2019-12-16 - Ducks in a Row at the Mallard House

Ignacio has been spending more and more time at the house. In truth with the holidays coming up? Well it might be some emotional fortress. His first holiday away from his nuclear family and instead with his embraced one. Finch's first Thanksgiving with a new start at family. Next? well it's a new start for both of him. His without his traditional family, and her with one for once. As it sits it's late into the day and early evening and Ignacio is sitting out on the porch working on writing in his notebook: not the paper, the one for his PT. Deep breaths. He looks up checking the road on occasion. She's not late. She's out doing things. The fresh air is nice though and frankly there's a certain satisfaction of being able to just say 'welcome home'. What amuses him most is the radio calls this cold. Not to the New Yorker.

Finch's land yacht begins coming up the drive, the headlights cutting through the twilight. It's been super busy at Out on a Limb due to the number of people wisely trying to get their trees trimmed properly before the winter begins and makes them a threat to their homes and cars. She pulls the vehicle into the garage and is out a few moments later, all bundled up in cold weather gear. She clucks lovingly to the chickens as she passes them, nesting in their coop, and makes her way to the house. Spotting Iggy makes her smile broadly. "Hey handsome."

Ignacio tilts his head and warmed that uneven smile to her. It's been one of those rough-struggle days, but hey, he's here. he's being good and hasn't dove back into a bottle to do the quick fix. That smile is revivifying. "Funny I was going to say that to you first. Now I'll just have to call you," He stands, sliding his notebook into his back pocket and leans on the railing to steady himself while he pushes to a stand. "Most beautiful person I ever met." He holds the arm out to her "Rescue squirrels from the clutches of darkness today? How'd it go?"

Finch grins at his humor and links arms with him, resting her head against his shoulder for a moment. "Lot of climbing, extra hours, so the paycheck from it will be nice. Nothing tried to eat me or use me as a badminton shuttlecock so I call the day a win." She glances up at him, a brow arching. "How about you? Why are you sitting out here in the cold?"

Ignacio leans down and steals a kiss, and then another that he'd love to think will help put the heat in her tones. He's not one of those kind of glimmerers. In his own mind he is Don Juan, or will die trying, for cocky, well-meaning quantities of 'Don Juaning'. "The cold is kinda nice on my leg. And it's not so cold to me. It's crisp like a damn apple I'll give you that buuuuut," He looks down arching an eyebrow, "You've been out in it a lot longer than fifteen minutes. Soo as romantic as wanting to greet you home is would it be better if I said I said I put a plate together for you figuring you'd be hungry, go in and warm up?"

"You are literally the best. Literally," Finch says sincerely, returning the kisses as they head inside. "And I am starving. You know me too well. Eat with me? Have something to run by you." She shrugs out of her coat inside and with an idle glance towards the living room and a flick of her hand, she lights the fireplace.

Ignacio watches. Is the action concerning? Well he is looking around to make sure the shadows don't bend too close. Does he tell her to stop? Well... no. If there's a problem they'll deal with it then. They can do anything, right? He drags himself with that urban cowboy saunter of his to get the plate he calls how many different things CAN I do with a roast. "Well, I Know you and I are saving sooo I had some ideas too. What's on your mind ooooor do I get to guess?" There's that grin of mischief knowing damn well he cheats at that. He waves a fork in a circle like Accio dinner and brings it over. And oh damn he did mulled apple cider? The wind was annoying. Warm good and he's back to playing kitchen alchemist apparently.

Finch settles in cozily and practically salivates when the food and cider appear. Because that is just everything good in the world right now, delivered by the best possible person. "I had my father come by last night to talk some more. He even made tacos. It went really well," she leads, letting that much sink in.

Ignacio tilts his head up, interested, and hopeful. "Ah yeah? Shit that sounds good to hear." He pauses and asks, "He any good?"Oh if there is anything he's going to put some pride behind it's his damn kitchen. He's got munchable machismo for days. Hey they cooked together sort of once and no one got stabbed. "That's good right? It sounds good. Everything... good? Diga." Talk to me, Inch. The assessment comes adn his head bobs in a nod taking his seat and poking into his broasted potatoes. "Really well is optimal. Soooo do I get deets?"

"I'm not exactly a food critic but I ate like six tacos so..." Finch murmurs with a grin, digging into her meal with gusto. "He's been living at that fucking murder motel, waiting for his house to be finished. I offered to let him stay here in one of the guest rooms til then. That's ok with you right? It won't be real long, and he wants to pitch in some money to cover costs." She looks at him hopefully.

Ignacio goes to take a drink of his cider and pauses full stop. Both eyebrows go up and for a moment his thoughts are all his own. He leans forearms forward on the table with the quiet woooooooooooah. For a long moment he's silent and conerned more in the way something is unfortunate than he's uncomfortable. "The one in the news? Mierda." That's a good way to put it. "Cop or not that's not a safe place to live. Why's he there? Everything okay?" His head tilts and looks at the house. Part of him might wonder if here's safer but, ya know, so long as they don't go back into the ruinous part of ruin it's not exactly a structural risk...right? He blinks at the stairs and catches himself shaking his head, "Look, I'm not going to tell you not to reach out to family unless they hurt you and then I might be," He pauses and his jaw sets choosing his words carefully, "brutally honest. But the other part of me thinks maaaaaybe it' s a good way to catch up. Either way he needs a better solution and we have space." We. Them. Does he catch that? Maybe. He watches her and studies her for a long time. he doesn't need glimmer to attach to her to read her. "Yeah... yeah I think that was the smart thing to do. Don't worry about me."

Finch veritably GLOWS when he gives his ok, and even thinks it was a good idea. She throws her arms around his neck and kisses him soundly. "You keep reminding me why I love you, just by being you, do you know that?" she says with a grin. "We talked about working on fixing the house up too. And August has mentioned that a few times. I think we might need a couple work weekends and just do a deep clean and repair on some of the stuff."

Ignacio abandons his fork and when Finch crosses the gap to throw her arms around him he pulls her into his lap. This is, of course someone is likely to walk into the room. At their peril, because Ignacio gave up caring after the third time that happened. This, this smile, this joy in the midst of pain, frustration, uncertainties and chaos? It's his island. Fingers lift up to move her how-brown hair away from her cheek. "I..." no- that arm stays around her and goes for another kiss that melts his morning away; hullo now. "noticed that funny enough. And it encouraged me... not to go out and do something... phenomenally stupid today. So." That smug half grin stretches wryly, "I'm glad to see my nefarious and charitable plan is working." his dry wit doesn't seem to have an off button but the affection is there and the approval on her words from the scars of her soul hit home. More serious (only marginally) he considers the plan adding, "After the rain stops we can. I miiiight have read that on the internet. " Awww he's been doing research. Apparently it's not all Netflix and memes. 2% is now research and trying to figure out how to safe the damaged parts of the house. I was thinking, you knoooow... since I'm moving to Gray Harbor and all and this is your family home? Maybe if you're interested we can work on it a little bit at a time. Will take out of the Cornell budget soooo I thought we could brainstorm some and figure out what we want to do. Been thinking of ways to fix that hiccup and I think long term we have some options. Short term? I'm thinking weeee can eat dinner, and warm up and then tonight maybe go take a walk and look at the lights, or if you are tired curl up and watch old holiday movies and rewrite them as sci-fi specials if they took place in Gray Harbor." Settling in his his chin on her shoulder he says with a thougthful deadpan, "I really love when the sewer kraken turns Jimmy Stewart's life around. It iiiiis a holiday classic."

"Well, I can repair some things back to their original state with the whole," Finch gestures at her head with a wiggle of her fingers. "At least the things that would be too expensive to fix ourselves. But some stuff just needs elbow grease and some inexpensive materials."

She snuggles in against him for one last kiss before she returns to scarfing up her dinner. "I like option two I think. I've been out in the cold all day, some old holiday movies sound amazing re-envisioned by Ignacio de Santos." She grins at him.

Ignacio holds onto her for another moment. There's a quiet need to that has nothing to do with the house or the chickens. Tapping his forehead to hers feels like forever even if it's a second and that's enough. "I'm, um, that's good. Real good." There's a pause and his hand comes back to rest on his fork. "Finch?" He watches the middle of the table for a long moment and then looks up to her.

"Things in New York didn't go... great. Dad wants us to move out there." He gestures with the fork to he and Finch which, by the look on his face, explains the problem. It's not Raf. Still. Likely ever. Quietly he finishes, "He, uh, said we can get things together. Start up the restaurant and help fix the school things and... and I told him..." She already knows but the frustration is still there. "I told him no. Not until you can be a dad to all your kids. My father wouldn't turn his own kid away. You go apologize to Raf." his fingers tighten and laughs, frustrated, "I can't fight him ya know/ I know he loves me, but now Raf doesn't want anything to do with like... any of them. At all and he's not going to the damn wedding. I hate..." His jaw tightens and he looks to Finch, "I can't fix it, so in a week... I will officially be a resident of Gray Harbor. It's just... it's a lot. It feels so damn final."

Finch listens, her dark eyes meeting his and her lips pressed in a tight line as he reveals what transpired back in New York. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault, Iggy. You've tried everything above and beyond, but this is on your father and your brother. They need to work it out. You are an amazing mediator, but they're at the point that it rests on them to figure it out. It might not go the way you hope." She grimaces but puts a hand to his cheek, stroking her thumb across his skin.

"But no matter what, you have me. I'm in this with you 100%. I'm glad you're staying here. I want us to do things on our own, the way we choose to. I don't want us to be beholden to your father or anyone else."

Ignacio brings his hand over hers, holding it, and turning his head to press a kiss to the palm of her hand, and putting it back to take refuge there for the moment. Older words of hers echo around in his head; her hand is squeezed and he brings it down to rest on the table holding it.

Head tilting up he says with the turn of an uptone, "You are. It doesn't stop me from wanting to put my fist through another door." He has to stop and admit, "Door: 1, Iggy: 0 for those keeping track, but I guess-" His jaw hangs open blinking slowly to find and phrase the words right giving her a furrowed look, "I don't... I don't have any regrets about making the decision to move here for you." He pauses and says "Well me too, but... you get where I'm going with that. And..." He chews on the inside of his cheek tapping his free thumb to teh table, "What do you think about me trying to be a writer? I'd say full time but you know i'd still be working for Roen." The fact also added, "And I don't want to make Ully cry because he misses me and is bored." Truth in that.

"I think you were born to be a writer, Ig. Your column has been a huge hit. You have a way of connecting with people through humor and getting really important advice out there along with it." Finch leans to kiss his cheek. "We need to talk about something else too. I've been getting stronger with the whole Glimmer thing and I think," she pauses and chews her lip before looking up at him again.

"I think I can fix your leg. It will probably hurt bad to do it, and it will take a couple weeks, maybe a month, to recover, and I will need help from Roen and Itzy and my father and a doctor who isn't freaked out by the shit we can do with our brains. But I've been reading anatomy texts and I think I can rebuild what you lost. I think Itzhak can remove the inorganic stuff holding you together, while Roen keeps you stable, and Javier keeps you from feeling the pain and shit. And a doctor can direct. What do you say, after the holidays are over?"

Ignacio has a way of looking impressed and concerned, "Think it does? I hope cause man, my kung fu es mucho mal."A small smile, not the cocky bravado but an appreciation. There is no question that didn't float with his father still wanting him to move back and open a restaurant with him. "Dad tried telling me it's not a real job and 'being mean to paper' doesn't count." Some people know how to casually say teh right thing to leave a papercut on teh ego: a small thing that burns deep.

Both eyebrow go up and her idea? well they're talking about it, "You are getting scary good. Just... remember what your Aunt Starling said about too much too soon and ... I think the darkness consuming all of earth... " Squinting he picks up his fork pointing it to her, "I think she made that last part up, but you expand anything too fast it explodes and I don't... want you getting hurt pushing it. But-" Drawing a deep breath he sits back and considers objectively, "Two questions: One being can we figure out what the cost will be to any of you to mitigate that ahead of time and two... you think this'd work for Roen?" There's a curious question.

Finch ponders a long moment. "I don't think Roen wants his injuries repaired or his scars removed. I think he needs them in some way but, his injury also doesn't keep him from living his life of choice. You haven't been able to drive Ig, and I want you to be able to do that again someday." As for the rest? She shrugs. "Fuckers can come for me. I'm ready for them."

Ignacio squeezes her hand, "I'm not ready for them. Your'e the bravest person I know and you will fight the world, and I promise you I will be right there with you. We get ourselves into a situation I'm not walking out of it without you. I can't do it twice." Rolling his eyes ceiling-ward with a half grin he assures with amusement, "It's fine and I think it's a good plan. Just be careful when you go all PETA-but-Useful on the veil." The rest? That's not lost on him and there's a wry-half smile, "Just think we can go take long walks and make it out of the back yard." Oh he's funny tonight. Ak him.

Finch chuckles warmly and she nestles in against him. "Thank you, for being you. You make my life better by being in it, my handsome Spanish peacock."

Ignacio preens "La caw. Yoooou" Arm loops around her and presses a smooch to her forehead, "Are worth every little grey feather in my plumage. But yes. I.... I trust you guys and I can't believe I'm saying it but ya know if you can figure it all out? I'll risk it."