OOM: Visiting Chloe, Part II

[dovelike]

While the Smallville Mall looks deceptively tiny on the outside, it is packed with enough shops to make a sizeable dent in the cash Eirene has on hand, along with racking up charges on one of the credit cards that Eunomia was kind enough to provide for her use.

This is precisely the reason that Eirene, and Chloe, struggle through the rear entrance to the Talon, loaded down with enough bags to keep an entire orphanage in clothing and other items for a whole year. But the giggling, and the free makeovers at that one counter, and the sighing over lovely fabrics, and really, the bonding made it all worthwhile.

"Maybe we should have rented that cute guy at the arcade to carry this all in for us?" Because the slightly shorter blonde is convinced her arms will fall off at any second.

Comments

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"Definitely."

Then, Chloe pushes the door open further so Lois can see Eirene and the numerous bags the two girls have between them. She shrugs innocently at her real cousin and smiles.

"Um, no Lois," Chloe lies. "I can't believe that at all. Although maybe you might want to hold off on the 'do you know who I am bit' until you have more of a reputation in the field."

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

"I am the Inquisitor's media darling," Lois mutters, flipping the phone closed and tossing it lightly on the couch. "Like Senator Burke can't spare ten minutes to answer a few simple questions."

She sighs and then finally really looks at her cousin, and the girl behind her. "Who's that?"

[eirenikos]

Eirene resists the urge to waggle her fingers and giggle, things she's seen other mortals do when being introduced to 'family' members they supposedly haven't seen in years.

"Hi. I'm Eirene."

Beat.

"Sullivan."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe resists from insisting that the keyword in all of this is Inquisitor.

Instead, she moves aside so Eirene can step in and grins.

To Lois: "You know how reclusive Dad's side of the family is. One of them's finally come out of the wood work for a visit. So she's going to be staying with us for a few days, okay?

To Eirene: "Eirene, this is Lois Lane - the cousin I was telling you about this morning."

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

"Cousin, huh?" Lois walks over to Eirene and looks her over, eyes narrowed. Then, after a moment of scrutiny. "Yeah, definitely Sullivan stock. Your side of the family," she continues, tilting her head toward Chloe, "is way too big to keep track of."

Then it's back to Eirene. "My dad and I can barely keep up my sister, but then I doubt there are any Sullivans gallivanting around Europe convincing rich, gullible schmucks into paying for swanky hotel rooms and airfare to yet another country ending in 'stan'."

[eirenikos]

Ahaha. Sullivan stock. Eirene doesn't think she's ever been prouder to be mistaken for someone else's relation. Chloe might be able to interpret the beaming smile that appears.

"Yeah, my dad Zeke is second or third cousin to Gabe. He's in Greece right now at a dig with my mom. It's nice to meet you."

And she extends a hand.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe grins, dropping her purse by the couch. "Lucy still not back from her European tour yet?"

She turns around to head back out the door and start the transfer of bags inside the apartment, winking at Eirene as she passes by.

"And you call the Sullivan side of the family wild, Lois!" Chloe shouts from the hall. "At least Eirene can keep track of her siblings."

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

Lois eyes Eirene's outstretched hand skeptically. "You're in Lane territory now; we don't shake, we salute." Which Lois demonstrates, before sliding easily from all-too-serious into a lopsided grin. "But we'll go easy on you for now."

With that, she turns her attention to Chloe and the hallway. "You went shopping without me?"

[eirenikos]

"I'll remember that." Since she sort of has a brother in the military. Kinda. Still, it doesn't hurt to grin back at Lois, and then pivot around to follow Chloe's lead and start helping bring in bags.

Half of them are hers, after all.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"You weren't home, otherwise we'd totally have brought you," Chloe responds after dropping the first load of bags by the couch.

She lets out a sigh of relief (even a few steps, that was heavy) and flops down on the sofa.

"Sorry?"

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, lucky me was busy being turned down for an interview in person," Lois grouses, actually bothering to help out with a few bags.

"What'd you do, buy out the Metropolis Mile?"

[eirenikos]

"Smallville Mall," Eirene calls out from where she's trying to drag the rest of the bag in through the doorway, where they can remain parked until her arms stop hurting.

"I've seen enough big cities lately that something small and homey would be cool."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Chloe shrugs, reaching for Victoria's Secret bag.

"Did I forget to mention that Uncle Zeke's family is kind of rich?"

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

Lois unloads her armful near the kitchen island counter.

"You've been holding out on me when we've had a rich uncle all this time?" Yes, 'we'. "That's totally not fair."

[eirenikos]

Eirene snorts while dragging the last few bags in, and then shutting the door so she can slump back against it.

"We don't really like to mention that. I've got five older sisters, and you know how fortune hunters can be."

Beat.

"I could treat us to dinner though."

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

The 'we' earns a look before Chloe returns to digging through the bag.

"I kind of thought we'd do pizza tonight, Lo. We can do a nice dinner in Metropolis on a day when Eirene and I aren't exhausted from hours of shopping."

Again, Chloe looks up from her bag, eyes darting between one cousin to 'another'. "'Rene has yet to see anything past Metropolis Municipal, anyway."

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

"You suck as a tour guide," Lois teases, tossing a kitchen sponge Chloe's way on her way to flopping on the couch herself.

"Pizza's good though. I'm not much up for another long drive back into the city tonight. We'll have to stick to DVDs, though. Cable's on the fritz - again - and Smallville hasn't got his butt out here to fix it yet. He's so spacey these days."

Beat.

"More than usual. Anyway, think I should just call the cable guy?"

[eirenikos]

"No she doesn't. I've worked as a tour guide before," and that is the honest truth, "and Chloe hit all the major points of this delightful town. The Talon and the Mall."

Grin.

"Who is Smallville?"

And what in Tartarus is a 'cable guy'?

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Lois just had to bring him up, didn't she?

Chloe manages to dodge the sponge (thank god Lois throws like a girl) and shakes her head.

"Maybe it's time we switch to a new provider." That's the easy response. The harder one is: "'Smallville' is Lois' name for my friend Clark. I think I've mentioned him to you before?"

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

Of course she did. She's Lois.

"We'd have to run that by the Luthor landlord and I think if we remind him we're still living here, we won't be anymore," she points out.

"Besides, we have our very own Mr. Fixit-just-not-the-first-time and he's free."

[eirenikos]

"Oh." Eirene turns away to busy herself with rearranging the shopping bags so her expression won't be readily apparent. "Yeah. You did mention him, Chloe." She's very much afraid that casual tone isn't as carefree as she hopes.

Luthor is the other punch in the gut. She'll be crouched there for a minute or two.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

Saved by the bikini!

In a remarkable display of topic changing, Chloe finally pulls out the item she was looking for. A bikini that Eirene talked Chloe into buying after she tried it on as a joke.

"Found it!" she says happily, holding it up for both girls to see. "So, you think Riley will like it?"

[crows-alumni.livejournal.com]

Lois raises an eyebrow at the bathing suit that technically, doesn't have enough material to be called much of anything.

"I think it'd get his attention. Not bad, Chlo. I may be rubbing off on you yet." Then it's Eirene's turn. "Please tell me you're not all gaga on some guy and this is going to turn into a runway show about how best to turn them on."

[eirenikos]

Eirene isn't quite sure what 'gaga' means, aside from something infants always mutter, but she's managed to control her initial reaction to the point where she can turn around and look at Lois now.

"Just Riley, I'm afraid. I talked Chloe into buying that one, so she talked me into buying this one."

She holds up a suit just pulled out of another bag.

[torch-reporter.livejournal.com]

"If you knew her, Lo, it totally fits her," Chloe answers brightly as she stuffs the suit back into the plastic bag. "Eirene can be just about as hippy as they come. Peace, love and all that jazz."

She glances over the swimsuit Eirene is holding up again and nods. "I like it."