Welcome to Gaia! ::

The bell to the gaming store dinged as Nick slipped inside, shivering from the cold that came with the winter weather. A good shake of his head sent several flakes of snow falling to the ground. Though they hit the doormat, Nick could catch Ashley behind the counter giving him a look of annoyance that he would bring the weather inside. “Sorry Ash.” Nick offered with a shrug as she flicked him off before going back to whatever she had been doing, most likely a new box of pokemon cards had been brought in.

Walking towards the back, Nick had come today mostly because there was a new shipment of models that had come in and they had sworn to him that the tank he had been eyeing would be on it.

Just seeing the case from where he stood, Nick already knew that yet again, it didn’t make the truck.

But not all was lost as he caught sight of a very familiar brown ponytail hunched over the miniature case next to it.

“Good day Commissar.” Nick offered as he walked up behind the female. Ainsley was just as a familiar face around the store as he was so of course they had gotten to talking several times. Both had a large interest in war games and the military. Frankly Ainsley had been one of the first females in his life that Nick could admit he didn’t feel the need to run across the room and hide from. Level headed, down to earth. She was without a doubt one of his closest friends.

Close enough that she might have been the only one to really know all the details about his parents and sister. After all, she had lost her own father. That traded information had, in his mind, made them fast friends.

“Did they get in the new guard yet or still put off till 2019?”
---
“Sisters of Battle,” Ainsley corrected, voice quiet as she turned to look up at Nick. “Guard probably won’t get an update until 2020 at this rate, which sucks. They actually discontinued a bunch of the specialized molds, and cut them out of the codex so… unless we get a new book too…” the mousy girl wasn’t in her cosplay, so her voice was low and soft so that it only carried to Nick. But, Nick was cool. He understood, had given her space, and she’d slowly come out of her shell.

She liked Nick. Like, like, liked him.

Which made the fact that a little cheerleader bimbo-barbie had sunk her skanky, sordid talons into him even more galling. Unfair and outrageous even. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be in today, hopefully the bad weather kept her succubus a** home.

Granted she could only blame herself and her timidity, but still, the hussy didn’t have to rub it in. Hanging on him all the time in the store - holding his hands - it was outright degeneracy. It made her sick.

“They still haven’t stocked your tank,” she noted dryly. “I swear the day they do hell will freeze over.”
—

“And here I thought it had frozen over. Wasn’t it supposed to at least be sunny today?” Nick grumbled, sliding down to sit on the floor as he scanned the lower case. They didn’t change the items in this one very often. It was too out of view to be the main display but they always hid the items that staff hoped to keep out of sight here. A few times he had managed to find a good deal or even a hidden ‘misplaced’ comic that Ashley had stowed away for her boyfriend.

Oops.

“I thought they had been working on a new book. At least in the new stages. Did that get tabled since the last update? I haven’t been able to keep up with the news releases lately.”
Glancing over at her, Nick gave Ainsley the look that always said ‘my aunt’. It was why he hated the holidays and breaks.

“Anyway, if you got a moment, I need a favor.”
---
She knew the look well, giving him a weak smile as she nodded her head. “Sisters are getting a new book they previewed in the end of year press drop, looks solid, I’ll have to build some just cause.”

At his request though, she nodded. “Oh course, I’m free, what’cha need?”

She nervously ran her fingers through her hair, hoping she wasn’t about to regret saying that.

Please don’t ask me to teach your girlfriend how to play….
—-
Reaching into his coat pocket, Nick pulled out an old, worn down and now stained from the melted son, leather wallet. “I found this on the way here. No name. No address. No info. Just cash and well...a list.”

Offering it to her, Nick gave a sort of helpless shrug. “It makes no sense if someone stole it to leave the money in there and just take anything plastic. But in return, why take the ID?”

“Mind seeing if there was something I missed? I mean, I feel bad but I also didn’t want to leave it laying in the middle of the sidewalk to get covered in snow until spring.”
---
Whew, okay, bullet dodged. She nodded, taking the wallet from Nick, being careful to try and not brush her fingers against his own during the transfer because she was not some weirdo stalker.

Opening the wallet she frowned and rifled through the pockets. There was a lot of cash.

“Too much money to be a kid with no id,” she said, a hand reaching up to adjust non-existent glasses - she’d gotten contacts in middle school to stop the bullying. “But an adult would have id unless they were homeless, and the wallet is beat up enough to suggest that… but why but gifts if you have no home…”

That much money would solve a lot of more pressing problems so… that wasn’t it.

The list was odd too.

“This is weird.”
—-
“I thought so as well but I wanted a second pair of eyes on it. I mean the list doesn’t even have names on it. Just gifts. A Go-Pro? I mean the person must like to travel and with the doll on there, figured small child somewhere in the picture. I just…”

Nick gave a half shrug. “I didn’t want to leave it there but not even the police would be able to do much with it really. What do you think?”
---
“Your assessment is fairly spot on, but if its a homeless family none of these gifts… well okay the doll makes sense, but nothing else does.” She hummed in thought, a tune that was mostly directionless before she suddenly stopped.

“S-sorry, got zoned there for a sec,” she said, flustered as she handed it back. “Uhm, short of staking the place out and hoping they retrace their steps, I believe after 48 hours its free property.”

She wasn’t sure though, and to be fair some body would probably steal it from lost items before that happened.

“So uh…. fair game I suppose.”
—-
“Fair game huh?” Nick questioned, taking the wallet back and flipping it over in his hand. “Want it then because I feel like a complete a** taking it.”

He glanced at Ainsley with an innocent shrug. “Not like I need anything more than I already have and since they refuse to get in the models I want.”

Glancing back at the case, Nick groaned to himself. “You know if Amazon had it I would just order it but even they refuse to keep it in stock. One of these days I’m going to start thinking someone is out to get me.”

Looking back at her, Nick’s smile was soft and sweet even as he teased. “Sometimes I think they order yours first because they want to keep you around more than me.”
---
Ainsley shook her head. “Naw, I couldn’t… It’s not mine and I’d feel bad if I ran into someone on the street who needed it more than me. Give it to charity or something…”

Buy your girlfriend some sense so that she’ll stop hogging all the good guys.[/i[

“Sorry, I mean… Uhm… I could add it to my next special order list if you wanted to test that theory out… I mean, I try not to spend too much… I sold my Ork army to pay for my newest build so…” She shrugged. “I mean you could just pay me back or something… Like maybe go out for coffee sometime or….”

Wait. No! Abort! Abort! That was too much!

“Or you know… just cash… cash is good…”
---
Nick raised a brow, looking at her as if she was crazy before cracking a smile. “Ainsley, you know I would go for coffee anytime. You don’t have to act like I grew a third n****e to ask. Besides, don’t I owe you one from the last Warhammer game you kicked my a** in?” Nick offered, shaking his head at her.

Slipping the wallet back into his jacket, Nick figured she was right. Without answers, charity was the best bet.

“Besides, I hate giving cash as gifts. It seems so cheap and un-thoughtout. I may be a crappy boyfriend who can’t even get his girlfriend more than a pink DS but at least it’s some thought after all. Besides, I you still haven’t given me any ideas of what you want for Christmas.”
---
Oh, OF COURSE she’d want a pink DS… typical. Probably with cutesy heart stickers - gag.

Ainsley blushed and looked away before nodding. Soooo… friendzoned. Also typical. She was just one of the guys all the time so why should it be different with Nick? Again, it’s not like he KNEW she liked him or anything, she’d been mum about it on purpose. He was just so… COOL. He may not think he was - which was actually kind of points in his favor. But, he just… owned what he was - and Ainsley had to respect that.

“Oh, right… well uhm… I’ll take you up on that sometime,” She murmured, her hands nervously fidgeting in her lap as she thought about the gift question. She didn’t even know where to START. There were so many things she’d totally be down for - but none of them were going to happen ‘cause he had a girlfriend it wasn’t like she could demand a date or something that’d just be… wrong. Besides, his girlfriend looked the type that would tear her down to her base component parts in three seconds after a casual glance. It’s not like she’d see anything beyond the wilting wallflower that was Ainsley Mason.

“Oh, uhm… anything’s good… I mean, as long as it’s not like, expensive or nothing... “
---

“Ainsley, come on.” Nick eyed her, shaking his head as he sat on the floor with her. “Stop going wild flower mode on me and be real. Name it. What do you have in mind that you want? I mean I can’t go out and get you a new Xbox or a trip to Disney World but a game or a figure? Something you have had your eye on?”

Nick knew she was slipping back which made him worry. She only did that when she was upset or uncomfortable which had him replaying everything he just said.

“Or are you too worried your mother will find whatever I give you impractical?”
---
The blush deepened, reaching all the way to the tips of her ears as she shook her head quickly, to dismiss that last thought. “Oh! No, not at all, she’d never say that about a gift someone else got for me that’d be… rude.”

Oh man, why was this so hard. Nick was… a friend. He was /just/ a friend. He had a girlfriend - which meant she was just out of luck in that regard. Even if she did manage to work up the nigh infinite amount of courage that would be required for her TO confess her feelings - she doubted it would change much. She was just… Ainsley.

“Uhm… I guess, if I had to pick something, it would probably be the Inquisitor Greyfax model - I haven’t gotten her yet. I mean, partially because she’s almost always part of the full set of the three heroes of the Gathering Storm Campaign but…” She looked into the glass display at the display model she’d actually built for the store as part of a contest - the tank’s armor looked worn and battle damaged, she’d spent weeks on it making it look just so.

“I mean if you could even find her solo that’d be a feat itself,” She said with a small shrug. “I mean I could always use another Leamon Russ or a Basilisk or Hydra…” She motioned at the larger artillery piece kits that lined the rack nearby. “Especially if I’m going to do a full, artillery company like I was planning to for the next tournament…”
---
Nick gave a smile as he shifted back to get his feet under him. Rising up, he extended a hand to Ainsley. “I will have to see what I can do. The depths of the internet can always be rather interesting when searching for things.”

Especially if you googled the WRONG thing.

“So, coffee?” He smirked, trying to get her to calm down. “You is it too late?”
---
Ainsley too his hand without second thought as he stood, and she might have held it for a beat too long before she let it go and let out a small snort. “The Internet is a dangerous, dangerous place,” She murmured shaking her head. “Especially now, I’ve had to get away from historical figures completely thanks to a certain… subgenre of people.”

At the offer for coffee her eyes darted to her watch and she shook her head. “No, I’m free, I didn’t really have any plans, was just killing time.” She said with a small smile. “Seeing if anything good had come in, you know.”
---
“Same. So why don’t we head down the street? You can fill me in on the rest of the news I missed thanks to living in Model hell for the last week. “ Nick laughed, thumbing the wallet in his pocket.

First red pot with a santa ringing a bell they passed, he was making one large donation.

Torvil