Who: Jack & Rose, Leliana & Gale What:Double date Casual Disney outing of a somewhat romantic nature and conveniently missing the demons crawling out from hell. When: During the Hellmouth Plot. Where: Disney, bitch Rating/Warnings: Eventually they discuss hookers, because that's an appropriate topic for Disney Status: Complete!
Disneyland being crowded was a severe understatement. Stuff was going on, that’s all Jack knew and paid attention to, and the tight squeeze of maneuvering through the different areas didn’t stop him from enjoying himself either - and he hoped it didn’t spoil much of Rose’s fun, too. Mickey ears procured, he made a point of leading his ‘date’ for the day (though he hadn’t used those exact words, that’d be too weird, too fast) by the hand, though there was some finger entanglement he didn’t notice right away. It was almost like instinct, like a ghost reflex from the dreams.
“I think that’s it, over there,” he motioned, an extravagant icecream vendor in the distance. “It’s hard to miss Gale. He’s really fucking tall, and actually, right…there.” It didn’t take much for Jack to spot the towering figure over the crowds, maybe a head of redhair by him too. “You’ll like him. Lady he’s with is French, I think, but we’ll introduce you.”
Rose had almost considered buying a new dress for her outing with Jack, before she had realized that it wasn’t like he had seen any of her dresses before, and that she really was trying to live a little more frugally. Instead, she had spent extra time getting ready, doing her hair in a nice updo and wearing one of her cuter, more comfortable sundresses, and a pair of especially comfortable flats since she knew that she would be on her feet quite a bit.
Despite the crowds, Rose was having quite a bit of fun. Rose couldn’t quite understand how Jack managed to make even the Mickey ears look dashing instead of silly, but somehow he did. “Oh my, he really is tall,” Rose said, catching sight of the other man. If she was completely honest, she had been a little disappointed at first that the Disney trip wasn’t going to be just her and Jack, but the more she thought about it, the more excited she was to meet Jack’s friends. Once she got closer to the others, she gave them a small wave, and though they didn’t need to maneuver through the crowds anymore, she didn’t let go of Jack’s hand.
Disney. Gale wasn’t sure if it was still the Happiest Place on Earth, but it was...an experience. He’d give it that. And with free passes, how could you go wrong? Famous last words, but so far things were going pretty well. Jeans, a t-shirt, sturdy trainers, military ID tucked away, he was ready to lead his people through the crowd while being the tallest, like a redwood tree, to ensure they didn’t get swept up by the masses or run over by the infamous ‘mom’s with strollers’ beast. Now, he and Leliana were waiting on Main Street, in front of the ice cream, cake, confectionery shop that literally pumped out sweet smells out to appeal to the olfactory senses, and he was pretty much drooling - consider the tactic effective, Disney.
“There they are,” he slid his arm across the shoulders of his tiny-but-deadly redhaired ‘date’ (they’d been fucking for over a month and still couldn’t decide what they were, but whatever, the Facebook status of ‘it’s complicated’ would have to do for now) and met Jack and Rose. “Hey guys. Nice ears,” he smirked, referring to Jack’s newest addition. “My vote is Dole whips to start - “ And then they could split up, since Jack probably wanted time with his not-date (also a redhead, how interesting), and they could always meet up again later for fireworks or whatever. “But first intros. I’m guessing you’re Rose?” He held out his hand for a shake. “I’m Gale, this is Leliana.”
Well, Disney for recreational purposes was certainly fun. Her only previous ‘Disney Experience’ had been in Paris and only because they had a severe pedophile problem she’d been tasked to eradicate. Today was supposed to be casual and for a little bit of normalcy, Gale’s arm around her shoulder giving off the impression that they were a thing, but she hadn’t shoved him off, nor had she declined his invitation to go out and be ‘cute’ in public.
It was complicated.
“We’ll get you your Dole whips,” she sighed, considering he hadn’t quite shut up about that sweet kind of delicacy, and gave his rump a little pat-pat. “But hello!” And Leliana certainly was already familiar with Jack, as she was the one that picked them both up after their destructive night of drunkenness. So that introductory greet was mainly for Rose, another redhead to add a little color into the mix of things. Awww, good choice, Jack.
“Don’t know what the hell Dole whips are,” Jack piped, reaching into his pocket to confirm the presence of his raggedy wallet, barely hanging together by the seams. Disney seemed like a crowded trap of possible theft with all the bumping and closeness going on, and he worked hard for his money, goddamnit. Doing random things, but hey, fairly earned. “I ain’t picky, so whatever works - that good with you, Rose? I could use something coldish and sweet.”
It’d give them a little fuel for the rest of the night up until dinner, a couple hours away.
“I am Rose. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gale, Leliana” Rose said, taking Gale’s hand. “What a lovely name,” she said, looking at Leliana.
“I do love ice cream,” Rose said to Jack. She was especially fond of soft serve, which this appeared to be. While she had never had a dole whip before, the ones people had around them looked absolutely delicious.
"They're fucking delicious, okay," Gale defended his choice, even if Leliana thought he was a huge dork. Maybe he was, but once she had one she'd understand why he would mow people down to get to them. Besides the fact that it was Disney, so the whole theme (especially when it was this crowded), was 'kill or be killed.'
He had experience with that. It was game on.
But he began to lead the way, since Adventureland, the Aloha Isle place, was a twist and a turn away from Main Street. His arm around Leliana was mostly so that he didn't lose her in the throng of people, but he made like Jack and Rose and went for her hand instead, in a loose wrap of fingers. Casual. Like their whole thing was supposed to be, but they sucked at. Damn.
"Are you guys having fun?" he asked the other two.
Gale was a huge dork, Leliana was sure the look of amused exasperation would make that thought plenty obvious. But back to the lady, who was as cute as a button! “Thank you,” she chuckled. “Likewise yours. Must be a redhead thing, I suppose?”
Alright, alright, Dole whips. Jack would follow Gale’s sage suggestion, considering he’d been pretty damn persistent about them even before coming up here. They must be something close to glorious. “Crowd and smoldering heat can’t ruin this. You’ve made a dream I thought was long dead fulfill itself, so thanks for that, man.” And the tickets were free (thanks a second and third time around, Gale), meaning every extra penny could be spent on the overpriced food and trinkets that caused an arm and a leg. Hence the ears Jack wore very proudly. He’d keep them forever.
It made Leliana want a set of her own, pout.
“Something about an anniversary going on, I think?” It somehow explained the crowd or something, she didn’t know much of the details. So she simply shrugged, offering Gale’s hand a little squeeze (which meant nothing, really) while they zigzagged through the mess of people.
"I am having a lot of fun!" Rose said, and unconsciously gave Jack's hand a squeeze as they maneuvered through the crowd. She couldn't help but give a thought to how Cal and her mother would react if they had come to Disneyland today, and she was infinitely glad that she was here Jack and his friends, where she wouldn't have to put up with their snide comments about the people who had come today. She was already hoping that she and Leliana could become friends, as the girl seemed very nice.
"It's their 60th anniversary this weekend. There's supposed to be a spectacular fireworks display tonight." Rose had, of course, read up a little on the park and their diamond anniversary when Jack had mentioned they were going to Disneyland. It would do no good to come to the park without being prepared. "Perhaps if we're not all tuckered out by then, we can watch it?"
Leliana didn’t have to worry, Gale would get her a pair of ears (with her name stitched on there, even!) if that’s what she wanted. He would even let his oafish self get his picture taken with characters, if that was the vote. There were plenty out today, probably going in short shifts because of the intense heat and the sheer number of people, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they wandered past someone noteworthy on the way.
“Yep, the anniversary was why we got the passes,” he said. “Well, mostly Memorial Day, but...” It was nice that the two occasions coincided - it meant a few perks, even if it also meant a celebration with tons of strangers. “I’m game for the fireworks since they’re supposed to be impressive. We can always meet at a good spot later on - I think in front of the castle’s supposed to be one of the best.” And he wouldn’t mind staking claim either.
“One of us did our research, yeah?” Jack smirked to Rose, untangling their hands just so he could scoot behind her - and push her along gently by the waist - up until their destination was reached. A fortress of frozen yogurt and icecream, and he finally wanted to know what the fuck these Dole whip things were, damnit. “Fireworks actually sound like a good time to properly digest dinner, anyway - my vote’s a hell yes.”
Fireworks. How oddly romantic. From an outsider view, she’d swoon and gush because the thought was beyond adorable - but actually being involved in this whole...thing, well. A little different. Not a bad different, just… “Don’t worry, boys. We will protect you from the angry crowd,” Leliana teased. “I imagine it would be a little aggressive?” Families shoving and being rude, going crazy over Mickey. Or that one Disney character with the ice powers, there were a lot of little girls dressed up as whoever that was.
Disney was such a strange battlefield, it really was.
“”In front of the castle then,” Rose agreed. The fireworks were sure to be great, and it would be even better with Jack at her side. And his friends, of course. She was a little bit surprised at just how much she liked Jack already, despite the fact that they hadn’t really only spent a little amount of time together. She couldn’t stop herself from letting out a surprised laugh when he put his hands on her waist, and she covered them with her own.
"I like to be prepared for battle, it's the strategist in me," Gale smirked, and it was true, Disney really was kind of like some colorful, dreamlike war - instead of sniper rifles and grenades, you had strollers and backpacks with your baby dangling in it; could be used as a weapon, those little people were heavy. Especially when they were screaming - people generally got out of the way, crowds parting like the Red Sea, when a wailing child was in their presence.
The Aloha Isle sign was like a godsend, and so were the ice cream treats - definitely soft serve, vanilla and pineapple with pineapple juice, some kind of float and hell if he knew what was actually in it (nothing healthy) but Gale was happy. He had one now, with a maraschino cherry on top and a paper umbrella. Really fucking festive. "So you're starting school in the fall, yeah?" he asked Rose. "What are you studying?"
Dole whips, Dole whips everywhere. “This better not disappoint me,” he mumbled to Gale, sniffing the soft serve pineapple concoction in a cup. Jack fronted the funds for whatever Rose decided, too - he was slowly abandoning that ‘broke gutter rat’ image, and he wanted to do the whole ‘treating’ thing. He hadn’t much to offer on a boat doomed to drink, and in his last dreams he was painted as a thief and handcuffed below deck, ice waters gushing in. It’d be a very anti-climatic way to go, but hey, it was what it was. For all that shit there, he’d make it up here.
There was the dull sound of screams in the background, which didn’t seem terribly out of place considering the rides and the children shrieking. Leliana turned her head, suspicious at first, and then casually shrugged. People must be having fun, no reason to think otherwise.
Though sometimes it was a little hard to distinguish roller coaster screams from screams of death, but that probably spoke volumes when it came to her life. Sigh.
“Thank you, sir,” Rose said, shooting Jack a smile. To say that she hadn’t expected Jack to pay would be a bit of a lie - Rose might not have exactly fit in with all her mother’s high society friends, but she had always been under the impression that men paid on dates (not that she was sure this was a date, they hadn’t really said one way or another), but she still appreciated it, especially knowing that Jack didn’t make a lot of money.
She turned her attention to Gale at the question. “I’m planning on studying art history,” Rose said. “It’s just such a fascinating subject.” It was then that she took a bite of her Dole whip. “Oh, Gale, you were right; these are fantastic!”
“Art History, really? That’s cool, I hear Jack does the art thing too,” Gale said, with a knowing glance over at his drunken park explosion friend. He’d gotten Leliana her own Dole whip as well, and he handed it to her with a grand flourish. The screams, well, they’d been noticed too - but weren’t they near the roller coasters or something? He didn’t check the map, but he was sure that was what it was. People always screamed on those things. Right?
Still, he usually (without thinking, maybe they were just in sync) took cues from Leliana anyway, and if she didn’t believe anything was amiss, then it was probably fine. “You guys seem to have a lot in common.” How sweet! A spoonful of pineapple-tinged goodness went into his mouth, and he had to agree. “They are awesome, right? No one’s disappointed?”
Well, he hadn’t gotten to the art part yet, but thanks for making the connection there, Gale. Jack coughed into his spoon for a second, eyes shifting uncomfortably - only because his mind kept going to that night. Which had also been what he’d still been dreaming (he’d be officially dreaming the longest day in history, at this rate), but the whole ‘paint me like one of your French Girls’ thing…
Jack should probably warn her about that. At some point. Maybe when she dreamt a little more and saw the way their, ah, relationship progressed. He hadn’t broken to her that she’d been engaged to a douchebag and then promptly cheated on Cal with him, it was a lot to sort of take in?
“I draw. And sell them, sometimes.” Foot shuffle. “Or I get requests a lot, weird ones.”
Leliana gave Gale another affectionate pat on the rump. “No one’s disappointed,” she assured, amusedly shaking her head. They were good, she had no complaint about hers, but now wondered if the recipe could be replicated?? Hm, a Pinterest task for later. “An artist! How nice, do people come up to you and ask you to draw them in the nude a lot?”
Jack almost choked on his Dole whip. Odd question, but she was also kind of an odd duck, so… “Well, actually…”
Rose gave a small, pleased smile when Gale noted that they had some things in common. They might not have had a whole lot in common, such as their upbringing, but they definitely seemed to have similar tastes and passions, which was nice. Though when Jack mentioned that he had a few requests for nudes, her she raised her eyebrows.
“You do?” she asked, a touch of teasing in her voice. “Is this something that happens often?”
Oh man. So Gale shouldn’t really find his friend’s shuffling and awkwardness amusing but, hey, he really kind of did. Not in a bad way, but Rose definitely thought it was all endearing too. He was picking up those vibes from her. “Well, you know. Art is art, right?” he grinned, trying not to laugh. To distract himself, he shoved another spoonful of delicious soft serve into his hungry mouth. “Good for those people, for uh...being comfortable with themselves. Or something. I bet you do a great job.”
Yeah, see! He also bet Rose wanted to be painted naked too, but Gale wouldn’t spoil that for her and inform her that she did, in fact, enjoy sitting in her birthday suit for Dawson the Artist over here.
Oh, so she was right! Now she felt a tad guilty, putting the young man on the spot but Leliana tried not to see the amusement in it, either. And tried to bite back a smile. Currently she was failing horribly, and opted to occupy her mouth with a plentiful scoop of dessert.
Jack very, very awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, nose squished up all the way to his brow. “Hey, they got requests and are willing to pay…” Not that he could always be entirely picky either, and he was respectful. Jack was a gentleman! “Had a three legged prostitute commission me once. For a drawing. Both realities or whatever. Nothing happened,” he clarified before continuing. “It’s never that kind of gig. It’s just...art. And if someone wants to plaster naked drawings of themselves in the privacy of their own home - or elsewhere, fuck if I know - more power to them. You don’t see confidence like that often. That’s their way of celebrating, I guess.”
Leliana squinted suspiciously. Why did all this sound like a very familiar movie? Hmmm…
“One would have to be quite brave, I imagine, to do something like that,” Rose said, smiling. “I would love to see them, if you’d be willing to show them.” Assuming that he had any.
It did sound familiar, didn’t it? Gale glanced at Leliana, also thinking the same thing - but he couldn’t quite place the name of anything. Maybe it was just one of those standard plots, you know? Boy draws three-legged prostitute, boy meets girl, boy and girl...draw each other naked? Hell if he knew.
“Wait, how does someone have three legs?” he wanted to know, scratching his cheek. That sounded like a circus act. “I’d want to draw them too, just to document that moment in history.” And probably never erase it from his brain.
Actually, you know what? He wasn’t even going to think about that at all. He was just going to eat his Dole whip and blatantly ignore the prickly, creepy-crawly sensation skittering up and down his spine, related to the buzz in the air around them. It was Disney, the happiest place on Earth. There was no room for creepy-crawly here, right?
“Travel and you come across the strangest things,” Leliana chirped, taking the interesting subject of art with stride. Considering everything the four of them had seen and experienced here, it couldn’t possibly be the strangest thing, could it? Though she did wonder about the circus thing, too…
“Anyway,” Jack cleared his throat, returning his attention to Rose’s question - which was met with a nod. “Yeah, sure. It’s nothing jaw-dropping or anything. I just draw what I see and it usually goes pretty well. Had a lot of my time on my hands to hone that self-taught skill.” It was a mostly neutral topic, so why the fuck did he feel the tip of his ears go red? His cheeks a little warm? Was he blushing?
Fighting back something of a giggle, Leliana pulled Gale’s arm down, trying to get his ear a bit closer to whisper, very quietly; “Five dollars says he draws her in the nude.”
“You’re awfully red for someone who hasn’t drawn anything too risqué, Mr. Dawson,” Rose teased, though Jack blushing was definitely one of the more adorable things she had seen. And she was also very interested in seeing drawings of the three-legged prostitute. She hadn’t actually seen any of Jack’s art yet, but she was itching to give it a look.
She turned to Leliana, wondering a little what she and Gale were whispering about, but not about to pry. “Have you come across any interesting things while travelling?” she asked.
“That’s a sure bet,” Gale laughed under his breath, a murmur of sound, then stuck his spoon into his mouth to avoid getting louder about it. Or embarrassing Jack even more. But oh, travel stories? He had those. He had a shit ton of those. Especially concerning the strange and bizarre; it was a rite of passage in the military.
He raised his hand slightly, like Rose was the teacher and he was the student volunteering to answer the question. Pop went the spoon from his mouth. “Open air camel slaughtering in the market,” he offered. “Literally, the butchers just skin it and hand the pieces over. Or actually, that’s not appetizing, is it?” Especially the way the chunks were slapped with a stick, and the entire cloud of flies buzzed off. Shudder. “One time I also heard about a canary flying out of a Thai hooker’s...lady bits.”
Obviously not him, because he had never hired a hooker before, but word and stories traveled like that in the Army through the grapevine of soldiers. “Um, anyway, I’ll just shut up and let Leli answer the questions,” he smirked.
“Canary flying out of a woman’s…” Hand motions for the actual term, because Jack didn’t know want to be crude and Gale already stole the neutral cutesy term of ‘ladybits.’ “Better story than my multi-legged hooker. Damn.”
Now Leliana looked a little irked. Not much for the hooker, but the poor canary! And the feathers? “It must have been a mess down there,” she murmured, but loud enough for them to hear. Now, she had several strange stories - not all she could share - but she thought about it, stirring the melting Dole whip. “Hmmm...I guess the strangest things I’ve seen we when I served tea at a brothel. I was in Bangkok for awhile. Nothing like little birds flying out of a woman’s Winking Eye of God, but the techniques were….different.”
“That sounds dreadful,” Rose said, in reference to the camel slaughtering. “The smell must be horrendous.” At the canary hooker, she at least attempted to look scandalized, but probably looked more amused than anything. “That sounds… well, like something. And this is a service that people pay for? It looks as though I’m the only one here who doesn’t have stories about interesting prostitutes.”
Winking Eye of God. That was good, Gale had to give Leliana credit for that one. “A better term than lady bits,” he complimented. “I personally didn’t know that ‘tea server in a brothel’ was a thing - “ Could you even put that on your résumé? “...but you learn something new everyday.”
The Dole whip just about finished, he relished in drinking (trying not to slurp - sometimes he had manners) the sweet, creamy remnants from the bottom of the clear plastic cup. “And it’s okay, Rose, lack of prostitute stories aside, we still like you.” His grin was teasing - hard to be a hardass prone to not having fun when you were surrounded by happy things, and especially soft serve. “I feel like we need to hit up Pirates of the Caribbean now. To fully appreciate all these hooker stories. What do you guys think?”
“One of the oldest businesses there are,” Leliana winked at Rose. But considering this conversation took a rather inappropriate turn at Disney of all places, Gale’s suggestion was a sound plan. “Perhaps one day you’ll have your own story to share. You’re still young. The possibilities are endless.”
Pirates was good enough for him, and Jack tossed his empty cup away. His hand went to slither around Rose’s arm though, gently. If they were on the move again he still wasn’t about to let her get swallowed up by the shoving crowd of screeching children and parents that looked like they wanted to shoot themselves in the crotch. “Pirates it is, to honor our referenced hookers! Lead the way, hell if I know where I’m going.”
Another batch of screaming. Maker’s breath. Leliana suppressed a sigh but shook her head, arm linked with her Giant Companion’s. “Disney sounds more like murder than fun today. Is that just me?”