Fin raised his eyebrows. "You have a license?" he asked.

--

"Why not?" he asked.

Frei shrugged.

--

"He has the right to decide his own fate. Raven's not from our world but he's adapted very well," Laurel replied.

Fin looked confused. "... Are you allowed to drive?" he asked.

--

"He's an adult," Nic reminded Laurel.

"Allowed?" Frei inquired.

--

Laurel raised an eyebrow, "I think you're being selfish," she told him.

Fin chuckled a little at that.

--

"How so?" Nic asked, getting tired of this conversation.

Frei tilted her head a little.

--

"That boy wants a family, would like to get to know his long lost older brother... And all you're saying is a list of excuses of why you can't or shouldn't take on that role. If they can erase his short term memory, what's another week, Nic? Give him a chance," Laurel stated with a small frown.

"You're something else," Fin decided.

--

"Erasing a week's worth of memories is a lot more dangerous than the last 24 hours," Nic explained.

That seemed to confuse Frei. She looked back at the books.

--

Laurel sighed a little, "Well, Wolfe's waiting for your call on the matter. But I for one, would like to get to know your brother."

"Why?" Nic asked.

Laurel was silent for awhile, "I see you in him," she remained quietly.

That seemed to confuse Nic.

Laurel sighed a little before patting the bed beside her, "Got a few minutes to spare?" she asked.

Nic glanced at the time and thought through some things before sitting down reluctantly.

Laurel immediately grabbed his face and kissed him, "Quit being so reluctant to spend time with me, you cracked boulder!" she declared, not very happy as she forced another kiss on him.

Nic didn't mind the kisses. Actually he seemed pleased that she seemed done talking for the moment.

Laurel pulled away after another kiss, "All I care about is your happiness," she reminded him, kissing his cheek and pulled him into a hug.

Nic gave Laurel a hug back and kissed the top of her head.

So Laurel snuggled a little closer, seemingly content with the silence.

--

Frei finally turned to leave once more.

Nic seemed content with snuggling for awhile too.

--

"You gonna visit later?" Fin asked Frei.

Frei turned and gave a slight shrug. It seemed to be a maybe.

"Okay," Fin said, putting a smile on his face. "I'll see you later then."

Frei nodded and took her leave.

Fin watched Frei leave and waved.

--

Eventually Long found his way into the gym to work out. No one else seemed to interact with him, and some people even went out of their way to avoid him. But he didn't seem to notice as he ignored everyone else.

Pepper was doing pull ups as he walked in. They seemed breathlessly easy for her. When she spotted him, she hopped down and approached, "Are you violent when you work out or something?" she asked, amused, as people avoided him.

"Excuse me?" Long asked as he got ready to lift some weights, looking confused that Pepper had addressed him.

"Everyone's avoiding you like the plague," she noted before looking at the weights, "Can you lift more?" she inquired.

Long stopped getting the weights ready and turned to Pepper, still confused. "... Can I help you with something?" he asked.

"I bet I can lift more than you," Pepper challenged.

Long blinked blankly at Pepper.

"C'mon! Let's do it! This place is desert!" she complained.

Long started looking at Pepper like she was crazy. "I won't compete with you, miss," he explained before going back to adjusting the weights.

Pepper rolled her eyes as she stepped infront of him, "I'm not a miss!" she snapped, "And what, you scared a girl would beat you?" she demanded.

"I don't have time to compete with anyone," Long explained as he stepped around Pepper.

Pepper snorted a little before reaching around Long and easily picking up the entire rack of weights, "But I'm bored," she complained.

"I don't entertain," Long replied, not too interested in Pepper's showing off.

Pepper tisked a little, dropping the weights back down, "You're boring," she informed him, still not leaving him alone.

Long seemed content with that as he finished putting the weights on and started lifting. He wasn't as strong as Pepper, but he could bench a surprising amount given his size.

"Impressive," Pepper said, sitting down hard on Long, right on his crotch.

Long clearly felt it, but somehow he managed not to drop the bar on himself and put the weights back on the stand. There were a few chuckles from bystanders. "Off," he told her simply when his breath came back.

Pepper wiggled around a little, "That was a disappointing reaction," she told him as she patted his cheek.