|
At the sound of Johnnie's voice, her attention snaps towards the Helldiver - as if the slow fade in went unnoticed until called out - and she, at least, doesn't seem to just be dicking around with her version of the oh, I didn't see you there. "Hey yourself," Her eyes refocus on Teagan, and she reaches out to snag a quick hug. "Yeah, I made a full pot - should be done here soon...ish? Feels like I've been standing here a while, anyway..."
"Me? Nooooooooo. I'm- I'm like the most sincerest ever. Short of June. I can't even joke about being more sincere than her," Johnnie admits, folding up to stand without the slightest difficulty. She does side-eye Sturm briefly at the realization that she'd bristled, ready to go, and hadn't noticed any portion of the fifteen second arrival. Rather than get grumpy, though, she just pouts. That means she missed the trick.
She's in a notably better mood. The haze of ennui or despair, whatever it had been, lingering on her gone at last, and she holds her arms up, offering hugs to Sturm and Teagan alike. "Well, it doesn't smell gross and bitter, so I don't think you burned it yet. No harm, no foul?"
"You okay, doll? Johnnie was fading in for ... a bit," Teagan points out, reaching up to touch Sturm's cheek as they roll up to their toes to kiss the corner of her mouth, and then up even further to kiss the base of one of her horns. Of course, that requires Sturm to actively lean down, so let's hope she realizes that's what Teagan's going for.
"It smells great." Teagan moves to kiss Johnnie hello at the corner of her mouth. "How are you, Johnnie?"
There's a rumbling grunt from Sturm in response to the question of "are you okay" which, really, could mean anything, considering how prone to unintelligible mouth noises Sturm is. She does realize what Teagan is going for, though - or perhaps muscle memory simply took over - and she bows her head low enough that they can reach her horns. "S'been a fuckin' day is all. I'm tired as hell, and my ability to focus is beat to shit."
Johnnie's hug is returned, and the coffee pot beeps because fuck waiting for coffee, so Sturm takes down a mug - and passes it to Teagan - before grabbing two more. She leaves one on the counter, and goes to fill the other.(edited)
Johnnie catches that kiss and twists to deliver the same, spending a brief moment pulling Teagan emphatically close, before releasing them when it's time for Sturmsmooches. "Man, do I feel you on the "been a day" thing. I spent a couple days stockpiling fruit for the Freehold, and-" She shakes her head and whistles low. "Man but it did a number. Anything to talk about on your end?" It's a gentle ask, easily rebuffed, and delivered as she hugs Sturm.
"How am I? Better. Way better. Thanks for asking! Now that I'm kinda through it, I'm feeling pretty accomplished. Was a rough few days, though."
A Glitch appears, half-dressed in shirt and shorts with obvious ruffled bedhead. His eyes are half-shut as he blearily approaches the coffee, feet shuffling across the floor.
Their arms wrap around Johnnie, and they lean in to the tight embrace for a moment. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Johnnie, for sure." When the coffee is prepped, Teagan wanders over to get theirs, and start adding in sugar (lots of). They lean one hip against the counter again. "I wanted to ask you both something -- tell you, I guess, too."
"Hey, Glitch," they add on, stretching an arm out toward the bleary-eyed Digital Boy as he shuffles in.
Sturm peers at Johnnie for a long while - probably longer than is comfortable. What are social queues right now, anyway. "Nah, I'm good. Not really a big deal, in the end. Should be good after some sleep." Beat. "Hey Glitch." Another beat. She quirks an eyebrow at Teagan, and sips her coffee. "Oh?"
"Okiedokie~" Johnnie shrugs, accepting the sneaky answer at face value and rolling her shoulders. "Oh, yo! Sup, Glitch?" She sneaks over to toss a hug around him en route to Teagan, drifting off herself to get out of her Outside Stuff. "Oho! Ask and Tell! These are always fun. Whatcha got for us, Teagan?"
Glitch leans against both Johnnie Teagan for a hug and nods to Sturm. He's pretty quiet, looking like he didn't get good sleep. "Had fuckin'...bad dreams. Panthers and shit." But Teagan has something to announce, and his head lifts towards them. "What's up, P2?"
They pause, as if looking for a way in to this conversation again. "I talked to Sigrun and June about it already, but uhhhh." Teagan puffs out their cheeks, wrapping an arm lazily around Glitch's shoulders and kissing the top of his head. "I want to do research on my kids. But like, a lot of it is in actual books, and on microfiche and stuff, which... isn't really accessible."
Sturm is quiet, sipping her coffee patiently as Teagan searches for the words. "Would be happy to help with that if you want. Digging shit up is kinda the gig, y'know?" She exhales, and the tension bleeds out of her broad, scarred shoulders as she leans up against the counter and continues to nurse her drink.
"Ooh." Johnny chirps up. "So cards on the table? I didn't get to the part of school where you do research papers? But I have gotten REALLY good at just digging up obscure information." Pause. "Mostly because I can just walk through the walls around that obscure information. I'm down." With Teagan loving on Glitch, Johnnie drifts Sturmward and casually worms under one of her massive arms- the one less occupied with holding her coffee, of course. "We gotchu, love. Which, I assume, is what Sig and June said?"
Glitch blinks and looks up at Teagan. "I can see what I can find online. No problem there." There's a pause, and his head tilts, before he asks: "Do you mean you want to do research, P2?"
They shift their weight from one foot to the other, listening as Sturm and Johnnie both talk, and chewing on their lower lip a little bit. Nodding absently as they offer, and the corners of their mouth turn up a little bit. Of course they expected this sort of support -- immediate and unconditional. But it's Glitch who clues in, at least a little, and they lean to kiss the top of his head. "Yeah, kinda," Teagan says back to Johnnie, and then smiles just a little to Sturm. "It's probably gonna take all of us, which means, uh."
"I gotta learn to read."
"Oh," Sturm's voice is soft - uncharacteristically so, even. She doesn't quite lean into Johnnie - because that would probably knock her over on account of wimpy arms - but she does let her arm drape over the Helldiver's shoulders. She quirks a brow. "Do you already have a plan for how you're going to do it?"(edited)
"Oh! I didn't even consider that. That- would be a good idea, yeah! I might have to look at some teaching materials, though. Aside from practical shit like "don't trust half the fruit in the Hedge" and "pointy end goes in the other folx", I'm not really much of a teacher. But I'll learn to be," Johnnie offers, getting comfy against the gigantic Winter. "Or, just. Help facilitate plans in place already. That'd be cool, too!"
Glitch stares for a while, mouth hanging open. Then he winds both arms around Teagan and squeezes them tight, head tucked against their chest. "I'll do everything I can to help," he beeps out with what sounds like pride. "We'll play games together. I'll read the text to you. You'll be reading and playing them yourself before you know it."
Sturm's reaction makes Teagan's skin flush briefly silver, and they curl up the corners of their mouth. "I asked June and Sigrun to teach me," which is both an explanation to Sturm and reassurance to Johnnie. "I mean, I asked them first, because -- I mean, Sigrun is literally, like, Sig rune and ... that's her chosen name and... " A deep breath to stop the slow kind of babbling that they're starting to slide off into. Glitch's tight squeeze helps to cut off that, too. "But yeah, I figured ... I mean I don't know how to learn to read so I don't have a plan. I do want to learn to read Spanish, too, but none of you fuckers speak it," they laugh awkwardly. Another kiss to the top of Glitch's head. "Thanks."
Sturm reaches up - she's mid-sip of her coffee, so sorry Johnnie - to scratch the freshly buzzed section of her undercut. Someone, maybe, feels a little awkward about living in Texas for many years, and only ever learning enough Spanish to how to order beer, and ask where to piss. "That's probably a the move," her voice is still soft. "Don't really know how to help in a way that either of them can't, but." Beat. "Will help however you need."
Johnnie settles comfortably against Sturm's side when that arm moves, nodding along. "Yet. Don't know how to speak Spanish yet." She glances at Glitch and smiles at the warmth he's bringing to Teagan. "And I am more than happy to follow those two's plans to teach. I bet they've got much better ideas than me."
Glitch closes his eyes and just snuggles up against Teagan, receiving the kiss before tilting his chin up to return it. "Sturm can probably teach you the dirty words other people won't teach you," he offers. "I speak barely any Spanish. But even I can read it, sort of, without understanding it. It's the same letters as English. Once you know how to sound things out you'll pick everything up easy."
The Sprite leans in closer to Teagan and drops his voice a bit, though everyone can still hear him speak, as he adds: "And if any creepy assholes send you messages you don't like, I'll follow them back and kill anything I find on the other side."
"You gotta help me too," Teagan offers to Sturm. "I mean, June and Sig are both studying for their fire... people... exams. So I know Sig will be like 'oh it's fine' and 'I'm not overwhelmed' even if she is." They chew on their lower lip a little bit. Their broken mirror eyes glitter a little at Sturm's brief awkwardness. "I can teach you," they say to the Snowskin. "A trade. Spanish for words." A small breath out through their nose, and they nod a little bit, smiling as Glitch leans in. When he goes all white knight to the much taller Mirrorskin, their smile goes a little soft. "Thanks, Player One." Sometimes, you just let people volunteer to defend your honor against creeps.
"Well, technically, I've been thinking about studying for that firefighter shit, too, but I ain't started yet and this is way more important." Her arm drops back into place, and she drains the last of her mug. "I'll take that trade, though. Spanish for reading."
Johnnie falls silent while the others put forth bolder responses to how they're going to help. She's said her part, and she doesn't want to distract from the sweetness in Glitch's offer or the awkward earnestness in Sturm's. She rubs at her chin instead. "With everyone putting so much energy into studies and tests and research, it might be beneficial if I take some of the burden of patrolling the trods off, sorta like we did during the Hue and Cry. Make sure our responsibilities aren't stacking up on anyone in particular, you know?"
Glitch stares at the softening of Teagan's smile, studying it like he's trying to learn to read as well. He gives a quiet nod and tucks against the big Mirrorskin again, glancing up at Johnnie's words. "I've got enough time for that too. But figuring out who's doing what would be good. Make sure we're spreading things evenly."
"You do what you need to do. They're not gonna get any less dead," Teagan offers quietly, a little grimace sliding across their face. "My kids, I mean. Like... they were born before 1900. They're -- gone." A beat's pause. "Better be." And then they pull in a sharp breath through their nose. "I wouldn't mind working on reading with you,t oo, Johnnie. But you do what you think is best. June's gonna buy me a bunch of kid's books and stuff. I guess she knows a bunch that aren't too cutesy and some that are really queer."
"Closure and knowing shit is important. So.. I will be doing what I need to," Sturm grunts while turning to pour herself another mug of coffee. Again, sorry Johnnie. When she turns back to face the conversation, she hooks her thumb into her beltloop - hovering by the coffee pot. Y'know, because clarity damage.
|