2014.03.02 - Real Girls Go Shopping

Rachel Summers' decision to drag Laura out for lunch and shopping - and the very idea of getting herself involved in Laura's journey from self-described living weapon to Real Girl - was made very much on the spur of the moment. But Rachel's determined to make a success of it. Rachel remembers how it was for her to adjust to living in this time and place after the world she came from, and although Laura might belong here, Rachel believed her when she said she didn't know how to be anything but the weapon she'd been made to be. Rachel might not be the best choice to do something about it, but she could hardly not try.
And one thing that helped Rachel? Being taken shopping by Kitty.
Rachel had given in to Nate's suggestion of lunch first, shopping later - since Laura was coming off a 12-hour Danger Room bender, it only made sense - and they've lost Jocelyn to something that couldn't wait along the way - but finally they've reached what Rachel considers the important part of the expedition. The shops themselves.
It's important to note that Nate has not managed to escape - he has the credit card, after all!
Rubbing her hands together in a bit of unconscious anticipation, Rachel turns to Laura and gives her a quick look-over, before adopting a serious tone. "The object of this mission, Laura, is for you to come away from here with something that YOU want. Many..." She glances at Nate, smirking a bit, before her eyes flick back to Laura. "...somethings, if you should so wish. You can ask us for opinions, which we will give honestly, but the criteria for success is that you find something that YOU like and YOU want. Oh, and it doesn't have to be black. OK?" Rachel offers an encouraging smile. In the back of her mind, though, is the nagging thought that she still hasn't spoken to Laura about the thing that made her seek the other woman out in the first place.
Shopping. What a completely and utterly alien concept to Laura. Sure she sort of knows of it. In the abstract. And she's sort of done it. But still...
Still, nothing could prepare her for /THIS/. Especially as the 'mission' and its goals are spelled out. Because, well.... The mission, and its goals do kind of baffle her.
And yet, as they wander, her gaze does wander here and there, taking things in.
"Understood."
Yes, because Nate made the mistake to tell Rachel he was working for the Halo Corporation and has no idea to do with the stupid amount of cash Spartan, er... Jack Marlowe, has assigned him as salary. Most of it goes to the Gifted Foundation.
So guess who is paying all this? Not that he has much use for money. Shopping is what he is not sure about. Even after a year and a half in this world, he still can see no point to having material possessions. So. Much. Junk.
"Yeah. The first weeks after I got here I was... hmm, in autopilot, I guess. Hiding. I knew nothing else. Then looking Apocalypse for months like a maniac. It is not so easy to learn to live instead of just surviving," he admits, "but very much worth an effort."
 
Where IS Kitty when Rachel needs her, anyway? Looking between Nate and Laura, Rachel can't help but wonder if she's bitten off more than she can chew here. Nate IS a guy, so she wasn't expecting him to relish the thought of being dragged around the shops for Laura's benefit, but he looks almost as uncertain about the whole experience as Laura herself does. Rachel shoots him a look that's half apology, half insistence that he help her out here...
...and she's rewarded. "Exactly." She agrees cheerfully with her kind of sort of brother. "I was the same. I was here, but I wasn't really /part/ of this world. Our lives are weird enough as it is, it's easy to get divorced from the real world. Doing mundane, ordinary things like going shopping helps. Trust me on this one."
Despite having been strolling along, apparently not looking at anything but her companions, Rachel suddenly veers off. "This'll do to start with." She announces, pausing at the threshold of the store. "It's also OK to /not/ like anything in here, Laura." Rachel says, and then disappears inside.
It's a youthful kind of place, without being too far towards the extreme ends of fashion, and caters to both genders. "First question: Is there anything you like that you don't have?"
Like...? That's an odd question. It's one that even gets a bit of an odd look, as Laura lets her gaze drift across the store, taking in a sort of glance at its offering. And yet, well...
She glances at Nate then, trying to find something to say about his early days, or at least what he says about them. Then, well.... There's another pause, before the clawed clone blinks, unsure how to even respond to Rachel, before she chooses the first random article of clothes that crosses her mind.
"A hat?"
"Maybe I can find something for Rose," comments Nate idly, following Rachel into the shop. "A hat? Sure, good idea!" Wait... there are a lot of those here. Rachel, help! "Hey Ray, so did you do much shopping in the future?" He gestures vaguely at the headwear on display.
 
Hats? Hats are PERFECT. There's not a lot more individual than a hat! OK, it's normally something you'd finish off an outfit with, but Rachel's not about to split hairs. First store, and Laura's made a suggestion without any prompting. Already, this is going better than Rachel had feared it might.
Still, at Nate's question, Rachel snorts and shakes her head, in far too positive a mood to be brought down. "Where I came from? Our sort of people didn't GET to go shopping, Nate." She might be doing that thing where she makes the people around her not really pay attention to what she's saying. But then again, everyone else in the shop seems pretty self-absorbed without any help from her. "I had a crash course after getting here." She tosses back over her shoulder, as she heads deeper into the store. "So, what sort of hat would you like?" Rachel asks, reaching out a hand and snagging a black fedora that goes on her own head, before tossing a black ushanka toward Laura.
Or this is going worse than Laura could ever imagine. Because well, she's kind of lost at Nates question (even if it was asked of Rachel). before she glances at the older woman and blinks.
"I.... Don't know." is said with a shrug before Laura starts to walk farther into the store, heading towards the area that has the hats. All though as that hat is caught, and tried on, the clawed 'clone' shrugs.
"I do not know. I just choose something at random since you asked me to name one."
Nate's eyes narrow when Rachel mentions the bit about how 'our sort of people' didn't get to go to do something everyone does. It is probably better not to ask, not today. Instead he sighs, and then looks at Laura with a smirk. "But Ray said not necessarily black. So how about white?" He reaches for the ushanka and with a hand and the hat changes color. "I have never seen you with a hat, Mouse. I guess it is a good start."
 
Rachel imagines she can feel Nate's eyes on her as soon as those words are out of her mouth, and she gives him a quick look and a slight shake of her head. It's a long and depressing story, and while he's on the short list of people she wouldn't mind hearing it, now is not the time. This outing is supposed to be for Laura's benefit... though she might feel differently.
Rachel doesn't seem disheartened by the reply Laura gives. "That's good." Rachel says, and shrugs. "You didn't think about it, just went with something." And then Nate gets in on the action. Spinning away, Rachel takes hold of a rotating display that has a mirror on one side. "Same game. No thinking. First answer. D'you like it?" And Rachel spins the display around so that Laura is looking at herself in the mirror.
Rachel thinks she looks cute in the hat, but she's trying not to mention that.
A good start? There's yet another blink at that statement from Nate, but Laura doesn't shrug. 
Not even at the mention of color.
Then again as that mirror spins, and the clawed 'clone' sort of ends up starring at her own reflection, with that hat on...
She blinks, and then... Shakes her head.
"No. It doesn't work..."
Nate would have to agree with Rachel, but perhaps 'cute' is not something Laura wants to look. "No problem. Actually, good." It is good she has opinions about her looks. Probably. "We can keep trying until you find something you feel it works." 
The ushanka somehow ends up on Rachel's head. Because he wants to see how it looks there. Laura gets a top hat next. Now she looks like Zatanna. Which is good.
 
Rachel nods firmly in agreement with Nate's words, although she's slightly disappointed that the rest of the mansion won't get to see Wolverine's clone in a white ushanka today. She laughs as Nate deftly manages to arrange things so that she's wearing it, however. "White's not my colour." She tells him, dragging it off her head and running a hand through her hair - but she doesn't put it back straight away. Instead, she smiles a bit secretively, and her eyes flicker with power. The hat is black again, but where before it had a small red star on the front, now it's a small, red... Phoenix. She pops it back on her head. "Is it me?" She asks the others, and then sees what Laura's wearing. That gets a grin. "Striking!" Rachel tells her, then glances at Nate. "A bit formal?" She suggests, amused by his choice, wondering what they'll do if Laura LIKES it.
A top hat...?
Yes Laura tries it on. And she glances at the mirror. That is before she shakes her head and offers it back to Nate.
"I think it's more you. Maybe a white mask too, if you want to wear a tuxedo and throw roses at things..."
Yeap. Laura said that. In her usual deadpan voice, but she said it.
And yet, then she glances at Rachel, and for the briefest of instants the corner or her lip flicks upward.
"It is you."
"Oh really?" Nate doesn't get the reference. In fact he would be shocked by the fact Laura knows about tuxedo guys with white masks that throw roses. What is she doing in her free time? Does she keep a secret stash of Japanese cartoons DVDs under her bed?
Nevertheless, he tries the hat and glances at the mirror. "Sure, why not? I'll keep it. But now try a beret, or a cowboy hat." He thumbs up at Rachel's choice, too.
 
Rachel, too, is all at sea when it comes to that particular reference. But that hardly stops her from imagining Nate, in the outfit Laura describes, with the roses... and the noise she makes as she tries to stifle her laughter is as undignified as it is unsuccessful. "You've got a wicked sense of humour, Laura. I love it." She grins, then her eyebrows go up a bit as both Laura and Nate approve of her lightly modified hat. "Looks like I'm getting something out of this trip, at least!" She says brightly, keeping the hat on while she plays the part of the shop assistant, selecting both of the choices Nate suggested and weighing them one in either hand for Laura to pick from.
Come on, in a school like Xaviers, with it's students, you expect there to /NOT/ be at least one Otaku among the students? Heck, for all anyone knows, Laura may have just caught an ep on TV late on night, or any number of things...
And yet, as Nate tries to push Laura to try something else, she doesn't pick up a cowboy hat, or a beret. Instead she picks up a brown hat. One of those womens hats that's kind of like a newsboy or baker boy cap, only the cap part itself is extra large, thus making it look almost 'poofy'. That is before she tries it on and blinks at her reflection, tilting her head slightly...
All though as she looks away from her reflection in the mirror, towards Nate, she.... 
Chuckles, if only due to him saying he's keeping the hat.
"Good. Both of you should have something."
"Looks like we both do," replies Nate, tipping his new hat. Not likely he will ever have a chance to wear it besides today, but the 'mission' was to amuse Laura, not to get a hat for him. He is also having more fun that expected, but Nate is easily amused. "What comes after the hats?" He asks Rachel.
 
Rachel stays where she is, holding the two hats, as Laura looks elsewhere. Ridiculously, she finds that she's holding her breath, and silently berates herself for being an idiot - but she still doesn't move. Only when Laura's got the hat she's picked out on her head and adjusted just so does Rachel risk breaking the spell. "Looks good on you." She adds, the words spoken honestly and in an easy tone, as she moves to return the hats she's holding to where she found them. She looks up at Nate's question, her expression thoughtful, and shrugs. "That's up to Laura." She says, but she's clearly got something in mind. "How do you feel about skirts?" She asks, then smirks. "I think Nate'll have to sit this round out, though."
"Why? He can try some skirts on too." is said in Lauras usual deadpan tone. heck, it looks almost like she might smile a little for a moment or two, before finally, she shakes her head.
"No. No skirts. Not practical. Pants."
Nate hrms, "well, there are those manly skirts from Ireland, or was it Scotland?" Someone said practical? "Mouse. You are not allowed to be 'practical'. I have a top hat so you can have a skirt. Trust Ray, she knows what she is doing." He eyes Rachel. She does, right? She took shopping lessons from Kitty Pryde, the genius.
 
Rachel grins. "If we try to make him put a skirt on, I'm pretty sure we'll be buying our own hats." She tells Laura, with a lightness in her tone that shows that, whether this trip has helped Laura or not, it's certainly done a lot to put Rachel in a good mood. When Nate doesn't blow Laura's suggestion right out of the water, though, that puts a surprised look on Rachel's face.
Before Rachel can say anything, though, Laura gives her definitive answer to the skirt question. Rachel can't help but look disappointed, but she's willing to accept Laura's feelings - until Nate steps in. Rachel's eyes Nate right back, she's not sure he knows what he's doing! "...OK." She says after a second or two. "Compromise. At least take a look, we might find something for ME. If there's nothing you like, jeans it is!" Decision made - as far as Rachel's concerned - she's already on the move, trusting that the others are following her.
And here where Laura turns and snap points directly at Nate.
"Only if you get a skirt too. And you wear it the next time you fight Magneto."
It's only after that comes out does what Rachel said about them buying their own hats registers, and the clawed 'clone' winces.
"Fine. I will look."
"Hey now. Fighting Magneto is when you have to be practical, and wear armor," protests Nate. "But I'll get a kilt. Hell, I'll get the whole setup from that movie with Mel Gibson, including the badass sword and the blue facepaint. Just not bagpipes, please." Yes, Nate has no shame. Just ask his team mates, he keeps trying to drag the rest of Stormwatch to Karaoke bars. He will do the same with Rachel and Laura if he starts thinking he can get away with it.
 
Rachel can't argue with Nate's logic there, even if privately she found Laura's ultimatum hilarious. She does NOT expect Nate's response, though, and she's laughing to herself as she heads off to rummage - only to pause and grin back at Nate. "Rose will want pictures!" She tells him, then whirls around and disappears into the racks.
Practical. Despite what Nate said earlier, Rachel knows that whatever she finds for Laura is going to at least have to have a nod towards practicality. She's also not going to push if Laura doesn't find anything she likes. The very last thing that Rachel wants is to have Laura associate shopping with feeling uncomfortable. Rachel's encouraged by that wince she saw on Laura's face, though, when the possibility of not getting their hats was suggested. She's going to assume that's a good sign.
Idly wondering what Laura might have come across, Rachel finally finds something that might possibly fit the bill. The skirt's a bit punky in style, a pleated design that'll fall to a bit above Laura's knees if she judges right, and with a broad, metal eyelet belt. At first glance the skirt's black - but it's actually a tartan of black and very deep purple. She blames Nate for putting that in her mind. Emerging with the skirt, she passes it over to Laura for inspection. "Best I could do at short notice." She tells her with a disarming smile.
The fact that Nate talks about going all out like that? It's almost enough to make the clawed 'clone' smile again. Almost. but instead, as they hit the skirts, she instead shakes her head. ALl though if they were dragged to kareoke, Nate might find what happens with the darker haired mutant girl to be a bit odd.
But, what does Laura come across with the skirts? Well, to be honest... Skirts!
Yeah. Yet again, she's starring right at the clothing, feeling lost. And this time, it shows. She rummages a little, before blinking at what Rachel offers. That is before she holds it up and sort of stares at it...
Nate goes to talk with a shop assistant. No, they have no kilts here. He also gets an odd look or three. But that is fine, see if he cares. If Meg Gibson could look badass in a skirt, he can too! 
Unfortunately he suspects Laura's reaction to a karaoke invitation would be similar to Illyana's. Involving death threats and stuff. She didn't even want to go to the Shakespeare theatre with him. "Hey, did you got something, Ray? They don't have kilts here. Too bad."
 
For a fleeting moment Rachel wonders where Nate's gotten to as she emerges with the skirt she's picked out for Laura, but most of her attention is on the younger woman as... well, at least she takes the offending item from Rachel and looks at it. Rachel doesn't need to be a telepath to be fully aware that Laura is Not Sold on this idea.
As Nate returns, Rachel shakes her head. "Been too busy finding something for Laura." She remarks, then shakes her head a bit. "Too bad." She says with feeling. The idea of Nate in a kilt is still an amusing one to her. Pausing pensively for a few moments, Rachel finally asks, "Going to try it on, or are we going to the jeans section next?"
And to be honest.... It might not be the reaction that Nate suspects. At least not from Laura. but since she hasn't been asked, she doesn't say anything. Instead though...
She glances at the skirt, and then at Rachel.
"I thought you did not want me in black? If I wore this, I would need to do black leggings and a plain black shirt to make it work."
Wait... Wha?!?!
Yeap. Laura said that.
Nate arches an eyebrow to Laura's opinions. "Who taught you about clothes matching and fashion?" He asks with half a smirk. "But okay, there should be those in the shop. I guess we have to make an exception about black for the cause of making you look good."
 
Rachel would have put money on Laura's answer being 'jeans section'. Well, actually, if money had been involved she'd have cheated and read Laura's mind. But she's still very surprised when that isn't Laura's answer!
"Wasn't me, clearly!" She puts in as an unnecessary answer to Nate's question, and grins at his 'exception'. "Hey, I never said you couldn't wear black." She points out. "Just it didn't HAVE to be black." She rubs her hands happily. "Black leggings and a shirt for the list, too, then." She says with some satisfaction. She's still grinning. This has been fun. "Anything else while we're here, or are we ready for a break?"
Yes, Rachel's actually willing to leave a clothes shop with only a new hat. That's how dedicated she is.
"No one." Laura says as she turns her head and looks directly at Nate. "At The Facility, I always wore what they gave me and told me to wear."
And then her gaze drifts back to Rachel, and she shrugs.
"But they did teach me about camouflage. And figuring out how to blend into a crowd is camouflage."
All though, at the mention of a break...
"Break first."
Nate is still wearing his hat too. That is part of the reason that there is a shop assistant now that thinks he is nuts. "No hurry, we can go looking for something else. Or coffee," coffee is always good. "Or maybe something for Rose. Something that is not a gun or a sword. I need ideas."
 
Rachel nods her understanding, but still manages a bit of a crooked smile for Laura. "Now no-one makes you wear something you don't want to." Rachel tells her firmly, but her eyes flick to the skirt again. "But that doesn't mean you can't listen to your friends' advice, right? You just don't have to take it." Even though it'd be a crime if Laura put the skirt back now, Rachel's decided.
Even so, she nods easy agreement to Laura's decision. "Coffee and ideas for stuff Nate can buy Rose. It's a good plan." Rachel reaches up, checks her hat's still in place, and smirks at Nate. "Time to put that credit card to work, Nate."
And at the mention of getting something for Rose, Laura yet again looks directly at Rachel, before saying, "Not a 'Redhead in bed' this time."
Then there's a shrug at Nate, before Laura ventures her own random guess.
"Food?"
Of course, at the mention of not having to wear what others picked for her, the clawed 'clone' frowns, but doesn't comment.
"Let's go get the coffee."
Nate snorts at Laura first not-suggestion, "don't make jokes about it until you try it, Mouse." But finding Laura a boyfriend is a task for another day. Yes, he brought his credit card, surprisingly. He uses it about once every month or so. "Hey, maybe some chocolates? That's not a bad idea. But coffee first."
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