10047/Finally Home

Finally Home
Date of Scene:	09 February 2022
Location:	Ava's Warehouse, Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Ava finally gets Finley back home. They decide to order in Chinese and settle in at home properly.
Cast of Characters:	Ava Starr, Finley Ellison

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Ava Starr has posed:
Finally, after weeks of tests and assessments, unceasing efforts to understand what's happened to Finley and to determine that she's as safe as she can be, given the circumstances... she got the all-clear to return home. Ava wasted little time in that regard. The trip home was accomplished via quantum jump. Which is actually very impressive -- both that she hit her target (without blowing it up) and that she was able to do it at will. But, her motivation to be out of the Triskelion was strong. That doubtlessly played heavily into it.

Thus, the pair now find themselves within the sanctuary of Ava's warehouse. It's much as they left it -- Phylla's scanner in one corner, the mess from Astro's experiments in another. The unfinished quantum tunnel on the main floor, the loft living space above it. Ava's QEC is missing. That bothers her some. But she'll deal with that soon enough. Maybe it'll be easier just to build a new one. For a moment, she wonders how much energy the Q-bands would need for that.

Still, as she looks around, she finds that the place no longer quite feels like home, like it did. It's missing something more... beyond the QEC. She's just not sure what.

Finley Ellison has posed:
The loft seems not so much abandoned as in situ, as though, apart from the empty space where the QEC used to loom imposingly, they'd left to grab some beer and chinese takeout. And never come back.

Finley clings to Ava, slightly breathless from their nearly instantaneous jump.She looks over at the standing screens that coordin off her 'bedroom' area. And can immediately picture the small cot that she?d slept on for months. Because that had been the simple solution when it had become apparent to the both of them that she couldn't keep crashing on the couch.

They?re going to have to buy a bed...

Ava Starr has posed:
Perhaps that's what the problem is. Ava is craving a settled space. For the two of them. Together. She looks at Finley speculatively for a moment before loosening her hold. "We need to redecorate," she tells her, looking around. "We should renovate this place. Make it into something more suitable for the two of us. What do you think?"

Is that tantamount to asking her to move in with her? Way to shortcut the process, Starr.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley blushes. Her eyes shine as she takes in the space with a thoughtful expression. She chews her bottom lip.

"I think that's a brilliant idea, yes," she says leaning up to kiss Ava on the cheek.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava smiles at Finley's reaction, giving her waist a light squeeze. "Chinese?" she asks then -- a complete nonsequitur. She means as something to order in. For dinner. Away from the Triskelion. If there was any food in the place before they left... she really doesn't want to see what condition it's in now.

Finley Ellison has posed:
?Chinese sounds great. I could murder for some moo shu shrimp.? Especially now that she?s eating not just for herself, but for the nanites as well.

Ava Starr has posed:
If Finley starts popping out a nanite baby, Ava will be deeply, deeply disturbed. Just sayin'. Still, she flashes her partner a grin and lets go of her so she can go find just where her cell phone got buried so she can call for delivery. "Moo shu shrimp it is." And General Tso's chicken. Maybe some other stuff, too. Just 'cause. Leftovers may be helpful.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley just doesn't want the little bastards to devour her. Or force her to suck on batteries.

Still exausted from her whole ordeal, Finley settles on the couch. And wonders if there?s any beer still in the fridge. Or if she can convince Ava to order that as well. In case the fridge is a science experiment gone wrong. "Um, how scary do you think the fridge is?"

Ava Starr has posed:
"I don't know," Ava replies, "but I'm rather afraid to look." She finds her cell phone and then realizes she's going to need to charge it... "Bollocks." She retrieves her charger and plugs the phone in beside the couch, coming to curl up beside Finley. "Okay. Give me five minutes to charge this damned thing and I'll order us dinner. Anything special you want, besides the shrimp?"

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Scallion pancakes and an egg roll," Finley says, her big blue eyes pleading. "And can we get beer? I could really use a drink."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava grins at that. "We can do that," she agrees. "Sure." She looks around again, an arm sliding behind Finley's shoulders. A moment or two passes as she figets with her phone, getting it to turn back on despite the low battery, thanks to the attached cord.

While she's looking up the number of the Chinese place in her browser, her eyes on the screen, she says, "I suppose you'll want to check on your apartment, too, at some point."

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Oh, uh, I mean..." Finley blushes again. "It's less of an apartment and more of a storage unit. And, well, um, quarters at the Playground. But there isn't much there..."

Finley looks around the loft and is startled to realize that most of her day to day possessions are already here. The blush creeps up to the tips of her ears.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava glances at her sideways, thumbs flicking on the number for the restaurant. "So... does that mean you're okay staying here?" Since, you know, she was kinda just assuming, before. Maybe getting that out in the open is a smart idea. Especially if renovations are on the horizon.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Ava!? Finley laughs. "Aside from our recent jaunt to space, I've pretty much been staying here since approximately forty-eight hours after I met you.? She leans a little more substantially into the woman who had come to mean so much to her in such a relatively short period of time. "Yes," she says, sneaking her arm around Ava?s waist. "Yes, I'm more than *okay* with staying here. In fact, I would like that very much."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava smirks slightly, giving her partner's shoulders a squeeze. "You stayed with me because you were ordered to," she points out. "Not the same thing at all." She looks to the empty spot where her QEC once stood. "Maybe I'm not fixed, yet, but... I'm mostly stable. You don't *have* to stay here any more."

Her expression is a little more pensive. "So... that's why I had to ask."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley climbs into Ava?s lap. So that she can take Ava?s head in her hands, run her thumbs along her jawbone. Look her in thr eyes. So that Ava cannot look away. "I stayed because I wanted to. And I still want to. I love you, Ava Starr. So you're stuck with me."

Ava Starr has posed:
The smile Ava gives Finley is small, but it shines in her eyes. "Okay," she says, like she's agreeing to ice cream. "Good." She snakes arms around Finley's waist and leans in to kiss her lightly. It lasts longer than it would have at the Triskelion, certainly. But, eventually, she breaks it, holding up her phone with the cord trailing from it. "Chinese," she says, eyes gleaming. "Beer. We'll dream up a new floorplan while we eat... and after... maybe we can see if my q-bands can make furniture." Like a bed. Because hers is in her QEC and the cot behind Finley's shoji screens simply won't do.