InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "At least the bed's still here."

Lily Evans (emerald_eyes) wrote in indarkness_logs,
@ 2010-06-17 06:56:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2032 06, barney stinson, lily evans

RP: Evaluations
Characters: Lily, Barney
Time/Date: late morning, June 17, 2032
Location: hotel kitchen
Warnings/Rating: None
Summary: Lily contemplates
Status: Complete

While nothing about the place was truly conducive to relaxation, Lily had calmed down significantly once other people had shown up. Yes, they were still trapped, and yes, she was still the subject of some twisted experiment, but she was no longer alone. Granted, most everyone seemed to be fairly on guard and wary and not really in a rush to make friends ... but it was enough for her to know they were here.

Lily had been keeping an eye on the kitchen area whenever she was down here, and she'd never seen anyone else using it. She had though; just the other day she'd made biscuits. It seemed a shame to let a nice kitchen like that go to waste. She was giving serious contemplations to starting lunch for everyone; there were some vegetables in the big fridge that she was sure hadn't been there yesterday and she could make a nice salad, maybe some grilled cheese sandwiches and soup or something.

While she thought about it, she settled into one of the chairs at the table, sipping the tea she'd made earlier. Thinking about the people here made her miss her friends. Her ... fiance. She'd taken off the ring because the reminder hurt too much, but she knew where it was; tucked away upstairs in a drawer. If only James would show up ...

She had no idea what was going on at home though. Was she missing? When this was all over (because every experiment had an end, right?), would they just be returned to the point they were taken from, no harm no foul save whatever happened while they were here? She had no idea, and thinking about it ... well, it wasn't helping.

Emerald eyes shifted toward the doorway as she heard the TV in the rec room turn on. Shortly after that, she heard the music of one of the video games, and a faint smile tugged her lips. Well, some people were settling in well enough, she guessed.

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goforbarney
2010-06-18 03:46 am UTC (link)

He really couldn't decide if he was going to cross the line or not.

He'd stood outside by himself for a while, toying with the idea of maybe thinking about crossing, when a four foot kid with a headband had come out and openly mocked him for it and they'd gotten into an argument of which one of them was actually going to cross before they both... well, either chickened out or thought better of it. Barney was pretty sure he liked the sound of thinking better of it better.

Either way, he really needed a beer, and wasn't sure if there was a bar in the area that he could go to. This place was so weird and abandoned and he thought that he could use some food, too, so maybe he'd swing by the kitchen and then go raid a store or something.

Easing into the kitchen, he smirked a bit to himself when he saw that he wasn't alone, and raised an eyebrow to the girl before sticking his chin out in an upward nop. "'Sup," he said by way of greeting before he moved past her to check out the fridge.

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-18 05:05 am UTC (link)

Lily was startled out of her thoughts when someone came in, and she frowned as she realized how easily she was sliding into lapses like that. Not a very good practice for a place like this.

"Hello," she replied with a soft smile as she studied him curiously and tried to hazard guesses about him - from his nationality to the time period he came from. She was guessing American by what she could hear of his accent, and ... from a time period after her own given his attire.

He did seem to be a bit ... casual for a new arrival. Not that she expected everyone to be panicking in the streets, but most people she had encountered had at least been a bit confused. He couldn't have been here longer than her ...

... though as she thought that, she realized it was an assumption.

For all she knew, he was one of the kidnappers. Her jaw set slightly as she reached for her wand, ensuring she could grab it if need be.

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goforbarney
2010-06-18 06:37 am UTC (link)

He did not find a beer. At least, not one that he wanted to be drinking. He did find a soda though, and was a bit giddy about it. Sometimes, yes, he regressed to age 12, but soda was awesome and anyone who questioned that was just plain dumb.

~~Pulling out of~~ Stepping back from the fridge he closed the door, popping the top off his soda as he leaned against it to offer her a patented smile. She was cute, if a bit... out of it? Nervous? There was something off, but like that had ever put him off before.

"I know what you're thinking," he said. "I look familiar, but I promise you I would never forget a face that pretty, so I probably just have one of those awesome expressions," he extended his hand and offered a week. "Barney Stinson. Are you new?"

To the random hotel of kidnapped mice. He really wasn't sure what to make of the story they were telling him of how and why they were here, but he'd seen a lot of weird things at his job, and figured this was just another one of their 'tests', so he was pretty chill with it for now.

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-18 07:59 am UTC (link)

"Lily Evans," she introduced herself, stretching forward to take his hand and shake it once. "I'm not new. I was actually ... one of the first, if not the first person here. I ... was here half a week before I saw anyone."

She shook her head. "I really wasn't thinking anything at all like that," she added as she studied him. He reminded her a bit of James ... at least as far as his attitude went, and she closed her eyes as she felt a sharp pang shooting through her.

What if she died here, and he never knew what happened to her? What if ... what if he thought she was dead already, or a captive of the Death Eaters?

Lily opened her eyes to force her attention back to the present, to Barney. "I was actually ... just thinking about making lunch if you were interested?" She wouldn't mind cooking for him, as long as she was going to be cooking.

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goforbarney
2010-06-23 04:05 am UTC (link)

"Yeah?" he said, his tone and face expressing sympathy. "That must've been rough. I mean, it's strange enough for the rest of us to suddenly find ourselves elsewhere, but at least there's other people in the same boat."

He tried not to be amused as she backtracked on her obvious admiration of him, nodding his head and pretending to believe the story she made up to explain. He did notice the pain in her expression, and wondered what that was about, but he chalked it up to Serious Abandonment Issues because of being here alone for half a week that she hadn't recovered from. Nothing he couldn't handle.

"Yeah, sure," he said with a nod, moving to set down the soda on the counter. "Did you need any help?"

He was flying through the steps involved with sleeping with a girl. At this rate, he'd be in her pants before afternoon tea.

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-23 04:54 am UTC (link)

"It was," Lily agreed, though she had a feeling he wasn't particularly interested in the details of her days alone. "But ... there are people here, now, so as sad as that is for ... everyone, at least we've all got people to lean on."

Rising from the table, Lily shook her head slightly, mostly amused. "You're welcome to help, if you're any good in the kitchen. I was just going to go with something simple. Salad and soup and some cheese sandwiches. Think you can manage any of that?"

Letting herself into the kitchen proper, Lily tried to keep her thoughts on the present and not straying to the past, or to things she had absolutely no control over.

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goforbarney
2010-06-23 06:57 am UTC (link)

He wasn't interested in the details of her days alone, but he would have pretended to be in the hopes that it would endear him to her and she would agree to sleep with him. He was just that nice of a guy. "It's true. It's nice to know that at least we're not suffering alone. There's people to watch our backs."

It was bull and lies. He didn't really care either way, didn't know how much he believed that bad things would happen if you crossed the line, and had no interest in looking out for anyone but himself, but he knew that was not the way to pick up chicks. Or at least, not this kind of chick.

"I don't know that I'm any good," he said, feigning sheepishness. He actually knew for a fact that he wasn't very good in the kitchen - there was a reason that the good Lord had invented take out for men who preferred to stay single - "but I wouldn't want to just... sit around while you make it. Surely there's something I can do."

He moved into a position that he could better be directed to assist with making salad and soup and sandwiches, trying not to roll his eyes at how silly he found the whole thing to be.

"So where do you originate from?" he asked lightly, making casual conversation.

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-23 01:55 pm UTC (link)

She smiled. "James, my fiance ... he's not much good in a kitchen either. Brilliant at the eating part of it, but not much for the making part of it." Still, salads were simple, right? Hard to screw up a salad. "If you've any idea how to make a salad, you could start with that," Lily suggested. "Or the sound should be easy ... tipping the can in the pan and stirring it on the stove?"

A little smile played across her lips and she tried not to think about James or Sirius or Remus or Mary or Cas or Benjy or Alice or Frank or anyone from back home, because it hurt that she couldn't see them. Might ... never be able to see them again. She still wasn't completely convinced she wasn't going to eventually die here, be it from old age or something else entirely.

"I'm from ... from England," she said as she found the pan she was after, along with the bread, butter, and cheese. "Near London proper," she added, which wasn't completely a lie. They were just on the secret side of it. "And you?"

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goforbarney
2010-06-25 05:01 am UTC (link)

He frowned a bit, but he tried to make it like he was focusing on the food and how he should go about preparing it rather than the way she'd just slipped in the 'my fiance James' or whatever. He bet that James was a... what was a good British word for it? Pansy. Or a ponce. He didn't even know what he was thinking now, so he was just going to move on and pretend she'd never said that.

"I live alone," he said instead, because it might get him some sympathy points. "So, you know. Tuna. Mac and cheese. Take out. That kind of thing," he grinned at her a bit sheepishly before admitting. "Salad might be a bit much, but I could make soup," he turned towards the stove, hesitating a bit before forcing himself to figure it out and get making it. Cause he was just that awesome.

He did wonder a bit at the hesitation behind admitting to be from England. Had she forgotten? Was it somehow wrong to admit one's location? But he shrugged it off as irrelevant. "I kind of figured, you know, with the accent," he said, offering her a wry grin. He thought about mocking her with an 'I'm from... from America' but decided it was the wrong way to go. "New York, New York," he said instead, wondering if she'd understands. "The states. I imagined you figured, from the accent."

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-25 05:16 am UTC (link)

"Charming bloke like you, living alone?" Lily feigned shock as she set the sandwiches to toasting before she pulled out things for a salad. Certain the smell of cooking food would draw people, she wasn't concerned about making too much.

Besides, there were always leftovers.

"Well, it could well have been a Scottish accent," Lily replied. "Or Irish," she murmured. "I hear Americans can't tell the difference," she teased lightly. Nodding, she smiled. "I've herd of New York," she assured him. Not much, granted, but she at least knew it was one of the more populated cities and among the more famous states in the States.

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goforbarney
2010-06-25 07:38 am UTC (link)

He knew she was feigning the shock, and in response he feigned a blush, grinning a bit into the soup. "I don't know. I had a serious relationship in college, and I guess I never really got over it. I haven't found anyone I want to really... settle down with, you know?" he shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like any of that was even a lie either. He was that good.

When she teased him about placing her accent, he grinned, "And if it was a Scottish or Irish accent, I would have guessed English and been wrong, you're right," he said. Even though she was wrong. He could usually tell the difference in dialect if he cared enough to pay attention. "I don't know much about the country. Are all the girls there as pretty as you, or are you the happy exception?"

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-25 02:19 pm UTC (link)

She nodded sympathetically, though she did wonder how much of his story was cock and bull and how much was genuine. She supposed it could be a matter of twisted truths. He just ... seemed like one of those blokes that chased after any bird they could get. "Well, you will someday," she assured him with a smile.

"I'm actually the only girl there," Lily replied with a perfectly straight face. "It made school a bit of hell, really. Every bloke who wasn't ... into other blokes was chasing me down. It was a wonder I passed school at all ..."

She grinned and shook her head before she shrugged lightly. "I honestly wouldn't know how to compare myself to the entire population of England. I'm sure there are girls there much prettier than I am."

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goforbarney
2010-06-26 05:23 am UTC (link)

"The only girl?" he said with a grin. "Wow, you must have quite the contingent of guys chasing after you," he said with a wink. He may have made the comment that her fiance was a lucky man, if he wasn't busy ignoring his existence. He stirred at the soup absently, really wishing he was doing something else, but what could he do?

"You don't give yourself enough credit," he said honestly when she mentioned that there were probably prettier girls than her. While that was probably true, he'd never outright say it. He was of the mind that you should always consider yourself the most awesome and attractive person in the room (or in this case, the country). Though he knew that in his case it was an accurate assumption, he thought that a lot of people would be a lot happier if they pretended that it was true about them too. "Maybe you are the prettiest girl in England. I mean, have you met every pretty girl in England?" he smiled.

Staring at the soup again, he frowned a bit. "I have no idea when to tell if this is done," he said with a small chuckle.

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-26 06:17 am UTC (link)

"No, I haven't met every girl, but there were a few at my school that were prettier than I was. At least from where I was standing. I suppose beauty's in the eye of the beholder, and perhaps I'm a poor judge of attractiveness."

Lily flipped the sandwiches and chuckled softly. "When it's hot but before it starts to boil," she offered oh-so-helpfully. "There should be just a bit of steam when it's done," she added, hoping that was slightly more helpful.

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goforbarney
2010-06-26 07:33 am UTC (link)

He shot her an amused look. "You're enjoying my suffering," he accused before he decided that the soup was... steaming. He knew what steam was. Coffee steamed. The soup was steaming and was therefore done? He didn't know, but he shut off the element all the same, moving the soup to the side so that it wouldn't end up boiling while the element was still hot.

See? He could think ahead.

"I think it's done," he told her, before frowning. He was going to ask what he should do next but he thought that maybe showing initiative might get him some extra points. "I should... bowls and plates," he said, nodding to himself as he started to search through the kitchen cupboards looking for them before peering over his shoulder at Lily. "Right?"

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emerald_eyes
2010-06-26 07:54 am UTC (link)

"Right," she agreed to his statement, opting to ignore the comment about his suffering. He was certainly an interesting character, though she didn't think he was one she'd like to spend much time with.

Once she'd finished with the sandwiches, she piled them onto the plate - assuming he'd found one - before she turned her attention to the salad. She supposed she'd leave them on the counter with a note; she'd done the same with the biscuits, and those had gone quickly enough.

"Good job," she said with a slightly impish smile to him. He had made soup, after all, and all things considered, Lily was kind of impressed.

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