The so called ‘rules of shopping’ were absorbed as attentively by Riley as if they were instructions for his next life and death mission, which gave Hank a further insight into his character. As well, hopefully as providing him with some tools he could use in the future when dealing with the young mutant. Riley liked structure in his life, A little too much for his own good but all the same. Hank could see the panic dying from his eyes as he took the doctor’s advice on board, as if he now had a plank to hold onto in this particular sea of interaction. And it seemed that once he had that Riley could even strike out a little way on his own. All it took was a some conviction on his part. Like the fact he liked cheese.


"It would depend on your taste really…"Riley said thoughtfully "I…guess I like the soft cheeses. More versatile, easier to handle.. you can spread it on toast and… it’s all good." Hank smiled as Riley reasoned his way into a purchase, wondering if the ex agent would realise he had just got to the heart of the whole shopping business. It always was a matter of taste, no matter what you were buying.

And here at least Riley had found the ideal solution "I usually just grab the packs… someone is bound to find something they like." he told Hank earnestly. *Which might well just be the fourth rule of shopping* Hank thought with a widening grin. After all there were plenty of things that came in trial packs. Might be a good idea to point that out to him!

Oh yes, as a consumer Riley was certainly far from being a lost cause. He even seemed to have the idea of impulse buying off pat. "I… might just grab something for Katie." he said suddenly, finally relinquishing his precious cheese to the waiting trolly before disappearing up the aisle with a hastily offered ‘I’ll be quick’ Hank took the opportunity to discretely make sure that his bandages were holding up not wanting to undo all the progress that had been made with Riley by bleeding over him and sending him spiralling down into yet another guilt trip. So far so good on that front from what he could see. Though he was getting a little short on stamina.

Still Riley didn’t keep him waiting long. True to his word he was back in a couple of minutes clutching a successfully selected doggie chew and uttering the magic words"So… Twinkies. Hanks face lit up with pure mischief. “Ahhh the call of the dark side. How can I resist! Come on then. Twinkies it is. And thank god, as always, for a high metabolic rate!

..........

We should probably be thinking of ending this thread.. either here or with Rileys next post., dont you think.. unless you have something more to explore that is!

Edited by: HankMcCoy13 at: 9/14/07 1:25 pm