xp_logs | Hank, Paige, way too early Wednesday morning

Paige finds a present on her pillow very early in the morning, and guesses at once who must have left it. She goes to thank him, and helps him work his coffee machine. They have a little bonding moment.

Her hair was smooth and shiny and pale-blonde. Her eyes were blue, her nose cutely turned up just a little, her smile wide and friendly. She wore stylish pleather pants, a short jacket, and a skimpy t-shirt with a tiny bat on it. Her boots, though high-heeled, were clearly made for trampling her enemies in an efficient and stylish way. By her feet lay a backpack, filled with the tools of her trade... in one graceful hand, she held a small plastic stake.

Lying in state on Paige's pillow, still protectively cocooned in her box, Buffy The Vampire Slayer Barbie (TM) smiled up at the ceiling with a serene plastic smile. She had taken a long time to arrive, but at last she was here.

Still toweling dry her hair, Paige didn't notice the steady drip-dripping down her neck for several moments. She'd just emerged from her shower following her morning run and was moving to the bed to put on her socks when she'd found the treasure. Buffy had certainly not been there when she'd left, and only one person knew of Paige's very secretly love/hate relationship with the Slayer...

Hank was doing what he generally did at that hour of the morning, which was staring at his little coffee-maker. Every morning he gazed at it, weighing the fact that he could make coffee without leaving his room, against the fact that the coffee downstairs was already made and would not require him to program anything. Most mornings, the coffee downstairs won. This time, though, the deliberation was interrupted by a thundering of little sock feet coming towards his door. Miles? Too heavy. Madelyn? Too fast. The Pink Panther? Too corporeal...

"Hank! Hankhankhankhank Hank!" Paige shrieked, flailing madly as she skidded to a stop in front of his down. Lifting a loose fist she surprisingly lightly rapped on his door, considering how loud she'd been getting to him. Paige was a morning person. She was also an evening person, however. Essentially she was an all hours of the day person. It was a conundrum, especially when sleep became involved. Practically wiggling with joy, Paige waited to see if he dared open the door.

Hank opened the door and smiled down at her. "Found her already?" He'd dragged himself out of bed at this ungodly hour precisely to surprise Paige with the special limited edition Buffy Barbie (which had taken a long time to acquire), and he was glad she seemd to have liked it. "I know she's very late for a Christmas present, but-"

"She's fantastic!" Paige interrupted, launching herself at him for a giant hug. Her arms didn't quite reach around him, but she did manage a tight grip anyway. "Thank you so much, you are wonderful, thank you, I love it!"

Hank beamed... a little blearily... and hugged back. "Well, I saw her and thought of you," he said affectionately. "Not that I'm in any way attempting to foster the shocking Buffy addiction that I so cruelly inflicted on you." Paige was so grown up, in so many ways, and so endearingly child-like still in others... he'd thought she'd like the toy, adult or not.

"No, of course not, you cruel man who had me speaking in Buffyisms for months," Paige teased, still grinning widely. Being thought of, having gone from having a huge family at home to an even larger one at the mansion, was extra special these days, and this was completely unexpected. The best kind of gift, in her opinion. "She will go right on the shelf beside my desk. She's so very pretty, don't know if I even want to take her out of the box, but thank you. Again."

"You're welcome." He gave her another gentle hug, and waved her inside. "Come in. I will consider myself suitably thanked if you work my coffeemaker for me..." He gave her his best helpless puppy expression. "It's too complicated until I've had coffee... it's a flaw in the design, obviously."

Paige followed him in, closing the door behind her with an easy shove of her hip. Her hair was still quite damp, but she took care of that by pulling it up into a pony tail as she walked over to the coffee maker, glaring fiercely as if daring it to defy her. "Silly. That's why you get a timed coffee maker. You set it for the approximate time you wake up and you have coffee all ready and waiting for you in the morning," Paige said reproachfully, stabbing at a few buttons before deciding perhaps a filter was needed. "I don't drink coffee and even I know that."

"I always forget," Hank admitted. "And then I usually just go down to the kitchen and get some that's already made." He yawned, running a hand through hair that probably still looked like a bird's nest. He hadn't managed a shower yet, either. "We haven't really had a chance to talk, what with one thing and another, since I came back after New Years," he said seriously. "How are you doing? Really."

"My boyfriend is a ball of glowing light. That's not going to get any easier until he's, well, not," Paige replied in a strangely straightforward tone. She was too busy mastering the coffee maker to dance around with her words. "That's not something time is just going to make better, nor ignoring it, contrary to my own actions. But I'm enjoying my classes, the ones at the college are great and I'm getting to do missions now, you know. So it's not unbearable all the time at least."

"If it makes you feel any better, Moira and I think we may finally have a handle on why he's not able to reform his body," Hank said softly. Had they told her? If not, they should have... "We're not sure how to fix it, yet, but we have a place to start, now."

Paige looked over her shoulder at him, smiling a little. "I knew you would. I'm not blaming you, Doc. I know you guys are working 'round the clock on this and you're the best. Just a shoddy situation to be in in the first place, that's all, especially when there's nothing I can do." The coffee maker made a little beep and she returned to it, fiddling with some more buttons until she was content before straightening up, brushing off her hands. "No hand to hold and no one who needs it held anyway."

Hank nodded. "Should you ever need a hand... or a hug... you know Moira and I are always here for you, right?" he said gently. "We can only imagine how hard this must be for you." And... well, he still wasn't quite clear on how the whole thing between Jono, Paige, and Angelo worked, but she did seem genuinely devoted to both of them, at least.

Paige smiled again, nodding. "I know. You guys are the best, as I said; we're so lucky to have you. I just don't do the whole woe is me please shelter me from the angst that is my life thing very well, especially in comparison to most of the people here," she replied, surprising even herself with her blunt words. She had no idea where that had come from. There was a blink before she continued. "But Buffy made my day. Really. Sun through the clouds on a rainy day sort of happiness, right here, from me. Thank you."

"I would never dream of trying to shelter you from anything," Hank said firmly, knowing she'd bite him if he tried. "But... as a friend, I am here for you. If ever you need me, or just want to talk." He smiled, reaching over to pat her hand. "And I'm very glad you liked her."

Something lit up in her eyes before turning slightly damp. Paige took the hand but only to pull herself to him for another hug, very content to just stay there for a moment. Something in his words, in their words, had been so perfect she thought she might cry but for the fact that she was so happy. She'd needed this. "Thank you. I seem to be saying it a lot, but most of all right now, thank you."

He hugged her gently, smoothing her damp hair. "You're very welcome," he said gently. "I promised all of you that I'd be here for you, from now on... and that especially goes for you, since I cruelly inflicted Buffy-addiction upon you, and therefore am now clearly responsible for your mental wellbeing." He smiled down at her. "I know you don't need to be shielded from the world, but being supported a little now and then is something everyone needs, including me. I'll be here for you, I promise."

"That means... a lot," she answered quietly, smiling into his fur. "You're doing so much for me, what with the Buffy mind melting, and the teaching, and Jono, thank you so much for Jono, and now this. I'm going to get all girlie and teary if you're not careful. You'll have to perform brain surgery to get me back to the way I was and I hear that's somewhat dangerous."

"No brain surgery required... I'd just fill you with caffiene and watch some of the fight-scene-heavy Buffy episodes with you. Fix you right up." He smiled, patting her back gently. "Although if you ever do feel like getting all girly and teary, I promise I wouldn't tell anyone."

Paige made a face at the implication of caffeine, but it was quickly followed by a grin. "Sounds like a plan. All of it, even if you did imply I was a hyper yet violent blonde girl." Lightly poking him with an oddly sharp fingernail she drew back, continuing. "Now, as fun as this is, if I stay much longer my entire morning schedule is going to be thrown off and then people end up dying by my snarly wrath. Catch you at dinner tonight?"

"Of course." He looked over and brightened. "And coffee's coming out of the little coffee machine! This is a good thing. I need my coffee."

"What can I say? I am a beverage making genius!" Paige remarked, posing in the doorway accordingly. "Oh, and for tonight, look for a hyper yet violent, beverage making blonde girl throwing potatoes at you because beside her, looking innocent, will be me. Later!"