Debrief and Doughnuts (Callie)

[Eric Jones]

[Callie: Hey, come over. Debrief time]

Eric sent the text and glanced around his living room. It was tidy enough; sure, there was a clothes horse with his underwear drying in the corner but it wasn't too obvious. And besides, it was his sister, not someone he wanted to knock boots with.

Balls had sensed something was up, mostly because Eric had pulled that damn sweater vest onto the small cat, and gotten a few scratches for his pains.

Ah well, his little sister thought it was adorable. A thought grabbed him, and the teleporter reached for his phone. One more quick message.

[Callie: if you bring doughnuts I will love you forever.]

[Calliope Gallo]

[Eric: Already on it!]

Callie had made sure that she was bringing something good over to his place. She stopped briefly at work to pick up a few of his and her favourites before heading over to his place. Rather than knocking she just breezed right through; the door was unlocked. And if it hadn't been she would just use her set of keys anyway!

"I got what you asked for. Where are you?" She asked. It wasn't hard to find him in his apartment, but it was just easier to ask.

[Eric Jones]

"Couch!" Eric called out, not bothering to get up. She knew her way around well enough. "Did you bring the-" he caught sight of the box in Callie's hands as she made her way into hte living space and pushed himself up off the couch. "You are the best sister," he said simply, taking the box to set on the coffee table. "The best."

Grabbing one of the cinnamon scroll thingies, Eric sat back down and watched as his traitor cat ran over to rub up against Callie's legs. Gesturing to the couch next to him, Eric swung one of his legs up so he could turn to face his little sister properly.

"Go on," he said after a moment, smirking. "How was it then?"

[Calliope Gallo]

Callie wandered through the apartment, noting quickly that it looked like he'd tried to clean up for her. Ahh, that was nice of him. As she approached him, she offered the box out to him with one hand. "Charlie said hi, by the way." She grinned at her own words, moving to sit down but then Eric's cat started running along her legs.

"Aristoboulos~" She sung, picking him up with her hands on both sides of his body. She scooped him into one arm so she could adjust the sweater he was wearing. He didn't seem to mind with her.

Callie looked over to Eric, now bouncing idly like the cat was a baby or something. His purring made her happy. "It was nice," Callie began, nuzzling her face into the side of Aristoboulos'. His whiskers tickled her nose slightly. "Jez picked something fun to do, didn't she?"

[Eric Jones]

The comment about Charlie made Eric smile to himself, though he didn't reply. While Callie could tell they flirted (they were about as subtle as a rainbow hammer to the face), he didn't want to exactly put any ideas into her head. He wasn't about to start dating Charlie, after all. Not in a "come and meet my parents" kind of way.

Rolling his blue eyes at the cat's obvious display of favouritism, Eric finished off his doughnut and reached for another one. One eyebrow quirked as the teleporter took in Callie's baby-talk. "Fun?" he repeated, "that's good I guess. What, you went to the zoo or something?"

[Calliope Gallo]

Aristoboulos always seemed comfortable in Callie's arms, but after a short while she leaned over so he could jump down and do his own thing. He just looked so damn cute in his adorable little checkered sweater~ Callie reached over and took one of the chocolate iced doughnuts from the box before she fell to sit beside him.

"No, nothing like that. I don't even think there is a zoo nearby. If there is, we should go there." She stopped once she realised she was getting side tracked. "We went to some swing dance club." Callie explained, before taking a bite.

[Eric Jones]

Balls clambered over Callie's arms and swaggered over to the box, sniffing at the doughnuts until Eric battered him away. "You'll get fat, Balls," he warned, grabbing a blueberry glazed one while his hand was so nearby.

He had a mouthful when he heard what was actually considered fun, and nearly spat out his mouthful. Chewing furiously and swallowing, Eric frowned. "What do you mean, a dance club?" he asked, "what, an underage night or something?"

[Calliope Gallo]

"Aristoboulos." Callie corrected, her eyes narrowing as she looked over to him. It wasn't that hard to say! She listened a little bit as he asked her a few more questions.

"No, I went to that one with Ca-" Pause. She forgot he didn't know about that! As a distraction, she took another bite because at least that meant that she didn't need to say anything. "Uhh, I don't think it was underage. Someone told her not to let me drink anything, so..."

[Eric Jones]

"Balls," Eric repeated, grinning. Gia might have named the thing, but his pet had to have a name he could at least pronounce without choking on his own tongue.

It took just a moment for him to put the peices together; he could ask who Ca- was later, and why she hadn't told him there was another date (because seriously, why were so many people suddenly after his little sister). There was something much more important that needed addressing. "Calliope," he said slowly, putting down his doughnut. "You were in a club? How the hell did you get into a club! You're a minor! A very minor minor!"

The frown was deepening, his expression one of angry surprise. "Damn straight you shouldn't have been drinking anything! What the hell, Callie?!"

[Calliope Gallo]

"Don't call me Calliope." She huffed between phrases.

But then he started yelling at her. She winced a little but at what she would call outrage, completely confused about where it was coming from. She caught his frown in her eyes and responded with the small out turn of her bottom lip; a kind of pout.

"I don't know!" Callie called back, shrugging. "She knew the people who owned it, I think. Is that bad?"

[Eric Jones]

Eric raised a hand and with great deliberation, smacked his palm against his forehead. It wasn't Callie's fault, and she clearly didn't get what she'd done wrong, and that was the problem. Because she honestly just trusted that people would do the right thing.

"Yes, it's bad," he said finally, shaking his head. "That is not where you take a 16 year old girl for a date!" He paused, and stuffed the rest of the doughnut in his mouth to give himself a chance to think. "Did they know you were underage?" Eric had dropped the volume, but the indignation still rang pretty clear in his voice.

[Calliope Gallo]

"Well, I didn't drink anything if that's what you're worried about." Callie said, taking the chance to say that much while he was eating. Him eating meant that he couldn't shoot back at her. And that was always a plus.

When he asked, she had to think back to that night. "Ok. So we went to this place and we bypassed this really long line. And this guy at the door was all-" Cue a bad Scottish accent; "Does yer dad know yer on ah daite wuth a lass?" She paused, dropping it again. "And so I didn't say anything and he gave me the once over or something. And then he was all Just dn't let herr drrrink, Spitfirrree!! And I was like; Whaaat?"

Was it as bad as he thought, really? "Where are we? He said something in a different language." She sighed. "And she said he said; How did sumwon as sexy as tha' end up with sumwon laike yeww."

[Eric Jones]

Chew. Chew. Chew. Eric's jaw worked slowly as he listened to the recount of the night. At any other time, Callie's attempts at a scottish accent would have had him spluttering doughnut all over the room as he laughed until his sides ached.

But there really wasn't anything funny about hearing a bouncer check out a 16 year old girl, and there was absolute nothing funny about a bouncer calling his baby sister sexy.

He sighed and covered his eyes with one hand. "Callie," he said slowly, sounding slightly pained, "if someone tries to sneak you into a club, don't go on, ok? Just... just don't. People can take advantage."

How the hell was he supposed to go after a girl? Couldn't exactly threaten her, could he? Damn it, he had morals!

[Calliope Gallo]

The silence wasn't settling. Aristoboulos seemed to realise this, because he was keen to make his way over to her and sit on her lap. That or he just wanted her attention. She ran her hand along the top of his head, one after the other.

"I didn't know that's where we were going." Callie confessed, sounding slightly sheepish under his words. "Or even where we really were, y'know?" Tentatively, she looked up from the cat and over towards him, frowning and very clearly upset.

Were those tears about to form in her eyes..? "Sorry..."

[Eric Jones]

Oh no, not that. Anything but that. Eric managed to stay strong for all of .005 of a second before he tackled Callie into a tight hug. No way, no way could anyone see her cry without hugging her, unless they were some sort of monster.

"I'm sorry I got mad," he mumbled, "It's not your fault, ok?" He pulled back so she could see his not mad face. "It's just... something could have happened to you. And that's not ok."

Seriously, god, the possibilities... "It's ok. Promise. Now," change of subject, that was a good idea. "What was this other one? Ca or something?" there, that would take his mind off it. Couldn't be as bad as this date, right?