((Aurelien Valter – Pregame START!!!))
Aurelien could see his face reflected in the round, shiny eyes of the leatherback sea turtle, all dark green and round and bulbous. His nose, in particular, looked like it had been stung by a bee, especially when he angled his head up, so the turtle's gaze was fixed directly onto his snozz. Aurelien couldn't help but grin at the sight, and suddenly the turtle's glassy gaze was filled with rows of huge white teeth. He burst out laughing, causing a few people wandering next to him to give him concerned looks. The turtle itself didn't seem to mind.
Crouching back down again, Aurelien stared into the turtle's eyes. The turtle stared right back. A connection had been established. An agreement had been made. So Aurelien reached out and poked the turtle in the middle of its forehead.
The turtle, being made of polyester and fabric, once again had no response to Aurelien's actions.
Aurelien picked the plush turtle up from it's basket in the middle of the gift shop, and turned it over to look at the price tag. Beyond the Sea drifted gently from the speakers in the corners of the room. An obvious choice, but Aurelien still found himself bobbing in time with the music. A good song was a good song, after all, and, as was the case with pretty much every other day in his life, he was in a good mood. He loved the aquarium. It was the perfect place for a lazy weekend out, and the deep blue colour scheme that permeated the building always put him in a good mood. Plus, he could always daydream he was scuba diving in the shark tank, and that gave him a whole bunch of ideas for what he wanted to do for his next birthday.
But even being in the best possible mood couldn't justify the price tag attached to the turtle. Aurelien did a double take as soon as he saw just how many digits followed the dollar sign, eyes on the verge of popping out of his head like he was in some sort of cartoon. With a sigh, he put the turtle back into the basket, patting it on the head once it was nestled between its brethren.
"Goodbye, friend," Aurelien whispered to it. "I will miss you."
It was better this way. Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, and that sorta thing. And Aurelien was pretty sure he hadn't actually seen any turtles on this trip to the aquarium. This was nothing more than a false friendship, a desire for a spark that simply wasn't there.
But as he left the turtle behind, looking into the next basket, he did find something, something that he would have paid his entire life's savings for.
Inside the basket was a whole pile of footballs, all painted a light grey colour. Each of them had little fins and a tail, and the mean, menacing eyes and mouth of a great white shark.
They were the most ridiculous things Aurelien had ever seen in his life, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to buy all of them and tell everybody he had every known about them.
I'M A SHARK, I'M A SHAAARK, SUCK MY DIIIIICK, I'M A SHAAARK
I'M A SHARK, I'M A SHAAARK, SUCK MY DIIIIICK, I'M A SHAAARK
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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jimmydalad
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((Millicent "Milly" Rosenberg continued from And It All Worked Out In The End))
In retrospect, Milly should have spent more time at the aquarium. Even with its reputation as one of the best in the country, she had never had a reason to go to the aquarium. Sure, she had probably been with her parents before, but she was either too young to remember or too busy pleasing her father that she never had a proper chance to enjoy what the aquarium had to offer. It wasn't like she had a burning desire for marine biology or anything. She wasn't that far gone. However, with such a stellar reputation even outside of the town of Chattanooga, she decided she might as well explore it at least once before she shipped herself off to Knoxville.
There was a sense of liberation Milly had as she roamed around the exhibits. The fact that she wasn't stuck with any of her "friends" allowed her to enjoy the aquarium at her own pace. She certainly was able to just be herself without fear of reprisal or judgment. It wasn't like kids from George Hunter were here often. Ok, maybe the fish lovers were here often, but then again who gave a shit about them?
At first, she thought it would be a quick perusal. Just take a look at some fish, maybe a shark or two, and then head off home. That way, she can at least legitimately claim that she'd been in the aquarium in case anyone from the University of Tenessee asked. However, she couldn't help but be impressed by the animals. Not in a like "ooh I want to learn all about their eating and shitting habits" sorta way but more of an "oooh they're pretty to look at and I'd be totally chill like watching do their fishy business while listening to some tunes". Their appearances, the way they floated in the water and the general atmosphere of the aquarium contributed to this serene atmosphere that she wished she could've experienced for longer.
After checking out most of the exhibits, she decided to drop by the souvenir shop. Maybe pick up something cute she could take with her once she left. As she starting perusing the overpriced knick-knacks on offer, the sound of laughing caught her attention.
Wasn't that kid from George Hunter? Did he know he was looking like an idiot in public?
These were questions that Milly posed to herself as she observed Aurelien. Milly spent a second racking her brain to try and remember who he was. Oh yeah, he was that popular foreign sporty kid that wouldn't shut up about LGBT rights. It wasn't that she really minded his loud tendencies that much. It was just that Aurelien tended to end up on the other side of conflicts she got dragged into by Ivy or Wyatt or any of the other people she had to hang out with. He'd heard from some of those people that Aurelien was an aggressive asshole who just wanted to fight, but she had learned quickly that their opinions were untrustworthy at best. In general, he seemed like a pretty cool dude. Maybe in a different life, they could have been friends.
Then again, it wasn't like anyone else was watching her.
With a quick scan of the area to make sure no one else was around, Milly strode over towards Aurelien. With a cheeky grin, she slid next to Aurelien, who seemed strangely fascinated by the shark footballs, which Milly personally found more confusing than anything else.
"You are aware that the exhibits are thataway, right?" Milly teased, sticking out her tongue and pointing towards the saltwater exhibit. "I'm not sure if these balls are, like, very accurate in portraying marine life, no matter how cute they are."
In retrospect, Milly should have spent more time at the aquarium. Even with its reputation as one of the best in the country, she had never had a reason to go to the aquarium. Sure, she had probably been with her parents before, but she was either too young to remember or too busy pleasing her father that she never had a proper chance to enjoy what the aquarium had to offer. It wasn't like she had a burning desire for marine biology or anything. She wasn't that far gone. However, with such a stellar reputation even outside of the town of Chattanooga, she decided she might as well explore it at least once before she shipped herself off to Knoxville.
There was a sense of liberation Milly had as she roamed around the exhibits. The fact that she wasn't stuck with any of her "friends" allowed her to enjoy the aquarium at her own pace. She certainly was able to just be herself without fear of reprisal or judgment. It wasn't like kids from George Hunter were here often. Ok, maybe the fish lovers were here often, but then again who gave a shit about them?
At first, she thought it would be a quick perusal. Just take a look at some fish, maybe a shark or two, and then head off home. That way, she can at least legitimately claim that she'd been in the aquarium in case anyone from the University of Tenessee asked. However, she couldn't help but be impressed by the animals. Not in a like "ooh I want to learn all about their eating and shitting habits" sorta way but more of an "oooh they're pretty to look at and I'd be totally chill like watching do their fishy business while listening to some tunes". Their appearances, the way they floated in the water and the general atmosphere of the aquarium contributed to this serene atmosphere that she wished she could've experienced for longer.
After checking out most of the exhibits, she decided to drop by the souvenir shop. Maybe pick up something cute she could take with her once she left. As she starting perusing the overpriced knick-knacks on offer, the sound of laughing caught her attention.
Wasn't that kid from George Hunter? Did he know he was looking like an idiot in public?
These were questions that Milly posed to herself as she observed Aurelien. Milly spent a second racking her brain to try and remember who he was. Oh yeah, he was that popular foreign sporty kid that wouldn't shut up about LGBT rights. It wasn't that she really minded his loud tendencies that much. It was just that Aurelien tended to end up on the other side of conflicts she got dragged into by Ivy or Wyatt or any of the other people she had to hang out with. He'd heard from some of those people that Aurelien was an aggressive asshole who just wanted to fight, but she had learned quickly that their opinions were untrustworthy at best. In general, he seemed like a pretty cool dude. Maybe in a different life, they could have been friends.
Then again, it wasn't like anyone else was watching her.
With a quick scan of the area to make sure no one else was around, Milly strode over towards Aurelien. With a cheeky grin, she slid next to Aurelien, who seemed strangely fascinated by the shark footballs, which Milly personally found more confusing than anything else.
"You are aware that the exhibits are thataway, right?" Milly teased, sticking out her tongue and pointing towards the saltwater exhibit. "I'm not sure if these balls are, like, very accurate in portraying marine life, no matter how cute they are."
Aurelien had changed his mind. No matter his mood, no matter the price, he absolutely had to have this shark football permanently in his life. Pour away his life savings, sell the clothes on his back, steal money from his pare-Okay, that was a step too far, but the point was, there wasn't a price in the world that would separate him from this ridiculous shark football.
Now he just needed to come up with a name for it. Obviously. The current number one on his list of names was Haifußball, but he was also very very tempted to call it Samantha. Samantha the Shark. Okay, he was becoming more and more enamoured with this idea by the second.
Before he could devote any more time to coming up with a name for his shark football friend, somebody piped up next to him, and he felt himself jump about a foot in the air. He turned to look at his assailant, one hand on his chest, and it took him a couple of seconds to recognise her. Milly, if his memory served correctly.
Aurelien tried to stop a frown from creasing onto his face. He wasn't entirely certain if he achieved that. Milly seemed... friendly, every now and then, but she had a penchant for sarcastic remarks and misleading statements. Which would all be fine in a vacuum, but she'd decided to throw her lot in with the likes of Wyatt. And Ivy. And other people like them. All of which combined served to throw up some serious red flags in Aurelien's direction.
Still, she seemed to be acting perfectly friendly right now, and it'd be rather rude to make a scene in the middle of the gift shop, so he decided it'd be alright to tread forwards. With caution, and the decision to make an excuse and leave at the first sign of trouble.
"Sheesh, Milly, you scared me!" Aurelien laughed, then pointed his shark football at her, face first. "Better be careful! Samantha gets real defensive around strangers!"
He laughed again, lowering Samantha, resisting the urge to pet her head. He shoved his other hand into the pocket of his bomber jacket, and after a couple of seconds, realised he was tugging it down, so the folds of his breast pocket covered up his pride flag. His heart lurched and sank again, and he managed to keep his friendly smile on his face.
"And you're wrong about the accuracy thing! This is simply a portrayal of a shark that has had far too much to eat."
Aurelien grinned, throwing Samantha up into the air, catching her with ease. Not that there'd been any doubt that he'd drop it, considering he practiced catching basketballs every week, as well as the fact that this was his brand new daughter.
"Anyway, what brings you here? School project? Or just here to look at slightly more realistic sharks?"
Now he just needed to come up with a name for it. Obviously. The current number one on his list of names was Haifußball, but he was also very very tempted to call it Samantha. Samantha the Shark. Okay, he was becoming more and more enamoured with this idea by the second.
Before he could devote any more time to coming up with a name for his shark football friend, somebody piped up next to him, and he felt himself jump about a foot in the air. He turned to look at his assailant, one hand on his chest, and it took him a couple of seconds to recognise her. Milly, if his memory served correctly.
Aurelien tried to stop a frown from creasing onto his face. He wasn't entirely certain if he achieved that. Milly seemed... friendly, every now and then, but she had a penchant for sarcastic remarks and misleading statements. Which would all be fine in a vacuum, but she'd decided to throw her lot in with the likes of Wyatt. And Ivy. And other people like them. All of which combined served to throw up some serious red flags in Aurelien's direction.
Still, she seemed to be acting perfectly friendly right now, and it'd be rather rude to make a scene in the middle of the gift shop, so he decided it'd be alright to tread forwards. With caution, and the decision to make an excuse and leave at the first sign of trouble.
"Sheesh, Milly, you scared me!" Aurelien laughed, then pointed his shark football at her, face first. "Better be careful! Samantha gets real defensive around strangers!"
He laughed again, lowering Samantha, resisting the urge to pet her head. He shoved his other hand into the pocket of his bomber jacket, and after a couple of seconds, realised he was tugging it down, so the folds of his breast pocket covered up his pride flag. His heart lurched and sank again, and he managed to keep his friendly smile on his face.
"And you're wrong about the accuracy thing! This is simply a portrayal of a shark that has had far too much to eat."
Aurelien grinned, throwing Samantha up into the air, catching her with ease. Not that there'd been any doubt that he'd drop it, considering he practiced catching basketballs every week, as well as the fact that this was his brand new daughter.
"Anyway, what brings you here? School project? Or just here to look at slightly more realistic sharks?"
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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jimmydalad
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Milly felt the confidence rush out of her as if she was punched in the gut. She caught the wisps of a frown form on Aurelien's face. Maybe she should've expected the response, considering the crowd she hung out with. She had hoped that her friendly introduction was enough to infer that she had nothing but good intentions but that was probably naive of her. It took a few seconds of sadness before she put on a happy face and chuckled along with Aurelien.
"Aaah! Don't eat me!" She exclaimed in mock surprise, raising her arms in surrender as she decided to play along. Laughter escaped from her mouth again, unable to hold in the mirth that she was experiencing. Already she was having an immensely better time than she would if she was stuck trying to please her group of "friends". In fact, there were times she wondered if Ivy ever smiled for a reason that was not motivated by nastiness.
She would normally never be caught dead interacting with someone not approved by Ivy's crew. That was a quick trip to being shunned and having nasty rumors spread around the entire school. However, the year was almost over and soon she'd be graduating and studying in Knoxville, far away from the worries of courting other rich families and appeasing her father's wishes. She was possibly feeling a little more rebellious than usual. After all, once high school was finished, what power did that group have over her?
Milly continued to laugh as Aurelien slung out another funny comment, anxiously checking his reactions to make sure she wasn't messing up. So far, things were going well. It seemed like Aurelien was having a good time. Or not a bad time. She should go with that latter considering the first impression she picked up. Maybe she was overthinking things? Probably. All she had to do was keep up the good feelings. Everything would be gucci from there.
She stopped laughing at Aurelien's question, taking a second to word her response. She kept up the loose smile on her face, but her eyes darted around the area to check if anyone she intimately knew was there.
"Well, it's nearly the end of the year, yeah? And, like, I thought about how we have this awesome aquarium but I've never been here. Or well, like, I've never been here and been able to enjoy the aquarium. Since I'm going to Knoxville for college, I was like "I guess I should come here at least once cause people are gonna ask about it", right?"
She squirmed slightly, wondering how flippant she was allowed to be. The last thing she wanted was for someone like Faith to just jump out of the shark ball pit and out her. However, that was probably unlikely. Milly had to reason with herself that no one from her clique was suddenly going to turn up. It was the nearly the end of the school year, they had better things to do than look around an aquarium. She tensely loosened up. Aurelien seemed cool at the very least.
"I've actually really enjoyed it here. Like it's so relaxing and stuff watching all the fishes. Plus I don't have Ivy and the clique breathing down my neck about anything, which is a nice change."
Her eyes opened slightly as she realised what words came out of her mouth. Uhh maybe she could do some damage control?
"S-so what brings you here. Like, you just looking at souvenirs?"
Smooth, Milly.
"Aaah! Don't eat me!" She exclaimed in mock surprise, raising her arms in surrender as she decided to play along. Laughter escaped from her mouth again, unable to hold in the mirth that she was experiencing. Already she was having an immensely better time than she would if she was stuck trying to please her group of "friends". In fact, there were times she wondered if Ivy ever smiled for a reason that was not motivated by nastiness.
She would normally never be caught dead interacting with someone not approved by Ivy's crew. That was a quick trip to being shunned and having nasty rumors spread around the entire school. However, the year was almost over and soon she'd be graduating and studying in Knoxville, far away from the worries of courting other rich families and appeasing her father's wishes. She was possibly feeling a little more rebellious than usual. After all, once high school was finished, what power did that group have over her?
Milly continued to laugh as Aurelien slung out another funny comment, anxiously checking his reactions to make sure she wasn't messing up. So far, things were going well. It seemed like Aurelien was having a good time. Or not a bad time. She should go with that latter considering the first impression she picked up. Maybe she was overthinking things? Probably. All she had to do was keep up the good feelings. Everything would be gucci from there.
She stopped laughing at Aurelien's question, taking a second to word her response. She kept up the loose smile on her face, but her eyes darted around the area to check if anyone she intimately knew was there.
"Well, it's nearly the end of the year, yeah? And, like, I thought about how we have this awesome aquarium but I've never been here. Or well, like, I've never been here and been able to enjoy the aquarium. Since I'm going to Knoxville for college, I was like "I guess I should come here at least once cause people are gonna ask about it", right?"
She squirmed slightly, wondering how flippant she was allowed to be. The last thing she wanted was for someone like Faith to just jump out of the shark ball pit and out her. However, that was probably unlikely. Milly had to reason with herself that no one from her clique was suddenly going to turn up. It was the nearly the end of the school year, they had better things to do than look around an aquarium. She tensely loosened up. Aurelien seemed cool at the very least.
"I've actually really enjoyed it here. Like it's so relaxing and stuff watching all the fishes. Plus I don't have Ivy and the clique breathing down my neck about anything, which is a nice change."
Her eyes opened slightly as she realised what words came out of her mouth. Uhh maybe she could do some damage control?
"S-so what brings you here. Like, you just looking at souvenirs?"
Smooth, Milly.
Shouldn't penguins be in an aquarium? They weren't like, fish, but they were things that swam around in water, which made them aquarium things, Dante thought. He'd remembered seeing them before, too, so he was pretty confident in taking Beatrice to the aquarium when he'd asked what she wanted to do today and she said "see the penguins!"
So why weren't they here? He should probably check the map, but he'd forgotten to take one. Maybe he'd just missed them?
Or maybe they were at the zoo. But the zoo was for not-water things, and penguins were water things, but they were also kind of not-water things? Like they walked around on ice and shit. But ice was also water. But maybe it was land enough to count as a zoo thing???
Dante probably should have looked this up before he left the house.
>> Dante Valerio continued from Confessionale
Luckily Bea hadn't been too mad about it. Pretty much forgot about the penguins entirely as soon as she saw everything else that was there. Except for the sharks, she was scared of those, and Dante had picked her up and put her on his shoulders so she was even bigger than they were. That helped a little bit. Sharks were really cool, actually. He'd pet one of the little ones in a touch tank and it felt like wet sandpaper which was super weird but it also had bumped its nose on his hand like a cat that wanted pets, and Dante had declared it a very good boy, and then apologized and told all the other animals in the tank they were also very good boys, except the ones that were girls, or maybe other things, he wasn't an expert on shark gender.
Bea wouldn't go within fifty feet of the touch tank though (apparently she thought one of the sharks could jump out of it and swallow her whole), so Dante didn't push it. They just wandered around aimlessly while he stressed himself out about whether or not penguins were aquarium things, at least until he looked up and suddenly, there it was. The gift shop.
The gift shop was very important, because it was full of cute things, and cute things were extremely important when you had four sisters. Also it was way too hot outside and gift shop meant air conditioning. Also there could be penguins in the gift shop? Like even if there weren't actually penguins at the aquarium, they were cute and so they might sell dolls of them anyway. He'd kinda forgotten why he'd been freaking out about penguins in the first place, but he kinda wanted a satisfactory conclusion on whatever point his brain was trying to make. He headed over to the gift shop, breathing a sigh of relief as he opened the door and the air conditioning hit him, and stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was the price tag sitting above a display of assorted tiny stuffed toys. $15 for something the size of his palm. Maybe he'd have to hold off on playing aquarium-Santa.
The second thing he saw was people he knew.
He noticed Milly first, because Girls Existing Nearby was a thing Dante usually noticed. They got along pretty okay, he thought, though their interactions were limited since she usually traveled in a pretty scary pack. She was a sweet girl when she was alone, though she got tired of his flirting pretty quickly. He'd cataloged her in his brain under "fine to talk to but remember to back off".
Aurelien, on the other hand, was a whole other thing.
"Yo, Lion." Dante grinned an easy grin as he loped over toward the pair. "Or like, shark, today, I guess. You making friends? With the shark, I mean. But, uh, Milly also." His eyes moved over toward her as his smile softened. "Ciao, bella."
He had this sense he was forgetting something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what.
So why weren't they here? He should probably check the map, but he'd forgotten to take one. Maybe he'd just missed them?
Or maybe they were at the zoo. But the zoo was for not-water things, and penguins were water things, but they were also kind of not-water things? Like they walked around on ice and shit. But ice was also water. But maybe it was land enough to count as a zoo thing???
Dante probably should have looked this up before he left the house.
>> Dante Valerio continued from Confessionale
Luckily Bea hadn't been too mad about it. Pretty much forgot about the penguins entirely as soon as she saw everything else that was there. Except for the sharks, she was scared of those, and Dante had picked her up and put her on his shoulders so she was even bigger than they were. That helped a little bit. Sharks were really cool, actually. He'd pet one of the little ones in a touch tank and it felt like wet sandpaper which was super weird but it also had bumped its nose on his hand like a cat that wanted pets, and Dante had declared it a very good boy, and then apologized and told all the other animals in the tank they were also very good boys, except the ones that were girls, or maybe other things, he wasn't an expert on shark gender.
Bea wouldn't go within fifty feet of the touch tank though (apparently she thought one of the sharks could jump out of it and swallow her whole), so Dante didn't push it. They just wandered around aimlessly while he stressed himself out about whether or not penguins were aquarium things, at least until he looked up and suddenly, there it was. The gift shop.
The gift shop was very important, because it was full of cute things, and cute things were extremely important when you had four sisters. Also it was way too hot outside and gift shop meant air conditioning. Also there could be penguins in the gift shop? Like even if there weren't actually penguins at the aquarium, they were cute and so they might sell dolls of them anyway. He'd kinda forgotten why he'd been freaking out about penguins in the first place, but he kinda wanted a satisfactory conclusion on whatever point his brain was trying to make. He headed over to the gift shop, breathing a sigh of relief as he opened the door and the air conditioning hit him, and stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was the price tag sitting above a display of assorted tiny stuffed toys. $15 for something the size of his palm. Maybe he'd have to hold off on playing aquarium-Santa.
The second thing he saw was people he knew.
He noticed Milly first, because Girls Existing Nearby was a thing Dante usually noticed. They got along pretty okay, he thought, though their interactions were limited since she usually traveled in a pretty scary pack. She was a sweet girl when she was alone, though she got tired of his flirting pretty quickly. He'd cataloged her in his brain under "fine to talk to but remember to back off".
Aurelien, on the other hand, was a whole other thing.
"Yo, Lion." Dante grinned an easy grin as he loped over toward the pair. "Or like, shark, today, I guess. You making friends? With the shark, I mean. But, uh, Milly also." His eyes moved over toward her as his smile softened. "Ciao, bella."
He had this sense he was forgetting something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Aurelien had a big, wide smile on his face, as he stroked his chin with one hand, Samantha tucked safely under his other arm. Now this was interesting. This was very, very interesting. This wasn’t the Milly he was familiar with, although familiar was a very generous term. His encounters with her had never been solo, had always been with Ivy and her cohorts, and had always been nasty. He’d very much been expecting this one to go much the same.
But this Milly was laughing and smiling, and looking like she was enjoying herself, and although Aurelien wasn’t good at reading faces, it didn’t look like she was casting scorn over him as if he was covered in dirt, or anything like that. It was nice. Slowly, he felt himself relaxing more and more, his hand slipping out of his pocket so it hung casually by his side. His pride pin remained hidden in the folds of his jacket.
This could, of course, all be some sort of elaborate trick. Some big ‘joke’ Ivy and her clique was trying to pull, lulling Aurelien into a false sense of security just so they could laugh at him. He wouldn’t put it past them. But honestly, he didn’t want to think that. He was enjoying this! The smile on his face and the buoyancy in his heart were genuine, after all. He’d put his faith in Milly without regret.
… Man, he really should shave at some point…
“You know, I was thinking it odd that you weren’t hanging out with Ivy and that lot,” Aurelien said, tilting his head to the right, still grinning. “I think it’s a good look for you.”
He laughed again, giving Milly time to absorb his words, maybe take them to heart, just a little bit, before he continued.
“I just figured it would be a nice day to check out the aquarium! Make the most of it when it is right at my doorstep, you know? And there are so many cool animals here! I’ve heard of a lot of them, but I’d never seen them in person before! We only really have the one aquarium in Luxembourg, in Wasserbillig, and we never really left Luxembourg City, so…”
Aurelien chuckled, and shrugged his shoulders in a ‘so here I am now’ kinda way, and just like that, like some bizarre summong gesture, a third person had turned up at the sharkball pit. Now, this was someone that Aurelien knew was a good time. Dante didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and was pretty much Aurelien’s go-to person if he just wanted to chill out and relax and be happy.
Plus, and this was a big plus, he was insanely cute.
“Dante! Hello!” Aurelien waved at the other boy, raising Samantha up so she was visible. “Making friends and new family members, actually! I was just introducing Milly to my new daughter, here. Her name is Samantha and I love her.”
Aurelien placed a kiss on Samantha’s forehead. She smelled of fake leather and cleaning products, but he loved her all the same.
But this Milly was laughing and smiling, and looking like she was enjoying herself, and although Aurelien wasn’t good at reading faces, it didn’t look like she was casting scorn over him as if he was covered in dirt, or anything like that. It was nice. Slowly, he felt himself relaxing more and more, his hand slipping out of his pocket so it hung casually by his side. His pride pin remained hidden in the folds of his jacket.
This could, of course, all be some sort of elaborate trick. Some big ‘joke’ Ivy and her clique was trying to pull, lulling Aurelien into a false sense of security just so they could laugh at him. He wouldn’t put it past them. But honestly, he didn’t want to think that. He was enjoying this! The smile on his face and the buoyancy in his heart were genuine, after all. He’d put his faith in Milly without regret.
… Man, he really should shave at some point…
“You know, I was thinking it odd that you weren’t hanging out with Ivy and that lot,” Aurelien said, tilting his head to the right, still grinning. “I think it’s a good look for you.”
He laughed again, giving Milly time to absorb his words, maybe take them to heart, just a little bit, before he continued.
“I just figured it would be a nice day to check out the aquarium! Make the most of it when it is right at my doorstep, you know? And there are so many cool animals here! I’ve heard of a lot of them, but I’d never seen them in person before! We only really have the one aquarium in Luxembourg, in Wasserbillig, and we never really left Luxembourg City, so…”
Aurelien chuckled, and shrugged his shoulders in a ‘so here I am now’ kinda way, and just like that, like some bizarre summong gesture, a third person had turned up at the sharkball pit. Now, this was someone that Aurelien knew was a good time. Dante didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and was pretty much Aurelien’s go-to person if he just wanted to chill out and relax and be happy.
Plus, and this was a big plus, he was insanely cute.
“Dante! Hello!” Aurelien waved at the other boy, raising Samantha up so she was visible. “Making friends and new family members, actually! I was just introducing Milly to my new daughter, here. Her name is Samantha and I love her.”
Aurelien placed a kiss on Samantha’s forehead. She smelled of fake leather and cleaning products, but he loved her all the same.
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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jimmydalad
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:35 pm
"Haha yeah." Was the only response she could muster to Aurelien's words, awkwardly laughingwith him. Of course not being lumped in with Ivy and her swarm of bees was a good look. Anything would be better than being associated with Ivy if you wanted to be seen as not a complete asshole. Milly knew that from day one and if she had the option, she would've ditched them as soon as she could.
Unfortunately, her life was more complicated than that. She didn't have the luxury to spend time with people she wanted to. Not while she was under the watchful eyes of her father. If she could spend more time with people like Aurelien, she would. Instead, she was stuck with the money. And those with money tended to be assholes. She would've liked to exclude herself from that generalisation, but she wasn't 100% sure she could do so with a straight face.
At least she didn't have to linger on those thoughts for so long as the conversation changed topics. Thankful that he didn't rail her on why she wasn't permanently attached to Ivy's hip, Milly could feel herself easing up again. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one who just wanted to check out the aquarium. It was a totally awesome one after all. Milly's chuckles became more natural as she comfortably slipped into the social situation.
She did have a brief ponder about Luxembourg. She'd never even heard of it before. It sounded vaguely European and Aurelien was pretty white, not like pale, but like the sorta tanned in the beach white, so she assumed that it was in Europe. Could she find Luxembourg on a map? She couldn't ask Aurelien cause she'd look like an idiot. Maybe that was something she could do later.
Oh, Dante was here. Joy.
"Hey Dante." She replied, trying to ease out of the bluntness she usually would adopt due to present company. Dante was mostly harmless, if not a bit annoying. It wasn't that he wasn't an attractive guy. In fact, he was really hot compared to most of the guys at George Hunter. An admittedly low barrier to clear, but still. It was more, like, he was a serial flirter. Like he flirted with every girl that came into contact with him. Someone that shameless did make him come off as skeevy, but at least he was nice. He certainly got the message after the last time she rejected his advances.
"Yeah! Samantha nearly ate me as well! But Aurelien's a good dad who quickly set her straight."
Milly chuckled again. It was funny, in an endearing way, how attached Aurelien had gotten to the shark ball after knowing it for at most 5 minutes. There was an earnestness to him that Milly appreciated. It helped her feel like she could joke and be silly with him and not get judged by it unlike the field of landmines that was trying to navigate the wealthy social circles.
"I saw you had your eyes on the turtles as well. Any reason you decided not to go for them? They are totally cute too after all."
Milly could get used to this.
Unfortunately, her life was more complicated than that. She didn't have the luxury to spend time with people she wanted to. Not while she was under the watchful eyes of her father. If she could spend more time with people like Aurelien, she would. Instead, she was stuck with the money. And those with money tended to be assholes. She would've liked to exclude herself from that generalisation, but she wasn't 100% sure she could do so with a straight face.
At least she didn't have to linger on those thoughts for so long as the conversation changed topics. Thankful that he didn't rail her on why she wasn't permanently attached to Ivy's hip, Milly could feel herself easing up again. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one who just wanted to check out the aquarium. It was a totally awesome one after all. Milly's chuckles became more natural as she comfortably slipped into the social situation.
She did have a brief ponder about Luxembourg. She'd never even heard of it before. It sounded vaguely European and Aurelien was pretty white, not like pale, but like the sorta tanned in the beach white, so she assumed that it was in Europe. Could she find Luxembourg on a map? She couldn't ask Aurelien cause she'd look like an idiot. Maybe that was something she could do later.
Oh, Dante was here. Joy.
"Hey Dante." She replied, trying to ease out of the bluntness she usually would adopt due to present company. Dante was mostly harmless, if not a bit annoying. It wasn't that he wasn't an attractive guy. In fact, he was really hot compared to most of the guys at George Hunter. An admittedly low barrier to clear, but still. It was more, like, he was a serial flirter. Like he flirted with every girl that came into contact with him. Someone that shameless did make him come off as skeevy, but at least he was nice. He certainly got the message after the last time she rejected his advances.
"Yeah! Samantha nearly ate me as well! But Aurelien's a good dad who quickly set her straight."
Milly chuckled again. It was funny, in an endearing way, how attached Aurelien had gotten to the shark ball after knowing it for at most 5 minutes. There was an earnestness to him that Milly appreciated. It helped her feel like she could joke and be silly with him and not get judged by it unlike the field of landmines that was trying to navigate the wealthy social circles.
"I saw you had your eyes on the turtles as well. Any reason you decided not to go for them? They are totally cute too after all."
Milly could get used to this.
"I dunno if you're ready to be a father, dude," Dante said seriously. "Like she's real adorable and all but that doesn't mean you gotta adopt. Babysit on weekends maybe. Trial run. Y'know?"
He grinned, glancing to catch Milly's reaction to the proceedings. She seemed to be in a better mood than he'd ever seen before. Made sense, he thought. Aurelien had that effect on people. Lion was a good dude, always had his back, always was down to do some crazy probably-bad-idea shit. And yeah, he had a lot of good friends, but he liked spending time with Lion more than most, for a few reasons, at least one of which he didn't really wanna think about at the moment. But that wasn't important, cause he was here now, and he probably knew where the penguins were if they existed? Like, he was smart about shit, sometimes, at least smarter than Dante was, which maybe wasn't a super big compliment, but it was something.
Milly kinda made a face when she first spotted him, one of those faces that went by so fast she probably didn't realize she made it, but it was enough for Dante to realize that he should probably chill on the "ciao" front. She'd changed her tune pretty quick, though, so he guessed he hadn't burned that bridge too badly. He gave her what he hoped was a non-threatening smile cause honestly what he dreaded more than anything was girls like her thinking he was a creep. Well, any girls thinking he was a creep was bad, but Milly had scary friends, and he didn't really do great with confrontation? He quickly looked away from her in case smiling at her for too long was also weird and went back to checking out the gift shop stuff.
Man, there was a lot of stuff. The shark footballs were pretty great. Lion's good taste was not to be underestimated. There were a lot of sharks, including some that were like three feet long, which would probably freak the shit out of his sisters. There were giant turtles, too, and a giant manta ray that Dante wanted immediately but if the palm-sized version was $15 that one must be like $200 easy. And there were penguins! Not giant penguins, but regular sized penguins. Maybe life-sized. Dante didn't know how big penguins were.
Why was he so fixated on penguins? It felt like it was really important but he couldn't get a grip on why.
"So many options, so little time, huh," he mumbled to himself as he looked around before turning back to Aurelien. "When I have a million dollars I'm gonna come back here and buy one of everything. That's my first stop as a future rich person. Or at least I really want him." He pointed toward the manta ray. "Can I name him if I can't afford to adopt him? Is he gonna think I'm his dad now? I don't wanna confuse the kid."
He grinned, glancing to catch Milly's reaction to the proceedings. She seemed to be in a better mood than he'd ever seen before. Made sense, he thought. Aurelien had that effect on people. Lion was a good dude, always had his back, always was down to do some crazy probably-bad-idea shit. And yeah, he had a lot of good friends, but he liked spending time with Lion more than most, for a few reasons, at least one of which he didn't really wanna think about at the moment. But that wasn't important, cause he was here now, and he probably knew where the penguins were if they existed? Like, he was smart about shit, sometimes, at least smarter than Dante was, which maybe wasn't a super big compliment, but it was something.
Milly kinda made a face when she first spotted him, one of those faces that went by so fast she probably didn't realize she made it, but it was enough for Dante to realize that he should probably chill on the "ciao" front. She'd changed her tune pretty quick, though, so he guessed he hadn't burned that bridge too badly. He gave her what he hoped was a non-threatening smile cause honestly what he dreaded more than anything was girls like her thinking he was a creep. Well, any girls thinking he was a creep was bad, but Milly had scary friends, and he didn't really do great with confrontation? He quickly looked away from her in case smiling at her for too long was also weird and went back to checking out the gift shop stuff.
Man, there was a lot of stuff. The shark footballs were pretty great. Lion's good taste was not to be underestimated. There were a lot of sharks, including some that were like three feet long, which would probably freak the shit out of his sisters. There were giant turtles, too, and a giant manta ray that Dante wanted immediately but if the palm-sized version was $15 that one must be like $200 easy. And there were penguins! Not giant penguins, but regular sized penguins. Maybe life-sized. Dante didn't know how big penguins were.
Why was he so fixated on penguins? It felt like it was really important but he couldn't get a grip on why.
"So many options, so little time, huh," he mumbled to himself as he looked around before turning back to Aurelien. "When I have a million dollars I'm gonna come back here and buy one of everything. That's my first stop as a future rich person. Or at least I really want him." He pointed toward the manta ray. "Can I name him if I can't afford to adopt him? Is he gonna think I'm his dad now? I don't wanna confuse the kid."
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Aurelien had a look of intense, utter outrage and betrayal on his face.
He could not believe that Dante could suggest he wasn’t ready to be a father. How dare he??? That was just the most outrageous, unbelievable statement! He covered Samantha’s ears, or where he assumed her ears would be if she was anatomically correct, just to make sure she didn’t hear any more of Dante’s hideous lies and slander.
And what about Aurelien gave off the impression he’d be a bad father, exactly? The fact he was completely unprepared for any form of responsibility over another human being? The fact he was constantly getting himself into dangerous situations on purpose? The fact he couldn’t even fry an egg without turning the entire kitchen into a sea of thick black smoke? Or the fact he was still in high school and living with his parents?
Well, none of that mattered to Aurelien! He was gonna take Samantha home, and nothing was going to stop him from looking after his shark daughter and loving and caring for her implicitly.
“Yes, listen to Milly!” Aurelien said, voice stern and face still a mask of outrage. This lasted for all of two seconds before he couldn’t hold it anymore, and he burst out laughing again. “I have already taught Samantha manners, and making sure she doesn’t bite people! I’m going to teach her the alphabet next, and how to play FIFA. That’s what fathers do, right?”
Grinning, Aurelien scooted over to Dante, Samantha still tucked under his arm securely, putting his other hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“I think the real worry is, what if you name them, and then someone else swoops in and takes them first? Your child, right out from under your nose! What would you do? You’ve already formed a bond, you can’t just let him go, but you can’t exactly tell whoever takes them that they’re your child, because… well, because you’d look stupid, let us be honest here.”
Aurelien sighed dramatically, before chuckling and patting Dante’s shoulder.
“Ah, the perils of fatherhood… So, is that why you’re here, then? Are we all here to adopt brand new children today?”
He could not believe that Dante could suggest he wasn’t ready to be a father. How dare he??? That was just the most outrageous, unbelievable statement! He covered Samantha’s ears, or where he assumed her ears would be if she was anatomically correct, just to make sure she didn’t hear any more of Dante’s hideous lies and slander.
And what about Aurelien gave off the impression he’d be a bad father, exactly? The fact he was completely unprepared for any form of responsibility over another human being? The fact he was constantly getting himself into dangerous situations on purpose? The fact he couldn’t even fry an egg without turning the entire kitchen into a sea of thick black smoke? Or the fact he was still in high school and living with his parents?
Well, none of that mattered to Aurelien! He was gonna take Samantha home, and nothing was going to stop him from looking after his shark daughter and loving and caring for her implicitly.
“Yes, listen to Milly!” Aurelien said, voice stern and face still a mask of outrage. This lasted for all of two seconds before he couldn’t hold it anymore, and he burst out laughing again. “I have already taught Samantha manners, and making sure she doesn’t bite people! I’m going to teach her the alphabet next, and how to play FIFA. That’s what fathers do, right?”
Grinning, Aurelien scooted over to Dante, Samantha still tucked under his arm securely, putting his other hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“I think the real worry is, what if you name them, and then someone else swoops in and takes them first? Your child, right out from under your nose! What would you do? You’ve already formed a bond, you can’t just let him go, but you can’t exactly tell whoever takes them that they’re your child, because… well, because you’d look stupid, let us be honest here.”
Aurelien sighed dramatically, before chuckling and patting Dante’s shoulder.
“Ah, the perils of fatherhood… So, is that why you’re here, then? Are we all here to adopt brand new children today?”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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jimmydalad
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:35 pm
It really didn't take long for Milly to become the third wheel. It wasn't entirely unexpected. Dante and Aurelien were good friends. Milly was not. She was the odd duck in the situation and she probably should've had the foresight to realise that something like this was going to happen as soon as Dante entered the scene.
Milly couldn't help feeling a little bitter though. Here she was, having a fun conversation with someone for once and then Dante sweeps in and suddenly she's left out to dry. Maybe she was being a little dramatic, but they completely glossed over her question. Was it done unintentionally? Probably. This wasn't Ivy she was talking about after all. Aurelien was definitely a good guy and Dante was ok when he wasn't being a sleazeball. It wouldn't surprise her. Maybe she should take a chill pill.
Her face formed a small frown as those thoughts went through her head, but she took a second to take a few deep breaths and recenter herself. It was second nature for her by this point in her life to straighten her head in public. Years having been spent with much less morally redeemable people and under the watchful eye of her father helped hone her talents of dealing with sleights and acting like she wasn't offended. That didn't mean she was the type to forgive and forget, at least completely. Each sleight was something she tucked in the back of her head. Mostly, she put those events in her diary once she got home but there were times where she could bring them up in a future conversation to gain an upper hand. She found it more useful than otherwise to keep track of these things, especially with the crowd she was chained to and the games they played.
Milly found herself chuckling along with the pair, doing her best to readjust to the scenario that was occurring and pretending that nothing was wrong. All she had to do was find a time to reinsert herself into the conversation without making it seem like she was trying too hard. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?
It was slightly disappointing, but understandable, to hear that Aurelien was a fan of FIFA. She never could get into those games and didn't really consider them games on the calibre of the type she normally played. Sporting games, in general, were just no-go zones for her due to their content and the type of crowd they tended to attract. Maybe she'd consider playing a sporting game if a cheerleading one came out, but she was certainly not going to be holding her breath for that lapse of judgment.
She found it slightly difficult to keep up with the track of the conversation considering Aurelien's eccentricities, but the general gist of it seemed to be that he was really attached to the ball called Samantha. Then there was a manta that Dante had his eye on? There were talks of fathers going around that Milly found cute, if not at least a little bit odd.
Aurelien's question, while posed to Dante, was the opportunity for her to get back into the conversation. Or at least make a contribution so that she wasn't just standing there while Dante and Aurelien did their thing. At least part of the statement included her, so she was depending on that to help cushion the intrusion and make it seem less of a social faux pas. As she thought of a response, something came to her mind. Her roguish grin emerged.
"I mean, I didn't think coming in I was going to adopt any new children," she began, using the part of the topic that included her to begin her train of thought before getting to the meat of her statement. "However... Dante, if you don't think that Aurelien is ready to be a father on his own, maybe you should be Samantha's father as well? I mean, you said yourself that you couldn't afford to adopt the manta, so this is your perfect opportunity to be a father. With Aurelien. You two are good friends, riiiiight? It's not like a child having two fathers is odd in society nowadays. Plus, it'd be totally cute!"
Milly giggled to herself as she waited. She played that conversation with her usual tactics. Hanging on the however; lingering on each of the syllables to play herself off to be friendly and playful. Leaning into the dumb blonde stereotype to help carry herself off as well-meaning and harmless instead of malicious. Her eyes flitted between the pair and she made sure that she adopted more open mannerisms to pull off the perky persona that she was trying to put out to them. She knew it was a bit of a risky path to take the conversation down considering she was trying to get into their good graces, but she couldn't help it.
She wanted to see their reactions. She hoped she got a reaction. She knew that Aurelien was gay and that Dante was attractive. Maybe that was enough for that innocuous statement of hers to get something out of them. Or at the very least Aurelien. Then again, Aurelien was a little bit kooky and they were good friends. They probably could go down that angle.
At the very least, the bait was set and now she waited to see if they fell into her little trap. If it did get a big reaction out of them, she could consider it as payback for before.
Milly couldn't help feeling a little bitter though. Here she was, having a fun conversation with someone for once and then Dante sweeps in and suddenly she's left out to dry. Maybe she was being a little dramatic, but they completely glossed over her question. Was it done unintentionally? Probably. This wasn't Ivy she was talking about after all. Aurelien was definitely a good guy and Dante was ok when he wasn't being a sleazeball. It wouldn't surprise her. Maybe she should take a chill pill.
Her face formed a small frown as those thoughts went through her head, but she took a second to take a few deep breaths and recenter herself. It was second nature for her by this point in her life to straighten her head in public. Years having been spent with much less morally redeemable people and under the watchful eye of her father helped hone her talents of dealing with sleights and acting like she wasn't offended. That didn't mean she was the type to forgive and forget, at least completely. Each sleight was something she tucked in the back of her head. Mostly, she put those events in her diary once she got home but there were times where she could bring them up in a future conversation to gain an upper hand. She found it more useful than otherwise to keep track of these things, especially with the crowd she was chained to and the games they played.
Milly found herself chuckling along with the pair, doing her best to readjust to the scenario that was occurring and pretending that nothing was wrong. All she had to do was find a time to reinsert herself into the conversation without making it seem like she was trying too hard. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?
It was slightly disappointing, but understandable, to hear that Aurelien was a fan of FIFA. She never could get into those games and didn't really consider them games on the calibre of the type she normally played. Sporting games, in general, were just no-go zones for her due to their content and the type of crowd they tended to attract. Maybe she'd consider playing a sporting game if a cheerleading one came out, but she was certainly not going to be holding her breath for that lapse of judgment.
She found it slightly difficult to keep up with the track of the conversation considering Aurelien's eccentricities, but the general gist of it seemed to be that he was really attached to the ball called Samantha. Then there was a manta that Dante had his eye on? There were talks of fathers going around that Milly found cute, if not at least a little bit odd.
Aurelien's question, while posed to Dante, was the opportunity for her to get back into the conversation. Or at least make a contribution so that she wasn't just standing there while Dante and Aurelien did their thing. At least part of the statement included her, so she was depending on that to help cushion the intrusion and make it seem less of a social faux pas. As she thought of a response, something came to her mind. Her roguish grin emerged.
"I mean, I didn't think coming in I was going to adopt any new children," she began, using the part of the topic that included her to begin her train of thought before getting to the meat of her statement. "However... Dante, if you don't think that Aurelien is ready to be a father on his own, maybe you should be Samantha's father as well? I mean, you said yourself that you couldn't afford to adopt the manta, so this is your perfect opportunity to be a father. With Aurelien. You two are good friends, riiiiight? It's not like a child having two fathers is odd in society nowadays. Plus, it'd be totally cute!"
Milly giggled to herself as she waited. She played that conversation with her usual tactics. Hanging on the however; lingering on each of the syllables to play herself off to be friendly and playful. Leaning into the dumb blonde stereotype to help carry herself off as well-meaning and harmless instead of malicious. Her eyes flitted between the pair and she made sure that she adopted more open mannerisms to pull off the perky persona that she was trying to put out to them. She knew it was a bit of a risky path to take the conversation down considering she was trying to get into their good graces, but she couldn't help it.
She wanted to see their reactions. She hoped she got a reaction. She knew that Aurelien was gay and that Dante was attractive. Maybe that was enough for that innocuous statement of hers to get something out of them. Or at the very least Aurelien. Then again, Aurelien was a little bit kooky and they were good friends. They probably could go down that angle.
At the very least, the bait was set and now she waited to see if they fell into her little trap. If it did get a big reaction out of them, she could consider it as payback for before.
Dante tried to keep a straight face at Lion's dramatic outburst, but he couldn't hold out for more than a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Lion was a good dude. If you wanted a gym buddy who wouldn't take things too seriously, or someone who would laugh his ass off with you when you bailed on an easy skate trick but wouldn't make fun of you when you got frustrated with yourself, or someone who would raise his hand and volunteer to jump in a shopping cart before you pushed it down a hill, there wasn't anyone better. He was also an affectionate dude, which maybe was just a gay guy thing? Would that be weird to ask? They were cool enough that he could probably just ask, but he wouldn't. It was just an Aurelien thing, and it never really bugged him.
It was weird, then, how he tensed up when Lion's hand touched his shoulder like he had a million times before. He didn't move away, though, just scratched the back of his neck, distracted for a moment long enough to not catch the first few words that came out of Milly's mouth.
"Huh?"
Wait, now he'd lost track of the whole conversation. Stuff just kinda went into Dante's brain and then poofed out of existence sometimes. Had they been talking about parenting? Okay, yeah, like, that was the joke, with the stuffed animals, and stuff, right. He remembered, sort of. And Milly was saying they should maybe parent a stuffed animal together? He frowned a little. That seemed complicated. Like on one hand, they could buy a way bigger thing if they bought it together? But then they'd have to share it, and they didn't actually live in the same place, and also he was actually here to buy something for his sisters, not himself, so he wasn't really the father-to-be here. That manta ray was super tempting, though. Maybe they could go halfsies on that if it wasn't actually $200. And they could trade off with Samantha, too. It'd totally work. Milly had stumbled onto a great idea.
Actually this was all really stupid, but it was kinda funny, so he was gonna roll with it.
"The lady makes a great point, Lion. Kids gotta have at least one responsible parent, yeah? Even shark football kids. And I'm totally responsible." He was already grinning. Hard to keep a straight face when you're bullshitting this hard. "I'm like, a role model, or whatever. So you get to be like, the cool dad. Unless you wanna give me cool dad responsibilities, I'm chill with it either way."
He scratched the back of his neck again. He felt a little embarrassed, suddenly, but he couldn't really work out why.
It was weird, then, how he tensed up when Lion's hand touched his shoulder like he had a million times before. He didn't move away, though, just scratched the back of his neck, distracted for a moment long enough to not catch the first few words that came out of Milly's mouth.
"Huh?"
Wait, now he'd lost track of the whole conversation. Stuff just kinda went into Dante's brain and then poofed out of existence sometimes. Had they been talking about parenting? Okay, yeah, like, that was the joke, with the stuffed animals, and stuff, right. He remembered, sort of. And Milly was saying they should maybe parent a stuffed animal together? He frowned a little. That seemed complicated. Like on one hand, they could buy a way bigger thing if they bought it together? But then they'd have to share it, and they didn't actually live in the same place, and also he was actually here to buy something for his sisters, not himself, so he wasn't really the father-to-be here. That manta ray was super tempting, though. Maybe they could go halfsies on that if it wasn't actually $200. And they could trade off with Samantha, too. It'd totally work. Milly had stumbled onto a great idea.
Actually this was all really stupid, but it was kinda funny, so he was gonna roll with it.
"The lady makes a great point, Lion. Kids gotta have at least one responsible parent, yeah? Even shark football kids. And I'm totally responsible." He was already grinning. Hard to keep a straight face when you're bullshitting this hard. "I'm like, a role model, or whatever. So you get to be like, the cool dad. Unless you wanna give me cool dad responsibilities, I'm chill with it either way."
He scratched the back of his neck again. He felt a little embarrassed, suddenly, but he couldn't really work out why.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Well this was getting interesting. And unexpected. But mostly interesting.
Both of Aurelien’s eyebrows were raised at Milly’s suggestion. It was… logical, really, so long as you ignored the fact that Samantha was a totally inanimate object. A child deserved a happy household with two parents, after all. But… Well, Aurelien didn’t exactly hide the fact he was gay. In fact, unless you were totally blind and deaf, it was probably impossible not to know, and even then…
Maybe Milly was just playing along, going with the flow of Dante and Aurelien and their brand-new nautical children. Maybe she really was trying to play matchmaker. And maybe Aurelien would have been much less receptive to this if Milly had been acting more like he expected the Wyatt and Ivy crowd to be like. Bigoted and loud and as unafraid to hide it as Aurelien was of his sexuality. But instead, he felt at ease around Milly, comfortable to be laughing and joking around with her, happy to have her included.
And, after all, Dante was really cute. Like, holy crap. The guy ticked every single one of his boxes. As far as Aurelien knew, Dante was straight, but hey, he was willing to give it the old college try. If Dante wasn’t interested, then he’d back off, no problem.
“Hey, why can’t we both be the cool dad? We are raising a shark, after all. I think she’d be much happier in a cool household through and through. Just so long as we make sure she’s eating her veggies, and- wait, hang on, she’s a shark, she won’t need to eat her greens…”
Aurelien chuckled to himself, using his free hand to scratch his chin.
“Alright, well, if we both make sure she goes to school and does her homework every night when she gets home, then you can make her pancakes on the weekends and I can let her stay up and watch movies with us when she wants to.”
He slipped his arm around Dante’s shoulders and gave him a broad grin and a wink.
“What do you say, babe? Shall we adopt?”
Both of Aurelien’s eyebrows were raised at Milly’s suggestion. It was… logical, really, so long as you ignored the fact that Samantha was a totally inanimate object. A child deserved a happy household with two parents, after all. But… Well, Aurelien didn’t exactly hide the fact he was gay. In fact, unless you were totally blind and deaf, it was probably impossible not to know, and even then…
Maybe Milly was just playing along, going with the flow of Dante and Aurelien and their brand-new nautical children. Maybe she really was trying to play matchmaker. And maybe Aurelien would have been much less receptive to this if Milly had been acting more like he expected the Wyatt and Ivy crowd to be like. Bigoted and loud and as unafraid to hide it as Aurelien was of his sexuality. But instead, he felt at ease around Milly, comfortable to be laughing and joking around with her, happy to have her included.
And, after all, Dante was really cute. Like, holy crap. The guy ticked every single one of his boxes. As far as Aurelien knew, Dante was straight, but hey, he was willing to give it the old college try. If Dante wasn’t interested, then he’d back off, no problem.
“Hey, why can’t we both be the cool dad? We are raising a shark, after all. I think she’d be much happier in a cool household through and through. Just so long as we make sure she’s eating her veggies, and- wait, hang on, she’s a shark, she won’t need to eat her greens…”
Aurelien chuckled to himself, using his free hand to scratch his chin.
“Alright, well, if we both make sure she goes to school and does her homework every night when she gets home, then you can make her pancakes on the weekends and I can let her stay up and watch movies with us when she wants to.”
He slipped his arm around Dante’s shoulders and gave him a broad grin and a wink.
“What do you say, babe? Shall we adopt?”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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jimmydalad
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:35 pm
Milly fiddled playfully with her hair, waiting for something to happen. And she waited. And waited.
They were... going along with it? No immediate dismissals or exaggerated responses? Milly was disappointed. There wasn't even any hint of romantic tension between the two. How boring. Milly kept on smiling but worked hard to hold back the scowl that was trying its best to break the carefree, ditzy facade.
Well, she guessed it was sorta cute. Having two guys being parents for a ball that vaguely resembles a shark. It was definitely stupid, don't get her wrong. Yet, it was certainly nicer and more comforting than anything her usual group of friends could come up with. If she was going to go ahead with her original innocent intentions of being friends with Aurelien, she should be 100% supportive of this, even if she thought they were sort of taking the joke a bit far to the point of it losing most of its original charm.
Then again, that was dull. Even though she hated their guts, at least she could eek out enjoyment through messing with her normal group. Like Faith was incredibly fun to mess with. It wasn't really that hard either and there were multiple ways of doing so. When alone with her, she could throw an innocuous phrase about her being fuckfriends with Wyatt or some other guy's girlfriend. With others, she would play the supportive friend who's totally there for her but at the same time maybe she shouldn't be doing this and that or the other. Either way, Faith was such an expressive person that seeing how she could consistently get under her skin never got old. She was an old reliable, in that sense.
It was the same with the others. Once Milly found the buttons, she worked to find the best ways to press them and how often, if ever, she should. She learned quickly that it really wasn't worth dredging up anything for Ivy. She took things to a whole other level that she really didn't want to get into and had a stick so far up her butt that it threatened to escape her mouth. She could get away with messing with Faith a lot, on the other hand, cause she never snapped back in a group setting. In essence, it was like a game to Milly, trying to work out how the fucked up social circle she was in worked, how to push buttons and make things interesting. It definitely helped her stomach dealing with them for long periods of time.
She wasn't going to be getting any of that from the likes of Aurelien and Dante, who were more than happy to go along with the things she suggested and making fun of themselves. While for making actual friends that were more what Milly wanted to be around, it didn't really make for the entertainment she normally enjoyed. Still, she smiled and nodded along as the two joked with each other. Their casualness was a nice reprieve from the drama-filled nightmare that could be her usual life. It was nice and cute. That still left her the odd one out, again. Though she could admit this time it was a bit more self-inflicted.
Milly continued to play with her hair as Aurelien put his arm around Dante. Ok, that was a really cute image. As she watched, an idea came to her. There was a way she could definitely leverage this for her own enjoyment for the long run. Her eyes glittered as a wide smile stretched accross her face.
"Oh my god! Do it! Do it! It'd totally be, like, adorable!" Milly exclaimed excitedly, bouncing towards them in a practiced manner. "And you know what, like, you should totally, like, bring it to school! Everyone would love it and would think it'd be, like, super cute and shit."
At this point, she let out a elated squee as her eyes drifted between Dante and Aurelien. God, she hoped they continued to play along. While most people probably would think it was cute because they aren't, like, totally irredeemable assholes, she knew that there'd be definitely at least one person in her circle who would think it was stupid or that they were being "queers" or some other offensive term that she really didn't gel with and would totally lose their minds. Ok, maybe she was overexaggerating the possible response, but she never put anything past the people she associated with. Maybe some stupid gossip would spread as well. It was all so exciting. Then again, all of this hinged on them going with the flow and so far, they had. What was going to stop them now?
They were... going along with it? No immediate dismissals or exaggerated responses? Milly was disappointed. There wasn't even any hint of romantic tension between the two. How boring. Milly kept on smiling but worked hard to hold back the scowl that was trying its best to break the carefree, ditzy facade.
Well, she guessed it was sorta cute. Having two guys being parents for a ball that vaguely resembles a shark. It was definitely stupid, don't get her wrong. Yet, it was certainly nicer and more comforting than anything her usual group of friends could come up with. If she was going to go ahead with her original innocent intentions of being friends with Aurelien, she should be 100% supportive of this, even if she thought they were sort of taking the joke a bit far to the point of it losing most of its original charm.
Then again, that was dull. Even though she hated their guts, at least she could eek out enjoyment through messing with her normal group. Like Faith was incredibly fun to mess with. It wasn't really that hard either and there were multiple ways of doing so. When alone with her, she could throw an innocuous phrase about her being fuckfriends with Wyatt or some other guy's girlfriend. With others, she would play the supportive friend who's totally there for her but at the same time maybe she shouldn't be doing this and that or the other. Either way, Faith was such an expressive person that seeing how she could consistently get under her skin never got old. She was an old reliable, in that sense.
It was the same with the others. Once Milly found the buttons, she worked to find the best ways to press them and how often, if ever, she should. She learned quickly that it really wasn't worth dredging up anything for Ivy. She took things to a whole other level that she really didn't want to get into and had a stick so far up her butt that it threatened to escape her mouth. She could get away with messing with Faith a lot, on the other hand, cause she never snapped back in a group setting. In essence, it was like a game to Milly, trying to work out how the fucked up social circle she was in worked, how to push buttons and make things interesting. It definitely helped her stomach dealing with them for long periods of time.
She wasn't going to be getting any of that from the likes of Aurelien and Dante, who were more than happy to go along with the things she suggested and making fun of themselves. While for making actual friends that were more what Milly wanted to be around, it didn't really make for the entertainment she normally enjoyed. Still, she smiled and nodded along as the two joked with each other. Their casualness was a nice reprieve from the drama-filled nightmare that could be her usual life. It was nice and cute. That still left her the odd one out, again. Though she could admit this time it was a bit more self-inflicted.
Milly continued to play with her hair as Aurelien put his arm around Dante. Ok, that was a really cute image. As she watched, an idea came to her. There was a way she could definitely leverage this for her own enjoyment for the long run. Her eyes glittered as a wide smile stretched accross her face.
"Oh my god! Do it! Do it! It'd totally be, like, adorable!" Milly exclaimed excitedly, bouncing towards them in a practiced manner. "And you know what, like, you should totally, like, bring it to school! Everyone would love it and would think it'd be, like, super cute and shit."
At this point, she let out a elated squee as her eyes drifted between Dante and Aurelien. God, she hoped they continued to play along. While most people probably would think it was cute because they aren't, like, totally irredeemable assholes, she knew that there'd be definitely at least one person in her circle who would think it was stupid or that they were being "queers" or some other offensive term that she really didn't gel with and would totally lose their minds. Ok, maybe she was overexaggerating the possible response, but she never put anything past the people she associated with. Maybe some stupid gossip would spread as well. It was all so exciting. Then again, all of this hinged on them going with the flow and so far, they had. What was going to stop them now?
Dante gave Milly a blank look. She was really, really excited about this, wasn't she? Huh. He was kind of lost, which was a feeling Dante felt a lot, which kinda made him less lost, which didn't really make any sense. He wondered if maybe she was making fun of him, somehow, but he felt guilty even considering the possibility. Milly was being nice. He'd been real worried about upsetting her, and he hadn't, and things were going well, and he should probably just, like, roll with that? Jeez, he felt like his mind was totally elsewhere. He still had to buy something, and maybe figure out where the penguins were since he was fairly certain again that there actually were penguins, and then figure out why he was looking for penguins to begin with, and then also there was Aurelien, and, uh.
Aurelien was standing real, real close all of a sudden. Also like, touching close? Which was very close. Pretty much as close as it was possible to be, actually. That was weird.
A shiver ran down Dante's spine. That was really weird.
He started but didn't move away, because that would be too weird, probably. He'd felt a little embarrassed since Milly brought the whole silly adoption thing up but suddenly his face was burning. Kinda hard to see with his complexion. What was he getting all worked up about, anyway? This was just what Lion was like. He was an affectionate dude. Dante liked that about him, along with pretty much everything else about him. He opened his mouth to speak, but words didn't seem to be happening. His hand moved unconsciously to his chest, toying nervously with his rosary ring.
Suddenly, a loudspeaker crackled to life.
Attention, Riverbank Aquarium patrons. We have a lost little girl here at the lost and found station named Beatrice, who says she came here today with her brother. If you are her brother, please come to the lost and found station near the penguin tanks right away. Thank you.
There was a long and awkward pause that he spent gaping at the loudspeaker.
"Oh SHIT."
And then he was off like a light, everything else forgotten, including and especially how he had no fucking idea where the penguin tanks were.
>> Dante Valerio continued in Got No Heart to Break
Aurelien was standing real, real close all of a sudden. Also like, touching close? Which was very close. Pretty much as close as it was possible to be, actually. That was weird.
A shiver ran down Dante's spine. That was really weird.
He started but didn't move away, because that would be too weird, probably. He'd felt a little embarrassed since Milly brought the whole silly adoption thing up but suddenly his face was burning. Kinda hard to see with his complexion. What was he getting all worked up about, anyway? This was just what Lion was like. He was an affectionate dude. Dante liked that about him, along with pretty much everything else about him. He opened his mouth to speak, but words didn't seem to be happening. His hand moved unconsciously to his chest, toying nervously with his rosary ring.
Suddenly, a loudspeaker crackled to life.
Attention, Riverbank Aquarium patrons. We have a lost little girl here at the lost and found station named Beatrice, who says she came here today with her brother. If you are her brother, please come to the lost and found station near the penguin tanks right away. Thank you.
There was a long and awkward pause that he spent gaping at the loudspeaker.
"Oh SHIT."
And then he was off like a light, everything else forgotten, including and especially how he had no fucking idea where the penguin tanks were.
>> Dante Valerio continued in Got No Heart to Break
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Well. Um. That was that, he supposed.
Aurelien’s arm had still been draped around Dante’s shoulders when the aquarium’s tannoy system had crackled into life. Even before the voice had finished speaking, he thought the events being described sounded familiar. Dante had a younger sister, right? He hadn’t actually mentioned what he was doing here (but Aurelien knew he was to blame for distracting the guy on that front) or what his sister’s name was, but going to see the penguins with your sister sounded like the sorta wholesome thing Dante would do.
He turned to look at Dante once the announcement had finished, but the boy had already run off, leaving Aurelien’s arm hanging in the air for a couple of seconds like it was on one of those old Roadrunner cartoons. He watched Dante’s rapidly retreating figure, acutely aware of the disappointed pang he could feel in his heart.
“Aww, boo.”
Aurelien sighed softly, then shifted his smile back onto his face as he turned to look at Milly. He ran his hand through his hair at the back, scratching the back of his head, grin sheepish and eyes closed.
“Well, uh, I guess that means we won’t be adopting any time soon, huh?”
He ran his hand down to his chin, gently scratching it with his thumb, wincing slightly as it trailed over an old shaving scar that hadn’t quite healed up yet.
“He’s very cute, though, isn’t he?” Aurelien murmured, almost more for himself than for Milly. “I’m very certain I don’t stand a chance, for, like, a whole bunch of reasons, but still. A man can dream.”
Dante was famous, infamous if you were feeling unkind, for flirting with quite literally every single girl in the year. The man liked girls, and that was probably the end of that story. There were other fish in the sea, sure, but it was an awfully big sea with awfully few fish like him, and as fun as this encounter had been, Aurelien couldn’t shake the bittersweet taste now left in his mouth.
“Well, anyway, I should be making tracks too. Gotta let Samantha see her new home, you see! I’ll bring her into school next week, make sure Dante sees exactly what he was missing out on!”
He laughed, and waved at Milly, and wandered over to the counter to purchase his new child. As you did.
((Aurelien Valter, continued in Got No Heart to Break))
Aurelien’s arm had still been draped around Dante’s shoulders when the aquarium’s tannoy system had crackled into life. Even before the voice had finished speaking, he thought the events being described sounded familiar. Dante had a younger sister, right? He hadn’t actually mentioned what he was doing here (but Aurelien knew he was to blame for distracting the guy on that front) or what his sister’s name was, but going to see the penguins with your sister sounded like the sorta wholesome thing Dante would do.
He turned to look at Dante once the announcement had finished, but the boy had already run off, leaving Aurelien’s arm hanging in the air for a couple of seconds like it was on one of those old Roadrunner cartoons. He watched Dante’s rapidly retreating figure, acutely aware of the disappointed pang he could feel in his heart.
“Aww, boo.”
Aurelien sighed softly, then shifted his smile back onto his face as he turned to look at Milly. He ran his hand through his hair at the back, scratching the back of his head, grin sheepish and eyes closed.
“Well, uh, I guess that means we won’t be adopting any time soon, huh?”
He ran his hand down to his chin, gently scratching it with his thumb, wincing slightly as it trailed over an old shaving scar that hadn’t quite healed up yet.
“He’s very cute, though, isn’t he?” Aurelien murmured, almost more for himself than for Milly. “I’m very certain I don’t stand a chance, for, like, a whole bunch of reasons, but still. A man can dream.”
Dante was famous, infamous if you were feeling unkind, for flirting with quite literally every single girl in the year. The man liked girls, and that was probably the end of that story. There were other fish in the sea, sure, but it was an awfully big sea with awfully few fish like him, and as fun as this encounter had been, Aurelien couldn’t shake the bittersweet taste now left in his mouth.
“Well, anyway, I should be making tracks too. Gotta let Samantha see her new home, you see! I’ll bring her into school next week, make sure Dante sees exactly what he was missing out on!”
He laughed, and waved at Milly, and wandered over to the counter to purchase his new child. As you did.
((Aurelien Valter, continued in Got No Heart to Break))
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017