A Traveling Carnival Currently Set Up Somewhere In Virginia, Wednesday Afternoon

[firstofitskind]

The other day, Liam had offhandedly mentioned to Verity that he'd tried funnel cake, and been unimpressed with it. He had not been prepared for the outraged grumbling that had followed that pronouncement. Or the vaguely ominous declaration that this needed to be 'fixed'.

Come Wednesday afternoon, she'd told him that they had a portal booked to the mainland and to bring cash. Actual physical cash, not just a credit card. Curious, he'd pressed her for details, but all she'd say was just "You'll see when we get there."

'There' was apparently a traveling carnival, complete with rides, midway games... and, of course, food stands.

"Is this the one you threatened to ground Hayley from for the summer?" he asked, curious.

[ooc: for the wife!]

Comments

[firstofitskind]

Yeah, well. Maybe he wasn't having an easy time finding those words, considering... "For the first time." He reminded her. "This is new. And it's not- it's not exactly going how I'd thought it would."

[arboreal_priestess]

"They'd welcome you with open arms and it would be all hugs and acceptance from the get-go?" Verity asked, tilting her head.

[firstofitskind]

"Not exactly," he said, frowning at her. "But maybe a little less like I'm constantly on the verge of saying or doing something wrong."

[arboreal_priestess]

"What was your mom's family like?" Verity asked. Knowing he'd never been told, but also knowing that he could look.

[firstofitskind]

“Now they were very much the hugs and acceptance type,” Liam said, after a pause where he did indeed look for that information.

He’d even entertained the idea of looking up Beckett’s mother- his grandmother, once upon a time. Only... what would he say? How would he explain who he was? What he was?

[arboreal_priestess]

"Were any of them involved with the Resistance?" Verity asked. "Besides Beckett, I mean."

[firstofitskind]

"It's possible," Liam shrugged. "I never had much contact with anyone outside the North American movement. But I doubt it; her parents supported her decision to become a Companion-Protector."

They, like Siobhan Beckett herself, had believed the Taelons to be the key to a better future.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity nodded, thoughtful. And then- "Oh! The funnel cake booth!"

Sorry. Distracted. Because funnel cake. She grabbed his hand, pulling him along.

[firstofitskind]

“I- what- ... okay?” Liam blinked rapidly, obligingly letting himself be dragged.

[arboreal_priestess]

Look, they were at the carnival for fun and delicious food. Liam's issues with her family were neither and also not fixable by anything but time.

Also, Verity hadn't realized how hungry she was until the scent of funnel cake hit her nose. And now she was starving.

"Two funnel cakes please!" Lucky for them, the line was non-existent at this time of day and the carnie was able to hand over two, piping hot funnel-cakes, crispy and golden and smelling like heaven. "Conversation on pause, funnel cake tasting now," she announced, handing it over.

Paused, not over. Obviously not. But you couldn't enjoy funnel cake while brooding over family angst.

[firstofitskind]

Yeah, except somehow the food part had slipped Liam’s mind entirely, because he was staring down at the funnel cake, expression still pretty damn confused.

“Verity...” he said slowly. “I’ve already tried one of these, remember?”

(Though he had to admit this one did smell way better.)

[arboreal_priestess]

"No," Verity corrected. "You tried a travesty that called itself a funnel cake, probably in order to insult me personally. We're here--" She gestured at the carnival "--in order to fix the damage it has done to your perception of carnie food."

[firstofitskind]

“I thought we were here so you could win me a friend for the jackalope,” Liam countered, nodding towards the midway games.

[arboreal_priestess]

"We can be here for two things," Verity decided. "Now eat your funnel cake before it cools."

She was already getting out her phone to take some pictures of his face.

[firstofitskind]

Liam eyed her phone a little suspiciously, and then just shook his head and sighed.

“Fine, but I really don’t see what the big deal is,” he grumbled as he took a bite.

“...Oh.”

[arboreal_priestess]

Even the shutter noise from her phone's camera sounded smug.

[firstofitskind]

“That is better,” he conceded. And took another bite, yes.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Told ya," Verity said, setting her phone down so she could devour hers. "I don't know what you actually had on the boardwalk, but it wasn't funnel cake."

[firstofitskind]

“Not like I knew any better,” Liam pointed out with a bit of a smile, still working on his.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Which is why I took it upon myself as your wife to instruct you in proper funnel cakes," Verity told him, sounding prim. "I couldn't allow the father of my future children to labor on in such ignorance any longer."

Would you look at that? Not even a stutter when mentioning that whole 'future children' thing.

[firstofitskind]

“No, no, of course not,” Liam beamed back at her over the last few bites of his own funnel cake. “What if those future children,” and don’t think he didn’t notice that lack of stutter there, Verity, “ended up with the wrong idea about funnel cakes?”

[arboreal_priestess]

"I would know it was your fault and have to take appropriate correctional steps," Verity declared. "So it's much better to fix this now, before there are innocent minds that could be molded wrong."

[firstofitskind]

“Indeed,” Liam nodded, using his thumb to swipe a bit of sugar from the corner of Verity’s mouth. “Especially since...” he trailed off, expression- well, ‘sobering’ wasn’t quite the right word, but there was a change nonetheless.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Especially since?" Verity prompted, brows contracting together at this change.

[firstofitskind]

"Well. Who knows when one of those 'innocent minds' might be around to stay?" Liam said softly.

Adoption in and of itself wasn't all that unusual a process of becoming a parent. But he was pretty sure that searching for a specific child in particular was.