Cameron laughed and shook his head. "Trust me, I won't. That's the first time ever you've agreed for me to pay for you." He looked up as they arrived at the counter and he placed their order, ordering a small cup of the ice cream.
"I dunno, it's more acceptable for you than the ice cream I got is."
“The first and the last.” Ava looks over to him and smiles slightly. Diverting her gaze, she looks around the area. There are a lot of people here, which is not something that she enjoys. At his latest remark, she raises a brow and returns her attention to him. “What ice cream did you get?”
"If you were paying attention, you would know," Cameron just hummed softly. He was trying to make her more focused and attention-oriented now that they were something of a team. Soon they were handed their food, and Cameron accepted it with a small smile and handing her coffee ice cream over.
“You’re no fun,” Ava huffs, shooting him a light glare. Paying attention to others unless they’re a threat or someone she doesn’t know isn’t something she does often. She takes the ice cream from him and sighs happily. “Thanks,” She says happily, more than ready to get her sugar fix. “Are you going to tell me what ice cream you got or are you going to be stubborn?”
Cameron chuckled and started to trot away, his ars easily holding the cup of ice cream from her view. He hummed as he walked to a table to sit down and relax his legs, which always ached in the winter. Stubbornness was his answer for everything, and Ava should know that. They've been housemates, and after all, she's handled it first hand.
Ava grumbles a few choice words under her breath before following him. Flopping down on the open chair next to his, she glares at him. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” She says, though there’s no bite to her tone. Grabbing her spoon, she takes a few bites of her ice cream.
Cameron just hummed over his spoonful of happiness, grinning. "Yeah. The same could go fot you, too, Ava." He dipped his spoon back into the cup, already a bit of the way through his breakfast.
“One of these days I am going to knock your head right off of your shoulders,” Ava comments, taking another bite of ice cream. Leaning back against the chair, she sighs contently. It may not be healthy but she’s loving every second of her sugary breakfast.
Cameron just kept on chuckling, soon finishing up his small portion of ice cream. "Anyway. Whenever you're done go ahead and let me know so we can head off back home." He wasn't going to tell her that he felt incredibly stiff from sleeping on the floor, and the cold and movement wasn't helping.
Ava finishes her serving of ice cream in no time flat. “We can get going now.” She’s not eager to deal with the snow again but she’s more than ready to get back. Balling up her napkin, she sticks it into the small paper cup before standing.
Cameron stood from his chair using help from the spindly little table that moved up in his arms when he did. He did the same thing she did, and took her cup. He weaved his way easily through the crowd of people and dropped the ice cream cups into the trash, turning back to go towards her again.
"If it weren't so busy, I'd suggest we'd stay longer." And a throb from his back reminded him also why he wanted to leave.
Ava stands and works on pulling her coat back on, muttering a thank you when he takes her cup. Going back out into the snowy hell outside is not something she's looking forward to. "Are you okay?" She questions, her eyes narrowing. Something seems off but she can't quite pinpoint it. Maybe she's just being paranoid because she's out of her element but it's always better to be safe than sorry.
"Yea, I'm fine. Come on." She didn't need to know of how stiff he got in th winter. It was a con for both winter and himself. She might be playing safe and sorry, but Cameron was just being careful. Though they had known each other for quite a while… He offered her his arm so she could cling on and not get lost in the growing crowd of people.
Staring at him, she quickly concludes that she doesn't believe him in the slightest. With a huff and a grumble, she takes ahold of his arm. There are a lot of people here and getting lost would suck. She'll put this conversation on hold until they're out of the mall and safely in the car. She doesn't think that he would leave her here if she becomes too annoying or pushy but that's not a risk she's willing to take.
Cameron looked down at her and made sure she still had his jacket, taking it from her arms and helping her put it back over her, like a cloak. He left it open for now, giving her the option to put her arms through the large sleeves and cling on, or leave it open until the time being. He started to walk rather slow as he waited for that decision, still holding out his arm.
Ava sticks her arms through the sleeves of the jacket. It's much too big on her but it's cozy. Once settled with the jacket, she fixes her grip on his arm. The fact that her arms don't reach the end of the jacket sleeves make this task much harder than it should be. Maybe she should buy her own jacket. Something just like this one but that's actually her size.
Yea, the jacket looked reallt big on her. Naturally considering she was a thin but strong lady and he was a tall, strong-built man. Sizes for both would vary rapidly across the spectrum. Though he started to walk a bit faster with her now on his arm, pulling her along and down the escalator. Instead of waiting for it and being crammed in, he starter going down the steps, glancing back at her to make sure she was still following behind.
There are way too many people here. It's snowing like crazy outside and yet the crowds still flock to the mall. She doesn't understand it in the slightest. The brief distraction of looking around causes her to be startled when she gets pulled forward. She definitely needs to start paying more attention to him. Heading down the steps, she's thankful for her smaller size. It allows her to squeeze through tight spaces on the crowded steps which allows her to get down more quickly than most.
Cameron decided she was okay behind him and still with him, and finally made it to the bottom of the escalator, waiting only a couple moments for her to catch up with him. His dark eyes scanned the crowd and he started to walk at a quick trot towards the exit they came in on. He could understand why there were so many people here. Christmas was approaching, and a lot of people were probably doing their shopping in preparation.
Ava pushes past a few people as she successfully frees herself from the stairs. Hurrying after Cameron, she makes sure to stick close to him so they don't loose each other. Once they're actually on the first floor, she quickens her pace and ends up leading the way out of the mall. She steps outside and takes a relieved breath. Snow sucks but dealing with crowds in the mall might actually be worse. "We live!" She exclaims, just taking a few moments to appreciate not being packed in like a sardine.
Cameron kept a careful eye on her, like a father over a very small daughter. He walked out a few moments after her, the cold nipping at every single one of his joints. It made him feel old, how his bones locked up together.
"Yep. Now let's find where we parked." He started limping into the road, looking back and forth before crossing to the lot outside of the mall.
Ava trails after him, noticing his limp at once. A frown tugs at her lips. She going to ask him about this regardless of if he wants her to or not. They work together now so he should have told her. A limp is a liability and it could get him killed if he's not careful. Does this happen when it gets cold? Is it an injury that he didn't tell her about? Whatever it is, she doesn't like it.
His limp was sort of an injury and the cold. A while back he had done something funky to his kneecap because he got into a very physical fight, and he had to be put in a cast for ages because of it. Whenever it was cold, his kneecap would lock up and become stiff like the rest of his body. But he just ignored it, being used to it by now, and made it to where he parked.
Stepping up to the car, she waits for it to be unlocked. The cold wind is causing her face to sting and she's more than eager to get into the safety of the car. She misses warm weather. Once she secures a good fake passport, she's flying Fiji or somewhere equally as tropical for a week.
Cameron unlocked the car and sunk down into the seat with a faint sigh, shutting the door and turning on the car. He reached down and turned on the seat warmer for his seat and watched her get in. He buckled up and got ready to go, his hand on the stick shift.