MHA #2 | Thursday Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

Okay, again, it wasn't like, a huge deal. It really wasn't. Except it actually kind of was a huge deal, at least to Annie, that she'd moved over her final box of books from her apartment this morning, and now she was officially all moved in here, with Diego.

And since she was officially all moved in, she felt like she was now allowed to make some of the decorating changes that had been discussed. Namely how she was now out on the balcony, carefully arranging the plants.

Plants with an S, yes.

There was the original spider plant that Five had gotten for Diego, now seated on a cute little accent table (and looking much greener than it had last week), along with a Christmas cactus that she was hoping would eventually bloom, two other little succulents, and a fern that she was carefully hanging from a hook in a little ropey holder thing.

She had also bought a watering can, of course and -- no, of course she hadn't unpacked anything useful, yet. Why would she do that? She had a busy week. Obviously this whole plant thing had to take precedence.

[for the roooo~oommate. Edit: and now nws]

Comments

[knife_bender]

"You're not harboring any fears that these plants are going to take over the apartment?" Diego asked. "Because I think that's a thing that could happen here."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I think," Annie assured him, fanning the fern's leaves nicely, "that if the plants somehow become sentient and start attacking, they'll remember that we were nice to them and spare us."

Or, well, they'd remember Annie was nice, anyway....

"Or are you worried they'll, like, spread? Because that's why they're in pots." Plant logic.

[knife_bender]

"I'm just thinking about what the island is capable of," he joked. "It does look nice out here."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And see how easy to take care of?" Annie said, plucking up the watering can and gesturing it to like a show model before using it to water the fern. "Even Five can swing it if we get taken out of town again."

Though he wouldn't. Maybe Annie would find a different plant sitter, actually.

[knife_bender]

Diego snorted. "You'd have a better chance of getting Dolores to water the plants."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I bet she'd love to. As thanks for taking her out for a spa day tomorrow," Annie said, looking a little horrified, still, that she'd agreed to that. "God, I hope they don't all think I'm crazy there."

It was a space spa, at least. They'd probably seen worse.

[knife_bender]

"I think you're crazy for taking her." She was a mannequin, Annie. A mannequin.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It was Summer's idea," Annie pointed out, like that helped. "And I think Five'll think it's nice, right?"

He had seemed to like it before when she had vaguely referred to Dolores' personhood.

[knife_bender]

"I'm not going to presume to know what goes on in that old man's sick mind." He felt like he was taking crazy pills, here, with the whole Dolores thing. "I'm guessing she's not getting a pedicure."

What with the no legs thing.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Or her hair done," Annie replied with a little smile, wandering over to wrap her arms around Diego's waist. "I don't know. Summer suggested it and I thought it would be nice to be...inclusive?"

And to kindly play along with Five's delusions, apparently.

[knife_bender]

"You're too nice," he said, leaning in to press a kiss against her cheek. "I can't believe you're trusting me with the new plants all weekend."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You'll be fine. The bigger challenge will be when I have to go back to New York next week," Annie pointed out, smiling. "At least with this weekend if they turn on you, I can do some drunk damage control when I get home Saturday night."

First of all, 'Saturday night' was so optimistic, Annie. Try 4 AM Sunday morning.

Secondly, there would be no way she remembered she had plants by that point, probably.

[knife_bender]

"I'm not letting you on the balcony when you're hammered," Diego said. "I know you'd survive the fall, but I'd still rather not deal with it."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Aww, look at you looking out for me," Annie teased, reaching up to affectionately run her hand over his hair. "I mean, this is definitely the most active drunk night I've ever planned on having. Lot of walking as it is."

Lot of portalling, too, which meant that Annie would probably be making some discoveries about her own limits on Saturday.

[knife_bender]

"You deserve a drunk night," he said, taking her by the hand to lead her back inside. Look, he was not willing to risk a cicada attack for long. "And I will be here ready to help you with your hangover."

[defenderofdesmoines]

It was true; Annie was being very brave to risk cicadas in her hair for this long as it was.

"That's sweet of you," she decided, trailing along with him back inside. "I'm planning to be, like, not a total pain in the ass, I promise. You just need to be ready with, like, water and that American Ninja Warrior channel again."

And Annie would do her part by taking a B-12 shot early in the evening, and probably throwing up a bunch of alcohol somewhere along the way.

[knife_bender]

"I'll be ready." Please, if he had it his way American Ninja Warrior would be on all of the time. "Did you decide which statement chair you're going to get?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I think we should get a swing!" Annie said, because she liked courting disaster, apparently. "They have ones that are like their own little contained thing that we don't have to hang from the ceiling, if we don't want to screw around with...screws. Or whatever we'd need to mount something to the ceiling."

See, probably for the best if they didn't try to mount anything to the ceiling, given the fuzziness there.

"Unless," she added, "you have reservations about the swing." It was his statement chair too!

[knife_bender]

"I have no reservations about the swing." So it'll be a real surprise when they inevitably broke it.

"How am I doing as a roommate so far?" he asked, letting go of her hand so he could flop down on the couch.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie pretended to really consider her answer as she took a more careful seat next to him. (Mostly because everyone here was barely out of the woods injury-wise and she didn't need to be flopping onto Diego by accident.)

"I mean, so far, you're pretty great," she replied with a smile. "I've never lived with someone who planned ahead to take care of me while I was hungover, so huge plus right out of the gates."

She had also never lived with someone who wasn't related to her, or in her cabin at summer camp, so there was that.

[knife_bender]

"Me either," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I've never actually lived with someone I wasn't related to. Unless you count when I was holing up in the back room of a gym--a lot of people were going in and out of there."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That shouldn't count," Annie decided with a little frown, scooting closer to nestle herself against him. "I mean, I did a summer away at camp and lived in a cabin with a bunch of other girls for a few weeks, and that shouldn't count, either."

If nothing else, this apartment offered a whole lot more space for both of them than either the back room of a gym or a bunk in a cabin.

[knife_bender]

"You went to summer camp?" he asked. "That's not just a thing in movies?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh, no, I totally went to summer camp," Annie assured him. "I mean, it was for Christian super-abled kids, so there was a lot of stuff in that arena, but I like...tie-dyed shirts and swam in a lake and stuff."

And also crucified a friend in a Passion play. Normal summer camp.

[knife_bender]

"Aww." Sure, there was probably some stuff going on there that didn't look so great in hindsight, but the tie-dyed shirts and swimming was cute. "Yeah, no, had no idea that was real. And I assume there's less serial killers lurking in the woods than pop culture led me to believe."