North and Felicia at the gun range
Jan. 30th, 2019 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_blackcat posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsNorth returns from a mission gone wrong, and Felicia finds him
With a practiced kind of ease that probably should of worried her, Felicia settled into the bench at the back of the gun range. A specifically chosen pair of black ear muffs against the guns going off were already firmly in place, setting her short white blonde hair into a halo. She draped both her arms along the back of her seat and waited, strangely patiently, watching North at the end of the range.
He discharged an empty magazine, lined it up next to a dozen others and snapped a fresh one into his handgun, each movement impeccable, smooth and precise. Zero hesitation. Just a steady flow of motion as he levelled the weapon at his target and inhaled, a cluster of holes blooming on right shoulder of the human outline – a close mirror to the pattern on its left.
By the time the last bullet shell clinked onto the ground and the echo of sound from the shots died down, North had already turned, empty magazine in his palm as he repeated the motions.
Again.
Again.
And Again.
Until slowly, North lowered the smoking gun and punched the button to his right to recall what was left of the target.
She'd learned to wait. It didn't do to startle someone with a gun in their hands, but whether it was empty or not was not the deciding factor. This was not on her time or terms, and while it wasn't as if Felicia wouldn't rip the target from his hands and start beating with it given enough momentum, for now she was happy to lift a corner of her mouth, along with her hand, in greeting as he glanced her way.
"Hey," she mouthed at him.
The smile he responded with was small, barely a tick up at the corner of his lips. But the tiny splinter in his otherwise stoic expression was something, at least, and she could take full credit for it.
Dismantling the gun took a few moments, cleaning up the station several more. Then North settled himself in beside Felicia with a cleaning cloth and began to methodically wipe the weapon down as he waited - with far less patience than she had - for his heart to stop attempting to beat its way to freedom and for the muscles in his throat to unclench so he could speak with some degree of normalcy.
"Nice ear muffs."
"Thank you. They tried to give me the orange ones," she replied, having at one point slipped off the ear closer to him to hear. Her thumb made absent circles along the back of his neck, pretending to be an idle movement brought on by convenience of Felicia's arm already having been there. "Seriously. Neon orange. Platinum hair. I know, blah blah blah, ear protection, but I seriously can't help these people."
North glanced briefly at the pair of orange ear muffs he had left dangling on the edge of his station counter.
"It would look good on you regardless."
It was meant to be a compliment, but its delivery was a touch too flat to convey the intended playfulness. His forehead creased slightly as he looked back down at the gun barrel in his hands, the metal still hot to the touch.
“Hey,” Felicia murmured, turning her body to face him, the knee closest to him bending up and resting on his thigh. “I figure we can do this a couple ways, depending what level of terrible at emotions we’re feeling,” she continued at his lack of response, her usually flippant tone back, but quieter than usual. “Booze, sex, talking about what’s going on, or some combination of the three. I vote for at least two options, personally.”
He shot her an unreadable look, the curve on the corner of his lips making a brief reappearance. "I am fine," he paused, as though reevaluating his own statement. "A little hungry, perhaps." As he tended to be at all hours of the day since his powers changed those months back, and all the more unsurprising given that he had been at the range for more than five hours now. "But it would take a stronger man than I to turn down your first two offers," he finally concluded, cleanly sliding and snapping the pieces of his handgun together, a palm drifting to land on her knee.
Felicia made a warm humming noise, noncommittal in her belief of his initial statement, but fond. "Well, I can't have you fainting on me. Literally. You're heavy and I'll suffocate. We'll have to order food on the way there. Your place or mine?"
"Yours," he said, handing her his phone. There may or may not be a broken coffee table in the middle of his living room. "Order what you want."
"I always do. I always get what I want," Felicia answered automatically in a low rumble purr as she pocketed the phone - hers had all the apps and numbers programmed in, but it was a sweet thought - all in one motion, then paused and smiled, lopsided. "I'll get our usual Thai. I have a nice bottle of white that'd work, not to mention the better bed, with the better thread count, that will withstand what I'm planning on doing to you before I make you articulate feelings."
"You already replaced my sheets, Katze," he chuckled as he stood, conveying his gratitude with a long look and a brief kiss. "Did you think I could not tell?"
Felicia rolled her eyes affectionately. “I wasn’t sure, it’s not like you’d noticed you’d been sleeping on sandpaper previously. I like a full body exfoliation as much as the next person but it's really the type of thing that should be located to a high end spa."
Standing, she took the handgun from him, a quick click snap had it in it's case, and she had taken his hand and was leading him towards the door. "I think we need extra spring rolls tonight."
With a practiced kind of ease that probably should of worried her, Felicia settled into the bench at the back of the gun range. A specifically chosen pair of black ear muffs against the guns going off were already firmly in place, setting her short white blonde hair into a halo. She draped both her arms along the back of her seat and waited, strangely patiently, watching North at the end of the range.
He discharged an empty magazine, lined it up next to a dozen others and snapped a fresh one into his handgun, each movement impeccable, smooth and precise. Zero hesitation. Just a steady flow of motion as he levelled the weapon at his target and inhaled, a cluster of holes blooming on right shoulder of the human outline – a close mirror to the pattern on its left.
By the time the last bullet shell clinked onto the ground and the echo of sound from the shots died down, North had already turned, empty magazine in his palm as he repeated the motions.
Again.
Again.
And Again.
Until slowly, North lowered the smoking gun and punched the button to his right to recall what was left of the target.
She'd learned to wait. It didn't do to startle someone with a gun in their hands, but whether it was empty or not was not the deciding factor. This was not on her time or terms, and while it wasn't as if Felicia wouldn't rip the target from his hands and start beating with it given enough momentum, for now she was happy to lift a corner of her mouth, along with her hand, in greeting as he glanced her way.
"Hey," she mouthed at him.
The smile he responded with was small, barely a tick up at the corner of his lips. But the tiny splinter in his otherwise stoic expression was something, at least, and she could take full credit for it.
Dismantling the gun took a few moments, cleaning up the station several more. Then North settled himself in beside Felicia with a cleaning cloth and began to methodically wipe the weapon down as he waited - with far less patience than she had - for his heart to stop attempting to beat its way to freedom and for the muscles in his throat to unclench so he could speak with some degree of normalcy.
"Nice ear muffs."
"Thank you. They tried to give me the orange ones," she replied, having at one point slipped off the ear closer to him to hear. Her thumb made absent circles along the back of his neck, pretending to be an idle movement brought on by convenience of Felicia's arm already having been there. "Seriously. Neon orange. Platinum hair. I know, blah blah blah, ear protection, but I seriously can't help these people."
North glanced briefly at the pair of orange ear muffs he had left dangling on the edge of his station counter.
"It would look good on you regardless."
It was meant to be a compliment, but its delivery was a touch too flat to convey the intended playfulness. His forehead creased slightly as he looked back down at the gun barrel in his hands, the metal still hot to the touch.
“Hey,” Felicia murmured, turning her body to face him, the knee closest to him bending up and resting on his thigh. “I figure we can do this a couple ways, depending what level of terrible at emotions we’re feeling,” she continued at his lack of response, her usually flippant tone back, but quieter than usual. “Booze, sex, talking about what’s going on, or some combination of the three. I vote for at least two options, personally.”
He shot her an unreadable look, the curve on the corner of his lips making a brief reappearance. "I am fine," he paused, as though reevaluating his own statement. "A little hungry, perhaps." As he tended to be at all hours of the day since his powers changed those months back, and all the more unsurprising given that he had been at the range for more than five hours now. "But it would take a stronger man than I to turn down your first two offers," he finally concluded, cleanly sliding and snapping the pieces of his handgun together, a palm drifting to land on her knee.
Felicia made a warm humming noise, noncommittal in her belief of his initial statement, but fond. "Well, I can't have you fainting on me. Literally. You're heavy and I'll suffocate. We'll have to order food on the way there. Your place or mine?"
"Yours," he said, handing her his phone. There may or may not be a broken coffee table in the middle of his living room. "Order what you want."
"I always do. I always get what I want," Felicia answered automatically in a low rumble purr as she pocketed the phone - hers had all the apps and numbers programmed in, but it was a sweet thought - all in one motion, then paused and smiled, lopsided. "I'll get our usual Thai. I have a nice bottle of white that'd work, not to mention the better bed, with the better thread count, that will withstand what I'm planning on doing to you before I make you articulate feelings."
"You already replaced my sheets, Katze," he chuckled as he stood, conveying his gratitude with a long look and a brief kiss. "Did you think I could not tell?"
Felicia rolled her eyes affectionately. “I wasn’t sure, it’s not like you’d noticed you’d been sleeping on sandpaper previously. I like a full body exfoliation as much as the next person but it's really the type of thing that should be located to a high end spa."
Standing, she took the handgun from him, a quick click snap had it in it's case, and she had taken his hand and was leading him towards the door. "I think we need extra spring rolls tonight."
