-- YOU COULD BE MY EVER AFTER && [nell]

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

"Hey, congrats, man, I'm happy for you." His friend nudged him affectionately as Josh told him the news, getting a kick out of it every time it came up in conversation. He had been dating Nell for months now and it was somewhat of old news to those that knew him well but slipping the casual fact that they were engaged into a conversation was becoming like a game for him. He still hadn't told Devin or Ace yet and figured that he should get around to it, as the two were good buddies of his and he thought they might like to know. And Lark, too. His circle of trust might not have been massive but the four of them meant a lot of Joshua. Shit—Mum still doesn't know, either. Important as his friends were, the fact that his mother had not yet been informed of his successful engagement was a bit of a problem. He made himself a promise to drop by that night and so committed himself to a number—only three shots of whiskey that night, and spaced far apart. That way he could enjoy the taste without really getting drunk off it. His friend found himself a date of sorts and went off to be introduced to her friends, something that didn't really bug Josh. It's his birthday, let him have his fun. Josh couldn't have the sort of fun that he was any more but that was perfectly alright with him.

That was why, as a pretty blonde slid onto the stool beside him, he was a tad wary. "Hello," he said pleasantly enough when she looked his way and uttered a shy but amiable greeting. She introduced herself as Tina and stuck out her hand, which he shook. "Joshua." They made conversation and he noticed that the girl was not drinking anything. He was very conscious of this but didn't comment on it, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. He was not wearing the ring he usually possessed as a decoy because he'd came out here with a friend and hadn't really been planning on splitting up. Ah well, shit happened. "What's that you're drinking?" Tina asked, leaning forward a little as she gestured to the currently full shot glass. Tossing it back, Josh appreciated the burn for a moment before replying, "Crown Royal. It's whiskey," he added, in case she had any doubt. She looked around his age and he guessed that she had either got in by pure chance or that she was newly turned nineteen. The latter was more likely, as this was Blackjack.

"It looks good," she said. "I came here with a girlfriend but she left with our money and some guy." Tina gave a heavy sigh, looking away from him with that saddened sort of look that would put even the most clueless guy onto what she was trying to do. Josh resisted the urge to smirk. "That sucks," he said, not sounding quite that sympathetic. He didn't figure she noticed. It was hard to tell when people were being honest about sympathy at times. "This is my last of the night, actually. Have to get back home to my fiancée." It took all of his self control and willpower not to laugh at the shock that flashed across her features. She clearly hadn't been expecting anything when she had approached him except perhaps a desperate guy and a couple of free drinks. "Oh," she said, and something about her tone was off. "I—I'm so sorry, I never realised." Josh couldn't help but chuckle at this, then felt a little bad. He could believe that she was broke and stranded because she really did look confused and unhappy. "Whereabouts do you live? I could give you the money for a cab." He would have bought her a drink but that wouldn't solve anything and offering a ride might give her the wrong idea. She told him and he took the money out of his wallet and slid it across the bar. "And give your friend a good slap when you see her," he added as an afterthought. She laughed weakly, thanked him, then left.

That was easy, he thought, feeling proud of himself. There wasn't nearly as much pull to cheat on Nell any more because he wasn't suffering from an eleven month abstinence. He downed the shot and chased it with a lot of water to counteract it, though he waited a good ten minutes to be safe before he left to his car. Sometimes he was glad of his alcohol tolerance. When he walked in the door, Josh was surprised to find Nell in the opposite position to what he was accustomed—upside down. He blinked, taking this in, then accepted it as normal. They were both strange people sometimes and living with each other could be an adventure. "Hi, Nell," he said cheerfully enough. "May I ask what it is you're trying to accomplish...?" His tone was teasing and his gray eyes were light. Setting his keys and wallet down on the table, Josh sat down on the edge of the couch. "I left earlier than I expected to, only had a shot or two," he explained. He had told her before he was going what he planned to do and had jokingly promised not to end up in the ditch or get involved in any serious crimes. He was easing up with talking about alcohol around her ever since the party when he'd seen her drunk and realised she probably wouldn't judge him all that much. And if she did, he could troll her with his recollections. "Met someone, though. Poor girl got ditched and she tried to flirt with me—should have seen the look on her face when I told her I was taken. I gave her the money to get home, though."

He liked this, liked being able to share pointless details about his day and the things that he'd found entertaining. He wasn't usually the type that would talk about things like this and so it was nice to have his girlfriend—no, no, fiancée now—to chatter at whenever he felt the need. Remembering what he'd thought to do earlier, he gave a start. "Oh—are you busy today?" For it was still day. He'd planned to be at the bar for most of it but leave before things got rowdy but his plans had backfired thanks to his friend copping out. "Mum still doesn't know we got engaged. I, uh, I figured I'd wait until things worked out and then tell her but I sort of forgot." He ducked his head and grinned sheepishly. "I could give her a call or go over myself but it's a bit personal for a phone call and I think she'd like to see you." He smiled as he said this.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell lifted her eyebrow at her friend as the other girl yanked her arm at and grinned down at her hand. ”Damn, girl,” Courtney said, turning her hand around as if expecting the ring. ”When did this happen?” She smiled and shook her head at her overenthusiastic friend as they got in the car, on the way to the store. ”I don’t know, I just woke up one morning, and there it was,” Nell teased. ”It happened when Josh proposed.” The girl dropped her hand with a muttered word that sounded like ‘asshole’ and said, ”I could never get married.” Her hand free now, Nell started her car and said, ”I know, boys have cooties.” Courtney fussed with her own jewelry and shook her head. ”No, no, monogomy. Boring. Bleck.” Nell just smiled at her friend, and thought of the fact that super-cooties were a big risk with Court’s life. But she didn’t say as much. Nell was perfectly content with Josh, and she didn’t need anyone else. They took a long while in the store simply because Court was indecisive with everything, and Nell was happy when she finally made it to the check-out line.

Standing close to the check-out line, Nell was distracing herself as she looked at the rack of books. She picked one up curiously, barely noticing when her friend peaked over her shoulder. ”Whatcha lookin’ at?” Thanfully Nell asn’t very jumpy, and so she merely thumped Courtney in the head with the book. ”Your breath smell like tamales,” she said, before turning and showing the girl the book she’d picked up. The girl lifted her eyebrow and nodded. ”Yoga. Cool,” she said before holding up two boxes of cereal. ”Now tell me, should I have breakfast tomorrow with the bird on speed, or the tiger on sterroids?” Nell took hold of the Frosted Flakes box and said, ”I heard they’re grreat.” They were shopping for Court’s new apartment, now that her parents had given her an ultimatum to get her own place. Apparently they believed that since she was in college, she should be getting her own place. Court didn’t mind too much apparently, it had been the apartment search that had been the hard part. At first they’d considered getting her a roommate, but they couldn’t find one until after and one of Court’s friends said she’d like to move in because she was looking for a place too. Things seemed to be working out well.

Nell dropped the box into the cart that also contained a new bedspread and silverware and bookends and this would turn out to be a rather big purchase. Of course, Nell offered to help pay for it, and when Court turned her down, she instead called it a loan. That worked, and now she was taking out her wallet and her card and paying for the things that were soon to be a part of the girl’s apartment. When they came back to the apartment, Nell helped her actually unpack everything that had been sitting in boxes for about a week. ”Thanks Nells,” Courtney said before she left for her own apartment. Josh wasn’t back yet as she figured, so she decided to try out the book now. In her old apartment, such would not be possible, but in the wide open space in front of the television she decided that it would be a good enough place to do yoga. She changed into yoga pants and her tank top, since no form of exercise was easy in jeans.

She stretched out first and tried to reign Pablo into joining her, but the cat merely turned his nose up at her and strolled away to his litter box. By the time she attempted a few positions, she was content with just doing a handstand. This is nice. I like this. Unfortunately, Josh caught her in the middle of one. ”Ya know, just looking for those contacts I don’t own.” She fell from her position, rocking back on her butt as she felt the blood rush from her head and make her dizzy before crossing her legs. ”Yoga. I got a book today.” Nell focused on getting her blood flow back to normal—while trying to figure out what yoga is for—while listening to Josh talk about this day. ”That was nice,” she said, completely unfazed by his drinking. Everyone drank. At least, pretty much everyone she knew. Or maybe she’d just been hanging out with the wrong crowd. ”So did you have fun?” she asked, feeling that everything around her was in the right position and that her bloodflow was back to normal.

Pablo returned then, and rubbed against her leg, apparently having simply been turned off by yoga. ”I fed you, cochino,” she scolded the animal before shaking her head at Josh’s question. ”I just helped my friend move into her new apartment, but that’s all I had planned today.” She liked hanging out with her friends, especially in the recovery mode of what her father had done. It still smarted, but she was getting better, getting over it. Josh certainly helped with that. She just spent most of her time reminding herself that she didn’t need her father, and that he could do whatever he wanted. León was an adult, she was an adult, they could survive without each other. And speaking of parents, she was surprised to hear that Josh hadn’t told his mother that he’d proposed. She’d half-expected him to tell her, but she could see why he’d simply waited. She clicked her tongue and said, "That's information I'm sure she'd like," Nell said, mostly teasing him and not scolding him for taking his time. ”You should visit her,” she encouraged him, waving her arms as if doing that just. ”And I’ll definitely come with you. Does Annabel know?” Nell was starting to be more comfortable with the concept that she wasn’t a homewrecker and that the mansion was not off-limits or anything. Sometimes she did get uneasy, but she would get past that. With everything, it only took time.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

He chuckled in mild amusement when she told him that it had been yoga she was attempting. He'd never really seen the appeal of it himself and a lot of the positions looked quite painful, so he was content to be his stubborn self on the sidelines. "That's interesting," he said. "I didn't know it involved so much standing on your head." He didn't really like the feeling of all the blood rushing to his head, the way it made one swoon and feel a little sick. He'd leave Nell to the crazy contortions. Looking at her now and smiling in amusement, Joshua could still hardly believe that he'd proposed to her a short while ago. Things didn't really feel too different. There was a ring now and the knowledge that their future was a little more cemented than before but his love for her hadn't been questionable to begin with. And they were thankfully already used to living with one another, so that was one hurdle they wouldn't need to get over. There were always stories about great relationships that went to shit as soon as the pair moved in together and got to know the other's bad habits. He didn't really find much about Nell to be annoying. He was irked by things like her lack of self-confidence and sometimes the fact that she didn't believe that he'd stick by her but her odd habits didn't irritate him. The yoga did quite the opposite.

"Nah, not really," he shrugged truthfully when she inquired if he'd had fun. The night hadn't been miserable but it had been much too short-lived for his liking. "My buddy went off with a couple of ladies after not too long and I decided to just head home." Home. That's what this place was to him now. He'd always avoided using the word before but he doubted Nell would have noticed. That wasn't the type of thing you picked up on, especially when he'd inconspicuously substitute 'going home' with 'heading back'. It had been a weird little thing for him. He was over that, now. He was even considering mentioning to a few of his closer friends that he no longer lived at the mansion so they wouldn't get the idea of stopping by. He didn't want to inconvenience his parents and he was not ashamed of living with Nell. "Oh? And was that fun?" he inquired as he bent down to scratch Pablo behind the ears. He remembered Picasso and wondered if he was doing alright with Trish and Donovan for company. He missed his cats but understood that five cats in one apartment likely wouldn't work out too well.

He was glad when she said that she would accompany him. He'd have went to see his mother regardless but it would be nice to have the girl in question with him when he told his mother he proposed. "No, I don't think so. I asked Dad not to tell anyone." He realised then that he had not told Nell about his talk with Donovan. Well, now she knows. It was not completely crucial and it had just slipped his mind to mention it, rather than it being a lie. He thought of his little sister and smiled. He didn't see how she could be anything but happy for him considering she'd suggested on more than one occasion that Nell was her favourite of Josh's friends and companions. He thought perhaps it was because Nell was both female and very nice to her. "We'd better get going, then. She'll be home today, it's her day off." At least he hoped that she'd be home. If she wasn't then he could just hang out with his father and sister along with Nell. He'd have liked to tell both Trish and Annabel on the same day so neither felt too left out but it all depended on circumstance.

His parents had let him keep the automatic key to the gate so that he could drop by any time he wished as well as the key to the house for the same reason. The butler emerged from one of the halls when the front door opened in order to see what was going on but merely nodded and went back to whatever it was he'd been doing before when he saw who was there. Josh had the status of an always welcome guest in the home, and he'd grown up here. The butler knew him as well as he knew Joshua's parents, even if the acquaintanceship was rather impersonal. They didn't talk much. "Hello?" he called, not too loud but loud enough so that anyone in the area from the kitchen to living room might be able to hear. It was from the landing of the second floor that Patricia answered, however. "Oh! Joshua! I wasn't expecting—oh, hang on, it won't do much good to shout down at you." She descended the stairs until she was in front of the pair, hugging them both in turn. "How are you, Nell?" she asked the Earth girl. "It's nice seeing you again. I was almost worried you were stealing my boy away for good when he said he was moving!" Her tone was light and there was a grin on her face. Unlike Joshua, who was so serious that it was sometimes hard to tell if he was kidding, Trish's humour was obvious. "Is Annabel home?" Trish shook her head. "She and your father went out to get something at the store, they should be home any minute now." In her usual display of being a good hostess, she asked, "Are either of you hungry? I could fix something up." Josh glanced at Nell, leaving it up to her. He was neither hungry enough that he would agree on his own or full enough that he would turn down anything if she wanted it.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell pulled on her feet as she rocked back and forth and chirped, ”It doesn’t. I just like handstands.” That was very true. She liked being upside down, and she enjoyed any time she could get herself into an odd position. Yoga was nice for that, but that hurt more than anything else, no matter how flexible she was. Like all work-outs, however, she felt pretty damn good after. She couldn’t help but think of how this wouldn’t have been on her mind had she still been depressed, how she wouldn’t want to try new things and do the usual stuff that appealed to her. She missed out a lot, and she was more than willing to work on it now. ”A couple of ladies?” Nell said, pursing her lips in consideration as she kept rotating around in her seated position. It was an effort to keep still. ”Good for him.” There was a small part of her that was glad that Josh hadn’t gone off with anyone, or that girl who tried to flirt with him, but she liked to keep suspicion and jealousy to a minimum. Actually, to a zero, because the last time she got suspicious, she had been terribly, terribly wrong. She smiled at him when he scratched Pablo behind the ears, and thought on his question a little bit. ”Well, it was interesting telling her what a drying rack is,” she said, nodding slightly. ”And I’m one who considers manual labor fun, so yes.” Any time she could hang out with her friends was fun, in her mind.

Apparently his dad knew, and she didn’t know whether or not that surprised her. ”When did you tell him?” she asked curiously. She was unaware that he had been the one Josh went to before he even proposed, and so she figured that he’d have told his parents at the same time. Turned out she was wrong, and there was the small part of her that she always ignored that wished she had parents to tell. She didn’t linger too long on these thoughts, however, because she only knew one person in her family who would give a fuck and he was in another country and they had only spoken once or twice over the phone. My friends are my family, she thought, even though she couldn’t help the feeling that there was something missing, a feeling only intensified by her father. Healing was a process, she had to remind herself. She was still healing from every wound inflicted upon her, and she was just glad that she had Josh as support and she was no longer trying to push him away. ”Let me just change, first,” Nell said, considering she wasn’t about to head out in a tanktop when it was still pretty darn cold out. It didn’t take long to change, though, and she was actually excited to tell Trish. She’d always liked the woman, after all.

She waved happily to the butler when she noticed him and held back from bugging him too much when he was working. It wasn’t very appreciated, she knew. Instead, she waited as Josh called out and Trish replied, coming down the stairs. Nell reutrned the hug and said, ”I’m doing good, thank you. You?” Then Trish mentioned her stealing her son away and she tilted her head, waving her hand at Josh. ”Don’t worry, you still have full custody of him.” That kind of comment would have caused a very undesired reaction if she didn’t know that Trish was joking, especially since there had been the whole kicking-out issue. That was before the trial, though, and she just had to keep thinking of how it was a resolved issue. Trish had obviously gotten over it if she had ever even been bothered, or else she was an expert at disguising her hatred. As it turned out, neither Annabel or Donovan were home, but they’d be back soon. And then food came up, and she would have normally turned her down politely if she hadn’t actually been pretty hungry. She had pizza hours before with Courtney, but that was about it today save for breakfast. ”If it isn’t too much trouble, I can eat anything.” She was like a dog when it came to food, so as long as someone offered something, she’d eat it whole-heartedly.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua stared at her for a long moment in consideration, then shook his head. "You're a strange one, Nell." His tone was affectionate and his lips tugged themselves into a smile. He liked her in all her oddness and he liked being around her. She lifted his spirits like no one else could and she had generally made him a happier person since they'd met. People had commented that he was a lot less abrasive toward them and his fuse seemed to have gotten a tad longer in day-to-day life. He didn't know what to make of this. Part of him was glad that it meant his temper had improved (if only lightly) but another part was offended they'd go so far as to point it out. "Yep," he said. "Some girls on a trip from Vancouver, apparently." It carried an obvious message—he was not going to become seriously involved with any of them because they did not live in the Hollow, but Josh wouldn't doubt he went home with one. He and his friend had met at a party when they were both into the single-date and ditch type deals. The girls generally understood the situation just as well as they did and so it had worked out well for him. He felt no desire for that now. I'm all but married. The thought always gave him a sort of thrill, the excitement of that news still not having died down. He supposed it would take a while.

Opting for the truth, because he really had no reason to lie to her, Joshua said, "Before we went out to dinner, actually. For advice." He'd actually been a little nervous in proposing to Nell and he ducked his head as he admitted it. He had been able to work up the guts on his own but he'd still taken comfort in the man's support. And he did approve. Josh was glad of that, remembering the fiasco that had been his disowning. He had sometimes wondered whether Donovan had really forgiven Josh for deceiving the family for her but now he knew almost for certain that he was over it. He was thankful for that, much as it felt strange to admit any fondness for his father lately. The wound had closed quickly thanks to his immense loyalty. "Okay," he said patiently. "Hmm. Maybe I should, too." He swapped his clothes quickly so that he wouldn't be carrying the smell of the bar around with him. Nell and his parents probably wouldn't mind but he didn't want his baby sister knowing he'd spent part of his day at a bar. Belle was not totally innocent as he'd have liked but it still made him uncomfortable for her to know these things.

Patricia gave Nell a broad and friendly smile. "I'm doing fine." She looked a little better than she had when he'd left, Joshua noticed, and he could believe it. "Thanks for asking." Patricia nodded and turned with a flourish toward the kitchen, humming to herself. "You kids can make yourselves at home." Joshua decided to take a seat at the dining room table considering it was close to the kitchen and they could carry on conversation while Patricia worked over the stove. The cook got the same days off as Patricia did—she told Josh that she enjoyed cooking for her family and only neglected to do so half the time because she was too busy handling things around the city. He respected her work ethic and had never complained, even though her cooking did taste the best to him. When she came in to ask Joshua if there was anything in particular that he didn't want in his food besides meat, her bright blue eyes went to Nell's left hand. Patricia's eyebrows arched. "An engagement ring...?" Given the ring's place, there was no question. Josh ducked his head as she turned to look at him. "That's why we're here," he said with a sheepish smile.

Donovan entered the dining room then, not seeming too phased when he saw Josh and Nell. "When'd you get here?" he asked curiously, but before Joshua could open his mouth to answer Patricia said, "Our son is engaged, Donny, that's why he dropped by." She sounded relatively happy about this and her tone carried an important air as she reported it to him. "Glad to hear it went well," Donovan said with a nod to his son and a smile in Nell's direction. Patricia blinked. "You knew?" Her husband seemed to regret his choice of words when he nodded and Patricia delivered a rather hard whack to Joshua's arm. It was more offended than angry but it had certainly not been light. "It's nice to know you consider telling me these sorts of things, Josh, really. Will I always be the last to know?" It had not been his intention to hurt his mother by going to Donovan for advice instead of her but he could not take back his forgetfulness. "Sorry," he said, sounding it. "I wanted to make sure everything went... you know, alright." He wrapped an arm around Nell's shoulders in a sideways hug. Trish's expression softened after that. "Well, congratulations," she said much more warmly. "I'll have to make something really special to celebrate, now!"

Annabel flounced in, brilliant as usual with her timing. Her light blonde hair was down and her curls framed her face, blue eyes curious as she stuck her nose into everyone's business. "Celebrate what?" she asked, then noticed her brother and his fiancée. Smiling, Josh said, "Show her your ring, Nell." Annabel seemed confused for a moment until she caught on to the news and gave a high-pitched and excited squeal. "You're getting married?" She sounded very enthusiastic about this. Next thing Josh knew, she was hugging him and fawning over the ring, telling Nell with barely contained glee, "We'll be like sisters now!" Trish looked fondly at her family before shooing them out with her hands. "This'll take longer than I expected—go find something to do in the meantime, alright?" Donovan excused himself to take a shower. Annabel, meanwhile, seemed determined to shadow the happy couple. "Dad and I got some new sleds today," she told her brother. He noticed that she called him 'Dad' rather than the cutesy 'Daddy' and chuckled. "Wanna come try them out with me?" Joshua once again left this decision up to Nell with an, "If Nell feels up for it, sure."

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell sat next to Josh after pleasantries were exchanged, containing her excitement over the fact that she was going to be fed. Especially after she hadn’t eaten as much as she usually would have in the day. Her excitement was also nerves over the fact she didn’t know how the woman would react to her son being engaged. I guess we’ll find out, she thought. It couldn’t be too bad, right? Trish at least liked her, didn’t she? She was perfectly civil with Nell whenever they spoke. And this was good news, wasn’t it? Donovan wouldn’t have given Josh the go ahead if he thought his wife wouldn’t allow it, or maybe they wouldn’t be able to predict her reaction. Nell couldn’t believe how nervous she was over informing Trish abou the engagement, but it felt pretty big. These thoughts on her mind, she was almost surprised when Trish noticed the ring coming over before Josh had the chance to actually tell her. The girl nodded slowly at the question, and she was trying to gauge the woman’s reaction when Donovan came in.

Now Nell could see how informing Donovan first and leaving Trish to find out from her husband could cause some problems, but she just kept smiling. When she thwacked Josh’s arm, Nell was half-expecting the woman to strike Donovan as well, but she seemed to relatively calm after Josh apologized and put his arm around her shoulders. When Trish claimed that she should make something special, Nell of course got more than a little excited, in the back of her mind even hoping that it would be shepherd’s pie, even though she knew that was very unlikely. Still, she was happy that Trish—who would be her mother-in-law eventually, that seemed so crazy—was apparantly approving of the engagement, even if she had been unaware of it. Nell looked over when she heard Annabel come in, and she held out her hand at Josh’s direction, wiggling her fingers. She giggled at the girl’s reation, her excitement glaringly apparent as she hugged her brother. ”Pretty much,” Nell agreed. Sisters-in-law, that’s even more crazy. Truth was, Nell had never even considered getting married before, and so she never thought about having in-laws or another family. It would take some getting used to, even though she already liked them. The connections would be what she needed to become accustomed to.

Trish must have had something pretty big in mind, because she told them to find something else to do while they all waited. Nell’s attention was back on Annabel when she brought up sleds, something she had never done before. Not that it seemed like it was difficult or anything, she just didn’t get the chance last year. At the time, she had been more concerned with finding places to warm up at, even though she did enjoy playing in the snow. Purchasing a sled would have been rather ridiculous—even for her, queen of the 1-800 number—because she’d had nowhere to put it in her apartment. She nodded and said, ”Sounds like fun, but I’m afraid you’re gonna have to teach me, Annabel, because I have never sledded a day in my life.” She was joking about the girl teaching her, of course, but she was serious about not having sled before. It would make sense, even if she didn’t have the kind of childhood she did. She still grew up in the city—it was hard to find hills to slide down there. She didn’t even think Central Park had steep enough hills.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua was a lot more comfortable than Nell was, knowing that his mother would not mind that he was engaged to her so much as she would his delay in informing her. He appreciated his mother and everything she did for him but even Trish had long since accepted the fact that Donovan was the 'favourite' parent. It did not mean that he loved his father any more than his mother, and the woman certainly treated him better ninety percent of the time but he valued his father's opinion more. "It's a good thing you didn't turn him down, Nell," said Donovan in amusement. "Annabel might have throttled you otherwise." His tone was light-hearted and it made Josh smile. It was easy to be happy when he was getting along with his parents and his sister and Nell and everything seemed alright in the world for the time being. It was hard to believe that he'd once feared for his relationship with her thanks to an impending trial and had loathed his father for chucking him out. Everything was okay. Even a pessimist like Josh couldn't find much wrong with their situation. There was Nell's father, of course, but he hoped that he'd given her some sort of comfort with his proposal. Donovan grasped his shoulder briefly in congratulations before heading upstairs for the bathroom. "I've always wanted a sister," said Annabel happily. "Josh is such a... guy sometimes." She huffed and rolled her eyes as if this was some greatest offence. "Glad you've noticed that, Belle," said Josh with a grin.

Annabel's eyes, so much like her mother's, were wide as Nell flat-out suggested that she had never been sledding before. "Oh my god, no way!" she exclaimed. "You are so going to love it!" She offered to run and grab the sleds and told Joshua and Nell to meet her out in the back. Josh complied slowly, though he did stop before going outside in order to kiss Nell. "Looks like you've got everyone's approval, huh?" He was relieved that they'd gotten the telling of his parents out of the way. It was saddening that Nell didn't have anyone to share the experience with but he aspired to be enough to keep her going. He touched her cheek and then pushed open the door that led into what was usually the garden, but which was currently a snowy scene with only a few trees to show off. Much as he was sure Trish would love keeping the garden all year round with the help of her gardener, it would be too much of an alarm bell to the mortals that they brought over for dinner and for hanging out. As the house was so large, Donovan and Trish often had people over rather than meeting up in coffee shops and the like. Annabel was waiting for them at the top of the sizeable hill that sloped down toward the lake—the waters of which Josh eyed with trepidation. "We'll need to be careful where we aim. I don't fancy going for a swim." Annabel, unaware of his phobia, did not catch the meaning behind his words.

As it turned out, his father and sister had purchased a multitude of new sleds for the winter. One advantage of being rich was never needing to worry about pointless purchases. "We didn't know what ones to get so we just got a whole bunch." He imagined his mother would be having a word with her husband later on what he was teaching Annabel in terms of reckless spending. He could practically hear her now. "You've already corrupted our son with your ways, Don, don't force your daughter down the same path!" She just didn't understand the pair of them sometimes. "These ones look interesting." He gestured to the large disc-shaped sleds. Grinning at the two girls, he proposed, "Last one to the bottom?" Annabel barely waited for him to finish his sentence before she jumped on one and took off down the hill. "Hey!" Josh protested, then laughed and followed after her. They ended up crashing into a laughing and snowy heap at the end of the hill but despite the snow that created cold trails down his back, Josh was generally more amused than upset by this. "Right. That was... probably not the best idea," he admitted. "Oh well. Was it fun?" he asked Nell, seeing as she'd never done this before and he was wondering what she thought.

[NELL DOE DALE]

[Decided I'm gonna fix my sleep schedule by staying up all day. I'M GONNA DIE.]


It was strange, the overall feeling of approval, like this was actually right. Maybe she was more of a pessimist than she’d always thought, at least when it came to her own life. It was strange having things go right when she was used to it all crumbling, when she’d just lost her father again to her mistakes. She sent a smile to Donovan at his joke, and it actually felt normal. Everything was good, and it felt like a huge weight off her shoulders. Best of all, she felt like she deserved it. If she didn’t think she deserved it, she would have rejected Josh and Annabel would be throttling her. But she wanted to believe that happiness could be hers, and she could have the one person she loved the most around. ”Yes, he is sorely lacking in femine qualities, and I do believe that I’d make a better sister than he ever would.” Nell shrugged her shoulders as if stating a complete fact, glad to be joking, even though it was incredibly nice hearing Annabel say sister. They weren’t related by blood, Josh and her weren’t even married yet, but the prospect of being a sister again made her feel…strange. But a good strange.

She couldn’t help her laughter when Annabel claimed that she’d love sledding, and she really had no doubt that she would. Nell returned his kiss and told him, ”Seems that way.”Those words were very reassuring. Approval. No one had protested to the engagement, or had anything bad to say. She felt accepted, like she belonged somewhere for once. She didn’t even belong in her own family—this was big for her. I wish I could say the same for you, Nell thought sardonically, considering she was sure her own family would be less than happy about anything going good for her. Jane hated the both of them, so she was sure they didn’t have her blessing. Everyone else would stick their nose up at an inter-elemental relationship, just like they had with her parents, even though Mia hadn’t even inherited the gene. Her grandparents didn’t even think she should have been born, let alone get married. I wonder what my father would think?

She couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have a normal family, and a normal father who her boyfriend—now fiancé—would go to first and ask for her hand in marriage. But their lives were far from normal, and she hadn’t a clue where the man was, and she knew she should stop thinking on things like that. Especially when another yearning made itself known: she wished she had a mother who would fawn over her ring and Josh, and be happy for her. A mother who'd give her advice, and guide her, and do all the things a mother should. But she wouldn’t let sad thoughts rule her when she was feeling on top of the world. She was happy about everything, and she wanted to keep it that way. She looked out at the lake, and said, ”Then you’d be surfing.” Nell turned her wry smile on him to show that she understood his distaste for ending up in the lake. She really didn't know what to expect, since she hadn't been lying when she'd said she never sledded before.

She still couldn’t get over how odd it was, interacting with rich people. When she was younger, her family could barely afford to keep food on the table, let alone buy a buttload of sleds. Which would have been a completely superfluous purchase, but that was beside the point. Nell was trying to figure out what to do with the mysterious disk under her butt when the two had already taken off. She decided just to push away and see what would happen and couldn’t help the yelp of surprise when she dropped down, her mind in Spanish-panic mode as she laughed giddily. By the bottom she didn’t know how to stop, and instead of just letting it happen naturally when she actually reached the bottom, Nell took her hands off and at the bottom face-planted in the snow. Do not let go, she thought, a lesson that she would have liked before she went and did an idiot move like that. She wiped off her face and then she was heading up the hill again so that when she heard Josh, she sent him a grin. ”I’m going backwards—oof.” Her sentence was cut short as she toppled over in the snow, deciding that it’d be better just to hurry on all fours. If she tried to stand, she’d just face-plant, and it wasn’t worth it no matter how badass it made her feel. She felt like a little kid lugging the sled along wiwth her. She liked being childish and enjoying things she could have never before.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Standing up and waving a hand to melt and dry the snow that covered his entire person, he laughed slightly and pulled Annabel to her feet. She was doing a sort of on-the-spot jig and complaining about the snow that had gotten underneath her scarf and chilled her neck. He laughed until she glowered at him, at which point he took pity and allowed his powers to envelope her. Nell was already climbing the hill—or... or not, seeing as she seemed rather unable to stand. "I'd give that a ten out of ten," he called, teasing her with a grin. Sledding and the sorts made winter that little bit more bearable. He didn't think he'd ever be fond of the cold and white but it was at least enough to occupy him through the bitter months. It may have seemed a bit childish that the newly engaged couple spent part of their time celebrating by acting like children but he had never been too concerned with how strange he was behaving at any given time. He liked hanging around Nell and his little sister so if that meant sledding and getting snow down his shirt then so be it. It turned out to be a lot more difficult to climb the hill than he'd expected, now seeing the sort of problem that Nell had with it. Not really in the mood to crawl his way up, Josh decided to be resourceful and melted a pathway of grass away from the part of the hill they were sledding on. He made his way up at a leisurely pace and joined Nell at the top.

"You really powered your way to the top, babe," he said with a smile that was a little too innocent for his usual demeanour. "It would be a shame to have to do it all over again." The smile widening into a mischievous grin, Joshua knocked her feet out from under her so that she was forced to go down the hill again. He was at least nice enough to make sure the sled was there but he certainly didn't stop himself from laughing. He hoped that Nell didn't mind too much seeing as he was only pulling her leg. He did the same to Annabel, though it involved tugging her down beside him and launching the sled off the hill. She shrieked in surprised alarm that dissolved into laughter as she realised what he was up to. "Jo-osh!" she complained, hitting him as hard as she was able once the sled had come to a stop. "Not fair!" Thankfully Annabel was not that strong and so the punch smarted only slightly. He continued to grin as he helped her up for a second time, knowing that she wasn't really upset with him. Her cheeks were a bit red from the chill in the air but there was a smile on her face and her blue eyes were sparkling. Satisfied that his baby sister was not planning to massacre him for dragging her down a hill, Josh turned his attention to the other person in their company.

"Alright there, Nell?" He went over to her and gave a half-apologetic and half-amused smile. "I love you," he said, hoping that this excused him for his messing around. He noticed how close they were to the lake and edged away from it sub-consciously, not even realising that he was moving until he'd done it. He didn't like being so close to the water. If Nell had been someone else he would have feared she'd push him in to the frigid pool in order to get him back for pushing her down the hill but he figured her knowledge of the phobia would stop such a thing. "So how's sledding working out for you?" He was honestly curious as to whether or not she enjoyed it. True, she'd only gone down the hill twice and once hadn't even been intentional but he figured that was long enough to pass judgement on it. He gestured over to the grassy stripe that ran up to the top of the hill and said, "You might want to take the easy way up next time."

[NELL DOE DALE]

The Earth girl was feeling very successful after the long journey to the top of the hill, not even caring that Josh could use his powers. She relished in the successful feeling. Nell narrowed her eyes as he spoke, and let out an ‘eep’ when she was knocked down the hill. ”Darn you to Hades!” she cried out dramatically, not at all bothered by it. Especially since she managed to keep her hands on the sled at all times. It was instinctual now, and she had to remind herself that taking them off from the thing would not be a break. That time she came to a complete stop at the bottom, one that was more peaceful and less wet than her first time. She just had to keep that in mind. She was kicking off one boot by the time he and Annabel came to the bottom of the hill, shaking out the snow that had found its way in. Luckily she wore two pairs of socks, something she found to be quite convenient in this cold winters. She’d never got this much snow on her, however, as she’d never participated in this activity before. Even though she would prefer not to be drenched in melted snow, she didn’t mind it too much. She enver really minded anything.

She took off her other boot and shook out the snow, which unfortunately wouldn’t solve the problem. Her foot would still be freezing thanks to the wet, but she could deal with that. Pulling it back on, she tilted her head at Josh when he seemed to ‘apologize’. She didn’t even notice him inching away from the lake, not really taking his movement to be anything out of the ordinary. ”There is a finger I would like to present to you, but it my hands are numb and I don’t know which one it is,” she said, not nearly as serious as she sounded. Nell liked to refrain from flipping anyone the bird. Especially over something like being pushed down a hill, which sounded worse than it actually was. It felt nice to be messed aroundwith like that, oddly. It was new for her, like most everything else she experienced.

However, she wasn’t going to tell Josh this since he seemed intent on teasing her, and she was going to troll him right back. She was still sitting in the snow when he questioned whether or not she was enjoying sledding, and she seemed to consider this. ”I don’t know, not too well…” She made a snowball as quickly and inconspicuosly as possible before throwing it at her fiancé. ”I think I prefer snowballs.” Scuttling onto her feet, she pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out. Childish to the maximum amount, but she didn’t even realize what she was doing could count as immature. ”I like my way, thank you very much. I enjoy the challenge,” she told him indignantly, mostly truthful. She was stubborn, and she wasn’t going to admit there was an easier way than what she had been doing. Plus, she really didn’t mind struggling up the snow. It was fun, more fun than walking actually.

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua merely grinned as Nell went off down the hill, amused by her exclamation. His gray eyes twinkled when she threatened him with the finger, guessing that she was only kidding. It would have seemed rather unlike Nell to give him the finger, after all. "Not around the children!" He gave an exaggerated gasp and covered Annabel's ears, making the girl twist away from him with a loud burst of laughter. "I'm not six, Joshy!" The use of the usual nickname made him smile. It would warrant a good kick to anyone else if they decided to refer to him by it, except perhaps Nell whom he'd given permission, but when it was coming from his baby sister it was almost appreciated. "You're that cold, though?" This was more serious and a good deal more concerned. He didn't want Nell to be uncomfortable. He knew from his childhood that having the snow and wet soak through to your skin and make you shiver was highly unpleasant. His parents had always called him inside and with a flourish of their hands had been able to put everything right again. It had fascinated him and now, finally, with a few years of college training under his belt, he could do the same. "Here, I can fix that." He waved his hand and let the heat work its magic, though he looked doubtfully at her boots. "Are they really bad with the wet?" He figured he could fix that too if she wanted. Being a Fire elemental was quite useful sometimes. The space heater joke was only too accurate. Space heater and dryer, all in one.

He was surprised when Nell expressed the fact that she wasn't enjoying sledding all that much, having expected her to take to something like it. He was going to inquire what it was that put her off it when she lobbed a snowball at him, catching the graduate completely off guard. He was used to Water elementals peppering him with hoards of snowballs when he had to go out to the grounds for certain classes but his friends usually had the sense not to start any snowball fights with him. He was often rather blasé about it, merely flicking his hand and melting the compact white projectiles when they were flung at him. Nell had done it when he wasn't expecting, however, and so he just laughed. "Hey!" He couldn't really call it unfair or cheating because he had pushed her down the hill and besides, Josh didn't really mind. The snow wasn't that much of a problem for him. Instead, he picked up a chunk of snow and compressed it quickly before whipping it hard in her direction. He made sure to aim for her shoulder so the impact wouldn't be too painful. "You're in for it now!" He was plagued by laughter at her expression, though, effectively taking his guard down another moment and allowing Annabel to hit him as well. "I am an elemental, not a bullseye!" The exclamation was sharp but not angry. Besides, Belle was hardly playing favourites. She threw a couple in Nell's direction as well as that of her elder brother.

One such snowball hit him in the back of the head, at which point he was forced to shake the snow out of his hair. He didn't want to waste all of his energy on constantly drying off, only when he was soaked to the point of it becoming unbearable. He had incredible stamina for the simple tasks just like any college junior but it would still be an inconvenience if he tired a few hours earlier than usual. He did not want to mess up his schedule because of some backyard fun. "Suit yourself," he shrugged easily, "but I get a free pass to laugh at you should you fall all the way back down again!" The pair of them were hanging around a child and acting like children. He never really got to do this kind of thing with his friends in childhood. He'd had a few people that could tolerate his presence but he'd always tried to come off as the 'cool' sort—"Sledding is for little kids," is how he'd have dismissed it with a huff. He'd enjoyed the activity, but had mostly done it alone or with Annabel once she was old enough. It was nice to have the confidence he did now and shamelessly act several years younger. "What other things do you want to try?" he asked Nell curiously. "It'd be fun catching up on things, wouldn't it?" He liked trying new things and doing things with Nell so if there was something they were both naive to he'd probably be up to the challenge.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell may not have had the normal experiences that children should have—that they needed for their development—but she was pretty sure she wasn’t too naïve. She was a naïve person, but that was a different matter. She’d already seen some of the worse a person could see by Annabel’s age, so flipping the bird didn’t seem too bad. Especially if one lived in New York—it was as common a greeting as a wave. ”Not really, no,” Nell said, lying of course because the day she whined would be the day hell Satan needs an umbrella. She was sensitive to the winter weather, but instead of focusing her mind on just how cold the weather was, she paid more attention to the fact she was having fun. Mind over matter kept her from foul moods or anything else of the sort. Still, she was grateful for reprieve from the dampness melted snow that permeated her clothes. ”Thank you,” she cooed, her demeanor alight. Not that it wasn’t usual, but as of late it was nice to be getting back into the norm when she could actually enjoy herself. When there wasn’t the constant stomachache, or the anxiety when there was nothing wrong. She still had moments when she was alone that the unexplicable sadness took over, but she knew that depression didn’t just disappear. It took time. And as her therapist had said, it took years for most people to come to terms with traumatic events. She believed she was doing a good job. Nell shook her head, feeling the inside of her boot with her fingers. ”They’re fine, I can deal.” She wished she could have worn more socks, but a girl had her limits.

Face unsmiling, she blinked at Josh, as if not comprehending why he would have objected to a ball of snow being hurled at him. ”Revenge is cold, ain’t it?” she said, a smirk flicking to her features. There was truth in the fact that she was vindictive, she blamed it on the Fuentes side of her family,but this wasn’t true vindictivieness, of course. She’d reserve that for if Josh ever harmed a friend. That was almost funny to even consider, since this was her fiancé and he was more than a friend. She made a half-assed attempt to get out of the way of the snowball, since it wasn’t like dodging bullets. No pain could be inflicted, unless ice got involved. And she never had todeal with that before. She rolled her eyes at him when he threatened her. ”Am I?” she shot back, digging her fingers intothe snow. Luckily Annabel was ahead of the game, and she snorted as the snow made contact. Nell tilted her head at Josh and his exclamation of not being a bullseye but she couldn’t get snark at him before there were snowballs being lobbed at her. She busied herself with making a rather pathetic looking fort that she had no intentions of completing.

She lifted her eyebrow when he said that he could laugh if she fell back down again. ”Okay, first of all, that was your fault, don’t act all innocent.” Even though she sounded stern, it was always easy to tell when she was joking when one kept in mind that she didn’t have the capacity to be cruel. ”Second of all, without interference, I am pro at hill climbing.” Hills were nature, she was an Earth elemental, that added up in her mind. Plus, there was the fact that she enjoyed climbing things—trees, swingsets, possibly dangerous telephone poles for a bet involving Goldfish. Hills were different in theory. Snowy hills were another story, but she was great at it as long as she tried. That held true for anything. Nell shrugged her shoulders. ”A snow related activity? I’m up for anything.” Not like she had never experiened snow before, she simply had a lonely childhood. Besides, every mother was wary when letting their kids play outside, always keeping watch from their stoop or the window as the children hop-scotched or double-dutched. Of course, their careful eyes couldn’t predict anyone pulling a gun or a drive-by and so childhood fun always came with a risk. ”Why, did you have anything in mind?”

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

He regarded her for a moment as if deciding whether or not to believe her and then nodded in acceptance of the words. He was not sure whether she was joking or not and so he wasn't going to jump to conclusions about how cold she actually was. Cold was never as much of an issue to him as it was to other people and so Joshua often underestimated what it felt like when your fingers turned blue from the cold or you had to huddle against someone else for warmth. He knew he'd probably been freezing a few times before his powers had finally kicked in at thirteen but there were no solid memories. He supposed it was like being sick—it was awful when you experienced it but forgettable enough that you could never quite recall the feeling. "If you're sure," he replied, letting it drop. He'd be willing to use his powers for the good of their little trio when things got bad enough. He wouldn't want to see his fiancée or little sister get sick from a little fun. Compared to Annabel and Nell, Joshua was a little underdressed for the weather. He had his coat on and wore his thick boots even in the dead of summer but they were the only protection he had, the only protection he needed from the biting chill. His hands and neck were bare but the winds that buffeted him were of a tolerable cold. He did not envy those without his powers their experience. He liked the way his powers fended off the chill for him, it was both convenient and simple. Plus, that didn't cost him any energy. It was only warming the air or other people that drained him.

Joshua's response to her witty remark was to grab a handful of snow and approach her, aiming to drop the freezing load down her shirt. "You tell me!" he shot back with a grin as he backed away, not wanting to be within too close a range. He picked up another clump of frozen flakes and packed them roughly before lobbing it toward Annabel and missing by a foot or so. Not one to be discouraged, he tried a second time and connected, causing a giggling shriek. The next two snowballs fired at him had an unknown origin, Josh having not seen who had thrown either one. He countered them by chucking bursts of fire which collided with and happily melted the balls in mid-air. They vanished into puffs of smoke a second later and he grinned. "Not such an easy target now, am I?" he crowed, bragging. The backyard of the mansion was brilliant thanks to its privacy. He could use his powers here without fear and demonstrated this by conjuring the fiery shape of a bird that swooped low over their heads and crashed into a snowball that Annabel had thrown in Nell's direction. "Cheater!" His sister sounded more amused than upset. "I'm not cheating, I'm defending her honour," he shot back with a laugh. He then contradicted his own statement by lobbing another two snowballs—one at Nell and another at her half-assed fort.

"Can't think of anything at the moment," said Josh with a frown. "I'll get back to you on that one." Rather than building a fort, Josh dashed over to the edge of the forest and used the trees as cover. They were less effective than an entire wall of snow but he wasn't very good at building forts in a hurry. Some time later, he was going to suggest something when a rather loud whistle from up the hill caught his attention, making him turn. Donovan greeted them with a lazy wave and a, "Sorry, had to get your attention somehow." He gestured back to the house in an obvious suggestion that dinner was ready. Josh liked climbing as well but he still opted for the safe and dry route up the hill. Annabel tried Nell's way a few times before giving up and following him, to which he laughed. "That was fun," he said when he rejoined her, giving her a brief peck on the lips. "Even if you did spend more time falling down the hill than sledding on it." He was still only teasing of course.

[This can end after your post? ... or now, if you want xD]