Where Drill Sergeant Delallo Meets Sin's Mom... Who: Isabella and Rebecca Where: Avarice (at some point duringthis evening) When: Monday, March 8th
Well, the music was certainly loud, she had to admit that. Not bad at all, just... very LOUD. Rebecca was certainly a little more 'hip' than a lot of the moms, at least musically (not in many other ways, she'd be the first to admit), and she had to admit: she looked good tonight. Even though Sin had initially told her 'Come in with me, let me get my drink and CD coupons, and go hide somewhere', she'd actually come over to talk to her a few times, even in full view of her friends. Imagine that. She grinned, sitting at a small table by herself, watching her daughter basically dance like a spazzy little crackhead. Wearing a classy but sexy black spaghetti-strap skirt and matching pumps, she felt good about herself, like she'd fit in here even if it wasn't some silly stunt to get the kids to bring their parents.
Isabella didn't have children, she wanted them, sure… but she never seemed to get around to it. Never seemed to find the right person, or just… fell in love with the wrong people. She actually pouted when she realised what she'd walked into but that wasn't about to stop her from ordering a beer at the bar, since that's exactly why she was here. She wasn't the type to dress up when she went out, so she was wearing her usual jeans, tank-top and leather jacket. Although, she did let her hair fall over her shoulders, it had a few curls and framed her strong but beautiful face perfectly. She scanned the crowd out of habit.
Rebecca found herself slightly distracted from watching Sin do her little dance when she saw Isabella enter. Wow. She tried not to give that goofily sweet grin she typically gave, as come on: despite her happy-go-lucky attitude here, she was going more for sexy than cute.
It took a little while (since there was a large crowd) for Isabella's blue eyes to find Rebecca and when she did, something in her faltered. She smiled. Something she hadn't done since... well, it was best not to think about that.
The blonde felt herself blush when she caught Isabella checking her out. God, she hadn't flirted or been flirted WITH in several years. Most of her time was spent working from home, raising Cynthia, and just trying to make ends meet. Since she really never dated since Cynthia was old enough to notice, she'd never had to explain her... preferences to her daughter, luckily. All those thoughts went to the wayside though, as she got up the courage to flash that easygoing smile of hers and give a cute little finger-wave.
Now, wasn't that just the cutest thing? Isabella ran a hand across her jaw thoughtfully, since… well; this was clearly time to reflect on her situation. Did she really want to try something with someone else so soon? Did she... even care, at this point? She smiled again and indicated toward her beer, silently asking if Rebecca wanted one.
Well! That little blush creeped back up there. Rebecca really didn't drink much. Maybe on holidays. But that was it! Really! Plus? She really didn't want to be drinking in front of her daughter. She knew she was walking a fine line as it was, in terms of being an embarrassment. No need to get sloshed, right? She pointed at the empty water bottle sitting in front of her and clasped her hands together cutely as if to say 'pleeeease?'
Isabella actually grinned then, since she could appreciate a person wanting to be sober. And hey! At least she asked, right? At least… silently, heh. She bought a bottle of water for the blonde and made her way over, setting the plastic bottle in front of her. "Hi," she said, her English accent barely noticeable amongst the noise of the club.
"Hi..." The blonde said with a shy smile as she watched the dance floor again for a minute. "Here for the parent/child awkwardness? I get that its meant to encourage family bonding but... I think I feel a tad out of place."
"No," Isabella admitted with an awkward laugh. "I just came for a drink. The music's always good, so..." And well, it might have something to do with the fact that she didn't want to go to another certain club right now, but shh. She followed Rebecca's eyes out to the crowd, "Which one's yours?"
Heh. Well. Isa might not know Sin personally, but certainly would know OF the smart-assed, clumsy slayer. So imagine the surprise when the woman pointed directly at the goofily-dancing, skinny girl with the bright orange hair. "That would be my Cynthia." She said with a proud laugh. "She's... a bit odd, but she's a wonderful girl. She has a lot of responsibility in her life, and handles it well."
Isabella could barely contain her laugh when she spotted Cynthia. Barely. She smiled though, and took a measured sip of her beer, since ... while she'd come with the desire to get off her face, she also didn't want to give the wrong impression to her companion. "She seems to have a lot of life in her."
"Like you wouldn't believe. I can't really go into it but..." She beamed, accepting the Slayer thing WAY more easily than most moms would, "she's going to do a lot of important things in this world."
The brunette narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, and then looked from mother-to-daughter... It would be remiss if she didn't make the connection, after all. Especially after her meeting with Delilah. "...I think I know what you mean," she murmured. "You must be proud."
"Extremely. And I'm being rude." She extended a hand and smiled. "I'm Rebecca. Rebecca Stone. Pleasure to meet you."
Isabella took Rebecca's hand firmly and shook it, "a pleasure," she murmured. "Isabella," she added, briefly considering before saying her name completely: "Isabella Delallo."
Rebecca just smirked when she heard that name. Oh, even SHE wasn't naïve enough to think this a coincidence. "Really." She tried not to laugh there. Clearly, not all the parents knew about their daughters callings, which explained why Isabella didn't fess up to knowing Sin. "That wouldn't happen to be Drill Sergeant Delallo, as my daughter so politely puts it, would it?"
"I'm sure she has less polite ways of putting it," Isabella laughed, shaking her head. "Not many parents know about... Well," Isabella smiled faintly. Although why she felt the situation was unusual she couldn't honestly say. Perhaps because she hadn't discussed Slayer related things with people who weren't Slayer's, or Watcher's.
"If she does, she doesn't say them around me. I'm just glad to see my daughter being good at something. Poor thing is SO clumsy..." She said as she looked back out to the dance floor, to the spazzy girl just... 'Dancing' for lack of better wording. "But you don't seem so bad to me..."
Isabella's eyes followed Rebecca's, watching Cynthia for a moment. She really did seem, well... happy. The Watcher smiled faintly at the compliment, "Well, to be fair, I am off-duty," although, honestly? That was a bit of a fib, "I can be quite the hard arse when the situation calls for it."
"I know you probably think this sounds trite but, she IS a good girl. She just has a bit of an attitude. I think it comes from never... having had a father figure in her life." Was there guilt there? Ohhhh yes.
"Every teenager has an attitude," Isabella pointed out. Isabella had a father that she looked up to and did everything to please, and... look how well that turned out. She 'hrmh'd thoughtfully and took a swig of her beer. "But beyond that, you're not wrong. She is a good girl. Even if she sometimes tries to hide it."
"She's seeing a very nice boy right now... I think he's a good influence on her." Now remember: Rebecca knew what Sin was... but had no idea how any of it worked. "So... are you..." She made a rather cute little fighting motion, "as well?"
"No," Isabella chuckled, even though she occasionally did stupid things that put her in harms way... she knew her limits. "No, I'm a 'Watcher'." It wasn't exactly the best word now, was it? "Teacher, I suppose." Which was funny, given that she taught in her day job as well, although you wouldn't guess it by looking at her.
"Oh! So you're sort of like Delilah? She's such a sweet girl. She takes good care of my Cynthia." Of course, she was thinking 'and gorgeous, just like Delilah...'
"Yes, exactly. Cynthia was very lucky to be paired with Delilah. She has a kind nature, I think." Whereas Isabella was considered the drill sergeant, hrmh. She relaxed in her seat and smiled faintly.
"And who are you 'paired with'?" Rebecca asked with a sweet grin, trying to be slightly flirty.
"Oh." Honestly? No one had really taken an interest in her work before. Not even Meeghan. That was... oddly refreshing. "Her name's Bethany. She's ... she's a very sweet girl." She smiled then, rather proudly.
"And... are you 'paired with' anyone here tonight?" Oh gawwwwd! She felt lame. LAME! The strawberry blonde hadn't really flirted with anyone since, well.... since Sin was a liiiittle girl. Consider her horribly out of practice.
"Ooooh." Yeah, it took her a while to get where Rebecca was going with that. She laughed awkwardly and shook her head, "No, no. I was... I thought there was someone? But no." God, how awkward. "...Are you?"
"No. I've been on my own for close to fifteen years now, actually." She said with some embarrassment, blushing like a child. "And going back to what you said... from what I've seen so far, I'd say Bethany is a very lucky girl."
"Fifteen years? I'm not sure I believe that," Isabella repeated, honestly surprised and... slightly complimenting. She wouldn't have expected that. At the other thing? She shook her head and chuckled, "I doubt anyone would agree with you there, but ... thank you."
"I've been busy, really. Trying to raise Cynthia and... Putting her well-being ahead of my own happiness, I suppose." She looked at Isabella, and, much like her rather random daughter, managed to pull something out of seemingly nowhere. "For someone supposedly so tough and hardcore... you have a really soft and pretty smile."
Isabella listened, her heart breaking a little for the woman. At the compliment? Well, let's just say for someone so tough and hardcore, it was amazingly easy for her to smile with this woman. "Ah, you've learned my little secret," she leaned over, "I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone. It might sully my reputation as a hard arse." My, was that a joke?
"Your secret is safe with me. Of course, you'll have to keep safe MY secret..." Ok, so she wasn't exactly witty, but she was trying! "That of course being that someone SO stunning could actually be a single mother so undersexed that she's essentially a virgin again."
Wow, how inappropriate was Isabella's first thought to that? She laughed and shook her head, "Stunning is definitely the word I would use." She sipped her beer, "but yes, your secret is safe with me."
Wow... For once? Rebecca had gauged one right. The woman WAS hitting on her! "Well... If it matters? You're quite stunning as well..."
The Watcher blinked, and then smiled again. It was so rare for her to smile lately... It was nice. Flirting and being flirted with."...Would it be horribly inappropriate if I asked for your number?"
"No... Not at all." Then? The blonde felt an embarrassed blush. "As long as you don't find it offensive that I've never even told my daughter that I'm... attracted to the fairer gender." There we go. A sweet way of saying GAY. "That THAT'S why her father and I split up... Well, aside from his being a humongous ass."
Isabella shook her head, "I don't find it offensive. I doubt the subject ever came up... Of course, if we were to... Well, it might come up."
"If we were to..." Rebecca stifled a giggle there, covering her mouth with her left hand. "Care to finish that thought?"
"Well, some things are best left open for interpretation..." Isabella replied, trying to bite back a cheeky grin.
"You're such a tease. Is this any way to treat someone just getting the courage to wade back into the dating pool again?" Rebecca asked with a rather innocent-sounding giggle.
"It's probably a bit unfair," Isabella admitted, "but I think part of the enjoyment is the uncertainty of it all, don't you?"
"Enjoyment? Possibly." She couldn't help but blush then, a little giggle escaping her lips. "Sweaty palms and flushed cheeks? Definitely."
"I still don't think that's necessarily a bad thing," Isabella replied. Of course, it didn't help that she was taking far too much enjoyment out of this. The bitch. "Reactions... are a good sign, after all." She nodded sternly, as if this was a serious matter.
"Without ruining whatever's going on here, if anything... I mean, I'm not being assuming, after all..." She caught herself beginning to babble and cut herself off. "You look so... sad. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
"Oh," Isabella blinked and looked down at the counter top before finishing the last of her beer. "Not really?" She smiled weakly. "Well, like I said... I thought there was someone, only there wasn't. I'll get over it, I'm sure."
"If it helps? And I know it won't, but hear me out... Whoever she was, she clearly didn't see what was in front of her." Her blonde hair threatening to fall into her eyes, Rebecca shook her head a bit, trying not to break eye contact.
Isabella tentatively reached her hand across the small space that separated them and gently brushed the hair from Rebecca's face, curling it behind her ear. "I like to think so," she replied, smiling faintly.
"I know it wasn't any of my business... I just think you're far too beautiful to let yourself look so sad." Although part of her visibly almost melted into a puddle of goo at that touch.
"...Thank you," Isabella murmured. She leaned across the small space that separated them, intending to kiss Rebecca, but soon stopped and raised an eyebrow since... yes, the daughter was right over there. "Rain check?"
"...are you asking me on a date?" Rebecca asked sweetly, tone caught in that middle-ground of excited, scared, and disbelieving. "Not that I'd be saying no if you were..."
Isabella laughed, although it wasn't condescending... she just thought that was sweet. She nodded slowly and said: "Yes... this is me asking you out. It's quite stealthy, isn't it?"
"About as stealthy as wearing hunter-orange, but of course I'm going to say yes. I think I would have to be a special kind of idiot to say no to y..." She was cut off then by the chirpy voice of Sin, who'd bounded over to make sure her mother wasn't doing anything embarrassing. So imagine her surprise at seeing the company she kept. "Crap in a HAT! Am I in trouble or somethin', Mom? Why's Drill S... erm, Ms. Delallo here?"
Rebecca just sighed and smiled. Great timing and grace? Never a strength of EITHER generation of Stone women. "You're not in trouble, Cynthia. I was just enjoying Isabella's company. She... actually just asked me out."
Sin cackled there, looking back and forth. "Oh DUDE! She thought you were... I mean..." But she sobered up when she noticed her mother didn't exactly look amused. "Oh... Crap. MOM! You... But... NO WAY!"
Rebecca just nodded. "We'll talk more later, Cynthia. Needless to say... I agreed to go out with Isabella sometime."
Sin just gawked, looking mortified and shocked, at the same time.
"Dude. Fine. Just..." Ugh, this wigged her out. But, she DID want her mother to be happy. "I better get some preferential treatment outta this. UGH."
Rebecca just... started giggling as Sin stomped off, mortified.
Isabella was somewhere between amused, mortified and kind of impressed by the whole (brief) conversation between the mother-daughter team. "Was... Did she just accept that?" She laughed, before adding: "and preferential treatment...?"
"I'm suspecting whatever horrifically brutal workouts or yellings-at you give them? She's expecting some mercy." Rebecca sighed, watching the girl sort of stomp out of the club in a pout. "And... My Cynthia is a wonderful girl. She's still a teenager of course, but... She has such an amazing heart. Believe me... when we have our talk, she's going to be mildly horrified to find out her mother is gay... But she'll get over it. She's too good a kid not to." And then, to break the tension. "The good part, though... She's gone now. Nothing to worry about hiding now..." Yeah, real subtle, Becca.
Isabella raised an eyebrow at that. She? Was not a fan of preferential treatment... buuuut, sometimes omissions can be made. Only sometimes. "She is a good girl, but... don't think she won't get a stern talking to if she gets out of line." Isabella nodded solemnly. This was a serious matter after all. Heh. "And no, I suppose there isn't..." She smiled cheekily, "Where were we?"
Well, Rebecca hadn't expected or WANTED any special treatment for Sin. No way. But those thoughts went to the wayside as the woman spoke again. "I, um... I guess that was up to you, really."
"Don't worry, she won't get away with anything," Isabella breathed, smiling oh-so-faintly as she finally bridged the gap between them, kissing Rebecca.
Luckily, it was a fairly innocent kiss, or the blonde might have keeled over. "Goodness..." She said with a deep flushing of her cheeks. "That's the fastest I've ever kissed someone since I was 17."
Yes, luckily. Especially given some of Isabella's more recent activities... Ahem. She smiled faintly and nodded, "...I can take it back a notch, if you prefer."
"Unless you were planning on ravaging me tonight, I'd say the current speed is... nice." The what?!? Jesus, Rebecca. Well, fifteen years IS a long time…
Isabella chuckled, "No, no ravaging. At least not until the third date. I think that's a rule..." Okay, now she was just flat-out teasing.
"You're going to be a very bad influence on me. I can just TELL." No matter the stated innocence and boring nature, that mischievous grin showed immediately where Sin got her snark and spunk from.
"No... I don't see where you got that from," Isabella smiled, finding herself just infatuated with that grin. She stole another quick kiss before Rebecca could protest. Awr, who knew she could be so sweet?