2012-08-02 Reunion Under the Golden Arches

So here she was, at McDonalds. A long-sleeved, yellow shirt, black and white striped armwarmers, a pair of jeans, and some cozy Doc Martens were her outfit today, her long blonde hair braided into a ponytail down her back.She had one of those one dollar double burgers on the table before herself, and some water; but she had to be frugal with her pay, now. Especially if she was going to spend some for a plane ticket to California - to say goodbye to old friends, and old places, before starting her new life. With a world-weary sigh, she bites into the hamburger, chasing it with a sip of water, her eyes idly going to look out the window.
The Golden Arches aren't Agent Coulson's first choice, generally speaking. But since picking up the irascable and enthusiastic Molly somewhere east of LA, it's been a regular stop. The girl eats a ton-- and he's not surprised she does-- and while S.H.I.E.L.D. gives him an expense account, it's best to attempt to be frugal about it. Besides, the apple pie things aren't bad.This is another one of those stops, and a bit of a routine has been established. The agent follows Molly in, bemusedly letting her prattle on happily about whatever's on her mind of the moment-- "normal-people" topics only, of course-- he nods and occassionally comments, she orders, he orders, pays, and then they have lunch in a quiet corner and reminds her when she starts to say things people would actually notice. It's almost become a normal part of his routine now.
Molly is comfortable around an adult for the first time in years. There's something about Coulson, even with his almost placcid Agentness. A twinkle in his eyes, a youthfulness in his soft smile, when he shows it. He seems almost more like a kid sometimes then an adult, and Molly can dig that. Today she's dressed in his Captain America shirt, with the large shirt tied around her waist to make it fit her youthful self a bit better, and jean shorts and pink and yellow Converse. Her hat is a bunny hat, the ears dangling down to her waist and ending in gloves, which she currently isn't using.She skips into the McDonalds, grinning ear to ear. "Yes! Food! McFlurry!" She gets to the counter and orders an Extra Large McNugget value meal, a McFlurry, and one of those enormous 60 cent Cokes. She turns to glance about as Coulson places his own order.
Yes, the well-dressed man eating at a McDonalds was enough to draw Karolina's eyes to him, briefly, although not until he was at the counter proper. A little smile touches her lips as she spies the bunny ear hat, but the smile was more wistful, than joyous. At least, until well... 'McFlurry!'. A pause, and Karolina's mouth drops open. Leaving her half-eaten burger behind and drink behind, Karolina stands up, wetting her lips briefly out of a sense of nervousness more than anything else.It was a bit childish for someone who was nearly 20 to do, but she kinda creeps up behind the barrier = you know, the one that seperates the dining area from the people who stand in line? And kinda says, in a bit of a whisper - although loud enough to be a hiss, morelike. "Molly? /Molly/? Is that you?"
As usual, Coulson knows what he wants, so it doesn't take him long at all to order. An iced tea (no-- plain, please), a burger based on how hungry he is, and a second of whatever dessert Molly's chosen of the moment.It's a testament to his Agentness, as Molly'd put it, that while his card is being run, Karolina doesn't go entirely unnoticed. But rather than engage her directly, he nudges Molly, just as Karolina's trying to catch his attention. "I think there's a friend of yours trying to talk to you," he murmurs quietly, then takes his card from the cashier and pockets the wallet in his jacket. He's as surprised as anyone, but good enough at his job that it doesn't show.
The sixteen year old hears the voice and glances about, confused. Coulson nudges her, however and says those words, and her bright, wide eyes finally fall on Karolina. Her jaw drops, and she tries to say something but it comes out as gibberish. The presence of her old friend finally seems to set in and she moves quickly. She races across the ordering area and vaults from a chair onto a table and then over the partition, attempting to tackle the older girl."KAROLINA OH MY GOD NOWAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE I MISSED YOU SO MUCH HOW ARE YOU WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF THE OTHERS?!?!?!"
The quarters were too tight for Karolina not to really notice the interplay between the Agent and one of her friends. In fact, the Agent was then given a brief glance - a very brief eyeing of a dubious nature. But suspicion could only hold a place in her heart so long - that, and the impending danger of a Molly-charge. Not that Karolina was acting like it was dangerous - in fact, Molly's smile was infectuous. It spreads across her own lips, Karolina smiling just as widely as the other. "That /is/ you, Molly! Oh my god! What /are/ you doin..." Karolina begins, before that Mollycharge connects.It wasn't as bad as she was thinking, really. Karolina takes a step back involuntarily, and for a moment, it looks like she very much would lose her balance - but the clever and the observant might realize that she was using a subtle application of her flight power to keep her upright. Throwing her arms around her friend, she hugs Molly the tightest her noodlearms will allow. "I thought... oh, I thought I would never see you again! What are you /doing/? How are you /doing/? What have you been up to?! Have you seen the others?" she asks, and yes - at the corners of her eyes, tears were starting to slip down her cheeks.Coulson watches the reunion over his shoulder long enough to make sure it's nothing to be concerned about-- a lot of things happen with people like these girls over a couple of years, and there was no guarantee it was going to go as well as Molly expected. But it does, and Phil levels one of his most disarming smiles at the cashier to keep her and others from staring too much. "Teenagers, right?" he notes, with just the right amount of mild exasperation. Nothing unusual here. He lets the girls reconnect... at least until food is produced, at shich point he sweeps up the tray, and pauses a respectable distance away. "I think we should sit down, ladies," he notes mildly, a patient but entirely geniune smile playing about his lips, and he nods towards the corner.
The younger girl clings to Karolina as they hug eachother, and her eyes sparkle with tears as well. molly steps back after a long moment and she wipes at her eyes. "That's what I asked you!" She grins from ear to ear. "I'm doing the same! Just like what we were doing before!" She glances over at Coulson as he pays for the food and then turns back quickly. "I'm really good! Better then I've been for a couple'a years." She frowns a hint, then. "No...you're the first I've seen since...well, you know." When food is mentioned Molly bounces. "You should totally join us, Karolina! At our table, I mean!" She makes her way over to sit down, grabbing at her soda and taking a few long, breathless sips. She glances between Karolina and Coulson before she beams. "Karolina, this is Phil! Phil, this is Karolina! She's part of that...group I toldja about? Also, Karolina...Phil is cool as hell! Basically my new BFF!"
"I haven't seen any of the others, either," Karolina says, "You're the first, but oh, I think about you guys so much," Karolina says, the smile on her lips still bright. "I'm doing better now than the last couple of years, myself. You'd never, ever believe it, but I'm with a different group now - they're official and everything - we're in Metropolis," she just gushes - bringing up the back of her hand to wipe at the corner of her eyes, grateful for the arm warmers. They were a bit more absorbent than skin itself, which was a plus when soaking up the little happy tears she was threatening to make.Okay, 'lina. Deep breaths. Clearing her throat and composing herself a bit, she puts a little smile on her face - it was a wobbly one, when she looks towards the Agent. A long breath, with Karolina squaring her shoulders a touch, and the teen steps forward, her eyes flickering towards Phil's, as if searching them for any wrongdoing. "Hello, sir. Um. I am Karolina - how do you know Molly?" she asks.Coulson gives the girls a bit of time to sort themselves out-- and levels a surprisingly effective mind-your-own-business Look at someone a couple of tables over. He's quite patient about letting them get ahold of theirselves and unentangled, then slides into a seat where he can see the dorr and lets the girls arrange themselves however they like."Blind chance," Coulson replies to Karolina's question, with a friendly smile as he unwraps his choice of food. "Both headed back to New York from LA. I didn't really like the idea of driving past and leaving her alone on the road. Turns out we have a lot in common," he muses, nodding Molly's way. Well. Enough in common that they get along.
She blink at Karolina and grins. Her words are a hushed whisper so that other tables can't listen in at this point. "You're on a new team? That's super cool. I've been running solo for the last four years. Been on the streets, too." She shrugs, beginning to dip the nuggets in Barbecue sauce and tossing them back as she talks. "Crashed on rooftops and alleys, but most recently in a thicket in Central Park." Molly gestures to Coulson. "I was...you know...doing the job on some flying types. I passed out and woke up in the desert on the wrong side of the country. He picked me up when I was hitchhiking. He's good people. He said he's gonna ask around to get me on a team, too. He knows people!"
If it were any other young woman in the world, Karolina would be more suspicious of Agent Coulson's motives. A long beat, where she looks at his eyes a moment longer, and Karolina Dean lets a smile touch her lips. "The same kinda blind chance that led you guys to eating in this very McDonalds, the same time that I am," she says, with that smile already starting to slip. Fetching the remains of her food quickly, Karolina slides into a seat at the table, looking first towards the Agent again, before Molly catches her attention."And, you know, I wonder if they could get you in as well, Molly," Karolina says in a little hush, "That is, if you're kinda looking for a life like that. I have it really nice so far," she says, in a hush, before she pauses. "I know Phil is your best friend, but is he... you know..." A pause, when the other team was mentioned, and Karolina straightens up in her seat somewhat, looking towards Phil then, and canting her head to the side. "...the Titans?" she tells him, in a hush.
The teenager glances between Karolina and Coulson as she considers what Karolina is saying. She speaks quietly, lowering her voice even further as she finishes off her nuggets and starts to work dipping fries in her McFlurry and devouring them. "Titans? That sounds cool. I'll keep it in my mind. I wanna meet the people Phil wants to introduce me too, also. He's gonna take me to the Thysciran Embassy to meet Wonder Woman too." She grins widely at that and leans in to whisper in Karolina's ear."He works for S.H.I.E.L.D. He's like...a secret agent or something. Totally legit."
There was a long pause, and kinda a sinking feeling in Karolina's heart that one could almost see in her expression. It wasn't quite disappointment, but something close to realization, the blonde sitting up a bit straighter in her chair, her hand coming up to idly toy with her braid, pulling it forward over her front. A beat, and that expression fades away with a smile. A very real, and a very gentle one, as she looks up towards Molly, the young woman reaching over to try to just take one of Molly's hands in her own, and squeeze. "You should. I have no idea what... that group that you just said that he is with is, but..." Karolina turns her eyes towards the Agent, and cants her head just so. "You know, he seems like a good guy. He won't steer you wrong," she says, before smiling. "You'll have to stay in touch, okay? And tell me all about it? Or I'll get very upset at you," she says.The Agent in question can tell, based on Karolina's response, that Molly is being all forthcoming again. But he elects to sip his tea. Now is not the time to do a refresher course on secret things. Besides... a Titan knowing who he is-- that is not outside the job description anyway. Only the venue really leaves much to be desired. He otherwise keeps his peace, sips his tea and tries not to listen to their exchange *too* much. This right here is a between-them sort of thing, in his estimation.
Molly looks surprised at Karolina's reaction, and she sits back to consider her words. She frowns and leans forward again, placing a hand on Karolina's arm. "Oh no! I didn't mean it like that! I just...I wanna shop around, y'know? I'd -love- to be on a team with you again! I've wanted to be back with you guys since we broke apart! But..." She sits back, selfconciously reaching out and taking a sip at her soda. "...A lot has happened, is all. I mean, I even fought the God of Thunder, y'know? Life happened." She sighs and places her face in her hands, trying to decide what to do.
"No, Molly; it isn't like that," Karolina says, leaning back in her seat with a heavy sigh. Bringing up a hand, she brushes a wayward lock of her bangs from her eyes. "I promise it isn't like that. I just... realized something, I guess," she says, bringing a smile onto her lips. "I'm just going to try to be what I am going to be..." she says. Yeah, Agent Coulson. The fast food resteraunt venue isn't precisely a top-secret location. "But what I /know/ I will be is your friend, no matter what. Life happens, and we're not kids anymore. We're going to be so much more now, and you need to find the place where you can grow to be the best for /you/," she says, toying with her hair a little more.
Molly Hayes frowns deeply, and for a long moment she looks like she's going to cry. There's even a very, very brief crackle of pink energy in her eyes before she shakes it off. "Okay. Alright." She reaches up to adjust her cap and pushes the last of her food away. Both would know its unusual for her not to eat -everything- in front of her. "We'll always be friends, I know. I...I don't know where I fit best. Heck, even the Brotherhood offered me a spot. These days...who am I to say that wouldn't fit best?" She raises her hands to her face and covers her eyes for a moment before standing. "We...have a long drive aheadc of us. Phil, we should probably get going. Gotta hit that EMbassy and everything. Karolina...I know I'll see you around. I...I wish you all the luck with your new team."
Likewise, Karolina's hamburger and water would go unmolested. Sliding out of her seat to a stand, she doesn't hesitate, doesn't wait a moment before stepping forward and wrapping the much taller Molly in a hug. Yeah, she would always feel a little bit like a kid sister might, to her. "Well, you don't join any Brotherhoods, alright?" she says - so many of these organizations were flying over her head. But she knew one general rule that she would want Molly to stick to. "Only the good guys, okay? Only the good guys," she says, giving Molly one last squeeze, before stepping back. "I need to catch my... flight, too," she says, frowning. "I have a cell phone number. You keep it, and give me a call when you're all settled in, okay?" she says, scribbling something down, and handing it to Molly.There was a beat, though, and she turns towards the Agent then, pursing her lips and offering her hand to him. "It was nice to meet you, sir," she says then. "Please. Don't lead her wrong," she says to him then, before turning away - to step quickly towards the door so that the tears that were threatening to come to her eyes won't be seen.
Coulson, wrapping up the last of his meal, simply nods once to Molly. He reaches into his jacket and removes a small device. Now that it's in the open, a small hum can be heard. He clicks the button and the hum stops, then he slides it back into his jacket without a comment. The mood is somber... so no quips this time. "Alright, then, let's hit the road." They can talk about it when she's ready.
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