Leon Orcot (under_arrest) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-10-24 21:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, leon orcot, rose tyler |
Who: Leon, Rose, and NPC!Chris
What: Leon takes Chris to Disneyland, somehow gets stuck bringing a complete stranger too.
When: Early October
Where: Mostly in a Starbucks near Disneyland, then Leon's car
Ratings/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Complete
Disneyland wasn’t Leon’s idea of fun, but Chris had seemed eager to go. The kid couldn’t talk, but he sure let his feelings known by subtly putting Disneyland fliers around the apartment. Leon had woken up this morning with one of them on his face.
It was his day off and he’d promised Chris they’d spend the entire day together. He left the house bright and early so he could get there right when they opened the gates, and hopefully at least get to go on a few rides before the crowds started really started.
But first, coffee. And maybe something to eat before they went in and were forced to pay the exuberant park-snack fees. “Coffee, black,” Leon said. “And…” he looked at Chris. “Hot chocolate?” Chris shook his head. “Chocolate milk?” At that, Chris smiled and nodded. “And a chocolate milk. Maybe a couple of those quiches of yours too.” Chris jabbed his finger at the glass case, and Leon sighed. “And a cake pop too, I guess.”
It was a pretty slow day and Rose was hoping to get off work early. A trickle of customers came in before she could try and slip out so she stood behind the register, a plastered smile on her face. Really, it wasn’t so bad...she was sure if she had gone to retail or other food works it would have been about the same; people just liked to complain and vent out their frustrations on other people. And who was better to do that to than the person helping you? It was just a convenience.
Her smile turned genuine as the next customer walked up, a younger child in tow. She punched in their order and smiled as the kid made his choice quietly. “Big order,” she said, her eyes scanning the screen in front of her and grinned at the customer. “Must be a big day ahead! Let me guess…” she made an exaggerated thinking face and grinned down at the child. “Disneyland today?” They were fairly close to the park and saw a lot of families coming in before heading to the magical kingdom. Rose hadn’t been able to make it herself, although it was on her ‘To Do’ list. She figured she’d rangle Pete and Lina into taking her at some point...maybe when she got a little more from her tips.
Chris’s face lit up and he nodded eagerly. “It’s his first time,” Leon said by way of explanation, placing his hand affectionately on Chris’s head. Seeing Chris this excited made Leon think that this would probably be worth it in the end, even with the throngs of people. “I haven’t been since I was a teenager though. What rides do you recommend?” he might as well get to those ones before the place became too crowded.
Rose gave a shrug, opening the register as he paid and handing him his change back. “I dunno to be honest. I’ve only been here a couple of months and haven’t been able to make my way over! Depends on what you fancy!” She closed the drawer with a snap and grinned again, her eyes going from Leon to Chris. “Do you like...scary rides? I heard they have a haunted house type there. Or if you like roller coasters, I’ve heard they have some brilliant ones there!” The excitement was obvious in her own voice; of course working there she had heard many customers talk about their days planned or already spent at Disneyland. It made her want to go more and more, but every day when she got off, she found she either didn’t have the energy or wanted to go home.
She’d make it there one day.
Chris watched Rose as she spoke, a thoughtful look on his face. Once she finished, he turned to Leon. Leon chose to ignore the look that Chris was giving him. One of the benefits of a mute brother.
“Well, thanks,” Leon said, hoping that the haunted ride wasn’t one of Chris’s choices. Leon remembered that from when he was a kid, and it had scared the pants off of him. “Come on Chris, let’s go get a seat,” he said, pulling his reluctant brother to one of the tables.
Ask her come Chris signed, once they sat down. Then two of them had very recently started learning ASL - Leon didn’t know if or when Chris was going to start talking again, and while Leon didn’t technically need to know how to sign, he did need to be able to understand what Chris was saying. It was just as well though, because Chris was apparently a much quicker study than Leon was. Even now, it took a moment for him to figure out what Chris was saying, even though he already suspected that the thought had been in his brother’s head.
“Definitely not,” Leon said lowly. He glanced over at her, and then leaned in closer to Chris. “You can’t just ask strangers to go to Disneyland with you, Chris; it’s not safe.”
Please? Chris stared up with Leon with his giant blue eyes.
“Absolutely not.” It didn’t matter how much Chris would beg, there was no way Leon was going to ask some random Starbucks girl to go to Disneyland with them.
Rose was able to finish her shift within the next ten minutes, quickly walking to clock out before another round of customers could walk through the door. She tossed her apron in her locker and headed out, ordering a coffee before she headed home.
After checking her phone, she looked up, noticing that the gentleman and his son were still there. She grinned as her name was called and she grabbed her drink, stuffing her phone back in her pocket. “I hope you guys have a great time today,” she said, holding the door open. “Come back and tell me which ride was your favorite, ok?”
The last thing Leon wanted was the barista to come over to their table. It was hard enough to tell Chris no to anything, and now it would be impossible.
“Yeah, we’ll do that,” Leon said, trying very hard to ignore Chris’s look. But then, Chris caught his eye, and Leon had no choice. He let out a heavy sigh. “Chris here is wondering if you wanted to come with us. But I told him you were already busy with helping out everyone else who wanted coffees.” There. He asked for Chris, and he could say he did his duty as a big brother. It wasn’t Leon’s fault that Rose was bound to say no.
Rose hesitated at the door with the...well, it seemed like an invitation? One that seemed a bit guarded and meant to be taken as a ‘no, but thank you.’ She glanced from Leon to Chris, wondering if she would be completely mental to take them up on their offer. It seemed that the little one was serious about it, but the dad? He seemed like it was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Well, I am done with my shift for today. And I didn’t have any plans…” She raised an eyebrow at Leon before deciding, what the hell? “I mean, if you really don’t mind, I’d love to tagalong. Been really wanting to go and well...yeah! Best way to make new friends yeah?” She grinned, hoping it was enough to make Leon at ease, although she doubted it. Still, he had offered? You couldn’t offer someone to go to Disneyland with them and not think that they might say yes!
“I just wanna change real fast, but my flat is right around the corner. Can I meet up with you guys in ten?”
Leon’s eyes widened just a touch. That was not the answer he was expecting. Who the hell just randomly accepted Disneyland invitations from random strangers? That was how people got themselves kidnapped and murdered. But it wasn’t like he could say anything now. He’d be the biggest asshole in the world if he said no now.
“Yeah, great,” Leon said, not sounding nearly as enthusiastic as Chris looked. “We can wait for you outside, I guess.” It would give Leon a chance to smoke the cigarette he suddenly needed, at least.
Rose tried to ignore the tone Leon used and instead smiled and gave Chris a wave goodbye before heading out to change. Despite the possible uncomfortable situation, she was actually looking forward to it. She was sure if things got a bit too strange with the two, she could just branch off and enjoy exploring the park on her own. But she had a feeling this was something to do with other people and who better to enjoy it with than a child?
It took her about an hour to meet them back there again, dressed in jeans and a Mickey tee; hey, may as well go all out right? She grinned when she saw them, trying to gauge if Leon might have relaxed a bit more. “Thanks for waiting,” she said with a grin, looking between the two. “But ready when you guys are!”
Leon had been tempted to leave while she was getting ready, but one look at Chris told him that that would be a bad idea. So he waited for her, a little impatiently. By the time she came back, he was resigned to the fact that he was stuck with her for the rest of the day. But hey, maybe she’d want to take Chris on some of the rides Leon didn’t want to go on.
“We’re ready,” he said, and led them to his car. It was an old beat-up bucket of rust, but it got him from A to B and it wasn’t like he could afford a new car anyway. “Alright,” he said, letting his excitement come back. “Pile in. You guys ready to see the Happiest Place on Earth?”
Assuming your definition of ‘happy’ involved crowds, lines, and screaming children, at least.
Rose happily followed them to the car, piling into the back of the car, a smile on her face. She didn’t care that the trip was going to be with a complete stranger and his son (this was his son, right? She’d have to figure out how to casually ask), but the fact that she was finally going to experience Disneyland. Rose grinned as Leon asked the question and clapped her hands together as if she were a little girl. “I am!” She grinned at Chris next to her, the excitement on his face as well.
“Did you guys have anything planned to do first? Any rides that you really want to go on?” The was addressed to Chris, although her eyes met with Leon’s in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t think we’ve thought about it that much,” Leon said slowly. At least, he hadn’t thought about it too hard. If Chris had, he hadn’t found a way to let Leon know. “I thought we’d start at Mickey’s Toon Town and go from there. Though,” his eyes flicked from Rose to Chris in the rearview, before he focused back on the road, “if you see anything you want to go on Chris, you let us know.” He frowned to himself. “Same goes to you too,” he added after only a moment’s hesitation to Rose.
The Starbucks hadn’t been far from the park, and it didn’t take long for Leon to find a parking spot that was actually almost close to the gate. “But we’re not going on the Haunted Mansion. Chris will get nightmares.” Or, more accurately, Leon would get nightmares. He remembered that ride scaring the pants off of him when he’d been younger .
“What do you say Chris, sound good to you?” Rose glanced over at the one person in the car that seemed to be happy with her presence, a smile on her face. Chris nodded his head and Rose couldn’t help but smile more at his excitement. She knew she was feeling it bubble over the closer they got so she could only imagine what he felt
Leon pulled into the spot. He had hoped to get a spot closer to the entrance, but even with waiting for Rose, they had still managed to get a spot pretty close. Leon had learned early in life that showing up earlier than you needed to made life easier, and that was always especially clear when there were unexpected delays.
“Alright, kids, out of the car,” he said. “It’s time to go have fun.” Or, as much fun as was possible waiting in line all day with a complete and total stranger.