Cait headed to the kitchen for a snack. She had a pint of Ben and Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio in there and hopefully no one had eaten it. Ice cream was one of the popular items to be snagged by someone. Even with things properly labeled. Sometimes putting your name on something didn't help.
She stopped in the doorway when she saw a familiar face. "Hey you. I didn't realize you were back."
He jumped when he heard Cait's voice since he didn't hear her enter the room. He decided on all the trimmings for a turkey sandwich and moved away from the fridge to the counter. "There was talk of a parade and everything but I thought that would be a little over the top, even for me." He chuckled while putting together his supper. "I snuck in so I would have a little alone time with my bed."
"Sneaky man," she said and walked over to him. "You're not getting away without giving me a hug." Ches was one of the students who had been here when Cait was young and first came here full time when her powers manifested.
He would never turn down a hug from Cait and his arms where around her quickly giving her a quick squeeze. "I would have hugged you before but you looked like a woman on a mission." He chuckled and moved back. "Anything big happen while I was gone?" He wasn't given anytime to check the news while he was on tour, even though it was a dead book tour.
Cait wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "It's good to have you back."
She smiled. "Gods hoping no one took my pint of Ben and Jerry's." She shrugged. "The usual. End of World stuff. Mansion getting destroyed. Hair turned blue." She took a lock and ran it through her fingers. "Thanks to Apocalypse. How have you been?"
"I was thinking about the ice cream but I figured you'd beat me for taking it." He grinned and then his face went serious. He hated that his agent made him do that damned book tour when he was needed here. "I was bored on tour, no one showed up to have me sign anything or hear me read from the book. I should have been here helping you guys fight Apocalypse and rebuild this place again." He made a note to fire his agent and publicist.
"You better believe I would," she said with a grin. "Don't worry about. We got through it and I'm sure there will be more opportunities to kick some ass in the future. Things don't stay quiet around here."
"That's why I left it there for you." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I was in empty rooms when you guys were attacked. I could have been here doing something more important then drinking coffee and waiting for people that weren't going to show." He shrugged and sighed. "I think I'm gonna take some time off from writing and help around here a bit more."
"Don't worry about it," she said. Cait smiled. "That'll be nice. Everyone will be glad to see you and know that you're sticking around."
He laughed. "Where am I going to go? I'm a lifer for crying out loud." Unlike his dad he liked being anchored to one place.
"Well I for one am glad you're a lifer with the rest of the lifers."
"It's not a bad thing to be a lifer here, at least we'll always have each other right?"
"Exactly," Cait said. "We'll always have each other and each other's backs."
"We always have fun here. There's always something to fix, rebuild or even kill. Then there's the danger room. Has it acted up at all lately?" He missed the times when that place almost killed him or his team. Those where the good old days.
"It hasn't," Cait said. "The most that has happened is that it gets wrecked by the younger students when their powers go a little out of control."
"I can reprogram it to keep them on their toes. If they get to complacent then they'll never learn what they can really do." He grinned at her and winked.
"It's not about keeping them on their toes, it's about keeping them from going out of control. Easier said than done."
"I might need a refresher in kids, it's been a long time since I've helped with them."
"They'll keep you on your toes," she said. "I had hair singed, bruises, things almost smooshing me, and you name it, it's almost happened."
"Then I'll have to help you out so they don't kill you." He chuckled. "We've been lucky so far."
"I would appreciate the help," Cait said. "We have, but the shoe's bound to drop at some point."
"Anytime. And if the other shoe does drop we'll be here to deal with whatever it brings. It's what we do."
"Yeah," she said. "I know. All too well."
He threw his hands up in the air. "All this talk of dropping shoes is getting depressing!" He couldn't take it. "Let's go get something to drink or even cheesecake. Do you still like cookies and cream?" He still loved blueberry.
"Cheesecake sounds wonderful," Cait said. "You're buying." |