Looking for a Job Is a Job in Itself

[Aqua]

"I hope so," Emily said. She kept quiet for a moment, then said, "It's not an easy thing for me, though, finding a job. I even had to wear a wig to one interview." She doubted Pietro would like this particular piece of information, but she wasn't going to keep secrets from him - she felt she could tell him most of what was on her mind and be safe.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::If Pietro's expression weren't naturally closer to frowning than neutral, it would have been easier to detect how his lips drew into a thin line. Bigotry touched them all, particularly those of them with a physical indicator of mutant status, and for something as benign as hair color...but she shouldn't have to dye it. He had argued that with himself before.:: "There are liberal parts of the city. Tolerant parts."

[Aqua]

"I know that now," Emily nodded. "However, I gave it a try, it sort of enriched my experience. I had no idea the hair color had any significance... I honestly thought we had gotten over the color thing some fifty years ago."

[Pietro Maximoff]

::They should have, but with the violent flares over the past few years, they had slid back. Pietro blamed Magneto for it.:: "We lost ground with the war over the Cure."

[Aqua]

Emily nodded. "Well, I suppose you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. And I can't really complain much... things are as they are, it could be worse, of course."

[Pietro Maximoff]

::True as that was, and as much as it granted a sense of perspective, Pietro didn't like that argument. It could be worse, but that didn't mean that everything could be excused based on that premise alone.:: "That only counts for so much."

[Aqua]

Emily smiled. "Uh-huh, and my patience and ability to be forgiving are not endless, either. But I'm ready to concede so far." She was deliberately making it sound as if she were a deity that needed to stay on Earth for a while and had to generously make allowances for minor human weaknesses.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::The way she spoke her statement was...peculiar. Pietro had never heard her speak in such terms before, considering how shy she behaved and her admitted lack of confidence. The phrasing and the smile were almost reminiscent of Magneto, which he assumed was coincidental, possible paranoia on his part, and possibly a joke on hers. He pushed the thought aside for the moment.:: "We have to try to live normal lives."

[Aqua]

"I am trying," Emily sighed, dropping the tone she'd used earlier. She looked at her glass, there wasn't much left in it. "How is my fish-tank doing?"

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro had kept an eye on the fish tank, which included cleaning it, changing the water, and feeding the fish. That was the extent of his desire for animal care.:: "The fish are alive."

[Aqua]

"It's good to hear that," Emily nodded, having no idea it was thanks to Pietro that they were alive. "I wish I could move the tank to my dorm room, but alas."

[Pietro Maximoff]

"Why can you not?" ::Pietro saw no reason not to move it; it would be a delicate operation, but a possible one. And it might give a sense of familiarity to her.::

[Aqua]

"Putting aside all the technical details of such a move, it wouldn't fit into my dorm room," Emily said. "It was of a suitable size for the mansion when I bought it but it won't be okay for the place where I live right now."

[Pietro Maximoff]

::That was a logistical problem, Pietro admitted, but not without solution.:: "Why not get a smaller one and take some fish?"

[Aqua]

"It will mean starting a new one," Emily said. "And I wasn't looking for that, I was merely wondering whether my old one was alive."