Reed and Sue: Experiment failure

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Reed's attempt to talk to Sue in the lab doesn't go quite how he expects it to.

This crush was getting a little bit ridiculous, Reed thought to himself as he tried valiantly to focus on his current project. Instead, all he could notice was how, from the corner of his eye, Sue was laughing and flirting with Tom. Tom. What kind of name was Tom anyways? Not Thomas. Tom. Three letters. That wasn't a name, it was a sound.


Tom was one of those people who was always well put together, and had an appropriate comment for everything. He was also really good at getting Sue to smile that one smile, and to have that one laugh, and it drove Reed crazy. Well. No more. He could do something. He really could. What was the worst that could happen? She could laugh at him, turn him down, fire him, and have him kicked out of the Mansion. Not a big deal, right? Mentally preparing, he went over what he was going to say. It had to be suave, and cool, and more importantly, the 'right thing'. He had one shot. He could do this.


Taking a deep breath, he waited until she was back to her own station, concentrating on her own experiment. He set aside his work and walked as casually as he could. Coming up behind her, he cleared his throat, and leaned down. "Sue, can I just say that your space pants look amazing today?"


"My...space pants?" The blonde gave him a quizzical look and arched an eyebrow at Reed, "I mean these are nice but I wouldn't really call them space age or ultra modern," she allowed glancing down at her trousers, "Unless you're saying that they look like a space suit? Which I'm not entirely sure is a compliment." she teased.


Reed froze. That wasn't what he actually wanted to say, and now that she was talking, he wasn't sure what he was trying to say in the first place. How could he think such a lame line would work? How could he think that he even had the machismo to pull off a cheesy line? This was terrible. Worse than terrible -- this was horrendous. He wondered if driving to see his parents was still an option. A few weeks away,maybe that would get him to forget he'd even attempted this. "They're out of this world," he explained slowly, trying his best not to look as horrible as he felt. "Same as you. Because you're amazing."


"I...umm...thank you?" The blonde blinked at Reed owlishly, was he trying to flirt with her? No it couldn't be he never had before and no-one used lines like that anymore. Well ok, maybe Warren did but he was Warren and he was slightly ridiculous, but somehow made it work, perhaps a secondary mutation. Reed had to be joking though, that made more sense right, well she wouldn't have expected it from Reed but it made much more sense than flirting. That had to be it, "You're space pants look pretty amazing too." Although it would have been nice if he had been flirting, Sue mused to herself before shaking her head, where had that come from.


"I need to invent pants that will meld with my physiology," Reed said, completely missing the fact that she was responding to his comment. "It's very awkward to suddenly outgrow something. These pants are actually made from bamboo, which gives me the flexibility I need. So thank you, I actually put some thought into what I am wearing today."


Did he just...he didn't did he, making sure Tom couldn't see her Sue gave Reed a wide eyed stare. "I know you'd been going to the gym, but I didn't think you'd see results that quickly," she noted giving his trousers another look, "Did you make them yourself? I had no idea you could sew...and where exactly did you get your hands on bamboo cloth?" The blonde very pointedly shut her mouth as she realized all she was doing was asking questions, you really need to get yourself together Storm.


"My mother made them," Reed replied. And was he showing results from working out already? He looked down but didn't see anything other than his usual stick thing self. No real added mass, but to be fair, he hadn't been following the diet plan he'd been provided. Nor was he working out as much as Julian would expect. "She tends to make most of my clothing and repair it. I mail her packages as needed." This did not seem odd to him at all. She had the time to spare, and he was too poor to keep buying new outfits. It worked out for both of them.


"Really?" Sue reached out and ran a hand along the seam of Reed's shirt staring intently at the stitching, "She does really good work, you can't tell that it's home-made at all. Looks like something you'd by from any store, besides," she grinned at Reed, "you can honestly say that all of your clothes are tailor-made and not be lying to anyone. Even I can't honestly say that."


"All clothing is technically made by a tailor," Reed responded almost automatically. "But yes, I suppose home made is especially unique. My mother was a housewife," he explained. "With only one child, and one who ..well, didn't really need much mothering, she had to show her love in other ways. Food. Clothing. Support." He shrugged. "It's why at times I feel bad that I live so far away. My father is kept very busy with his work and research, and she tends to have a lot of spare time."


Sue shook her head, "There is a world of difference between most clothes and tailor-made clothes." She objected, "It's like the difference between a mass produced piece of glassware vs a piece made by a scientific glassblower. Sure they do the same thing and look similar, but if you know what you're looking for one is just so much better in all the little ways. After all, you would never use a inferior piece of equipment in one of your experiments would you?" she asked with a smile.


He gave her a strange look. "Well of course not, but that's because I need pure materials to ensure that a secondary reaction isn't compromising t integrity of my initial research. My pants aren't unknown vectors entering into a calculation." Belatedly, he realized she was complimenting his mother's work and it took him a few moments to formulate an answer.


"My mother is amazing.". There. That worked.


"I...I've heard that," Sue allowed her face falling for a moment before she shook herself off mentally, "But you're wrong, your trousers and shirts are very much vectors in a calculation. Think of any social interactions as simply that, an equation to solve, one set of variables concerns first impressions, your clothes, your hair, your appearance. You are judged on all of these and a value is given, then your confidence, your eloquence come into play. Sue closed her eyes, imagining the equation she was working on. "you'd have to introduce other modifiers to represent mood and preconceptions of both parties as well as the cause of hte conversation and location." The petite blonde opened her eyes and smiled, "Everything is science when you come down to it right? I'm pretty sure there are some people out there who have done this research already and published papers. I think I read one of those."


"it's a common trope in literature, made famous by Carlyle in the 1800's. He wasn't just a mathematician, you know." And like usual, Reed was now on a tangent, especially since he felt he had a captive audience. After explaining the discovery of quadratic equations, he realized he had strayed off the topic of clothes. " oh, and in his writings, he espoused the theory that a man's clothing is simply an armour for him and an extension of one self. So thank you, Sue. You have reminded me to be grateful for the effort my mother puts into my clothing,as it is made with love and that makes me luckier than most." He gave her a rare grin. "I feel I should call her right now."


"I...yeah...don't waste an opportunity to let her know." The blonde managed without too much lack of emotion in her voice, a veritable improvement, "The good ones seem really great," she let slip out, a hint of bitterness edging out her voice. "So, if your clothes are made out of Bamboo and love and are an extension of you then I have just one question. What does that make you Mr Richards? A panda?


There was something suddenly off about this conversation, but Reed couldn't put his finger on it. Instead, he choose wisely to ignore it, and to research this further. Sue seemed to bristle at the mention of a mother, in an equally bitter and wistful way. Interesting. "I'm not fat enough to be a panda," he said, trying to find a joke to make. He failed. "Or ursine enough. Although, it is questionable whether I'm hirsute like a bear..."


"Oh well, that's a shame, I've always thought that Panda's were kinda cute," Sue noted giving Reed a wry smile and a shrug, "Grizzlies are kinda cool too on a huge and terrifying way but," a teasing smile played across her lips, "you're apparently not hirsute enough either so can't compare you to them either...have to think up anotehr animal for you that's better than Tom's monkey."


"Monkeys are illegal to own as pets in New York," Reed stated. Another strike against Tom. "I have to get back to my experiment. Good bye." without waiting, he turned around and headed back to his station, pondering a hair growth serum that would be localized to certain parts.