Third Floor CR, Sunday Night

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Someone had left a stuffed animal in the common room, and it was giving Ella fits.

It wasn't a flaw you'd see looking at the thing. It was a perfectly nice bear, white like the ribbon-brand-beverage creatures had been, and the fur was plush.

The problem was that it had been designed to talk; specifically, to say "Hug me!" when touched. But every time Ella hugged it, the chip activated again, and she had to give it another hug, and so the cycle continued.

"This is worse than Mandy's parrot," she grumbled, squeezing the bear again and hoping no one would wander in to see her being bossed about by a stuffed animal. Sometimes fairy gifts were just humiliating.

[OOC: Open. Rescue her?]

Comments

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy was just wandering the common room, looking for food. It was a skill, you see, to find just the right one. One he was sadly out of practice of.

But there was a girl hugging a bear. A lot.

He wasn't one to judge.

So he just waved and offered a small grin. "Hello."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"Hello!" Ella returned. "We've not met, have we? I'm - " ("Hug me!" the bar interjected, here, and Ella did) "I'm Ella."

She tried to make the whole stuffed animal thing look casual. No big deal, hanging out on a Sunday night, hugging a toy.

Right.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I'm Teddy," He replied, eyeing the bear for just a moment before forcing himself to look elsewhere. Oh, look. A couch. "I don't think we've met either. Are you new?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Couches were interesting; Ella was looking at one too. "I was in May," she said, trying not to blush. "But I only moved to this floor a few weeks ago. It's nice to meet you, Teddy."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"Oh! I was away for a little bit since May," Teddy replied. And paused. "Um, do you want me to leave you and the bear alone?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

After the mun stopped laughing Ella looked truly miserable. "No! Not at all. It's just, do you ever start fidgeting with something and you can't stop?"

Which was true. It was just a bit ... literal, in Ella's particular case.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"...not really?" He was safely sure he'd never snuggled anything that wasn't, well, Chad... like that for a long time.

[the_merriest]

Rikku waved cheerfully to Teddy. "Hi! I haven't seen you in ages! Have you been off having Chad-time?"

Uh. Rewind. "Um. You guys are still ... together and all that, right?"

... because what more tactful way to start a conversation than asking about someone who was potentially an ex. Open mouth, insert foot, just leave it in for a couple of weeks to save the effort.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Chuckling, Teddy looked down. "We're still together," He confirmed. "And I was, believe it or not, in space for the past session."

[the_merriest]

"Seriously?" Rikku said, bouncing on her toes. "That's awesome. What were you doing there?"

She flushed a little. "I'm glad. I mean. You guys are ... cute, you know? Together. And all that. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"A year and a half now," Teddy replied, grinning like a moron. "I was helping rebuild a church with my sister and her girlfriend."

A beat.

"Yeah, I don't know the odds of us bother ending up gay, but..."

[the_merriest]

"A church?" Rikku said, uncertainty flickering over her face, but ... she wasn't going to press the point. Things were different some places, and all of that, and not worth being her usual self over. "That's ... nice," she managed, nodding. "Hey, maybe things like that run in families, you know? Or maybe it's just your family's okay with you being it, and so both of you ... can, instead of ... hiding. You know?"

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"The monks were pretty nice," He added a bit helplessly. "Pacifists, though."

Still weird.

"And maybe. Aliens seem better about that kind of thing."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Being as he hadn't seen Teddy in ages, the wave was a bit wobbly, but it was a wave.

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy waved back, smiling nicely at him.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"You've been gone for a while, yes? Or have I been less observant?"

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I went to visit my sister for a bit," Teddy said with a small smile.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He swallowed, just a little.

"Family is good."

He thought of Ino from this morning and his smile went a little wider.

"Especially sisters. I hope you had a good trip."

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

"I did! We were helping rebuild a church."

[the_merriest]

No such luck on that, because her roommate was hyper and bored and wandering the halls a lot today, and "Hug Me" was just the sort of thing to attract her attention.

"Awwwww!" Rikku said, bouncing and peering in. "Is that your bear? Can I have a turn? Pleeeeeeeease?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

This was a very useful question, here. Thank God for Rikku.

"It was here when I got here," Ella told her, squeezing the toy again. "You're more than welcome to a turn. Should I hand you the bear?"

[the_merriest]

"Yes, please," Rikku said, holding her hands out. "If that's okay with you and all. Oh my gosh, he's adorable, isn't he?"

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Ella gratefully passed the bear over. "He is," she said, trying to sound appropriately enthused. "Please, play with him, I shouldn't want to hog him."

[the_merriest]

"Awwww, thanks," Rikku grinned, squeezing him. It prompted a "Hug Me!", which required another hug. This might take a while.

"You think maybe we should keep him?" she asked. "It'd be cute, watching Petey play with him."

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

Panic flickered over Ella's face at the suggestion they keep the dreadful thing. "Whoever left him here might miss him," she suggested, trying to sound disappointed.