ic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [IC]

[Gizmo]

Ellie grinned ruefully as she carried the pair of glasses back to the table. "Heh, that was like some sort of quantum courtship that also wasn't a courtship," she chuckled, handing her girlfriend the milk. "Anyway, I wouldn't feel too bad, hermano. I didn't have it sorted out in my own head until pretty recently, so you didn't have much of a chance."

"Hnn," Erik grunted noncommittally. "Still. You didn't seem particularly surprised," he noted with a pointed glance at their mother.

Gina cupped her mug in both hands and offered the young people a faint, knowing smile. "Let's just say there were some red flags over the years."

[Fox]

Mara snorted a little, taking her glass of milk. "Was awkward after the waveform collapsed. Though at least we got pushed to a higher....energy...state." She trailed off and ducked her head, glancing around the table. "Mmh. ....sorry. Physicist jokes. Mother's insight?" she asked Gina. "Red flags, I mean. Standard...word. 'Stereotype' has bad connotation, but...whatever. Standard stereotype of wise, all-knowing mothers...probably a grain of truth. Raising children might give you insight into their habits, thinking patterns, preferences."

[Gizmo]

"Hey, don't sweat it, it was, y'know, probably really funny," Erik attempted kindly, his smile more than a little bemused. He only partly understood most of what the young woman said, if he was being honest, but then he had trouble keeping up with his sister when she started talking about her more scholarly interests. He knew the reverse problem was part of the reason Ellie had become so withdrawn and dryly sarcastic during her high school years, and it was heartening to see her opening up again.

Gina for her part looked as though she was having a difficult time keeping a straight face. "Oh no, dear, it's completely true. I really am all-knowing." She took a sip from her mug while regarding their guest over the edge of the cup. "Just something to keep in mind."

[Fox]

Mara raised her eyebrows, but tried to play along with the seriousness. Inwardly, she was fairly pleased: she was pretty sure that only a few months ago she'd have taken Gina's warning a bit too seriously, and embarrassed herself. progress - feels good - personal growth? - or just better social exposure "Noted," she offered. "Will have to look into building an anti-mother-knowing shield. Fringe science, but most good science is - worth the time and research to spare you from things you probably don't want to know first-hand."

[Gizmo]

Ellie covered her face with both hands at that, groaning in painful embarrassment. "Argh, too far, Marbar, too far," she sighed reproachfully, squeezing her eyes shut behind her palms to avoid looking in her mother's direction.

On the other side of the room, her brother made a sudden, snorting noise. Clearing his throat carefully, he innocently asked, "Sorry, 'Marbar'?"

"What?" the younger Espadas sibling asked, looking up as she processed what he was talking about. As realization dawned, her cheeks darkened, and she glared at Erik. "Sh-shut up!"

"That is adorable," he laughed instead, shaking his head in amusement.

[Fox]

Mara ducked her head down at Ellie's reproach, suitably chagrined by her social faux pas; her mental-note-taking on better bounds of dry sass were interrupted, however, by Erik's inquiries. "....I like it," she grumbled, ducking her head down further still and blushing a bit. "It's...cute. And not obnoxious. Enjoy the name...when she uses it, anyway." She tilted her head, looking thoughtful, if still embarrassed. "Would probably be less fond of other people using it. Double standard?"

[Gizmo]

"It's absolutely a double standard," Erik laughed easily, his tone surprisingly holding far more genuine affection than wry teasing. "Ellie wouldn't be caught dead calling anyone else something like that, you know."

His sister folded her arms with halfhearted petulance that threatened to dissolve into a small smile. "Well, nobody else better be calling you that, anyway," she told Mara, leaning over briefly to kiss the blonde lightly on the cheek. "...and I'm glad you like it."

[Fox]

Mara snorted, though she was still a little embarrassed. "Yes, they'd better not. Would probably find others' pet names...annoying. Would have to do science to people who used them."

That last bit was accompanied by a vaguely threatening shake of a cookie before that cookie shared the fate that all cookies must face one day. "Joking aside," she asked Erik after washing the cookie down with some milk, "am curious. Why do the girls you meet want to kill you? Obviously a little difficult for me to judge accurately, but don't seem to be unattractive, or offensive to anyone with a sense of humor."

[Gizmo]

"I know, right?" Erik laughed easily, all the while rubbing the back of his neck ruefully.

"You have to appreciate he's on his best behaviour tonight," Ellie noted, resting her chin in one hand, "due largely to numerous threats. Believe it or not, he can be pretty obnoxious sometimes."

Gina shook her head with a small sigh. "Unfortunately, not everyone shares that particular sense of humour."

"Or it could be because most of the women I meet are supervillains," the lone male pointed out flatly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there, sheesh."

[Fox]

Mara tilted her head, regarding Erik like she'd size up a machine. "....I'd believe it," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Obnoxious, I mean. Know how some humor can...grate on people, besides. Still. Should probably be the last person to try to encourage social activity, but city isn't short on heroines. Or normal women. Only meeting supervillains sounds more like...why I only know other heroes. Too much time spent working." She snorted, mostly at herself for somehow trying to dispense dating advice. "Good for dedication, effectiveness. Probably bad for social life. Would know - I would, I mean."

[Gizmo]

"Well, it's not like he's obsessed or anything," Ellie pointed out lightly before giving her brother a smirk. "Oh wait."

"Alright, alright!" Erik practically groaned, throwing his hands in the air. "So I'm committed, it keeps me busy. What, you think I never take a night off?" There was a long, awkward pause before he clarified with some annoyance, "Yes, I take nights off. Occasionally. Well, I could if I felt like it."

[Fox]

Mara raised a skeptical eyebrow, having no small familiarity with that argument - after all, she'd used it herself often enough. "Did say that I shouldn't be giving social advice. Probably got out less than you did, before meeting Ellie. Still - know it's important to stay...sane. Too easy to lose yourself in work. Important to at least meet people who don't want to kill you. For dating or not." She gestured vaguely with one hand, snorting. "Can always justify it as work. Important to have contacts. Social network seems oddly and frequently useful for research or decompression."

[Gizmo]

In no position to argue the point, Erik sighed heavily. "How did tonight become all about me, anyway?" he drawled with a small smirk, lowering his arms to fold them across his chest. The expression on the young man's angular features remained vaguely amused, but there was a subtle tightness that suggested he wasn't really used to having to justify his actions or choices.

"You're just terribly interesting dear," Gina deadpanned. "Even so, I suppose we can tear ourselves away from the heady drama of your life for a little while. Mara, you must get some chance to socialize, working at the Lab?"

[Fox]

Mara blinked as the topic was turned back on her, looking for a moment like a deer caught in the headlights. "Me? Mmh. Not...not much," she admitted, ducking her head a bit. "Some - do interact with people, but usually just business. Work. Projects that need to get done, or questions that are asked. Friends with Ironclad, talk to Gossamer and Protectron sometimes, but...." She shrugged a little, helplessly. "Not...very outgoing? And don't think a lot of the employees think I'm very...approachable. They're probably right," she admitted, grimacing. "Tend to get involved and distracted with what I'm working on. Or...grumpy."

[Gizmo]

"Oh phaw," Gina chided, shaking her head dismissively. "You've been nothing but lovely all evening. You can't be expected to drop everything you're working on to chat with every intern," the older woman asserted firmly. "Just so long as you've made a friend or two; wouldn't stand for it if they weren't treating you well."

"She's serious," Erik confirmed with a rueful smile. "She'd wheel right in there and guilt trip every big brain she could find."

[Fox]

Mara snorted, partly to hide a smile that was threatening to sneak onto her face. "Am treated well there. Have to be: I'm a founder. Part owner of the whole thing, helped design and build the building...accept no money from them for non-Lab projects, but still have decent authority." She shrugged, pulling hair back behind an ear. "Just meant that it isn't usually...social. Meet with people at work for work things; have many respected colleagues, but few friends. But that's okay. Not a...phrase...'social butterfly'; do better with a select few good friends than many."

[Gizmo]

"Gee, who does that sound like?" Erik drawled, eliciting an exaggeratedly petulant look from his sister as she stuck out her tongue at him. "Ellie isn't exactly known for working well with others," he elaborated for Mara's benefit.

"Yeah, right, coming from Mr. Team Player here," his sibling scoffed in turn before looking to her girlfriend. "I think people like you more than you think they do. You pull off endearingly quirky really well."

[Fox]

Mara blushed a little, but still managed a grimace. "Am probably...cautiously liked. Not threatening, but have a reputation for being reclusive, have snapped an intern or two - need to not touch my things without asking - and am known to experiment in bending space." She paused, blinked, and realized how that probably sounded. "Safely!" she reassured, glancing wide-eyed toward Erik and Gina. "Always safely." usually safely "Don't take unnecessary risks. But...fringe science. The interesting kind. Makes some people nervous."

[Gizmo]

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want you to be in a high-risk profession," Gina nodded sagely, giving Mara a very serious look indeed. "I mean, goodness, if there were some sort of accident, you could lose the use of limb or something."

"Daaamn..." Erik drawled, wincing mightily and covering his eyes with one hand. "That was ice cold."

His mothers deadpan broke into a familiar smirk as she gave Mara an apologetic look. "Sorry, horribly inappropriate jokes are one of the few silver linings I enjoy. So long as you're taking precautions, nobody here is going to tell you to play it safe."

"I might!" Ellie interjected a little crossly. "I've got a vested interest in keeping you in working order, y'know."

[Fox]

Mara made an extremely undignified laughing snorting noise at Gina's joke, covering her mouth with one hand and coughing to try to hide it. can see where they get their senses of humor "Mmh. It's one of the reasons I'm being careful," she assured Ellie, nodding. "Have a...vested interest in keeping me in working order now, too."

She glanced at Ellie and then down at herself and back again, raising an eyebrow. "Well. Was a vested interest - now just an interest wearing my shirt. Still important, though."

[Gizmo]

With a prodigious groan, Ellie shook her head, looking sidelong at Mara. "Honestly, I think your plan is to keep making puns so bad I have to kiss you just to make you stop," she opined dryly.

"Heh... 'vested'..." Erik chuckled quietly, resting a thumb and the knuckle of a forefinger over his eyes with a smirk. "Well, ladies, I hate to head out, but I'm working the graveyard shift, if you catch my meaning." Lowering the hand from his face, he snapped his fingers lightly. As he did, the light fixture on the kitchen ceiling let loose a small spark. "Very nice having you over, Mara," he told their guest with a shallow bow.

[Fox]

"Not admitting to anything," Mara deadpanned, but she looked more than a little satisfied with the response her terrible pun had gotten. "Not typically very good with puns - brain's too literal, I think. Have to take advantage of them when they occur to me. Anything else is...a beneficial side-effect."

"Very nice having you over, Mara," he told their guest with a shallow bow.

The young woman blinked, glancing quickly from the light fixture to Erik. mmh - interesting "Was...nice to be over. Thank you for the food. ...graveyard shift?" She blinked as her brain almost audibly clicked over to that train of thought, and little lights danced behind her eyes for a fraction of a second as she asked the digital watch in her bag what time it was. "Mmh! ...later than I thought. Phrase...'time flies'?"

[Gizmo]

"Love the lights," Ellie murmured largely to herself, a smile spreading across her face that was goofy enough that she likely would have tried harder to contain it if she'd been able to see herself.

"Have fun, dear," Gina told Erik with the same airy ease she'd have used to see him off to the grocery store. "If you're changing upstairs, check to see if the sleeping bags are still in the bottom of the closest, would you?"

"Hmm?" Erik raisied a curious eyebrow as he headed out of the kitchen. "Sleeping bags? Sure, I'll look." The statement sounded more like a question, particularly as he tilted his head to one side.

"Well, we're hardly going to send Mara back to Greenbank of all places by herself in the middle of the night," his mother chided sternly.

The elder Espadas sibling paused for a beat. "You... know she's a superhero, right?"

[Fox]

Mara looked a little blank herself, blinking as she glanced between Erik and his mother. "Not...really in any danger. Not the best neighborhood, but not that dangerous. If you're properly equipped. Mostly just gang members and thugs, anyway - might be good to give the area a midnight sweep anyway and...check for...late-night break ins?" The young woman's protests were rapidly losing steam as she realized what they probably sounded like to someone - a mother! - who didn't run around with force fields or flaming swords. She coughed. "Wouldn't...want to intrude, anyway?"

[Gizmo]

Gina made a flat, dismissive sound from the back of her throat. "You're much too bright to be having this much trouble with the concept of 'welcome to the family'," she told Mara sternly.

"Intruding really requires a sense of personal boundaries," Erik shouted down the stairs as he made his way to the second floor, "which we're pretty sketchy on here. Let's see..." Muttering to himself more quietly, he rummaged about in the closet next to the bathroom.

"You don't have to use a sleeping bag, though..." Ellie commented innocently.

"Well of course she doesn't," Gina cut in immediately. "Honestly, I raised you better than that. The guest gets the bed; the sleeping bag is for you."