run and tell the angels that everything's all right (CLOSED)

[hellorhighwater]

Who: Neil, Charlie, Regina, and Arya
What: Neil and Charlie go for pizza and ice cream. They run into a couple of lovely ladies and make it a foursome--with ice cream food fights.
Where: Attleton Boardwalk
When: night of 9/1
Warnings: PLENTY of schmoop, fluff, and found family fun. Will add additional warnings if they come up.

The last time Neil had this much fun was his first visit to Coney Island--and this was way better.

Finding pizza was easy, but what had started as a solid parenting suggestion from Regina turned into an actual craving the more he thought about it, meaning that he wasn't happy until they found a place where they could grab a salad, too--extra tomatoes on the side, which he ate himself while Charlie gave him weird looks every time he popped a chunk into his mouth and let the bright, acidic flavor burst across his tongue with a little hum of pleasure.

Sitting on a bench, food set up between them, Neil eventually devolved into telling her stories about his childhood in Nocturne--including stealing from the palace gardens grown with magic during his first week in the Five Realms, how badly he'd been punished by the Night Dragon, and then taken down to the kitchens in the man during the middle of the night so he'd know about the cook's larder. It was always full of food, including candies like rock sugar and honey drops from the surrounding human villages, and savory dried fish from the coast of the Opal Sea...and best of all, the Night Dragon himself assured Neil that the cook had absolute power in her kitchen, meaning Neil could take what he wanted whenever he wanted so long as he told the cook he'd been there.

"Ate myself sick for two days straight." he finished, reaching for a paper napkin to wipe tomato sauce from his mouth after destroying another slice of pizza. "First time I could ever grab the good stuff 'fore someone beat me to it--or stole it from me later. Speakin' of stealing..."

He pointed to the last slice of pizza between them with a grin.

"Gotta finish 'fore we go get ice cream--c'mon, fight me for it. We used to play this game in New York when I was real little...thumb war, I think they called it. Put up your dukes, let's do it."

Comments

[swiftasadeer]

In Arya's experience, people didn't often offer their hands to children--or girls, for that matter. In Westeros a handshake was a gesture of respect between men. That was the only reason for Arya's slow blink, her hesitation before she accepted the offered hand that Neil held out to her, her own hand ridiculous small, almost doll-like compared to the larger man's.

"Arya Stark of Winterfell," she replied, because it was nice to feel safe enough to be Arya Stark or Winterfell again. Charlie's hand was taken with less hesitation, partly because she was expecting the gesture now, and partly because, well, she was a girl, and it didn't seem quite so odd or surprising. She was still wary, and her manners weren't as delicate and refined as her sister's, but she was polite enough. "Pleased to meet you."

[hellorhighwater]

"Neil Blair, son of Nocturne." he offered when Arya gave her full name. It was strange to watch the three women exchange introductions and handshakes--in the best fucking way possible. It made his lungs feel too full and the world suddenly a very small, intimate, safe place. He felt a little possessive of it, like something really big was happening in the moment...something good.

Then Regina and Charlie were giving him shit, and he had to laugh, cheeks coloring just a little as he ducked his head, then looked up into Regina's sparkling eyes, that little twist of her mouth that brought her tongue to her upper lip...

"Yeah, that was you. That was her, I mean." he told Charlie and Regina both--still grinning like an idiot with no hope of stopping. "And Charlie--she was the one I had to text."

Inevitably, his gaze settled back on Regina again.

"I just--I can't believe you just showed up." he laughed, looking for all the world like a kid on Christmas morning for just a moment until it hit him.

"Ice cream. Me 'n Charlie were just about to get ice cream--Arya, you're comin', right? Hey, have you eaten yet?" Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, he looked down at her hopefully. "Last slice of pizza. I was gonna thumb wrestle Charlie for it, but she chickened out on me. It's yours if you're hungry, what do you say?"

[thefirething]

This was probably the weirdest thing Charlie’s witnessed, Neil being all polite and formal. Not that she did t think he could be, but he seemed to switch up behaviors for each person. For Arya, it was something Charlie would imagine happened in castles full of knights and royalty. For herself, it was teasing and silliness (though that bit about chickening out earned him a mild frown) and for Regina? That was a different level of silliness. The kind she saw between her mom and dad when days were good and the phone wasn’t ringing with dead air on the other end. It was flirting. As endearing as Charlie thought it was, she really wants to payNeil back for saying she wussed out of a thumb war.

“I can take Arya to get the ice cream. It’s right over by the pizza place. You can still see us, we can still see you. You and Regina can get a minute or two by yourselves before your space is invaded by two young girls.” As is prone to happening, you see. “What ice cream do you want, Regina? They have an amazing dark chocolate cherry that I tried a sample of a couple days ago.”

And that? That’s just Charlie being herself. Caring and accepting and open. Neil likes Regina. Regina makes Neil happy. That’s all Charlie needs. She turns to look at Arya, smiling warmly.

“I’ll get you whatever you want, too. Me, personally? I’m leaning towards a Sundae with Rocky Road Nd Pistachio.”

[fondofapples]

Even though Arya could take care of herself and Charlie too, and Charlie could take care of them both according to Neil, Regina hesitated before releasing Arya. It had nothing to do with either of the girls or any danger they might get themselves into. Simply: she'd offered to bring Arya to get ice cream with her, and on any number of levels, letting her go with Charlie so she could be with Neil felt wrong.

For one thing, she'd wanted to introduce Arya to ice cream herself. Share the bonding over sampling different flavors and learn what Arya liked and what she definitely didn't. For another, not ditching child for boyfriend was a lesson she'd learned when Henry was still very young and she was 'seeing' Graham. But even more, she enjoyed Arya's company and wanted to be with her.

But she had brought her down here to meet Charlie in hopes they'd get along, and she could get Charlie out of the hellhole she was in to share a nice room in the Amagi with Arya.

"Thank you, Charlie." Regina smiled at the girl, because regardless of her mixed feelings, it had been a genuine offer. "If they have an apple pie flavor, or apple pie a la mode, I'll take that." She glanced down at Arya, still standing with Regina's hands on her shoulders.

"Up to you, sweetheart." If she went with Charlie now, Regina would just take her for ice cream another time. Or find some other thing for the two of them to share. "Either way, everyone's ice cream is on me."

[swiftasadeer]

Arya hesitated a little too, though for slightly different reasons; she wasn't used to receiving kindness, or trusting so quickly and so easily. But when she turned slightly and tipped her head up to look at Regina's face, seeing her hesitation immediately made her want to reassure her. "It's okay," she murmured quietly, and turned to Charlie with a slight smile. "I've never had ice cream before...but why does it have road rocks in it?"

[hellorhighwater]

"Hang on, hang on, hang on." Neil laughed, looping a friendly arm around Charlie's shoulders to keep her from darting off--and to offer a little squeeze of silent apology for cracking wise about the thumb war. "Nobody's going anywhere without the rest of us. I'm playin' the macho douchebag card--it's after dark, and I don't know the area. I wouldn't send a squad of less than four out solo in enemy territory, no way in hell I'm gonna do any different with you girls, we'll go together."

...that sounded very dad like. Neil hesitated for a split second, then corrected course a little.

"If you girls wanna talk about what a nerd I am behind my back, that's fine. You can take point and skip ahead a little, but you stay in line of sight and shouting distance. No veering past our ten and two, 'kay?"