Dani Moonstar's a survivor (ms_moonstar) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-05 16:35:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, dani moonstar (mirage), nathan summers (cable) |
Who: Dani Moonstar, Nate Summers
What: Nate saves Dani from herself, and his car is awesome.
When: After these text messages
Where: Nate's car, then The Place
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13, mild warnings for the crap going on in Dani's life.
Status: Complete!
There was a humming sound, and the car pulled up next to the curb. It was midnight black, and the tires shone with a silvery sheen utterly unlike chrome. the window on the passenger side rolled down and Nate grinned from inside as the door rose on gull wing hinges silently. “Step into my chariot, madame?” His smile was warm as he looked at Dani, eyes searching hers., and hopeful.
He had been worried at her words., surprised and honored at her invitation, and hoped, deeply, that he could help her. He wasn’t having much luck helping people lately, with his mom always tired and his dad off on missions he was cut out of. He just wanted to help and to not be the ‘kid’. He shook his head to shed the thoughts and just grinned at her.
If Nate felt like 'the kid', Dani felt like she was the 'problem child'. She was probably just imagining it, but it seemed like every time the x-men spoke to her lately it was in a tone that implied scolding. Frankly, she was tired of it, so the way Nate treated her was extremely refreshing.
She'd been texting on her phone and put it away when the impressive car pulled up. She let out a low whistle, and grinned at him as she stepped into the car, "This is one hell of a ride you've got."
Nate smiled. “Thanks. A lot of hard work and elbow and brain grease went into this thing. Magellan, say hello to Dani.”
If the outside had been impressive then the inside lived up to it. black leather-like upholstery and dashes, but more importantly was that all the windows were darkened, and instead holographic images showed in front of nate, along with a holographic dashboard. Nate smiled as he flexed his hands in mid-air and the car revved quietly.
The voice that spoke came from everywhere in the car, and was calm and warm, but most definitely mechanical. “Hello, Miss Moonstar, I am Magellan, prototype AAI-1. I hope you’ll enjoy the ride.” The door shut and the car moved forward as Nate put his hands down. “The Cafe, Magellan, at speed laws.”
“As you wish, Nathan.”
Then Nate grinned as he turned to Dani, and waggled his eyebrows, “Isn't it cool?”
Dani sucked in a breath and let it out very slowly. It was definitely a very, very fancy car. Probably a little too fancy for a run down to the cafe, but she thought Nate was very proud of his work and wanted to show it off, which was pretty normal.
And it was worth showing off, too. She reached out a finger to gently poke at the window next to her, "It is, yeah, but where did you get the technology for this?"
“We got image inducers from the Dreams, and I absorbed some alien tech specs from a dreamer who knows alien tech. Kitty knows Shi’ar Tech, and when Greymalkin arrived, we added future tech. It took months to get together, but it works now.” He and Professor and Kitty had worked hard, and he and his dad had worked hard on this car, and it had finally come through.
"All the dreams ever gave me was a sword, a crown, and a gigantic headache," Dani grumbled, good-naturedly. She was a little scared to touch anything, though the car probably had all kinds of safeguards to prevent unauthorized use.
Kind of like a computer with special passwords or facial recognition, or the biometric readers they had on their equipment in x-force.
“Oh! That reminds me. I have something for you.” He reached back and pulled out a small box, then handed it over. Inside, there were her earrings. “I found them finally.”
It had taken a bit, but they had eventually been tracked down to a shop, and had apparently been passed between many hands.
Dani lifted the lid and took in the familiar sight of her mother's earrings. She hadn't seen them in over a year, and she'd been worried that she was going to forget what they looked like. She'd been wrong, of course, every detail was exactly as she recalled.
She tried not to get too emotional as she ran a finger over them, but found she was choked up despite herself, "It was such a long shot that I wasn't sure... that you'd find them. I was afraid of hoping, I think."
“Well, giving hope back is what I try to do most. So, happy belated birthday, Dani. And I hope that they bring you joy.” His smile was warm, and welcoming, as Magellan drove them. “We are closing on the ice cream shop, Natham.”
“Thank you, Magellan.”
He glanced at Dani. “Give us a minute when we arrive.”
After another few seconds to stare at the recovered earrings, Dani pulled them out of the box and tilted her head to one side, then the other, hooking them into her ears. She didn't wear a lot of jewelry, but when she did she liked to keep it traditional.
"My birthday was back in April. They baked me a cupcake and even let me have an open flame. All the other patients sang and everything," Dani said, dryly. She added, with a grin, "These milkshakes are a way better birthday celebration. I can give you a minute, sure."
Nate chuckled. “And I meant for Magellan to do so. So you have a chance to recover, if you know, you needed to.” He blushed. “Nevermind.” He grinned as the car came to a halt. “Lets go get some milkshakes.”
"Oh." Dani ducked her head a bit, "I uhm... I appreciate that. I really do."
She was a little misty eyed, in fact, and Nate had picked up on the fact that Dani didn't like the idea of being emotionally compromised in public. She smiled at him, "I'm honestly doing a lot better now that I'm in good company."
Nate smiled wider. “Good. S’what friends are for, right? That and watching your back in the inevitable bar fights, incidents, and crazinesses that crop up around us.”
"I think we're well out of the range of bar fights, at least. You rarely hear of fights breaking out in ice cream parlors. Incidents and craziness, though, I suppose we always need to be prepared for."
Dani wrinkled her nose a bit, "Especially with Cerberus lurking around, though I hope this time we're finally finished with them."
“Me too. But I’ll keep my eyes open.” He had been watching, as always. He did his best to keep track of those he cared about, especially in danger. “For now, we should just attack the ice cream and shakes and root beers of the world, and ignore the rest.” Then he grinned. “And maybe have more oil wrestling.”
"Ahah... well, you're not the only person who thinks more oil wrestling is a good idea. I still smell like coconut oil, though, so I'm not so sure about this. I guess I could get talked into doing it again for the right charity, though. I am the reigning champion after all." Dani laughed, and stepped out of the fancy car, "See you in a few, Magellan."
Nate grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
“See you then, Dani” And Magellan’s lights went down and quiet. Nate smiled as he led the way to the frosty and grill store, stepping into the warmly lit little place with the scents of burgers and fries, the good kind, in the air.
“Welcome to the Place.” He nodded, smiling as he led the way to a table, and a waitress swept by, depositing waters and menus, without stopping. “They always give you time before asking if you are ready.”
"I really love that. You don't get service like that in too many places anymore. They're always on you to order quickly so that they can get you out of the seat faster," Dani replied, while looking the menu over. She sipped at her water, and took in the delicious smells around her. This place... The Place? Was awesome.
"Chocolate fudge milkshake. I will literally die of chocolate consumption. That's a must-have."
“So there you go. Chili cheese fries and a chocolate fudge milkshake., Guaranteed to be bad for you and taste oh so good.” Nate smirked. “Sounds like a good time to be had.”
"A good time, indeed." Dani lifted her water glass and grinned, making a toast with it, "Here's to guys that know where the awesome food is and take their friends there. And all of those other good things in life, like sharing chili fries with friends."
He toasted her in return. “To good women, and good friends, and to having each others’ backs, now and always.” He sipped his water, content.