dǫçţǫŗ şɭęęƥ (shone) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-10-27 14:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ~plot: timeslip, ₴ inactive: allison hargreeves, ₴ inactive: dan torrance |
WHO: Dan & Allison
WHAT: Being grandparents and NOT celebrating Dan's birthday with wild shit (it's actually a home movie theater night and gifts)
WHERE: Their house
WHEN: Tonight!
WARNINGS: Sweetness?
STATUS: Complete
Another year around the sun, another year in Vallo. Kind of surprising to Dan, really, but he wasn’t complaining. Sure, half of Vallo seemed to be born in October and also, sure, they were right in the middle of a storm of weirdness - but he was glad to be celebrating his birthday anyway, especially with the person he loved most. And that person was Allison - she’d been with him, as a friend and then later as something more, essentially since the very beginning of his otherworldly adventure. Claire had joined them a few months in and Dan was glad to have her too - she’d sung happy birthday to him that morning, loudly, over a great pancake breakfast he didn’t have to cook himself; now she was elsewhere for a slumber party and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon when he or Allison picked her up from school. It was a good chance to celebrate in private. And sort of distancing themselves from that aforementioned weirdness - Ripley had appeared in this world with a whole gaggle of other future children, and both Dan and Allison had enjoyed being around her. Now she was with her parents and the grandparents (Christ) had carved out a night to themselves, which was fine for all parties involved. Dan wanted Sabrina and Nick to have as much time with their child as possible, before the quirk inevitably ended and balance shifted once more. For his birthday, it was a movie night at their quaint little house. Comfy blankets and pillows, novelty popcorn buckets, a strip of LED lights that made the television screen pop - oh, and a box of candy to share too. Neither of them were huge fans of sugar but there was something about those fake cookie dough bites that Dan really liked - really added to the whole movie theater experience. “Do I get to pick the movie?” he asked Allison, scrolling through the options on Netflix. “That’s my birthday gift?” Yeah, this was cozy - he really needed a calm night like this too, after everything. Being grandparents again was definitely one of those things. Claire was excited to be an aunt and have a kid around her age in their family to play with since her best friend from before disappeared. Allison was more than happy to have a quiet night with just her and Dan. Even if she loved Claire very much. She leaned against Dan, letting herself get comfortable. “I definitely think you can choose the movie on your own birthday,” she said after a moment. “It seems pretty rude to refuse you that.” She was casually aware of what he was searching through, though. She doubted anything remotely ‘horror’ would be chosen and she didn’t actually mind that too much. “I mean, it’s not your only birthday gift, but it can be part of it.” There was definitely no horror selection tonight - Dan had enough of that, especially in his own life which was literally a horror movie, a swarm of angry ghosts that were like a hive of bees, and the frigid chill of them all which grabbed hold of him. Nothing fake, nothing made up - it was all real for him and they lingered like an endless toothache; wherever you go, you take yourself with you. He was aware that in some universes his whole existence from birth to death had been a story, and knew that Sabrina had copies of the books - she never brought them out in front of him or discussed them though, which he appreciated. That was why his scrolling through Netflix had him bypassing that section entirely. Titanic had just come to Netflix too but - that was probably a little much. Plus the ending was infuriating. “Think it’s gonna be Tomb Raider,” he chuckled, arm going around Allison. He dropped a kiss on her temple, fingers nestling in her hair to play with the curls. “But what is my actual birthday gift, then?” Now he was just so curious. Allison laughed at his choice in movie. She didn’t remember ever seeing this one, so it was definitely interesting in that regard and it had a female lead. “Being married to me.” Which was a lie. There wasn’t too much they really needed at the house, but she’d gotten him an espresso machine for when he needed to be more awake like when everyone decided to get hurt at the same time. “But also I put it on the counter when you weren’t looking and probably wouldn’t go back for a bit, so you can see it now or after the movie.” “Sneaky,” Dan laughed, feeling pretty impressed that Allison had managed to drop off a birthday present like the stealth ninja gift fairy she was. “Now I’m really curious so I think I’ll check it out now. Also let me know if you want anything from the kitchen, I’ll grab it when I’m in awe over your thoughtful gift.” He managed to extricate himself from her, setting the remote down (but Tomb Raider was definitely going to be the birthday movie choice - he’d see how it went before he decided on another, since it was possible they’d get distracted) and standing up from where the cushions had sucked him into the couch. She could also come with him if she wanted, and he could kiss her properly in thanks when he saw the brilliance of the gift. Could it top a Claire-sung birthday song and pancakes? Guess he’d find out. Allison couldn’t promise that it was better than Claire’s singing with pancakes, but she felt that it was still pretty good. “I am very sneaky,” she agreed, laughing as she did. “It’s probably because I’m a superhero or something like that.” She turned to get up, smiling a little as she watched him walk towards the kitchen, moving a little after him just so that she could see his face when he saw it. “It’s not terribly frivolous, but I thought you might like it and it might be useful for you.” She paused. “But I don’t need anything from the kitchen, no. Just your obvious affection and appreciation!” Well, in that case, Allison would certainly be the recipient of both his affection and appreciation. Dan feasted his eyes upon the wonder of the espresso machine, incredibly delighted since he had to hook up a drip IV of the stuff whenever shit hit the fan here in Vallo - plus, he just loved coffee. Not to mention The Grind was where he and Allison had their first...date? So that was sentimental. It wasn’t a date at the time - they just met in person, both new and fresh-faced here in Vallo, trying to figure out what to do next. All of that seemed so long ago, and now look where they were - about to approach their first wedding anniversary (he’d need to see if she wanted to book another trip to Galdin Quay to celebrate), living in a picture-perfect house with Claire and room for guests to stay over if anyone needed. “It’s perfect,” he decided, snagging Allison around the waist and drawing her to him. He ducked his head and kissed her - it was something of a quiet kiss at first but it also was his birthday so it turned into a few more kisses, exploding like a sail caught in the force of hurricane winds. And he smiled against her mouth. “You really are a superhero.” Watching his reaction in person was definitely worth the effort of sneaking around to get things set up for him. “I figured it was the best because everyone gets ridiculous sometimes and hurt. Like all of the time.” She was happy that he was happy. As his arms closed around her, she moved to wrap her own around his neck. If the kisses were anything to go by, she could count this as a very successful birthday present. “I really am,” she replied, laughing softly as she did. “Which means you’re very lucky to have me. I know you already know it.” She gave him another quick kiss. “You want to stay here a minute or go back to snacks and Tomb Raider?” “Snacks and Tomb Raider, naturally,” Dan decided. “Though I also just remembered that Sabrina said we had to include ice cream with our movie night so I’ll grab some.” He squeezed Allison’s waist before letting go, reluctantly - but it was just to open the freezer door and find cartons of the good stuff. You know. The really good ice cream they had to hide from Claire. Like the expensive chocolate gelato or whatever it was. Pulling open one of the drawers, he rifled for spoons. “You doing okay with the grandma thing still, grandma Allison?” He just wanted to check. Last time, it had been a little much for them - they’d only just started dating. But now Stan was gone and things were a whole lot different. Allison shook her head. “We definitely cannot forget ice cream if Sabrina said there’s got to be ice cream.” She didn’t mind the idea of ice cream, though. It was just entertaining that it was something that was suggested that had to happen. Then again, considering the war between vegetables and sweets with Dan and Sabrina, it wasn’t entirely surprising. “Did you make a deal and she had to eat a vegetable or did she just want you to eat ice cream?” She smiled. It felt like forever since Stan was there and they’d done this grandparent thing. They weren’t even married back then. That had made it more startling than anything else. “I’m handling it. It’s nice, less stressful than the last time anyway. It’s nice for Claire to have someone to spend time with again. She was upset after the loss of Nadia.” “I think she just wanted me to eat ice cream,” Dan laughed. It had been a fun outing with Sabrina and Ripley at the indoor playground today - because, yes, he’d actually taken the day off. For once. A wild sort of thing but he figured that his birthday called for the treats of sleeping in a little and not having to worry about who was going to show up at the clinic bleeding from having just barely survived an encounter with angry wombats. He headed back into the living room, laden down with ice cream and snacks and ready to flip on the Tomb Raider. “I know, it’s tough having to explain that people just disappear and not having a reason for it,” he added, settling on the sofa - and dimmed the lights, because it wouldn’t be a proper movie theater vibe without some darkness. “Ripley won’t be here forever, but - at least we know she’ll be back eventually.” Which was also hard to explain, come to think of it. Even Dan had trouble wrapping his mind around time travel. “I wouldn’t put it past you both to make a pact over ice cream and veggie consumption.” Because Sabrina complained about veggies more than Allison thought she really meant. At least she wasn’t sure that her aversion to veggies was as serious as she made it sound. She sat down next to him, letting herself snuggle up against him and get comfortable. “I think she sometimes understands. I know she misses a lot of her friends that show up and leave. There’s a few local kids that come by the salon sometimes.” She smiled a little. “So at least there’s that.” Allison would miss Ripley when she left and she’d be there if Claire got sad again. “I’ll miss her, but at least we got a chance to get to know each other.” That was good to know, that Claire had made some friends that were less likely to vanish on her - Dan wished he could change that, but he couldn’t. It was unfortunately the way of the world and something they all had to deal with. “I’m glad she has visitors,” he chuckled. He and Allison did their best to give Claire the best life possible while they were here too - especially because neither of them would have anything similar back in their respective worlds; they wouldn’t even have each other. Dan was dead, no coming back from the afterlife where he could only watch the land of the living from behind glass - sure, he could communicate with Abra due to her Shine, but he couldn’t be there for her in the way he wanted to be. As for Allison, she was traveling through time and who knew where she’d be next - probably not with her own daughter, which was a depressing thought. No sparkly endings. He wouldn’t think about that now though. They were here and he would continue to hope they wouldn’t go anywhere. “I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer before we become grandparents,” he agreed. “That’s okay though. As long as I have plenty more birthdays with you, I’m good.” And, you know, ice cream. With Allison snuggled up to him (he’d do his best to help keep her warm), he pressed play on the remote and they could watch someone else have adventures for once. Happy birthday indeed. |