the_lawless (the_lawless) wrote in the_colony, @ 2011-03-09 22:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 34, alice munroe, jamie walker, leo parker, | alice and leo |
Week 34 : Thursday
Characters: Alice Munroe, Leo Parker, and Jamie Walker.
Location: The Attic / Alice’s temporary stay.
Summary: Alice comes home from the scouting trip with Mike to find a surprise waiting for her from her two favorite boys. Leo’s surprise, though, leaves her speechless.
Rating: PG for hints at adult situations.
“Come on,” Leo prodded Walker. “If we’re gonna surprise her, we gotta hurry. She’ll be up any second.”
The boy colored fervently with his yellow crayon, finishing up the last paper balloon so that Leo could hang it with fishing line from one of the rafters. The lamp-lit room was filled with them; one-dimensional ovals of every color left in Walker’s crayon box dangling like paper eggs from the ceiling of the attic. They spun in a draft, revealing their opposite sides to be of different colors as well, until Leo felt he was standing inside of a kaleidoscope. It was all Walker’s idea, but Leo was more than eager to play along, doing his best to help the boy prepare for this epic surprise party on Alice’s birthday.
“Here she comes,” he whispered, grabbing hold of Leo’s hand and dragging him down from the chair he’d been standing on. The two boys ducked down but there was little to hide behind, and listening as the footsteps came closer and closer, Walker felt his heart might explode with anticipation. Finally, before they even saw Alice’s whole figure appear in the doorway -- before they were even certain it was her-- they jumped up and shouted.
“Surprise!”
Alice’s heart jumped into her throat at the sudden voices, her hand flying to her chest, but then the images registered. Everywhere there was color, her feeble drapes over the one window in the room open so that the pale sunlight hit the paper. It was beautiful. She almost wanted to cry. Instead, her face lit up with a bright smile.
“Wow.”
“Happy Birthday!” Walker grinned, rushing over to hug her while Leo smiled and sat at the edge of her bed. Alice scooped him up easily, one arm holding him up while the other one circled around his tiny frame. Despite her best efforts, she felt her eyes mist up.
“How is it even possible for you to be so wonderful?” she said into his hair, pressing a kiss to his temple and looking over his shoulder at Leo. Walker giggled and squirmed in her arms like he always did when she kissed him. “You are too sweet and perfect for words.”
Leo leaned back on his palms and kicked one ankle over the other. “He’s got a present for you, too.”
“Oh!” Walker wiggled in her grasp, anxious to give Alice her gift, and she quickly crouched down to let him free. She had an idea or two what it could have been, but she was quick to put her hands over her eyes so as not to see both where he hid it and what it was, assuming he hadn’t wrapped it. After a moment of quiet but excited scattering, she could hear a muffled jingling sound as Walker returned to her and tugged at the hem of her jacket.
In both hands he held her present --wrapped in an old white towel-- a tambourine with a hand-painted skin; a bright, shining sun with orange and yellow rays and an ecstatic expression on its face. All in Walker’s tell-tale style. Alice grinned, pushing away the puzzlement at the choice and taking delight at the image instead. She remembered their talks about springtime and the oncoming flowers and crops, then gave the tambourine a little shake. There was no denying that the sound of it was pleasant and lifted her spirits.
“I love it.”
“We picked it up on the road a long time ago,” Leo said from across the room, his amusement over Walker’s choice in gift was just as apparent at hers. “He said right away that he wanted to give it to you.” But Leo made him wait for the right time. Christmas had been way too intense, having just arrived.
“It’s for the music inside you,” Walker explained cheerfully. “To help get it out.” Leo looked to Alice and shrugged. Alice’s grin only lengthened. It was extremely profound for a seven-year-old, and was the sort of accidental thing said in passing that stayed with a person forever. She’d never been all that musically-inclined, but she’d loved to dance, and a rhythm instrument was just perfect.
“Thank you so much, sugarpie. I’ll treasure it forever.”
With a proud little grin, Walker hugged her around her waist and then, just as quickly, he spun and ran at Leo, diving onto the bed beside him. The man gave Alice his usual awkward grin and patted the bed on his other side for her to sit down.
“I’ve got something for ya, too.”
Alice’s eyes lit up, brows quirking as she smiled at him. “Oh yeah? Should I close my eyes?”
“Only if you like surprises,” he teased. Her smile twisted up in one corner and she put her hands over her eyes wordlessly as Leo guided her back to sit on the mattress beside him. While Leo fished something out of his pocket, Walker giggled behind the both of them.
“Nooo peeking!” The little boy grinned.
Leo took one of Alice’s hands in his own and carefully slipped a ring on her finger. “This is a promise,” he said quietly. He’d been a nervous wreck all day, planning this moment, but now that she was here --now that she was sitting with her hand in his own-- it couldn’t have felt more right. “From me to you. Because I can’t even think about what my life’d be like without you. I love you.” Walker, a little ball of nerves, pulled a pillow tight around his head and hid beneath it.
Alice’s whole body tensed up when she felt him take her left hand hand in that very deliberate way. She forgot to breathe. When her eyes opened, she immediately looked down at the ring on her finger.
Oh god. Oh my god. Oh my god.
“Alice,” Leo said, his voice weakened by the anxious feeling that had swelled in his chest. He slid down to his knees on the floor before her and tried to smile as he met her eyes. “Say somethin’.”
Alice sucked in a breath when her body finally rebooted, tears welling up in her eyes. Any lingering doubts in her mind were vanquished in an instant. It felt like her heart might beat out of her chest.
There would be no ceremony, no formal declaration, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the intent behind it, and she knew what it was the moment he spoke.
“Oh, Leo,” she whispered, the tears finally breaking free and sliding down her cheeks as she smiled brilliantly at him. “It’s-- I love you, too. I love you so much.”
Leo smiled too and pulled himself to his feet again before his own waves of emotion could get the better of him. Bending down, he let his fingers slide through hair and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Happy birthday."
Alice didn’t remain seated for long, wrapping her arms tightly around him and leaning up to press her lips to his. She knew Walker was still in the room and potentially watching them, but it was the only way she knew how to react. Leo held her close, one hand pressing gently against the small of her back as they kissed.
“Eww,” Walker groaned in dismay, having peeked from beneath his pillow. Leo grinned wide, breaking the kiss and took a small step back from Alice, the fingers of both hands catching lightly at her wrists. She grinned brilliantly at him, then looked to the side at the little boy where he’d settled on the other side of her bed.
“Don’t make me come over there and kiss you too,” she warned playfully, twisting her hands lightly out of Leo’s grip in favor of taking his hands instead and threading their fingers together. She leaned up into him, pressing her forehead lightly into his, her heart off at a gallop again.
She thought back to Ana and Drew’s little ceremony, their attempt at making things presentable in the new world. Did a ceremony matter to her? She hadn’t had a ceremony with Peter because they hadn’t been able to afford it. For the first time in her memory, thoughts of Peter and her whole life didn’t make her whole heart hurt; she was far too happy. Leo had never seen her so elated and her enthusiasm was contagious to say the least.
He knew within seconds that waiting would have been a mistake; this evening had been just the right timing. Walker had been giggling quietly under the pillow but now he was sneaking past the two adults, crouching on the floor to color yet another balloon.
“I figured... if I didn’t do somethin’ quick, Walker was gonna start puttin’ moves on you, himself,” Leo whispered intentionally loud enough for the boy to hear.
“Nuh-uh!” Walker blushed, part defensive and part good-humored.
Alice grinned, giggling a little herself and leaning in to kiss his cheek slightly. She’d only meant to come up and change out of her grungy clothes so she could go down to eat --the scouting trip proved a lot dirtier than she’d thought it would be-- but now she didn’t even want to do that. All she wanted was to be with her two favorite boys.
“So I guess this means you’re stuck with me from now on, huh?” she murmured.
“As long as you think I’m worth stickin’ to,” he said quietly.
“Of course I do,” she said, emotion warming her voice. She let go of one of his hands to bring it up and cradle his face. “You know I do.”
I do, I do. He couldn’t ignore the ceremonious phrase after just giving Alice the ring. Smiling some, Leo dwelled a long time on simple pleasures; the warmth of her hand on his face and the closeness of her body. Finally, after a brief moment of quiet, he asked the inevitable:
“I know-- Ana and Drew got married. Ceremony’n all. That somethin’ you want, too?” He seemed a little confused as the words came out, the subject matter foreign and awkward to him.
“I got everything I want right here,” she told him, pressing her lips briefly against his. “I don’t care ‘bout that stuff. Unless it’s somethin’ you’d like to do.”
Leo shook his head. “Only matters what you want.” He shrugged softly, trailing the pad of his thumb along Alice’s cheek. Suddenly, he found himself wishing that Walker had chores or homework to do, but he couldn’t think of a single thing.
His words sent all kinds of half-formed thoughts racing at once through her head, but she was quick to stifle them. She didn’t want it to be all about what she wanted, and she was very concerned about asking too much of him. She’d done that once and the consequences had been too much for her to stand; it had changed her way of reacting altogether.
“I want what’s good for all of us,” she said. “Not just me or you.” She paused, then looked sideways at Walker, suddenly struck with an idea.
“What d’you think we should do, sugarpie?”
Walker looked up from his coloring and searched both Alice and Leo’s faces, contemplating their future for a moment.
“I think you should have a baby,” he answered frankly, having gone back to his green paper balloon. “Or two. Like Bridget.” In the mind of a seven year old, it was the next logical step. Leo and Alice loved each other and parenthood would inevitably follow. He had apparently missed the part of the discussion about weddings and all that.
Stunned, Leo’s mind went completely blank and he seemed a little empty-eyed as he looked back and forth from Alice to Walker. Alice’s face erupted in a blush and she laughed slightly, nerves racing through her like lightening. So he’d remembered their talk over bread-making not so long ago. It didn’t completely surprise her, as he was such an attentive child. Leo looked like a startled cat. It was both endearing and troubling.
“Maybe one day, sugarpie,” she said at last. “Babies come when they wanna show up. We gotta wait and see what happens first. But d’you think we should have a talk and a party like Drew and Ana did?”
He’d sagged a little with disappointment when he learned the real nature of babies, but with the word ‘party’ he perked right back up. “The talk was boring,” Walker explained. “But a party is good! With a lot of food and a big cake? And flowers?”
“If we can find some,” Alice offered. “We could always wait until there’s flowers outside before we do it.” She looked at Leo with slightly raised brows and a warm smile. “What d’you think?”
“Sounds like fun,” he answered, though his expression was slowly and surely starting to grow doubtful. “But I don’t know.” It would be so much attention. So much positive attention. The entire event would be a whole new experience on so many levels; new and frightening. “Can’t we figure it all out later?”
“Absolutely,” she replied, nudging her nose up against his. She gave a sudden and small sigh, as well as a little frown. “I need to get back to work, though. I only meant to come up for a minute to change my clothes; Gotta go down ‘n tell Tom about the trip and what we found ‘n round up the crew for the raid tomorrow.” Her lips twitched in a smile as her left hand stroked up the length of his arm. “Maybe we can do something later tonight?”
“Plan on it,” Leo told her. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her body even closer for one more brief, warm kiss. “Happy Birthday.”