I'm Sorry! (unboundbydeath) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-04-09 04:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jaune arc, lie ren, nora valkyrie, pyrrha nikos |
Nora--
Who: JNPR
What: Ice cream!
When: Day after Weiss was rescued
Where: Baskin Robbins
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13
Everyone was home, safe and sound - or as safe and sound as anyone who’d had to go through something like that could be, anyway. Jaune didn’t want to think about that too terribly much, now that it was over. Weiss and Elsa would need support and he was sure that he and the team would provide whatever support that they could in the coming months.
For now? It was time for victory ice cream. Jaune had promised to treat them all to it; A great way to wind down after a tense day and bond as a team. So he got them all a taxi, and had the driver take them to the nearest Baskin Robbins.
He bounced in, about 3 feet behind Nora, and held the door open for Ren and Pyrrha. “31 flavors, how can this possibly go wrong? Except maybe if we can’t decide and have to try a little of all of them.”
Nora had been really worried. In order to keep her mind off of things, she’d thrown herself into work, making a ton of YouTube videos for her video channel, and a handful of blog posts. She knew she had to slow it down, or she’d run out of steam. Well, she also wanted to make sure she was putting up her best work, and she’d been distracted worrying about all her friends and their many problems.
But right now? Everyone was home, and safe, and they were together. (Not together together.) And ICE CREAM. The best thing in the world to celebrate their reuniting!
“I think we can all find something we like, anyway!” Of course, she’d bounded into the shop first, and was darting back and forth in front of the freezer case, giving each of the flavors a gentle “ooh” or “aah” in turn.
Ren followed Nora into the shop, giving an appreciative nod toward Jaune as he walked in through the front door. It was nice, the four of them being able to go out for ice cream like this, especially with the knowledge that Weiss was back home again.
He went and stood next to Nora, taking a look at the flavour menu, and keeping an eye on her to make sure that she didn’t go overboard with the free samples. “Have you ever been here before?” he asked Pyrrha.
Ice cream seemed somehow ironic, considering what Pyrrha had seen. She was subdued at first, fingers a little fidgety as though she were having trouble coming back down.
But almost as soon as they entered the Baskin Robbins she started to relax. They didn’t have these in Greece but the smell of the different ice cream flavors was amazing to her. “No, I’ve never been here before. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
"Everyone order whatever you want! Even Nora. You can have... well, you can have as many ice cream scoops as Ren thinks you can handle." Jaune glanced at Ren, holding up three fingers silently as if asking if that was too few or too many. Nora loved sugar and deserved a treat, but they also had to get her home without her vibrating so fast she broke the sound barrier.
He wandered over to the case and started taking in the flavors, himself. There were all kinds of fancy cones and sundaes, and he wasn't even sure what he wanted. "This place is like... an Institution! We definitely should have come here before, I can't believe it took us this long. But I'm totally buying."
Nora was flitting back and forth from one side of the case to the other, trying to figure out what kind of ice cream she wanted. Or sherbert. Or sorbet. It all looked and sounded so amazing! And then Jaune mentioned that she could have more than one scoop, and Nora bounced over to them, lit up like a Christmas tree.
“What’s that? What’s this?” She asked, taking hold of Jaune’s hand with the three fingers raised, and then gasped deeply. “THREE SCOOPS??”
“You’re in for a treat,” Ren said to Pyrrha. It wasn’t necessarily the best ice cream around, but it was pretty good, and the plethora of flavours definitely made it worth it.
Ren frowned at Jaune’s hands, not because he thought three scoops was too much for Nora but because his mind immediately went to the cost of three scoops of ice cream. Financially, he and Nora were better off than they’d ever been in their lives, but it was still the immediate calculation that went through his head every time he thought about things that weren’t necessities.
But Nora had seen the fingers before he could comment, and he let out a long-suffering sigh that was counteracted entirely by a small smile. “What do you say, Nora?” he asked.
“Well, I sure hope I’m in for a treat.” Pyrrha was honestly more enjoying how much fun everyone seemed to be having. Nora was bouncing around and Jaune had his cute smile and was excitable like a puppy and even Ren seemed to be… well he was always low-key but he seemed low-key in a good mood kind of way.
She slid an arm around Jaune and the other around Nora. “What do you suggest I try?”
Jaune took a second to pat Ren’s shoulder reassuringly. Three scoops were probably too many, but it was too late to tell Nora she should only have two now. And either way, he was going to make good on his word of catching the bill. He even pulled a couple 20’s out of his wallet and put them into his hand, so that Ren could see the money without them having to say anything.
Then Pyrrha’s arm was around him, and he focused on making sure she got the best ice cream in the place. “Gosh they’re all really good depending on what kind of things you’re in the mood for! But you like a lot of fruits, right? So I’d go for that lemon custard, maybe with a scoop of the very berry strawberry there, so you’ve got your own little strawberry lemonade! And then, if you want a third scoop, maybe something from the sherberts.”
He pointed to the various ice cream flavors as he mentioned them. “You can get samples to try too. That way you don’t end up with something you don’t like. I’m sure Nora’s gonna try a bunch of flavors, too! I think I might try some of this one with the cherries in it.”
Pyrrha could undoubtedly feel Nora buzzing with the arm around her. Even without three scoops of ice cream, Nora was vibrating with excitement, anticipation, and friendship goodness. She turned bright, wide eyes to the woman beside her (way up, since the height difference was formidable) and beamed in a way that only Nora could beam.
When Jaune mentioned trying flavors, that was just the end of it. Rainbows, hearts, and stars practically burst out of Nora’s head at that idea. “I can TRY them??” Suddenly, she felt a little faint. Especially when the poor, teenaged employee came over to ask what they wanted.
Nora asked for about a dozen samples. If she’d have her choice, she’d have one of the employees serving her samples exclusively for the next five minutes.
“I’ll probably get the lemon custard,” Ren said to Pyrrha and Jaune as a way of vouching for that particular ice cream flavour. “I’m also a fan of the mint chocolate chip.” Not that he’d mix the two flavours - he had the feeling they wouldn’t compliment one another at all.
“Nora-” Ren started, and then broke away from the other two to watch Nora and at least try to save the employee from being stuck there, handing out samples, all day. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe just try the ten you’re most curious about.”
While maybe not as excited about the idea of samples as Nora, Pyrrha still found the idea pretty great. Giving the poor employees a sheepish smile, Pyrrha tried three flavors before settling on a scoop of strawberry with a second scoop of a banana flavored ice cream.
She could do more scoops, but she wasn’t a huge sweets person. Knowing that her food would melt while waiting, she opted to be in line behind Nora.
It was better that way.
It was definitely best to let Nora go first. Jaune took up a place at the back of the line, still trying to decide what he wanted. He didn't need to get a lot of samples of the ice cream; He and his sisters had frequented the place for years, and even the newer flavors were self-explanatory. He did try a sample of the cherry, but shook his head. "I think Ren's got a good idea. I'm gonna have mint chocolate chip with a scoop of extra chocolate."
And with that, his mind was made up. He waved for Nora to go ahead and order her three scoops whenever she wanted.
Assuming, of course, that Nora had made a decision yet! She was still all abuzz, and Jaune was wondering if one of them would need to order a coffee on the way home just to stay awake long enough to keep her company later.
After Ren’s steadying hand on her shoulder, Nora nodded. He had a way of calming her, of centering her. It was much more effective here than in the Dreams, to be honest, though in both places he was her rock. And it was steadying. She was a little disappointed. After all, she wanted to try all thirty-one flavors! But he had a point.
“All right,” Nora said, once she’d tossed all of those little, plastic, pink spoons into the trash. “I’m going to have a scoop of World Class Chocolate with a scoop of Gold Medal Ribbon, and a scoop of the Triple Brownie Fudge.” She motioned to them in the case. So much chocolate. Hopefully she wouldn’t burst.
Ren let out a bit of a relieved breath when Nora mentioned calmed down a little, though he imagined that he wasn’t nearly as relieved as the poor employee. He ordered his ice cream, deciding that he would get both scoops of the lemon custard ice cream, and then stood to the side so that Pyrrha could order hers.
“Thank you again for this, Jaune,” he said.
That was so much chocolate that Pyrrha felt a little nauseous just thinking about it, but she wasn’t going to rain on Nora’s parade. Not today, anyway. So she watched with amusement as Ren and Nora ordered their ice cream, before she stepped up and selected her own scoops.
And then she was offered toppings, which she hadn’t really thought about, so she glanced at Jaune, then decided to take a good guess and choose hot fudge to go on her strawberry and banana blend. Nora had the right idea, how could chocolate go wrong?
“Yes, thank you.” She slid her arm around Jaune. “This was a great idea.”
"Hey, no problem!" Jaune gave everyone one of his warmest smiles, and squeezed Pyrrha once before ordering his own ice cream and paying for everyone. It was a good day, and these kinds of things definitely needed to be celebrated. He really didn't mind the cost, either. What was the point of making some good money if he couldn't use it to make his friends happy?
As they all had their ice cream in hand, he motioned towards the various chairs inside, then towards the doors. Maybe they all wanted to sit, but it was also a sunny day outside. "Do we want to take advantage of the sun and wander around with this outside? It all might melt a little faster, but it's a little cramped in here."
Nora would literally have eaten all the toppings if she’d been given that option, but thankfully she didn’t see them until after she had her ice cream in hand. She could always come back another day to try new combinations of ice cream and toppings, anyway.
With a bright smile and a spoon sticking out of her mouth already, she turned to Jaune to give him a muffled “thank you!” Instead of answering, Nora hopped over to the door and held it open for the group to head outside into the bright sunshine. With the warmth on their faces and the sweet ice cream… it was pretty much the best day ever.