ic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [IC]

[Fox]

"Practice," Mara happily replied, blushing and feeling a little light-headed. never get used to that - hopefully never will "Lots of practice. Whenever possible. With you. Always did learn quickly." She smiled, an honest-to-goodness happy smile, and leaned her head over to return a neck nuzzle she dimly remembered owing the younger girl. There was something quietly exciting about this kind of closeness in a place that wasn't 'hers' - in a place that was, in fact, Ellie's, and distinctly so; she'd have given that more thought to figure out why if she didn't have other things far more worthy of her attentions.

[Gizmo]

With a pleased noise, Ellie freed one hand to hold the back of Mara's head against the crook of her neck, tilting her head accommodatingly around the collar of her shirt. "Ah...!" For a span of time she could only measure in rapid heartbeats, she let her mind go blank. Eventually, however, she reluctantly pulled away, clearing her throat thickly. "Hoo... okay, you're dangerously close to writing a cheque my sense of semi-public humiliation isn't going to be able to cash," she warned with a shaky, chagrined smile. "But, uh, put a pin in that, okay?"

[Fox]

Mara blinked for a moment - not offended or upset, just trying to get her brain working again so she could parse idioms. "Put a pin...mmh!" All at once she remembered where they were, and more importantly, who else was in the building. Her already-deep blush only got deeper and she ducked her head, glancing down toward the lower floor of the house. "I...yes. Good idea." She coughed, shifting on the bed and pulling her hair back behind an ear. "Glad you stopped me before...mmh. Might have been awkward later."

[Gizmo]

"Argh," Ellie groaned, pulling her hands down her face to comically drag at her angular features, "if you're going to be adorable when you blush, this is gonna be much harder." Lowering her hands to her knees, she gave Mara an amused smile. "Seriously, though, particularly sensitive spot on my neck aside, it's probably a good idea to practice acting like mature adults or whatever." Clapping her hands abruptly, she let her grin broaden. "That said, we should totally swap tops before going back downstairs, because that's just hilarious."

[Fox]

"Exactly what I was mentioning earlier," Mara noted with mock seriousness. "Bad influence. Being around you promotes bad behavior." The idea may have deepened the blush a little (if such a thing were possible), and her tone may have been pretending to be severe, but her hands were already working at the buttons of her shirt. "Should fit you - don't like my clothing too tight. But am looking forward to seeing you wear a shirt a size or two too small; that and the hilarity - worth any mocking we get downstairs."

[Gizmo]

"Not to kill the mystery, muñequita," Ellie drawled as she slipped off her vest and went to work on the buttons of her own shirt, "but you have seen me, y'know, wearing a shirt all the sizes too small." She paused on the last button, the top of her shirt hanging open enough to reveal a utilitarian black bra, sufficiently attractive to suggest she'd spent some time agonizing over the choice along with the rest of her outfit for the evening. "Do... you think I really am a bad influence? I don't what you to feel pressured to go along with stupid stuff I suggest, I mean."

[Fox]

Mara was already halfway out of her shirt, exposing a bra designed more for looking good under the shirt than without it; she'd apparently fretted over looking good, but not been expecting to lose her shirt. Not that she apparently minded, as both eyes widened a bit as she shook her head. "No! No, no. S...sorry. Not very good at emoting, and too fond of deadpan. Really do think it's funny. Not..." She bit her lip. "Probably not something I'd do on my own. But wouldn't do most things on my own. Not that...outgoing. Good to be...phrase...'pulled out of my shell', sometimes. Healthier."

[Gizmo]

"Mm, well you certainly look healthy," Ellie drawled, tossing her dress shirt and vest in a bunch toward Mara's head. Sighing, she rested her chin in one hand. "I just don't want you to end up a cautionary tale for Lab interns. 'Hurm, yes, she could have been great but she fell in with a bad element, by gum, hmm, quite.'" Lying back across the width of the bed, she folded her hands underneath her head. "In my head, the interns are being lectured by a stocky bearded man with a monocle and pipe, see."

[Fox]

"Supercape doesn't have a beard," Mara quipped, watching Ellie lie back with more than a little interest. She dropped her shirt on the reclining medic before she was tempted to do something they might regret later. "Besides. Am already a cautionary tale for Lab interns. Like the boogeyman - boogeywoman. 'Be careful who you anger,'" she intoned, slipping her arms into Ellie's dress shirt. "'Dragonfly needs test subjects!' Probably a good threat...haven't ended up with my own intern yet. Sort of enjoy the reputation. Better than people trying to be subtle about offering me food."

[Gizmo]

"Hey, who's being subtle?" Ellie laughed, sitting up again and turning Mara's blouse around so she could start putting it on. "Eat a damn sandwich, woman!" The way the slate grey top was lightly cinched under the bust was a little more prominent on the taller girl, and she left an extra button undone at the neck for comfort's sake, but fortunately what was a little loose on the inventor wasn't much different from the size of the fitted vest she'd been wearing over her baggy dress shirt. "This is pretty sharp, I should steal your clothes more often."

[Fox]

Mara finished putting on the vest, tugging it and the underlying shirt into place. The clothes were a little larger than they were on her girlfriend, but she generally preferred that anyway, for comfort. "Just ate my weight in tamales," she wryly noted, looking down at herself. "Admittedly, not that much weight. Still. And...thank you." She ducked her head a little, apparently pleased that her clothes met muster. "Invested in nicer clothes recently. For...dates, and things like this. Still prefer overalls or t-shirt and jeans for casual wear, but...admit it's nice to look nice. Sometimes. Can never prove I said so," she cautioned, wagging a finger. "Have a reputation to keep."

[Gizmo]

"Well!" Ellie huffed, expression set as she reached over to smooth the sides of the vest and adjust the shirt's collar. "I happen to think you look nice either way, but yes, you pull off fancy just fine. And then I put it on!" She tossed her head back in an over-the-top, silent laugh, underlining the bad joke, then gave Mara a bright look. "Ooh, we should hit the vintage shops in Riverside when we get some time. I know some really great ones, and you could totally work like a faux-Victorian punk look."

[Fox]

"Faux-Victorian....?" Mara raised an eyebrow, not really sure what that would even consist of. "Could be...interesting. Deal, if I can use it as an excuse to see you in my size of shirts." She smiled a little, exaggerating how much she was eyeing Ellie...though not by much. She did, at least, get up to look at herself in the standing mirror. "....not terrible," she admitted, turning to look at the vest with a little more vanity than she was comfortable with. "Do like older things. Phrase...'don't make them like they used to'."

She raised her eyebrows, glancing back at her girlfriend. "Clothes talk. Makes me feel oddly...girly. Not necessarily a bad thing, I guess."

[Gizmo]

"Hate to break it to you, amante," Ellie began with a lopsided grin as she rose from the side of the bed to stand behind Mara, "but I can say with some certainty that you are, in fact, a girl." With her girlfriend looking back over her shoulder at her, she slid one arm around around the engineer's hips and leaned forward just enough to brush a light kiss atop her lips, then moved to lead the way back toward the door. "C'mon, we're probably pushing it even for the sake of the joke, now."

[Fox]

Mara blushed a little, tugging at the vest one last time as she turned to follow Ellie through the door. "Suppose I can't argue against that. Just not used to being girly...clothes, makeup. Stereotypes, but still."

She paused for just a moment at the top of the stairs, biting her lip. "Won't...mind, will they? Family, I mean. Didn't...do anything, but were gone a while. Don't want them to disapprove...went very well so far." She ducked her head a little, pulling some hair back behind an ear. "Their opinion...matters. To me. ....not used to wanting to be liked."

[Gizmo]

Ellie stopped when Mara did, and took a step back to give the shorter girl a fierce hug. "The trick is only caring what the right people think," she advised with a small, lopsided smile. "In this case, you've got nothing to worry about. We've got a pretty good sense of humour around here, you may have noticed." Lifting her free hand she lightly brushed the blonde's bangs out of the way to kiss her forehead. "But thanks. It actually matters to be that it matters to you, if that makes any sense."

[Fox]

The corner of Mara's mouth tugged into the ghost of a smile as she let herself be led back down the stairs. "Makes sense. Matters to me because it likely matters to you. And...sorry. For the insecurities. Still not used to this - being social, I mean, meeting people who matter, making social bonds. Have some adjusting to do, even after....mmh. A year?" She tilted her head, not looking at much of anything for a moment. "...more than. I think. Exact date's...uncertain, head wasn't in good condition to be storing information well. Over a year, at least. Year and a half. Phrase...'time flies'."

[Gizmo]

A step below Mara on the staircase, Ellie paused again with a concerned expression, stoking the inventor's cheek and giving her hand a slight squeeze. "Aw, Marbar..." She'd had some time to get used to the idea of her girlfriend's traumatic childhood, but the mention of it still elicited a dull ache deep in her stomach, a heavy mix of anger, sadness and protective instinct. "My brave, beautiful girl. C'mon, let's see if we can dig up some cookies or something."

[Fox]

Mara blinked. "Not- didn't- mmh." She frowned - at herself, largely - and shook her head. "Didn't mean to...phrase. 'Kill the mood.' Not used to talking about that, either. Usually...concerned by what people think about it, and not...it itself. Was bad, looking back on it, I mean. But to me, is just...my childhood? Try to at least joke about it. I do, I mean; seems healthier. Other option is to just feel sick and angry, but not...pitiable? Don't....mmh. Words." She sighed, giving up on trying to get her tongue to wrap around abstract feelings and fairly-repressed turmoil; she wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to walk straight into that quagmire at all. "....cookies? Cookies sound good."

[Gizmo]

"It's not pity, it's called 'caring'," Ellie corrected her girlfriend not unkindly, giving her a small smile as she led the way finally back to the first floor. "It's what people who love you do, so get used to it."

Evidently, cookies were something of a family habit; as the pair reentered the kitchen they found Gina and Erik partaking from a plastic tray pulled partway out of the bag. The latter coughed on oatmeal and chocolate chip as the teenagers rounded the corner, pounding on his chest ruefully as he managed to commend, "Well played." Ellie's mother simply sighed good-naturedly, shaking her head with resigned amusement as she slid the baked goods in the girls' direction.

[Fox]

Somewhere, way deep down - way, way deep down - Mara's burgeoning inner teenage girl did an extremely undignified dance at the word 'love'. The rest of her tried to not pay too much attention (to the reaction; the word itself was cause for warm fuzzy feelings), reminding her that she was nearly twenty, and then taking a moment to ponder the rather teenager-like implications of reminding one's self one was almost twenty.

Mostly she just happily snagged a cookie or two or three, thanking Gina and nibbling on one while Erik finished choking. "Don't know what you mean," she replied, with as much deadpan and raised eyebrow as she could muster.

[Gizmo]

Ellie sauntered over the the fridge, retrieving a carton of milk before reaching to the cupboard for a glass. "Heh, you should see your face," she chuckled, giving her brother a impish smirk.

"Maybe I'm just surprised to see you dressing like a girl for once," he countered laconically as he finally finished clearing his throat.

"Be nice, both of you," Gina warned, pointing a finger at each of them in turn, her own expression the very picture of reasonableness. "It's going to take tu hermano a little time to get used to the idea of su hermanita as a sexual being."

Erik planted a hand over his face, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter. "Dios, I don't need to be hearing this..." Beside him, his sibling's cheeks darkened several shades despite her bravado.

[Fox]

Mara pulled out a chair to sit in, nibbling on cookies and - though blushing - watching the family mini-comedy play out with avid interest. The whole family dynamic was apparently sorta fascinating to the young engineer, who glanced between the Espadas members like she was watching a play or a very engrossing movie. "Should maybe get used to it," she 'helpfully' pointed out, after clearing her mouth of cookie. "Don't intend to stop dating her because you don't want to imagine your sister...phrase. 'Making out' with another girl."

[Gizmo]

"Aw, don't get me wrong, Mara," Erik began with a faint, chagrined smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, "for what it's worth, you've got my big brotherly approval."

"Phew, imagine my relief," Ellie drawled sarcastically, gesturing with an empty glass to inquire if anyone else wanted milk while she was pouring.

Her sibling gave her a slight shove in the shoulder. "Shut up, you totally care what I think. Anyway, it's more just having to get used to her being a reasonable facsimile of an adult," he told their guest. Sighing, the fencer admitted, "I do feel kinda bad for not seeing the whole 'liking girls' thing coming. I feel like I should picked up on that sooner."

[Fox]

"Mmh. Me, please," Mara said to Ellie, raising a cookie. "And could be worse. Could only barely have suspected after an hour of awkward, sort of unintentional flirting...for instance. Completely random example." She coughed a little, ducking her head. still - pleasant memories "Not recognizing your sister as...'a reasonable facsimile of an adult' was probably counterproductive to noticing her preferences. Hard to imagine who she would like if you do not recognize...that...she likes."

She grimaced at that last bit. "Sorry. Awkward wording. Point was hopefully clear enough. Life needs a backspace key."