Somewhere on the Mainland; Sunday Early Evening

[totalwildcard]

You asked Harley, it was a pretty good Sunday, so far.

She'd started out her day with no plan, and yet by happy accident (and it was definitely an accident, and not someone somewhere making room in a shared schedule to facilitate things, or anything deliberate on the part of anyone directly involved!) she'd run into Marc, and that had sparked a simple and easy plan after all: to drive him to the mainland for dinner, at a restaurant she'd overheard someone talking about on one of her off-island jaunts earlier in the week. It was supposed to be a family-run, no-nonsense little Italian place, and exactly the sort of thing Harley was in the mood for, especially right now with the company she had.

So life was indeed pretty good!

And Harley's mood wasn't soured even by finding out there was actually no parking available right by the restaurant. After some searching, she'd managed to find a spot some blocks away - which was to say, she'd sniped it from right under someone's nose with a truly reckless move. Which had led to some blaring horns from other cars. Which was all good in Harley's book! She had more important things to be thinking about, anyway!

"And the tiramisu's supposed to be amazing," she was saying, as they got out of the car. "Like, 'someone's 97-year-old tiny little Italian grandma made it' kind of amazing. D'you think they'd let me order that for an app and not just dessert?"

(NFB for distance, for the one modded with permission + some NPCs)

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

"Lucky me," Marc said. Still admiring the view.

[totalwildcard]

Harley smirked at him. Then she turned, and traipsed out the door, with a little unnecessary extra shimmy in her step.

Not just anyone got to see that, either!

[hasaknightjob]

Marc sat up so he could watch her go.

"Better than a crossword."

[totalwildcard]

"But harder or easier to solve?" Harley called back, pausing right outside the door to give a few pets and scritches to Bruce, already waiting expectantly.

[hasaknightjob]

"I don't think anybody could," Marc replied. "Or should."

[totalwildcard]

"A mystery!"" Harley declared, straightening up again. "The best!"

And with that, and a snicker, she actually made her way to the bathroom.

Bruce poked his hyena head in the bedroom door.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc gave Bruce something of a bro nod. "Hey."

[totalwildcard]

Bruce made some kind of a hyena noise. And then went away again.

This was their relationship now.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc was fine with that. Mutual agreement to stay out of each other's way worked for him as far as pets went. Just ask Raphael.

[totalwildcard]

After doing whatever needed doing - including leaving the tub draining, finally! - Harley re-emerged, clad in the now-familiar unicorn onesie (give or take the entire zipper still needing to be pulled up) and holding all three of the phones from their clothes.

She put one knee on the bed to reach out and hold the ones that weren't hers out for Marc to take. "There ya go!"

She could've brought the clothes, also? She had not brought the clothes.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc took his and Steven's phone. He'd check them in a sec. For right now he was staring at the onsie.

[totalwildcard]

And Harley was giving his staring a quizzical look in return!

(With maybe a quick glance down to check she hadn't spilled anything all over herself again.)

"What?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Still wrapping my head around how that's a thing," Marc admitted.

Yes, he'd seen the onsie before. Unicorn onesies were still a thing for him to get used to existing.

[totalwildcard]

At least Harley hadn't pulled up the hood so it wasn't at maximum levels of unicorn?

Also something about this - a misread on Harley's part - was clearly touching something a little insecure in her. Made her expression go a little uncertain.

"I know it's not the sexiest outfit, but..."

[hasaknightjob]

The insecurity had him reaching for her. "You're fine. It's cute. I didn't know cute was an option is all."

[totalwildcard]

The reaching was --

Well, it had Harley getting fully back on the bed to crawl to him, was what it was.

"Oh?" she said, still a little on the soft and cautious side. "Cute's always an option."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc encouraged her to come close enough to wrap his arms around her.

"And you don't have to dress sexy for me. You're hot. Clothes are extra."

[totalwildcard]

Harley leaned heavily against him, and made a whiny noise of protest.

"Not s'posed to dress for some guy in the first place."

He'd escaped the 'some guy' containment a while ago. Maybe that was part of the problem.

[hasaknightjob]

"Exactly," Marc said. He put both arms around her. If she wanted to get close enough to be in his lap he wasn't going to complain. "And cute is, yanno, cute."

Marc was, as always, not a poet.

"It's just new is all. For me. Not bad."

[totalwildcard]

Good thing about his lap, because, yeah. Harley ended up there in her quest to smush most of her body into his embrace.

"It's not?"

He'd just said.

Sometimes seeking validation was like that.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc held her tighter once she was settled.

"It's not. Not a lot of cute in my life is all."

This was possibly the most he'd ever said the word, in fact.

[totalwildcard]

"'Snot true," Harley muttered, "ya got Steven."

[hasaknightjob]

"I'm not interested in Steven like I am you," Marc said.

[totalwildcard]

"Yeah, but he's still a cute thing in your life," Harley replied, pulling back enough to see his face. "And he pulls off one of the best magic tricks I've ever seen, too!"

And what was that, you might ask?

Harley pinched his cheek.

"He somehow makes alla this look cute!"

[hasaknightjob]

"Yeah, I guess," Marc said. It was a good natured grumble at best. "He doesn't wear onsies though."

Steven might if he knew they were a thing. Not a guarantee, but couldn't be ruled out.