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Tiptiptiptiptoetip!
Sneaksneaksneaksneak!
Tip!
Sneak!
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Two cast iron skillets were effectively slammed together, creating one hell of a racket over where Logan sleeps. Yes. Jean was an asshole today, no one really liked the redhead outside of Logan and Gabriel anyways (she felt), so why not extend that to another person that she can cast away to save them some simple sort of heartache.
"DINNER BELL!" Obnoxious she was, or perhaps leaching emotions from a kid who was currently chasing girls with sticky glue paste upon his hands, either way, Logan was in for a rude awakening.
*
Lorna had been in the process of raiding the kitchen herself for a snack. The bottle brunette having allowed her brown hair to wash out over the weekend, and she bore the lime-green locks of hair she was born with. It had been a jarring transition to her, and she was doubtlessly going to dye it back to brown come Monday, buuut now?
Well, her Dad had wanted to see it, so the green would remain. Doubtlessly it gained attention from those that knew her and hadn't seen it, but then again.. What was that racket??
A jar of peanut butter in hand and a spoon in the other, the young woman darted out of the kitchen to stare at Jean smacking pans together.
"Whaaat?"
*
Logan sits up suddenly, with a SNIKT as his claws pop out. "Anata, samuraidikkufakku!!!!!" he cries out in Japanese, lashing out. His claws slice clean through the cafeteria table, splitting it along the middle as he rolls off the bench and comes up ready to fight, only to suddenly find himself squatting at Jean's feet. The scent of his friend and the shocked sight of Lorna not that far away shakes him from his dream and he sighs, muttering.
"God dammit, kid, that's a good way to get yer innards turned into outtards," he says.
*
"EEHH!" Jean shrieks out, the pots immediately flying into the air at a hectic pace, swirling for a moment then crashing right into the cabinets to stick handle outward. She even jumps back, her hands lashing out to create a slight wall in between her and Logan, and the drawn out confusion of Lorna makes it even worse by blowing up the bread boxes one by one!
It was quiet afterwards, Jean looking to Logan, and then to Lorna.. Lorna.. and then to Logan and back.
What the hell did he scream? And why is her hair green? Either way, she breaks out into full blown laughter, laughter that was so harsh that she doubles over, clutching her stomach.
*
Lorna's hands flew up protectively as the pans go flying, the spoon in one hand held up as if it might block anything flying at her. Given the magnetic field that swirled around her, there was a good chance that anything metal did in fact bounce off it anyways.
Green eyes blinked repeatedly at Jean, at Logan and she gaped as she slowly lowered her hands. Her brows pinched high as she watched Jean double over in laughter.
"Uhm.." She wrinkled her nose.
*
Logan sheathes his claws and reaches over to his sack as he stands up, pulling out one of his cigars, "Jeannie's got a bit o' havoc bringin' in her system lately it seems, kid," he says, "Dont' let her freak you out or you'll start m akin' my bones all achey again," he says, striking a match on the remnants of the table.
"Guess I owe Chuck a new bench. Ah, well. S'what he gets fer buyin' this mass market plastic shit to begin with."
*
The laughter slowly dies down, Jean still breathing it out as Logan apparently explains her wily ways. Her hand is held up as she tries to take a breath, finally standing upright to give a little bit of a stretch. Well, that was a close one, remind her to never do -that- again. "Sorry.." She finally says. Glancing around at all of the mess that she created. She may as well try to clean it up before she actually begins to cook and yet.. she really wanted to eat first.
"I'll just tell him it's my fault, it really is though.." She looks around, hands upon her hips as she offers a little smile towards Lorna. "Morning. It's good seeing you here."
*
A shrug follows and Lorna steps forward, "I'm getting better about not freaking out, promise." She smiled, some lightness entering her voice. "And getting better with my powers. So, less accidentally hurting people with metal bits." She bounced on her toes slightly digging into the jar of peanut butter again with the spoon.
Then green eyes settled on Jean as she stopped near the redhead before moving to try to hug the other young woman with one arm— The other occupied with jar of peanut butter. "I missed you Jean, Professor Xavier said you needed quiet time and that that was why you moved out of the dorms. But still, you're missed."
*
With Logan gathering his bearings, Jean bends down to pick up a shard of wood, which was soon tossed towards the garbage. It's missed, and it falls to the side in which Jean gives a little sigh. She stops cleaning long enough to give a sideways hug to Lorna, her head nodding ever so slightly as she pulls back with a smile. "Yeah.. I guess it was like an effort to gain some sort of independence. Funny how that's worked out."
Well, actually!
"I'm still floating here and there, I don't get much sleep anymore. I'm trying.. but I don't." Her shoulders shrug faintly, as she turns to gain a look towards the mess, and then the windows. Hmm.. "What are you doing here?"
*
As Jean returns the one armed hug, Lorna sets the jar of peanut butter aside to start helping to clean up, especially to pick up the missed pieces and put them into the trashcan. "We should still hang out, go out or something. You, me, Illyana, and we should bring Hope too. I think you'd both get along." She beamed and turned around to offer a faint shrug toward Jean.
"I've been making a point to drive up on the weekends to see my Tata. But things have been pretty crazy I guess, so I don't quite seem him as often as I'd like.." She grimaced, "And I really don't want to sound clingy. Like at all. So I've been mostly just poking around and doing my homework. Hung out a little with Miss Crystal."
"Do you think it's odd to hang out with the person that's going steady with my birth father? It sounds awkward when I say it out loud.."
*
"It takes a bit to prepare to even think about going out.." Odd bit, that. But she was slowly getting used to it. "But okay, an entire girls shindig. I haven't seen Illyana since we've had ice cream in the park with Kitty." She smiles a little, curious about the one named Hope, but she doesn't ask. She figures she'll meet her soon enough.
Though, as Jean turns to focus upon the windows, her hands lift as she pulls them open with the use of her TK. With Logan out of the way now, pieces of the -larger- wood begin to lift, slowly floating it's way out the window to be deposited upon the back yard. Even while she's doing this, she was listening.
Listening until everything seemingly connects and all of the wood crashes to the ground in the backyard, clear of anything else. "Huh?" Yup! "Wait.. Eri—.." Jean's brows shoot up, her blinks slow, her hand reaching up to rub a little at her eye as she shakes her head then looks for a seat. She's -really- out of the loop here.
*
A blink, and then another blink and Lorna pauses in picking up wooden scraps and chucking them into the trash can. She watched Jean lift the larger pieces out of the window with interest and then jumped slightly when it all crashed to the ground outside.
"Uh Jean?" Another pause, "Uhmm you didn't know my Tata was seeing Miss Crystal?" She wrinkled up her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought they were pretty open about that?"
"Uhm.. is there something I missed?"
*
Jean just, visibly cringes! She remembers that there was a question of Erik being Lorna's father, but apparently everything turned out true! Which is good for Lorna! Truly! "No no, I knew but.." Cringe, inward, bring it inward! "I just .. uh.. didn't know you guys found out and it was official?" She tries to smile, but the truth was? She just wasn't all too thrilled with Erik. If she never saw him again for a few weeks then she'd be fine.
"You didn't miss anything!" She finally perks up, standing once again to move for the broom to begin to sweep. "I just didn't know that it was really true is all! You know, me being in solitude half of.. my life.. or.. whatever.."
*
A small 'ooh' escaped Lorna and then she beam and nodded, "Yes! He's actually, really, my father." She beamed, and continued to pick up the remains of the table. Not sensing at all Jean's discomfiture with the news.
"He said he wants to be in my life and everything, and he's been helping me with my powers too, and my homework. And I've been trying /really/ hard to not just.. pester him all the time. Because he just.. he /knows/ so much. And I just I want to know all those things.." She trailed off, her brows furrowing.
"I spent my whole life thinking that my powers were just something that made me a freak, that should be hidden and I saw so many mutants out there that found someone with the same powers as them.. Like you and Miss Frost.. and I just.." She exhaled, dragging a hand through her bangs.
"I really just feel so safe around him. Like even if I mess up or lost control of my powers, he could stop it. And he could help me." She smiled again and shrugged, tossing a piece of wood into the trash again and clapping her hands free of the dust.
*
Well! Jean didn't know how to react to that! She was glad that Lorna was happy, but there was still a little bit of discomfort and hate for Erik right now for her to be truly, truly happy. So she keeps quiet, occasionally offering up 'uh huh's and nods, gathering the dust and shards of wood too tiny into the middle of the floor, the dust pan soon dropped and mess sweeped into. Though, there was a tiny shred of jealousy that lingered.
What if Sarah, or John, or her mother had gifts like hers? She wouldn't be tossed aside then, she'd have family that she could relate to.. not ones that gave her up so easily to the Professor and mental institutions. But.. growing up, life lessons and all. She'll get over it in due time.
"That's a good thing. You should hold on to that." Jean idly says, bending to pick up the pan to shake the rest of the dust and shards into the garbage. The bag was soon tugged and pulled out, knotted and set aside. "Though, me.. Miss Frost and the Professor only have telepathy in common. Everything else is different. Way different."
*
A bob of her head follows, "Yeah you're /way/ warmer in personality than Miss Frost, for starters." She grinned, moving to help Jean with the garbage bag at the ready if needed.
"And you like hugs, and aren't all over manners and the rules. Don't get me wrong, I like Miss Frost, but she's not what I would consider a 'best' friend type of person." She giggled faintly, looking to Jean.
"But yeah.. I plan to hold onto it. I just hope I'm not a disappointment or annoying or anything, you know? I always .. I feel like I /have/ to be this perfect daughter type of thing, because he hasn't been there for most of my life. And I'm just.. I keep thinking maybe he'll just not want me around." She grimaced faintly.
"I mean, I /know/ now that he wouldn't do that. It means a lot that I'm alive and here and that he /can/ be in my life.. it's just.. those little whispers of doubt, you know?"
*
"At times? It usually depends on whatever someone with a stronger personality is feeling that day." Though, with Logan wandering off and out of the picture now, she wasn't so amused anymore! But, another bag was retrieved from the drawer and handed towards Lorna, the two women working in tandem at cleaning the kitchen, her hand lifting to draw the pans from the cabinet with a loud crack that has both doors falling with a crash to the floor.
She sighs, then floats the pans to the sink, moving to pick up the two broken panels to clasp together.
"You wouldn't be no more of a disappointment to him than I am to Professor Charles, and I totally get those internal voices. You just would not have to listen." She bobs her head as if she could agree with this, then carries the panels to the windows to toss them outside. "I think.. I feel Erik's main drive in his life right now is Crystal and family. And you two are what he has.. so.. he's not going anywhere." Probably to Hell, eesh Jean, harsh! "I mean.. you'll be okay. That's all I can really say about that."
*
Lorna moved with the practiced hand of doing chores with others, a smile on her features as she talked and worked to clean up alongside Jean. "Yeah, I know, it's why even though I worry that I might be annoying that I drive up every weekend anyways. Or at least, started to. Especially after everything that's been going on in the news. I dunno, I just feel like it matters, to spend time with people you care about when you can." She smiled, patting Jean on the arm.
"And I'm happy to get to spend time with you too, Jean. Like I said, I miss you." She then sighed and wrinkled up her nose in thought.
"Yeah, it's still awkward sometimes to talk with Crystal and go out. Like, how do you explain that to people?" She sighed, rolled her eyes and moved to pick up the jar of peanut butter. "I'm gonna raid the kitchen for some crackers. Want some?" She called over, tucking the jar by her side as she practically skipped along.
*
"Well, you're right, Lorna. Considering how everything was and is now a days, I'm sure you're a welcome sight." At least she meant that bit for Erik, even though she figured something was inherently wrong with him. The light pat upon her arm offers up a little bit of smile, looking up towards the woman with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Explaining it is relatively easy. Just say your dad likes them young. And no! I'm fine! Not really hungry!"
Considering the fact that Jean hadn't really eaten in close to two days..
But with Lorna and Logan gone, Jean pulls up a chair and begins to unscrew the bolts that hold the broken cabinets together. There was.. really no clue of where she'd learn how to do this, but at least they need to be tossed out the window with the rest of the wood itself..
*
Like a puppy returning to the person who feeds it the most, Gabriel has tracked Jean through the woods from Logan's cabin and into the Mansion proper, nudging through the door rather than a window this time and after a time wanders into the kitchen. He wasn't really a student there, but he had meandered in often enough to know where the food was stored and unlike Jean, he prefers to eat quite often.
His creeping steps lead him into the Kitchen and he starts to peek in some cabinets that are open while glancing at Jean with as innocent a shrug he can manage and cheeky expression. "Hungry."
*
Standing upon the chair gave her a really good vantage over Gabriel, though her expression was met with amusement as she finally pulls the broken board away from the cabinet. "Want me to ma—.." She grunts softly, then turns slightly, her body bending to hold on to the back of the chair to jump down with a solid 'oof!'.
"Have a seat, I'll make you something." There was really no option, she did really come there to try to fix something to eat, but her appetite had went again, just like the board she had in her hands, right out the window. "Salad? Tomato sandwich?" She asks, moving to the fridge to open it up to peer inside. "Cucumbers and vinegar with pepper?"
*
Gabriel tilts his head at the options Jean offers but has learned to not refuse her instructions when she speaks of making food, it usually ends up with him still hungry and her put off. So he moves and settles into a chair at the table and smiles, "Whichever you prefer to make will be more than sufficient." In other words, he doesn't care. He does however seem to be interested about everything going on around the kitchen and his eyes follow Jean's movements. "What happened here?"
*
"All three then?" She asks, not even bothering to look into his direction, she was grinning widely, everything soon grabbed in a bundle within her arms. It is soon carried to the counter top; all of the items and cutting boards assembled, but.. she doesn't bother with using it. She moves to sit down next to Gabriel, allowing the use of her TK to take hold. A knife was soon picked and begins to slice and cut at the vegetables, vinegar was pulled from the cabinets, bowls and plates were assembled..
"Uh.. well. Logan was taking a nap and I scared him. He broke the table, and I broke the cabinets." She looks around, then frowns. "Pretty sure I'm going to get a talking to, but at least we've cleaned up a bit, right?"
*
Lorna returned from digging around in the pantry, poking her head out with a box of crackers in one hand and a jar of peanut butter in the other, balanced with a smaller jar of jam. "Hey, Jean, I found some blueberry jam. Think I'll get into trouble if I get into it? I mean, my Tata lives here.. does he like pay rent? Or buy groceries? How does that work? Like I've been told to make myself at home.. and I'm not a student really, and that's kinda awkward.." She trailed off, glancing at Gabriel and arching a brow.
"Hey, who's this? I'm Lorna, it's nice to meet you." She grinned, lime green hair hanging around her shoulders with matching green eyes would doubtlessly make her stand out. At least, if Gabriel had any social norms to compare her to.
*
Gabriel listens to Jean's story about what happened, brow furrowing just a bit before he opens his mouth to speak about it. Just then, Lorna arrives and his mouth closes giving him a nice fish expression for a moment before he manages to look at the green haired arrival and smiles. "My name is Gabriel. I am a guest." It is what he's been told to say to introduce himself to people, thus he does. He manages a polite nod of greeting before he looks at Jean and elaborates. "She feeds me."
*
Lorna's arrival almost has the knife faltering, but with a little effort in concentration, Jean lifts to press her fingers against her temple as she continues to cut up the food. "Does it have a name on it?" She asks, without looking back. "If there's no name on it, I think it's fair game." Which is true! "I don't know if he pays rent or anything, but I think being best friends with the Professor gets him a free pass."
The vegetables were flying upon the plate, the vinegar was drawn from the cabinet, Jean's eyes squint as they slowly begin to glow a faint red to keep up with the multi-tasking. She does can't a little eye towards Gabriel, a little smile given as she finally, mentally opens the draw to withdraw three forks for him to eat with.
"That's.. highly accurate Gabriel.." Jean almost sounds like Charles! "..thank you."
*
A laugh and Lorna glanced down at the top, no name! She shrugged, moving over toward Gabriel and Jean with a faint bounce in her step. "Hi Gabriel, nice to meet you." She settled down her own snack grab, unscrewing the top of the peanut butter again, followed by the jam and opening the box of crackers.
"I'm happy to see Jean has someone else around to keep her company." She dipped the spoon she'd had before and spread it out over the cracker, snacking on it.
"So does that mean I get a free pass to eat food here or should I start bringing things over?" She tilted her head to the side in thought.
*
Gabriel listens to the conversation, seemingly being a man of little talking at the moment while watching the forks coming to him so he can use them. He picks one up out of the air and turns it around in his fingers before playing the age old game where you set your hand down and practice not stabbing between the fingers; at least he's doing it with a fork.
"I keep her company when she is around. The rest of the time I work in town. I move boxes."
*
"You aren't worried about me, are you?" Jean asks quietly, still focusing on bringing the food over towards the table so that Gabriel could eat. Once the plates and bowls were settled, she lets go of the hold upon them, her eyes squeezing shut, fingers pinching at the bridge of her nose as she hisses quietly. "I think everyone that comes here at least more than three times has a free pass to raid the fridge. There's weekly deliveries.. wait.. is it daily?" Jean doesn't know, but she does know that there are more than enough mouths to feed here. So food was in abundance.
"Plus Crystal goes out to shop.." Wow.. she was putting a lot of thought into this.. "Then I sometimes go out and get stuff that's missing.." Now she was counting on her fingers. "Or like.. chocolate cake mix for someone to make me a cake.."
She shrugs then, finally spinning around to face the two, watching Gabriel as he plays with the fork. "You.. shouldn't do that.." She says to Gabriel, clearly concerned.
*
Popping a cracker with jam and peanut butter into her mouth, Lorna shrugs. "I worry about everyone I care about, and you're one of my best friends Jean and I haven't seen you in /ages/." She shrugged, and then made a face.
"I need to get some milk, hold on," She rose, and a bit of shuffling followed before the green haired girl returned with a glass in hand.
"So, Miss Crystal is a princess, apparently." A pause as she swung back into her seat. "Did you know that, Jean?" She made a face and started to spread the jam over another cracker.
"But so long as I'm not going to get in trouble for raiding the pantry I guess I won't feel /too/ bad about it.." She glanced back to Gabriel, arching a brow. "So are you a mutant too? What powers do you have?"
*
Gabriel frowns at his hand rather than Jean's comment as he shakes his head, moving faster with the fork over and over until finally he stops. "Hmm. I didn't miss." The comment is made with curiousity in his tone rather than surprise. Setting the fork aside, he looks up at Lorna as she makes her questions then shakes his head. "We do not know. I have no memory of anything prior to a few weeks ago when I was found." His blue eyes dart over to Jean, the source of his discovery.
*
As Lorna rises, Jean watches after her for a moment, then looks towards Gabriel with a smile. Of course she'd choose that time to make googily eyes at him, though.. she was still watching as he continues to play with the fork and ignoring her silly faces. She tenses up, nearly wanting to reach out when he stops, Lorna providing a good distraction as she resettles in her seat. "Yes. Well, no. In a way?" Once Gabriel stops, she lets out a little breath, her hands rubbing along her brow.
Though as Gabriel answers, Jean slowly gives a nod. "His eyes glow purple, at least. I don't know how that happened. But.. I think he's a mutant? There are a few things I'd like to try to figure that out.." She frowns a little, "..but not now, he needs to eat." The food was there! "Oh.. right. We have to go back out to find your box."
*
Lorna's brows shot upwards, a gasp following. "You don't remember? Oh wow, geeze, I'm so sorry." She gaped as she looked back to Jean. "Wait, did you find him Jean? His eyes /glow/? That's so cool!" She coughed, shifting in her seat as she chose to cut off further excited questions and gushing with eating more food.
It didn't last long. "Wait, box? Hmm, did you lose something?" She tilted her head to the side. "If there's metal on the box I could help! I'm like a metal detector. Granted, my Tata /is/ better at it, but I could totally help. Even if it isn't metal.."
*
Gabriel glances at Jean, tilting his head at the questions Lorna presents. "I do not know if there was metal on the box. I do not remember much from the day other than waking here." Oh he noticed the googily eyes, it was hard to miss and Jean got a sly grin from him at the time but he has his attention looking to the food now as the salad eater starts to work on what she's brought.
Around bites he adds, "It happened only once, so I do not know what caused it or why. Or what it means. I am hopeful that some answers will be found sooner or later that might help us understand what has happened to me."
*
"Yeah, in Hell's Kitchen. He.. was in a box." That one was a little bit hard to explain. So she lets Gabriel take the wheel as she stands and begins to clean up the counter top from the mess of the salad that she had made. "I think it's relatively safe to go to Hell's Kitchen now, I don't know if there are any big bugs out there that'll kill us. It's all a matter of us just knocking down doors and asking people if they know who he is." Or what he is. She didn't tell Lorna that she thinks that Gabe is an alien.
"I suppose now is as good as any time for us to go out there. So.. um.." She looks around the kitchen, then shrugs. "I guess I'm running my first op!" With that said, she stands, giving a bit of a stretch. "When you're done eating, come to the cabin? We leave in an hour."
*
Lorna leaned forward, eyeing Jean and back to Gabriel and back. "Hell's Kitchen, bugs.. ew.. I hope there's none over there. I want to come help." She practically bounced in her seat.
"Oh! I can drive! I've got my car." She beamed and popped another cracker into her mouth and sipped at her milk. How wholesome.
"So Gabriel, you and Jean.. are you two..?" She made a vague gesture as soon as Jean left the room and waggled her eyebrows.
*
Gabriel looks in the direction where Jean departed from and then back to Lorna, then back to Jean. "Are we … how did the Logan guy state it.. Fucking like bunnies?" He frowns and shakes his head. "No. We are friends and decided just yesterday that we would be uhm… a couple." He frowns, "Is that the correct terminology? A couple, being together?"
*
A flush crossed Lorna's cheeks as he said 'fucking' and she choked on her cracker, reaching for her milk as she coughed hard.
"Gah! I-I.. erm. Wow! Don't say it like Mister Logan! That's /so/ crude! Geeze Louise! Say you're going steady! Or dating! Like seriously!" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and fanned her hot cheeks as if it would dull the blush that stained them red.
Then she gestured to Gabriel and the direction Jean had departed in. "Look, I know you don't have memory and all.. but seriously, don't say what Mister Logan does. That's just.. no." She made a face, her nose wrinkling.
"Also, don't break her heart. Okay? You look nice and all, but seriously. As she was the best roommate I've ever had, (see only) I will totally not support you breaking her heart. Okay? So be nice to her and stuff."
*
Gabriel tilts his head, brow furrowing further after a moment. "Why would I break her heart and hurt her? That does not make sense, she is my only friend." The concept does have him pondering though and falling into silence. What if he did hurt her, that would be terrible. "Maybe it would be better if we weren't together then. If we aren't together then I can't hurt her… I shouldn't be here." The realization settles and he looks at the food.
*
Panic lights up Lorna's features and she freezes up, waving her hands up between them. "No! No! Don't do that, then she'll be /really/ upset. She obviously likes you, so.. gah, she'll be SO angry if you broke up because I told you to be nice to her." She winced, biting her lower lip.
"Just be nice to her, don't like run off with some other girl. Don't like be mean. That's all I ask. She's gone through a lot and she deserves to be happy, and if you make her happy then you'd better stick around. Okay? That's all that I meant." She wiggled in her seat, brows pinched.
"Don't leave her."
*
"But what if I hurt her? Even if it is on accident?" Gabriel frowns now, starting to sound a bit panicked. "I don't even know where I am from. I don't remember anything. What if I have other people or a family that I don't know about. I don't think I do, because I don't think I would feel the way I do about her if I did, right? Even if I couldn't remember wouldn't I at least have the feelings?" It's becoming a word vomit situation, words are just spilling out more and more rapidly.
*
A grimace pulled at her lips, "Accidents happen! I mean, like don't do it on purpose, ugh." She rubbed her face with both of her hands and groaned.
"Like just don't do it on purpose. Leaving her like right now? That's on purpose 'cause it would be /my/ fault and she'd hate me."
A grumble followed Lorna reached to finish off her glass of milk.
*
"Oh." Gabriel says after a bit of time. "Oh, on purpose. Well. No, no I wouldn't do anything on purpose. That would be a terrible thing to do." He frowns a bit then actually chuckles after a moment. "I think if anyone hurt her on purpose I'd destroy them… so I guess that means I'd have to destroy myself, wouldn't I?"
*
A exhale follows and Lorna relaxes, crisis averted. She was /not/ accidentally breaking up her friend's relationship by accident. Jean would've /killed/ her.
"Yes, well, I'd help you, deal?" She hold out a hand toward Gabriel to shake on it, then thinks better of it, realizing that he might not understand it.
"So, we're agreed that no one hurts Jean and that if they do, they totally deserve to get hurt back. Yes? Cool, glad we established that. What are you getting her for Christmas?"
*
That question has Gabe tilting his head in confusion as he was about to take a bite of the cucumbers that Jean made for him. "What am I getting her for Christmas? What is Christmas? What am I supposed to get her?" All of these customs are new to him, and clearly this is one that hasn't been brought up prior. "Is it a gift time?"
*
A nod and Lorna leaned forward with a grin on her lips and her hands tapping against the table. "Yes! It's the Holidays. Everyone gets gifts to give to loved ones, I'm pretty sure that it's for most holidays actually, not just Christmas. But you should totally do something special for her, to cheer her up. Like I imagine you don't really have much in the way of money.. but.. Hmm, I don't think Jean is the sort to like expensive material gifts anyways, so you're off /that/ hook."
The green hair girl bounced her foot in thought, "You should do something nice for her, like write a poem, or get some food together.. Oh! Lemme help. A romantic dinner for you both. Just you two, candles, and something tasty.."
*
The ideas of money and the like are still things Gabriel is getting used to, which ahs been good for the store he's working at, since they don't have to pay him much, just enough. Still he seems to be thinking over the words for a bit before his eyes light up some with realization. "We are planning on going to the … uhm, the Big City for a date. I think is what we're calling it. A movie and dinner or something. Does that count?"
*
Eyebrows shoot upwards, and Lorna claps her hands together. "Oh! A date! Lovely, I'm sure Jean is the one deciding where and how and when and all of that.." She bit her lower lip and she shifted in her seat, and shook her head.
"No, the date isn't the same as a gift, Christmas and the Holidays and everything are different.. It's for the time of the year. So it's not the same."
*
"Oh." Gabriel responds, looking confused but at least being polite enough to pretend he understands. "So I still need to find a gift for her that is not the date. Something uhm… beyond that? Ok. I think I can do that. Would perhaps slaying a bear for her?" He could be serious, his tone reflects a serious tone but there is a bare hint of twinkle in his eyes.
*
Lorna gaped at him for a long moment, and it took her a little /too/ long to process that he was likely joking. "What? A bear!—" She broke off and then leaned away, realizing the twinkle in his eyes was more than likely at her expense.
"Ew, gosh, no. But Jean will likely want just.. well, something nice that she can do with you. Something that would create new memories for the both of you, rather than say.. I dunno, a nice sweater from Macy's or something. No matter what the ads on TV say."
*
"Something that is emotionally meaningful, that is what you mean?" Gabriel asks towards her with a serious tone once more returning. "Significant to the both of us, and just to us?"
*
A beaming smile followed and Lorna nodded, "Oh yes! That would be perfect. I think that would be a gift that Jean would love the most." She exhaled a breath, wrinkling up her nose in thought.
"I'm not sure exactly what would work, but if you need help, I'm all ears and willing to help out where I can. Promise. It helps that I also have a car. So if you need to get things without her knowing, well, she's not living in the dorm with me anymore so I can help out that way."
*
"I will take some time to consider something significant. We are close so I do not think it will take much time to consider something to do for her, at least I hope not." Gabriel looks at his food then slowly starts to rise. "Jean wanted to depart in an hour or so, yes? I should perhaps go and find a jacket or something if we are to travel."