2019-11-13 - First Date

Despite the debacle at the diner earlier in the day, by the time they reach the boardwalk, Jade is smiling once more. Her arm is threaded through Thewlis, fingers laced together, her other hand curled around his upper arm. Face turned up towards his in a dazzling smile, she stays close to his side as promised as they draw closer towards the crowds (admittedly thinner as it draws closer to Thanksgiving). "What would you like to do first? Boardwalk games? Food? A ride? I'm good just being here with you. You pick the first thing and we'll go from there." Trying to encourage him towards naming things he likes or wants to try with a supportive grin and a squeeze of his hand.

Squeezing her hand, Thew stands and stares about when she asks. He looks to the wheel, looking up and up and up at it before he looks back to Jade. "Fuh-ferris... The. Wheel. We could go... The. Wheel." looking to the wheel again and back to her for confirmation.
He's staying very close, using her for something to keep him steady, trying to ignore the crowds especially those members of it that look shocked to see the 'cemetery guy' out here of all places.

Her smile grows at his response and she gives a quick nod, "Ferris Wheel it is! C'mon, lets get some tickets and get in line." She moves off with him, scanning for the ticket booth with the smallest line so they can hurry through and Thew doesn't have to deal with as many people. She chatters on easily about the last time she went to an amusement park and how Liam had dared her to eat a footlong, three churros, and a deep fried banana before going on the Tummy Twister. And how Liam had ended up blowing chunks all over the people on the ground at the third corkscrew while she was fine during the ride. As they collect their tickets, she grins and pats her stomach, "Cast iron right here. Dad says I got it from him. Says he used to gross out mom by eating strange food combinations when they were dating." Chuckling, Jade pulls him along towards the Ferris Wheel, continuing to distract him with stories from childhood, of her family, her siblings...

Thew listens intently, nodding and keeping his normal, constant, watch on his surroundings. "I don't... those... eating." there's a moment where he breathes and focuses his attention on her. "Eating... all those... to see if.... sick... If you. If you got sick..." he offers her the slightest twist of a grin at one corner of his mouth, giving her hand a little squeeze before clamming up when it comes time to give the ride jockey the tickets to get admission.

"Ahhhhh, see, there's the rub. I never get sick. Healthy as a horse, that's me!" Jade winks at him and hands the man their tickets for the ride. Drawing Thewlis over to the seat, she slides in and pulls him along with her. Just the two of them, nice and cozy on the seat. Smiling at him, she sets her head on his shoulder and settles in to watch the city rise up before them. Squeezing his hand, Jade murmurs, "Do you have any siblings, Thew? I'm youngest of four, two brothers, one sister. Alex is on the Seattle PD with my dad, though he went the detective route. Jason is currently trying to make it on Broadway, fingers crossed. And Lisa is an accountant, damn good one too. She works for some big fancy corporation back in Seattle."

He takes a long moment, looking at the city, flinching a few times. "No. Maybe cousins... never." his mouth twists into a savage frown and Thewlis looks down into his lap. "No. Just... no. One. Only." his chest hitches and he tries to make himself small again.

Jade doesn't let him shrink back, leaning in closer and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Probably a good thing.. I don't know if the world could handle another Thew, all sweet and nice and amazing and cute. I'm amazed it can handle how awesome you are." She smiles up at him, head against his shoulder and holding onto him closely.

Swallowing hard, Thew puts an arm around Jade, holding her close. "Better... only one. No one else... I." he stares back out at the city "I'm... it's..." he shakes his head. "She." and he doesn't seem to dare go further than that. He goes still, terrified at the notion of -someone-.

"Yeah, I agree. Better there isn't more than one of you running around and making hearts flutter..." Jade continues to 'misunderstand' what he's saying, trying to insert her reality onto him. She cuddles in close to him as he starts to panic. Pressing a quick kiss to his jaw and murmuring, "Whatever happened, Thew, whoever it was.. you didn't deserve it. Not even a little. You are nice and sweet and I hope you will learn to see yourself as I see you."

At the kiss he sighs and stops for now, taking deep breaths before he hangs his head. One could practically feel his internal war. The things Jade says to him, the years of carefully molded self loathing. Thewlis seems incapable of doing more than sitting there with her, riding the ferris wheel, isolated from the world in their own little place above it all.

She holds him, head on his shoulder, one hand reaching up to stroke lightly through his hair as she murmurs to him about how she sees him. "Do you remember that first day? You were so shy, but you still offered two people you'd never seen before space in your house. You had no idea who we were or what we were here for. But you still took us in. And then you talked to me, and there were a lot of things we had in common, and you could be so funny and sweet without even trying..." Jade squeezes him lightly and glances up at him, 'You are so much better than you give yourself credit for."

"I... You..." brow knitting. "Nice people... Didn't. Not mean. Wasn't... I can..." he takes a breath and after a moment Thewlis presses his cheek against her hair, breathing in the scent, eyes closed, slowing his breathing. "I can take care of myself, and you were nice... so... I..." he shudders and twitches. "I felt safe." letting that hang there.

"I feel safe, with you." Jade smiles up at him and hugs him tightly as the seat starts to swing back down, bringing them back towards earth. "And I will always be nice to you. You deserve it. You will always deserve it." She presses a kiss to his jaw before the sat comes to a stop and they have to exit the ride. She slides out with him and laces her fingers through his, staying snuggled close. "Want to get some cotton candy?"

Nodding, Thew keeps silent, for a short time at least. He uses the advantage of his height to catch sight of one of said venders and gives a gentle tug to lead her in that direction, "Yuh... yeah." pausing in the midst of the people and the glow of the lights all around in the evening to turn towards her, and lean down to put a small kiss on her lips. "Thuh... thuh." brow pressed to hers for a moment, gently bumping his there, "Thanks..." and then he turns back to leading towards cotton candy. Because.... It's cotton candy. Lets be serious here. It's fluffy, pillowed magic on a cardboard cone, or sometimes actually in a plastic pillow like container. He likes it. She most definitely likes it, if he knows her at all by now. People who dislike? Suspect.

Smiling happily as he pulls her along towards the cotton candy vendor, she keeps her fingers laced tightly with his, traipsing along with a brig smile. But then he turns, and she's smiling up at him, looking into his eyes as her smile softens. The kiss comes as a surprise, albeit a welcome one, returning it after a milisecond of hesitation. Her hands slide up and around his neck, holding onto him as he presses his brow to hers, her smile still bright and happy. Then he's turning back and leading her towards the vendor once more. If she hadn't known it happened, she might not have believed it herself. But she did and she's beaming from ear to ear. When they arrive at the vendor, Jade beams that grin towards them, "Two cotton candies! Biggest size you've got!" Someone is SUPER happy.

Paying the vendor without a thought, Thewlis, lets her do the talking and acknowledging, he can't help but look around himself, but he keeps making his gaze fall back to here, instead of the ground, or his feet. The look on her face keeps drawing his attention and he leads towards the midway games. Looking to a dart throwing game, with a wall of balloons, and the old milk-bottles game. He pauses, looking to her and asking,
"Which.... whi... Prize you luh-like... best?" looking between the games at the massive plush prizes that can be won, the smaller junk prizes, the fine print of how many victories before getting something even remotely good, "I could... I. Win. Get one... the b-bi-bihi-ig prizes... for you."

Collecting the cones, Jade turns that beaming bright smile towards towards Thewlis, plucking a puff of the soft spun sugar from one and offering it up to him. "First bite to you, Thew. Because you are the best." Then she's moving with him towards the midway, looking around at all the games on offer. There's the water squirting game. The milk bottle game. The balloon dart game. The goldfish game has thankfully been put away for the cold. Her eyes scan the games, then the prizes as she plucks a few pieces of the cotton candy off to eat. She finally lands on something that she just HAS to HAVE. Reaching out and giving Thewlis' hand a squeeze, she turns that hopeful look up towards him, "The purple panda? The big one?" Jade lifts a hand, pointing towards the dart balloon game and the giant white and purple stuffed panda bear sitting on the top shelf. "Purple is my favorite color, and I love pandas!"

He did take that first bite offered, brushing a kiss over her fingers as he took the puff of sugary wonder. Looking to the carny, the panda, and Jade. He volunteered, and he's forcing himself to be the center of attention now... and he made the choice.

Thewlis turns to Jade again, and he manages a little more than his normal thin smile. There's a look in his eye, a determination that sets his jaw before he leans again, resting a hand on her cheek before kissing her forehead, the air suddenly swimming around him, "Foh-fuh-fo... Luck." and then he steps up, putting tickets down.
He motions for the darts and the game worker stares at Thewlis. It's the cemetery caretaker. Nearly everyone who's been out that way has seen stuttering Thewlis ducking behind mausoleums or riding away from people on the mower. Handing over the darts, they seem to spark at their tips when they touch Thew's hands and the flights seem to shift.
When he throws the first it spirals out, flying true and thunking into one of those small balloons, the ones needed to earn the big prizes that they say are under filled, to make the dart miss by it being bounced off target. It pops and the game worker blinks, stunned. Thew has his hands on the counter, head down, taking deep breaths.

This may be the first time Jade has seen him look this determined, her eyes searching his. She tilts into the touch of his hand, his lips, smiling affectionately at him and murmuring, "For luck." But then he's heading towards the game and she's hurrying to keep up. Carrying the sweet treats along with her while he approaches the vendor. Whatever look the carny gives him, Jade shoots the man a quick glare for staring before turning back to Thewlis. She rubs him back and kisses his shoulder. "You got this, babe."
maybe she really wants the panda. But this has become even bigger than the stuffed toy. Thewlis has made declarative statements and is taking actions he would normally never do.. for her. This is big. And she's going to be with him for every moment of it. The first dart flies and pops the balloon and she grins brightly and gives him a squeeze. Letting him take all the time he needs for this moment.
"I believe in you, Thewlis. I know you can do this." she offers another bit of encouragement to him, one hand reaching up to rub gently at his back while she smiles towards him. "You can do this. I know you can do this."

Hand shaking for a moment, he lifts the second dart. Eyes narrowing, his head dips and he looks to the side, lips pulling down but the touch from a source of encouragement, after a lifetime without can be a heady thing to have someone pulling for you.
The next underfilled balloon, tucked among other, more full balloons to make it a harder target, seems to be a magnet drawing the metal dart right too it. The carny looking frustrated and then furious when a third of those trick balloons burst. The few onlookers present letting out a cheer that causes Thew to duck and flinch away, even as he points to the prize that Jade had wanted. The carny frowning at it, the small amount of tickets 'paid' and then moving to retrieve the plush to be offered to the younger woman.

She watches. Keeps a hand at his back. Gives him encouragement in look, in word, in deed. Jade brushes her lips to his cheek after each successful throw. Then its done. The cheer from the crowd startles even her, making her jump and look around at all the people gathered, wide-eyed. Turning back to Thewlis, she ignores the carny for now, instead throwing her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in close. Dragging his head in and planting a long, lingering, sweet kiss to his lips. When she pulls back to look at him, the look in her eyes says that he holds the sun and moon in his pocket as far as she is concerned. "You never cease to amaze me, Thewlis Moore. Every day, in so many ways.. you surprise me in the best of ways. Never stop being you." Its only when the carny worker clears his throat in annoyance that she finally looks away. Collecting the prize with the biggest grin, Jade turns back to Thewlis and offers, "Do you want to ride the ferris wheel again? Or are you ready to head home?"

Thewlis is beet red at the kiss, and he remains blushing at the compliment. There's a moment at first, when she offers the Ferris wheel, he looks at the ride, then back to her before he steps in to wrap her up in a trembling hug, murmuring close to her ear.
"It's like. Paper. Scrap paper... Cigarette. Like those... Like the shaving nick... More weird stuff... That's how..." Standing there, using herm and the panda as shields against people.
"Its... many people. We... back. Next... we go." hiding his face, murmuring, "Home?"

Jade tries to return the hug, awkward as she tries to hold onto the cotton candy, the panda, and him. She manages, if only just. And when he speaks, she listens. And nods. Brushing a kiss across his cheek and murmuring, "Lets go home. I have this sudden but very strong urge to do all kinds of things with and to you. Starting with a kiss that I can't give you in public." Jade smiles up at him and stays close to him, watching for any hesitation on his part.

Taking up part of the burden, holding the candy so that she can hold her prize, Thew blinks and blushes. Taking one of her hands in his, giving a squeeze before he starts to lead back up the boardwalk, towards the truck. Safety from the public a shield against watching eyes.