Tintin and Rosa In Between'quals'

Welcome Home

Rosa's ears perked up as she heard the echo of the front door close. She sat up from her armchair and sat her notebook on the side table. She stretched and walked to the front door to see Tintin hurriedly hanging his coat up. He jumped as soon as he saw Rosa.

"Hello, Rosa. How are you?" He asked in an awkward tone. Rosa raised an eyebrow as she tilted her head suspiciously. He was wearing surprisingly casual clothes. Not his usual sweater and trousers. Rosa stared curiously at his rolled-up sleeves.

"I'm alright... What about you? I didn't know you were visiting today." She said but was thinking 'Shit. He's got nice arms.'

"Captain Haddock wanted to show me a relic from the 1600s. It's a musket from the American Revolution." Tintin said as he calmed himself as Rosa shook herself out of her daze.

"Interesting. Could I come to? I never get to see old things from America," Rosa asked innocently.

"That's alright. It's not that interesting. We just wanted to... get an... evaluation on the condition of the relic to see if it could be donated to a museum," Tintin stammered as he fiddled with his hands.

"Ah, alright. Well, you boys have fun. I needed to think of something to do today, anyway," Rosa said as she put her hands in her pockets.

"No need. I need you to find me a few things from the market." Haddock walked down the steps to the front door as he greeted Tintin. Haddock handed Rosa a folded piece of paper, once opened, it revealed a list at least fifteen items long.

"So I'm your grocery girl now? I'm pretty sure you already have some of this stuff." Rosa joked.

Tintin stepped in. "I needed a few items for my apartment. I'll pay you back afterward, so don't worry." Rosa raised an eyebrow at the two of them. That seemed to be the only facial expression she could make that day.

"Well, it just so happens that I'm bored and wanted something to do so you got lucky. Alrighty, let's go Fancy Man. We have markets to see," Rosa beckoned to Nestor as she marched gleefully to the door before she stopped and gave Tintin a quick hug. "Don't let him bore you to death, okay?"

"I won't." Tintin smiled as he put his hands in his back pockets. Nestor followed Rosa out the door to the car and Tintin and Haddock leaned out to watched them walk down the path and drive away. They both smiled and waved as the car left the drive.

"You bring your tools?" Haddock asked, still maintaining a smile as Rosa waved back to them.

"Yes. Are you sure Rosa will be gone all day?" Tintin asked, slightly nervous.

"Trust me, she'll be gone a while."

"And how do you know Nestor will pull through?"

"Rosa's distracted by everything. Something shiny will catch her eye and he'll get his opportunity while she's not looking. It'll be simple. All I'm worried about is the transfer of information. I have no idea if Rosa will even look at anything long enough. We'll just have to wait and see."
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Rosa and Nestor walked along with the market in the center of town as the midday sun beamed through the clouds. Nestor held the paper while Rosa walked from table to table glancing at pieces that looked interesting. She indeed seemed to get distracted by everything. He didn't get paid enough for this. Nestor cleared his throat to try and get Rosa's attention as she stared intently at a vase of flowers on one of the tables.

She didn't seem to notice. She was really interested in those flowers for some reason. They weren't anything special, just a small vase of light purple freesias. They grow all over Belgium, why did they fascinate her so much? Nestor numbly cleared his throat again. He had to keep her moving. She jumped and resumed her walking.