Elizabeth doesn't know who she's becoming (manylighthouses) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-06-05 16:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, d'artagnan, elizabeth comstock |
"You know Aramis!"
Who: Elizabeth Comstock, D'artagnan
What: D'artagnan comes to Elizabeth's rescue!
When: Today.
Where: At a park!
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Status: Complete!
It was a gorgeous day. Elizabeth had made a trip to the library and then stopped to get a coffee, but instead of returning to her home she decided to stay outside. It was way too nice out to spend it cooped up, especially when she'd done that her entire life.
So she picked out a bench at the park near the coffee shop, and curled up on it. Soon, she was comfortably reading a book and sipping at her coffee, completely blind to the world around her.
Which was trouble, because even in a public place in Irvine, pickpockets and thieves ran rampant. One such thief, noticing how distracted she was, grabbed the purse she'd placed on the bench next to her and took off running with it.
Elizabeth barely noticed in time to get up and shout, "STOP! THIEF!"
That was the thing people shouted when they were stolen from out on the street, right?
D’Artagnan had been passing through that very same park. But for other reasons. There was a popsicle stand in the middle of it. He desperately wanted one of their strange concoctions on that sunny day. He’d only just paid for a sour blueberry popsicle when he heard the shouting.
Wandering toward the direction of it, he saw a man barreling toward him and his brows furrowed. He looked at the frozen treat in his hands and then again at the thief coming closer and closer. He really didn’t want to lose the treat he’d been craving all day and yet. Criminal. Priorities.
The man was so busy running he didn’t even notice where he was going, and as a result ran straight toward the young detective. D’Artagnan had seen it done time and again on television shows, and so he simply stuck out his foot as the man got closer. To his surprise that trick actually worked, and the thief was face down on the grass in front of him. Unfortunately so was his popsicle. He made a face and within a moment was making certain the thief was unable to move while he forced the purse from his hands, and the hands behind his back to detain them. He scowled. “I don’t think that bag matches your outfit.” The man swore, and D’Artagnan only smirked as he sat on him to make sure he wouldn’t go anywhere else and picked up his phone to call a squad car around to pick him up.
Then he looked around for the woman who’d shouted as he handcuffed the man to a near by metal garbage can.
The entire scene happened so quickly that Elizabeth could hardly believe her eyes. She'd been chasing the purse snatcher herself, though too far behind to really be of any use. And then there was this brilliant man, coming to her aid! But it was such a shame about his treat. When Elizabeth finally caught up, she felt horrible about it.
"Oh thank you so much! I really should be paying more attention to my belongings. You're such a brave soul! And you even sacrificed your snack to the cause... I'm so sorry about that by the way."
He grinned sheepishly. "A tragic sacrifice for a worthy cause." Where on earth was he learning this stuff? He wasn't sure if it was because of Dream-him, or Aramis's lines rubbing off on him that made him actually say that out loud. Either way he had, and there was no denying it either. Best to just own it at this point. He held out the purse to the woman to offer it back and looked back at the handcuffed guy. "Don't you go anywhere, someone will be by to pick up the trash soon." Terrible one liners. They just kept coming and he couldn't even help it. He actually laughed then. "It's no big deal really but you’re welcome."
But then he raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't look the sort to be in this type of area. It was full of some of the lowest of L.A.'s scumbags. "I know what I'm doing here..." he thumbed in the direction of the ice cream and treat stand. "But what are you doing out in this part of town?" D'Artagnan wasn't even on duty that day, so really the woman had no obligation to answer his questions-but he was curious. She didn't look like she mixed with the riffraff.
It even sounded like something that Aramis would say. So much so that Elizabeth found herself smiling at the momentary thought of the man. She took the purse and carefully tucked it under her arm, along with the books she'd taken out of the library. It was a miracle that the coffee in her other hand didn't spill in the process. Elizabeth was usually graceful, but had the tendency to forget all that when she was flustered, "You sound familiar, like a friend of mine. But... What was I doing here? I suppose that's a fair question. It's true I didn't have cause to get out much when I was growing up, and society is still... well, it's growing on me."
She ducked her head a bit, still sheepish, "I had taken some books out of the library and the coffee place a few blocks up has a great iced latte. It seemed like a wonderful day to read outside, you see, so I thought I'd go for a walk down to the park and... I must have gotten caught up in my book."
“Do I?” He grinned. He hadn’t meant to, but so long as she was okay and comfortable after that experience that was what mattered. It didn’t take long for a local squad car from his precinct to show up. Like he had promised, the officer carted away the man he’d attached to the trash can. And he offered him a wave, the other acknowledged him with a good humored raised eyebrow at the situation and asked a few generic questions about making statements if Elizabeth was interested, before disappearing back into his car to haul away the thief.
“I see..well this isn’t the area you want to grow on you, it’ll only attract those sorts. That coffee shop would be a better place to hang around then this park in any case.” He said with a small smile. He wasn’t meaning to sound as though he was telling her what to do, but he didn’t want to see her end up at the station if nobody was around to stop the next attacker. “I’m actually off duty right now if you wanted some company to get somewhere else after that?” He thought he’d offer anyway. “My name’s D’Artagnan by the way. I’m a Detective with O.C.P.D.” Nobody wanted to wander around with a stranger-so he fixed that a little.
"You do, yes. That was exactly something he would have said," Elizabeth replied, before being ushered off briefly to give her statement to the other cop. There wasn't much to say, and she turned back to D'artagnan to pick up their conversation where it had left off.
Truthfully, she was a little antsy about walking to somewhere more safe by herself. It was starting to sink in that she'd nearly been robbed, and that there were areas of the city that a girl like her shouldn't be in. She took in his scolding, and ducked her head a bit, "I know the coffee shop would have been more safe, but it was so perfect out. I just didn't realise how dangerous the world can be. It never occurred to me that someone would try to take my purse right in public like that!"
"I owe you a new treat first! Order another one and I'll pay for it, then if you could just wait with me for a taxi, I think I can get myself home from there."
He gave her a small smile and dared to ask. “Mind if I ask who?” There weren’t many that he knew that talked like that anyway. And then the other officer was there asking a couple questions, so he was quiet. He let the man do his job and then shrugged. “He definitely had some steel in him to do it in broad daylight though. So it isn’t entirely your fault.” He tried for reassuring.
“You don’t have to do that, really. It’s all part of the job, not exactly a nine to five sort.” Though he wasn’t going to lie, the offer was tempting. His sweet tooth had been strong lately.
"Aramis!" Elizabeth was all too happy to supply Aramis' name, and the blushing grin on her face as she spoke it said volumes about her emotions for him. Obviously, at least on her end, Aramis was a little more than a friend. And she was quite reassured by D'artagnan's comment.
But she was unwilling to let the idea of repaying him go, and she squatted down to pick up the one he'd dropped, "It looks quite tasty. I really can't repay you any other way, and I don't mind at all. Here..."
Elizabeth walked over to the stand where he'd purchased the popsicle and held up the one that was now covered in specks of dirt and grass, "Can I have two more of these, please? Thank you!"
He raised an eyebrow at that. "I had a hunch actually." He offered her a small smile. "He's a good friend of mine. And the only one I've ever heard possibly talk like that so far." He admitted with a bit of a laugh and shook his head. "Guess he's worn off on me a bit, but I'll deny it if this goes beyond us." He said with amusement in his tone and a fondness.
Things had started out strangely with that man, but now he was becoming one of his good friends, and D'Artagnan couldn't be happier with his little grouping. He'd been alone most of his life, so the companionship was nice. It was something he'd craved secretly. "Thank you, you don't need to repay me any but this place does really have some of the best popsicles." He said with a smile, the list on the side of the stand had some unusual flavors. Everything from lychee to papaya. And everything was natural.
It was a fine thing, Elizabeth thought, to run a stand like this. All-natural products and rare fruits were probably very hard to find, but the prices were still reasonable. She waved a hand in the air like it wasn't any trouble, then stood to one side to wait for their treats to be handed out, "You know Aramis! That shouldn't be surprising, I swear everyone in the area must know him in some way or another. He's very friendly and excellent at making people feel at ease, isnt he?"
The girl's cheeks were still a bit pink as she gushed about their mutual friend. She couldn't help it, Aramis was often on her mind and she was certainly hoping she could call him something more than a friend soon.
The popsicles were handed out, and Elizabeth passed one out to D'artagnan, "Here. It's no trouble at all to at least replace your snack with a fresh one, and they really do look very good."
“He’s...certainly something.” D’Artagnan chuckled, but didn’t go into details about an awkward encounter he’d had with him. But he had at least moved into a place in his life where he was able to move on, even laugh about it a little without feeling a hit to his pride where Aramis was concerned. He reached for his treat and then looked over at her curiously. “I assume you’ve heard of the dreams?” He hoped, or he was going to sound a bit crazy.
He caught that faint color to her cheeks and raised an eyebrow. Knowing Aramis this was one of his girls. He didn’t say anything on it though and just smiled a bit as she reassured him the treat wasn’t a big deal. “This place only serves real fruit everything. Smoothies and popsicles too. But they are a little pricey.” He shrugged, he splurged every so often for snacks and didn’t skimp.
"Oh yes! You must be a dreamer, then? The whole thing is... very strangely fascinating, isn't it?" Elizabeth thought of her own dreams as a combination of bad and good. Columbia was a fascinating place when you put aside it's cultural... issues. Even then it was still fascinating from an anthropological standpoint. She still couldn't believe how many constants and variables there were between that place and this one.
It seemed like D'Artagnan had something more to say about Aramis. 'He's certainly something', at least, lead Elizabeth to believe there was more going on under the surface. But the man didn't open up about it and Elizabeth didn't want to pry. So instead she took a taste of her popsicle, and nodded her head furiously. It tasted very good, "Oh, that's well worth the price!"
He nodded a bit. “That’s a very accurate description.” He agreed. Strangely fascinating fit. Especially where Aramis, Athos, and Porthos were concerned. “I know Aramis from the dreams as well.” He admitted to that much at least. The later thing, well it wasn’t something he was ready to tell a potential new friend. Though the encounter with Aramis was certainly amusing. Maybe once he got to know her he’d open up about that a bit more. But for now, he stayed quiet about that. He focused on the popsicle that had been replaced and grinned.
“Told you. It’s one of my favorite in the city, and they do a good Italian ice too. The owner is from Italy so they really know their iced treats.” If there was one thing D’Artagnan really appreciated in life it was a good snack. Especially a sweet one. He smiled at her and motioned toward a near by umbrella that had been set up for customers to sit in. “It feels like I’ve known Aramis for quite some time really, but we just met recently here. In the dreams we’re Musketeers together. Or, well I’m trying to become one.” He admitted a little sheepishly there. “I’m some sort of Musketeer in training or something. Aramis, Porthos and Athos are basically my mentors.”
"I'm really very envious of Aramis and his dreams. He has such adventures, and now he has someone like you to share them with! And I suppose... that Porthos he was talking about a week or so ago must be one of them, too. The name just sounds like it fits with the rest. I'm not sure why." Elizabeth felt like she should know why. But for some reason her brain wouldn't make the right connection. She shrugged a shoulder at that, and motioned ahead of her before starting to walk towards the street. D'artagnan could escort her to a taxi, and then she'd be safe from there.
"Italian ice, I saw that on the menu. Now I'll have to make a return trip here... though I suppose I'll do it while keeping a firm grasp on my purse next time. Or I'll just have to invite you along to protect me from more would-be purse snatchers! But you're only a Musketeer in training, in the dreams? You seem so skilled already that it's hard to believe you haven't already joined them!"
And now he was grinning at her compliment like an idiot. No wonder Aramis liked her. She was kind and very pretty. He couldn't help but give her a sheepish laugh. "You're too kind. Soon enough I think with those three helping me I'll be with them. And anytime. This really is the best spot. I've got that in common with Aramis. We both have a bit of a sweet tooth." He admitted.