Of Course We're Still in That Pawn Shop Basement | Sunday Night

[defenderofdesmoines]

What with the day's exciting discoveries regarding Stormfront being a hundred year-old Nazi or whatever, the group had been sort of busy. Weapons had been assembled. Speakers had been loaded into a car. Hughie had made a ton of memes.

But now, considering that the fireworks factory was going to go off tomorrow -- Butcher and Becca hadn't explained their reasoning, but Annie suspected it had to do with tracking Homelander and Ryan's (and Stormfront's, presumably) whereabouts -- there wasn't a whole lot to do this evening except sit around and be nervous.

Annie had found a couple of blankets and some things they could use as pillows when the guys had arrived yesterday -- Annie herself had been using a duffel bag for the days she'd been sleeping on this floor next to Diego. So, as things wound down, the various members of Butcher's crew took off to their own spaces in the hideout. And, as it happened, the corner that Annie and Diego had claimed for themselves (and then taken to sharing with Steve and Danny, once they'd shown up) was the corner where MM kept the dollhouse. (Annie had wisely decided this was probably the cleanest spot in the place, though don't ask her the last time any of these blankets were washed.)

Though Frenchie did make a point of reminding everyone that there was a new rule about there being just one bathroom occupant at a time, before he wandered off to set something on fire or fall asleep in a corner with Kimiko. (Annie, for her part, had looked utterly mortified at this announcement. For some reason.)

Just a normal place to hang out with your friends, okay? It was kind of like a slumber party.

[for the dudes that are there, and NFB for distance, of course!]

Comments

[hatesparadise]

Well, yesterday night had ended with exhaustion, and this one was more with anticipation of an actual plan. But that didn't mean it wasn't exhausting still.

"I don't want to know."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Not a lot of places to have a private conversation around here," Annie said, still looking a little embarrassed.

Because that's all it had been, everyone. A private conversation. About how Diego had cut off someone's hand to rescue her and there had been a lot of subsequent big feelings about that.

[hatesparadise]

Danny gave her a look that implied he was graciously going to buy that for the sake of his own sanity. Because there were just some things he didn't need to know.

Straight up.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Hey, Annie was just glad that he was going to take the out. For her sanity.

"So remember how you were so nice as to put us up in Hawaii?" Annie gestured around. "Favor returned, right? You're welcome."

She was getting kind of punchy after the last few days, but at least she was trying to be funny. That was kind of a huge improvement.

[hatesparadise]

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated," Danny assured her, looking around like he was taking in the amazing scenery. "You okay?"

Dumb question, but he was still asking it.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie's smile softened a little, and she actually gave him a fairly honest response by wobbling a hand back and forth. "Better than I was. You guys really did miss some bad stuff."

Not that the head explosions were great.

"I'm sorry you got sucked into this," she had to add.

[grenadesandohana]

"I can guess," Steve smirked.

[hatesparadise]

"Oh, with those keen investigative skills?" Danny replied, rolling his eyes.

[grenadesandohana]

"With remembering what they kept in the sugar jar," Steve said.

[hatesparadise]

Danny made such a face at him for that. Because they also completely ruined trying to bunk in the bathroom so things wouldn't be awkward.

"It's like you're trying to give me a migraine."

[grenadesandohana]

Well, he was trying to distract Danny from the...everything...that was happening, so yes.

He nudged into Danny's shoulder. "You should hydrate more."

[knife_bender]

Diego had been teased by Frenchie enough in the last two days that he just looked proud at the announcement. That's right, that rule was partially his fault.

"I'm starting to forget what beds feel like."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie was looking embarrassed enough for both of them, probably.

"Forgetting how beds are might help with tricking ourselves into thinking this is comfortable?" she suggested, trying to wad up a blanket to brace under her bruised hip like that might help.

[knife_bender]

"You think that's even possible?" he asked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Just because it hasn't worked yet doesn't mean it's not possible," Annie said with an almost hopeful smile. "I'm not going to get my hopes up that this might actually be over soon," because the last time she'd started talking like that, people's heads started blowing up on television, "but we probably won't have to do this for too much longer?"

Right? Right? Because Annie would love to take a hot shower and drink a glass of wine and sleep in a real bed. For maybe like two straight days.

[knife_bender]

"I hope it's not too much longer," he said. "If it lasts much more I might find a dilapidated store of our own to move into."

[grenadesandohana]

"The time to worry is when you get back on a bed and it feels too good," Steve said.

[knife_bender]

"Okay, kill me if I have to sleep on the floor for that long." Especially around these people.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve chuckled. "Check," he said. "It takes months, so I think you're good."

[knife_bender]

"Hopefully this is the last night," he said. "I mean, it will be the last night, one way or the other."

Because if this didn't work they'll probably be dead one way or another tomorrow.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve had slept much rougher, which was probably not the reassuring thing he believed it to be. He stretched out his legs after surreptitiously checking for roaches and forced himself into calmness. This felt like the night before a big op, and getting wound up around it only made for no sleep and bad decisions in the morning.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Wanna play MASH?" Annie asked, teasing. "I bet I could find some paper. Ooh, or I could make one of those hand fortune teller things."

Like at a real slumber party!

[grenadesandohana]

Steve laughed. "Guess that's better than playing Texas Hold 'Em."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I don't know how to play poker at all," Annie admitted. Probably not shocking, considering how horrifically bad she was at keeping her face straight. "But I actually bet a deck of cards might be easier to track down than a clean sheet of paper."

[grenadesandohana]

"Well, Butcher has definitely clocked some time with nothing useful to do," Steve said, "and we tend to play cards rather than, um, MASH."

A Navy SEAL version of MASH would be both gross and profane.