Third Floor Common Room, Wednesday Evening

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner would never admit it to anyone, but he had a massive weak spot for cute fuzzy animals.

Which would be why he was sprawled across a couch in the common room, fingers dangling down into a huge bowl of popcorn, while a documentary about pandas played on some science channel or other.

He was more or less devouring popcorn by the handful as he watched. But not because he was hungry, oh no.

Because if his mouth was full of popcorn it was harder to let out an undigified squee.

Comments

[grenfelzer.livejournal.com]

Carmela has no such qualms about squeeing in public.

"Ooooh, baby pandas!" she chirps, flopping down next to Conner and shamelessly helping herself to some popcorn.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Yeah!" Conner enthuses. "They're all fuzzy and . . . I mean, hi, Carmela!"

[grenfelzer.livejournal.com]

"Hi, Conner," Carmela says with the slightest hint of a smirk. "I didn't know you were a fan of cute and fuzzy."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"I'm not!" Conner replies quickly. "It's just . . . anything but that Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie again, you know?"

[grenfelzer.livejournal.com]

"Are you saying there's something *wrong* with being a fan of cute and fuzzy, then?" Carmela asks, raising an eyebrow.

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"Like adult pandas only cuter."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Oooh, pandas!" Dawn squeed, then practically sat in the popcorn bowl because she wasn't paying attention to anything but the wee cute pandas.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"If I knew pandas were such a girl magnet, I'd have filled out a permission form to have a pet one by now," Conner quipped, reaching out just in the nick of time to save the popcorn. "Evening, Dawn. How's your break?"

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Pretty good," Dawn grabbed a handful of popcorn, which of course was what she'd planned to do all along. Yup. "What about you, other than enticing all the girls out of hiding with your pandas?" She paused. "Er, that came out a lot dirtier than I meant it to."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Pretty good too." Conner got a funny look on his face for a moment as his mind took the dirty interpretation and went to disturbing places. "I went up to New York on Sunday to spend Christmas with Kira. I'll probably go this weekend, too. Other than that, it's been pandas, polar bears, and the occasional baby giraffe."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Oooh, giraffes!" Dawn beamed at him, then sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the couch. "Have you been to New York before? What did you do?"

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"Hey Dawn."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Billy," Dawn said, tossing a few popcorn kernels into her mouth.

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"You have a good christmas?"

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

Naomi liked pandas so she might have been just a bit excited about seeing them on TV, "hi!" she said as she entered the common room.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Naomi!" Conner said once he'd swallowed his latest mouthful of popcorn. "Merry Christmas and everything!"

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

"Hey Conner," Naomi replied, "same to you, was your Christmas good?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

He nodded. "Spent it in New York with one of my best friends, so I can't complain. How about you?"

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"Hey Naomi."

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

"Hi Billy," Naomi replied.

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"How was your holiday that you don't celebrate?"

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

"Ooh, Pandas." Billy said, somehow managing to sound squeefull and deadpan at the same time.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"If I had a dollar for every time somebody said that," Conner said in a squeefully-deadpan tone of his own, "I'd . . . be able to buy a couple of candy bars or something."

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

Billy snickered. then looked worried. "Tell me they're not extinct or something in 2006."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"No way," Conner said quickly, "at least not in this dimension. That would really suck, if they were."