Sam agreed with her, he didn’t want to think of a life of his without Cora in it at least in some capacity. Old Sam said he deserved to love and be loved maybe old Sam wasn’t as bad as everything had made him seem. The icemancer cringed at the thought of any one including his older self-holding Cora. ”Change is something we have a hard time doing.” he thumbed his chest. ”Adapting we can do but changing his more difficult. he said knowing he’d need a reason to change. Like being afraid of turning into Cold Steel. He was Rime now.

When she lifted her right hand and showed him a different colored thread than the lust ones he had seen before he smirked, his thoughts faded momentarily from the discussion of his older self. His eyes locked on the thread that left her right hand and then just like that it faded. He knew about the color change, he could feel it too but the gesture she had just showed him made him a little more relaxed over the situation. Cora was stubborn and if anyone had a chance getting through his thick head she did.

”Good.” he said leaning forward and pecking her cheek. While they normally danced around what they were her actions made it hard for him not to show some sort of gratitude. He leaned back up then sighed and walked back to the register again. ”I’d like two of everyone X you got.” Sam said to the person working the booth. ”You guys mail them?” he asked curiously. ”I can always pick it up later.”

Looking back to Cora he gave her a thumbs up. ”The idea is good, we are doing it but I’m not waiting till Christmas.” glad at the distraction from a more serious topic he left the address and filled out the information for mailing then grabbed Cora’s hand and held onto it. ”I’m thinking of leaving them in the team locker room.” he said his smile wide. ”Where you want to go next?” he said already planning on sneaking one of his action figures to Cora’s place.

It was like ice melting when he saw the thread, as cheesy at that seemed. The cold wasn’t quite as intense and the spot where he kissed her was then unnaturally warm. There were many feeling tied to what she had done: fear, for one, and a little bit of hope. Accepting her own feelings regardless of what could happen was freeing in it’s own way. He really could forget her, or the old CS could just not like her. But sidestepping her feelings altogether seemed impossible now.

Thankfully, the collectibles were the distraction. She grinned as he purchased a whole set. ”I demand pictures when you’re done. I don’t know your friends but I feel they deserve a number of pranks even better than this.” When he was done she led him toward the artist alley, not letting go this time. It made it easier to not get separated, clearly.

She stopped at a leather working artist and scanned what he had to offer. There were arm cuffs, belts, and even some different pouches. ”This area is always fun because it’s all directly made by the artist. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body so I appreciate it,” she admitted.

”Pictures? Unless you are taking them I will be too busy placing them. Not to mention we can use Juniper to place them.” Sam grinned, ”I mean she can just set them in rooms.” he laughed at the thought but then made a mental note not to leave Becca’s out in a place where it might actually scare her. Practical jokes aside she gets a pass.

Hand in hand they got to the next booth. His ice hand on the bag of his action figure while the other one was holding her hand. The icemancer raised an eyebrow when she explained why the booth was fun. He nodded his head and agreed with her that did make the area they were at a little more enjoyable.

”Doubt that.” he said smirking. You told me the other day you kicked someone’s *** with some climbing rope. Might not seem like it but that in itself is some artwork.”[/color] he grinned. His artistic ability came in the form of ice creations he doubt he could sell them. If anything they’d just melt.

”If it makes you feel any better I only have my mutation.” he said thinking more about it. ”I mean, nothing that would last but.” Sam shrugged, ”I can also make a pretty decent lean-too out of some sticks.” he smirked before gesturing with the held hand. ”Seems you have an eye for leather.” he teased.

Cora grinned at the idea of having Juniper place the figurines. "You know she can like, stick them half-in, half-out of a wall, right? Imagine someone trying to get that figurine out of their wall without someone's help." She was already dying at the mental image. She wasn't sure what she would do if something of that sort happened to her.

She was a little surprised when Sam mentioned the climbing rope. She forgot she had told him that. Actually, she was sort of hoping she left some of those details out during her drunken rant. "Well, I mean, I know how to tie some pretty fast knots. I wouldn't have considered it art, but I guess taking out a bad guy with climbing supplies is a skill. Girl's gotta fight back somehow."

Then she thought of his mutation. "I mean, they have guys who do ice sculptures as a living. Although, they use chainsaws sometimes. But, I guess you could use a chainsaw... And then there are winter festivals where they specifically build ice structures and things like that. Heck, there are lots of cool things to do with ice." She was distracted to the point she almost missed his comment about the leather. However, she opted for a lifting of her chin and a rather smug look back at him.

She was wearing an awful lot of leather, may as well own it. "I mean, it's not like you've been looking away." She gave a vague gesture toward her outfit. The poor booth owner was doing his absolute best to keep his eyes on his wares, as if sensing looking could be a trap with Sam standing there. Then she picked up a pair of black arm bracers with dragons carved into them. She held them up so Sam would look. "Dragons, gears...see anything that looks like me?"

Sam laughed a little at the thought of Juniper helping lodge action figures of his teammates. Wait, were they his current teammates? Yeah, at this point he thought they earned that right to call him a teammate. They definitely had a prank coming there way. ”Most of them would just blast it out of the wall if it bugged them. Or find someone who could.” he smirked, ”Why do you think the insurance at the mansion is through the roof?”

Nodding his head, ”Some people would pay top dollar for you to tie some knots.” he started to laugh again, ”And they’d probably encourage you to wear leather.” Sam was ready to dodge a potential swat to the back of his head. Anything else was fair game, he probably earned one. ”I can always teach you a thing or two. I am a teacher after all.” he smirked.

”Right, don’t know if I’d need a chainsaw.” he laughed, ”Been making sculptures of ice since I was five. I can do it with one eye.” he lifted the action figure as proof. His older self had one eye.

The icemancer grinned at her comment allowing the invitation to lure his eyes to stare. ”How could I?” He did, cold waved off of him. His focus was the booth owner who stole a glance when Cora focused on the bracers. Sam grinned to the booth owner then walked over to Cora. ”These are bracers. How would they look like you?” he grinned picking one with a ram on it.

”You’re both stubborn and like climbing.” he grinned, ”Screams you.” he looked into the mix for something he found relatable. ”What about me? Got to be something manly enough I can pull off.”

Blasting the figure out of the wall felt like cheating, but Cora decided all was fair when you lived in a mansion with mutants. Heck, she regularly threatened her coworkers with amnesia if they ticked her off, so there were always unwritten rules on what you could get away with. Snipping someone's threads so they can barely find their car must have been in the same category. "Thankfully when I give people amnesia there are no insurance risks. They may get home unable to remember their coworkers names, but no lasting harm."

Clearly, owning it did not save her the embarrassment. Her face went red despite her efforts to act nonchalant, and she took a swing at his shoulder. Less of a swat, more of a light punch. She resisted doing anything terribly rough for risk of displacing his wig, but there was a glint in her eyes as she looked at him, sticking out her tongue this time. "I'm sure you've learned by now I wouldn't tie knots for just anyone. Do you really want me advertising those skills?"

Despite keeping her voice down, she was sure at least one or two individuals walking past glanced their way with raised eyebrows. She looked down at the items he held up and chuckled. "Okay, that is a fairly accurate pick, I'll admit it...Hmm, I would have to say, these ones," The bracers she picked up were tooled with the Helm of Awe. She showed them to him, then explained the meaning in case he didn't know.

"Viking symbol, meant to strike fear in the enemy. Symbolic for power, protection. That manly enough for you?" The color was a deep blue, which certainly seemed fitting for an ice mutant.

The booth artist managed to smile as she held up the bracers. "Can't tell you how many people had to ask what that symbol meant. I'm impressed you know your Norse Mythology."

She looked pleased. "It was one of the tattoos I almost got. Settled for a quote instead." She hid the price tag from Sam and passed her card to the artist before he could say anything. Once they were purchased, she handed him the bracers and sauntered to the next booth before he could object.

Now glad that she no longer threatened him with the thread cutting he could laugh about it. ”No lasting harm is often preferred.” Sam agreed.

The icemancer smirked when she punched him in the shoulder. Taking the hit he played up the pain and rubbed his shoulder with his ice arm. ”No ma’am.” he agreed again, ”I don’t want any more competition, just looking forward to the demonstration.” he laughed a bit and this time took a step out of range.

Sam did not know the meanings. While he did study a bit of Nordic mythology (how he determined Rime was his next codename) he didn’t study the ruins nor the symbols so had no idea what he was looking at. Glad Cora was there to explain he nodded his head as if he understood. ”Three things I’m good at, striking fear into my enemy, power and protecting.” he puffed out his chest and then in a deeper voice. ”Sold.” before he could take them from her she already hid the price tag and purchased it. Raising his eyebrows he smirked and watched her leave the booth.

The icemancer spotted the same bracers but in a different color this one seemed to be the same color of the thread they shared. She did show him not to long ago. Before she could see what he was doing Sam decided to do an impulse buy. Not even looking at the price tag he thanked the vendor and chased Cora. ”You forgot these.” he grinned offering them up to her.

He took one of the bracers and held it up debating if it would ruin his costume if he wore it. Couples did match after all. ”Would it clash with my costume?”

Cora was in the middle of her triumphant retreat, brain still stuck on the comment of looking forward to the demonstration when Sam caught up to her. She looked down at the bracers, and surprise showed on her face this time. She took them, and glanced at her hand, at the thread, and back to the bracers. They did match. That made her face color a little, and she dropped the smirk, giving a more genuine smile. "I...thank you."

Hell, she was awkward at this. She rubbed the back of her neck, then glanced at the ones she had bought him. She looked at her own costume, and then her brain stalled and her mouth spoke first. "Heck, may as well wear them anyway. Half the fun of being here is just to nerd out. Here."

She tucked her own gift under her arm and took the pair he held. Loosening the ties she pulled him off to the side, then slide the leather onto his arm and started skillfully tightening them. She secured them with a knot, managing a tiny laugh when she did, and once both were on she started putting on her own. "Mine will clash worse right now, but I'll get over it." She winked then had to stop talking as her mouth was quickly occupied with one of the strings to tighten her own bracer. She could have made Sam do it, but her hands needed something to do now as a distraction.

Once she had them both tied on, she looked back up at him. "So, more shopping, or do you want to listen to a panel? That's basically celebrities talking about different things... Uh, sometimes there are demo booths for different video games..." She tried to think of where to drag him next.

”I… you’re welcome.” he said trying not to grin too much. There was some color in her face again. Sam thought it was cute, he also feared it would stop if he said something about it so he didn’t.

The icemancer laughed when she started to lace the bracers on his arms, ”I mean we don’t have to.” he smirked the ice on his one arm sliding up his arm and shoulder giving him a blue spiked shoulder pad. Sam grinned when she knotted them. He did get a little demonstration.

Before he could offer to tie hers Cora was already at work. He looked at his bracers and nodded, ”We look very fearsome.” he said having the ice trail back down to his arm making sure not to obscure his newest gift.

Sam shrugged, ”I’m getting kind of hungry. Think I say some stalls before we came in here.” Sam gestured to the area they were in. ”or if you got any one you need to prank I’m sure we can find some more stuff.” he said. ”Or if there are any cool panels I’m down to hear some famous people talk.” he shrugged. ”We could always ask them awkward questions or you can kick my but at any video game unless it’s a flight simulator. I kick @ss at them.” Sam said thinking. ”Food then panel?” he finally decided.

Cora looked at his final costume and approved. Not quite in character with the accessories, but it was nice. She forced herself not to stare too long, the word stuck in her head. Was it nice that they were kinda matching now? Nice that he was wearing the gift? She needed to think more, and the idea of food seemed like a good way to help with that.

”Food it is.”

They made their way back to food stalls. There were the usual hamburgers and fries, pizza, and some type of Teriyaki bowls that looked pretty good. Another stall had funnel cakes like this was a carnival, and then there was the fresh squeezed lemonade hut that seemed to appear at any sort of event. Any of it sounded good, so she glanced to Sam. ”I’m not picky, so you choose. Just don’t judge me for eating like a slob, dad always said I ate like a man,” she laughed. Heck, her dad always told her never to go on a dinner date too early because her table manners would scare the guy away. She needed to check on him soon. She wondered if she should send him a photo from the convention. What would he say about her being here with someone?

”Were any of your friends planning on attending the con? I think some of my coworkers were but we staggered our days off so everyone had a chance,” she admitted. Being the owner gave her the advantage of picking her day.

”Food it is Sam agreed with her choice.

The icemancer followed close to Cora making sure that there was a little cold around them again when they entered a new area. Just in case anyone want to stare he made himself stand out a bit more. He tired not to make eye contact with Cora when he kicked up the cold again.

His eyes shifted from stall to stall and he then shrugged when she told him to pick. Pizza was always a good choice but he could get pizza any time. He looked at the carnival snacks then back to the teriyaki bowl. He smirked, ”Teriyaki bowls and elephant ears. Only because I can honestly say I never had one before and always wanted to try it.” he said honestly. ”That’s fine I eat like a man too. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Sam got into line for the teriyaki bowl not sure what included but was willing to find out. ”Not to my knowledge. Then again I only have a few friends after the de-age. Some of them could be nerds though.” Sam said wondering if anyone he knew was here. Shoot it just sounded like he needed more friends. Or nerdier ones. ”If I see any I’ll point them out, and does that mean Juniper is coming?”

”How’s your dad doing?”

The cold returned and Cora was amused but tried to hide it. Her ego got a little flattered every time his powers activated, as if somehow the extra chill would remind other's to keep their distance. There was something nice about being pursued, and having someone who genuinely wanted to keep her around. Messy past, attitude and all. She was growing soft to this whole idea of being...well, something.

Dating. Heck, they were dating, weren't they?

She let her mind jump to the new question, willing herself away from the one word that still made her want to run for the nearest exit. That was a feeling she needed to fight past. "Juniper will be here sometime, but I want to say it's tomorrow? She was dragging one of her friends. I was told to keep a fire extinguisher handy if I happened across them, whatever that means." Probably some type of mutant that was a hot head. She needed to ask more sometime.

"Dad's doing good. I need to catch up with him sometime this week, Scout has some ideas for a new climbing wall and we wanted his input. Out of all of us, he still has more climbs under his belt than you would believe." She paused, shifting her weight for a moment. "Would it be weird to send him a picture, you think? From the con? I mean I have the one we took earlier but...I mean, I think he would get a kick out of the costumes." Did that feel too serious? Sending her dad a picture of them?

She looked back at the menu trying to retrieve some of her cool demeanor. He was getting her to stumble over her words like a newborn foal trying to walk. It was embarrassing. "Uh, I'll probably try the chicken bowl with rice. Those are always pretty good..."

His ice hand raised and a little mist wafted off of it. ”If you ever see a fire let me know. Better than any fire extinguisher.” he said with a smirk lowering his arm. ”I come with jokes and puns.”

When she asked about sending a photo to her dad it took a second for him to process what she was asking. He almost shrugged and said go for it before the words caught in his mouth. He thought about it then smirked, why shouldn’t she. They were just friends that happened to have romantic feelings for each other. Sam managed to stall the answer till she decided her order. Never having this type of food before either he decided to follow suit and order the same thing Cora got.

Handing the money and retrieving the bowls of food and a pair of drinks Sam looked back to her and smiled, ”Highly encourage it. That was a pretty awesome photo. Unbiased of course.” he even flashed his bracer. ”We can show him we got matching bracers.” he sniffed his food in front of him and looked for a little place to sit or lean.

”Climbing expert, he into all of this stuff?” Sam waved a finger around meaning the comic-con.

Cora made a noise between a snort and a laugh at his pun comment. ”If I hated puns I would have run for the hills a long time ago. Thankfully my sense of humor is well adapted to corny icy jokes by now,” she bragged, looking pleased with herself.

He held up the arm and commented on the matching bracers. She started to blush a little then noticed he seemed to be watching for that. Suddenly, she smacked his non-iced arm instead. ”You’re doing that on purpose! Brat!” Despite catching his game, the pink on her face remained. She regretted not putting more makeup on for this costume that would have hidden the majority of the blushing. Or, so she thought.

Collecting her food prevented her from taking additional shots at him. They found a rare open table and she snagged it, sitting and taking a drink of the soda. Was her dad a fan of this? ”Oh my dad is a nerd, to the core. I watched more sci-fi movie reruns living with him than you could imagine. He is probably worse now that he is stuck at home... the idea of traveling to other planets or something crazy just was like a dream for him. Yeah, he climbs and loves the outdoors, but I told him he was always just secretly training to be recruited by a team to explore planets.”

Talking about it made he bring her phone out in the end, and send the photo. She made a note at the bottom: ‘Just need you here next time!’ She wondered if she could find some costumes he would like and take pictures of those. He would get a kick out of it.

After a few bites of her food she broke free from the melancholy moment, ”Sorry that situation is always sort of bitter-sweet. Your in for a challenge when you meet him for the first time though. Tough guy to impress.” That was a total lie. Sam would only have to throw an ice pun and her dad would probably eat it up. His sense of humor seemed to get cheesier with age and TV reruns.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her, ”Who hates puns?” trying not to laugh. He was also glad Cora seemed to appreciate his sense of humor, ”Hold up corny?”

Laughing when she smacked his arm, ”Ow, doing what?” he made sure the to show off the food in his hands so she wouldn’t be tempted to take another swing. That was a dangerous game he was not above using food as a shield.

”Nice catch.” he said as he slid into the spot across from her. He took a sip of his soda and learned more about her dad who seemed to be a big part of her life. Again, Sam was envious. ”I’ll send him a resume.” he joked, ”Sounds like that would be an awesome job. I wonder if they need any cold specialists. It’s my area of ice-pertise.” he smirked before he picked up his fork and eyed his food not where to start.

He decided trying some of the greens first. ”Oh? I’m sure I can regal him with some of my deeds with the X-Men. However there aren’t any space missions yet, just beating natural disasters. he took on a volcano and recently added a mess of tidal waves, suck it Old Sam.

Taking a bite of his chicken next. Glad he picked the same thing as Cora he added, ”I could also tell him the time I beat you on the rock wall.” he grinned. Powers were included but her father didn’t need to know that. ”I look forward to it, guy has a kick-@@@ daughter. Bet he is awesome.” he said with another bite of food.