AtomicEmpress

OOC - (I haven't posted Deacon yet. Trying to figure out where to put him, I can set him anywhere)

Starfield_Scribe

OOC: They could meet on their way into the building, lobby chat Kind of need to get to a moment in the apartment before others can show up Pammie, are you good for us going back and forth until we get to that?

AtomicEmpress

OOC - of course, yeah.

Starfield_Scribe

RHYS
He wanted to put the audition out of his mind, and here Liz had plopped down across from him, and her presence was starting to work some kind of magic on him. She had that sort of way about her, maybe from being a teacher, although what did that say about him that he could be soothed by the mere presence of a schoolteacher. Suppose it didn't hurt that this schoolteacher wasn't bad to look at. There was something in her eyes, even after days at work, and now lugging heavy bags, that never seemed to die away, and he kind of couldn't stop noticing it. He noticed it more and more at each of their dinners. And her smile, well that was killer, too, the way it chased to her words as she spoke, as she laughed... He'd seen her dance before, the times she'd dropped by his club, and she wasn't the kind to be stiff in her body, she knew how to move. Not that he'd cop to noticing, or staring... much. He wasn't the kind to lose his cool in front of girls he might find attractive, start to trip over words, or forget what he meant to say. It tended to have the effect that unless he flat out told a girl he was into her, it might go right over their heads.

"Drawings, right," he nodded, looking to the bag as Liz went on explaining. He scoffed and nodded at the mention of cutbacks, knew all too well about those, didn't care for them in the least. Then there it was, that smile, that grin... It got him doing the same, and he reached out his fist for a tap, which she gave with her own. "Working, yeah," he confirmed, breathing out, sitting back. "Might go more jolly if some friendly faces were about," he counter suggested. "I hear a bit of dancing and drinking does wonders to help in silent... art... selection," he gestured to the bag.

SHIRLEY
"Helps when I have such a good helper," she tipped her head with a smile. She kept on working for a few seconds more, the sounds around them being reduced to the steady chopping and scraping. It lulled her, made her thoughts wander, and she took a deep breath.

Long day? They were having a good time, and the others would be there soon, she didn't want to bring the room down, but if she didn't get it off her chest...

"Domestic call," Shirley put down the knife for a moment, to allow her index knuckle scratch at her forehead, a nervous tick since she'd been little. It came out of her without noticing, though she'd still had the presence of mind to put the blade out of the equation. Anyone else and she might have kept it to herself, but Genesis was one of them, she could feel safe in sharing. "Neighbor called it in, we went to check... Guy got spooked, had the wife by he neck, said if we didn't leave, he'd..." She stared at the blade on the counter. "Johnson got to talking him down, and me, I... All I could look at was that living room, they had at least one kid, I could tell, they might have been right in there, if something went wrong, if they saw..." She scratched at her forehead.

AtomicEmpress

Genesis
She looked at Shirley for a long moment.
"When I was in college, I did a lot of psych. work and so I totally understand your fear for a child seeing something like that. I would run some of the case studies and such but it wouldn't ease your fears. The fact that you were able to realize that there may have been a child in the house at the time and keep a presence of mind about the situation while your partner talked down the, is suspect the right word in this case?"
She asked, looking at Shirley.
"You must have a softer heart than I realized before especially when it comes to children, it sounds like it."
She set her knife down, carefully.
"I think, from what I've heard from other officers who have come from your area and been transferred to work field in Cyber crimes with me, domestic calls can be the worst."
She smiled at Shirley,before speaking again.
"But it's people that worry about all of the parts in situations like the one you were in today,people like you - that are extremely valuable in your line of work. We all have our roles though."
Genesis nodded.
"So tell me, is Johnson as much of a sexist pig as he comes off as? He's always staring at my @ss. Does he think women don't know when they're being oogled?"

fleur captives

Starfield_Scribe

SHIRLEY
This was perhaps Genesis' way of trying to make her feel better, and knowing her, Shirley didn't doubt it. Still, it couldn't chase away the spooked feeling that had stayed with her since the ordeal had been resolved. The man was apprehended and the woman and her two young sons were safe and sound... but they still lived in her head. She wondered if they'd ever go.

In the end, she guessed Genesis did bring her some comfort, handing her this compliment, as hidden in words as it was, and she turned a thankful smile to the girl, which soon turned into a surprised chuckle at the next question that was put to her.

"Derek? He... No, he's not, I swear," she promised. She trusted Genesis infinitely, and if she'd told her the truth, about how her partner had come out to her in their first month sharing assignment, Shirley knew the secret would have been safe. But it wasn't her secret to tell, especially to someone who existed in their same circles, and if Johnson wasn't ready, she'd be the last person to force his hand. She did try and tell him that his overcompensation was not going very well, but he needed time. "You just have to get to know him," she told Genesis after a moment, before moving to slide something into the oven.

RHYS
His smirk came easy with the reply she gave, and he could hardly deny to himself that an image had flashed in his mind, as though narrated by his neighbor's soft voice, and it could have made the faint of heart blush bright red. He, luckily, had more restraint about him. "I'm full of knowledge, me, ask anyone," he gave her a nod. His prospects for the day were officially looking up now, after the downer that was his audition. He decided right then that this dinner, and then having Liz at the club with him, would save his entire day.

"It will," he assured her, when she suggested her presence would help him, "it most definitely will," he added, before briefly looking down, wondering if he was coming off too desperate or obvious. Catching a quick glimpse of her legs as she resettled in her seat and fixed her dress, his mental flash made a return. He scratched at the back of his head.

"If Shirley's late, too, then we're in no hurry, dinner won't be ready for a while," he pointed out, looking out the window. "I might do with walking the rest of the way, if you'd like to join? I'll carry your bag and all," he pointed to the heavy thing.

fleur captives

Starfield_Scribe

RHYS
When he'd been younger, Rhys' best friend back home, two years older and thus supposedly that much more experienced when it came to girls, would tell him how there was nothing quite like a beautiful girl smiling at you. Rhys had only laughed at him at the time, but more and more - today included - he'd started to see what he'd been going on about. If none other, he'd gotten that one right.

The smile on Liz' face was one of the most stunning things he'd experienced in all his life.

As soon as she agreed to his offer of a walk, he stretched out his arm and tugged at the bell. He nodded for her to go on, after which he took up her bag. Having lugged crates and cases and any other amount of heavy things in one job or another as he'd done, the load was not nearly as bad for him as it must have been for her. Not that he didn't believe girls could carry heavy loads like this just as easily, of course.

They climbed off the bus, where Rhys settled the bag for a more suitable grip before following Liz down the sidewalk. Had the day been so sunny and blue when he'd stepped on that bus? When she called him a life saver, he chuckled. "No worries," he promised.

But again the subject turned to his audition, and as flattered as he was that Liz showed this much interest, the subject remained a sore one. "It wasn't..." he started, sighing, "The scene reading went fine, I mean I thought I did it well, and they didn't look unpleased either, so I guess I got a bit... over confident too quick. They asked me questions, and that's when it all went to shi..." He stopped himself, clearing his throat. "I couldn't get a read on their faces, but it felt... You ever play with dominos?" When she said she did, he nodded. "So say you lined up a thousand of those little things, and you're about to put down the final tile and cascade them out... and a giant dog comes barreling in, crashing along and wrecking it all," he swung the bag to his other side.

AtomicEmpress

Genesis
"I'll keep that in mind."
She said about Shirley's comment about her partner.
"If you think he's worth getting to know - he must be."
Genesis smiled, the kind of smile that was unwittingly sexy and happy at the same time.
"Did you want to do a dessert? I am dessert queen and I can probably whip up something with what we have on hand between us."
She suggested.
"In case you wanted to make an impression on the new person."
She said with a shrug.

Starfield_Scribe

SHIRLEY
"Good," Shirley smiled back before moving to clear the counter of anything they were done with. She could never help herself picking up after herself regularly, which had a way of guaranteeing her brothers would mess with her growing up. As she grew up though, it turned into another of many nervous ticks. What it was that could be making her nervous around Genesis though, she had no idea.

"No, well I... It's just I already made it, last night, it's had to sit in the fridge overnight," she explained. For a second she'd wanted to lie and let her do it, knowing her desserts were excellent, but then it didn't feel right to make her do anything when they already had one, even more so as they were late as it was. "You're really nice to offer," Shirley compensated, tapping the other girl's shoulder. "I don't want you to forget, you're my guest here, I'm supposed to be looking after you... Even if I did put you to work," she laughed after a pause. "Plus, you know, Friday!" she gave a mock half-dance.

AtomicEmpress

Genesis
"Guest or not, we're friends, aren't we? Friends help friends. But if you already have one - more the better."
She looked at Shirley's little mock dance and did a rare giggle.
"Jez, your adorable."
She told her with a shake of the head.
"I don't think you can help it, you were just born to be cute."
Genesis smiled at her.

Deacon
He was headed into the apartment building, nervousness pouring out of him. He was meeting new people tonight and being in a new setting and that was nerve wrecking for him. He was dressed in his 'doctor clothes' including his white coat still. Maybe he was overreacting and the whole thing would be great but over thinking and overreacting was Deacon Tucker's thing. He didn't know any other way to live. He went to walk into the building, his body a giant ball of tension.
Open

Starfield_Scribe

SHIRLEY
"Of course we are," Shirley bowed her head in promise. "The very best. Friend, and guest, tonight. Hearing Genesis giggle was an uncommon thing enough, and it made Shirley happy. There would be plenty who would look at the pair of them and never see how they could be friends. But then those would be the same people who would look at the pair of them, not believing what they did for a living. But they were friends, and Shirley being the kind not wanting to put anyone behind or before any other, she would be hard pressed to claim any one person her best friend, but with Genesis... There definitely was something more.

When put to a claim of her cuteness, Shirley knew nothing else to do other than to exhibit it further. She carried on shimmying about, approaching Genesis, the better to make her laugh again. She was finally, properly, pulling out of her dark cloud, and she felt good again.

AtomicEmpress

Genesis
"Nope. You can't help it. Cuteness is coming out of your pores."
She said with a laugh and then started to do a little dance back at Shirley.
"You wanna put some music on?"
She suggested.
"Might put everybody at ease as they come in, not that everybody needs it - but I remember my first time coming amongst you guys - I was....intimidated."
She admitted to Shirley.
"But please don't tell anyone else I told you that - I have a reputation to keep up."

Starfield_Scribe

SHIRLEY
Her master plan executed to brilliant results, Shirley laughed once more, glad or have Genesis join her. They must have looked silly, dancing about with no music but their own laughter. Right on cue, Genesis had suggested music. Shirley wanted very much to do just that, to go and dance with abandon, but she couldn't help but remember the others would be arriving soon, expecting to be fed at a decent hour. But then Genesis mentioned it being helpful, for the new guy especially. She remembered the first night Genesis had joined them. "Well... We wouldn't want that," she finally relented, smiling and moving to the radio, where her old iPod was docked, and soon an upbeat song filled the room and she started her way back to her cooking partner. Her days as a dancer were well behind her, but still it came to her as naturally as breathing did. "You, come here," she invited, crooking fingers or motion for her to approach. "One song, then we need to get back at it, deal?"