xp_logs | Wanda and Doug, Thursday during the day

Because Doug Ramsey Hacker God dresses in jeans and t-shirts and Doug Ramsey Poker Shark doesn't, Wanda takes Doug shopping. They discuss his earring, his girlfriend, and his absolute lack of decent shoes. As always, Doug is a pop culture nut and makes quotes and mimics accents.

Malls were malls, Doug noted. You could probably predict in most of them exactly where certain stores were. Hot Topic, the food court and the typicals there, the middle-of-the-mall bookstore that had comfy chairs.

Malls in Las Vegas were not so different from malls in New York or Denver. And sitting in a comfy chair with overpriced coffee was a nice familiar comforting change from the last few days of intense computer work. Decaf coffee was a nice comforting change from the last few days of comptuer work too, he noted idly.

At least Angie wouldn't get upset about the clothes. It seemed, Doug thought, every time he got caught up in something like this, he ended up with even more of an expanded wardrobe. Mostly by way of necessity, in both this case and Asgard. Which really was not enough datapoints to compose a set, but it kept him from thinking about how stupid this plan was.

Or how pissed he was with Remy and that goddamn fake mustache.

Wanda popped out of the crowd balancing a small plate of food and a cup of tea in her hands. She would be grateful to get away from the hustle and bustle after they returned, she thought, suddenly longing for the outdoors. And not the fake trees that this mall seemed to love.

"You seem used to women dragging you around a mall and forcing you to try on clothes," she commented, settling down to dig into her food.

"Have you -met- my girlfriend?" Doug grinned. "She likes clothes. And shopping. And shopping for my clothes." He made a mock-woeful-face and shook his head. "And trying to get me to wear any number of things she's decided would look cute on me. Up to and including talking me into getting holes punched in my head." Okay, one hole. And it hadn't taken -that- much talking.

"So _that's_ how that came to be." She looked him over with a critical eye. "It does suit you. Angie is French, hence she probably has an innate fashion sense. I believe it is a mutant power of the French--either their fashion sense is so cutting edge that it is bleeding or it's so awful you wonder if they were beaten senseless with a ugly fashion stick."

For the first time in a few days, Doug laughed honestly. It went very quickly from a quiet snicker to full-blown head-on-the-table shoulder-shaking laughter. "That isn't that funny. Really. It isn't." He said, through gasps of air, then gave up and started laughing again.

It took a few long gulps of his coffee and many deep breaths before he could look Wanda in the eye without more hysterical snickering. "Sorry. I'm a little tense and jumpy. Emotions all over the place right now.. " he said, solemnly.

Wanda gave him a quiet grin. "More than understandable. It's good to be out of the casino for a while, to just be...us. And from what I understand about you and your talents--Scott has had me reading--the stress has to be even worse."

"All the ways this could possibly go wrong, and... " Doug tapped his chest lightly. "No kevlar this time if I'm an idiot again. I screw this up -once- and we're all dead in messy ways.." He sighed. "Last thing I want is for someone to have to tell Angie she was right -again-."

"Especially now." But she was not going to remind the poor boy that his girlfriend was at home, worrying. On top of being, apparently, completely nutters. "But this time you have people watching out for you. Aware of what is going on. For the most part anyway. I am trying not to worry but it is hard."

"I gave up trying not to worry. It interefered with my trying not to smother Remy in his sleep or trying not to tape Jubes' mouth shut." Doug quipped. "And I know Nate and Haroun and you will be watching- and - I .. guess the best word is trust, even if I don't want to call it that, Remy enough that if I screw this up, he'll find a way to pull me out if one of you don't.." He shrugged. "Still. Its one thing to bilk Jamie out of a bag of Reese's cups, or to know when Bobby's lying through his teeth about a good hand. Its another to do this in Vegas with a fake ID."

"So far, I think you and the rest of the students are doing a very good job," Wanda commented, killing the rest of her lunch. "With the exception of my wish to drop Jubilee in the nearest trench and my attempts to _not_ giggle whenever I see Remy, I think it is going as well as we can hope. We will get through this and then I foresee a good deal of drinking in most people's direct future."

Doug made a face. "Remy's not -bad-. He's just full of himself, I think." He couldn't really be too upset with Remy, not after he took care of Angie when Doug himself couldn't. "That being said, I'm -so- not fixing that email problem of his. He can suffer being Dreamy LeBlow, or whatever else it comes up with for a few more weeks." Doug scratched idly at his chin. "Just my quiet geek revenge. I didn't start it, but I'm not fixing it either."

There was a snort at that and she spent the next few seconds cleaning up her tea. "_That_ was revenge for the stick comment," she accused dryly, cough to clear her throat. "No, he is not bad. He is good at what he does and he knows it. A little too well. He just has a meeting with the lake thanks to that little crack he made in his journal about Cain and myself."

"If you dump Remy in the lake, I want pictures." Doug said. "Or live video." He thought for a minute, then grinned. "You know, give me enough advance notice and a webcam and I could put it on the journals as streaming movie files. "

"Oooo, now that would be worth it." There was an evil glint in Wanda's eyes that did not go away as she tossed away her plastic plate in the trash can next to them. "Now, why don't we discuss the possibilities of this while we finish shopping? And, really, I wish we had time to get you a hair coloring job..."

Doug covered his face with his hand. "I know, I know. I look silly. Platinum blond growing out to dirty blond. I -know-. I didn't think it would take this long to grow out." He sighed. "It could be worse, I guess. Not sure how, but I'm certain it could be worse.."

"It could be _black_ coloring that you decided on," she pointed out. "You could have decided to go as Angel. Or Nightwing."

"Say no more. Evil's still afoot, and I'm almost out of that nancyboy hairgel I like so much..." Doug managed to drag up enough willpower to stop himself before he finished the quote, but it was still mostly out of his mouth before he thought about it. "I would look -very- silly in blue spandex, thanks. Also, no escrima for me. Not in the game plan."

"Awwww." Grinning, Wanda tapped her fingers together. "Shirts are next. And then perhaps a new earring? Ooohh, this place will have some really good styles that would suit your frame and coloring, I think."

It was like shopping with Angie, only taller and scarier. "I like my earring." Doug pouted. It had been in there since he got home from Asgard, and he wasn't changing it. Mostly because he wasn't sure he could get it back in his ear later. He pushed his glasses back up on his nose and paused in mid-step. "Didn't bring my contacts. I should see if one of the places here can get disposable ones. "

The look she gave him was one of amusement. "Well, maybe you can find another one you like. Earring's are meant to be changed out, Doug, to, you know, match what you are wearing? And yes, contacts are a very good idea. Though it might be hard getting them under your current ID."

"If you're a girl, yeah. If you're a guy you wear the same earring forever. Its a rule. Guy code." Doug couldn't help but grin though. "Might lose my guy card for that. Don't tell anyone." He frowned for a moment and scratched his head. "Only other way is to get an eye exam. Do we have enough in the "Make me look less like a nerd and more like a college kid" fund for that?"

"Your secret is safe with me." Quickly, Wanda went over in her mind how much money they had spent so far and how much they were going to need to spend. "I believe we have enough. If not, I pulled some personal cash before we left and I will just get Xavier's to reimburse me the difference. Besides, when was the last time you got an eye exam?"

"September." Doug said. "Had to after Asgard. Four months with no glasses." He shook his head. "Mostly they're for reading anyway." He took a look at the mall map-and-store-list he'd grabbed when they came in. "There's a place not far from where we are now... " He hrmed thoughtfully, slowed his steps and then sped up, shoulders back and head a touch higher, matching Wanda's posture. "So, I suppose we are brother and sister for the next hour? Visiting your baby brother going to university in America?" He said with a grin, matching her accent nearly perfectly.

"You realize that is just downright creepy, correct, ~little brother~? But yes, that works well for this. It means I get to boss you around--I have years of missing my brother to catch up on." She flashed him a grin, mostly kidding about the teasing. "Glasses, then shirts and then we will just _look_ at the earrings. And shoes, those will not work with what you will be wearing. "

Doug grinned broadly. "Morbid and creepifying. I know." It took work, concentrating on the accent without the language itself, and the body language was even harder. "Not sure how long I can keep this up either. But it is good practice, since being 'me' in the casino's not going to work out at all." He glanced down at his shoes. "I had to pack fast, remember? not much time to think about bringing more than the sneaks."

"Right now, any practice any of us can get is a good thing." Wanda glanced down at his sneakers and sighed. "I knew there was a reason I was brought along, I did not think it was to be fashion consultant. I'm amazed Angie hasn't tried to throw those out yet. Let us get you a _real_ pair of shoes, yes?"