Peyton Jae Billings (weird__science) wrote in willowbrookrpg, @ 2014-03-07 07:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, colin redding, day: december 02, emma remington, player: kelly, player: lisa |
Monday, December 2, 2013
Who: Emma and Colin
What: checking out his new apartment
When: Monday
Where: an empty apartment in the city
Rating: mild, just some smoochin'
Status: incomplete/started in gdoc
The apartment building wasn’t big but it didn’t need to be. It was designed to hold a handful of residences with studio flat layouts. The owner said that one resident used it for the week and returned to her home in Boston on the weekend. They’d been redone to have a certain amount of small home charm but also very updated conveniences. Even if Emma didn’t think it was a good idea, Colin still thought it was good to have a back up plan for when he wanted to escape the gerbil wheel that sometimes was the feeling for him at Willowbrook.
He jammed his hands into his pockets while he waited outside for Emma to get there. Once inside, Em could just zap herself there while he was limited to more traditional, and less nausea inducing methods of transport. Is his pocket, his fingers brushed against a folded up piece of paper with an address that Jack found where he knew Alex was known to hang out lately.
Emma had no idea why Colin wanted to meet at this address, but she didn’t question him. However, having never been to the location before, she couldn’t teleport. She had to travel the old fashioned way. Subway and then her own two feet. When she turned the corner and saw him waiting for her on the sidewalk, she smiled and walked a little faster until he was within reach.
She’d been careful to double back a few times and take some detours along the way, making absolutely sure she’d not been followed. Emma figured Colin had done the same thing, and given that he’d picked the location, he had scouted the area to ensure they had privacy. For these reasons, Emma didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him for a lingering hug. “Alright. You got me here. Now tell me why and tell me somewhere inside because it’s cold as fuck.”
He laughed softly as he held her in return. “My delicate little flower,” he said giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. “C’mon, inside we go,” he said gently pushing her to the entryway, opening the door for her and following her inside out of the cold. “Sorry for not giving you a teleportable place, but in a way, that’s why we are here.” He pulled from his other pocket a key on a leather braid. “A friend of a friend came through for me and I wanted to get your opinion.”
He took her hand and led her up a flight of steps and turned to the left. At the end of hall, he slid the key into the lock and opened the door revealing a small cozy studio with a pretty good view thanks to multiple large windows. The walls were a crisp white and the floors were hardwood; if someone wanted to, the place held high decorating potential. “In you go. The heat should be on.”
“Inside here?” she asked as she was ushered. Where the fuck were they? It looked like an apartment building. Had Colin rented out a room or something for them to have some privacy? Well, one thing was for certain, she didn’t think anyone from the Syndicate would ever think to look for her here.
She studied the key he dangled in front of her. Alright, so he borrowed the place. Maybe? Emma was confused. However, she followed him up the stairs, their fingers laced, and a few moments later, they walked into a small, but nice apartment. It was warm, so that was a plus, and Emma let go of his hand so she could pull off her stocking hat. It made a light crackling noise from the static, and some hair flew about her, standing up from the charge. She patted it down as best she could. “You could have at least borrowed a place with furniture. Not the best place for us to sit and chat, Colin.”
He laughed softly both at her hair and her comments. Reaching out, he smoothed her hair down a little more to no avail. “I wanted you to know the place. So you could get here when you wanted. If I want it, it’s my place,” he said taking her hand and walked her into the kitchen. Easily he lifted her to the counter so she could sit. It was also slightly warmer in the kitchen.
“I can’t risk you coming to my place. If you were caught, I don’t know what they’d do to you. I’m not willing to find out. But this way, we have somewhere we can go and now that you’ve been here,” he said taking her hands and rubbing them to help get warm. “You can do you zappy zap thing and just come if you want to.”
Emma only stiffened slightly when Colin lifted her and set her on the kitchen counter. While she was making major strides toward creating a barrier between what happened with Alex and her actual memories of Colin, sometimes her body just did not cooperate. “Your place?” she asked, looking around the kitchen with greater interest. “You mean you’re gonna buy it?”
She let him warm her hands, thinking over this idea. “So...you got us a...what… a safe house?” She chuckled. “Man, I forgive you, and what do you do? You immediately ask me to shack up with you. No pressure or anything.” She was teasing of course, but it was a big step. Of course, they wouldn’t really be living together. It was just a hideaway location for them to be alone together and reduce the risk of getting caught.
He noted the tenseness in her body and since she didn’t say anything about it, he didn’t want to draw more attention to it. “Yeah. I figured it would be a nice thing to have to get away from the school,” he said. “Plus if any family ever decides to visit, they can crash here.” It wasn’t likely - his family never really outward acknowledged he was a mutant. He was fine with it actually.
Laughing with her he let go of her hands and leaned back against the counter, facing her. “It’s not like I’m giving you a key or anything,” he said with a grin. “There isn’t any pressure, Em. It’s not like that. But like I said, now that you’ve been here, you can get here. If you wanted to. Safely.”
”Can my family crash here too?” Not that Emma thought they would come visit anytime soon. But it would be nice for them to have somewhere other than an expensive hotel to stay. She could see her mother absolutely loving this apartment. Emma loved it. She really did.
“That’s because I don’t need keys. Zappy zap, remember?” She rolled her eyes but was grinning. “So..why would I want to come here?” she asked in a teasing tone. “What’s my motivation?”
“They can only if you help me decorate. And get furniture,” he said looking around. There wasn’t a huge amount of space but a good bookshelf could divide the living space from the bedroom area and there was room for a small table next to the kitchen. “Cause if I do it alone, it will be bean bags for everyone.”
Turning back to her, he grinned at her eye roll to zappy zap comment. “Well,” he said, not wanting to rush her but so wanting to kiss her again. “I can maybe convince the homeowner to, I dunno, give you a foot massage once in a while,” he said with a smile.
”Bean bags? What are you..twelve?” She rolled her eyes again. Emma was doing that a lot in his company today. It was a good sign, because it meant they were starting to get back to a familiar vibe. “Yes, I’ll help you decorate and get furniture.”
Emma raised an eyebrow and then toed off her boots so they fell to the kitchen floor. She wiggled her piggies and nodded down toward them. “Get to it then.” No surprise, Emma was wearing knee socks that were rainbow striped and wrapped around each individual toe.
“You know I’m just lazy. My place still has the same issued furniture when I moved in for fuck sake,” he said pulling off his mittens - yes he wore mittens and taking a foot gently into his hands. “I like the socks,” he said softly as he worked his thumbs against the ball of her foot.
“Do you like the white? Too sterile or is it all the rage and hip?” he asked knowing she’d have at least some insight - he was admittedly clueless about such things. He flexed her foot gently, rotating it carefully in a clockwise circle, then counter clockwise.
”Lazy and uncreative. I could give you a million dollars and set you loose inside a Crate and Barrel store, and you wouldn’t know what the fuck to buy.” He was excellent at decorating his body, but miserable at decorating his living space. Maybe it was just about reducing clutter, possibly because Emma had invited so much of that into his life. She was great at making messes.
She sighed happily and stretched back, leaning on the palms of her hands. Colin was oh so good with his fingers. “If you keep the walls white, I’m going to fill them with art. But it would be nice to have at least one wall painted with that chalkboard paint, then I can doodle on it.” That was what she had at Seagram. It was a nice place to jot down random thoughts, sometimes work out equations when she was in research mode. It was also a space for friends to draw penises and write obscenities.
Laughing softly, he shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t. Well ok, I’d get a bed and a table maybe. But stuff? No, I have no idea. We need books so a bookshelf of some sort. And probably a place to sit other than the table. That’s where bean bags come in handy. You can move them around anywhere,” he said teasing, working on the arch of her foot now. “I’d forgotten how little your feet are.”
Looking around again, he tipped his head to the wall of where most people would put a table. “How about that wall for chalkboard?” he asked. It would be fun to watch her goof around with chalks. “And I was counting on you with the art. Do you get furniture first or art and then match everything to that?” He’d been at Willowbrook for over a decade and never really had to have things ‘match’.
”No beanbags!” she declared, kicking at his hand lightly. “I want a big bed. I don’t care if it takes up half the apartment. It needs to be at least queen sized. The dining table can be small. And maybe we just get a loveseat. If my parents come, they won’t need more than that, and it would be plenty big for us to lounge around watching movies. We could mount a TV and all that other shit on the wall… or put it in the bookcase.” She was starting to visualize it as she looked around the apartment.
“Match? God you’re hopeless. Do you think about your current tattoos before deciding what the new one should look like? No. It doesn’t matter. You get what inspires you.” Emma had eclectic tastes. And, yes, she was messy.
He couldn’t help but laugh at her outburst. Her buttons were at times so easy to push. He swatted her other foot back as he continued to work her foot, holding the heel and flexing the foot up and back. He liked the idea of a large bed and suddenly had a glimpse of them spending Sunday in it reading the paper or something equally banal. “I’d never ask your parents to sleep in bunk beds,” he said with a smile.
“I like the hardwoods but we can get rugs if you want. Might keep it warmer,” he said having grown up with tile floors before moving to New York. He did know that much at least. “And a cozy couch works for me.” Stopping for a moment on her foot he looked at her. “So you sound interested… am I hearing that right?”
She laughed so hard she snorted. “Bunk beds? That’s fucking hysterical. Can’t you just picture my mom and dad fighting over who gets the bottom bunk? They’d both bitch about how they have medical issues that prevent them from using the damn ladder to climb to the top bunk. Fuck that would be funny.”
“Depends on the rugs. They can get gross if you don’t clean them a lot. Heh...clean your rug.” She winked at him and grabbed her crotch in a crude gesture. She was so not your typical ‘girl’. “Yes, I’m interested. Buy the fucking place. Do you have enough money, or are you going to let me help pay for it?”
“You could just tell them there are bunk beds and they could spoon on the bottom bunk,” he said with a laugh at the idea and her snorting. “But a big bed, yeah, that’s sort of a given.” He moved to her other foot, starting at the toes, working each one gently.
“Your rug is fine I’m guessing,” he said with a wink before he focused on her foot again. “No, I got it. You can help with the rest of it if you want. This can be an equal venture if you’re willing. Otherwise just help me make the place livable and yeah… you can spend time here whenever you want. With me hopefully some of those times.”
”So..this big bed,” she started but didn’t finish. Were they going to be sharing it? Emma didn’t think she was ready for that. But it was tempting. The idea of them sharing this apartment was awesome. Part of Emma wanted to just say fuck the Syndicate and the Centurions and move in with Colin. They could get normal jobs. Live normal lives.
“With you. Why else would I come here?” She looked from her foot that he was rubbing up to his eyes. “I wanna help. I want this to be our place.”
He worked the back of his fingers along the arch of her foot. “That’s why I wanted to get it, Emmer. I want a place for us. Where no one cares what side we’re on. We can’t just run away but this is the second best thing I can think of. I don’t want to go on pretending that there isn’t something between us. And when you’re ready, the big bed is for us too,” he said softly. He’d wait as long as it took.
“But about that,” he continued softly. “I have something for you. Some information you might want to use.” He was going to keep his promise to her. He found the location of Alex Ripley (with help) and unless she wanted him there, and as much as it would pain him to do so, he’d step aside and let her do what she needed to do.
No, they couldn’t run away. That was impossible. They both had to keep doing their jobs. But this could be their sanctuary. They could use it to escape sometimes. “You have to keep pretending. Around everyone. Well, maybe not Asher, but everyone else.” She didn’t say anything more about the bed. Not now. It was too soon to think about such things. Funny given that they were getting an apartment together.
Emma raised an eyebrow when he said he had something for her. When he elaborated that it was ‘information’, Emma knew it could only be one thing. “You found him?”
“As do you. They find out you’re,” he paused looking around “doing this, they won’t let you get away with it will they?” Hell for all he knew of the Syndicate, they wouldn’t care. He found that unlikely but he didn’t know. “I can’t lose you again, Em.”
Nodding, he put her food down and pulled the neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket. On it, Jack had written down a location in Baltimore (of course Colin looked). It only surprised him that Alex didn’t stay in New York. Baltimore wasn’t the glamour he figured a guy like him would crave. “It’s yours to do with what you want or need,” he said handing the paper over. “I won’t stop you or stand in your way. Just don’t go alone.”
”Blair held an all-staff meeting not too long ago, talking about how he knows some agents are fucking around with people from Willowbrook.” That meeting had scared the shit out of Em. But she was still loyal, and she would continue to cling to that as her saving grace. It surely didn’t matter that she loved Colin so long as she continued to support the Syndicate. “We have to be realistic, Colin. You might lose me. It’s just..it’s the shitty bed we made that we have to lie in now.”
She took the paper and read the address several times over, memorizing it. “I won’t go alone. I know you’ve been programmed to think everyone at Seagram is a piece of shit, but we’re not, and I have some good friends there. They want to help, and they won’t take no for an answer.” She looked at the paper once more then stuffed it in her pocket. Emma pulled Colin in close. “Thank you.”
“If they let you get hurt, I will hunt them down,” he said in all seriousness. He wasn’t going to go but he had to know the people she did take with her had her back. “Jack isn’t going to tell Reed or Asher about this. So do what you need to do and then come back in one piece. He moved to she pulled him close. This was her initiative and that sort of contact seemed to make it easier for her. “I want to kill him,” he whispered. “I want him to hurt so badly for what he did to you.” Deep down he knew he wasn’t as strong as Alex would and would probably end up dead or his brain scrambled.
Emma rolled her eyes. “You are not going to hunt down my friends if something goes wrong. They’re helping me. They’re putting themselves into harm’s way for me. You should fucking be thanking them.” It was a big fucking deal for these guys in her life to line up for something so dangerous.
Emma reached up and cupped his face. “For what he did to both of us.” Emma wasn’t the only victim in this. Alex had used Colin’s image.
“When you get back safely, a round is on me. But until then I’m going to hold them responsible for you. If you don’t like it, let me come with you,” he said as he rubbed his cheek against her palm. It was hardly an ultimatum she could bitch about but if she would let him go, he’d feel so much more in control of his emotions about all of this. Yes he was technically a ‘victim’ in Alex’s plan but not as much as Emma had been. “Can you at least tell me who they are?”
Emma shook her head. “You’re not coming with me. I can’t let you. If you come, I’ll just worry the whole fucking time, and it will be distracting. Besides, my friends are Syndicate agents. They’re not going to team up with a Centurion.” Emma didn’t actually know if that was true. She felt that Oren especially would be willing if he thought it would make Emma happy and keep her safe. But she wasn’t letting him or anyone else make this decision. It was her decision, and she didn’t want Colin getting hurt.
She sighed at his request. What was the point in trying to keep such things a secret from him? “Daniel Jensen, Oren Sanderson, Roman Baker, and I’m sure Colton will insist upon helping.” Colin knew that Emma and Colton had been friends in the past.
He knew all of those names, some better than others but they were all capable of keeping her safe and if they were committed to going, they’d look out for her first and foremost. He also figured, as she did, that they wouldn’t want a Centurion agent mucking about in Syndicate business. Stepping away from her, he leaned on the opposite counter again. He liked talking about playing house more. “Will you tell me when you go at least? So I don’t have to constantly worry?” he asked.
Yes, they were all talented and capable agents. If anything, it was overkill. She probably didn't need that much firepower. But Alex was powerful and completely lacking morals. She'd rather be safe than sorry.
When Colin moved away from her, she motioned for him to return, holding out her hand until he took it. Then Emma pulled him to her once more, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "I promise to tell you."
He rested his forehead on her shoulder and took a deep breath. “If you get yourself hurt, I’m gonna be super pissed at you,” he said trying to make a joke. There was Centurion intel about all the Syndicate agents (as well as, he assumed, Syndicate intel on the Centurion agents) and he knew what Alex Ripley was capable of. He wasn’t thrilled with her going in with less than an army of agents against this guy. Agents more loyal to her than the Syndicate. “You really should have a negator on your team. And no, I’m not saying me.”
Emma combed her fingers through his hair and held him in place. "If I get hurt, I'll be super pissed. I'm not looking to let that bastard take another shot at me. I'm ending it. I'm ending him." And she was fortunate to have so many guys willing to help. Colin included, but having him there would be more of a burden than a blessing. He'd distract her and the other agents. "A negator would definitely help, but it's more important that I have people I can trust." That word had been used and abused a lot in recent months. But it was so fucking vital.
"I need to know that you're safe. That you can take care of any situation that might come up. You know where I'm going. You know who is going with me. And I'll tell you when everything is about to go down. If all of us are somehow taken or hurt, I'm counting on you to come get us. Deal? You're my backup plan." It was a solid strategy, and it would make him feel needed.