Hal knows the strongest thing in the universe is (willpower) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-10-27 00:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | cinderella, door: tales, prince charming |
Who: Cindy and Charming
What: A visit
Where: Cindy's shoe shop
When: Before the hotel drama
Warnings/Rating: Charming being Charming? Cindy throwing stuff at him? Threats of violence?
Cindy wasn’t used to running the shoe shop on a day to day basis. That’s what she had Crispin for. Even if Crispin had sold those enchanted running shoes to Rapunzel of all people and almost ruined everything. He was still better at sitting still than Cindy was. It wasn’t that she minded working, she loved working, but for her working usually involved tracking down enemies, interrogating suspects, investigating crimes and getting her darling Beast sherrif a leg up on the illegal activities going on between the mundane world and the homelands. But it seemed that her Beast was nowhere around. She supposed Bigby would have to do but he didn’t seem to be exercising any authority either. So she was stuck working at her shoe store, maintaining her cover, at least she was being invited to all the right parties.
She had hired a part time shop girl to work the cash register and help her out a bit, but she had been sent to lunch, and Cindy was glad the shop was empty for a change. She went into the back to do some tidying and she hadn’t been back there five minutes before the bell on the front door rang. “Double shit,” she said to herself and put a smile on as she walked out. She was wearing a pink sundress and her blonde hair was loose around her shoulders, pretty standard really. She smiled widely even before she saw who it was, “Welcome to the Glass Slipper how can I-” she paused and rolled her eyes. Her ex husband had popped by. Lovely. “Charming, next time call before you come so I don’t waste a perfectly good greeting on you.”
"And miss a perfectly good greeting?" Charming grinned as leaned against the counter the cash register was on. She was his ex wife, yes, and most of the time she irritated the piss out of him as she seemed determined to carve a hole into his personal finances, but there were some days when he remembered that he'd actually, genuinely liked her at one point. And some days all he remember was that she owned a little shoe shop and most of the women he knew loved shoes. They were easy gifts and cost less than jewelry.
"I would have thought I merited an extra special greeting given our history together," Charming remarked lightly. Peeling off a pair of black gloves, he dropped them on the counter. Once he would have tried to kiss her hand by way of greeting, but not anymore. Those things were behind them, though every once in a while he still enjoyed her hissing, angry attention. As much as her cute little sundress suited her, his ruffled white shirt and loose leather breeches suggested he was being fairly casual or off to practice swordplay. "I'd always give you a greeting like no other," he said, smiling. "But I was wondering if you had any new styles in."
She rolled her eyes, and then rolled them the other way and sighed a long suffering sigh, “An extra special greeting based on our history together would likely involved my knee becoming intimately acquainted with the problem child you’ve got housed in your trousers,” she said nodding once before she walked around the counter and stood, there, arms folded. And foot tapping. “You always give me a sudden bout of nausea like no other, and of course I have new styles in, but I’ve told you a thousand times, Charming, you don’t have the instep to go wandering about in women’s shoes.” Cindy had mixed feelings about her ex husband. On the one hand he’d taught her quite a bit about the world, on the other hand they were lessons hard learned. She was doing well for herself. So well that his monthly checks were mostly just to make sure she was kept in stylish clothes and fancy cars. She didn’t even feel the slightest bit guilty about it. It was easier if every other person, Charming included, saw her as the vapid ex wife, and the social butterfly who was flitting around the world going to all the best parties. It suited her actual duties that much better. No one ever saw her coming.
"If I decide to revisit masochism, you'll be the first one I come to," Charming replied, without feeling the least bit threatened. If he had a dime every time that Cindy mentioned hitting him where it hurt, or kicking, or kneeing, he'd have made half of the money he was paying in alimony back.
"And you know I've never tried to wear women's shoes. Or any of their clothes for that matter." He was far more interested in taking them off than putting them on. Though he had done some other things to gain the interest of someone that caught his eye, that had been one line he had never crossed. Charming was every bit as vapid as he thought his ex-wife to be. "I'm looking for a pair of ballerina's shoes. I'm sure you know the ones. In pink and white if possible, black if not." Yes, he rather thought Justine would appreciate those. "And a pair of ballroom slippers. No more than a three inch heel." Much longer and she would look strange in them, her legs too long and her petite body out of proportion.
One of these days Cindy was going to use some of her mad skills to just kick the shit out of her ex husband, whether it blew her cover or not she didn’t care. Well, she cared most days, but on days like this when he came swanning into her shoe shop to buy shoes for some poor defenceless young lady she was tempted.
“A pair of ballerina’s shoes. You’re taking up with a ballerina now? The ballroom slippers I can do, but this isn’t Cindy’s Dance Shoe Emporium, Charming. Those kinds of things need to be ordered and made to fit perfectly. And I swear to all that is holy if you come in here with her exact foot measurements I’m going to cut you.” It was valid.
"Why, I've missed seeing you too, Cindy," he said with a wide smile. Her threat didn't bother him -- it wasn't as if he wasn't threatened on a daily basis by someone. A father, a brother, a husband, a wife, for this or that bedding. If he flinched every time someone threatened him, he might as well stay inside.
"Don't make it sound so tawdry. I'm merely enjoying her company," he added lightly. "And I'll make sure not to come back with the exact measurements of her feet." It wasn't Justine's feet he was interested in after all, and if he was going to take her measurements, it would be for her, perhaps to have a ball gown made instead of something so simple as ballerina slippers. "Now what colors do you have them in? Pastels would be suitable."
“Everything you do is tawdry, Charming.” She said giving him a pointed look. “What size feet are we looking to fit here for the ballroom shoes?” She half hoped she could just give him a pair she knew would hurt. Then again, she just might. Just for fun. “We have all kinds of colors, you can take your pick.” And she’d charge him double.
"I'll take a six, six and a half, and a seven," he said after a moment's consideration. He truly didn't know what size Justine actually wore, and hadn't spent much time studying her feet at all, but he had watched while she danced. Her feet were small and hopefully something in that range would work. "All in pale pink and baby blue." It was a wide enough variety that he could, conceivably, have the right size and have two sets of shoes for her to wear. The rest he could return -- or save for gifts. Yes, gifts. Charming smiled. Maybe he'd send a pair to Cindy for Christmas, except he thought she might be up to an eight. "What size shoe are you wearing now?"
She walked back to the storeroom making hilarious faces mimicking what he was saying about shoe sizes and pastels. When she was safely out of sight she stuck her finger in her mouth and made a gagging motion, “honestly.” She said to herself.
Then he asked about what size shoe she was wearing and there was just something about his tone that set her off. She was carrying six shoes boxes with her, they weren’t heavy but she had a good arsenal in her arms when she heard that. So the first box went flying at his head. And she peered over the top of the ones remaining in her arms. Maybe it was the insinuation she felt that somehow her feet weren’t as small and perfect as they’d always been (which they were), or if it was the annoying reminder that he knew exactly her shoe size. Which was actually coupled with a bit of pride because here he was guessing at some other tramp of the month’s shoe size. She threw another box anyway, and her eyes narrowed. “You know exactly my shoe size, it hasn’t changed.” She stated simply as she set the four boxes left on the counter and proceeded to charge him for all six - clearly he’d be picking up after himself.
The first box he ducked with a half hearted laugh, the second one he caught. Leave it to Cindy to always keep things interesting. "Good to know it hasn't." He considered asking her if she was still wearing the same size dress that she had been when they had been married, but thought better of it. She still had a few more boxes in her arsenal and asking her would have smacked of pettiness. He was better than that. Holding one thrown box in his hands, he bent to pick up the first one she had thrown and set the flung shoes neatly back inside.
He set both boxes back on the counter, lids on top and pulled out his wallet to pay for the shoes. Was it him or were they actually getting more expensive? Charming didn't ask, as he actually wanted to make it out of the shop without having any more thrown at his head. "I'd say that it's been lovely, Cindy, but I don't want you to hurt yourself throwing more shoes at me."
She smiled widely at him, her voice was chipper and pleasant, “Oh it would be completely worth an injury to throw more shoes at you, Charming. I’m always willing to stick my neck out for the greater good.” She bagged up his purchases and put his change in her pocket. “Have a lovely day.”
Some fights were worth having, some weren't. Charming let her keep the change. "You too," he replied warmly, tucking his wallet back into his pocket and collecting the boxes of shoes. "May you have a wonderful day." Then, as he was leaving for the door, he added, "I know I will."