Taking Off

Participants:

brian2_icon.gif veronica_icon.gif

Scene Title Taking Off
Synopsis Veronica stops by to tell Winters she's heading out of the country a while. He doesn't take it well, but turnabout is fair play.
Date June 30, 2009

Piece of Cake Bakery

The front room of the bakery is a long and narrow one. A great glass window covers the wall facing the street, so that anyone outside can see in. The door is glass as well; on bright days the shop is filled to the brim with sunshine. Drop lamps abovehead help at night, casting a warmer and softer light. Classic black and white tiling collects smudges more often than not on the floor and walls. In the back is a hallway which leads further to the kitchen, a small bathroom for customers to use, and a set of creaky stairs that go up to the second floor. The entire building is warm, and the air is redolent with the scents of pastry both savory and sweet, cookies, muffins, chocolate and fruit, bread and more.

A long, waist-high counter is on the left after stepping inside. The top is flat so purchases can be set down, and baked goods of all sorts are on display inside. Down at the far end is the cash register: leaving means walking past all the tempting wares all over again. Though it isn't particularly fancy, a coffee machine next to the register has a sign that reads "Donations": the cups and plain coffee are free, but change dropped inside goes to local charities. Three small bistro tables sit along the right wall; it's a tight fit, but three (or four if they're close friends) people can sit at each to enjoy a bite before going on their way. A bell above the door jangles merrily whenever it's opened.


It's getting late at the Piece of Cake Bakery, yet the lights remain on. Mrs. Hadley has long since gone to bed, but Brian remains awake. His welcome with her is wearing thin, and he is aware of it. Too much longer sleeping in her living room and she'll put her foot down and have him shooed out to some place more 'appropriate'. But for now, the bakery has never been cleaner with the help of Winters and his many helpers.

Sitting on the counter, Brian's eyes flirt between being fully closed and remaining half open. No one else comes near the bakery, it's just him, sitting and waiting on the counter. Eventually he begins to lean back a bit, laying fully on the counter, his eyes drifting close…

There's a shadow at the door, peeking in. When Veronica sees no one but Brian there, she tries the door knob, and surprisingly enough, despite the late hour, the door opens. The brunette agent pushes it open just enough that her head can poke in. "Brian," she says in a quiet voice, trying not to alert anyone else in the building that there's a visitor. "Brian. Wake up."

She's not wearing "agent" clothes, nor her typical running gear, but instead wears a short green sundress and flip flops.

"I'm not sleeping." It's said in a sleepy, whining tone as his face slowly turns over to the direction of the voice. His eyes open slowly to bring her into focus. His smile is slow but extremely bright, countering those sleepy orbs that take her in. "You look beautiful." He yawns as he goes to shove himself up into a seated position. And then he's motioning her to come over to him. "What's up?"

Veronica enters, turning to lock the door and turn the sign so it says closed. She glances around the bakery and smiles. "It smells delicious in here," she says softly as she moves toward him, her usual silent walk punctuated instead today by the slap-slap of her flip flops on the tile. "Hi," she says, leaning across the counter to give him a light kiss. "I… we're supposed to take like a month off from work, while they figure out where to relocate and all." White lie, that, but it's for his own safety. "I'm going to take off for a while. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn't worry."

Grinning as she walks in, Brian leans forward from his perch on the counter to accept the kiss. He then reaches down to try and seize her by the waist, and hoist his ex-partner into his lap. "Taking off?" He asks, tilting his head a bit, a touch of concern going into his voice. "Where are you going? I'll go with you." He offers immediately, giving a little smile as if sure she would accept.

She laughs a little as he pulls her onto his lap. She glances to the back; it's the kind of locale that has apartments behind the main business. "Your bakery benfactoress won't be offended if she finds her ward kissing a girl in the bakery, will she?" Veronica asks, playfully, to offset the seriousness of what she has to tell him.

"I'm going to Costa Rica for vacation. Haven't had one… God, I don't think since I've started with the Company, to be honest."

"She's asleep." Brian maintains, scooting back a bit on the counter so that the two of them are stable. One hand goes to rest on her leg, while the other goes to cradle her chin as he plants another kiss on her lips, then one on her neck. "She's a heavy sleeper too, so.. If there's anything you want to do." Brian says with a little smirk working up his lips. "We can. Just saying. Anyw—What?" Winters tilts his head as she says Costa Rica. "Well.. this is perfect. I'll go with you. We can get away together." He's practically beaming at the last.

"I'm leaving… in a few hours, Brian," she says quietly, her dark eyes darting down to study her flip flops for a bit. "I need… to think. And not be accountable to anyone but myself for a while, you know what I mean? I mean… you can go, I'm not going to say you can't, but I'm not going to be very good company right now. No pun intended." She doesn't smile at the stupid play on words. "I need to think about what I am, what I do… and it's hard to think straight when you have me up on some pedestal I don't deserve to be on."

"A few hours?" Brian asks, brows going up a little bit. "I— why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" He asks, features settling into a rather displeased expression now. "Alone time." Winters repeats tonelessly. His hand slowly recoils from her leg and goes to rest on the counter. His lips make a thin line as he looks this way or that way, any direction that she isn't in. "Alright."

She slides off the counter. Obviously he doesn't want to be near her, look at her. "I didn't know I was going until I booked the flight," she says, her own voice flat. "I took the quickest one I could. I just need to get away from everything." Her voice's flat tone, and her attempt at stoicism is belied by a slight tremor as she takes a step away, toward the door.

"From me." Is how that's translated, obviously that's what she's trying to say. His eyes fix on some random object in the bakery and stay there as if it was all of the sudden the most fascinating thing there. He doesn't make much of a reaction to her words. Other than his flat words, he simply stares and sits. Her retreat is barely registered.

"I didn't say that," Veronica says, her arms crossing defensively as she turns around. "You left, you got away, you had your time to think or whatever, even if it was in the city." She juts her chin out with each 'you.' "You didn't come to me for how long, Brian? I need time, too. So much has happened and I can't tell it to you, and I can't tell it to anyone else, and it's that shit that I have to figure out in my head and figure out what I think about it all." Tears begin to slip out of her narrowed eyes. "I'm going to go do things you'd probably try to talk me out of for a while, like climb rocks and jump out of planes and things like that because it's how I think. And if you're sitting there worrying about me the whole time, I won't be able to think about the things I need to think about, and it defeats the purpose."

Aw, crap. His jaw tightens as she throws heaps of truth on him like burning coals. His eyes slowly move from that favorite spot, to his new favorite spot which happens to be Veronica's face. Staring at her for a long moment after she finishes her speech, he takes in a deep breath which is then let out in an exasperated sigh. Slipping off the counter he takes a few steps towards her, hanging his head and extending his arms. 'I was wrong, you were right' without the words. "Don't actually get killed or I'll be pissed."

She doesn't want it to be that easy, for him to give in that easily to her tears. She begins to turn away, but then steps into his arms. Her shoulders rise and fall as she sighs, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to run away from you, or even anything else. I'm planning on coming back. It's just like three weeks," she murmurs.

A little shrug is given. "Not that I'm not mad. I'm still a little frustrated but.. I did bone you when I left. I realize I did the wrong thing.. So I can't yell at you or anything. Wish I could." He gives a sad smirk, giving her a little squeeze. "Can I at least be with you until you leave?" He asks, tilting his head.

"Only if I can have a red velvet cupcake…" Veronica says with a playful smirk, but tilts her head up to kiss him lightly. "I'm sorry. Look… what about a compromise… you can… come in two weeks and join me for the last week?" she says thoughtfully. "But you can't nag me about not coming back. At this point… I'm not ready to quit and run away from the Company yet." She tilts her head at him. "What if after all my thinking I don't want to leave? What will you think of me then, Brian?"

"You want my body too bad for all that." Brian says with a little grin. "Besides.. I need to be in this city. For now. I've got some stuff I have to do." Some stuff which he should tell Veronica.. But avoids. For now. "Find out if I really have a sister, that kind of stuff." Among others. But those go untouched for now. "That sounds good." He says with a smile, bending down to meet her kiss tenderly. "I'll see you in two weeks. And, we can cross that bridge when we come to it."

"You need to be here anyway and you gave me that guilt trip for not asking you?" she says, punching his arm lightly. "I'll give you the information of where to go… it's a little out of the way, but… well. You can find it, I'm sure. You're a trained agent and all," she says with a laugh.

"Highly trained." Winters adds in for good measure. Leaning down he goes to plant another kiss on her neck before he suddenly goes to sweep her legs out from under her with one arm, the other arm going to cradle her back. "Now." He says, a smile planting itself on his lips as he looks down at her. "Let's go see about that velvet sex cupcake or whatever." And with that, he's turning around and starting for the back.


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