Chilly Boulder, Friday Early Evening

[that_oldsaying]

It really hadn't taken much effort to wheedle Papa Jono into going out for ice cream with her after she'd spent the afternoon bugging him and playing with Joni after having talked to Dante and finished her AirTrek practice.

Sure, Papa Hannibal probably could've taught her to make ice cream (she was going to ask him next time she saw him now--that was a fantastic idea!) but sometimes there was something much more fun about getting something from somewhere else while in the company of someone she loved.

Besides, Alluka wanted a reason to sit at the super cute little tables outside the ice cream place with their brightly coloured umbrellas blocking the sun that was, slowly but surely, starting to go down.

It was really a very pretty little tableau and she beamed at it as she bounced towards the door. They had to get ice cream before they could sit down!

[For he who is with her, but also open!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

//Feeling better, Sunshine?// She certainly seemed to be in a much improved mood since that radiating distress he'd felt from her earlier. He'd been halfway to the Groovy Tunes to check on her when the nature of it had shifted, and he'd downgraded the situation from '911-Papa-Emergency' to 'kitten playtime emergency.' Her improved spirits now were doing wonders for Jono's own head, too. //Have you decided what kind you want, yet?//

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka's powers of compartmentalization were really quite profound.

She pushed the door open and glanced back at him. "Some kind of chocolate!"

[furnaceface]

//Some kind, hm? How're you going to narrow it down?//

Jono leaned in and opened the door, holding it for Alluka.

//I'm pretty sure they've got plenty.//

[that_oldsaying]

"Thank you," she said, smiling up at him. "And, and I was going to see which had the most chocolate."

Alluka had her priorities here.

[furnaceface]

//Which one?// Jono gave her a little smile. //Or which two?//

He was going to be dealing with Alluka on such a sugar rush, and it was going to be entirely worthwhile.

[that_oldsaying]

It took a moment for her brain to register that as she hopped into the store.

"I can pick two!?"

[furnaceface]

//If you like,// Jono agreed. //Two scoops, whatever you want. I figure you can handle it, hm?//

He had no doubt in his mind that she'd probably eat five or six if given the opportunity, anyway.

[that_oldsaying]

Oh, easily. Easily, Jono.

"I can, I can! Thank you, Papa!" She favoured him with a beaming smile and made her way over to the choices.

So many choices. So many.

She dismissed most of the non-chocolate ones immediately.

[furnaceface]

//Of course,// Jono replied, making his own way over to look over the choices curiously. He wasn't going to have any, of course, but sometimes it was just fun to peruse. //When did ice cream get so complicated, anyway?//

Probably when an ice cream parlour opened up on a multidimensional nexus.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo was riding through the area by the time they ordered and came back outside, and came to a stop when she spotted Jono. She lifted a hand and tossed him a little wave from a few feet away.

"Hey," she said softly, her smile a tiny bit awkward since she felt sort of bad for not talking to him for so long.

[furnaceface]

//Evening, Ringo,// Jono said, returning the wave along with a little nod of his head. //Good night for ice cream, apparently?//

He wouldn't exactly know.

[soniaroadsqueen]

That drew a grin and a little giggle from her. "Isn't that most nights?" she offered in response.

[furnaceface]

//Hm, I suppose it is,// Jono replied, nodding thoughtfully. //Particularly this time of year. What'll you have? I might as well buy a round for the house tonight.//

All two of the people here who had mouths.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"You don't have to," Ringo said. Which wasn't a refusal, she was just trying to be polite. Because, really, who said no to free ice cream?

[furnaceface]

//Well, no,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders. //Nobody's shaking me upside-down for my pocket change or anything. Which I suppose must mean I want to. Unless you'd rather not?//

He wasn't going to try to pressure anybody into ice cream, either.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo bit her bottom lip, trying to hide a grin for half a second, then just gave up and beamed at him. "What kind of crazy person would rather not have ice cream?"

[furnaceface]

//I don't know, maybe you're diabetic, or lactose intolerant,// Jono suggested. //Couldn't hurt to make certain, could it?//

He nodded toward the selection.

//I have no idea what half of those flavours are. Maybe you'll have better luck with them than I did.//

[soniaroadsqueen]

The timing actually worked out pretty well in that Ringo came sailing over the rooftops near the Chilly Boulder a couple of minutes after Alluka made it back outside. Which meant that it was only a couple of seconds later before Ringo bounced off of the nearest building to land at street level and weave her way back over toward ice cream.

Oh, and toward Alluka, too.

"Hey, you! What've you got?"

[that_oldsaying]

"Triple chocolate brownie!" she chirped because Papa Jono hadn't tried to make her pick a healthy option. "Did, did you want some?"

Because it was Ringo, she could share a bit.

"Hi, hi!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Are you sure you can spare some?" Ringo asked with a grin. Because, well, that did sound really good.

Alluka had solid, if perhaps a bit predictable, taste in sweets.

[that_oldsaying]

"Well, a little," she said, giggling. "Or you could get your own and we could both share then!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Are you sure that wouldn't be too much ice cream?" Ringo asked with a teasing smirk.

[that_oldsaying]

"There is no such thing as too much ice cream," Alluka announced solemnly, digging her spoon into hers. "After all, it's tasty."

And that meant it was all good.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"You might have a point there," Ringo allowed.

"So, what should I get, then?" she asked. "Did you have an almost-ordered choice?"

[that_oldsaying]

"I liked a lot of others," she admitted. "But wouldn't it be more fun if you got what you really wanted instead of what I almost wanted?"