glockenspiel | [PSLs] Mixed Bag

[For the fifth time since she got changed for the fourth time, Claire feels stupid. She huffs a sigh looking at herself in the mirror one last time, before going back to the kitchen with a determined spring to her step, decided now not to switch clothes again. The dress will have to do.

She feels stupid for obvious reasons. He can't see her, not really, so why would he care that she put on her very favorite sundress for the evening, the one that gives her a proper waist and twirls so nicely? She can just put it down to the fact that the summer heatwave is not abating, and her apartment is way too hot, even with the AC blasting in the living-room. Also, technically, she's been very much less dressed around him, so why does it seem to be more important tonight?

It's fine. It doesn't matter. It's just - a date. With Matt.

Shaking her head, Claire stirs the bolognese sauce she's been working on, tastes the pasta - not quite on either, but soon dinner will be ready. And Matt's still not here, of course - if he actually comes up to the door, she'll be surprised.]

((248: A fast food restaurant. The exact details of the brand are missing, but it sells fairly standard fare: hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, soda... Sadly, it seems like they don't have milkshakes or ice cream, but sometimes they have coffee!))

--

[The restaurant is as dark as every other building Claire has ended up in since arriving in Norfinbury, but there's something warm about it - maybe the smells, faint but definitely there. The smell of greasy food, and the even fainter aroma of coffee.

She sighs, something like delight in the noise, and starts making her way through the restaurant. If she finds real coffee and it's not just a cruel Norfinbury trick...

She walks around for a while, just observing, taking in the place. It looks like a McDonalds, something reassuring in the standard plastic chairs and Formica tables. Still on a hunt for coffee, Claire looks around the kitchen. From here, she can't see the front door, but if House makes it here like he said he would, she's sure she'll hear him.

She sighs again, this time a little less content. This - this whole idea, of meeting up with House - feels like it could go so badly, but she's committed, now, and she'll see it through.

Who knows, maybe he'll even be nice.]

Ah-ah! Score!

[She's quick to pull out two mugs when she finds the coffee, smelling the pot for a moment with her eyes closed, a happy smile on her face.]

[The room is busy, but not in a way Aranea is entirely comfortable with. She prefers the bar, but she forces herself to make a few rounds, to meet a few people.

And that's how she ends up sitting one of the couches dotted around the room, a glass of Champagne in her hand as she looks at Stephanie, her newest acquaintance.]

So, have you been here for a while? What's it like, really?

[Pyrrha had not had contact with Matt for quite a while, following their last visit. It simply wasn't feasible - the Avengers had teams scouring the galaxy, near and far, for the final of their supposed-infinity stones. Pyrrha had been sent back home, to scour some of the deepest parts of Remnant - there was no time for her to do anything else besides appreciate Remnant's air (that, and, apparently, nearly get killed by some of the most terrifying Grimm she'd ever seen). There's still no real mode of communication between worlds - at least, none that Pyrrha can use to contact Matt. But she has a watch, a cheap, plastic thing she picked up from a street vendor, and she uses it to count the Earth days.

Then it's time to return, to regroup - Pyrrha knows this time, she will remain on Earth. They're getting closer to Armageddon, and they need as many hands as they can find to guard the stones that they do have. It's quite possible this Thanos already has the last stone, but he'll certainly come for the others. Her first night back, Pyrrha is unable to slip away, and it vibrates beneath her skin, this desire to see her friend (she's no other word besides friend, though the bond is deep and true; more than a battle partner. Somehow she thinks no word will be able encompass how much Matt means to her).

It's that first night that the Avengers and their allies get to talking, and Pyrrha joins quietly in the back of the common room. The spider boy is gesturing animatedly, telling some story of a building that collapsed in Hell's Kitchen. He talks about the heroes involved - the Defenders, isn't that so cool? - a man with unbreakable skin, another with the ability to harness his chi, a woman with incredible strength and - the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, of course he'd be right in the middle of it, everyone thinks he's the one that trashed the building. No one's seen heads or tails of him since, but that's his style, right?

Pyrrha just. Freezes. Something awful settles in the pit of her gut, and she has to walk out of the room. Nothing is ever quite so simple, and saving people never comes for free. And if Matt paid that terrible price and she wasn't there to help him...

The following day, Pyrrha slips away, each step towards Matt's apartment increasing the dread exponentially. Please, let it not be empty. Please, let him be okay.]

((ooc: Went for a little post-Defenders flavor! Let me know if you'd like any part of this amended darling~ ))

[For Matt]

[For House]

[For Steph; Eudio M&G]

[For Matt]