Scott and Shinobi, Sunday evening

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Scott stops by to see Shinobi, who has a surprise for him and something of a grand plot for Halloween.



Spending money always helped make bad situations that little bit more tolerable that ensured no homicidal rampages would ensue. Which was, in theory, good - Shinobi really didn't want to beat anyone to death with his laptop, because then he'd be out a laptop, and he had a lot of work stored on that thing. So, what was a man to do? Spend money.

And then play with his new acquirements.

The door to his and Sam's suite was open, just enough for the somewhat nasal-sounding cackle to drift out into the hall, as Shinobi sat on the sofa with a plastic dinosaur in either hand and a baseball cap worn backwards on his head. "Mwa ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh!"

Out in the hall, Scott stopped, his hand half-raised to knock, and blinked as Shinobi proclaimed the evilness of his laugh. Well, crap, Scott thought wryly. He's snapped or something... "Okay if I come in?" he called. "Or are you torturing, um, someone, or something. I can come back if you're not done."

Shinobi blinked twice and looked back towards the door, dinosaurs poised to rip the plastic flesh from each others' plastic bones. Not that they had flesh. Or bones. "No, come on in," he called brightly, trying not to grin too widely as he set the toys aside and hopped to his feet. "I have something for you, anyway. I just hope I eyeballed the size right."

Scott pushed the door open. "You shopped for me?" he asked dubiously, then blinked at the dinosaurs. "Oh. New friends."

"They're going to protect my desk," Shinobi observed seriously, and scurried - yes, scurried - over to the kitchenette counter, so he could rummage in one of the several shopping bags currently residing there. "And I did, yes. Today's been insane in the bad way, so I've decided to counteract it with insane in the good way, and have begun plans for Halloween. I need to go see Paige next."

"Insane in the bad way... that's a nicely efficient way to put it..." Scott picked up one of the dinosaurs, examining it curiously. "Halloween, huh? I suppose it'll be upon us before we know it..."

Shinobi pushed a hefty shoebox aside and tugged a bundle from the shopping bag, nodding sagely. "It'll be fun if I have to ask Charles to ensure it with mind control. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of starting your costume for you." He grinned innocently, and offered the brown bundle. "I should take you out to buy the rest sometime. I didn't want to try without knowing your sizes."

Scott blinked again as he took the bundle and shook it out. "It's a coat," he said. "Umm... a very nice coat?"

"It is a coat," Shinobi agreed, absently reaching up to adjust his hat. "A very nice, brown coat." He paused a moment, thinking, then waved towards the couch questioningly. "If you're not busy, Scott, I could go grab Paige, and the three of us could watch the show I'm forcing you both into. It seems only fair."

Scott wandered over and sat down. "Not busy," he said. "In fact, I'm supposed to be resting, so watching TV is probably not such a bad idea." Sitting down was nice. The nagging headache had only gotten louder, with everything that had happened this morning, and his stomach was definitely unsettled today. "Did I mention that radiation poisoning sucks?" he asked Shinobi, laying the coat across the arm of the couch.

"I think that fact goes without saying," Shinobi mused, eyeing the shopping bags thoughtfully before turning towards his desk. Retrieve DVDs, then retrieve Paige. That made sense. Right? "How are you all recovering, anyway? I haven't wanted to crowd the doctors."

"Paul's going to be recovering for a while yet. Nathan and I will be fine - we weren't exposed to much, inside the jet." Scott took a deep breath, relaxing. "I'm glad Shiro at least was immune."

"To the radiation, if not over-exertion," he agreed, scooping the DVDs off of his desk and moving back towards the couch. "I'm thinking of offering him an ear, when he's out of medlab.. he's never had much trouble talking to me since, hey, Japanese." He paused as he offered the DVDs to Scott. "Well. Kind of."

"I'm sure that'd be good for him," Scott said, and then blinked at the picture on the front of one of of the DVD cases. "Ah-hah. Brown coat."

"Brown coat," Shinobi agreed, grinning and leaning against the back of the couch, before pointing to three others on the cover. "I'm going to be the pilot, and I got stuff for her together for Paige. I just need to see if I can bribe Sarah into this, now."

"Mm," Scott said, flipping through the DVD cases. "Sounds like fun, I guess..." He knew he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic, but he'd cooperate, and Shinobi could be enthusiastic for both of them.

"Trust me. It's fun, I assure you." Shinobi grinned wryly, tilting his head to one side. "Should I get Paige first, or popcorn, do you think?"

Scott started to push himself up off the couch. "Why don't I do one, and you do the other?" he offered.

Shinobi considered this. "Hm. Logical." He grinned, turning back towards the shopping bags. "I need to drop Paige's presents on her, anyway, so I'll handle that?"

Scott nodded. "And I'll make the popcorn. I make good popcorn," he claimed, heading in the direction of the kitchenette. "I mean, I know the microwave takes a lot of the challenge out of it, but still. Proper seasoning is an art."

"And the popcorn button is a worthy foe," Shinobi agreed, scooping up one of the bags with a well-hidden grunt. Damned boots were heavy.