Cologne
Matt sighed softly. Two people dating, with her made her feel like third wheel. Even more so since she was listening to Andrew and Brianna talk about the movie they were going to see and the book that was based on it. Next time, she swore that she was going to drag Rachel with her. At least, even though she was clearly with Raphael, she didn't feel uncomfortable. She was thanking god that she was able to stay silent and let them talk. Maybe after the shopping, she'd just find something to do. With the thought, she cheered herself up a bit. Going around, exploring, Rachel was going to be so stroked when she found out how much work she got done!
Grinning, she leaned forward, "What shops do you usually go to Bria-chan?"
"Usually the cheapest," Bria answered, "Wal-Mart, Good Will…" she shook her head, "I really don't go shopping that much to be honest."
"Not bad." Andrew murmured. "Saves on money." "You never been to a mall then?" Matt asked. Andrew looked through the review mirror to give Matt a look, but she ignored it. "I'll admit, while Wal-Mart and Goodwill have good clothes to wear, the fabric's terrible."
"I do agree with you on that," Bria nodded, "But I don't leave completely in a cave. I've been to the Mall more than once…"
"Now, one of the few stores that me and Rae go to is Stage. I will not touch Hot Topic, no matter how much Andy or Rae try to pay me."
Andrew rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"That's because you're scared of black," Andrew rolled his eyes.
"I am not scared of black, I…I just think that's its freaky!" Matt pouted.
"Black is great for shadow-jumping," Brianna grinned and leaned back against her seat. She had her seatbelt swung around behind her instead of across her chest so she was able to but her hands behind her head comfortably.
"That's not safe..." Matt told Bria as she watched her.
"What's not?" Bria leaned forward a bit to look back at the girl, "Shadow-jumping? Matt, I do it all the time while on patrol," she said.
"Not the shadow-jumping! There's more dangerous things than that like you putting your seatbelt behind your back!" Matt muttered.
"Oh! This," Bria chuckled and fingered her seatbelt. "I've always done it," she informed her, "Ever since I was little, I never liked having the seatbelt near my neck."
"Why? It saves you later on if someone crashes," Matt pointed at her.
"Thanks for doubting my driving skills." Andrew muttered.
Brianna shook her head, "Unless it's a necklace, I severely dislike having things encasing my throat, or having anything pressing against it. That's why I don't wear turtle-neck sweaters or have the seatbelt around me. Turtle-necks make me feel like I'm suffocating or being choked, and a seatbelt irritates me because I feel like it's cutting me." She reached over and demonstrated on Andy since he was closer.
Andrew winced just a bit and Matt burst out laughing, "It's like being taken hostage all over again."
Andrew glared at her, "That's not funny, Matt."
"Sure it is."
"Then you must get your humor from Rae. She'd take pleasure out of this," Andrew muttered darkly.
Bria furrowed her brows and pulled back sharply, "Hostage? What do you mean?"
"……" Matt and Andrew both looked at each other through the mirror and the doctor was the one to say, "It's nothing."
Bria frowned but didn't push it further. That was one thing she would not get into if the other did not wish to talk about it. She noted they'd reached the shopping area of town, "So…where are we headed first?"
"Hmmm…" Matt watched the streets for the longest time and then looked over at Andrew, "What's your favorite hangout?"
"Coffee shop…you?"
"A very good mall...now, where can we find a mall?" Andrew rolled his eyes and carefully turned left, "This fine?"
"It's a shop," Matt shrugged. "You okay Bria?"
"It doesn't exactly matter to me where we go," Brianna answered shrugging.
"Well then," Andrew found a parking place and looked at the girls, "Have fun."
"You're not coming?" Matt pouted.
Andrew sweatdropped, "I think I fancy my own style, thanks."
"Plain." Matt made a face.
"Better than being fancy," Andrew rolled his eyes.
"Come on…Bria! Help me persuade Andy to come with!" Matt reached over and tugged at Andrew's sleeve.
"Yes, join us," Bria had to grin and hit the button for his seatbelt pointedly, "Constructive criticism is nice," she added as she touched his hand and turned off the ignition with it, grinning the whole while.
Andrew let out a sigh, defeated. "Alright, I'll come."
"YES! I knew he can't say no to you Bria-nii-chan." Matt grinned.
"Thanks? Though, it still amazes me how we can get a guy wrapped around our fingers," Bria muttered as she opened her door
Matt let a small frown show, but didn't say a word as she gently unbuckled herself and slid out of the car alongside with Andrew and as they walked up to the store, Matt asked, "Is it a blessing or a curse?"
"Depends…but I'm a tomboy not a girly-girl, so that's probably why I'm confused," Bria shrugged innocently and reached the door before them just so she could open it and hold it for them.
Matt and Andrew both smiled their thanks and Andrew waited for Bria to get in. When she was in, the doctor sighed and looked at the store with a distasteful look. "How you ladies can manage stores like these I will never, ever know." The store had tons of perfume samples and it wasn't easy to block out the scent seeing how every single costumer always tried some before walking away. He had to admit the clothes looked good. Not for the guys, but from what he could see they were more of a girly-girl store than not. His eyes scanned the room looking for the bouncy blonde that seemingly disappeared.
She had to laugh, but Bria shook her head, "Yes, but…" she sneezed into her arm and grabbed Andy's sleeve so they could move farther away and so she could breathe, "I know my limits, but it's also because every time I try a perfume, it doesn't blend well with my personal scent even though I love the smell of it. The only thing that I use is Vanilla Milk, which I can barely find anyway…the only time is really at Wal-Mart at this point in the year. Even then, it's rare."
She sighed and went more for the cologne area, "However, when it came to special events, my Papa always came to me for advice for which cologne he should use…"
"Not bad." Andrew murmured. "At least he has some reliable to get advice from. Where did that brat go?" He looked and then rolled his eyes. "Agh, I hate it when she runs off."
"Heck if I know…she's probably just bouncing around looking for outfits I should try first instead of letting me find some of my own," Bria leaned down to a case and drew in a deep breath, smiling. She picked one up, "Anyway, cologne is easier for me stand…and somehow I'm drawn to…" she held the bottle to his neck. She broke off her original sentence to ask; "Am I right?"
"You are…" Andrew smiled, "Haven't been wrong yet…" He looked around and then sighed, "I have a bad feeling that Matt just completely ditched us."
"Didn't!" Matt sing-songed as she came with two outfits in her hand, "Picking out cologne for the theater hmm?" she winked.
Bria rolled her eyes but went back to original sentence, "Somehow I'm drawn to the cologne the good-guys where…the ones strong, honorable, and kind men wear," she smiled softly and set the one in her hand down in favor of another. She opened the lid to smell it, "Ah! Papa's favorite!" she smiled again and put the lid back on… It was a bottle of Mustang.
Andrew picked it from her hands and looked at it for a while and looked at Bria for a while and then looked back at it, "Maybe I'll buy it……" He shrugged. Honorable, kind men? Was it any of that? He knew that he was kind…but honorable? Was there even honor in what he did? He shook his head thinking too deep.
"Ah! Andy, heck no! Don't buy that!" Brianna nearly tackled him to get it back, sort of panicked. She swiped it easily and bounced back a few steps, looking at him in horror, "Are you insane? This is SO not for you…"
Andrew raised an eyebrow at the sudden attack. "Insane? No. Why do you think I'm insane for thinking about buying the cologne? And why don't you think it's not me?"
Bria deadpanned. She opened her mouth to answer, but she let out a huffing sigh, "Instead of me taking the time to explain, why don't I show you?" she sighed and took the lid off again and plopped it on the counter before taking his wrist. She sprayed it and then rubbed it in, blowing on it to make it dry and blend with his scent. Her nostrils flared and she turned her head away, but held her own. "There, now try it," she ordered.
Andrew took his wrist and put it to his nose before immediately taking his wrist away and wincing terribly. "Okay, your right," He told her, "That…isn't for me."
"Mm..." Bria noted Matt take several steps back, "You smell it too, huh?" she shook her head and then reached for her germ sanatizer. She used it to clean and wipe off the Mustang from his wrist before returning the bottle to its rightful place.
"Ok, now I will explain," Bria sighed as she looked through the others, "Papa was a fighter. He was in the Marines, and later before I left he joined the National Guard to try and help the financial shit that was happening. That was when he went to Afghanistan…but the point is that he was a fighter, and – no offence – you're not…at least, not in that way."
"He's not a fighter period," Matt mumbled.
Bria shook her head, "He can be if the need requires," she corrected.
Andrew and Matt both exchanged a look and Matt coughed, "Sure, whatever floats your boat, Bria-nii-chan." The young man dressed like a girl looked at the cologne and asked, "So, out of these……men perfumes – that I swear are stronger than the girls – is Andy?"
"That's what I'm trying to find," Bria answered, "And Matt; I know what I was talking about. If he gets the right kind of will and want to fight, for the right situation…" she sighed and smirked lightly before snapping her head up. She looked off to the side and took determined steps, following her nose.
Matt gently stepped with Andrew and whispered, "Does she know you can't fight? You proved that at the Foot HQ."
"There are ways to fight without being physical...but that's Rae's areas and a little bit of mine."
Matt just shook her head and stepped back, watching Bria look at the colognes.
Bria fingered the casings. her eyes scanning the rows, "Raph, Mikey, Don…Casey…" she muttered fingering each specific one. "AHA! Sucker, I found you," she grinned wide and pulled out one. She looked at it, tilting her head, and then finally undid the lid.
She nearly fainted.
Bria caught herself on the counter, "Ffff……" she tittered, gasping for breath, "Talk about getting drunk on a scent…"
"What is it?" Matt asked tilting her head.
Brianna whistled as she tried to regain her senses. She smiled and with a renewed bounce in her steps she grabbed Andy's other wrist. She did the same thing as before and then urged him to try it.
Andrew was very hesitant in even trying the scent. The last one was just too horrible for words. He carefully and timidly brought it up to his nose and didn't wince or anything. It smelled very nice. Not too strong, but it was good. The scent was cooling, mint and favorable if that made any sense. Matt didn't back away, but she didn't move forward either, so it couldn't be too bad.
"Not as bad as the first one," Matt immediately smiled, "Thank god."
"I was thinking it was going to be exactly or worse than the first," Andrew admitted.
"What can be worse?" Matt asked wincing as she remembered the smell and rubbed her nose.
Bria frowned at that.
"A lot of things." Andrew noticed the frown and looked at her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that, Bria..."
Bria shook her head, "No, it must have been the wrong one..." she took the bottle and put the lid back on, "The wearer knows best," she smiled at him and then turned to put it back. She stood again and then turned toward the perfume section. She scowled, but rolled her eyes as she focused on the one thing she smelled and bravely went over to it, half searches and half escaping.
"I think you hurt her feelings, Andy," Matt murmured.
Andrew just paused and Matt stared at him for a while before carefully putting a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you and Bria scout the colognes together instead of letting her do all of the work?"
Andrew watched Matt for the longest time before whispering, "You're going to bail on us aren't you?"
"I have a feeling that since Starlight and Firefly aren't here, I shouldn't be either…I feel in the middle." Matt smiled warmly at Andrew, "But that doesn't mean that I'm not drowning her in clothes you'd do her in," Matt bounced off to find some more outfits.
"Matt!" Bria tried to call as she came back with a bottle, "Oh! Dang it, girl, come back here," she went completely by Andy to try and get to Matt, but failed. She huffed.
"She does that." Andrew murmured, "All the time." He looked at Bria and then sighed. Shaking his head, he said, "Bria…I'm sorry."
"For what? You did nothing wrong," Brianna said as she turned back to return the bottle, "I'll try to be back for it," she told the clerk, "But today just doesn't seem to be my day," she chuckled half-heartedly and waved politely before going back to the more breathable area. She took a deep breath, "Matt says cologne smells stronger…I say opposite."
"You think it's weak?" Andrew asked, watching her.
"No…" she sighed, "Perfume sucks and unbearable. I can actually breathe here," she explained and went back to the counters. She looked hard through them, and then picked out one, taking off the lid to smell it, "Here, try this one," she tossed it to him before looking for another just in case.
"Matt and Rae use perfume. Not a whole lot, thank god, but Rae only used perfume when she was meeting with clients and……other people." Andrew spayed some of the cologne and took a sniff. "I think I did that wrong…do you rub it in and then smell?"
"Thanks," Andrew murmured, a light pink tinting his cheeks. He couldn't believe he screwed up on a simple process. He brought it up to his nose again. "This smells nice," he murmured.
"Alright," Andrew smiled, "I'll go along with that."
"Do you know why I picked that one before?" Bria asked, hiding in a case and pulled out a couple, rejecting some and contemplating others.
"No…tell me," Andrew commented as he watched her.
"Because..." Bria sighed yet again, "It was strong, yet sweet. Gentle, yet extremely potent. It was light...but had a dark side to it. I've never reacted to cologne like that before, so that's why I was so hopeful for it."
"But it's not mine to wear...." Andrew murmured. "Like the mustang. That was a lesson dear god."
Bria laughed at that, "Sure was," she agreed, and then paused in her movements. "Wait…what did you just say?"
"What?" Andrew blinked.
"What did you just say?" Bria repeated, looking at him in total confusion.
"The lesson or the not mine to wear?" Andrew asked.
"Not yours to wear…?" Bria half-asked… She stood and with a frown she went to the case that held the cologne. She knelt down in front of it, but didn't open the glass.
"Yeah..." Andrew was confused.
"Then who? Certainly someone I know…" Bria huffed. She shook her head and then went back to him and the case she was at before, "Never mind, let's focus on you."
Andrew smiled, but inside he knew who that cologne was for. Shaking his head, he dropped the subject. "Yeah, let's try to tackle what cologne is mine." He grinned.
Brianna laughed, "Hai, let's…try this," she tossed him one and also the sanitizer.