Greed (truthorfiction) wrote in commandhq, @ 2018-04-19 18:58:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | clara theriot, danny costa, grey street, p: mena, p: mj, p: squid |
Who: Danny Costa, Clara Theriot & Grey Street
What: Just three Chesire lot hanging out, doing what they do
When: Late, Saturday evening
Where: The Shoppette
Rating: Low
Stacking shelves was pretty much the perfect job for Danny. It required very little thought and most importantly very little human interaction. He could plug his ears with music and just focus on what he was doing which helped to keep him moderately sane. Granted his powers were switched off but there was always that worry at the back of his mind that somehow they might overcome the limiter and additional bracelet. Why would they, right? They’d been torturing him for most of his life so why would this time be any different? He’d been so into stacking one particular shelf that he didn’t notice the time or the approach of the only other employee in the Shopette so when they tapped his shoulder he quite literally jumped out of his skin. “Woah,” the person said as they lifted their hands and grimaced. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump, just wanted to let you know that we’re closing up soon so you’ll wanna finish up.” Danny swallowed back the sudden rising panic and the uncomfortable if not altogether unpleasant taste of bile from where his body had apparently rebelled against him. He did however force himself to breathe and he just gave a nod, not really trusting himself to formulate words. Thankfully that seemed enough for the person to walk away. “Fuck,” Danny muttered a moment later as he shoved a hand into his hair. Hanging around the shopette hadn’t been all that interesting to Grey before, she stopped by, she got what she needed, she left. But now, with Danny spending time there, Grey was fine with loitering towards the end of the shifts, or when it was quiet. She rather enjoyed that she had more to do now, more to busy herself with. Leaning on a wall, chewing through a red vine that she had from the pack stuffed into her pocket, Grey glanced along into the shop as she heard Danny muttering -she was loitering outside, avoiding causing too much issue inside, but close enough that she could still keep an eye and an ear on things. Because distance felt like a bad thing now. Loitering outside might have suited Grey, but Clara was a little less content with subtlety. She knew that Grey had sometimes taken to hanging around outside the shoppette waiting for Danny to finish work, and sometimes she waited inside, perched on a few boxes and just watching him working. Today she had been on her own for a while, but being alone wasn’t a preferred state. It meant sometimes people tried to talk to her, or she was expected to go to the cafeteria and eat around other people, or do pretty much anything that she didn’t want to be doing. And certainly not alone. She’d showered today and before she’d left her room that morning Grey had brushed her hair for her, so it was back in a neat braid instead of just loose like it normally was. That was enough for her. Clara hadn’t heard Danny muttering or being startled, but when she pushed open the door to the shoppette and indicated that Grey should just follow her in, she could see it on his face. She might not have gotten to know their faces much, but Clara was observant. She’d had to be before Cheshire, and during her visions they’d kept forcing her back into them, demanding that she tell them more detail. She’d learned details were the key. She didn’t move away from the door, though, preferring to wait for Grey to come in with her as she caught Danny’s eye and offered him a small smile asking, somewhat hesitant, “Can we join you?” Danny turned his head at the sound of Clara’s voice and managed something resembling a genuine smile when he saw both Clara and Grey stood at the door. “Uh, yeah, sure though apparently we’re closing up soon.” Time was still a very challenging concept for Danny who for the longest time had lived in this constant state of flux, never really knowing what time of the day it was as he’d spent a very long time living from one second to the next. He cleared his throat and picked up what was left of the items he had to put on the shelf and took a further calming breath. “Hadn’t realised what the time was.” Grey didn’t mind following, she liked when Clara opted to act, especially around them, because it was easier to see the authenticity in her actions; Clara acted first, on thought, because she wanted to, so Grey followed, content to do so. Even if they were hovering by the door, no one was giving them looks or stares, and Danny wasn’t swamped with work, even if they were finishing up. “It is okay. Maybe we can help you? If you will not get into trouble? Then, we should eat.” Danny and Clara were possibly the two least aware of the passage of time; Clara lived in different states, past and present, slipping to the future, back to the present, it would be easy for her to get lost in such things. And Danny, he appeared to be similarly hindered by linear time. Keeping schedule was unimportant, but keeping grounded was paramount. “Is it time to eat again already?” Clara asked as she breezed into the shoppette. She’d spent, previously, a good few hours just sitting in the back, watching Danny work and people pass through, quiet as a mouse and not bothering anyone. It was preferable to waiting outside, but she knew that Grey had less patience for people and their general stupidity than Clara did. Clara was just enjoying being able to watch people for the first time in a long time. She wrinkled her nose. It felt like she had only just had breakfast. She moved down the aisle that Danny was currently stacking and kissed him on the cheek, smiling at Grey who was coming up behind her. “I’d like to help. I can lift things.” Whether she’d get them in the right place was another matter entirely, but she had the enthusiasm of a young puppy, just wanting to be involved. Danny gave an agreeing nod to Grey’s plan, it made sense. You could always rely on Grey to make sense. Never ever rely on Vic because that was just asking for all kinds of trouble and not to mention a headache. Or a migraine. Whichever, both were painful. “You can help me,” he said as he passed a few things to both Clara and Grey. “Pretty sure the other person who works with me wants to get out of here as soon as possible.” So the more hands the quicker and easier the work would be and then they could leave to get food. He was hungry now that he thought about it. Helping wasn’t a trouble, and Grey would rather do something to hurry it along than stand and wait, feeling out of place or watched. She disliked that the most. But Clara’s enthusiasm meant that it wasn’t an issue to get involved, to grab the boxes and stack things, a small smile toying at the corner of her mouth. “When the stomach is dictating, we should move quickly.” Grey ate at odd times, not exactly when it was meant to be, but when she thought eating should be done. It was why she was still terribly slim, but with other people around to get hungry first, eating more seemed to be happening. “We would not want your work mate to be disappointed.” Clara wrinkled her nose a little and even though she’d been handed some things, she realised she had no idea what to do with them so sort of stood there for a few moments before putting them on a nearby shelf that looked empty. It was likely the wrong place, but she did get distracted by the scented candles that were nearby, picking through them and looking at the bright colours and getting caught up in the colours and scents. She picked one up, rings clinking gently against the glass holder and lifted it to her face, taking a deep breath in, her intention of helping all gone because she was thoroughly derailed. “No,” Danny said. “We wouldn’t.” He placed a few more items on the shelf before he realised that Clara had been derailed, but seemed happy and content enough to smell the scented candles. He made a mental note to bring her some when he visited her next, especially the ones she lingered on the longest. A couple more minutes and a few more items and the shelves were now as stocked as they were ever going to be and Danny took a look at the watch that Holly had given him as it vibrated indicating that it was the end of his shift. “Food?” Placing things where they looked like they belonged was simple, and as Clara investigated other things, Grey taking the box from the shelf she’d left it on to put it by the label the gave the price. At Danny’s question about food, Grey felt they had put in the two minutes work that deserved a break. “Yes, food.” And if they were the three of them, it would deter people from coming over to talk to them. “Are you ready to go, Clara?” Since if she was curious about things, they could look, but she didn’t want Clara to feel they had to leave right that second if she wanted something. Clara put the glass she had been turning around in her fingers back on the shelf and tilted her head to look at her friends, a small smile crossing her lips when she saw that they were done, though it disappeared a moment later and she looked crestfallen. “I’m sorry,” she said a moment later. “I didn’t help.” She twisted her fingers and came to stand beside Danny, temple resting against his arm as she looked balefully at Grey. “We can go get food, though? Eating food is an important part of self care.” Danny turned his head as Clara’s head came to rest on his arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Yeah, let’s go get some food.” And with that he linked his arm with Clara’s and offered his other to Grey and when that was taken the group set off in the direction of the cafeteria. Life wasn’t all bad, not when you had friends. Even if said friends were a little on the weird side, yourself included. |