alwaysroomforhope | (no subject)

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shatterverse

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"Troublemakers ... scarin' the life outta folks ... just getting your jollies, never think about the folk under you ... suppose you think that was fun... bloody teenagers..."

The desk sergeant looks angry and irritable, scowling at them and muttering as he pushes papers around.

"Wasting police time ... resources ... cells for a night's the least of what you deserve, your parents oughta have taught you better..."

Steph is still finding it nearly impossible not to giggle. Especially when she glances at Sokka beside her, streaked with gravel and hair spiky from the wind, and remembers the looks on the people's faces.

"You damn kids don't even know the trouble you're in," the sergeant grumps, standing up finally with a notepad. "All right, give me your names."

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Sokka is having the worst time ever not bursting into laughter. Especially when Steph keeps glancing at him and giggling like that. He glances back after the sergeant orders them around, and swallows down a smile, fighting valiantly to keep a straight face.

"Well, I'm Ah, and this is Loo. Our last names are Choo and Zerr."

He beams. So innocent!

Steph has to cough really hard all of a sudden. It is a terrible cold she must have.

The sergeant writes down -- looks at what he's written -- and sighs, rolling his eyes.

"Let's try that again, kids. Names, please."

"What, you don't believe me? I'm appalled!" And also grinning but at least he's managing to stave off the giggles.

"Miss Zerr, can you believe this?!"

Oh wait, no, there they are.

Steph stomps on his foot, or tries to. It's hard to stomp accurately when you can't stop -- coughing. Yes, coughing.

"It's Louise Zerr," she tells the sergeant through her coughing, clinging to Sokka's arm to stay upright. "He's just an idiot, swear."

The sergeant glares at them both for a moment longer, then shrugs. "All right, Sneezey and Dopey, you get to put up with our hospitality until you feel like cooperating."

Sokka might protest but he's too busy half-using Steph's grip on his arm to stay upright while he laughs. "I'm Sneezey," he informs Louise Zerr with a wide grin.

"You wish you were Sneezy," Steph tells him, hiccupping with laughter and stumbling obediently in the direction the sergeant steers them in.

Ooh, cells. With a teeny little window that's high above their heads and certainly not wide enough for Sokka to slip through, although possibly for Steph, and bars that are similarly spaced. They're the only people in the handful of cells so far.

"You give me a yell when you're ready to give me your parents' phone numbers," the sergeant growls at them, pushing them into a cell and shutting the door firmly. "Until then, you can just quit wasting my time."

Steph nods very seriously.

And then bursts into a fresh round of coughing.

Sokka would help her but he's busy cracking up as soon as the sergeant's around the corner, putting a hand to the wall to help him stay standing. "Hey," he gasps, still laughing, "how much d'you think long distance would be to call my dad in another dimension? When he doesn't have a phone?"

"Mel's going to kill me," Steph says, flopping down on the cell bed, laughing and laughing and laughing. Everything is funny tonight! "We got arrested. This is totally a first for me!"

"I've been chased and threatened by authority figures," Sokka notes, grinning as he peers up at the window above them. "But I haven't actually been thrown in a cell before. It would've been kind of stupid to do it while I was traveling with benders, but still. This is kind of cool."

A beat and he's grinning right at Steph, pulling a screwdriver from his pocket.

"What do you think the odds are that they'll be checking on us within the next ten minutes?"

"If we keep giggling? I reckon we've got at least half an hour." She beams at him, and then laughs again when he pulls out the screwdriver.

"Need to stand on my shoulders to reach?"

"First of all, no, you're tiny," Sokka informs her, still peering up at the window, glancing down at the floor, and then returning his gaze to the window.

"...second, yes. C'mere."

This just makes her laugh all over again.

"Okay, in a sec... I have to stop laughing first."

Which isn't easy! AND SHE BLAMES HIM. TOTALLY. But then she comes over and offers him both hands linked together, still giggling a little.

"You and your huge dirty feet."

Sokka grins and puts a hand on her shoulder, eyeing the window as he puts a foot in her hands. "See, but this isn't even slightly my fault 'cause you offered. You have only yourself to blame."

Steph heaves him up, giggling against his thigh.

"Be quick, you're totally heavy," she tells him, laughing and pretending to stagger about so that he sways.

Yes, it's supposed to ba a day off, and yes, Dinah's done an excellent job of staying away from - e.g. the florist's shop.

But then there was this thing when someone tried to mug that woman in the wheelchair and her airheaded blonde friend, and...

...so that's why the door to the office swings open and three pairs of feet come through - one passive, handcuffed thief, one grouchy desk sergeant, and one casually strolling woman, whose high heels weren't supposed to be used for kicking people today.

"Really, Jack, it's not fair. I can't even take one day off to spend with girlfriends any more?"

"Humph," says Jack, who is secretly of the opinion that Ms Canary and her girlfriends have it far easier than overworked and underpaid police officers, and is ragingly jealous. Although not jealous enough to stop him ogling when he thinks he won't be noticed.

There's a scramble from that one occupied cell, and quick voices, and a burst of familiar laughter. But by the time Jack and Dinah and their companion are in the small row of cells, the occupants of Cell 2 are sitting meekly side by side on the bed, looking as though butter wouldn't melt in their mouths.

Well, okay, and Steph is practically crying with laughter, red-faced and leaning helplessly against the wall, but apart from that.

"Bloody kids," Jack mutters, opening another cell for the Canary's thief.

The Canary hooks her thumbs into the belt loops of her jeans and shakes her head, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We're still on for that..."

Waaait.

In motion so slow it's practically bullet time, Dinah turns her head and leans back to peer into the cell they just passed.

"Been a busy day, huh?"

"Oh, them? Just a couple stupid kids." Jack casts them an irritated glare. "They had some kinda grapple gun, used it to jump off the Kane building. Swinging over people's heads like monkeys, means I got about a hundred calls in an hour and hafta reassure half the world they weren't suicides. Kids these days!" He gives a disgusted snort.

Steph gives Dinah a perky little wave, and then dissolves into a fresh wave of giggles.

"Coolin' their heels in here might do 'em some good, might not." Jack shoves the would-be mugger into the cell and scowls at him. "Any good askin' you to give a name?"

"My name's Bill," the mugger spurts out suddenly. "B-- William Turner. Please - my girl's pregnant. I didn't know they were cops. Please don't let her hit me again!"

Dinah gives a sheepish smile. "Sorry, my friend got a bit carried away."

As for the other two troublemakers, she gives them a stern look and shakes her head.

"There's just no respect anymore, is there? if I were you, I'd keep them in here overnight. Teach them a lesson."

On turning away from the cell, she winks at him.

"If they don't give up a parent or guardian's phone number, that's exactly what I plan to do," Jack says, with a final stern glare at the teenagers. "This one, too. Bill Turner, was it? Well, Bill, you're in luck -- state penitentiary ain't got room for crap like you, so you're here for the night."

Steph pouts at Dinah's back, but is still too giggly for it to be a serious pout.

Jack, meanwhile, takes a moment to remember to focus his attention on Dinah's face.

Dinah gives Mr. Turner a sympathetic look. "Don't leave without making sure they give you the addresses of the soup kitchens," she says. "It'll be OK."

She doesn't even look at Steph and Sokka until she and Jack are back in the office, at which point she leans back against the door and laughs.

Jack narrows his eyes at her, ignoring the sounds of renewed laughter from the cells.

"Something funny that I missed, maybe?"

All these people keep laughing! IT IS NOT JACK'S DAY.

Dinah shakes her head.

"Sorry, no. Not funny. I'm really sorry those kids caused such a mess. Will you do me a massive favour?"

He runs his eyes up and down her, suspicious. Women like that don't ask favours of men like him.

On the other hand ... she's the Canary.

"Depends. What d'you need?"

"When they escape, can you not chase them? I'll pay for any structural damage they do, but it'll be much worse if you try to stop them.

"I promise they'll be punished for all the inconvenience."

Dinah may even stop Steph's training for at least a week.