swirling_storm (swirling_storm) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-04-01 09:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, elsa of arendelle, gale hawthorne |
Who: Gale and Elsa
When: Gale’s return to town
Where: Elsa’s studio then a diner
What: Reunion
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
It had been a long road for Gale, but he was hopefully stopping to refuel here in the OC, for awhile, drink it in, instead of making it a quick hi and bye type of situation. Not that last time he’d had much of a say in being shipped off to South Africa - he knew, and so did his friends, that he could be called away at a moment’s notice. That he was shackled to this life, couldn’t turn back right then, couldn’t get away - he was accustomed to it, his heartbeat like a war; he bled military refinement from his pores. And it was the way he stood. Get shit done, get it done right. Different from a cop, taller and prouder and polished. Rigid. Even in his civilian clothes now, fresh from visiting family in West Virginia and picking up his faithful dog, Bella Nutella - who was back at the house, probably napping the way Gale should be. But he had a few things to do first.
One of them was informing Elsa he was back in town, for good probably, and as much as returning to the Land of Wacky Dreams had unnerved him, in an odd way it felt almost like coming home. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he wouldn’t think about it now. Just about how, since Elsa was the first friend he’d made here, he should tell her in person that he had returned.
The TV station was where they’d built that snow fort during a particularly weird time for southern California, so he went there and signed in, waiting patiently for her on the edge of the camera equipment so she could finish up. It would be a surprise, but hopefully a good one - and she really couldn’t miss him, right? All 6’3 of him, with hard blue-grey eyes and that perfect posture.
Elsa had definitely missed Gale, he’d been fun to be around and they’d been well on their way to developing a really strong friendship when he’d been called to duty again. She had known it could happen but had been hoping it wouldn’t. She hadn’t heard anything, not that she’d really expected to after all he was probably busy and focused on the task at hand.
She’d just finished the latest forecast, despite owning the company now she still made sure to get her daily stints in front of the camera in. Gale would have been shown through to the studio since he was on a list of personal friends. She’d put his name on it just in case. Not expecting to actually see him there.
Stepping off her spot and thanking everybody for a good report she froze when she saw her old friend standing to the side. It was true, you really couldn’t miss him. Smiling brightly she completely abandoned her professionalism and ran over to hug him. “Gale” she said happily, “You’re back. I can’t believe it”
"Hey," Gale laughed, the stone-cold expression (he probably was guilty of resting bitch face, for a man, if such a thing was possible) cracking when Elsa hugged him. He slung his arms around her in return and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, I'm back. For good, probably. Just couldn't stay away from all the craziness." He knew that he'd probably start dreaming again – they'd just pick up where they left off, before he hopped continents to be all he could be. And he wasn't really looking forward to that, as nice as it was to know he could actually sort of begin to form an attachment somewhere, someplace, without the nagging thought of being called away again always in the back of his mind.
He released her and glanced around, hoping he hadn't come at a bad time. "I just wanted to let you know, first, that I was back. And sorry I didn't keep in touch but the exercise was in South Africa and it wasn't always easy to find a computer," he grinned sheepishly. Of course they had internet access there, but being that it was an exercise he was focused on the training and interacting with South African forces.
She smiled brightly at him, “For good? Really. I’m going to hold you to that you know” she told him, hugging him once more before he let her go. “You look well, I’m glad to see. You’ve been looking after yourself at least” she commented. She knew the dreams could be a hindrance and awful thing for some but he wasn’t on his own. Elsa would listen and help if she could.
“Aww I’m the first one you’ve let know? Thank you. I appreciate it and I’ll let you off not contacting me” she told him. “Especially if you join me for lunch? Do you have time?” she asked hopefully.
Lunch? Lunch sounded really good, hence the growling in the vicinity of his stomach. Gale had been looking after himself, or trying to anyway, but sitting down for regular meals, and getting regular sleep, was still something he was getting used to. Now that he had a more civilian-oriented job, there was more opportunity to do that – granted, he worked weird hours where he was now but hopefully someday everything would balance out. He was trying to do like his therapist said, and take it one day at a time or whatever.
"Works for me, I’m all yours until you’ve got to go back to adult things," he nodded. "You have stuff here or do you want to go somewhere? I'm sure you have more important life events to catch me up on than I have. But I want to hear everything, since I suck at keeping in touch."
Elsa would make sure Gale ate properly, she’d soon be insisting he came over for dinner regularly or calling him up for lunch and coffee dates. But that’s what good friends were there for.
“Excellent then I am stealing you away” she said, “Let’s go out somewhere, if we stay here they’ll just come and bug us with things” Elsa took his arm and led him to the parking garage where her car was parked, “I may have one or two things to tell you” she said, waving her left hand and engagement ring at him.
Hey, fair enough. He laughed, a low rolling thunder of a sound, and gladly let Elsa lead him along. Her set of wheels was a lot fancier than his was, but at least he didn’t have to rent anymore - or live on a military base. There were some perks to the Army Reserves. The engagement ring, however, caught his eye right away, that flash of bling he paused to admire before they hopped into the car.
“Oh, wow, so you’re off the market?” He grinned, pleased to see this development. “Kate, right? I remember you two had started dating when I was around last. That’s amazing, congrats. Did you set a date? Where’s it going to be?” So many questions, but wedding news was officially happy news.
Elsa laughed as she started the car, “Definitely off the market. And yes it’s Kate” she confirmed with a nod, “Thank you. It was a complete surprise but a very welcome one. We’re thinking of August but we’re still looking at venue’s and themes and all that kind of thing” They were both pretty busy and easily distracted. But happy. Very very happy.
Gale settled in for the ride, putting the seat back a little because tall and oafish. He was scrunched easily in most cars - whomever was in the passenger seat next would probably be swallowed, but hey. “August,” he mused. “That’s not too far off. I bet it’ll go quickly? What with all the planning you have to do and everything.” Or at least, that was what he imagined though naturally he’d never planned a wedding before. Nor had he even been to very many, but they were happy occasions, and he was happy for Elsa and her fiance too.
“What else happened with you? Anything of note? Weirdness in the OC still a thing?”
Elsa smiled when he pushed the seat back, her sister had been the last person in the car with her and Anna was much much shorter than Gale. “I have no doubt it will and I’ll be in panic soon enough too. But now I have you to help me too” she grinned at him.
“Well, the weirdness is definitely still around. Dreams and all that and I have had a couple of things happen to me. The main one being a gift from my own dreams” she told him, “I’ll show you once we’re at the diner”
"Yeah, I'll definitely help you, whatever you need. Whatever I can do," Gale agreed easily, and he didn't think he was good at the nuances of planning a wedding (it was new to him) but if Elsa needed something done, he'd get it done. Heavy lifting? Scoping out venues? Keeping her calm? That was just what you did for friends, you were with them throughout all the important life events, and he wasn't going anywhere.
His stomach rumbled more, with all this talk of diners (he was kind of in the mood for a big, juicy burger and fries – not the healthiest thing, but whatever) and he lifted an eyebrow when she mentioned gifts. "Well, now that should be a good story. I didn't dream much before I left, just enough to know that things were going to turn to shit pretty quick." So it'd simply pick up from there, he assumed. "Now that I'm back, well, who knows. After South Africa, I took the time to go through all the crap necessary to transition to Army Reserves. Moved back and got a job in military shipping, for this company in Newport Beach. Weird hours but it's fine. Tella's glad to be back in the OC too, I think." There were loads of people to fawn over her cuteness here.
“Thank you” Elsa said, since she didn’t think she was particularly good either having never done it before but with support and help from her friends and sister she knew they’d have everything covered. It would be nice to get Gale’s opinion on things too, a different perspective as it was and she trusted him to be honest.
“Sounds like you’re very ready for food” she teased, turning the corner to the road with their lunch destination on it. “Oh it is” she promised before looking at him worriedly, “If they are let me know and we’ll go out for ice cream or do something fun” Because sometimes you needed something cheerful after the dreams. “You really are back for the long haul then” she smiled happily, “I’m glad you have a job sorted, even if you do have odd hours. Oh bless her, how is she doing?” Elsa had a very large soft spot for the chocolate lab, she was an adorable thing.
Feed the Gale! Yeah, he was starving, the poor giant. No lie. “I’m gonna have to claim you for ice cream at some point anyway,” he chuckled. It was like their thing. “Tella’s good though, back to her tail-twirling self. She was with my family in West Virginia while I was on assignment in South Africa. I didn’t have much time to arrange everything and she cried so much when she was shipped off.” Honestly, saying goodbye to her for even those few weeks had been sad for him - needless to say, Gale had a soft spot for his support dog too. At first he was kind of dubious about adopting one, but she was the sweetest pup and had really helped him in terms of mental health and coping with things.
“Man, I sound like some crazy cat lady just without the cat,” he quipped. “I promise I don’t have pics of her in my wallet or anything.” Just on his phone! That was all!
Feeding the Gale was definitely on the agenda as they pulled into the parking lot of the diner. “Anytime” Ice cream was definitely their thing, it was nice to be able to go back to that. “Poor thing, I imagine she was over the moon when she saw you again. Not that your family wouldn’t have taken excellent care of her but you’re hers you know?” she smiled. The dog was lovely and fit with Gale so well, they worked as a team and Elsa could definitely see how she could help.
“That’s a shame. You should totally have at least one” she teased as they got out of the car, “Crazy dog guys are much better by the way” she laughed, “Come on, let’s get you fed”
He got out of the car too, stretching his legs. “Crazy dog guy, I like the sound of that,” a grin flickered across his face, so unused to smiling. Sometimes it made his cheeks hurt, but being back in the OC, he was hopefully going to come out of his shell a little more. The way he’d started to before he got sent away.
“Oh, hey,” he glanced at Elsa, stopping in his tracks. “What did you want to show me? The gift thing?”
“Oh of course” Elsa said, turning to him with a smile, “Now don’t freak out okay?” she told him before summoning her power and making it snow between them.
Well, shit. ‘Don’t freak out’ was always an interesting precursor, but luckily, Gale was pretty calm and collected. Most of the time. Stoic, actually, what with the way he carried himself and all he had seen throughout his life - it took a lot to really rattle him, and the appearance of snow didn’t. At least not in a bad way. He actually laughed, a sound of disbelief and wonder.
“Wow,” he took a breath, reaching out to tentatively cup a few snowflakes in his large hands. “That’s pretty amazing. Elsa the Snow Queen.” He should have seen it coming, really. This place was just weird. Superpowers and dreams that were windows to another world. “Alright, come on, let’s head in before people think they’re hallucinating a freak winter explosion.”
Elsa didn't think Gale would freak out, she wasn't entirely convinced he could he was always so calm but it was worth warning just in case she'd found.
Laughing Elsa stopped, "Crazy right?" she grinned before stopping the snow and taking his arm. "Okay onwards to food" she teased as they moved into the diner feeling lighter and happier to have her friend back.