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The Park, Monday Afternoon

It had been some time since Edward had promised Cosette a picnic, but now he had the means to make it happen. He'd wanted to do it properly: a basket full of baked goods and fruit, flowers, a nice cloth to sit on. He'd laid it all out as well as he could, underneath a tree, so that if it started raining they'd be more or less shielded from the worst.

Now he was sprawled across the cloth, resisting the urge to eat an apple as he waited for Cosette. Reshuffling the flowers some, to make them more appealing.

[[ edward's here for that girl, but park is open like a park. ]]

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"What's all this?"

Cosette, don't be a pain. You have eyes.

It would have been hard to say she was being that difficult about it, though, when she looked as delighted as she did.

"Monsieur, you have gone to quite the lengths," she said cheerfully as she took a seat; she was particularly pleased about the flowers, really. "It's quite flattering."

Edward smiled, holding out a pink flower he'd kept aside especially for the occasion. "And it was done with intent to flatter," he said, "So that leaves me rather pleased myself."

Cosette bowed in thanks (accompanied by an elaborate, if silly, hand gesture) before accepting the flower. "It's all very lovely," she said happily. "Are you trying, perhaps, to sway my favor in your direction? Because I assure you, you don't need to try very hard."

She tucked the flower into her hair.

"Though I can't say I don't enjoy such treatment. Thank you; it really is quite nice."

"Not to sway your favor, I assure you," Edward said, sitting back, "I'm simply aware of the attention you deserve."

The last part was delivered teasingly, at least.

"You're too kind," Cosette said, aware of the teasing but going pink all the same. "And it all looks so good, it would be ungrateful of me not to show my proper appreciation for your efforts."

She leaned over to kiss his cheek.

That made Edward smile. "All I ask is that you appreciate the food itself," he said, "If I've made a poor lunch of it, all that effort's been wasted."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Cosette assured him. "I've no intention of letting the food go unappreciated, but I'd be remiss to not give you due credit for your part in arranging it all. Well, shall we start? It can't have been easy for you to wait here in the presence of all this food without eating it."

She thought she'd seen him eyeing the fruit as she approached.

Edward reached over and obligingly opened the basket up further. "I managed to exercise some restraint," he said, "Since it's your feast, you should be the one to have the first taste. I would recommend the bananas."

Mostly because he wasn't used to them.

"Then I shall do that, as I don't wish for you to waste away from hunger," Cosette teased, and, willing to take the suggestion, reached for a banana. "They're such an interesting fruit, aren't they? I'd heard of them once or twice, but I hadn't ever seen one before I arrived here. Had you?"

"I hadn't," Edward agreed. "Actually, from what I heard back in Swansea from the sailors, I thought the lot were supposed to be pink."

He picked up a banana himself. "Not that I'm put off by the shade."

. . . well, now Cosette was going to have to go poking around on the internet about the history of bananas, so when she ended up on the Wikipedia entry about some obscure kind of beetle ten hours from now, Edward, that would be on you.

"Not at all," she agreed, biting her lip in concentration while she broke the stem (she didn't want to squash the banana!) to start peeling it. "I feel as if I'll never be done discovering all the different sorts of foods we were never able to get a hold of back home."

"It's a wonder, isn't it?"

Edward was taking decidedly less care with his banana. Cosette hadn't been wrong: he had gotten rather hungry, sitting about here. "Imagine living one's entire life like that, discovering such new treasures."

"What luxury that would be!" exclaimed Cosette, though only after she'd finished a delicate bite of her banana. "I'm not sure I can imagine it, to tell the truth. Not completely, anyhow. I'm certain it would take far more than one lifetime, so I suspect that being here may well be our best chance at trying."

"To discover all of it, aye," Edward said, "But to spend it trying, that just requires what time you have on this Earth."

He took a bite of his banana.

"Well, and ridiculous quantities of wealth, of course."

"I never took you for such a philosopher," Cosette remarked, sounding genuinely impressed. "But you're right, I think. It's a shame about that last part, isn't it? Though I suppose that's the way of things."

Somehow, she managed to say that without being bitter about it.

"It is a rotten damned shame," said Edward, who didn't nearly possess Cosette's ability not to get bitter about it. "Coin's wasted on the rich, if you ask me."

Frankly, Cosette's ability not to get bitter about it was probably unnatural. To her credit, at least, she winced when she realized she'd probably hit a nerve.

"I never did understand that," she admitted -- not that her education to date had been particularly focused on economics. "Father does a great deal of work with the needy out on the mainland, and did so even before we left Paris, and I help him when I can. He isn't particularly rich, but he gives as much as he can. I don't see why it should be so hard for those with more to do the same."

It was cute how she kept expecting at least a minimum of common decency from people.

"'Cos they figure they have theirs, and that's all that matters," said Edward.

Who had tendencies in that direction as well, he just didn't have his yet. Oops.

"The rest of us can rot."

Honey, this wasn't the best date conversation. Especially not considering how fixated you were on it.

To be fair, if Cosette had stayed in Paris she'd be married to a baron by now, apparently content to live a comfortable life. So.

"Then they're not very bright, are they?" she offered gently, hoping to nudge him off that train of thought before it picked up too much momentum. "If that's the case, then I don't much care to give them any more thought, as they don't deserve it."

"You've too kind a heart," Edward said, but he sounded mollified. "Suppose that's why I far prefer your company."

"I like to think I've a bit more kindness in me than that." Cosette beamed at him and looked over the selection of baked goods until she found what looked like a chocolate chip muffin. "At the least, I'm glad you haven't tired of my company yet, as I haven't of yours."

"Never," Edward promised, with all the earnest seriousness of the teenager. "How has your break treated you?"

He picked up the nearest thing. It was all new to him, still.

"Well enough; I've spent a good deal of time at my father's, as always. And it's been quiet, and that's good. We don't need another incident like that last one any time soon." Cosette broke off a bit of muffin and nibbled at it. "We're likely due for one soon enough, with the new term starting up, but in the meantime I shall enjoy the peace and quiet. I trust you haven't gotten yourself into too much trouble?"

"Been sleeping and been industrious, at times," Edward promised, "But nothing beyond that poor mess with the Gargle Blasters, I assure you. My days here are peaceful as it is, and I've no parents to worry about."

Probably parents who were incredibly worried about him at this point, but eh.

"Do you not miss them at all?" Cosette wondered -- idly, though. She didn't sound as if she would die of curiosity if she didn't get an answer. "I'm glad, though, about the Gargle Blasters . . . what a funny name that still is. You were not at your best the morning after that adventure, and that was quite upsetting."

"I miss them some," Edward admitted. "But I rather prefer my circumstances here. Gargle Blasters or none."

He smiled wryly.

"Where you can go on trips to all sorts of places, and try things you might never have otherwise?" Cosette guessed.

"And have a future worth looking forward to," Edward said. He took a bite of his pastry. "Not that I can't forge my lot elsewhere, mind you. Still, the circumstances here favor such things."

"It is nice to have prospects, isn't it? The longer I'm here, the more I realize how many opportunities might not have been open to me at home." Cosette brushed a few muffin crumbs off the cloth. "Do you think you might stay?"

"I don't know," Edward admitted. "Perhaps until I find something worthwhile to take home with me, to improve my family's lot."

Cosette nodded. "An admirable goal, I should think."

Silly Cosette, assuming people would only ever resort to honorable means of achieving goals like those.

"It would be worth it, even if they would have to do without you a little longer."

You mean piracy wasn't honorable?

"I hope they see it as such," Edward said. "You'll be returning to your father after graduation, I imagine."

"He only lives a short walk from the other end of the causeway, so it isn't as if I'd be going very far at all," Cosette replied. "Really, I can go see him whenever I want, so in fact I'd been thinking of finding some way to stay on here. I rather like the unpredictability."

"You'd like to live here?" Edward asked. "What would you do?"

"I don't know yet," Cosette admitted. "It isn't something I ever thought about very much. It's silly, I know, but it never occurred to me to do so until I'd been here for a bit. Whatever it is, I just want to be able to travel to all sorts of places whenever I have the opportunity."

"Maybe you could take over the post office," Edward suggested, looking thoughtful. "Miss Thenardier must do her fair share of flitting about."

Cosette laughed briefly, but lapsed into looking thoughtful. "Nothing like I've had the chance to do with the school, I don't think, and I don't think she's inclined to give that up any time soon."

She was actually fairly pleased with herself for being tactful about that.

"Or perhaps something at the bookstore? I do like what I do at the library, after all."

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The Park, Monday Afternoon

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