milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Spike's definitely out of his comfort zone: gun under virtual lock and key (which means no clip loaded), lighter tucked away safely, and... he has no fucking idea what to expect.

No one's ever asked him for this kind of favor before, and it makes him nervous as hell. He's no good at it and he knows it, but he owes it to her to try. He sits at his usual table, glass of iced coffee already halfway drained. He hopes he doesn't need anything else.

At least he might learn a thing or two.

Or not.

He'll see how it goes. And remember never to make offhand comments again, because sometimes people take them seriously.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*Snow gives an approving smile at how he handles the children*

I'm sure you'll get along fine, and I'd rather you wait for their fine motor and hand-eye skills to develop a bit more before teaching them to shoot. *she snickers at this*

"Yeah. I would never. Not till they're 4, 5." He bounces Millie on his knee just a little bit. "I'll take good care of them, and I won't even tell them the joke that goes so a bounty hunter, a wind-baby, and a little girl walk into a bar..."

He takes a sip of the iced coffee, glad he left the wait-rat with the instructions to keep refreshing it. "Couple hours till their bedtime, you think?" He's just trying to set a framework. He's never worn a watch. The one Joe left for him is up in Room 8, tucked away safely in a bureau drawer.

Spike just has a good sense for how long things ought to take. He looks down at Millie. Tell you stories about Bruce Lee and walking dogs and life in space and lava birds. And when Beth gets here, you might actually see me smile.

*Snow gives a slight sigh*

At least they haven't learned enough words to repeat it. *a smile again* You'll have a few hours together before I come back for them, but it shouldn't be too long. I'm sure you'll do well.

"Okay." He nods to Snow. "We'll be good. Don't worry."

He almost can't wait to see what's in that magic bag of hers, anyhow. He can probably come up with plans for all of its contents.

*Snow stands, running through a mental checklist to make sure she didn't forget anything, then pats Millie's hair and gives Wade's back a rub before stepping back*

Well, I'll be off now. Have a good time, and be good for Spike.

*she gives a last smile to them all before moving off*

He watches her leave.

Hell, I can do this. How hard can it be? He looks down at Millie. "Last time you gummed my jacket pretty good. Have at it."

Then he looks up at Wade. "Hey you. You've been sleeping every other time I saw you: I'm Spike, and I'm going to be your tour guide for the evening's program. You just let me know what you want me to do."

At the moment he looks pretty damn content just bobbing up and down there, but that could change any minute. Hell, kids are more volatile than bounties. More volatile than pets.

They're even more volatile than women with attitude. He knows he's probably in for a hell of an interesting night.

*Wade smiles down at him and drifts to a more conversation-appropriate level*

Hi!

"Hey."

He considers the floating baby. He doesn't know what to do with him, but he considers him anyhow. He's actually kind of cute.

"Think we should see what goodies your mom left for us?" He reaches for the bag; Millie perks up a little bit when he brings it over.

He doesn't open it yet, though.

Gotta build the suspense. That bag and its contents are his only real ace in the pocket.

*Millie wriggles over to the bag. She can smell something chocolate in there, but that doesn't always mean she'll get some right away. . .*

He holds onto her, probably tighter than he needs to: he sure as hell doesn't want her falling. Not in his first five minutes in charge. "Hold on there, cowgirl. Let's open it up and take a look."

Spike makes a bigger deal out of opening it than he would normally, pulling out some clean diapers and setting those aside with an expression of mild panic. Reaching back in, he comes up with a couple dolls. One floats up to where Wade is and hovers near him; he gives the other to Millie. "This what you're looking for?"

He bets it isn't.

*Wade giggles and bats his doll about. He likes it, at least*

*Millie grabs hers with a smile. Not chocolate, but still fun*

Yay!

*she bats hers in Spike's direction*

Beth found it damn near impossible not to stop in the doorway and watch for a few minutes.

The kids are just adorable, but it's the sight of Spike opening that bag and pulling out diapers and dolls that makes her smile and snicker.

When she finally walks over, she hasn't done a very good job of wiping the smile off her face.

"Hi, you guys. Having fun?"

"Hey."

Thank fuck you're here. He tugs just a little bit on Wade's tether and also gives Millie a squeeze. "Listen up, you two." His voice is quiet, conspiratorial. "The boss just got here, so I have to be on best behavior. No more dirty jokes, no more teaching you how to smoke."

He winks at Beth. "Pick a twin, any twin."

Beth laughs.

"I was sure you'd have them drinking martinis and smoking by the time I got down here."

Not bothering to sit yet, she wiggles her fingers at Wade and grins. "This little guy's my date tonight."

She's only ever held Wade and she knows Spike's played with Millie a few times before. Millie's the one she's always heard about gumming the collars of Spike's shirts, anyway. They might be more comfortable together.

*Wade gusts over to her and beams, batting his floaty toy toward her*

Hi!

"Hi!" she answers him just as cheerily.

She stops to look at the doll for a minute, though, because it's fucking floating.

Just like Wade.

She catches the toy, bats it down just to watch it float back up, and then directs it back to Wade's waiting arms.

And then she bends to press the quickest of kisses to Spike's temple. "You're a brave guy, bounty hunter."

She's still smiling, but she's not just teasing him.

He hands Wade's tether to Beth, gladly, before shifting Millie to his other side. She's liking her doll just as much as Wade, but there's still more stuff in that bottomless bag of Snow's.

One thing at a time.

Now, he winks at Beth. "I wouldn't be nearly so brave about it if you weren't here, Slim. There's diapers in that bag." Then he turns to Millie and whispers to her stealthily. "When you grow up, you want to be just like Beth here. She's the best."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Beth play with Wade. For a pair of people who don't want kids, they sure seem to be having a little bit of fun.

*Millie's eying the bag more, but batting her toy around, still. Julie is cuddled and manuvered to join in the game. To Spike's comment about Beth, she gives a solomn nod, then returns, giggling, to the game*

It's almost like volleyball, and that's a game he knows real well: he bats the floating toy over toward Millie, who has the hand-eye coordination to use her wolf-eared doll to hit back with. "Here you go, young lady, and don't beat up your floating doll all at once or it's going to be a real short night, because I didn't bring any other toys except a pack of smokes and this jacket." He tugs at the lapel just a little, knowing it's going to get completely trashed.

"Want to sit, Slim?" He nods to the chair next to his. "I have the rat on order to keep refilling the iced coffee... in fact..." He nods to the little hard-working rodent as a fresh iced coffee appears. "Bet chocolate would go really well with this. What do you say, ma'am? That means you, Miss Millie: Chocolate?" He slides the glass out of her reach.

Beth's eyes dart from Spike to Millie, and sitting in the chair Spike nodded to, she grins a little.

She's not wearing a belt or anything, so she hooks Wade's tether to the back of her chair and plays with it a second to be sure it's secure.

Feeling his floating doll brush against the top of her head, she grins more. "Is it snack time? What've we got for Wade?"

She thinks she remembers Snow saying something about Wade eating air and she's curious as hell.

Spike pulls the bag closer, turning to Millie. "No peeking, you." He pretends to shield the bag's contents from her as he rifles through it.

Diapers. Nope, don't need those yet.
Teething ring. Nope. She's not even playing with my collar.
Book. Too early.
Bottle of something: it's probably the nutrient-enriched air Snow talked about.

He hands that to Beth for Wade, then digs a little deeper.

Wipes. No comment.

"Ah, here we go. Chocolate snacks. You don't want these, do you, Millie?" With a grin, he nods to Beth.

Think I'm getting the hang of this. At least so far.

*Wade moves to the can and quickly begins eating. He's reached the point he's pretty much able to feed himself*

*Millie egarly moves to the chocolate treats*

Yah! Choc'la!

Her mouth falling open just a little, Beth watches Wade as he kind of hovers there right above the table, feeding himself.

She kind of squints for a moment, trying to make something out, trying to get a glimpse of what he's eating. But it's air.

She idly thinks that must be pretty damn great for Snow. There'll never be much of a mess to be cleaned whenever Wade finishes eating.