Baffoon

Travis grinned and murmured his agreement. He might get a crick in his neck, but falling asleep here didn't seem like too bad of an idea. 

He fell quiet and just enjoyed the warm comfort, slipping his hot chocolate. Every once in a while, he gave Ashlee a sidelong glance - they weren't doing anything wrong, but he was just as glad that her mom and his dad weren't around to make it awkward. 

Shifting a little bit, he yawned, then moved his arm from between them, and slipped it around her shoulders instead, giving her a little squeeze and hoping she wouldn't mind. 


Hunter's jaw dropped at Ryan's name calling. He stretched his legs out under the table to hook her ankle and give it a teasing tug. "Sheesh," he complained. "Not only am I starting the game out poorly, but I got no support either."

"Aw.... are we supposed to feel sorry for you?" Jeff threw down a card and grinned. It didn't matter who played in the evening... they were all out for blood. 

Sitting down between Ryan and Dan, Dylan grinned at her comment. "Psh...as if. He's always whining about something."

Hunter's eyes widened. "No love. Simply no love at all."

"What did you expect?" Clint questioned. "You're playing with the big boys now." He glanced up from his cards. "Oh. And girls. Sorry." He tossed Ryan a silly grin. "Whatever you do, don't let him win. His head won't fit through the door for a week."

Hunter jabbed him with an elbow. "Ganging up on me," he muttered. "That's what this is."

Continuing to play, Dylan joined in on the next hand, being just as competitive as everyone else. The lead shifted mostly between Ryan and Clint, with Hunter coming out ahead once in a while...only to have Ryan clobber him again. 

After another hand of losing to her, Hunter tossed his cards down with a smirk. "You suck."

Dylan snickered and grabbed the cards as it was his turn to shuffle and deal. "Sore loser."

Hunter's eyes narrowed. "Instigator."

"Trouble maker." Dylan shuffled.

"Traitor."

"Idiot."

"Baffoon."

Dylan's eyes widened - he hadn't expected that one. As he glanced up at Hunter, trying to think of a retort, his handful of cards slipped. Springing from his grip, the cards went flying in all directions, several of them hurling straight at Hunter's face. 

Reflexes caused Hunter to put his hands up and duck, but he jerked back too suddenly, too far. Tipping backward, his chair couldn't balance itself at that angle, and before he could stop it, he was on the floor. 

For just a second, there was dead silence... until the laughter erupted. Clint looked down at him wide-eyed as he really did try not to laugh. "You okay?"

"Uh-huh..." Hunter groaned and waved a hand in the air. His face flushed, and his own laughter started. It was too funny to let his bruised pride get in the way. Rolling to the side, he managed to get himself picked up again...or at least partially. He knelt in the floor and peeked up over the edge of the table. As he did, though, there were more people laughing than expected. And several pairs of eyes shot over to Dylan.

He was laughing. Hard. 

"Breathe!" Jeff ordered.

Dylan held his sides and shook his head, still laughing. "I... can't..." He looked over at Hunter - seeing only the top of his head and eyes - which only proved to further his fit. "I'm... I'm sorry," he managed. "You.... should have seen yourself...!"

Jade's eyes had gone wide, and while laughing as well, there was a part of her that was in complete shock. It had been... literally years since she'd heard her brother laugh. No one else around here ever would have heard it - it was almost as if there was a stranger in their midst - like a voice that was unfamiliar. 


Garret glanced down at Sapphire's hand. He didn't like to be touched... but he didn't pull away from her. There was something kind there. Something warm. Caring.

His eyes rose to meet hers. "Thank you... This life..." His gaze scanned the room. "It's so different. I guess I'm just not sure I'll ever be anything but a product of the Agency. No matter how hard I try.... I'm not sure I can erase over thirty years of programming." He really wasn't convinced it was possible. He wanted to help the Elite fight against the Agency, but even now... doing this research on Brookshire... it was like an inside voice was constantly telling him he was making the wrong choice.