projectroxas | (no subject)

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[ it's after his meet-up with his supervisor that he gets a call from robin to babysit alice. of course he says 'yes' -- he has nothing planned for the day & would never consciously turn down time with his niece. & like he told robin before, more free air should do him some good; who knows, if he's feeling better in mind, the body might follow. (he didn't really believe that since the damage from the accident has been said to be absolute, but a little bit of feigned hope wasn't too heavy to carry around.)

that's the context to their current scenario: at the park with alice, doing whatever she wants until it's time for lunch & ice cream. time with uncle nick is the time to get spoiled, so he doesn't worry too much about feeding her nutritional things; he's pretty sure his ~~mom~~ sis has that covered anyway. ]

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[ gets back to his feet & walks after her at a leisurely pace. at least up until he spots the drinking fountain nearby. glances briefly at alice & then decides that a drink wouldn't hurt.

~~this is the worst choice he'll make in his life.~~ turns away briefly to take that drink of water, fiddling with the handle a little when he finds that the water is barely coming out as a trickle. ]

[ is happily swinging on her swing, singing the my little pony song again (she watched it this morning with her mommy) until she stops, spotting something shiny in the distance. as usual she has a one-track mind, completely forgetting that she should be a good girl and stay right there where uncle can see her.

alas, she isn't thinking at that moment in time, something urging her to scuffle faster and end up next a bench where a person is drawing something.

cranes her neck a little to try and look. when the person seems too distracted, she puts her chin and hands on the bench before saying: ]

What'cha drawing, mister?

[ blinks out of his stupor the moment he hears the voice, looking around him until his eyes decide to point downward.

... ? looks increasingly confused, but answers dutifully anyway: ]

I'm doing a sketch of the trees.

Oh. [ tries to peek again, lifting her hand to help lyssa move it to her line of sight. ] It's super pretty.

[ ... a smile slowly tugs on his lips, patting the empty spot beside him so she feels more invited to join him. after she wiggles on up he scoots closer so she can see the drawing better. ]

Do you think it needs more detail?

[ tilts her head at it, thinking. eventually she nods. ]

It needs a butterfly.

[ laughs at that, placing the drawing board (and sketch) onto his lap. moves it a little so it's on both of their laps, holding out his pencil to her. ]

Would you like to draw the butterfly?

[ sparkles up at him. ]

Can I?

Of course you can. You seem like you're an artist, just like me!

[ nods furiously, taking the pencil so she can start doodling the butterfly while her new friend leans back to watch. ]

My uncle is an artist. I want to be like uncle, so I gotta be good fast...

[ chuckles again, watching her (messily) draw her (rather large) butterfly-shaped thing on top of his trees. ]

I'm sure you'll get there someday.

[ he's working up to a full-on panic by the time that the two's conversation is over, speed walking around in search of his niece. he caves in & asks several people in the end until he's given the tip that a girl with alice's description waddled away that way. & so that way he goes & becomes a little winded with relief when he spots alice sitting on the bench next to a stranger (well, not quite; there's something familiar about that figure, but he's really not paying attention to anyone or anything but alice right now).

sighs & lets himself calm down a little before approaching the two. ]

Alice?

[ is humming a new song called doodle, doodle once nick comes around, looking up once she hears her name being called. by now she had draw not only a butterfly, but a cat (one that was so round that it looked like a pancake) and a dog (who is in one of the trees for some reason) so she's excited to show him, raising her unused hand to wave it around to her uncle. ]

Hi!

[ follows alice's line of sight, briefly hoping in the back of his mind that it's her caretaker, but he stops short in speaking to the stranger once he realizes who it is. there's a skip here (a blank) since it was the last person he was expecting. nonetheless he smiles after the hiccup, raising one of his hands as well. ]

Afternoon!

[ points at lyssa, still staring up at her uncle. ]

This is my new friend. [ eyes go back to the paper, scribbling some more as she speaks absently: ] He lets me draw. He's nice and shiny... hmm hmm~ friend, friend~

[ there's the slightest twitch at the elbow, but otherwise seems alright with it. probably.

gives a nod in lyssa's direction in a returned greeting. ] Hey.

[ then to alice: ] Did you remember to thank him for letting you use his paper?

[ drags her eyes away from the paper, shaking her head while looking a little guilty. peeks up at lyssa, murmuring in a quiet (shy) voice: ]

Thank you...

[ laughs a little at her expression, lifting a hand to place it gently on her head. ]

You're very welcome.

[ nodding in approval, he closes the distance to stand in front of the bench without looming over the two, staring down at alice's work. giving alice's hair a few gentle strokes, he glances at lyssa. ]

Thanks for finding her.

[ shakes his head a little. ]

She's the one that found me. [ eyes go back to the girl briefly as she starts to draw again. back up at nick: ] Is she yours? Robin's?

[ realizing that alice might not be done anytime soon, he settles on the other side of alice where there is free space. ]

Robin's. [ but she's as good as his too. ]

[ rests his chin into the palms of his hands, propping himself up while tilting a little to watch her draw some more. ]

She's beautiful.

[ head jerks upward, back to lyssa. the usual words are on her lips when she thinks she's in the conversation: ]

I am five years old!

[ gasps, pretending to look surprised. ]

No way! I could have sworn that you were older!

[ shakes her head, pointing over at nick. ]

He is older. He is ten plus another number!