burning_smile | (no subject)

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Jade laughed at that, though more at the color Jake's face turned than the comment itself.

"Keep him," she suggested, waving with her spoon and going back to her stew. Jake spluttered.

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Jake busied himself with his stew to stay out of this conversation, red-faced and embarrassed, though he was quietly pretty glad to hear that out of Dirk. As was Jade, it seemed, because she grinned and waved her spoon about.

"This isn't the half of if," she said. "You should come over for dinner more often, I'll wow the pants right off of you." He paused, tapping her spoon to her lips. "Which I suppose would make you two's lives a little easier, now wouldn't it." Jade stop being a creepy lewd old woman, wow.

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Jake proceeded to choke on his spoonful of stew and Jade sat back in her chair with a hearty laugh. Bec paused in his delicate stew-chomping to look up, one ear perked and the other dropped in a look of confusion. Jade sat back forward and smacked the table.

"You're a riot, Dirk Strider," she announced.

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Taking a good long swig of the water he had at the table with his stew, Jake cleared his airways and huffed a little, pointedly, at his grandmother. She just smiled innocently and went back to her stew. He sighed. Sometimes it was difficult having a grandmother that acted like a teenager. But it certainly didn't mean he loved her any less. He shook his head and went back to his food.

When he was finished he sat back and looked at his bowl contemplatively, trying to decide if he wanted, or moreover, could fit seconds whilst still having room for a slice of pie when it was finished. He decided what the hell, the pie probably still had a little while of bake-time. He stood up.

"Anyone else for seconds?" He looked pointedly at Dirk, figuring he would be more than up for seconds.

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Jake chuckled and took the bowl, taking Jade's even when she denied seconds and just folded her hands over each other on the table.

"I do," she explained. "My field is generally more astronomy and nuclear physics, but as you can see I dabble elsewhere, as well." She reached up to tap one of the furry ears atop her head. "I'd be happy to show you when we're through with dinner."

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Jake returned with refreshed bowls of stew, putting a bit more on Bec's plate as well with an appreciative whine from the dog before he sat himself back down to dig back in. He paused to afford a small, fond smile in Dirk's direction, dropping the hand on Dirk's side of the table between them to seek and hold his hand for a moment.

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And, surprisingly, that was enough for Jake. When Dirk let go of his hand he set it back in his own lap and continued about his stew.

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Jake took a moment longer to finish his stew, and made a slight sound of protest when Dirk got up to put his own dish in the sink. When he followed a moment later he bumped sideways into him.

"Guests aren't supposed to clear their own dishes, gosh," he muttered, rinsing the bowls once his had joined Dirk's (and Jade's, from earlier). Jade tutted from the table.

"You're more than welcome, Dirk," she said. "I'm far from opposed to feeding hungry teenagers, especially if they like my food and want to see my lab." She grinned, the sparkle in her eye much younger than her years, and scooted her chair back to stand. "Speaking of, whenever you're ready I can take you down to see it."

Jake patted his thigh and made a clicking sound with his teeth, absently, and Becquerel picked up his dish in his teeth and climbed down from his chair (which was more of a bench, really) and brought it over to him. For it he received headpats and a smile.

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"Cinderenglish," Jade repeated, nodding. "I like that." Jake groused from the sink, but kept right on doing the dishes. Bec whuffed softly at Dirk, but didn't pursue him or try to touch him when he moved away.

Jade tossed her head toward the doorway and then started off, heading for the stairs at a steady, but surprisingly brisk, given her age, pace.

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"Science?" Jade asked, chuckling wryly. "Longer than you'd believe." She lead him down the stairs and into a hallway with two doors. She pointed to one. "That's the shooting range-- it's pretty small, but it's been one of Jake's favorite rooms in the house since he was young." She moved past it to a second door with a number pad lock beside it, and typed in a code. "And this," she said as the door opened. "Is the lab."

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She's doing science and she's still alive, Dirk. While you're dying she'll be still alive. Still alive, still alive.

Just kidding Jade is not GlaDos.

She let him take in the view of the lab-- it was relatively generic, with some quirky machinery that seemed abnormal here and there, and a lot of plants. Idly, she shut the door behind her.

"Now, before we get too far along in this tour, I have to ask."

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And an orange jumpsuit. Does this make Jake Wheatley?

She inspected her fingernails absently, the soles of her flats making soft tapping sounds as she guided him down a sort of aisle in the lab.

"What are your intentions with my grandson? Just, overall."

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