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WHO: Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham
WHAT: Donuts for Dancers
WHEN: Thursday 8/3
WHERE: Chrissy's work

He probably could've just messaged her, as everyone is so quick to do in these modern days, but he had meant it when he told Lydia he preferred the face to face kind of talking. That and, if he was honest with himself, he liked seeing Chrissy in this new environment. He liked the way the modern clothes looked on her, even if he refused to compromise on his own. She was still the same sweet Chrissy underneath them, but they didn't seem to swallow her whole the way her uniform or Jason's jacket did back home. If he didn't know any better he'd think she was just like all of the other girls he saw walking around. Carefree. Normal.

He realizes that it may not be the best time to visit, when she's at work, but that's why he brought donuts with him. They're from a place about two blocks around the corner. A little mom and pop place that smelled of sugar and sustenance and had a sign that said Supers Welcome in the window. They were pretty cheap too, which was good, since he was kind of blowing through his stipend and hadn't exactly figured out the whole employment thing yet.

Steve had mentioned that most places required drug tests, which was bullshit. It's not like you had to be clean to flip a burger, or scoop ice cream for that matter, but apparently corporate America had really done a number on the rest of the world in the last forty years. He knows he can always fall back on old habits if he needs to, but for now he's content being a bum. He thinks he's earned the right to do nothing, at least for a little while.

It's nearly half past ten when he waltzes into the dance studio in all his denim vest glory, twirling the donut box above his head. "Yoohoo!" he calls out. "Special delivery. Do I have some hungry dancers here?"

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The excitement that explodes in the studio as Eddie Munson rocks in with a sugary treat and all the charm that there could be is palpable. The shrieks from the small dancers is a dead give away that they're all excited about the possibility of donuts and three girls in particular rush toward Eddie in a frenzy - all of them, just about, talking at once. Their voices are almost a discordant chord because of the fact that they're all talking over one another.

"Are you Miss Chrissy's boyfriend?"
"Are those for us?"
"What's your name?"

Chrissy herself is shocked, and will remain so if Eddie actually manages to make out any of those questions given the overlap - the most distinct part of it all is the very obvious 'boyfriend' with the upturn at the end of Madison's question - a sure fire way of showing she really wants an answer if Chrissy's ever seen one in the...just over a week of teaching the little girl every day. And even though the questions are always personal, never filtered, and have yet to let up Chrissy finds herself blushing. The other girls are all too busy craning their chins and dancing on their tippie toes - a few of them actually holding their hands up in the air because of course they are hungry.

Chrissy stands near the mirrors at the far end of the room wearing a pair of shorts, bare feet, and a tanktop with a sweater over it that's hanging off of her shoulder with the wide neck. She's, actually, swimming in the sweater and it covers up even some of her hips and behind. Still, despite the surprise intermingling with the overwhelm of multiple screaming young girls, Chrissy smiles sweetly at Eddie and lifts her hand in a wave. "Okay, girls..." Chrissy gives a gesture, hand flattened out and lowering it as a sign to bring the volume down. "We can't all talk at once and be heard - one at a time, and everyone can have one treat, I don't want anyone's mom or dad mad for ruined dinner. And lets all remember our manners too, okay?" Chrissy can't quite manage stern, but the girls all seem to nod and be willing to abide by the decision for some reason, with Chrissy herself still half smiling at how sweet this is of Eddie.

Making her way over to Eddie Munson Chrissy fiddles with her hair without necessarily realizing, following it up with tugging and adjusting her sweater as she half-heartedly assists the girls in lining up for their donuts with a cacophonous chorus of 'thank yous' (behind the trio of all the questions). "Hi." Chrissy bites her bottom lip as she makes it to Eddie's side, hand finding his arm automatically and patting with appreciation. "You really didn't have to do this, but thank you - this was sweet...and it's nice to see you."

He breaks out into a laugh at the sudden screams of excitement and rush of girls at him. It's hard to distinguish the onslaught of questions being thrown at him, but he definitely makes out the words "Miss Chrissy" and "boyfriend". He looks up at Chrissy in amusement, catching some color creeping into her cheeks.

"Why?" Eddie asks the little girl he think the word came from, giving her a wink. "You jealous?"

He's more than a little impressed at how quickly she takes control. He flips the lid on the box revealing a mixture of donuts, frosted with various sprinkles or with sweet cream fillings. He holds it out as an offering as Chrissy lines the girls up. When Chrissy sidles up to him he grins at her. "Being cooped up in an apartment after being cooped up in a week in a boathouse got old pretty quick."

"Hold on," he says gasping and swinging the box out of the reach of the first child. "Miss Chrissy gets to pick first."

Edited 2022-08-06 00:15 (UTC)

"If she ain't you can be my boyfriend!" The child in question says, batting her eyelashes and clasping her hands in front of her body as she digs her toe into the floor, pointed, and sways cutely (and oh yes, Eddie, she knows it) from side to side looking up at him. The tail end of that is very quickly followed up with another, "Or mine!" Before a feisty-looking child pushes her way up through the trio, giving the first little girl a purposeful bump to get her out of her pretty, swaying, pose.

"Ariel," Chrissy warns. "No cutting and you wouldn't like it if Tansy bumped into you." Her voice really isn't much louder than it is naturally, softness still there, but the look that she gives Ariel beneath the hair she can't get out of her face doesn't hide that there's not a harsh or stern note to what she says. And all the same the second girl still moves back as she murmurs a quiet 'Sorry, Tansy'. Her attention then turns back to Eddie. "Look what you started, now they're going to fight over you." She teases, fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater as she hides her smile by looking down at his shoes next to her bare feet. She doesn't actually mind, but she's still, on some level, taking him in as she stands next to him - a look of sympathy pulling at her features.

"I bet... you can visit any time, you know-" And before she can finish the statement several of her little ballerinas chime in with various version of 'we'll teach you', 'you can dance with us', and 'we'll show you what we know' - all with the same level of enthusiasm, causing Chrissy to lift a hand to cover her mouth to keep from dissolving into giggles or them seeing the very amused smile on her face in the moment. She turns the gesture into one to wave off the donuts.

"No, it's okay, let them pick first - I had a big lunch so I'm not even sure if I have room for one, honestly. I'll see after - plus they were really good today." Chrissy's eyes drag over the donuts - noting some of the pretty sprinkled ones. And the temptation is there - she can feel her stomach react ever so slightly at the idea of something sweet and deep fried, but not in front of everyone. Not with the distant echo of the horror her mom would have if she shoveled a donut down with no way to get rid of it immediately.

Eddie tries to bite back a laugh at the outspoken girl making a move on him, though he fails as another girl pushes her aside. He puckers his lips and gives Chrissy a meaningful sideways glance. "Looks like Miss Chrissy has some serious competition," he says, looking back at the group of girls.

He grins at Chrissy when she tells him they're going to start fighting over him. He raises his free hand to his heart, giving the girls a sorrowful look. "Ladies, ladies, please. Don't fight over me. As much as I would love to be your boyfriend, I'm afraid my heart is already taken."

It's nice, seeing her smile, even if it's hidden behind her hand, he can see it in her eyes. "I guess I'm going to have to," he says, smiling back at her.

"Okay," he says, holding the box back out for Tansy. The girls each grab one, saying thank you as they do. When the last girl takes one, there are two left. Eddie holds it back under Chrissy's nose.

"Come on," he says, bumping her hip with his. "You know you want one."

Her cheeks feel both hot and sore - if that's even possible - from the mixture of grinning at Eddie's surprise pop-in mixed with the blush that she can't help but feel spreading across her face from the sideways glance mixed with the commentary of the girls. And there is a part of her that feels a ping of excitement at the look. There's just something...strange about Eddie that, ever since there at the picnic table, somehow makes her feel more alive despite the fact that all she wanted to do was stop seeing things and feeling anything. "Not sure Miss Chrissy can compete." Chrissy jokes playfully. And it's actually a joke in the moment rather than her actually believing it.

Which is somehow...nice.

It's nice, even with how much her cheeks are feeling, as Eddie continues with the playful act. But the girls are all clearly eating it up, which makes it entirely endearing. Chrissy hopes that he's making it up, anyway. And she realizes after a second that he could actually have someone. Or have met someone. "You'll have to tell me more about whoever took your heart." Chrissy says, quietly - Tansy chiming in almost immediately with, "It's gotta be you, Miss Chrissy - duh." And it's followed very quickly by a follow-up from Ariel, "Boys don't bring donuts to girls they don't loooooove." And Chrissy can't help but press her lips together behind her hand as she tries not to laugh at the girls.

But, really, is Eddie playing? It's hard to tell with him. Eddie doesn't exactly take everything seriously and she hasn't...asked either.

"Any time - though maybe make sure it's one of my days before just in case." Chrissy offers, watching the last of the girls yoink their donuts before they move to take a spot, eagerly chatting in excitement about the donuts and the visitor to their dance studio. Chrissy steadies herself from the bump, or maybe it's an excuse to grab onto him if she's being completely honest, but she still finds herself holding onto his arm with one hand while gently pushing the box away with the other.

"I'm good, really. You should eat them - you bought them, after all." She doesn't want to stuff her face in front of Eddie. It's not attractive - even though she probably shouldn't be so focused on that. She gives Eddie's arm a tug toward the bench in the corner of the studio so that they can sit down. "So...your heart is taken, huh - did you meet someone for real?"

Chrissy finds herself asking, trying to keep her tone light, playful - and to distract him from pressing any further on the donuts as she moves to take a seat on the bench while gesturing for him to have a seat with her.

"I'll never tell," Eddie says, winking at the girls before looking over at Chrissy. It's hard to tell if she's teasing him, or if she's actually clueless to the fact that he's talking about her. Though, the truth is, Chrissy actually might not have any idea. After all, even if she's in the same boat as he is, it's not as if she didn't have a boyfriend before she died horribly and tragically. Jason might have been a total shithead, but it seemed pretty clear that the two of the were serious.

He suddenly feels incredibly stupid. Especially when she refuses his offering. She probably doesn't want to lead him on. He smiles through his disappointment and grabs one of the donuts, shoving half of it into his mouth as she leads him to a side bench. He sits, savoring each bite and giving her a sideways glance when she asks about if he's met someone.

He grins widely before sucking some chocolate frosting off his thumb. "Wouldn't you like to know," he teases, wagging his eyebrows at her. He takes another bite, chewing and looking out over the girls. "You've got quite the following here, Miss Chrissy. I can already tell they'd kill for you."

"I would, you know..." Chrissy smiles, but she doesn't push - feeling bad, for some reason. She can't exactly pinpoint it. Maybe it's jealousy. Maybe she feels guilt because of Jason. Maybe she just doesn't know what to make of this at all because it's not the same sort of performative that her last, or current, whatever....relationship was like. There's a big difference because this would never have been Jason's stage. Or arena. This is the sort of place that Jason would have waited outside to pick her up rather than bother to come in and he certainly wouldn't have been so playful or generous with the girls in her class.

Chrissy likes that that's the kind of person that Eddie is, though, because she feels happy that he's here.

"I don't know about that, but they're good girls. And they're all working really hard." Chrissy smiles out at her little dance troupe, proudly. She hasn't been working here long but it feels like it's right and the bond has happened quickly. "They have a recital that we're working toward too - you're welcome to come and watch, though I'd have to double check the date again, you know?" Chrissy hedges the invitation. "You don't have to come, of course, if you'd be bored or it's not your thing, though. But if you wanted to I could save you a seat and I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it."

Chrissy realizes she's hiding behind talking bout the little dancers, but there's a lot going through her mind in the moment. What else is she supposed to do?

He grins back at her, convinced that she definitely has no idea about how the massive crush he has on her and deciding that was probably for the best. At least for now. Being here, being alive was a lot to take on, nevermind, losing her family and her boyfriend in the process. It wasn't as if either of them could ever go home. Maybe, trying to make advances wasn't the best time when you were grieving your old life.

He's okay with this the way it is. Being friends. Being able to talk about the fucked up things they've been through and sometimes being able to hold one another so they can sleep without the nightmares that follow both of them once the sun sets. He wouldn't give this up if it meant getting nothing or pity in return.

He finishes the other half of the donut, watching the girls as they talk and giggle and look over at the two of them with knowing eyes. He winks at Tansy and they burst into a new round of giggles. He looks over at Chrissy as she begins to backtrack, his mouth curving into a grin.

"Save me a seat," he says easily. "I'm a firm supporter of the arts." He nudges her shoulder with his. "And Miss Chrissy, dance teacher extraordinaire, especially."

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