trans_9 | Well, Damn [Closed]

"Good." Woe unto you if you did, Leon. Sherry looked up at Claire, "Is that all? Or," she turned her attention back to her father, "is there something else?"

No, banning her from Vega doesn't count.

Claire frowned a little thoughtfully, trying to think if there was anything further that needed discussing here. There were still a few things she should probably mention, but that could wait until Sherry wasn't around.

"I think we covered the important stuff?"

"Yeah, I think we got all of the big stuff. And we missed anything, it's not like I'll be hard to find," he shrugged.

"Okay, I... should probably go," cheer wildly to Vega about how amazing her father was, even if he Highly Disapproved of the boy, "take Vega his class notes."

And not forget the pastry that seemed to be helping to motivate his studying. "And then do my homework." Or something.

She smirked a little, gently ruffling up Sherry's hair. "Don't get into too much trouble, all right?" Because even if Sherry did end up doing her homework, trouble also still somehow seemed to make its way into being an option. Obviously being a Redfield-Kennedy was having permanent effects.

Leon was starting to think that Sherry enjoyed mentioning the name of that boy around him, just to watch that one vein on his neck throb.

Though, now that he's Captain, he could make it legal to chuck that boy out of an airlock, right? He'd have to look that up.

"Come, give me a hug, sweetheart." Before she went scampering off to cause mischief.

Cause mischief? This innocent, blue-eyed girl? Neeever.

And yes, the vein thing was kind of funny. Poor Vega, he just didn't even know.

"I got in trouble the other day," Sherry said in the idle way that she hoped would sound like she was kidding, thinking of the creature in the Labyrinth. "I think I'll be fine." She slipped away from Claire and smoothed out her hair with one hand, before hugging Leon.

Claire frowned at Leon over Sherry's head, not really sure what the little girl meant by that. She was partially assuming Sherry meant something she'd been caught for, but she also wasn't sure. She sounded like she was making a joke, but at the same time, Sherry sometimes tended to accidentally say more than she meant to.

Leon had caught the look, and decided to hold on to that hug for a bit. Sherry was not going anywhere for the moment.

"Did you now? And what trouble was that, yesterday?"

Sherry ignored the panic bell that rang in her head. If she looked guilty, they'd dig further.

And if they dug further, she really wouldn't be able to explain what that thing had been in the labyrinth. "Just regular-trouble," she said and raised her eyebrows slightly, as though they should be used to this by now. "Nothing bad."

"Sherry..." Claire's tone obviously said she knew Sherry was question dodging, and that the little girl was going to have to be a little more convincing to wiggle out of this one.

"If it's 'nothing bad' then why don't you tell us about it?" It sounded like a simple suggestion, but despite Sherry being a slippery child, she would not get out of that hug until she spilled.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, a tap dance. Sherry raised her eyebrows at her father, and blinked before answering. Even worse, she was becoming more familiar with that tone.

"I went to the City the other day, remember? And I saw that big tree, and I found a... garden maze. I got lost a few times and almost fell into the hole in the center, that's all." It wasn't the whole truth, but it was close enough. Hopefully, it would satisfy her parents. "I told you it wasn't anything bad."

Okay, that seemed like plausible enough trouble to Claire, but she'd let Leon make the final call. He was the one holding her captive, plus he could actually see their daughter's face.

She was just not going to say anything because anything about being careful about where you snoop she could say would sound hugely hypocritical.

Leon sighed a bit, but it was more a 'figures' than 'stop stalling'. Congrats, Sherry, you have just gotten one over on your parents. ~~Though they'll probably have a tracking device implanted in you anyway.~~

"Just be careful where you poke around at in the future, alright?"

Wait, that worked? There really was something to be said for subtlety, wasn't there? "I will," Sherry promised, and hoped she wouldn't be lying. She smiled and mussed her father's hair. "I seem to get in more trouble with the other kids than I do by myself, anyway, right?" Right.

Good thing she'd tucked the book the Faun had given her away. Unless Claire got a sudden itch to take apart their room, Sherry was fairly sure she wouldn't see it. Besides, it was just weird-looking, not incriminating, considering the blank pages (she was still disappointed with that).

Claire smirked at that, standing up and moving to readjust her position so she was sitting next to Leon, ruffling Sherry's hair as she sat down.

"Maybe, but sometimes it's better having people with you to make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble." Backup was always a good thing to have, and Claire would rather not encourage Sherry's already habitual solitary behavior.

Leon did not whargarble when Sherry messed with his hair, instead he only tried not to grin at her, and mostly failed at that.

"See," he said, pointing to his hair, "this is why I need a hat," he joked. "And I should probably get a coat too." Even though he went through those like they were candy. Occupational hazard.

"Anyway, your mother is right. Sometimes its good to have people to talk you out of getting into trouble. And to watch your back whenever you do get into some." of the two, Claire was definitely good at the latter part.

Sherry gave Leon a thoughtful look, and went through her mental list of children on the ship she knew. No, no, maybe, maybe, hmm, no, stool pigeon. Yep, that pretty much covered it.

"Okay." Which meant she think about it, even though she was still a little unconvinced.

Well, that was a start, at least. Claire smiled, reaching out to pat Sherry's arm.

"Off you go, then. Homework to do."

"Yes," Leon agreed, and gave Sherry a kiss on her forehead. "Be good," he told her, then finally let her go.

Then promptly fixed his hair.

"I can't get in trouble doing my homework, Dad." Sherry grinned at her parents and pulled herself away from her parents. She kissed them both on the cheek and hurried away. There were problems not of the Family Kind to be resolved, and she much preferred that.

She was a member of their family. If anyone could find a way to get in trouble doing homework, it was her.

Once Sherry was out the door, the smile on Claire's face faded, and she sighed, turning to look back at Leon.

"So, you probably have to get to work."

Leon took a breath, a thoughtful expression on his face on a moment. He did need to address the crew, then he'd have to start getting this house in order, and so many other things.

"I do," he admitted, but didn't make a move to go anywhere. "But that can wait for a while."

Her smile returned a little at that, and she reached for his hand, tilting her head to the side.

"You know why I didn't want you to win, right?"

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