victormakesart | (no subject)

"I was kind of hoping to get to know the neighborhood a bit better," Jack says with a grin, to take any edge off Victor's inevitable self-flagellation for misunderstanding. He wasn't entirely clear, after all.

"Oh!" she chirps, sheepishly, her face heating a little, but she manages not to apologetically spazz out of her skin.

It's good to step out of your comfort zone sometimes. Outside on this world, without her mask, is way out of her zone. And with Jack and her unborn baby!

But she takes a deep breath, reminds herself not to be a paranoid shut-in. That's how supervillains are made.

"I, uh, I actually don't know many places around here, but Cole told me about a fro-yo place where you put your own fruit and candy in it and stuff."

"What's fro-yo?" Jack asks, trying not to sound clueless. But hey, he doesn't know, and you never learn until you ask. He's not embarrassed by his ignorance of twenty-first century slang... he's picked up a fair bit from Rose, but 'fro-yo' is a new one on him.

"It means 'frozen yogurt.' It's like ice cream but I guess the process of making it's a little different?" She scurries this way and that, looking for a good way to make herself invisible in a crowd. A big bowler hat, sunglasses.

"That makes sense." The only 'fro' he could think of is an ancient Earth hairstyle, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why you'd put candy and fruit in your hair.

Edited 2013-03-21 23:47 (UTC)

While a hair 'fro-yo' would be strangely delightful, no, it's not that sort of place.

Quickly, Victor checks her hands. The only noticeable scar there is on her palm, so she just needs to make sure to keep that one hidden; she doesn't need to wear gloves. "I think it's in walking distance."

"I'm up for a stroll," Jack says, flashing a smile and showing off those pearly whites.

Victor nabs the nearest cane, simple and black, nothing too flashy, and wraps a scarf around her neck (red and floral, to cover up her throat scar). "Me too!"

Jack needs to do nothing to prepare, since he is always at his most fabulous, and offers his arm to his very dear friend. And, of course, since it's Jack doing it, he holds no expectations that she somehow needs his support to get around, it's just for the sheer human comfort factor of being with another person and going out together. Touching is his drug of choice.

Victor doesn't usually need to do much preparation other than grab her backpack o' everything but going off, unmasked, onto her world is terrifying, and she needs all the protection she can get.

She likes contact, too, and she gives his shoulder a little kiss, and leads the way out of the apartment.

Jack's looking around everywhere as they go, like a tourist, and in some ways he really is. Every world is different, and so is every time, and he wants to be familiar with hers. After all, he'll be spending a good deal of time here over the next few months. "You seem nervous."

"I'm usually masked and costumed when I go out on this world. I rarely go outside here," she says, leaning up a little bit to make sure she answers extra quietly.

"Is it dangerous?" he asks, casting a more critical eye around their surroundings. He's gotten into trouble more times than he can count when a seemingly harmless planet had a big dirty secret out in the open.

"No more dangerous than any other world. It's not... quite safe to be a metahuman, but if... ah--" She urges him into an alley, checks for cameras and people who might have followed, murmurs into his ear, "If people knew that I'm Doc, knew what kind of technology I have access to, it wouldn't be safe for me."

"Why would they know that?" he asks.

"They could piece it together from the way I walk, the way I talk, the way I move-- the way I interact with people. If there's one thing I've learned, it's never underestimate the deductive power of the average person."

"I might have to teach you a few tricks about misdirection," he says, thinking. "Time Agents usually only get made if they want to be."

"I think I'm pretty good, but I could use some extra training that I didn't get from being paranoid."

"I think we can do lesson one now," he says with a grin. "Relax. People can see if you're tense and they'll wonder more about why that is. Just have fun."

She takes a deep breath that, in spite of herself, she ends up letting out shaky. "I don't seem relaxed?" she asks, with a wobbly half-laugh that shows that she's very, very aware of the fact that she doesn't.

He puts an arm around her in a partial hug, warm and very Jack. "Don't worry. You're with the captain."

Victor does something she rarely ever does, in that moment. She lets someone else have control of the situation. She's with Jack. It'll all be fine. She leans into the hug and finally, for the first time in much longer than she'd like to admit, she relaxes.

He gives her a squeeze, then begins leading her back out onto the sidewalk, keeping his arm around her. The warmth of his closeness is like a security blanket, and he oozes confidence, enough for the both of them.

Slowly but surely, her pounding heart stops being the only thing she can hear. The sounds of the city filter in... not just her sharp-for-danger listening, but real listening. She feels her face, hot and flushed, begin to cool down. She walks with him.

"Now, which way to 'fro-yo'?" he asks with a grin, saying it like it's some sort of exotic foodstuff, and to him it might as well be. Having a destination will also help take her mind off the people around them.