xp_logs | Anna and Bishop: About Bears (Reply)

Bishop's girlfriend Anna brings him dinner and shows concern for his well being in the wake of recent events.

Bishop had been leaving the shades in his apartment open so he could see the office from his bay window. Vanessa's light seemed to be on all the time and, although he wasn't going to interfere yet, it concerned him. Jazz music softly droned in the background as his attention shifted between an article he was writing on policing in a mutant community and X-Factor Investigations where the single, upstairs window continued to glow.

A light knock came on the door to his apartment. The light from his own window was what had drawn Anna to this building rather than his office across the street. It was always such a gamble as to which one he was in at this hour, if he was in either place at all.

There was only a short pause before Bishop unlocked and opened the door. "You caught me." He smiled softly and stepped back so she could come in. He knew how hard he was to pin down and she hadn't messaged him first.

Anna nodded with a somewhat speculative expression. "I have. I propose I ought to win a prize for my impeccable detective work in ascertaining your whereabouts this evening, Investigator Bishop." Her lips slowly broke into an affectionate smile and Anna reached up to tug on his collar, her universal sign he should get down here so she could kiss him.

Bishop compliantly leaned down to softly kiss her lips after pushing the door shut. "Trying to edge in on the mutant Investigator market? I don't have any other skills so don't put me out of a job."

"I don't think investigation is really my forte. Had it been I'd much more accurately deduce your location much more frequently without resorting to which side of the street has a light on." She moved past the tall man and headed for his kitchen. "My mother remains unmoved regarding your ability to feed yourself. Given you've been so stressed with your partner being missing she's been fraught with worry. As such, she has finally broken down and insisted upon feeding you. My attempts to explain your partner had since been recovered were either strategically ignored or apparently invalid. As such, I come bearing dolmadakia, pastitsio and baklava, all homemade of course. She was quite emphatic that I inform you that it is all homemade." As she spoke containers were pulled out of the brown paper bag she had carried in and laid out on the counter. There was enough to feed a family of six despite her mother being well aware Bishop was single and without children.

"She knows about my love of family food and about the map in the office. She calls me, you know." Bishop moved to the cabinets to get plates for them both. "Isn't it supposed to be a bad sign when your girlfriend's mother likes you?"

"Qualify 'bad sign.' What sort of sign it is depends entirely upon which expectations you are willing to meet, which ones you and politely avoid talking about and which ones will drive you up the wall. If you're dreading my mother dropping hints about how much she would adore grandchildren within approximately the next six months then this is surely a sign of the gravest degree. If at some point you are going to inform either her or myself that you believe a woman's place is in the home after marriage where she will do nothing but keep the place spic and span and attend to your every need then it is certainly a sign you are in for trouble. If you dislike my mother her affection for you is also quite a problem. However, if you potentially can endure family holidays or have reasonable justification for declining the inevitable invitations, are willing and able to sidestep inquiries pertaining to marriage and offspring, are willing to live with the fact that she may adopt despite any break up of our relationship which may come to pass and generally find her amiable then it's most likely not too worrying a sign. Then again, I hear men go crazy over small things like this," she rattled off quietly, a hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. All the while she had found appropriate utensils for serving and had dished out dolma and pastitsio on the dishes Lucas had produced.

Bishop raised his deep voice only an octive as he played both sides of a conversation. "I don't know what happened." He said in his best 'concerned citizen' voice. "I've seen this before. This joke was murdered." He revealed, as though he were working a case.

Anna laughed and nudged him with her hip. She lowered her voice as she continued his little discussion. "I suspect the joke was dead upon arrival."

"Cut me deep." Bishop replied with a laugh as he carried the plates to the table. "Staying tonight?" He sounded hopeful. He liked her company, no doubt. She was the person he really relaxed around.

"Oh, I don't know," she hedged and trailed behind the tall man. "I had a vigorous schedule of book reading, TV watching and sleeping planned. I was even giving appropriate consideration to washing my hair. You know how us ladies delight in such things." Her teasing came with a smile, right up until Lucas could glimpse her expression again, then it was wiped away and replaced with one of utter sobriety. "I suppose I could reschedule those things for a later time, however, should adequate persuasion be provided of course." Anna took up a seat at the table across from her boyfriend, perched her elbow on the edge of the table and her chin in her palm. She looked quite expectant as she awaited this persuasion of his.

"Does a foot message sweeten the deal?" Bishop said, playfully bargaining as she wanted.

Anna considered this, the tines of her fork tapping against her lower lip. "Perhaps incrementally so. Though, I find myself mildly distraught at the consideration of spending the night away from my teddy bear." She smiled despite her attempts to the contrary. "Do you suppose you would have a suitable stand in around here? I don't sleep very well without my teddy, truth be told."

Bishop laughed softly. "You have another teddy bear elsewhere? Now I'm jealous."

She shrugged one shoulder. "Well, I need something on those nights when you're off doing whatever it is your sort does late at night for work." Anna paused. "Or perhaps you're really a peeping tom and all this time I only thought you to be working."

"Cheating cases are the worst." Bishop admitted as they ate. "Boring and sad. You know their relationship is over the second you take the case no matter how it turns out."

"Even if the other person isn't cheating?" Anna frowned. She saw enough married men paying for lap dances on a daily basis. "I suppose it becomes more about the lack of trust they have in one another at that point than any real or perceived infidelity."

Bishop nodded his agreement. "Fortunately Jean-Paul is much more capable with surveillance. I rarely have to do it anymore."

"That's handy. It's all about discovering the people particularly suited to the elements you like the least and acquiring them for the business, isn't it?" Anna raised an eyebrow and smiled. "How do you think he would feel about performing some of my less desirable lap dances?"

"With his speed I'm sure he'd at least get them done a lot faster." Bishop offered with a short laugh. People didn't often make him laugh but she got him pretty often. "You'd have to talk with him about splitting the cash."

"Oh, I believe there is a strong possibility he could talk me around to giving him all of the cash. There are some men whose laps are pointedly undesirable to gyrate over." Anna shuddered a little. "Which is to say nothing of their hands. However, there is always a silver lining and mine is that the boss does not see a problem with us manhandling any client who seems to think they have earned the right to do the same to us." She grinned.

"How interestingly violent of you." Bishop said with a smile. "Every time I've been in they've made me sit on my hands."

Anna shrugged dismissively. "If a man believes he has the right to fondle me in a strictly no touching establishment then I believe I have the right to swiftly bury my knee in his crotch. It's all about supply and demand, you see. I supply the arousing eye candy and you demand to see it closer up. However, if you supply your hands on my tits then I demand you suffer for it as much as I do. Unfortunately a knee to the balls is hardly adequate repayment but I do what I can with the limited resources at my disposal."

"You know this is a touching establishment, right?" Bishop playfully clarified, as if he would be in fear of being potentially assaulted later on.

She stopped with her fork halfway to her lips. "Is it? I clearly recall signing a contract that the only physical contact would be between myself and a rather large teddy bear. Do you mean to inform me that contract is being violated?"

Bishop laughed softly, "It is very important you never tell my coworkers you call me a teddy bear. There are already bear references I endure and that would only make them worse."

The pink woman was instantly the picture of innocence. "I promise not to tell them what I call you. Though, I'm intrigued about these other bear references. Lucas, are you secretly one of those men who are covered in body hair but have Jean-Paul and Laura, as your underlings, wax all appropriate areas? That could be a deal breaker for me. I could live with the hairy but having colleagues wax you is just a little too far over some line or another."

"Papa Bear has been said." Bishop said, ignoring all waxing references. He preferred to not even think about his colleagues in that context and his brain protected him from it.

"Aww." Anna clutched her hand to her chest. "You're their papa bear? Their beloved paternal figure? That is so endearing. Do you have to have the sex talk with them and check in to ensure they make curfew?"

Bishop stood as they both finished with dinner, collecting their plates. "No but Vanessa has had insomnia since she has returned." He motioned to the open window which looked out to the X-Factor offices before stepping into the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

Anna moved to the window as Lucas went into the kitchen with their plates. The X-Factor offices were clearly visible with their wall of windows, three of which had "X-Factor Investigations" neatly printed across their faces to create the words large enough to be seen easily from the street. Below those was another wall of windows, half of which were dark and half of which were bright. Anna could see Lucas' partner laid out on her couch with a book, or at least that's who Anna presumed it was. "Are you particularly surprised she isn't sleeping well? From what you said of her condition when you found her it seems understandable. Why is she still using Laura's body, though? Is she still healing?"

"I asked, she evaded." Bishop stepped up behind Anna and wrapped his arms around her waist. "She'll tell me when she wants to."

Relaxing back into him, Anna smiled. "You're a good friend, Lucas." Her smile widened to a grin and she tilted her head back to look up at him. "And you appear to be an excellent papa bear as well."

"Also an exceptional teddy bear." Bishop smiled back down to Anna. "You make that one easy."

"True on both counts. We are quite exceptionally talented people in these regards."