33 Apocalpyse Avenue, Tuesday.

[icecoldfrost]

Emma was packing.

Well, no, that was a lie. Emma had attempted to pack. Emma had her suitcases open on the bed in her room and stuff flung everywhere. There was a trail of things she'd dropped all over the hallway, from where she'd rescued them from Jack's room or the room they shared, or the kitchen, or-- but she just didn't understand how so many of her things from New York had ended up here, or how much she'd had here in the first place, or how she was supposed to get it all to fit back into two suitcases. No matter what she did, she couldn't make it fit, and it was driving her up the wall.

Which meant it was time for a break, before she started making lists and color-coding things, or ended up just donating everything but her favorites and going shopping to distract her from her own brain. Emma had grabbed her sword and headed out to the front yard, taking up a stance amongst the other residents of their address. Footwork drills without knocking anyone over, and then attacks to see how many she could 'kill' before they reappeared the next day.

It was rather soothing, actually, the way the damn things kept coming back. No matter how the residents of 33 Apocalpyse Avenue changed, the zombie gnomes stayed the same.

[OOC: Open house, open post!]

Comments

[bitten_notshy]

"Are som eof those going back to New York with you?" Jack asked, in a firm, not-going-to-admit-I'm-sad-about-this kind of voice. "I wouldn't mind. Just dont't take Penny there, she's my favorite."

[icecoldfrost]

"Of course not. Could you imagine the panic if they started multiplying and then reappearing after everyone trashed them?" Emma said, shaking her head as she stepped around Penny to extend her sword in a downward sweeping arc to stab Muertos Gnome in his tiny eye. "It would all get blamed on mutants, and zombie lawn gnomes will have destroyed the social scene."

[bitten_notshy]

"And that would be the end of your career as a social climber," Jack said, mock-rueful. "Better they stay here where nobody cares."

[icecoldfrost]

"And the end of all commerce in New York as the mundane population becomes terrified to leave their homes, causing a worldwide economic crash and a genocide of gnomes everywhere," Emma agreed. "They're safer here, for the sake of their un-undead comrades."

She pulled her sword out of Muertos to walk over and give Jack a kiss. "Besides, I need someone to keep an eye on you and tattle when you get in trouble. I can't read squirrel, so I bribed the gnomes."

[bitten_notshy]

"You could just ask me, you know," Jack laughed, once he pulled away from the kiss. "I'm even more reliable than the gnomes. And anyhow, sometimes I miss you a little bit."

By which he meant 'all the time' and 'a lot.'

[icecoldfrost]

"I do ask you, but sometimes you leave out bits that you think are unimportant, or might worry me for 'no reason,'" Emma pointed out cheerfully. "Because this is Fandom."

And trauma liked to drop in for breakfast sometimes.

"You won't have long to miss me, I'll be back for Homecoming at the latest, but I *do* have to actually spend some time in New York." Emma slid the fingers of her free hand into his hair to brush it away from his face. "I promise, you aren't going to have time to miss me, darling. You'll finally realize you've stopped finding my heels in impossible places, and I'll be back again to steal your blankets."

[bitten_notshy]

"This is Fandom," Jack agreed, a laugh in his voice. "All right. I'll hold you to that, by the way. If you don't come back to steal my blankets I will pout horribly."

[icecoldfrost]

"You can always sic Candy on me, or show up yourself and sweep me off my feet to show me what I'm missing," she promised. "--you can steal all my blankets, and I won't complain."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack smiled at her, trying to keep on an even keel. "Speaking of sweeping you off your feet," he said. "There is one -- well, a proposition I'd like to make before you go."

He'd been meaning to have this conversation with her for months, and it had never seemed like the right time. He wasn't sure this was it, either, but it was better he do it before he lost his nerve.

[icecoldfrost]

"Oh?" Emma blinked, interested. "Is this about our casino? Or some new and interesting plan? I do like it when you get devious."

Emma, for a telepath, you are very very good at being willfully blind.

[bitten_notshy]

"Sadly this is something terribly traditional," Jack informed her, and swallowed hard. "I'll be done with school in another year and a bit. When I finish I'd like to move to your New York."

A beat.

"And I'd like to do it as your fiance."

He wasn't ready to get engaged yet. Engaged to be engaged, though? He could do that.

[icecoldfrost]

"Wait, what?" Congratulations, Jack. After years of teaching Emma to not eavesdrop on every single stray thought of yours, you've finally surprised her.

Her sword clattered to the ground, forgotten, and her eyes searched his face as she reached for one of his hands. She just...needed the contact. Needed to know if he actually meant this. "Jack, I can't ask you to give up your world for me. You just spent the last few years specializing in Supernatural Law... what about going into practice? I know this is just as important to you as mutant rights is to me."

She wasn't saying 'no' to the engaged to be engaged part, mind you. But Emma didn't want Jack to end up resenting her for the rest of their lives.

[bitten_notshy]

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know anybody who could make my degree valid there?Jack asked, trying to make his voice light even as his eyes were serious. He noticed that she hadn't said no to the proto-engagement, so that was ... some kind of victory, anyhow. "Seems like mutants need my help as much as things that go bump in the night do."

He took her hands in his, tilting his head as he weighed exactly what to say. "Emma, the way I look at it is that if we don't want to give up each other, one of us is going to have to give up our world sooner or later. You've got more to accomplish in yours than I do in mine. And nobody's going to force us to stay in your New York forever, if it comes to that."

[icecoldfrost]

"You mean it." It was small and bewildered, and more than slightly broken confused. "You actually mean it."

Emma didn't have the best history when it came to other people. Everyone left: her mother, her brother, Val, Rose, Alex, Triela, Sookie, Ino, Peter, Kerrigan... everyone who really mattered went away. That was just how the world worked, and she had half-expected Jack to eventually choose the Bump in the Night over her. She always had.

This? Emma didn't really know how to process this. "You actually mean it," she repeated, this time with dawning comprehension, and she wavered on her feet slightly. "You're serious."

Please give her a moment to compute, Jack. You just broke the telepath, and she's not sure if she's supposed to kiss you senseless or start laughing hysterically at herself or both.

[bitten_notshy]

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't, darling," Jack told her. "I lie, but not to you. And not about something this enormous."

He leaned in, trying to comfort her with little caresses however he could. A broken telepath was a sad thing. "Look, if you need time to think --"

[icecoldfrost]

Emma let him steady her, shutting her eyes and breathing in to calm the thousand questions swirling about her brain. "You want to be engaged to be engaged," she said finally, managing a small smile. "And people say I'm the high maintenance one."

[bitten_notshy]

"You are," Jack informed her easily. "Which is why I'm not signing up to plan a wedding with you just yet. We should wait until we can have one that's worthy of us."

[icecoldfrost]

This time the giggles did get the best of Emma. "Is it possible for any wedding to ever be worthy of us?" she asked. "We could be forty and still waiting for the fabulous-ness to catch-up."

"You could hate me by the time we're fifty. You could hate me by the time we're thirty."

None of this was a no.

Emma finally opened her eyes and let go of his hands to drape her arms over his shoulders. "You're serious," she checked, yet again. "No gremlin bites, no concussions?"

Though Jack might have a hard time answering verbally, as Emma had finally decided on the 'kiss him senseless right there in the front yard' route.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack wasgoing to inform her that he was not influenced by gremlin bites, concussions, or drugs or alcohol, and had slept eight hours and eaten a balanced breakfast ... but he couldn't, because she was kissing him and he was kissing her back.

That was better than banter.

[icecoldfrost]

The first time he'd confessed his love for her, he'd had a gremlin-induced concussion. He could hardly blame her for asking.

But kissing was much better than banter, at least in this instance. Emma was also rather sure it made a much more emphatic 'yes.'

"You're insane," she managed once they finally had to break for air. "I need to think about the how? And when? But--" Another kiss, in place of a verbal 'yes.'

"We should go inside. Now."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack blinked, befuddled by her ability to kiss the words right out of him after all these years.

"We should," he said, swallowing hard to clear his throat. "We don't need to give the gnomes and the neighbors a show."

He squeezed her hand. "Besides, we have a few things to talk about now."

[icecoldfrost]

Emma rolled her eyes as she - reluctantly - let go of him long enough to retrieve her sword from the ground. "We can talk later," she told him, standing up and brushing the dirt off her poor baby. That had been no way to treat her sword, but Emma was rather sure she'd had a good reason for her shock. "I'm not leaving until Wednesday, and right now I need some private time with you."

Even if it was just to curl up and fall asleep from the mental exhaustion of the roller-coaster she'd just been on. More kissing was preferred, but quiet time would also be acceptable.

[bitten_notshy]

"Then we can have all the private time you need," Jack promised. "Actually, a est and a cuddle sounds good to me too."

He was still readjusting. He'd more than half expected her to say no.

[icecoldfrost]

If she'd had an inkling of what was coming, then she would have than half expected herself to say no out of self-preservation instinct. Jack had completely caught her off-guard, and thus achieved victory.

Emma was now going to be grumpy about staying out of his head, at least for today. ONE surprise was more than enough, thanks, she wanted warning if he got anymore bright ideas.

"I don't plan on getting out of bed for at least the next few hours," she said, giving him a little smirk. "I bet I can persuade you to stay there with me."

Totally Dirty.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack smirked right back at her. "I'm not sure," he teased. "Eric sent over a big manila envelope this morning. It looked important."