(ง •̀_•́)ง (ember_celica) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-09-01 19:27:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, nora valkyrie, yang xiao long |
There’s only one thing better
Who: Nora and Yang
What: Random meetings and ice cream
When: August
Where: Ice cream!
status: complete
rating: PG
She’d seen Nora on the network a few times, but there’d been no indication she knew who Yang was, so Yang had stepped back a little, mostly. So it was kind of a surprise to see her in the flesh, and this time she couldn’t quite stop herself from approaching. “Hi!”
So her wave was a little enthusiastic. “I’m Yang, we’ve talked on the network? Fancy meeting you here!”
“Yang!” Nora said, breaking into a smile at the sight of the other woman. It was weird to meet someone in person who you’d only talked to on the net, but she’d gotten a really good vibe from Yang. So she was pleased to bump into her randomly. “I know, right?? How are you?”
“I’m pretty good!” She hoped someday soon Nora would dream. Even though she could talk to Blake and her sister about it it was different with Nora. Maybe because they weren’t as close. Yang thought that that degree of separation might make it easier to talk about some things, anyway. Soon. She hoped.
“Hope you’re not busy or anything. Want to get some ice cream?”
“No! Definitely not too busy, and… jeez, like anyone would say no to ice cream!” Nora couldn’t help but grin. It was pretty much her default. But meeting Yang was super cool! She turned to head with the other woman on the street. “I’m Nora. By the way. In case you didn’t remember! I wouldn’t hold it against you for not remembering!”
“That’s what I thought!” Yang gave her finger guns, her own grin widening. “Nora! I’ll remember that!”
Like she could forget anyone from her dreams! Outside of her own team, Nora’s team were the people she’d been closest to. “What’s your favorite kind of ice cream? I was thinking B and J, there’s one nearby and you really can’t go wrong with B and J.”
“Yes!” Nora grinned brightly. So far, Yang was one of her favorite people ever. She really liked the other woman’s enthusiasm and chill attitude. Nora nodded, then turned to walk with her new friend down the street. “What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?”
“Moose tracks. That stuff with peanut butter and chocolate in them,” Yang said. It was impossible to go wrong with PB and chocolate.
She grabbed the door with her mechanical hand, and held it for Nora. “After ~you!”
“Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing.” Nora was practically drooling at the idea of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.
When Yang reached for the door, Nora noticed her mechanical hand. It was a bit curious, but there were strange things all over Orange County. Nora didn’t say anything about it. “Thanks!” She headed into the ice creamery, and straight to the sneeze guard to stare down at the ice cream.
“It’s nothing to sneeze at,” Yang quipped. She peered down at the ice cream too. “There’s too much choice!” She clutched at her chest. “I’ll never make it out alive!”
Nora laughed. “We won’t lose another one! Not on my watch!” And she looped her arm through Yang’s elbow. “Come over here. We can obviously skip the sorbets and the sugar free ice creams.”
Yang nodded. Sugar free was for other people, not for her! Though she wasn’t as much of an addict as her sister was. Ruby and sugar was a scary combination. Also a fun one, some days. A lot of days. She did like to encourage her sister sometimes. “They have moose tracks!”
“Moose tracks it is!” Nora beamed, leaning over to look into the ice cream case. She was so close that her nose practically pressed against the glass.
When the employee came over, she was obviously amused by Nora’s antics. She asked what she could get for the girls, and Nora ordered Moose Tracks for herself. One scoop, on a plain cone.
Yang ordered the same, not wanting to appear to be one-upping Nora by ordering two scoops. Besides. That was just going a little crazy, wasn’t it? She wasn’t Ruby! Though she did pick the waffle cone.
“No lie, I haven’t actually had moose tracks in like… three years.”
Two scoops would have been amazing, but Nora couldn’t really afford more than one scoop at a time. She was still in awe of her new job working for Kanan, but so far it hadn’t brought in that much extra money. Besides, she was so used to not spending much of anything that it was a hard habit to break.
“I’ve never had it! I’m super excited!” Nora dug into her pocket and produced a five dollar bill.
"Oh!" Yang waved her hand. "I got this! It was my idea! It can be like a trade. Ice cream for conversation!"
She hadn't meant for Nora to have to buy her own treat, and thanks to having roommates she had a bit more spending money available. That both her and Ahsoka were handy with appliances also helped when repairs were needed.
“What? Really? I mean, okay. If you insist.” Nora wasn’t about to fight to pay for anything. Not when she had so little to begin with. “But I’ll get the next one.” Provided there would be a next one. Nora was glad to be making friends, so she was hoping for a next one!
“Deal.” Yang said, giving Nora a thumbs up and paying the cashier with her own fiver. She wanted to be nice and it was kind of in her nature to be nice to people. It kind of ran in the family. Something Summer Rose had instilled in her daughters. “Wanna eat around here, or like take a walk?”
“Whatever you’d like! You’re the one paying for this date.” Nora teased, but then accepted the two ice creams from over the counter and turned to follow Yang out of the shop. “There’s some nice chairs outside, we could sit in the shade?”
“That sounds best.” It was a little too hot to spend too much time walking around, and Yang hadn’t really prepared for that kind of thin. Though she now thought a Beacon Beach Party might be a great idea, eventually.
She bounced outside, flopping into a seat.
Nora followed along, absolutely obsessed with her moose tracks. She dug her spoon in and savored everything about the ice cream--the smell, the taste, the look of it. It was probably painfully obvious that she was a girl who came from little (or no) means, and that she knew how to enjoy what she was given. She sat down opposite Yang and leaned back with a sigh.
“This is the perfect day for ice cream and sunshine!”
It was obvious, but Yang knew better than to ask. Still, it would frame how she’d approach Nora. Not out of pity, but out of understanding that Nora might not always be able to afford things Yang took for granted, and she’d have to pattern any friendship activities in ways that would make sure Nora felt welcome but also not like she was being pitied. A tall order, but Yang liked to look out for her friends.
“There’s only one thing better,” Yang said, leaning back and crossing her legs. “Ice cream, sunshine, and good music!”
It was very kind of Yang to take Nora’s financial situation into consideration. Nora wasn’t aware of it, but she would have appreciated it. She ate slowly, savoring every bite as they talked. “Music! I wish I’d brought some! I don’t have a good speaker on my phone.” She frowned, drawing her older smart phone out of her pocket. The speaker bit was pretty lame, but when she plugged in headphones it was okay.
“It’ll work! We don’t need some super awesome speakers to have super awesome music. Especially if we sing along!” What was the point of music if you didn’t sing along?
Nora grinned. “All right then!” She started to dig through her selection of music. She settled on a bouncy tune, and set her phone on the table to play for the pair of them. “Do you know this one?”
“That’s a classic!” Yang pumped her fist. And it turned out she was a pretty good singer!