2022-05-24 - Brunch Check In

It's been a couple of days and Ava is all healed up and doing well. It's Sunday brunch time and she's looking pleased as can be, even dressed down at the moment in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top, her hair up in a high ponytail. Sneaker are by the door and a running stroller is currently being unpacked of one little miss Nimue. "We have to get cooled off before Auntie Zee gets here, don't we?" she wonders with a soft tone, bobbing around to the soft of tiny giggles from the blue baby.

Ava meanders over towards a playmat and sets the wee one down so that she can grab some baby wipes and start giving herself a pat down. The door is still open in invitation for Zara's arrival.

When the worst things in Gray Harbor can take you into a Dream, leaving your door open is not as bad a security hazard as elsewhere. Zara enters the open door, closing it behind her as she calls out for her friend. "Ava! Are you here or is there a home invasion you need to tell me about?" She's only teasing. Though her smile disappears when she realises there could have been a sleeping baby. "Oh shoot! Sorry for yelling, I hope I didn't wake Nimue up!" Yelling an apology is probably not the best way to deliver it.

It doesn't take long for her to find the hostess at least. And there is some relief when she sees that the baby is wide awake. Zara is dressed casual but not as casual as Ava; hiking boots, jeans, t-shirt under a jacket. "Hey" she grins, "How is the most beautiful girl in the world?" A beat. "I mean Nimue" she winks to her friend before crouching down by the baby. "Aren't you so cute" is blubbered in 'baby talk'. "Are you giving your mommy a hard time? Impossible. You are too cute to be a meanie."

Zara remembers she should inquire on Ava's health too. "How are you doing? You didn't tell me that Myles and Nicasia were in your Dream. They came into the hospital with injuries. They're fine now."

Ava laughs. "You didn't wake her up, she's in here with me. We just got back from a run, and I figured that you would be here soon, so it'd be easier if I just left the door open, you know? No home invasions. Unless you call hot doctors a home invasion. Then sign me right up."

The baby wipes are getting tossed in the trash as Zara heads into the kitchen. "I'm do.. oh." Well then! The wink gets a smirk and a shake of her head before Ava moves to the fridge to get a couple of bottles of water. Nimue is pleased at the talk, her hands and feet waving up and down as she makes tiny noises back. "She is pretty damn cute, isn't she? Not a mean bone in her body." She watches affectionately as Zee kneels by Nimue, coming over to offer a bottle down towards her.

"What? They did?? I'm glad they're okay." A breath blows out of her as she frowns. "I figured they would call me if they were hurt. Maybe they did. I was kind of out of it and Javi had control of my phone that night so I don't know." She leans a hip against a counter. "Damn. Thanks for looking after them. And me. I'm doing better."

"They were quite concerned about you too" Zara replies about Myles and Nicasia as she takes the offered water. "And as much as I'd be happy to give Myles a call, I think there is something going on there with Nicasia. Okay, it was the kind of intensity that causes a chill in the air but there was a connection there. But thanks for giving me his number anyway." A little tickle of Nimue's belly. "Children are born without hate, it takes the world to put it in them" Zara sighs before picking up the baby as she stands.

"No luck with finding Nimue's kind? Not that you've had much time to do so after your latest Dream incident." Zara looks over her friend with a mixture of natural concern and medical evaluation. "You certainly look good. Any scarring?" She gently bounces the baby in her arms as they talk. "Anyone stop you on your run to look at the cute baby? She will certainly surprise some people out there."

"They were?" Ava's face brightens a little bit at that. "I feel bad that they were worried, but it's still nice to know that they were. I'll give them a text later to let them know I'm okay, and to check up on them. Like I said, though, Nic's his ex-wife. So yeah, there's some intensity there. He may still be worth a date. Buuut I get it. I'm not sure I'd want to be on the wrong side of Nicasia's wrath, either. I choose life, thank you."

A bottle of water is set near Zara before Ava opens one for herself. There's a faint smile at the mention of scarring, hand rubbing lightly at the back of her neck. "Scarring? No. Nothing like that. The Dream wounds are all gone!" She beams. "Usually nobody stops me while I'm running. Though a couple of people have seen her when I stop to grab water. It's always strange to watch them forget as soon as they wander off."

"I think we know why you're so popular with Them. You keep using your powers. You're a flame and they're the moths...and it will be you who burns up" Zara sighs. "Ex-wife? That will explain a few things. They tried to show some disdain for each other but...they wouldn't have been there together if they didn't care underneath it all. Sure, might be worth a date. Or might be worth backing off so they can sort out whatever they're doing. When you get dragged into Dreams with each other, it may suggest a deeper connection than they realise." A beat. "Or They just love fucking with people."

"Oops" Zara blushes with a laugh before whispering to Nimue. "Did Aunty Zee say an 'f' word? No she didn't. You didn't hear that, okay? Only Mommy Ava says things like that." Back to Ava. "How's it going with Deacon? Before I had to rush off last time, you said he didn't mind you...hmm...don't want to say 'sleeping around'..."

"Hey. People get hurt, so I heal. It's what I do." Ava doesn't get into using her powers for silly things like using vines to open doors and stuff like that. Those were emergencies. Well, one of them was. "There were a lot of us in that Dream. Plus, we both know They love fucking with people. I won't push you if you don't want to. But it might be worth a dinner to find out where he stands with her. That's all I'm saying." The hand without the water bottle lifts, palm forward.

There's a gasp at the accusation about swearing, but she doesn't argue. "Deacon is great. We had a long talk about the whole poly thing, and he was really good about it. Though, it turns out that Itzhak has zero attraction to me at all, which has been... hard. I've been keeping myself busy so I don't think about it. But um, yeah. Sleeping around is a fine way to put it.

"Oh, sorry to hear about Itzhak" Zara frowns. "He's obviously insane and I should know. I used to work at the Asylum after all." Not that she remembers a whole lot about what happened there. "But I'm happy for you that Deacon is so understanding and that you won't feel restrained by any relationship with him. I just hope he is honest about being able to handle it."

"You don't go on a date with someone to ask if they still have feelings for their ex-wife" laughs Zara about Myles. "Do you think he would be poly? Just asking out of scientific curiosity of course. Everything else okay? This keeping yourself busy hasn't let to anything else happening, has it?"

"He's not insane. He just has his own type I guess. When it comes to women. Or he's just too focused on Javier to really even look at anyone else. Or I just really don't do it for him. I don't know. I just know that it hurts, and it sucks. But it'll get better. At least I've still got a friend out of it." Ava chews the inside of her cheek thoughtfully at the mention of Deacon honestly being okay. "You and me both. I think that's going to be a time will tell sort of thing. It's his first experience with it, so we are taking it by ear."

Laughter ripples. "I don't know about poly. But when I told Myles that I would date you, he definitely pictures the three of us having sex together. Does that count?" She offers a cheeky grin. It gets a little wider at that last question and her hand goes back to rub at the back of her neck again, like she's brushing her fingers over something. "Kind of. But not anything bad. Just complicated."

"I hope you remain friends. I saw how much you care about Itzhak. Even if he was a unicorn at the time." Zara offers as supportive a smile as she can. There would be a hug too but she's holding the baby. "Oh please, Ava, what straight guy wouldn't picture a threesome with us. I don't think it counts towards a poly sensibility. Just a healthy libido."

"It wouldn't be you if it wasn't complicated. Spill it. I do heart surgery, I can handle complicated." Famous last words from Zara.

"I do care about it. I just.. want to see him happy. Which is part of what makes the other thing so complicated." Ava sips the water, smirking at the talk of healthy libidos. "Alright alright, you got me there. That's a fair statement. I couldn't tell you if he's poly or not. But I can ask him. Inquiring minds are curious, after all."

Her nose wrinkles up at the truth of the fact that it wouldn't be her if it weren't complicated. "Well, remember how I mentioned that Itz is trying to get back together with his ex-boyfriend? That guy also happens to be Deacon's boss, the chief of police." Easy to follow so far, right? "We have been working on some stuff together lately, a case. Then he got injured and I patched him up, healed him, got him home. Then he helped me with some nightmares, and talked to me about some issues I've been having. He was actually the one who came to check on me after the Dream and called Aidan to come heal me."

"He checked on me once I was all healed up and, well." She makes a gesture with her wrist. "There was a lot of fucking."

What else can Zara do but sigh, roll her eyes, and cover up the baby's ears as Mommy Ava lets loose with the f word. "Does Deacon know? That would be quite the bit of pressure on him. Not to mention finding out how poly approved he is. Fucking his boss." A shake of her head. "What happens when he says, 'I can't do that shift, I have a date with Ava' and his boss replies, 'You're doing the shift and I'll give Ava one while you're doing your dangerous job'. Complicated is an understatement. I guess, if you're going to continue f...frolicking with this man..." A better f word for the baby to hear. "...you better let Deacon know." A humourless snort. "I wonder if Deacon knew you were going poly immediately. Though this isn't really poly is it? You don't love the guy, you just frolicked him. Repeatedly it seems."

Zara's eyes narrow. "And you frolicked with the guy who Itzhak rejected you for. Was that some kind of revenge at work, Ava? I like to think you're a better person than that."

"It all just happened yesterday. You're the first person I've told about it. Best friend privileges and sounding board stuff. You know?" Ava brushes her hands over her face and lets out a sigh. "Well, one, Javier wouldn't do that to Deacon. He's pretty respectful of other people's relationships. He does have another of his own outside of Itzhak." So clearly he's also Poly. Her hands drop, palms up. "Deacon specifically doesn't want to know certain things. So this is a tricky one."

A frown darkens her features as a finger points towards Zara. "That right there. That's exactly what I'm afraid that Itzhak is going to think. That makes it so f--freaking complicated. It had absolutely nothing to do with him. I am still very much rooting for the two of them to get together. In my dream Ava world I'd be dating Deacon and Itz, and well, you. And frolicking with Javi." She puts her face in her hands. "I don't know when I got so greedy." The hands drop. "But no, it has nothing to do with anything other than the attraction that he and I have for each other. Period."

"For frolic's sake. I can't get laid and everyone else has multiple partners. You're all so greedy" Zara harrumphs; life is so unfair. "At least I am part of your dream world. I should be thankful for that" she smirks before a laugh and a nod of agreement. "Yes, you are incredibly greedy. But I'm glad that it wasn't a revenge frolic. I know you and I believe that, others might not be so understanding. Damn, if you were a boy I'd have to say that your dick makes all your decisions. I guess it's your clit in this case." A look to Nimue. "Those are biological terms, not swearwords. It's okay to say those."

"So, Deacon wants to live in ignorance? That's...not a good basis for a relationship. My opinion only. That, to me, says he's not good with poly but loves you so much that he would rather emotional pain than lose you" Zara suggests.

"Well, he and I aren't really going to be dating. Just having amazing sex. So it's not like it's going to be something a lot of people know. But when, and I still choose to say when, Javier and Itzhak get back together, he's going to know about it. I just don't want him thinking it was some sort of foul play. I wouldn't do that to him. To anyone really. But especially not to him." Ava can't help but laugh. "They are biological terms, and you are a dork. Which is why I love you. Part of why I love you."

Another frown dashes across her lips. "Less ignorance and more unbothered. It's not his thing, it's my thing. I keep it separate from him. When it's us, it's us." Her arms fold across her chest. "But you might still be right."

"I hope you're right about him not being bothered by it all. I really do. For both of your sakes" Zara sighs before a little laugh. "Well, it's more than the two of you involved I guess. Oh, just frolicking. Oh that's perfectly all right then. Yes, I am being sarcastic." It seems Nimue has fallen asleep, totally bored by adult human soap operatics. "Where shall I put this lovely little girl to bed?"

"I hope that I'm right, too. I guess time will tell. I'll have to talk to him more, keep checking in with him." A long breath is expelled as Ava scrubs her face again. She can handle it! Probably. "You? Sarcastic? Never." Strolling out of the living room, she leads the way to the living room and the little pack and play that's set up in there for day sleep. "This will work for nap time."

Zara follows slowly with Nimue, making sure the baby stays asleep during the whole journey. Carefully she lays her down for a nap. Hopefully, for Ava's sake, it is a long nap. "So, shall we have brunch?" she whispers to the hostess. "I brought some food and wine."

Ava smiles down at the sleeping baby before glancing towards Zara and reaching over to link an arm with the woman. "I think brunch sounds great. Food, wine, more talk about all of my terrible life decisions and the blissful pleasure they sometimes bring. Talk about how we need to see each other more so that you can be better included in that whole blissful pleasure thing." There's a sly grin offered over, brows waggling playfully. "C'mon. I'll get the corkscrew and glasses."