Chilly Boulder, Saturday Afternoon

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Belle and Graham had arranged a little ice cream date (meetup? get-together?) for this afternoon. It just seemed like a wonderful idea for the day but ice cream was nearly always a wonderful idea.

They hadn't noticed any influx of children on their way here but then the dorms were a generally quiet place and it was entirely possible they'd had other things on their minds.

Like ice cream. What else? Tsk.

Once they'd settled at a table, having ordered sundaes rather too large for either of their frames (but that had never stopped them before), Belle grinned across the table at her companion.

"I didn't know they had jellybeans as a topping." She'd chosen peanut butter and hot fudge and some of those tiny chocolate eggs on top of her own. "Perhaps they heard you were coming, Sir Knight."

Or maybe Easter was tomorrow. One of those.

[Adorable knight modded with permission, open ice cream shop is open for children and adults alike, etc]

Comments

[a_very_punny_princess]

"There you are!"

Watch out, Fandom, a young princess on the hunt for adventure (and her parents) (and snacks) had arrived!

"I've been searching and searching and Daddy you need to eat more you're so...little."

Her father was meant to have muscles! And be a king. Minor details.

[pun_king]

Hey! Graham had muscles! Sort of!

He was working on it, okay??

And he had just been working on explaining to Belle how the real trick was to make sure to eat the jelly beans before they got too cold and hard from the ice cream or just wait until the ice cream melted so it was sort of like a jelly beans soup when the girl burst in and marched up to them.

He blinked at her a moment, and then he had to grin faintly.

"I think that's probably the first time anyone's ever told me I'm not eating enough!" he noted with a chuckle.

And then the other part caught up with him.

"Wait. Did you day 'Daddy'?"

[a_very_punny_princess]

"That's your name."

No, it was not.

"I can hardly call you 'Your Majesty' that would be silly."

That made more sense.

"Especially right now you don't look kingly at all! And Mama doesn't look like a queen but she looks more like herself than you do!"

Belle just kind of stared for a moment. "I beg your pardon?"

[pun_king]

Graham took a moment to look at Belle, then look at the girl, and then looked back to Belle again.

And had to snicker a little at the look on her face.

"Oh," he stated confidently, "I know what this is! It's one of those weekends! Where kids from potential futures show up! And it looks like maybe you and me got one, Belle!"

A second after he said it, he seemed to realize the implications there, and his face filled with red, all the way from one ear to the other.

"Oh. Erm. Uh...."

He looked at the girl again now.

"Sooooo....hiiii. How's it going? Did you want some ice cream? If you call me Daddy and her Mama, what should we call you? Did you take the portal here? How was it? Did you come from Daventry? Or your mom's world? That's a great sword, are you going to be a knight like me some day, too?"

When in doubt? Just babble it out!

[a_very_punny_princess]

Oh, come now Graham. You and Belle had engaged in activities that could potentially result in children many times now.

Belle's own cheeks were slightly pink but she recovered.

"This has only happened to be me once before. I'm so sorry to have been rude. Please sit, join us!"

Sally did so, hopping into a chair with more force than necessary.

"I've come from Daventry and my name is Sally. I've a longer name but everyone calls me Sally even both of you unless I'm in trouble."

She heard a whole litany of things when she got in trouble.

"And yes I would love some ice cream and of course I'll be a Knight! Just like you!"

She knew better than to brandish her sword inside a shop but her hand twitched toward it all the same.

[pun_king]

Just because there may have been...activities before didn't make Graham any less awkward when being confronted with the potentiality in said activities!

"I think I've only had it happen one other time, too," Graham admitted. "With Guillermo!"

He definitely wasn't going to think about how that might have been possible, what with...well...never mind. It was probably magic.

"Maybe? I could have made that up. Anyway!" He pushed back his chair to stand. "You are sorely lacking in ice cream, Sally...great name, by the way!....so let's fix that. What would you like? Or should it be a surprise?"

[a_very_punny_princess]

"Jelly beans!" Sally declared. Just in case there was any doubt.

"With strawberry ice cream and chocolate sauce, pleaseandthankyou."

"You've told me about meeting children here on this island," she said conversationally, eyeing Graham's ice cream and then Belle's and wondering if they might share while she waited the interminable amount of time before her own would be ready. "But at home there's just me and Oyster but Oyster is a baby and he can't go on adventures like I can."

"Oyster?" Belle echoed, eyebrows up. Why would she...oh. Oh that was funny. She giggled.

[pun_king]

"I'm definitely going to have to remember that one!" said Graham with a laugh of his own, shaking his head and giving both his future self and Future Belle a mental high five. "Okay, so jelly beans with strawberry and chocolate sauce! Got it! I'll be right back."

He threw Belle a wink as he oh-so-casually nudged his own jellybean concoction (not strawberry ice cream, though, his was butter pecan, with maple syrup!) closer to Sally as he went to go get her order.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Oyster Cracker was a pretty solid name for a kid.

"Thanks Daddy," Sally said cheerfully before taking a huge spoonful.

"Now, Sally," Belle said, sizing up this sudden and unexpected child. "Wherever did you get such a fine sword? Does it help you on your adventures? You don't often go off alone, do you? Portals can be dangerous!"

"I know Mama."

[pun_king]

"Not to mention," Graham added, as he came back, with Sally's ice cream for her. Did she ask for whip cream and a cherry? No. Was she still getting those, too? Of course she was! "If you're from Daventry, it's pretty dangerous there, too! And you did say 'your Majesty' earlier too, right? Does that mean I'm a king n your future, too?"

All these kingly futures were going to start giving him ideas if he wasn't careful!

[a_very_punny_princess]

"Thanks Daddy!" Sally smiled her brightest smile and pushed Graham's sundae back towards his chair so there would be room for hers.

"Of course you're the King, Daddy, who else would you be? That's why I am Princess Saltine Cracker of Daventry."

Oh, Cracker family, never change.

"And I know it's dangerous that's why I have a sword from the Royal Blacksmith!"

And why there were generally guards about. Oops?

[voidbb]

At some point around lunch, a little blob of...something...whirled in excitedly.

"Ice cream! Ice cream!"

A frazzled (not that that was any different than usual) Jonathan Sims followed them more sedately.

"You can have two flavors."

"Yay!"

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon gave the surprised servers a strained smile. "Whatever they want - but no more than two!" he cautioned again. "And, um. Rum-and-raisin for me, please. Cup, not cone."