughly okay as long as no important topics are brought up." She paused. "Like 'when are you going to settle down Christine and have children?." She gave another giggle. "The last time she asked, I gave that spiel from Game of Thrones, the one the witch gave Daenyrs?" Christine sat up and cleared her throat. "When the sun rises in the west, sets in the east. When the seas go dry. When the mountains blow in the wind like leaves. My mom didn't find it funny....go figure. I thought I was being hilarious." That was actually kind of...sweet? That Christine had been a ‘miracle baby,’ that is. “I’m sure you were a very cute, very rambunctious child,” Hope laughed, flopping over to lie on her back - she was full of delicious pizza and alcohol, plus the added bonus of cookies. It was a good time (and she felt like a lazy sloth now). “But you’ve made them proud, I bet? I mean, sure, you’re not popping out grandkids - but you’re a brilliant surgeon and can afford to live in the city without selling drugs, so. I’d say that’s a win.” And if her parents didn’t agree, then Hope was here to sing her praises - womanly empowerment and all of that, friends supporting friends. “I totally get the not having kids thing though - like, luckily my parents don’t push for it because it’s not happening. I just plan to focus on being a great stepmom to Cassie.” It was debatable if they were proud of her, although now that Hope mentioned it, Christine was very proud she wasn't selling drugs. Tonight was all about wins. "Is it weird? Being a stepmom?" She picked sprinkles off of a cookie and kicked her feet in the air slowly. "I mean, since you don't have warts and don't eat children," Christine added with a twinkle in her eye. "But seriously. You don't have those cute and cuddly memories of her. You met her as a fully formed human with thoughts and opinions and ideas, and it's like 'hello small person. I am now somewhat responsible for you. You don't know me, and I don't know you but we're going to become friends because we share a common person." “Not without putting a little barbecue sauce on them first,” Hope teased, referring to the consumption of children. Many would have balked at her strange humor but luckily Christine was not one of those people. “But no, it’s not weird. Actually, what was weird was her suddenly being fifteen and not ten.” Yeah, that time jump. No one could explain that. Not even all the quantum physics theories in the world - it was just a little ‘quirk’ of their universe. “So that’s a whole other ballgame, teenage-dom. She’s so important to Scott, but it’s like...I love her too? It’s not as if I’m competing or anything.” They both had Scott’s love, and he had room for the both of them in his life. Admittedly, she’d been afraid Cassie would resent her but she never did. She hadn’t resented Paxton either, she was very go-with-the-flow and had always been smart and mature for her age. Hope appreciated that. “I’m happy.” Gently, she bopped Christine in the face with a pillow. “I’m glad you’re happy too, with your mint chocolate chip.” Christine burst out laughing and grabbed a pillow of her own, throwing it at her friend. "Aren't we too old to be having pillow fights? What's next? I call Scott and ask him about you, while you giggle in the background? Put him on speaker without him knowing?" She rolled her eyes in jest. "Or better yet, we can call Cassie and ask her if she's got any boys in her life. I mean, 15! I can see why you'd be freaked going from 10 to 15. That's ...going from Disney to the CW. That's huge! " A pause. "Oh my god. She could be having sex already. Better have a conversation with her about dirty boys and keeping it wrapped up! Safe sex saves lives!" Hope was glad she hadn’t been drinking beer, because she’d have choked on it. “Oh my god,” she sounded horrified - and subsequently felt that way too. “I mean, she’s only been fifteen since the time jump but I guess it’s possible?? I hadn’t even thought about that...” Shit. It made sense, because she’d been about that age when she started doing the do, so... “Oh my god - “ The phrase of the evening, apparently, “I’m going to have to bring that up to Scott. He probably hasn’t had The Talk with her yet.” Maybe they’d be saved, and Paxton and Maggie had already taken care of it. Pleaseohplease. Christine was flat out dying of laughter, to the point where she was now hiccuping. After a point, she had to sit up and practically fan herself with her hands. "Your face...." she managed to wheeze out. "Oh my god, you should see your face...." If her phone was closer, she would have snapped a picture because it was priceless...in fact... "When you tell Scott, can you take a picture and send it to me? Because that will be my new profile picture for you on my phone...holy shit...." She was never more glad to not have children than this very moment. Before she knew it, Hope was laughing too - tears were rolling down her cheeks, she could barely see, and her entire face hurt. Not to mention her sides, from where she was holding herself together to keep from breaking a rib thanks to all her cackling. “It’s terrifying!” was her reasoning, but still. Goddamn. The prospect must be even more terrifying for her fiance. “I’ll take a picture of his panic, I’m sure it will amuse me as well. But just for you laughing, I’m taking the last piece of pizza.” Thus, she swiped it from the box. And so it was done. |