It's Christmas!

[alderwood]

Characters: Baby turtles and you!
Date: December 25/26/27!
Location: All over Keeliai!
Situation: The baby turtles are hatching, and Christmas spirit comes with them!
Warnings/Rating: Please include warnings in comment subject lines, otherwise have at!

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/takes a latte

[parallels]

[She winces and takes his hand and gets gingerly to her feet before giving him a smile. Everything is going to be bruised tomorrow. The turtle bumps at her back again and she nearly topples over again but grabs Scott for support.]

Day one of being a mum involving pain and bruising? Seems accurate. [Then she smiles up at him.] Happy Christmas Scott.

[langsyne]

Considering that bruising and pain usually starts before actual day one, I think you got off lucky.

[Not that he would know. He's very thankful he's never had - and will never have to - experience the agony of childbirth and motherhood. At the turtle bump he does his best to hold steady; topping over and getting snow down his shirt is not high on his priority list.]

Merry Christmas to you too. [Hey, speaking of Christmas--] I have a thing for you but it's kind of sitting on my kitchen table so I'll drop by later with it.

[parallels]

Hey, be gentle.

[She apologizes to Scott and then turns to the turtle and speaks with a firm tone. It blinks at her and then gently nuzzles her chest.]

And that's true. Still have a few years to go before that. [She steps back so she's no longer using him as her support stick and beams up at him.] Funny yours is still back at the bakery. But you really didn't have to.

[langsyne]

[Scott just shrugs.]

Yeah, I know, but I saw it and I liked it and I thought maybe you would too.

[It had been something of a whim and it's not as though his gift is the most thoughtful thing in the world but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? But! What is this gift she's talking about...]

Is my gift made of chocolate and easily cut into slices?

[He's kidding. Mostly. He wouldn't ever say no to baked goods.]

[parallels]

That might be part of it.

[Okay, it's a lot of it. But Clara did have a feeling he was a guy who couldn't say no to baked goods. Then her smile changes, from a grin to one that's a little more shy.]

Thank you. You... didn't have to get me anything. You already doted on me when I was ill.

[langsyne]

[The only thing he likes more than baked goods are things that are deep-fried and terrible for his arteries.

Scott really isn't expecting Clara's somewhat shy reaction; his eyebrows pull down in puzzlement and he takes a step back, almost as if to lecture her.]

You know what else I didn't have to do? I didn't have to stop and say hi when I saw you. But I did and you know why? Because for some weird reason I absolutely can't understand [and here his inflection changes to show that he's completely not serious about that] I think you're a pretty great person and I like you.

[--Er.]

As a friend and possibly surrogate daughter-niece figure and definitely not as a creepy old man. [Here he softens.] So don't worry about it. Besides, I'm a dad, I dote. It's what I do.

[parallels]

[She snorts a little at teasing and runs her fingers through her hair. His attitude is infectious and always manages to put her at ease and make her smile.]

Point taken. Though, I'd argue that you came over because I'm pretty brilliant. And I also think you're pretty brilliant. Must be some sort of connection.

[Then she gives him another smile. It's so funny. He reminds her so much of her own father that for a minute she's hit with the realization about how much she misses him and how terrible she'd been at phoning and visiting since she moved to London.]

And I could use a possible surrogate father-uncle figure here, sometimes. Gets a bit... lonely. And quiet without any lectures or overly concerned voicemails.

[langsyne]

[At 'brilliance' he lifts his hands and spreads them in a very 'you caught me' type shrug.]

Must be. But the fact that you're brilliant is pretty brilliant, and I'm glad I was brilliant enough to catch onto your brilliantly brilliant brilliance.

[Is that too many 'brilliants'? Probably, but he's past the point of caring.

His face softens as she keeps speaking, because he's been there, done that. Not necessary specifically lacking a father figure - he hasn't talked to his own dad in ages and ages - but being extremely accustomed to having family around and then suddenly having to do without. It's good to know he's not alone in this, and the information cheers him up.]

Well, if it's lectures and overly concerned voicemails you're missing, then it's overly concerned voicemails and lectures you'll get. I hope you've cleared out your console mailbox storage recently, otherwise

[aka, he might just start spamming her inbox for no good reason.]

[parallels]

It's a black hole of brilliance.

[She sniffles a little, and not just because of the cold, and hiccups a little as she suppresses her emotions. It would be simply embarrassing to cry at a time like this. So she swallows and steps forward to wrap her arms around Scott's middle and lean her head against his chest. There's something about him that just makes her feel like a little girl. Must be the dad thing he mentioned.]

I clean it out every week so plenty of room for lectures and concerned voicemails. I'll listen to a few and then delete the rest as I should. Then come visit and make tea and dinner.