genessia | moments i keep [CLOSED]

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moments i keep [CLOSED]

Who: Evie Grimhilde, Jack Kelly, and Regina Mills
What: Making plans, eating breakfast with his girlfriend and...her...mother. Hoo boy.
Where: Coffee shop in Genessia City
When: 8/18, morning of.

"Any sign?"

Jack hasn't left Evie's side, not even for a second. Nope, pillows and blankets came off the bed, spread out, and so little sleep was had that Jack's fiending something awful for a cup of coffee.

They never stopped talking. Sure, he stole a kiss or two, but talking was all they did. Some staring, too--just making sure everything was real, everything was right, that nobody vanished in the middle of the night again.

When he woke up, he had a face full of blue hair and an arm flung across his chest, and Jack was a happy goddamn man.

Now, the pair of them were cleaned up, dragging a little, and headed to meet her mother for breakfast--and Jack wasn't gonna lie to himself or to her: her mother was a great lady, but also a little on the scary side.

As they reached the door of the coffee shop where they agreed to meet Regina, just after they stepped inside Jack whirled around to face Evie for the millionth time, adjusting his cap restlessly and tugging at the bottom of his ever present threadbare waistcoat.

"'Ay, Eve, you sure I look awright? Maybe I oughta hang back on dis one, let you 'n yer muddah have a goil's day or sumtin'..."

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Evie was so used to him turning and asking this question that she barely blinks. Instead, her hands, stuffed into her customary red leather fingerless gloves, carefully pull his away from his clothes and hold them. Her eyes are fixed on his and there’s a warm and loving smile on her face as she leans forward and kisses him briefly. Straightening and tossing her blue hair over her shoulders, one eyebrow lifts slightly as she says probably something Jack has heard a time or two already, both here and in New Dodge.

“Don’t be dopey. You look fantastic. Regina wants to see us. The both of us. I’ll get my girls day with her soon but for now? A reunion is in order. We did kind of vanish after Las Pozas while she was taking Other Us to their new home. We should make that up to her.”

Edited 2018-08-23 21:04 (UTC)

"Yes, you should," said the woman behind them, the purple smoke of her teleportation having disappeared just in time for her to catch the last of Evie's response.

There was no bite to the words, only a fond maternal smile on the face of a woman who was very glad she hadn't let a certain too-attractive dragon mage ply her with tequila the previous night.

She reached out and drew Evie into a hug. "Good morning, sweetheart."

And as soon as she released her, she raised an eyebrow at Jack. "I assure you, reports of my fireballs have not been exaggerated." The smirk that accompanied said she was teasing. Probably.

"Yes, ma'am." Jack replied without hesitation--after swallowing so hard it was audible, Adam's apple bobbing with the action. The creepy way she just popped outta nowhere still sent someone walking over his damn grave...magic just wasn't something he'd ever get his head around.

He was legitimately terrified of Evie's mother--and would have been too damn scared to keep seeing her if not for the way Regina looked at Evie. He figured nobody that could love someone as much as he loved Evie could really kill him. Or turn him into a frog or...something.

Curses didn't really scare him much anyway, he'd just get true love's kiss from his best girl and be fine. Those fireballs, though...

"Well, uh--now dat we's all here, howzabout we grab a table 'n some chow?" Jack declared with a nervous laugh and yet still managed his usual, boisterous sincerity as he offered Evie his arm, then for good measure offered Regina his other one to be polite. "I dunno 'bout you ladies, but I'm so hungry I could eat shoe leatha."

Amused by the show of bravado, Regina took the boy's arm and patted it. Scared of her was smart, because she'd end anyone who hurt Evie. Terrified was entirely unnecessary. That didn't include him. Unless he hurt Evie. Which he wouldn't.

"Coffee and breakfast it is." She glanced at Evie along the line of Jack's back and smiled, genuine and pleasant. "And I'm paying, no arguments."

Evie took Jack's other arm, leaning in briefly to kiss him on the cheek and grin proudly at him. He did well. He did beautifully. She's glad he's being so polite. Her free hand covers Jacks, squeezing slightly to be a comfort and to let him know he's doing fine.

"You're paying this time, but next time, I'd like to get it."

"Uh, beggin' yer pahdon?" Jack sniffed as they found an empty table, pulling out Evie's chair for her, then Regina's. "Wit' all due respect, ladies, next time I'm buyin'."

Once he'd helped them into their seats, he puffed up a little and tugged at the hem of his ever present waistcoat before he sat down.

"If my best goil's a gin-yoo-ine princess, I gotta learn ta be more, uh--what's the woid?...ah yeah. Shiverous."

Regina started to correct him but changed her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him in front of Evie, or give Evie the impression that it mattered to Regina.

She lifted her chin instead and addressed both of them. "We'll discuss it. Feeding children is a mother's prerogative." She'd very nearly said 'her daughter' instead of children and Evie had a mother, no matter what the Darker Dodge version had called her.

"For now, let's just enjoy breakfast."

"Chivalrous is the word you're looking for," Evie replies calmly, without intent to embarrass. This was how they worked. This was just part of their lives together and Jack impressed Evie with how hard he was trying. She read through the menu for a moment as she spoke, the smile on her face soft and maybe just a little bit tired. But she was overjoyed that she had Regina and Jack, so being tired isn't that big a deal.

"My royal title holds no weight here, just like it held none in New Dodge. The only place it held any bearing was the Isle," Evie says, shrugging one shoulder as if the Isle wasn't a terrible place. "Even there, not so much. But, thank you." She's not gonna stop him from paying this time.

Setting the menu down after making a decision, she turns to look at Regina.

"I was thinking of trying to reopen Bad Apple here, but wanted to see if anyone'd be even remotely interested in what I make. What do you think?"

Edited 2018-08-29 13:27 (UTC)

"Title? Who's talkin' title?" Jack snorted, grinning as he leaned over to kiss Evie's cheek. "I'm talkin' class, yanno."

Jack wasn't gonna touch the bit about Regina feeding children just 'cause she was a mother--did stuff to his insides he didn't wanna think about too much. Let her do whatever she wanted for his girl, but him? He didn't deserve it. Not that kinda regard, not that kinda attention...not when Crutchie was still back home, wondering where the hell Jack went...

Evie's question caught his attention, just in time to pull him out of a bad spiral into his own head. Visibly distracted from his own thoughts, he shook his head briskly and wiped a hand over his mouth as he nodded.

"Bad Apple? What are ya, stupid? 'Course dey's gonna be interested here." he scoffed. "Me, I dunno nuttin' 'bout all dem frills 'n frocks, but I knows what I seen when you was hawkin' yer wares in New Dodge--an' I knows what classy looks like, lookit who I done tricked inta' goi' wit' a windbag like me. All dem clothes you make are classy as hell--everyone loves classy."

Reaching out, he caught Evie's hand and threaded her fingers through his, then brought it up to his lips and kissed her fingers.

"You, princess, are gonna open up dat store, make a million simoleons, and be woild famous fer all a' yer designs." Turning to Regina, her jerked his head in Evie's direction. "C'man, Miss Regina. Tell 'er I'm right. I'm always right."

"Technically, your title is Her Royal Highness Evie, Princess of the Enchanted-- Whatever your mother's realm was called." Nice going, there, Regina. Just name her your heir without the guts to call her your daughter, why don't you?

She folded her menu and lifted her chin but didn't watch them too intently. She didn't want Jack being afraid to be affectionate with Evie in her presence. She never wanted Evie to have to hide her love the way she had.

So she let Jack be the one to tell her she'd be a star here just as she had in New Dodge and Auradon, smiled at him calling her classy and a princess, because she was. And when he sought out her opinion, she didn't quarrel with him saying he was always right or with the idea that she needed to be instructed to tell her...daughter that she was was wonderful, because no matter how much she wanted to be important to Evie, she didn't need to be more important than her love.

"Regina's fine, Jack," she said instead and then smiled at Evie, dark eyes warm with affection. "Of course he's right, love. Your design sense is exceptional. You're going to take this world by storm."

"I think I just prefer Evie," she replies, still grinning at both Jack and Regina. The server for their table comes over and Evie places an order for a bowl of hashbrowns with a fried egg, bacon, peppers and onions. It's simple, it comes with avocado and Evie also orders herself a coffee.

She waits for the others to order before speaking again.

"Besides, there's not much ring to Her Royal Highness Eie, Princess of the Isle, especially when even that doesn't mean anything. Not since Maleficent ran the entire place. We once got banished to live in our castle because we didn't invite Mal to a birthday party. I was six. I thought if I stepped out of the castle, I'd die because that's what Maleficent said would happen, never mind the fact that magic didn't work on the isle."

As for the designs and dresses and Regina and Jacks reassurances that her designs are fine? Evie's grinning again and her confidence has returned. She leans in to kiss Jack on the cheek again, a silent thank you to him and a smile at Regina in thanks.

"I'll have to buy a sketchpad to start designing again."

When the server arrives, Jack orders a cup of coffee and that's it--well, wait, maybe some eggs and bacon, too. Eating in the morning still wasn't a habit, but Evie's constant prodding to get something in his stomach before he started the day was finally beginning to stick. Jack still wasn't sure he was ever gonna get used to the idea that he didn't have to scrap for his next meal...God bless Evie for being patient with him.

That done, his girl finally gets the idea, making him smile and lean over to kiss her cheek.

"Smaht goil." he praised, glossing over the story about the Isle--mostly because there wasn't more than a couple of them that didn't make Jack want to give someone a fat lip, and he didn't think it was a good idea for Evie's mother to see his temper. Besides, Evie made him promise a long time ago, for Mal's sake, not to do something stupid like put a snake in her mother's terrarium...

"So dat's decided: Evie's gonna get famous makin' clothes." he declared, rubbing his hands together. "Me? I'll just line up a few tings--ain't much call fer a newsie in dees here futuristic type joints, but I'll figger out somethin'. Howzabout you, Miss Regina? You know what you wanna do wit' yerself in dis here place?"

...yeah, there's probably no getting rid of the 'Miss Regina' thing.

Regina rounded out the ordering with a latte, eggs and a short stack of pancakes, then caught the tail of Jack's question. But she was still focused on what Evie had said.

Ever since she'd promised Henry she wouldn't use magic (a promise that has been honored mostly in the breach and somehow he and everyone else seems okay with that since it's no longer black magic), Regina had tried to be sparing about conjuring things for people as gifts, especially if they could be perceived as bribes. But a sketchpad...

For a moment, she didn't answer Jack, instead focusing her thoughts and her will on the form of the sketchpad Evie had shown her the first day. It wasn't a summoning, but her conjurations have always been easiest and best when she had a real life model. There was nothing to see in this magic, no gesture crutch, because it had always served her to be unobtrusive about it. Just one heartbeat Jack was asking about her plans and the next she was holding a brand new sketchpad that matched the one that Evie had in New Dodge.

She smiled and offered it across the table, a mother-daughter gift like those she'd given her son on the first day of school. "Here, love."

It occurred to her just then that Jack had never seen her do any magic, and she offered him a genuine and non-threatening smile. "I do have an idea to run by the two of you." Thanks to her conversation with the dragon mage, last night. "I'd intended to get a house large enough for the three of us and any friends that arrive. But what if we were to get a much larger one and take in young people who haven't had a fair chance in life? Not an orphanage, but a home, a nice one."

Evie sits and listens to both Jack and Regina, sighing and relaxing. This wasn't New Dodge, where her lovely found family started, but it was something and she was at peace with it all. She was so settled into this and ready to make this their new normal, breakfast out with her mother-figure and someone she was sure was her True Love, that she didn't notice the sketchpad at first until Regina called her attention to it.

She'd recognize it anywhere, even without all her drawings in it, but that was fine. She could start fresh, add more designs and really make it her own.

She of course has no words for how touched she is, she simply takes the book and stands, making her way over to Regina to hug her in thanks.

"You're wonderful. Thank you so much," she finally says as she pulls away to really look at Regina. The happiness on her face wasn't going away any time soon.

Sitting down as Regina states her ideas, Regina's fascination with it is evident.

"I think that's an amazing idea and want to help." That's what Evie thinks of that.

Jack really hadn't seen magic before, period--and seeing it now was just plain shocking, leaving his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open when the sketch pad appeared out of no-damn-where. There was no fear, however, not of Regina.

...of the sketch pad? Maybe, which has him leaning away from Evie a little as she walks around to hug Regina, while holding the sketch pad that came outta no-damn-where.

But he gets kinda distracted by Regina smiling at him, like she's trying to calm him down or something--and throws him for a loop with talking about some kind of home for kids that hits him like a cold bucket of water.

A house for orphans, or kids down on their luck. A real actual house with lots of rooms, and beds kids don't gotta share, and a real kitchen full of food...nice and clean, no rats or no vermin...maybe even a few trees...

Jack gets suspiciously quiet at the idea, and doesn't answer even after Evie offers her praise--in truth, he's not completely listening because he's thinking about it so hard. When he realizes silence has fallen, and he's the cause with two sets of eyes on him, Jack shakes his head and scrubs a hand over his features.

"So when you say you wanna get a big place fer kids who need somewheres ta go--you mean dis house would be yours? An' kids could stay dere, free fer nuttin'? Nobody'd be payin' you to take 'em on--a whole buncha kids who could come an' go as dey please?"

Regina's a nice lady--she's Evie's mother, for Pete's sake. He knows it, down in his bones...but he can still hear Crutchie screaming for him, dragged off by his bum leg by a couple of coppers, and it's eating away at the things he knows with the things he feels, and he can't make it stop.

Evie takes one look at the expression on Jack's face and feels a bit guilty. She'd been so focused on what Regina was saying and doing, that it didn't occur to her that Jack would have those concerns. There was a twist in her chest, something that told her she'd been selfish and forgetful just now, but she doesn't show it. Instead, she lets her love and her concern for Jack Kelly show through in the soft and concerned look she gives him. In the way her hand reaches for his under the table and the subtle lean of her shoulder against his as she rests her chin on his shoulder.

"Come back to me, Blue-Eyes," she says in hushed tones just for him. She knows where his mind went and where his fears are, she knows what memories are racing through his mind and she hopes she can stop them.

"It'll be nothing like the Refuge. It'll be better. Clean and green and pretty," she assures him, tilting her head some to look him in the face and smile gently at him.

"But, my love," she says a bit louder, enough for the three of them to hear. "You should explain to Regina what's worrying you. Trust me, okay?"

The nickname helps. Evie's soft, husky voice right in his ear, with her chin poking into his shoulder a little where it sits--that brings him back as he turns to face her, to look into those big dark eyes and remind himself of just where he's at.

Jack doesn't trust anything. Nothing but those eyes, that voice...it's the only thing he trusts these days.

With a little nod, he turns back to Regina, planting his elbows on the table as he wrings his hands restlessly.

"Back where I come from, eh...it's 1899, Manhattan? Sometimes, orphans--or kids dat ain't got no families, or just get caught in da wrong place at da wrong time? Boys 'n goils like dat meet up wit' guys like Snyder da Spider. He runs a home fer kids, the Refuge."

The name falls from his lips like a curse, a nightmare burned into his brain.

"Let's just say, ah--it ain't no Refuge, an' leave 'er there." he finished evasively, scrubbing his hands over his face to clear his head out before he tried again.

"Just--it sounds real good, Miss Regina--like what a real refuge oughta be, ya know? A home, but...it oughta be a real one. So's nobody's payin' you for the kids what live there. No government or nothin'. That's when tings get real bad."

Regina knows, of course, that Jack is an orphan. Small things Evie has said, and also things the other Jack had let slip on the trip to their new home. She's also heard Evie call him a newsie, but she hadn't quite put the timeline together. It's not always easy for her to do, even when she has the facts, since the Land without Magic isn't her home and its history is remarkably tangled, especially in the United States for all its terribly short history.

But now he gives a date, and she recalls it's very shortly after Edison and Westinghouse's battle to become the electricity magnate. New York would've been dangerous, filled with improverished immigrants and orphans being used for cheap labor, and 'orphanage' or 'children's home' would be more or less synonymous with 'workhouse'.

Her expression softens as she processes Jack's concerns and the life he lived before Evie, and she nods at him. "Of course, darling. We'll have as little to do with the government as possible." Although she suspected there must be some sort of fostering agency, considering how people arrived here. "I don't want to run a foster home or an orphanage. Just have a nice, warm, safe home with plenty of food and space to play, and adults to look after and care about everyone who lives there."

She meets his gaze, head half-tipped in thought. She's going to need a lot of help, if this is going to be a family-style home, especially if she has a full-time job and eventually a business. "How would you feel about being my counsel, Jack? Someone to keep an eye on everything and let me know if there's anything they need?"

Nice, warm, safe--plenty of food and space, and adults to look after things so the kids didn't have to.

Soon your friends are more like family, and they's beggin' you to stay...

God, it sounded so good. Better than clean and green and pretty, it sounded like just what he was thinking of, what she was talking about at the start: a home. It was a home done right, someplace kids that even had to work like dogs could rest and never go without...

...wait, what? The hell did she say?

"You want me ta--what, tell youse what ta do?" he asked, voice cracking as he pointed at his chest, looking between Regina and Evie. She couldn't be serious, who would listen to a lunkhead like him?

"I'm nobody ta tell nobody what ta do--Evie. Tell her I ain't nobody ta tell nobody what ta do!"

"I'd be doing you and the future residents of this place Regina wants if I told her that."

That'd be a hard no, Jack, accompanied of course by the very grin she knows Jack can't resist. She reaches for his hand again, lacing her fingers with his and keeping her eyes on his for a moment before looking at Regina and very lovingly betraying Jack in the nicest way possible.

"I think he'd be great for the job. No one is more suited for it than he is."

Haha.

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moments i keep [CLOSED]

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