The Park; Wednesday Afternoon [ 02/02 ].

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

Ariel had gone out into town to get some Chinese food to take back to the dorms, but it was so nice out, for her, that she decided just to stay outside and enjoy the food in the fresh air with the parting clouds and the ducks to keep her company.

She figured, too, that the ducks would like Chinese food as well. The noodles were just like worms, right? Right! Well, a few of them seemed to differ, but she believed she turned on a few fans, giggling as she sat on a bench with her lo mien and spring rolls.

And fortune cookies. Lots of extra fortune cookies. Some of them might even inspire some of her horoscopes for the newspaper. She should probably get working on those, actually, but there were ducks! Horoscopes could totally wait.

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[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce - who wasn't trapped in a snowbound apartment, not at all - was on an afternoon run around the island when he came across a familiar face. Who was feeding Chinese food to ducks.

"Hello, Ariel," Bruce said, slowing down for a moment. "Enjoying the day?"

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Hello, Bruce!" Ariel beamed when she saw him slowing to talk for a bit. She didn't want his run to be interrupted, but she definitely wasn't going to complain. "I am! I was going to go back to the dorms, but it's so much warmer out here,"--than, say, less fortunate and more snow-covered areas of the country--"than it has been that I decided to just stay in the park! And so the ducks lucked out today. How's your day going?"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Not bad," Bruce said. It was much warmer than some areas of the country, yes, and that helped quite a bit. "What are you feeding them?"

Yes, he was jumping straight to that.

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Just some of my noodles," Ariel said with a shrug. "And they really went nuts for the fortune cookie I accidentally sat on. Would you like some, too?"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"I'll take a fortune cookie since it looks like you have plenty. Those are usually good for a laugh," Bruce said.

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Oh, sure!" Ariel chirped, turning to gather a bunch of them into her hands and holding them out to Bruce. "Yeah, I picked up a bunch hoping for inspiration for the paper's horoscopes. Here!"

She made her face very grave and solemn as she intoned, "Choose your fate."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce picked one completely at random, clearly not taking his fate all that seriously. "And by 'inspiration,' do you mean you're going to just copy the fortunes?"

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Of course not!" Ariel said, feigning offense. "I would at least change them around a little to make them more unique."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"I suppose that's a little more cosmically honest," Bruce said before cracking the cookie open and taking a look at his fortune. "Hmm."

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"What?" asked Ariel, unable to keep from bouncing in excitement and even trying to peer over to read Bruce's fortune. "What's it say?"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"My lucky numbers are 1, 44, 30, 9, and 37," Bruce said, pausing briefly to ramp up the tension. "Also, 'To one who waits, a moment seems a year.'"

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

At first, Ariel's nose wrinkled is dislike for that fortune, but then the expression cleared into one more like acceptance. "You know," she said, "that is pretty true. But it's not really a fortune, more like...just...something true..."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"That's what you'll get from most of these," Bruce said. "They're usually not very good fortunes, to be honest."

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Well, okay, let's see what I get," Ariel said, plucking out another for herself and working on unwrapping it. "The one I sat on said something like, 'You will be fortunate in the opportunities presented to you.' That's kind of a fortune, so maybe it means something really good for the ducks."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"I think that would count for you, since you're the one who opened the cookie. And read the fortune," Bruce said.

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Well, technically," Ariel pointed out with a smirk, the kind that she had when she was trying really hard not to giggle, "it was opened by my butt."

But her hands had opened up a new one, and so she cleared her throat, straightening up, and read, " 'You can open doors with your charm and patience.'" Not without some beaming.

"Lucky numbers 20, 38, 6, 37, and 34."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce wasn't the type to snicker. But if he were, he would have snickered about the opportunities presented to Ariel's butt. But he wasn't. So he didn't.

"That's not really a fortune, either," Bruce said. "But I can't say it's not accurate."

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

No worries. Ariel would probably snicker at it plenty enough for the both of them later.

"I find it's easier to open doors with my hands, really," she said with a smirk, "but thank you. You're right, though. Not really a fortune. They should say things like 'on your way home, you will find a quarter on the stairs,' or even just 'tomorrow, you will have a lucky encounter.'"

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"I'm pretty sure I've gotten that second one before," Bruce said. Or at least he'd had lucky encounters before. Ahem. "But if you're able to come up with fortunes like those, the horoscopes shouldn't be too difficult."

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Do you think so?" Ariel asked eagerly. "I hope so! It doesn't seem too hard, unless I were to really start getting into all the astrology stuff, but that sounds mostly confusing. What's your sign, Bruce?"

She'd been asking everyone that, though, and by now had forgotten most of them.

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Pisces," Bruce said. "Which is probably appropriate since I'm talking to you."

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Oh, har har har," said Ariel, rolling her eyes, but that couldn't eradicate the amused grin on her face. "Lucky for you, then, I was going to give Pisces good horoscopes anyway."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"What were you going to say about us?" Bruce asked.

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

"Well," Ariel said thoughtfully, "I hadn't really decided quite yet but now I'll certainly have to add something about being charming and handsome and determined. And I have a feeling that the stars might say something about letting cute redheaded princesses convince you into doing something fun next week."

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"The word 'fun' could mean so many things with you," Bruce said. "I feel like I should ask which kind of fun it is."