Re: O'Brien, Leah
Her smirk returned. Boy, did she enjoy bringing out his defensive side. It was easy enough to do. Leah brushed her tongue across her lips, but didn't say anything more on the subject of his spirit animal. For now, it was enough that she'd managed to get that reaction.
Afraid. She had said that, hadn't she? Leah blinked when she realized what she'd just told him. Denying it wouldn't give her a very strong defense. "So what if I am? Bad childhood experience. I never learned to swim, either." It wasn't like he could use that information against her. Well, unless he wanted to tease her. Which, given how often she teased him, it was only fair. But she didn't (and wouldn't) have to like it.
"What am I saying?" Her expression mimicked his. "You're uptight. You want to give people the impression that you're calm and serene and in control of things, when you're just as much of a mess as anybody else." She leaned a little closer to him, staring at her feet, adding in a conspiratorial tone, "But maybe that's a good thing. Anger can keep you alive longer."
That wasn't exactly the answer she'd been expecting. Perhaps she needed lessons in how to tell jokes. Or maybe it was just O'Brien being O'Brien. "Could be the secondhand smoke. I'm a big smoker, if you haven't noticed. Probably the reason for your difficulty in breathing around me." Because it couldn't be for any other reason.
It was Leah's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm just saying—" She sighed, rubbing her brow. "Never mind. Just... forget I said anything." About kids. About his family. All of it. She was done edging around this conversation. It was hitting far too close to home.
"Can't be deleted, my ass," she growled, making a swipe for the camera. "I didn't say you couldn't delete the one I took of you. If you want me to stick around, the deal is you don't take pictures of me." Watching him take random pictures of nearby things shouldn't have been that funny, but it was. Leah kept the frown on her face, though, which was easy to do when he took another picture of her.
"By myself, definitely," she corrected him. Sharing body heat was one thing, but she suspected O'Brien had an ulterior motive behind what he was saying. Was he looking for an excuse to get punched again? There were many things Leah used to think she'd never do. Walking around punching cops was one them.
Leah shrugged at his assessment that it could've been someone other than a kid who'd stolen his crayons. "Then maybe you should've done a better job at hiding them. For all you know, I could've taken them. Prevented you from drawing any more bushdogs." She smirked.
Behind them, someone was announcing the start of the talent show, and Leah glanced over her shoulder before turning the rest of her body to watch as the first act took to the stage. "Better get that camera ready," she said unnecessarily. When someone next to them vacated one of the chairs around the table, Leah grabbed for it, sitting on it backwards so that she had something to rest her arms on. Better to watch the entertainment in a somewhat comfortable position.
It was a half an hour until midnight. Leah stifled a yawn behind her hand, gazing with a touch of envy at the people around them who had passed out drunk throughout the evening. That they could sleep with all the noise still going on was amazing, and made her lament the fact that she'd vowed not to drink tonight. Someone had to stay alert, though.
"Do you think they know how stupid they look? Singing on a stage when there are walking corpses all over the city?" She mused, glancing over at O'Brien.