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She supposed she should have seen it coming. She should have known exactly what kind of remark or question would be thrown her way and yet, when he asked, the brunette couldn't quite help the widening of her eyes and the hand swatting in his direction.
"What, no!" She said, her voice hushed. She was hardly a creature that sought out physical contact and 'boinking' anyone hardly seemed appropriate at this time in her life. Well, she'd told her something similar four years ago and she hadn't exactly listened then either. Still, her reaction seemed fitting nonetheless.
"Not this time, anyways." She added quietly, under her breath as she turned away, hoping he hadn't caught it. She was a terrible liar by nature, after all.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
In some ways, the redhead reminded her a bit of Jack. A less crazy, more rational version, granted. It had her smiling warmly at the redhead. She supposed she too, like many others, had a type of people she felt more inclined to gravitate towards. Like with Jack, she didn't feel shy at all towards this girl.
"I can tell." She chuckled, waiting for the girl to finish listing all the kinds of nuts she liked. Though she didn't deem it important to know, she was, by nature, a polite creature.
"I collect furbies." She offered. "You know, those owl-like creatures that talk?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She supposed she could understand where he was coming from, though wouldn't it be more beneficial for him to study something along the lines of psychology? She didn't voice her opinion, of course. It didn't seem like it was her place to ask, after all and she'd never been one to push.
Tapping the tips of the fork against her lower lip, she hummed. "Oh, I do enjoy it." She did - or had learned to, anyways. "But that aside..." She pondered his question for a moment, taking a bite from the pancakes. Chewing, her head tilted. "But I'd say it'd be different if I didn't, though, I think I would deem it worthy. Eventually." She offered him a single shoulder shrug. "But I say that with the wisdom of hindsight." She pointed out.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She could see the internal struggle clear as day in his eyes. She couldn't even begin to think of reasons behind it. Sure, Jack had always been weird, but he'd never been one to have a filter. He often, if not always, spoke his mind about everything. To see him struggle so was... Interesting, she supposed. It made her curious.
However, as the words passed his lips, the brunette didn't connect the words to their true meanings. At least not right away. She stared blankly at him before her brows furrowed.
"Oh." She said, turning her gaze away. There was a lot of things the brunette could have said. There was a lot of things she should have said. Instead, the first thing that popped into her mind was the first thing she said; "I'm already going on a date with someone."
She looked at him then. She couldn't help but to ask. "When? How long?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She was about to answer, though was cut off as she heard the voice of her father from the hallway. A sigh, followed by a smile and the brunette pushed herself out of the couch.
"Yeah, sure." She called back, green eyes turning to the blonde. Her smile widened. She jerked her thumb back towards a door at the back of the living room. "Open that door and you'll find out." She stepped to the side, allowing him room to pass her if he decided to take the bait.
She supposed it was silly, really. It wasn't much of a big deal, though she wouldn't mind seeing his expression when opening the door to find the hyperactive fennec fox pet her father kept. Who, apparently, only liked her father, too. The feeling was mutual, though, so she supposed she couldn't be too mad.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Nothing new there." She quipped at him with a smile. She'd never not treat him like her younger brother. She didn't think that was a trait she'd ever be able to toss away, even if he was both taller and stronger than she was. It was her virtue as being the older sibling, after all.
"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes at him, pushing at his back as he started moving. She caught the look he tossed her way and offered him a simple shrug. While she often took care of him, he did the same for her. Whether he wanted to admit to it or not.
Fifteen minutes passed slower than what she had expected them to. She'd grown restless and angsty, which made her distracted. She couldn't quite shake the feeling of dread. She could only hope that whoever had been chasing her brother, wasn't out there somewhere, waiting.
Opening the door to the staff lounge, the brunette peeked her head inside. "Ready?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Luxanna had always envied those who seemed to have it all figured out. And while that might not be the case, Luxanna didn't even know what she wanted to do with her life. What did she want to study? What did she want to work as? What made her happy? She had no idea. She just went with the motions of life.
"Can I see?" She asked then, gesturing towards the sketchbook. Her mother had loved to draw and while she'd never been good at it, she'd taught Luxanna to appreciate art. "As long as you don't mind, of course." She didn't want to bother the girl, after all. Nor did she want to impose. She knew that some artists were incredibly secretive about their works, whether it came from a place of low self esteem or not.
Still, she was curious.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Luxanna could understand where Clarke was coming from. She too had a habit of sticking to the things she knew. The things that made her feel comfortable. It was only during the past few years that she'd even attempted at broadening her horizons. She had ways to go still, but she was getting there.
"A creature of habit." She noted, smiling. "I can get behind that." She reached down and pulled out a bowl and a bag of peanuts. She poured the peanuts into the bowl and held it out to the redhead.
"The salt will help too."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"It's not going to be nearly as bad as you think." She promised. Their father was a logical man and while she knew he didn't want his children getting into trouble, he could hardly be disappointed for what his son had done. Mad, perhaps, but not disappointed. While it had been stupid of Colby, it hadn't been a bad thing to do. It had come from a good place, after all.
A soft smile caressed the brunette's lips as she looked at her brother. He'd grown up right before her eyes and while she still looked at him like he was a reckless fourteen year old, he was considered an adult now. "I know." She grinned back at him, a hand coming out to ruffle at his hair.
She helped her brother when he made the motion to get up. "We do, yeah." She said, nodding towards the door leading to the staff lounge. She reached for her pocket, pulling out the key for her locker. "There should be some towels in my locker. Get yourself cleaned up." There even was a shower in there if he needed it.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Whatever you say." She laughed. She still couldn't see it, but she was aware enough to know that she was biased. Still, she wouldn't miss out on the chance at prodding at Damian's ego. She couldn't help it and a few years ago, she would have felt bad about it. Now, though... Now she didn't. "Sissy." She added under her breath.
When he booped her nose, the brunette wrinkled it. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she drew back with a sigh. "I would never judge you. You know that." She wasn't sure if she was truly capable of it. She didn't understand the social nature of people enough to judge. She had spent most of her life apart from the rest. Apart from the masses. She'd never been one to have a lot of friends. She'd stuck to the few that had taken her in, and while she wasn't about to complain, they hadn't taught her a lot about people. What she knew, she'd figured out on her own. And it wasn't enough for her to understand why people did the things they did.
"If you stop calling me baby, sure." Still, she reached for the fridge and pulled out another beer for him. While Jack had been her best friend, Damian had always been the one she'd felt like she could talk to. Even more so than her father. "He's back." She stated simply, objectively. She wondered if he'd even remember. While she hadn't told Damian much about Carter, she was certain she'd gotten across how confused he'd made her feel. Carter had made her question so many things about life, she had figured that at the time, it had been worth mentioning it to Damian before he'd left. Even briefly so.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She chuckled; "Only you would call this town humble." Stagfort was much, much larger than what Kalispell had ever been. It had a lot more mutants, too.
Still, she supposed it couldn't be compared to where he was from. Wherever that was.
She leaned back again, fingers combing lazily through her brown locks. "I think I like the idea of it more than the place itself." Aside from her family, she had little reason to be here. The place hardly mattered.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Though she was hardly one to scold people for these things, she couldn't help it. People talking or feeling badly about themselves had never sat well with the brunette, and she always felt the urge to speak up about it. She wasn't one who understood jokes easily. Especially not self deprecating ones.
The brunette's expression softened into a smile and she pursed her lips. "Oh, well. Good." She shrugged sheepishly.
It was still nice to see that people still had enough self control to know when it was time to stop drinking. Ironically, it was much rarer than one would expect. Pouring the glass with water and ice, she handed it back over. She even added a slice of lemon to this one, too. At least it made the flavor less... Watery.
"Did you drive here?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She couldn't quite help the laugh that escaped her lips: She'd never understand how someone could find her father scary, but then again, they probably didn't know him the way she did. To her, he was a caring and loving father. To them, well. He was a cop. A detective. A formidable person. "He's not terrifying." She reached her hand out to poke at the tip of his nose. "You're just a sissy."
Leaning forward, she crossed her arms over the bar top. She stared at him directly, head tilted. "How would you want me to look at you then?" She already knew the answer to it, though, he'd likely offer it jokingly. She was hoping to surprise him with her sudden brashness. She was usually the timid one of the two, after all. Besides, if he could joke, so could she, right?
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She couldn't help but to laugh, though she was tempted to scold him. "Yeah, maybe she would." She wasn't sure how she felt about her brother being old enough to seek women out in this kind of manner. She could still remember him being thirteen and awkward. Somewhere along the line he'd grown up into a proper young adult. "Only one way to find out." She offered.
She watched him as he debated with himself. Though, he didn't outwardly speak the words, she could see that her reasoning settled within his mind. She smiled softly at him, tempted to ruffle his hair, but bit down on the temptation. "Yeah, I am." She laughed. "And yes, he would." She added. Besides, they hadn't been raised to treat their father with such little respect they felt the need to lie. It wasn't what their mother would have wanted, either. Besides, their father would respect them more for their honesty.
"Oh, I don't mind." She said, shrugging. In truth, she really didn't. She always had time for her family. That was a thing that would never change. After all, they'd always been her number one priority. They always would be. Still, she could see that he was worried about going home alone. "Hey." She said, looking at the watch on her hand. "Why don't you head over to the staff room. My shift ends in twenty minutes. We can walk home together."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Her first instinct was to brush him off like she often did when the spotlight was on her, but for once, she didn't. Even she knew that she'd changed. If not much, at least a little.
"I could say the same for you, you know." Still, she shrugged. It was easy for her to change the direction of the light. It was second nature by now.
She wondered if he was even aware of how much he'd changed. How, from what she'd seen, he often went home alone. Or maybe that was her perception of it. Maybe she hadn't paid enough attention.
It made her curious to find out. But she didn't dare ask. Maybe she didn't really want to know.
