Caritas, Sunday

[suitably_heroic]

"You know we have several places on the island that do milkshakes, right? I just need to be sure you're aware of that. I mean, do you ever even leave this bar?"

Tino didn't dignify that with a reply. He just got back to polishing the sign that read ONE-DAY ONLY MILKSHAKE BAR EXPERIENCE.

Atton sighed, settling behind the bar to stare at the pink-and-blue monstrosity of a milkshake counter sitting near the lounge. "I know one thing," he said, "Which is that I'm not explaining this to Kitty."

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[biotic_psychotic]

"So - ice cream mudslides on the menu tonight?" Jack wondered when she saw the milkshake bar.

She'd gone to the bar assuming it would be the one place she could reasonably escape both Kaidan and any potential encounters with other people's children. She wasn't hiding except yes, she absolutely was hiding because she'd probably give herself an aneurysm eyerolling the first time someone's little precious ran up to her all 'hi aunt Jack'.

And then the bar had a milkshake ..thing.. all decked out in blue and pink bunting.

[suitably_heroic]

"Ask Tino," Atton called back. "I don't want any part of this kid nonsense."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Tino doesn't get to touch my drinks," Jack said, "That is a thing he does not get to do. I also do not want any part of this kid nonsense, and lo, I'm here. This is now a choice I'm uncertain was wise."

She eyed the ice cream bar. "Still. If I bring you the ice cream, will you add the alcohol?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I do not want any part of milkshakes," Atton said, shaking his head. "Nope."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Guess I'm having whiskey, then, unless you're mixing up something fun," Jack said easily.

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm just trying to keep my head down, so no fun on this side of the bar tonight," Atton said, turning around to go looking for the whiskey Jack seemed to like.

[biotic_psychotic]

"Head down, that's why I'm hiding here," Jack bobbed her head in a nod, casting a hairy eyeball toward Tino, "I didn't know Tino would be trying to lure them into the bar."

She threw Tino a look of betrayal. "It's a bar, Tino. This is where adults come to avoid children."

[hernando_fuentes]

A tiny blonde whirlwind zoomed through the doors, finishing the cheer that had begun outside "..iiiitaaaas! Yay, it's still the same! Hi Tino, Hi Uncle Atton, Hi Aunt Jack! Hey! They got a milkshake bar!" Abney headed in that direction, then stopped dead and pivoted in a tiny pirouette, "Wait! If you're both here, does that mean Mia's here, too?!"

"Miala," Quinn said, following his sister in and shoving her hat down her face again, "She hates it when you say her name like it's a noise a cat would make. Hi.. uh.. people we don't know who look exactly like people we know back home. Ignore Abs, she's hopped up on sugar." Said the teenager who was heading for the milkshake bar.

Abney shoved her hat up her forehead and stuck her tongue out at her brother as he passed before turning expectant eyes on the two other adults - sorry Tino, not you - in the room.

Hernando followed the children a minute later. He'd missed Abney's question, partially still deafened from the squeal she'd let out when she saw the bar was open. He was taking their children into a bar. This was his life now. He.. wasn't truly complaining.

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack blinked once at the greeting and then spun her chair to eye up the kid who'd thrown that little monkeywrench at her. Sized up the both of them and saw the adults who followed. That explained some of it. She'd read on the radio that Hernando and Sparkle got infected with children, so that much made sense.

"'Aunt Jack'?" she asked, one eyebrow inching toward her hairline. Sarcasm quotes present and accounted for in her voice, yes. Seriously? Aunt Jack? In what world did she let a kid get away calling her that? Wrex's kids didn't even call her 'Aunt' anything, just 'Jack'. Her eyes narrowed a little bit at Sparkle's daughter.

[forever_family]

"Ye-es?" Abney said, not intimidated in the least because Aunt Jack was more or less always like this and didn't ever mean anything by it. Also growing up on this island had left her without anything resembling a sense of self-preservation.

Quinn's head came up from where he was dumping half a jar of cookie bits into his shake cup. "Abney - shut up," he called tightly, "These aren't the same people."

"But they are," Abney objected mulishly. She pointed at Atton, "Uncle Atton, hates being called that and only wants to be 'Atton' but 'Uncle' gives him something to complain about for a good hour so I still use it cuz complaining is fun for him." The finger slid across the air to point at Jack, "Aunt Jack, who doesn't complain about being called 'aunt' anymore but rolls her eyes a lot. Together you have a daughter who's our cousin, Miala, who I call Mia and it does not sound like a noise a cat would make. That would be 'miow' or.." She went into a hurking sort of retch noise a cat would make just before it vomited up a hairball. "But neither of those is Mia or Miala."

She could read the look she was getting, and added slowly, "And.. she's not here. She didn't come to see you." A tiny frown appeared, "So she's still back at home." Thought about it for a second and announced, "That sucks. She's fun." And off she went, stomping toward the milkshake bar.

Hernando's face was buried in his hand. "This is one of those times," he mumbled, "that I am going to announce 'she's your daughter' to Sparkle and leave."

Quinn threw his father a lopsided smile, "Get used to doing that."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack listened and bobbed her head in a nod. Right up until that whole 'daughter' part when her brain did an almost audible record scratch halt. She glanced at Atton and an absolute bolt of fear went through her. Quickly consumed and turned into anger like every strong emotion.

She was not the mother type. She'd made sure it wouldn't happen biologically. It was not a thing she wanted, it was not a thing she was going to let happen. The idea that someone, anyone ever, might think she was a suitable candidate for co-parenting horrified her down to her marrow.

The fear was there, steadily churning into anger. There were kids in the room. Nothing showed on her face. She could feel it blanking out as her brain ran with the horror of this.

Jack slid off her bar seat, drawling in a slow sarcastic voice, "Yeaaaa-ah. That one? Ain't me." Beat. "Sorry."

Hands in her pockets, she strolled - not ran, not running, not yet - to the door to leave.

[hernando_fuentes]

Hernando swallowed and tried to head her off, apologizing, "Jack.."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Nope," Jack cut him off, "Not now, Hernando. Gotta jet. All this nope up in my atmosphere's cuttin' off the oxygen. Have fun with your kids or whatever. Bye."

Door. Through the door. Outside the bar where she could breathe. Where she wasn't freaking out right next to someone who could feel it.

Lighthouse. Nobody ever there. Great. Good. A direction. A destination. Something that made sense.

"EDI? We got mines?" she wondered as she began to walk in the direction of the shore.

[suitably_heroic]

"I am nobody's uncle!" Atton bellowed across the bar, towards Abney.

It sounded a lot like he'd bellowed this many times before on this weekend. That may or may not have been right.

[forever_family]

Abney stuck out her tongue at him, "You always say that."

Quinn tried not to laugh. She wasn't wrong. "This one doesn't know that, Abs. I think it's his first time yelling at you."

[suitably_heroic]

"And yet you haven't stopped calling me 'uncle', which I'm pretty sure means you're rude as a rampaging rancor and I don't have to stand for it," Atton said.

[forever_family]

"I'm not real good at lying and you told me not to bother until I could lie convincingly," Abney shrugged, looking for chocolate sauce at the milkshake thing, "It wastes everybody's time and it's irritating."

Quinn ran a hand over the back of his neck, "Also she's rude as a rampaging rancor because our fathers spoil her rotten. Pest, be nice."

He was, it should be noted, talking to Abney with that last.

[glitter_and_mayhem]

"Fuck yeah, we get to add booze to the ice cream, right?" The teenager checking out the milkshake bar looked like she was seriously considering trying to make about five different drinks. "Or is this just for the little-littles to keep them away from you?"

She should totally text her parents, and see how bad they needed booze-ice-cream too, what with their other kids running around. They were so lucky she was self-sufficient and did not need obvious parenting.

[suitably_heroic]

"The milkshake bar is Tino's thing," Atton said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just here to sell alcohol to anyone who can pretend to be an adult hard enough."