[ Simmons never seems thrilled when Claire or, on the rarer occasions, Leon decides to visit. Sherry doesn't understand it and chooses to ignore it in favour of being over the moon thrilled to see them. Today is no different, Simmons seems bitter - keeps reminding her she can always reject the visit if she wants. There's no way in hell, she's already planning the whole day in her head.
So it's pure excitement that Sherry is practically squirming with when she pulls the door open to greet Claire before the woman can even get the doorbell off. The house she stays in lacks warmth but it's large, maybe too large for the government to be keeping her at for the time being.
The small blonde throws her arms around Claire in greeting. ] Claire! You're early! [ Sherry's been watching the video feed on the doorbell for thirty minutes now, unable to do much else from excitement alone. ]
[ Claire has to fight for every day she gets with Sherry. She's glad to do it, but frustrated too. She never would have picked this life for the little girl, and even if Simmons is supposedly a well-respected agent, he makes Claire's skin crawl. The same way Chief Irons had made her skin crawl. Their situation is what it is, though, and short of child abduction and fleeing the country, Claire will make the best of it.
But she will also push the envelope and show up early just to piss off Simmons. Beaming and dropping to her knees as soon as Sherry opens the door, she hugs her back just as fiercely. ]
Hey kiddo! Yeah traffic was light, I made good time. You ready to go? Got all your stuff packed?
Yeah! [ The younger girl steps back from the embrace to grab her brightly coloured backpack from where it sits on the floor by the door. ] All packed up.
[ She pulls the backpack in question on and moves to close the door as she exits the house. She looks a bit shy she turns her gaze down to a polka dot patterned bandaid on her arm. She rubs at in thought. Whatever the bandage hides doesn't seem to hurt her. ]
I was wondering... you remember the nail polish you bought me? If I could try painting you nails. [ It's been a burning question for the girl since she'd been gifted them. ]
[ The band-aid catches Claire's attention but she doesn't say anything about it, wanting to get Sherry out and away from where even if he's not visible Simmons is sure to be listening in. She closes the door behind them, settling her hand on Sherry's back as they walk back towards her bike. ]
Ohhh, a manicure, huh? Yeah we can totally do that. How about we stop by the beauty store on the way back to my place, we can pick up some face masks and stuff, have a whole pamper night?
[ The blonde seems to practically squirm in excitement at the idea of a pamper night. A smile is aimed up at Claire. It's some desperately needed fun as opposed to the regular schedule. ]
That sounds fun! I'd like that.
[ She comes to a stop at Claire's bike, falling into thought for a moment. Pale hands begin gathering up her blonde hair and twisting it up into a messy bun on her head; a light blue elastic is pulled from her wrist to hold it in place. She doesn't even miss a beat in conversation. ] Am I allowed to sleep over?
[ She grins, picking up her helmet as she gets to the bike and grabs Sherry's as well, holding it out. At Sherry's question her smile falters for a moment though it recovers quickly. ]
Did Simmons not tell you? I've got you for the whole weekend. You finally get to break in that bed I got for you.
The weekend?! He didn't say that! [ Sherry doesn't seem to notice the emotion flicker across Claire's face. Excitement overtakes her expression as she takes the helmet from Claire and puts it on. A grin doesn't leave her face as she clips it on under her chin. ] He just told me I could cancel if I wanted to. Which, duh, I don't want to.
[ She's practically jittering. ]
The whole weekend! We can do so much stuff! [ Well that throws out her whole mental itinerary. ] That's so many movies!
[ Claire manages to bite her tongue when Sherry mentions that Simmons had told Sherry she could cancel, but she does roll her eyes as she moves to put her own helmet on. The little girl's excitement is worth it though, because it definitely may have been somewhat tempered if she had been appropriately informed ahead of time. ]
Oh we're gonna tear it up. Anything you want this weekend, we're doing it.
[ Hopefully there will be more of this to come, but if not she wants to make sure the little girl still has the best time. She climbs on her bike, twisting her body so she can help Sherry on if needed. ]
I get why he can't share everything, but he could at least tell me when he's telling me to back off something that it's something that is actually being handled, not that it's getting swept under the rug.
[ There's no hesitation as Sherry climbs onto the bike. She wraps Claire in a tight hug from behind, holding on and appreciating being able to hug her. It's a win win! ]
I won't let go!
[ The hesitation comes after, as Claire says they can do whatever they want. It's a little overwhelming of a prospect. ]
Can we watch movies and bake cookies and -- [ Her train of thought seems to get derailed and she presses her cheek against Claire's back, still hugging her. ]
Can we call Leon? Ohhh and maybe build a pillow fort?
[ She's so glad she can always trust Claire to share what's bugging her even when she doesn't want to. Leon closes up like a clam - a mean little clam if pried open. ]
Hmmm. I can understand that. It's hard to know what he is up to most of the time. Kinda frustrating sometimes. But I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
[ Claire would ordinarily rip out of the drive and rev her engine, but with Sherry as her passenger she is nothing if not careful so she gently eases her bike out and off while Sherry is excitedly rattling things off. They're not gonna have much time for sleep at the rate she's going. ]
We can try to call Leon, but he's been pretty busy with his training lately.
[ He still answered her emails when she sent them, but she had noticed they sometimes came in a weird times, or days later than her initial email. ]
That's okay if he's busy. [ Sherry hums excitedly, still going over a list of things she'd like to do.
She hasn't felt this excited in a long time. At first the most exciting thing she was expecting was to do Claire's nails. And now? She doesn't have that impending feeling like she isn't going to get to spend enough time with the woman.
It's all she ever wanted from her mother - for her to want to spend time with her. Claire always seems to want to; it's a nice feeling. ] What do you wanna do?
It's not about anything real. Short of me joining the DSO so that I have the same clearance I don't think he'll ever be able to genuinely open up. And I don't think he's talking about this shit with anyone else either, which means it's just clawing a hole in him.
Ah... you know he has his own way of processing things. Maybe questioning that hurt his feeling. You're both pretty independent people. Neither one of you like it when someone tries to invalidate that.
[ Claire wished she could drag Leon out for some time together, but if it wasn't in the cards, it wasn't in the cards. At least Sherry didn't seem too broken up about the idea that they may not be able to get ahold of him, but hopefully they'd catch him.
Focused on the road she almost doesn't hear Sherry's question, but she lets out a small laugh. ]
We're doing it. All I want is to get to spend time with you, sweetie.
[ All she's ever wanted is someone to want to spend time with her. Hearing Claire say it so easily has her wishing she never had to go back to Simmons.
Sherry closes her eyes, arms staying tight around Claire, hoping she can hold on just as tightly to the moment. ]
The whole weekend! [ It sounds like an excited cheer more than anything. What a good surprise. ]
[ If Claire had her way Sherry never would go back to Simmons. It was of course an uphill battle, courts don't just grant custodianship of a little girl to a woman barely out of her teen years, especially since they aren't even biologically related. So while she works to get herself into a better position by finishing school and showing that she can be a positive steady role model, she'll take any extra time she can get.
She smiles at the excited cheer, but keeps her focus on the road ahead of them. In a few minutes she pulls into the lot of a mini mall strip where a beauty shop sits on the corner along with a video store. She kicks down the kickstand after parking and kills the engine. ]
[ She lets go of Claire and squirms down the bike. When both her shoes hit the ground she grins. Hands curl around the straps of her backpack. Blue eyes scan over the shops. ]
I've never done something like this before. [ Her mom was always too busy to do silly little things like this. She wriggles slightly, the clacking of nailpolish sounding in her backpack with the movement. Idly she wonders if she packed enough clothes for a weekend. She'll make it work.
She waits for Claire to get off the bike before she reaches out for her hand. It's almost second nature now to hold onto Claire and Leon's hands. Simmons is never as keen, but it's a comfort thing for Sherry. ]
[ Claire hangs her helmet on the handlebars and takes Sherry's to hang it as well, then sticks her keys in her pocket and opens the seat compartment to pull out her purse. When she's set she reaches for Sherry's hand as the girl is reaching for hers, just as comforted by the little girl's hand in hers. ]
Well, let's go nuts, then. Anything that looks like fun, okay? And you can pick out shampoo and stuff too, so you have your own things for when you stay at my place.
[ Sherry squeezes Claire's hand, excited by the prospect of staying over at her place more often. Simmons doesn't really keep her wanting for much, but it always feels oddly detached when he buys her stuff she needs. Sherry writes it off as him not really knowing her well. ]
Anything fun?
[ Fun is getting to spend time with Claire. She follows the older woman's pace, despite her excitement. Her head tips up and she offers Claire a toothy grin. ]
Does this mean we're going to get to see each other more often?
[ Claire opens the door to the store, grabbing a basket to the left of the door and nodding her head at Sherry's question. ]
Well, that's the goal, yeah. I've got the apartment set up, and if this weekend goes well we're talking more time.
[ She was hopeful to get something closer to full custody of Sherry. She knows that isn't likely to happen any time soon, but Simmons isn't a real parent to Sherry, and she knows it. She doesn't care if it says on paper that he's her legal guardian, as long as she can keep Sherry safe in her home. ]
[ The information is new to her; Simmons has never really made an attempt to keep her from hanging out with Claire but he has never really encouraged it either. The amount of times she asks him about Claire is probably in the upper hundreds by now. Her gaze travels around the store - clearly in thought. ]
Is there any reason the weekend wouldn't go well?
[ Sherry isn't quite sure what that means, but her scale is a little unreasonable considering she considers undead monsters as worst case scenario. As long as there's no monsters or nurse visits with blood draws, she can't imagine anything going wrong. ]
[ Claire doesn't voice the potential reasons the weekend could NOT go well, but it mostly had to do with her taking Sherry and fleeing the country. They dress it up like concern for her well-being but it was more like they didn't want their most prolific source of G escaping their grasp. Instead she plasters on a smile and shakes her head. ]
Nope. We just gotta take it slow, because they think I'm pretty young to have responsibility of a kid.
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So it's pure excitement that Sherry is practically squirming with when she pulls the door open to greet Claire before the woman can even get the doorbell off. The house she stays in lacks warmth but it's large, maybe too large for the government to be keeping her at for the time being.
The small blonde throws her arms around Claire in greeting. ] Claire! You're early! [ Sherry's been watching the video feed on the doorbell for thirty minutes now, unable to do much else from excitement alone. ]
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But she will also push the envelope and show up early just to piss off Simmons. Beaming and dropping to her knees as soon as Sherry opens the door, she hugs her back just as fiercely. ]
Hey kiddo! Yeah traffic was light, I made good time. You ready to go? Got all your stuff packed?
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[ She pulls the backpack in question on and moves to close the door as she exits the house. She looks a bit shy she turns her gaze down to a polka dot patterned bandaid on her arm. She rubs at in thought. Whatever the bandage hides doesn't seem to hurt her. ]
I was wondering... you remember the nail polish you bought me? If I could try painting you nails. [ It's been a burning question for the girl since she'd been gifted them. ]
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Ohhh, a manicure, huh? Yeah we can totally do that. How about we stop by the beauty store on the way back to my place, we can pick up some face masks and stuff, have a whole pamper night?
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That sounds fun! I'd like that.
[ She comes to a stop at Claire's bike, falling into thought for a moment. Pale hands begin gathering up her blonde hair and twisting it up into a messy bun on her head; a light blue elastic is pulled from her wrist to hold it in place. She doesn't even miss a beat in conversation. ] Am I allowed to sleep over?
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[ She grins, picking up her helmet as she gets to the bike and grabs Sherry's as well, holding it out. At Sherry's question her smile falters for a moment though it recovers quickly. ]
Did Simmons not tell you? I've got you for the whole weekend. You finally get to break in that bed I got for you.
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[ She's practically jittering. ]
The whole weekend! We can do so much stuff! [ Well that throws out her whole mental itinerary. ] That's so many movies!
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Oh we're gonna tear it up. Anything you want this weekend, we're doing it.
[ Hopefully there will be more of this to come, but if not she wants to make sure the little girl still has the best time. She climbs on her bike, twisting her body so she can help Sherry on if needed. ]
Remember to hold on tight to me.
for agentsupergirl
Not really.
I get why he can't share everything, but he could at least tell me when he's telling me to back off something that it's something that is actually being handled, not that it's getting swept under the rug.
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I won't let go!
[ The hesitation comes after, as Claire says they can do whatever they want. It's a little overwhelming of a prospect. ]
Can we watch movies and bake cookies and -- [ Her train of thought seems to get derailed and she presses her cheek against Claire's back, still hugging her. ]
Can we call Leon? Ohhh and maybe build a pillow fort?
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Hmmm. I can understand that. It's hard to know what he is up to most of the time. Kinda frustrating sometimes. But I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
You trust him, right?
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We can try to call Leon, but he's been pretty busy with his training lately.
[ He still answered her emails when she sent them, but she had noticed they sometimes came in a weird times, or days later than her initial email. ]
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She hasn't felt this excited in a long time. At first the most exciting thing she was expecting was to do Claire's nails. And now? She doesn't have that impending feeling like she isn't going to get to spend enough time with the woman.
It's all she ever wanted from her mother - for her to want to spend time with her. Claire always seems to want to; it's a nice feeling. ] What do you wanna do?
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[ She's just trying to get to the root of the problem. ]
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Focused on the road she almost doesn't hear Sherry's question, but she lets out a small laugh. ]
We're doing it. All I want is to get to spend time with you, sweetie.
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Sherry closes her eyes, arms staying tight around Claire, hoping she can hold on just as tightly to the moment. ]
The whole weekend! [ It sounds like an excited cheer more than anything. What a good surprise. ]
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She smiles at the excited cheer, but keeps her focus on the road ahead of them. In a few minutes she pulls into the lot of a mini mall strip where a beauty shop sits on the corner along with a video store. She kicks down the kickstand after parking and kills the engine. ]
Okay here we are, first stop!
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I've never done something like this before. [ Her mom was always too busy to do silly little things like this. She wriggles slightly, the clacking of nailpolish sounding in her backpack with the movement. Idly she wonders if she packed enough clothes for a weekend. She'll make it work.
She waits for Claire to get off the bike before she reaches out for her hand. It's almost second nature now to hold onto Claire and Leon's hands. Simmons is never as keen, but it's a comfort thing for Sherry. ]
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Well, let's go nuts, then. Anything that looks like fun, okay? And you can pick out shampoo and stuff too, so you have your own things for when you stay at my place.
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Anything fun?
[ Fun is getting to spend time with Claire. She follows the older woman's pace, despite her excitement. Her head tips up and she offers Claire a toothy grin. ]
Does this mean we're going to get to see each other more often?
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Well, that's the goal, yeah. I've got the apartment set up, and if this weekend goes well we're talking more time.
[ She was hopeful to get something closer to full custody of Sherry. She knows that isn't likely to happen any time soon, but Simmons isn't a real parent to Sherry, and she knows it. She doesn't care if it says on paper that he's her legal guardian, as long as she can keep Sherry safe in her home. ]
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Is there any reason the weekend wouldn't go well?
[ Sherry isn't quite sure what that means, but her scale is a little unreasonable considering she considers undead monsters as worst case scenario. As long as there's no monsters or nurse visits with blood draws, she can't imagine anything going wrong. ]
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Nope. We just gotta take it slow, because they think I'm pretty young to have responsibility of a kid.