Who: Lo and Aveline de Grandpré What: Aveline says thank you When: 5/21 or so Where: Lo's office Rating/Warnings: PG Status: Complete
Aveline had come to Lo’s office bearing a pan of something that for once, she was fairly sure he’d never had. He’d been so nice the other day - she’d been scared, unsettled to the point where she hadn’t wanted to be alone, and he’d dropped everything to take her to a tiny cove in Indonesia. She’d never felt more peaceful.
She knocked on his door, shifting her dessert pan from one hand to the other. “Eh, carnale, you in?”
Tiny yipping barks were her answer. “Come on in, Aveline.” Lo had sent his secretary slash intern home early, as the day was slow and he didn’t need the help.
“I brought you food.” Aveline stuck her head in, smiling a little. “How’s it going?” She felt better than she had; she’d had some work to do and being busy always helped.
“And this is why you’re my favorite,” Lo grinned. He scooped up his dogs, not wanting to tell Aveline about the third dog in the works until the dog had arrived. “It goes well.”
“Good. Better for me, too. I did that shoot yesterday, and a certain photographer didn’t even try to hit on me.” Aveline quirked half a smile at the corner of her mouth. “Hello, Lucy! Hello, Colin! I don’t think you’ll like this, but can always try!” She set the pan on his desk.
“That’s a good thing.” Lo smiled when Lucy wriggled out of his lap and scampered right over to the pan. “What’s in it?” He was always sure to keep his dogs safe.
“It’s a dessert called guava fool. I wanted to make it for a friend, and you get to eat my first try.” Aveline took the plastic wrap off the top. “It’s basically a pudding - guava, cream and sugar - but a ‘fool’ is a dessert that uses a specific kind of sugar. It’s Dominican, so I grew up with them.”
Lo reached into his desk to get a spoon, offering Lucy a spoon full of the pudding. The dog emphatically loved it, wriggling as she licked the spoon clean and nearly falling off of the desk. “I think she just likes latin food. She’s obsessed with churros.”
“You told me. I’d like to see that sometime.” Aveline chuckled. She liked this; it was a lot more normal than the dreams. “I’ve been thinkin’ of getting a pet. Prob’ly a cat, though; I am not home enough to give a dog the love it deserves.”
“Well, here, hold her.” Lo smiled, handing the dog off before poofing into a cloud of foul smelling smoke. Within a couple of minutes he was back, two churros in each hand. “One for each of us - Lucy, you’re going to fall, oh my god.”
Aveline hadn’t been ready for the dog to fairly bolt out of her arms when Lo returned. “Bondye!” She laughed, trying to get a grip again. “She’s gone mad!” “I told you!” Lo was laughing too, scooping up his dog and setting her down on her plush cushion on the floor. “Okay, babygirl, sit.” He handed over a small bit of churro, laughing when she snarfed it, grunting the whole time.
Aveline couldn’t help but giggle. “What a noise! She’s so tiny, you wouldn’t think it would come from her.”
“She’s a tiny lion,” Lo grinned. “I love her so much. She’s really just amazing. I’m glad that she came into my life.”
“Would you suggest I get a dog? Or do you think I am too busy?” Aveline asked. She smiled faintly. “I would accept your recommendation.”
“It depends on what sort of dog. You could take it with you to modeling gigs.” Most people did, and Lo didn’t think anyone would care about Aveline following suit.
“Ew, like Paris Hilton? Perhaps not.” Aveline wrinkled her nose.
“You could take it on a leash,” Lo laughed. “And Lucy technically was her dog.”
“It would have to be bigger. I refuse to be anything like her.” Aveline’s nose stayed wrinkled. “My mama would never let me hear the end of it.”
“I’d go to the shelter, or a rescue organization. I’m working on adopting a samoyed from one right now.” Lo was a soft touch and he knew it.
Aveline laughed. “Another? You’ll wind up running a dog orphanage.” But her smile was indulgent. “You’re a poor demon, my friend. I’m glad.”
“Just the three!” Lo smiled brightly as he offered Lucy another bit of churro. “I’d be a poor friend if I was a good demon. I’m glad too.”
Aveline sat down in Lo’s office chair. “Do you have any recommendations for a shelter? I just want to go somewhere, look around and see if anyone catches my eye. I don’t want any big fuss.”
Lo nodded, reaching for his phone and pressing a few buttons. He found an address and jotted it down on a piece of personalized stationery, handing it over to her and smiling. “You’re welcome.”
“What’s this? Who did you call?” Aveline cocked her head.
“Nobody, just found the name and address of the shelter where I got Colin.” Lo shrugged. “They did good work, and they’re a no-kill which I like.”
“Oh. Sorry, I thought you were trying to get me an in somewhere.” Aveline grinned. “I don’t need that. But thanks. I’ll go down there and see what I might find. It might sound silly, but I haven’t made many friends here.”
“Well, now you can go buy one,” Lo teased. He took a bite of the dessert Aveline had brought, letting Lucy have the churro instead.
“Because that’s not depressing at all.” She joked, but hoped he wouldn’t see that she really was sort of lonely. To divert herself from it, she asked, “How are things for you? You said they were good, but is that for real? Not grumping around watching reality television?”
He did, and his tone softened. “Oh, I always do that. But ... less sad,” he murmured.
“Good.” Aveline just didn’t want any of her friends to be sad. “I guess you can have your Real Housewives, if it isn’t a guilty thing.” She teased.
“Honestly, it shows me who to avoid representing. Those women are nightmares.” He could tease right back. Offering her one of the undog slobbered churros, he smiled at her, almost shyly. “You really are a good friend.”
“Ah, I see. It’s research.” Aveline smirked. She took the churro, sitting down and crossing her legs. “I try to be a good friend, mi carnale. I try to be good at everything. Even in the dreams I am freeing slaves.”
“You’re a good person, you know. Here and in the dreams.” Lo chuckled to himself, feeling a twinge of regret that in the dreams he could never truly be good.
“Well, I hope no more clothes appear.” Aveline made a face. “I will be all right if that is how it happens.”
“You might get some other stuff. I ended up with a book about how to summon demons.” Lo wrinkled his nose and sighed. “Fun times.”
“There are things I would not mind.” Aveline grimaced at the thought of the book. “I hope you threw the book in the rubbish bin.”
“Tried, but it came back to me.” It was hard to deal with books that had minds of their own. “And if it’s sentient, I don’t have the heart to burn it.”
“A sentient book.” Aveline shook her head. “This place is konplètman fou, I swear.” “I don’t know if it is, but it always seems to find me.” Lo just didn’t want to take the risk. “I don’t want to be like those assholes who hunted dodos to extinction without knowing about it.”
“By killing it, you mean? Makes sense.” Aveline got up from the chair. “I should probably leave you be. Just, I don’t know.” She swapped into Creole; it was the language she felt most comfortable in. “The other day I was scared to death, and you helped me out. I want to go back to that little cove. So thanks.”
Lo stood up and wrapped his arms around her in a loose hug. He spoke in Creole as well, letting his chin rest on the top of her head. “You helped me out when I was depressed. One good turn, right?”
It made sense to Aveline. She smiled, closing her eyes. “Normally I don’t let people put their chin on my head.”
“I’m sorry. I can stop.” He was trying to hold her loosely, to keep the hug friendly, but he hugged her a little closer. She smelled nice.
“I said normally. This time I’ll allow it.” Aveline hugged back just as tight, but then let go. “I’m going to go for a run, I think. Now with my work, I can count it as preparation.”
“And it’s good for clearing your head, so I hear.” He’d never had to before the dreams due to a freakish metabolism, and post dreams, well. Freakish had gone to unreal.
“Definitely.” Aveline laughed at Lucy still licking the pan. “I see you around soon, zanmi.”
“I hope so,” Lo smiled, waving at her. If anything, he’d have to return the pan. And he liked seeing Aveline. So did the dogs. She was a good friend, and those were hard to come by.