Just Like Children (Leila/Open)

[Riley Adams]

Riley laughed along with his friends, confident in the fact that they were obviously just joking around. "What? How have you not eaten my lasagna? That has to be rectified. Soon!" He frowned in determination. "I can't be upstaged by Sean and Ben when it comes to my lasagna!"

He was secretly pleased that Josh thought his lasagna was better than Sean's but he said nothing. When Josh joked about Cobalt's 'volunteer work', Riley laughed when he saw Cobalt take a bite into his cookie.

Turning to where Josh was talking about the kissing and dunking booth, Riley winced when he saw the boy being dumped with a bucket of water. "Whoops."

[Leila Gold]

Leila got her face done up very nicely and spent a few minutes wandering around looking at several of the booths. She debated trying some of the different events, but decided ultimately that it would be a good idea to check on the troop of men she'd left before.

She was glad that she did, since they weren't really doing anything. They were just...standing there. Which was highly unfortunate--she'd hoped that with the three of them together they might have enough balls to try just one event. Apparently this was a vain hope.

She regarded them from behind, hands on her hips and tapping her foot. They didn't seem to notice her for the time being, and that gave her a bit of an idea. What gave her an even better idea was seeing someone at the kissing booth get dunked with a pail of water.

Bingo!

The bucket had been placed back at the dunk tank, and Leila smoothly sauntered by and snatched it up, then headed down to the lakeside. She debated stopping to say hello to the person in the dunk tank--she recognized Darryl from her days at school--but decided it would be better to just get on with her plan. There would be time for greetings later, hopefully.

She filled the bucket with the near-frozen water of the lake and lugged it up to where the trio of men she privately called her "dork troop" were standing. Then she came up very close behind all of them and hid the bucket behind her back.

"Boo," she said with a grin. She then pulled the bucket from behind her back and tossed it in an arc across all three of them, hoping that her splash would be enough to get them all but worried that it didn't have enough oomph behind it. Still, there was nothing more for it--she'd made an initial attack, and they were sure to have to retaliate in some manner.

Just because she could, she send a stream of cold air blasting back at them before running away with a huge laugh.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“I don’t know!” Cobalt laughed, “I am so offended, Riley. I might cry. Granted, I’ve not had either Ben or Sean’s lasagna, but I can’t imagine why I would be eating their food anyways. I thought we were friends, Riley.” He snickered, not able to keep a straight face through all this. His shadows danced about his shoulders, well and truly happy for the first time in a long time.

When Leila came back, Cobalt was instantly suspicious. She had that… look. That look that clearly said “I have something terrible planned for you”. But before he could ask her what was going on, she smiled sweetly and upended a bucket of freezing water on their heads.

“WAUGH!” Cobalt shouted, ducking far too late to avoid the icy water splashing down his head and neck into his shirt, “Oh shit that’s cold.” He hissed, blinking water out of his eyes, peering through water-spotted glasses as Leila sprinted away, blasting a burst of cold air after her. Cobalt shivered violently before his shocked expression turned into a wicked grin. Right then. Cobalt glanced around, looking manic and bedraggled, “All right then…”

By one of the abandoned or yet-to-be-manned booths was a large ice box full of water balloons. Guess not all the booths had been claimed after all. Cobalt reached in and pulled out a red balloon and lobbed it in Leila’s general direction.

Oh, it was so on.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"You can't really expect to have Sean's lasagna, it isn't as if the two of you are friends." Josh pointed out. He wished that the pair got along, but the fact of the matter was that they did not and there wasn't anything he could do about it. "But I'm surprised you haven't had either Riley's or Ben's." Cobalt and Ben had become good friends, as far as he could tell, which was a relief considering how well their initial meeting hadn't gone. "I thought you were friends with Ben, though. I know he doesn't ask you to come when we go out drinking, but lasagna can be had sans alcohol. I think. I've never tested this theory myself..." he admitted, then grinned at Riley's look of determination. "I suppose this means a lasagna dinner is forthcoming..." If this had been either Sean or Ben he would have offered to bring beer, but as neither Riley nor Cobalt drank that would be an empty gesture. "Unless you want to have a lasagna-off, see if everyone agrees with me that your lasagna is the best."

His attention turned to Leila as the young woman skipped up to the trio, a devious grin plastered across her face. He attributed the grin to the face paint, and had just opened his mouth, uttering a "Your face paint is very...." before she flung a bucket of water in their direction, followed by a blast of wind. And here he was trying not to come down with the flu again.

"What was that for!" He spluttered, pushing damp hair out of his face and attempting to shake water droplets off his glasses. Great, now his clothes were soaked. So, for that matter, was his clipboard. "How am I supposed to keep scores on wet paper?" He demanded, waving the clipboard futilely in Leila's direction while Cobalt took off after her with water balloons.

[Riley Adams]

"Oh no, I'm so sorry Cobalt! I never mean to offend people!" Riley curled his hands into fists and held them up in show. "We are definitely going to have a lasagna dinner soon." He said, breaking into a grin as Josh asked if they would have a lasagna bake-off. He hardly thought that was necessary. And besides, he would probably crumble under the pressure of a competition. Such a fragile creature, Riley Adams was.

With Leila coming back with her face all prettied up, Riley's smile widened and he was about to compliment her on the face paint when he was suddenly drenched in freezing water, in addition to the wind suddenly blown into his face and soaked clothes. "Whoa!" Riley exclaimed, looking down at his drenched clothes and as Cobalt ran after Leila and Josh started yelling, Riley couldn't help but laugh at Josh's state. And his either.

"Oh Leila you are in big trouble young lady!" He shouted out, grabbing Josh. "Come on, that girl is not getting away so easily. Grab some balloons!" he took a few and ran across the field to capture the blond dynamo. "Get back here you little lynx!"

[Leila Gold]

Sure it might have been considered mean, her splashing everyone in the face like that and just running away. Especially when they hadn't done anything to her, and it wasn't like they deserved it or anything. But had that ever stopped her before?

So she ran off, laughing and jumping about. Behind her she heard a few startled cries. She took the time to look behind her in order to see Cobalt find a few water balloons that were lying around. Laughing some more, she took on an extra burst of speed and rounded the corner of a booth.

His legs were just as short as hers, and he had bad knees. There was no way he could catch her in a race. No, she knew her only real threat was Riley. With his long legs, he could easily catch up to her, and then she'd have to resort to more drastic measures. Namely puppy eyes.

She paused for a moment behind a booth, panting breathlessly before peeking her head around the corner. There was no one that she actually saw, though that didn't mean that they weren't there. She dashed out and made a quick run toward the lake, where she hoped to be able to find another convenient bucket, or possibly a hose.

Unfortunately for her, she never made it all the way to the lake.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Leila's presumptions were absolutely correct: Cobalt's knees were bad and as it stood, Leila was probably quite a bit faster than he. Once upon a time, that would have been a different story, but he was old now, and hadn't anticipated having to sprint after an annoying blonde woman who had thrown water all over him and his friends. If he were thinking about it, this was one of the situations he'd never thought he would be in ever. It occurred to him that his life was not this absurd in Chicago, a far larger and more diverse city. He decided to blame Leila for this.

Speaking of Leila. The younger woman had disappeared behind some booth or another and Cobalt skidded to a stop, breathless with laughter. Okay. He knew his colleague. She wouldn't allow herself to get cornered, even in a game. He glanced around, still holding another water balloon. The lake. Trying not to think about how he was apparently covered in disgusting lake water, Cobalt turned around, calling for his friends to follow.

He caught up with Leila as she tried to sneak around some other way. "Oh Leila~!" He called with a grin, pitching a water balloon in her direction, aimed at her back, right between the shoulders.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Grab some balloons?" Josh repeated dumbly as Riley grabbed his wrist. But then his friend had dropped his arm in favor of water balloons, and both Cobalt and Riley had disappeared after the blonde. He sighed, glancing down at his clipboard; it would be awhile before it was dry enough to write on.

Well, no use waiting around, Riley and Cobalt were going to get revenge without him!! He placed his clipboard on the cookie booth, hoping the tiny bit of sun catching the booth despite the umbrella shading the wares would help dry it out.

He grabbed a couple of balloons (a couple was all he could carry) and followed after his friends. They'd managed to get out of his sights, winding through the maze of booths, and if it weren't for Cobalt's shout of victory he would have lost them completely. Fortunately, he heard the hue and cry and followed after with alacrity, skidding to a halt just behind Cobalt, who had cornered Leila by the lake.

The lake. Great. There was enough water to dump on the entire field day, and Leila could control the wind. Unless she wasn't feeling up to using her powers they were on the losing end of this war.

Still, he wasn't going to let his balloons go to waste, and so he tossed them in what was supposed to be Leila's general direction; if they so much as splashed at her feet he would consider this a victory.

[Riley Adams]

Following close behind Cobalt, Riley couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of this image he was painting. Three grown men chasing a young blond woman with water balloons. And again, he couldn't help but feel that this should have happened a long time ago. Sure he still had his energy, though with less stamina but still, he could still run!

When they caught up to her approaching the lake, Riley was a little hesitant but it didn't stop him from throwing one balloon in the aerokinetic's direction. It sailed through the air and for a moment, Riley wondered if Leila would use her powers to her advantage but the moment passed and all he could think of was the look on Leila's face if the balloon did hit her.

[Leila Gold]

The first balloon caught her square in the center of her back, soaking her shirt and dripping down her back. She aimed a gentle warm breeze at it and kept going, though she glanced back at Cobalt, who had apparently gotten in the first hit.

Where had he gotten water balloons?

The next attack came from Josh, and while one balloon splattered a good couple of feet away the second one got her on her lower legs. She cut the breeze, instead choosing to try to keep the air around her still in the hopes that it would let the sun dry out her jeans. But then, there was little hope for her to end up at all dry when this was all over.

Finally, she thought, we're all having fun. And she grinned savagely and continued toward the lake.

She came to a skidding halt at the edge of the lake and glanced back just in time to get a face-full of water. She gasped and shook her head to get the water out of her eyes. She was fairly certain she looked a little like a fish, but there wasn't much she could do about that right now other than glare at Riley and give a threatening smile.

"Hey Riley!" she called. "You messed up my face paint! I wouldn't have done that if I were you."

The three men were in front of her, the water was behind. She stood there panting for a moment, then looked at the others and started laughing hysterically.

She couldn't exactly use her powers right here in front of everyone from town. She knew enough about the treatment of metas to know that it wouldn't go well. But she could do little things with the wind, and there were lots of other ways to win a fight.

Leila stepped into the lake, accepting that her socks and shoes would get completely soaked, as well as the bottom of her jeans. She walked in a few feet, though, keeping her eyes on the men in front of her and still grinning. Then her face contorted and she bent over, gripping her stomach. When her face was hidden from the other three, she couldn't keep another grin from escaping, even as she fell to her knees in the water.

[Because yes, Leila is not above tricking them into believing that she's seriously ill just to get them wet.]

[Cobalt Weaver]

When they all skidded to a standstill by the lake, there was a moment of silence as they all looked at each other, each bedraggled and sopping wet with (probably filthy) lake water. Then Leila began to laugh. Unable to help himself, Cobalt rested his hands on his knees and started laughing himself. Really and truly laughing. It was just so ridiculous. They were a group of grown men and women and here they were acting like a bunch of children. And here Cobalt was, laughing hysterically by the edge of a lake, without feeling awkward, or put-upon and god help him, he might actually be having fun.

But then Leila’s face turned pained and she doubled over and the smile on Cobalt’s face disappeared and he hastened over to her, instantly worried. “Whoa, hold on, time out.”

He bent in front of her, a hand on her shoulder, “Leila, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Oh, he was so screwed.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh was feeling very pleased with himself when his balloon smacked Leila in the legs. Riley had much better aim, catching the young woman in the face, causing the elaborate swirls on her face to run down her cheeks. "Excellent aim!" He congratulated his taller friend with a laugh. They may have looked ridiculous, but he had already left his dignity at home when he'd volunteered for the field day at all. "Did you play baseball or something when you were a kid?"

He didn't know much about Riley's childhood at all. Or his teen years. Or his college years, either, for that matter, as he was still operating under the mistaken assumption that his friend hadn't gone to college since he was a landscaper. He was trying not to look down on Riley for this perceived lack of education (after all, as Cobalt pointed out, he did own his own business) but classism was deeply ingrained and years of this thinking were difficult to undo. Still, Riley was the nicest person he'd met, so obviously education wasn't everything. It was just difficult to really convince his subconscious not to make judgments about it.

His joy at their silliness evaporated as Leila hunched over, face contorting. He dropped his hands to his side, hesitating for only a moment before deciding it was best to hang back, allowing Cobalt to comfort his partner without hovering. He dropped back, looking up at Riley. "Do you think we should call someone? Is Clarisse around, do you know? She's a nurse, she should be able to help, shouldn't she?"

[Riley Adams]

"Thank you!" Riley beamed at Josh's compliment before shaking his head. "Nooo. Baseball is too technical." He couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw Leila's face paint crawl down her face. "Oh no!" He tried to stifle the laughter erupting from his throat but he was just caught in the moment. Cobalt bursting out laughing didn't help at all; it just made his own fit of giggles even bigger.

But when Leila gripped her stomach and Riley saw Cobalt rush to her, his laugh died before turning to Josh when he asked about Clarisse. "Uh...I don't know. I haven't seen her but I think I should..." he paused before approaching the two cautiously. If Leila was hurt, he would really feel guilty. Maybe he could help her heal? What was wrong with her?

"Leila...what happened?" he asked when he was near her and Cobalt.

[Leila Gold]

Two out of three. Not bad. Not optimal, but not too bad. Josh was too far out of reach, but at least the other two were in for a good dousing.

"I'm fine, Blue," Leila said quietly, still doubled over. Then she glanced up at him and grinned. That was the only warning he got before she reached out and hooked her foot behind his ankle and pulled. Then she ran the few steps toward Riley and used a bit of wind to sweep some water up toward the tall man. She used her arm in a sweeping gesture to make it less obvious that the water was making waves almost on its own. In a last hoorah, she ran toward Josh with arms spread.

She was totally soaked by this time, of course. And Josh looked like he really, really could use a big hug.

She had her car. Even if the others didn't have vehicles, she would offer to give them a ride home after this. And if anyone needed a change of clothes because they were staying later, Leila would offer to go get it for them. She knew that once the water fight was over this all might be uncomfortable. But for now, all that really mattered was that she was having a lot of fun, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even the cranky one had laughed, and that...that was good.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt barely noticed when Riley ran up to accompany them. He was far too concerned with what had suddenly happened with Leila. There’d been far too many “mysterious injuries” right now and he really, really didn’t want to go back to that damn hospital but he would if he needed to. He just really hoped they didn’t need to. But when Leila spoke up quietly, Cobalt wasn’t really convinced.

“Are you sure? What happened, what’s—” He trailed off when Leila looked up at him with a cheeky grin.

Wait…


Oh shi—

Without warning, Leila swept Cobalt’s feet right from under him and he crashed into the water. It was shallow, but at least deep enough to render him more or less soaked from head to toe. And to cause him to inhale quite a lot of dirty pond water in the process. Spluttering, Cobalt gasped and coughed in shock as Leila dumped a wave of water over Riley. “You.” He coughed after her, “are in so much trouble!” But he didn’t think she heard him, as she ran at Josh, arms outstretched. “Run Josh, run!” He yelled, laughing breathlessly.

Still sitting in the water, Cobalt turned his head up to look at Riley who looked as bedraggled as he felt. Blinking water out of his eyes, Cobalt grinned, “I think we lost.”