ic Head Case (IC)

[Fox]

"Have a lot of libido to catch up with," Mara defended, grumbling. There wasn't much ire in her voice, though, and she kicked the pants back off on her way toward the bedroom bathroom. "And still older than you," she added, poking Ellie in the side as she passed. "Would have showered when I got back, anyway. Mmh. Fine. Coffee's near the machine, easy to use. Custom design, but meant to be started while groggy."

She paused, blinked, and stuck her head back out the bathroom door, half-dressed and gesturing with one hand. "Mmh! Don't push the yellow button, though. Not...a finished feature. Would probably blow a valve." The head disappeared again, and she could be heard humming to herself as she started the water.

[Gizmo]

"Hey, who's complaining?" Ellie noted with a wry smirk. "I'm still taller than you," she added, responding to the poke with a gentle hip check. Gathering up her clothes, she started redressing in time to toss her towels at Mara's head when it poked back out of the bathroom. "If I blow myself up, you're going to feel pretty silly, y'know." Making her way downstairs, she proceeded to find that the coffee maker really was impressively intuitive, then went about preparing some breakfast. She'd been a little worried that the night before had been a step that would drastically change things, but if the worst of it was a happily humming girlfriend, she supposed she'd just have to soldier on.

[Fox]

Mara almost lost herself in the warm comfort of her shower - the shower she'd had to install and lay piping for herself, she remembered with no small satisfaction - but the delicious smell of fresh coffee wafting up from the kitchen snapped her out of it and she finished the rest of her shower as quickly as she could, drying off and wriggling into the first clean jeans and t-shirt she could lay hands on to make her way downstairs before the food had to sit around for too long. Still quietly humming, she didn't really talk - for the moment, she seemed awfully happy to just hold a cup of warm caffeine and enjoy what was clearly the best morning she'd had in...ever.

[Gizmo]

Having poked around in the kitchenette's cupboards a bit, Ellie had settled on simple toast spread liberally with peanut butter as sufficiently quick to prepare and eat. Setting the plates down on the counter, she gave the newly showered Mara a brief hug from behind. "Hee, you're cute when you're happy," she laughed. "Luckily you're cute when you're grumpy, too, or we might have a problem." Stepping around to the other side of the counter, she retrieved her own cup and plate, pausing for a pensive moment before continuing. "At the risk of damaging the happy-cute, do you want to talk about the stuff with your dad? We don't have to if you don't."

[Fox]

Her face fell, but at least Mara didn't panic again - having things more or less out in the open made all the difference. She hesitated, though, and her hands tightened around her mug while she bit her lip and turned things over in her mind. "Don't...want to. Necessarily. But should. Especially if it becomes a...problem. And deserve to know anyway."

She sighed, pulling herself up to sit on the counter. "Not...sure where to start. Long version? Short version? Questions?"

[Gizmo]

Ellie's heart sank as the smile slipped from Mara's face. "Aw, cariño, I shouldn't have brought it up again," she apologized regretfully. "I'll tell you what, I want to hear everything, but it should wait until neither of us has anywhere we need to be, and you can take your time." She reached over to brush the inventor's cheek across the counter. "Just remember none of it's going to change a thing about the way I feel about you, which... well, I mean, I think you probably know." Her cheeks flushed a little as she withdrew her hand to cradle her mug.

[Fox]

Mara blushed, biting her lip a little and shifting on the counter as the ghost of a smile came back. "Is...very nice to hear. Shouldn't have worried about it, but couldn't help it. Feelings...have a fairly good idea. I think. May need reminding soon," she added wistfully, before going serious again and shaking her head. "And....is okay. Needed to come out anyway; really is something you deserve to know. Later, then. Without daily commitments or...emotional roller coasters, even if they lead to wonderful things."

[Gizmo]

"Reminding, huh?" Ellie laughed as she placed her pieces of toast together in a sandwich. "Guess I'll just have to make sure you never get a chance to forget. Hope it's okay I borrowed a top," she switched topics, smoothing the light blue t-shirt with one hand while she ate. The garment would have been a little baggy on Mara, so it fit the taller girl well enough. "Getting dropped off at school by my motorcycle riding girlfriend in yesterday's clothes wouldn't do anything good for my reputation."

[Fox]

Snagging a piece of toast, Mara nibbled on it while her brain turned that one over. "No. Probably not. Politics...something I'm glad I missed. Sorry. Should have thought of it." She frowned, thoughtfully, and added, "Could drop you off nearby...minimize chances of gossip. Welcome to borrow anything you like, of course. Clothing, I mean. Not..." She gestured vaguely at the warehouse's shelves and benches full of widgets and whatnots. "Maybe best if you ask first, for those. Don't always do what they look like they do. Not always finished. Some just awaiting destruction."

[Gizmo]

"But if you did that, how could I show off my motorcycle riding girlfriend?" Ellie inquired with a broad grin she concealed poorly behind a sip of coffee. "Seriously, though, I'm not going to pretend I'm embarrassed of you. People can think whatever they want," she declared more seriously, setting the mug back down. "I just meant that I don't want to seem like I'm flaunting it. Gotta leave a little mystery." Regarding the shelves of half-finished projects Mara was indicating, she raised an eyebrow. "Why is so much of the stuff in here potentially explosive?"

[Fox]

"Mmh?" Mara blinked, glancing back at her shelves. "Mmh. Isn't. ...usually. Meant intentional destruction. By me." She frowned, looking at assorted half-finished projects, though at least those were outnumbered by larger machines that'd been stripped for parts. "Would mostly just...fizzle. Spark, burn out, do nothing...try not to keep power sources in anything dangerous. Coffee maker's...a minor exception. Steam pressure. Working on that. Should probably disconnect the yellow button, for now."

"Those," she continued, gesturing at an array of items and similar-looking silver or black cases arranged on a shelf just for them (and in a suspiciously tidy manner), "are major exceptions. Would take explaining we're...saving for later. Mostly awaiting being broken down or destroyed. Usually dangerous. Best left alone."

[Gizmo]

Ellie regarded the neatly stacked cases, chewing thoughtfully. "Off limits, then. Fair enough." With what she already knew, it didn't take much to infer what was likely sitting there, waiting to be disposed of safely. There was no question that Mara's inventive genius was capable of creating some truly dangerous weapons, but seeing the physical proof of the engineer's resolve to prevent the terrible things she'd been forced to build from causing any more damage, the medic felt a stab of mixed emotions she had trouble putting a name to. Shifting upright, she placed a quick peck on her girlfriend's cheek. "Just 'cause," she explained as she resumed her breakfast.

[Fox]

Mara was content to eat breakfast with her girlfriend in peace for a little bit, or at least until the silence in the warehouse started eating away at her attention span. odd - never used to do that - company makes the difference? - something to get used to - worth it "....so," she lightly coughed, taking a sip of coffee. "Graduation...soon? I think. Don't know if I've looked up school schedules. Summer?"

[Gizmo]

"Well, soonish," Ellie replied, walking her plate and mug over to the kitchenette's sink as she finished with them. "Toward the end of June. Honestly, though, it sorta feels like a formality. I've already been accepted at FCU and..." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, visibly doing some rough mental calculations. "...I'm pretty sure I'd still pass all of my courses even if I just stopped showing up from now until then." Leaning back against the counter, she offered Mara a dry smile. "I'm sure there's a very good reason I'm not doing that, but I couldn't give it to you off the top of my head."

[Fox]

"Work ethic," came the immediate reply, accompanied by a raised eyebrow. "Desire to see things through. Friends, maybe. Stubborn determination." Mara shrugged, draining the last dregs from her coffee mug and setting it down on her plate, hopping off the counter to deposit them near the sink for later washing. "Attractive qualities," she added, stepping in toward Ellie for a moment for a quick kiss. "And probably ones good for success. Hopefully, anyway. Not for making life easy. But good for succeeding."

[Gizmo]

"Mm. Coffee and peanut butter kisses," Ellie observed with a pleased murmur, looping an arm around Mara's waist when she stepped closer. "Well, you make it sound a lot more romantic than 'inertia', which is what I would have gone with, so thanks," the taller girl chuckled with a bemused tilt of her head before returning the kiss with another. Releasing her girlfriend's waist, she sighed. "Unfortunately, that does mean we should probably get going. Are you going to be at the Lab today?"

[Fox]

Mara made a grumbling noise, pulling some hair back behind an ear as she headed for her motorcycle's place of honor on the warehouse garage floor. "Probably," she finally admitted. "Don't have to...don't get any income, under no obligation to show up every day. Still. At least one project that I should finish, and someone wanted me to look at an AI they're....'cultivating like a flower'. 'With thorns.'" She actually paused in pulling off the bike's protective cover to make air quotes, pulling a face and clearly not knowing what that was supposed to mean.

[Gizmo]

Making a detour toward the warehouse's entrance, Ellie retrieved her coat from the spot on the floor where she'd hastily dropped it the evening before. "Heh. Well, somebody needs to be there to make sure they don't fertilize the seeds of the robocalypse or whatever," she snorted lightly at the overly poetic phrasing. "All playing God and tampering with forces." Slipping into the black pea coat, she sauntered back over to Mara as she uncovered the motorcycle.

[Fox]

Snorting, Mara grabbed her jacket off a nearby bench and tossed Ellie a helmet, pulling her hair back before bringing her own helmet down over her head. "Sure. If you want to spoil the fun. Without...phrase. Trespassing in God's domain, what's the point?" She swung a leg over the bike, lights dancing behind her eyes; the garage door rattled as it pulled to the side and above them whirring noises could be heard as the security system armed itself. "Still. Suppose it's best to prevent robocalypses. Coffee maker's stubborn enough without union membership and backing."

[Gizmo]

"The coffee maker was actually really easy to use," Ellie offered, sliding onto the bike behind Mara and sidling up closer than was probably strictly necessary as she wrapped her arms around her partner's waist. "Even I could tell it was a really good design." A lot of Mara's inventions didn't have much in the way of user interfaces, but evidently creating something intended for use in a sleep-deprived, groggy state brought things back down to a good place for the average consumer. "By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but the whole motorcycle thing? Mmm." The low sound may have been inarticulate, but it succeed in conveying her ardent approval.

[Fox]

Mara smiled at the compliments but shook her head a little. "Not finished. Easy to use but can...misbehave. Piping needs to be redesigned, features finished. Lower priority. The motorcycle...."

She started the bike up, slowly bringing it out of the warehouse and onto the street, garage door sliding back into place and locking behind them. "Worse ways to get around than fast, free, and your girlfriend clinging to you," she agreed with unusual cheerfulness, starting off toward Claremont.

[Gizmo]

"That's what I'm saying," Ellie called through the visor of her helmet as the motorcycle accelerated down the road, "fringe benefits." The medic wasn't typically one to place particular value on vehicles, particularly as she'd developed a taste for parkour since first donning the crimson bandanna mask of Jill O'Cure, but she certainly wouldn't have been able to press up so close to Mara in a car without violating a few traffic safety laws. Of course, there was also something to be said for going really, really fast.