You change when you get in that van.

[style_bringer]

[Fortuna was off-limits as far as vacations went. Aside from it being the source of some of Nero's worst memories, it was in utter disrepair, only accessible through small boats. London? Still intact, even aside from the catastrophes he and Lucina averted. There were plenty of boroughs that hadn't fallen prey to demons but he doubted small family parks wouldn't be interesting enough when it came to people that spent a great deal of their time in a breathtaking, gorgeous country-side and idyllic ivory castle.

Their introduction to his garage was anything but impressive, greeted by Nico who had thrown a demon's corpse on a tarp only to be caught hacking through it when everyone made their way through the portal. So, Lucina's family had been seated in various parts of the living room while Nero set about to making several pots of coffee. Coffee, breakfast, then plans for the day. That was what they agreed on.

Nico, washing her hands in the sink he used to wash vegetables, grinned at him cruelly as he set aside a lot of mugs and started ripping open packs of coffee grounds. He kept reminding himself that it was going to be one of the happiest days of his life just to know he had everything he needed to keep Ylisse and Earth connected on his own, guaranteeing he and Lucina would never lose one another that same way--but it fell short when Nico bumped his shoulder and chuckled to get him riled up.]

Good thing you got nothing but mugs instead of glassware like a normal fella.

Can it.

Pretty handy that you're gettin' paid in groceries too, huh?

Go to hell, Nico!

Comments

[style_bringer]

[He couldn't help but notice when Chrom and Sully set their thoughts aside for their daughter. Whether she was one version or another, they were over-protective. It was a relief for him, knowing what she'd lost. Getting it back made helped her become whole in a way that he couldn't.

The way Chrom looked at her seemed right. Nero finished his eggs, knowing just at a glance that it was the way a father should have acted.

When Sully let a bit more of herself show, he thought she looked like a sap. Where'd she get off looking at him like he was cheesy!? He kept a lid on that complaint well enough, moving to his coffee while trying not to seem overly sappy himself the moment Lucina turned that smile back on him.

He was crushed in less than a heartbeat. Clearing his throat--]

I got something planned for this afternoon before dinner, so we gotta make sure to get to the mall quick. I think you guys are gonna like it.

[fauxmarth]

What something did you plan, by the by?

[the question comes when Lucina joins Nero at his sink, bringing cleared plates to rinse; her parents are still at table with Nico, who is receiving some regard and curiosity for her tattoos.]

If it's at the mall, is it one of the clothing stores you had in mind?

[style_bringer]

[He'd been in the middle of humming some awful song among the many that he and Nico would listen to while they were working in the garage, occasionally handing Lucina a plate to move.]

Um? Plan...?

[After a moment, he seemed to wake up and remember.] Oh.

[Crap. She was, physically speaking, close to the answer. The little family photo center he was thinking of was only a few doors down from the last store they'd gone to together. He tried to keep that surprise off his face, playing it cool with... a pout.]

Lucy, you know it ain't fair to guess on surprises.

[fauxmarth]

[she pouts right back; two can play this game!]

So I don't get to help at all? That's not fair, either, you know.

[style_bringer]

Hey, hey.

[Normally, he would be crushed under that pout. He wouldn't be able to withstand it even for a moment--]

It's a surprise for you too, okay? C'mon, I wanna be able to say I did one totally not weird thing for everybody.

[fauxmarth]

Breakfast isn't weird. [she nudges him with an elbow, hands full of plates.] You're a fine host, give yourself some credit!

[style_bringer]

N-No, I mean... the portal thing? How I held it open? Holding open portals is weird, right...?

[He wasn't even sure where to begin with his insecurities when it came to her parents. Chrom and Sully were used to seeing magic but he wasn't. Maybe it was just weird that he called Sully 'mother in law' when he let her through?

He was starting to overthink things again, frowning deeply and emptying his half-drunk cup of coffee in the sink so he could wash it.]

[fauxmarth]

[IGNORE ME ACCIDENTALLY HITTING SUBSCRIBE BECAUSE OF THE GODDAMN HOVER-OVER MENUS WHILE IM TRYING TO TAG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---]

You held it open very gallantly. [she's adamant about that, perhaps to a fault in her effort to reassure him.] As...gallantly as a portal can be held open? [squint.]

don't worry i've called the police and told everyone

[style_bringer]

[Gallantly? He'd stopped his expert scrubbing for just a moment to turn halfway to her just to make sure she'd said that word intentionally with him in mind.

Gallant? Really?]

...Think I look gallant when I do air-guitar after hitting a max-act? [She'd done nothing at all to earn this teasing...]

aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaa

[fauxmarth]

A-- [she has to halt her forward momentum of positivity to actually think. what was the air guitar again?

well, it's something with arm-flapping, so she can just assume:] I think the word you use here is cool, right?

uu

[style_bringer]

[The way he grinned wasn't at all teasing or mean-spirited but heavy with excitement. Lucina didn't have a knack for goofiness in the way he had since she had only digested wrestling and awful movies through his childish recollections of them (and because he'd never get away with dragging the mirror to the family TV) but she was endlessly charming when she made her attempts.

Every single time, she hit him with a 10/10. Passing her a plate, he whistled low.]

That's right. I'm cool.

Who's cool? It ain't you, loverboy.

[Without even breaking his smile--]

Shut the HEeee...ck up, Nico.

[fauxmarth]

[Lucina stifles a little giggle, smiling over her shoulder at the folks at the table.]

...Very well. [she looks back up at Nero once she's done wiping down the dish.] I'll let it be a surprise, then.

[once dishes are clean and put away, she meets her parents at the table, cheerful.]

There's still a lot about this world that's new and surprising for me, but Nero's very good at finding the nice and fascinating things... I'm a little more excited now...!

[no pressure or anything, Nero.]

[style_bringer]

[Drying his hands with a cloth rather than his pants like the animal he usually was, Nero let Lucina head back with a smile in return before finding his phone to check the time.]

Alright, Nico, I'm on 'Do Not Disturb' except for your number.

Roger. I'll hold down the fort, for what it's worth... and take my babysitting fee in pudding.

[Knowing full well the place would smell like cigarettes once they got back--he put it on his mental list to grab a couple more air fresheners on the way back.]

Well, y'know, we're taking it easy for the first couple days. We'll be in time for the portal check but Nico can handle taking notes if anything comes in early.

[Pulling on his coat, he circled over to the side door and found his keys in the little clay bowl the kids in Fortuna made for him. It was shaped like a frog's mouth.]

Everybody ready? The van's gonna be a treat to get used to.

[fauxmarth]

It's actually smoother to ride than a horse! [she takes up the rear behind her parents as everyone is filed out to where the van awaits.

All closed-in like a carriage, huh, Sully remarks, tilting her head at it.]

[style_bringer]

The roads're... smoother.

[A beat.] In places, I guess.

[With a wide swing of his arm, he'd pulled open the side door for Chrom and Sully with a sheepish smile. To anyone else in the world, his van was something of an embarrassing statement--that he was willing to live on the road if need be. Hopefully, neither of them would really piece together the context.]

You can sit just about anywhere. I'll be going pretty slow, but while we're moving you should pick the seats that face forward. Lucy, you got this? [He tapped the other passenger door.]

I just wanna do a quick oil check. [And take a moment to breathe again while she helped her parents get seated and situated.]

[fauxmarth]

[it's a moment for Lucina to check in with her parents on her level, her own nerves rather high as she worries over their opinions of it all. she wants them to not just like Nero, but love him! and appreciate his hard work, and trust that the world is as marvelous and worth staying in and protecting as Ylisse, and--

Lucina. Chrom puts a hand on her shoulder, smiling. Why are you fretting?

Yeah, you think our heads are gonna pop off or something? Sully teases, crossing her leg once she's sat.]

Of...of course not. Forgive me, I only...I just hope you aren't overwhelmed...

[Sully tilts her head. You think this is more overwhelming than time traveling daughters or demon dragons?]

Right...

PSA: always wear a seatbelt

[style_bringer]

[A glance sent her way when he'd open the driver's side door gave him a little insight. A smile found its way on his face once again as, in a rare show of it, he felt just the slightest need to be a little forceful, though none of it was a matter of disrespect or pride.

So Lucina would feel just a bit better about convincing her parents that he knew what he was doing, he didn't mind sounding a little stern with the basics.]

We're safer than most people in this rig but it's still the law to put seatbelts on. [Though, really, he never wore one when he was working and there wasn't a single officer in those neighborhoods that would look in that van and feel the urge to ask any of them to put it on--Lucina, especially. They'd all seen her bisect a demon at that point, so it was a lost cause but... well, on a day out in town he preferred abiding by the rules a bit.]

Now... Remember how I warned you guys that music gets weird here? The stuff you heard on TV was just a preview.

[This was his idea of making Lucina's day easier.]

and maybe install airbags in the murdervan that can bunny hop off highway bridges

[fauxmarth]

[belts are buckled rather dubiously, because it seems strange to them to strap themselves to the chair - what if demons appear and they have to jump into action swiftly? and even Lucina's a wee bit hesitant given...well. she and Nero didn't oft belt up either, but she trusts his judgment on this - he's the ringleader! his world, his rules.

once they're situated (how nice to have space specifically for swords in this vehicle!), Lucina climbs into the passenger seat and clicks in, smiling over at Nero with a ready nod, the smile twitching when Sully points out that there's no TV-box in here for sounds to come out of, so where would the music be?]

they've got a box full of airbag replacements somewhere in that garage

[style_bringer]

[It was, by far, the most he'd ever used a turn signal in his life. The van was better suited for roads in America but the cost of getting it back to London was high enough that he felt the urge to use it as often as possible despite the inconvenience of parking. Walking an extra while to get anywhere once they found a big, open lot would be the only option.

Sully's question sparked a little light in his eyes... which quickly diminished when he remembered a difficult evening trying to explain to Lucina why the mesh-encased box he fixed could play music. His understanding of radio waves, as a child, had only been a step above exaggerated stuff he'd seen in cartoons.

With a click, he hit the turn signal and tightly wound his mouth shut, narrowing his eyes to focus like a hawk on every car in front of him in traffic. In present? Sure, he understood the science behind it but... Hell, he knew it would be boring to talk about. More importantly, he was relieved that it had only taken him two quick adjustments to find a station playing a Beatles' song. Right about then? That was when traffic came to a halt.]

...'Kay. Looks like we're gonna be movin' slow for a bit. [Five minutes to make one turn at the intersection? He reached to Lucina, giving her arm a gentle, encouraging squeeze after giving her a brief, apologetic look. Yeah... Her nerves were sure to fire up at least a few times before they made it out.]

[fauxmarth]

[Lucina can't help but peer at Nero and his laser focus - something she hadn't seen since he first got her into this machine. he'd loosened up since, but the tenseness is back again, isn't it? he's trying very hard to do his best...

at the touch, she lay her hand atop his and smiles, hoping to reassure. she notices his effort!

for her parents' sake:] It's a bit like festival traffic...only every day, it seems. But that means you can see what the shops look like! Instead of open-air markets and stalls, most businesses have their own buildings - just for selling wares, they have completely other buildings to live in elsewhere. That's how prosperous this city can be...

[style_bringer]

[Just the slightest touch of her hand and his expression of intense focus and determination was enhanced by a fresh shade of red. He thought he was in the clear, avoiding an embarrassing moment so long as he didn't turn his head--forgetting there was the rear-view mirror hanging just beside his face.]

See, it's not so bad with some music and the heat working.

[When he remembered the rear view, he whirled around to point out a little Turkish restaurant. Strange how he didn't point it out sooner--] S-See that one? The owner lets us eat free because Lucy saved her son.

[fauxmarth]

Only because you pointed out the collapsing rubble, otherwise it may have been a disaster.

[Sully and Chrom exchange a look because this kind of thing sounds almost like...them? but it's weird to hear that externally. were they this wound up and ready to throw down for each other as younger people?

(yes.)

there's a lot to take in all at once on top of that: traffic, wild architecture, peculiar fashions and vendors and patterns...Sully briefly shudders to see some garish patterns on display in a department store window, having flashbacks to the polka-dot disaster Lucina so earnestly offered her.

one thing Chrom notices suddenly: There's no guards? No soldiers...]

[style_bringer]

Say what you will but you're the one who dived, y'know?

[Once they'd reached that more vibrant part of the city, he'd noticed that things in back became a lot more quiet. He could relate to that feeling, seeing a place so tremendously different that he needed time to take it in as, well, it had been his job. Usually, that sense of amazement had been tinged with disgust for the horrors of it but it had been quite the opposite when he'd seen the palace. Fortuna's castle and architecture were grand but it was burdened by age and wear. Ylisse was gorgeous and the people there were so invested in their work that even the bureaucracy attached couldn't wear down the romance of king and country.

London, meanwhile, he saw as a cement block lodged in the mud. Still, he didn't want to say it outright to his future in-laws. After sparing Lucina the occasional smile when there were breaks in traffic, he'd heard Chrom's voice come up and thought aloud. Curious.]

We've got officers. They usually hide away at their stations and only come out to answer calls but the army? There'd be riots in the streets if the army were patrolling residential areas.

[Not that he was reliable for a history lesson but some things were still common knowledge.] Last time London was attacked was over seventy years ago. There hasn't been a need to defend since and demons just aren't enough of a hassle here to defend the whole city.

[fauxmarth]

Ah, but those soldiers and guards, they can still go out and about as they please! If I remember right. [she glances to Nero for confirmation.] When they're not on duty, they just look like regular civilians.

[a far cry from off-duty Shepherds, who are always kitted out for a surprise situation to step into.]

I think that's something special. They can...separate from a role, be someone different for a time, if they want.

[something of a stretch for a land where titles and roles are identity-critical.]

[style_bringer]

...Huh. Didn't think about that.

[For someone who dressed roughly the same when he was both in and out of work--the thought never crossed him. When he was walking around on the street, it was sometimes difficult to tell if someone was military or an officer. Plenty of people could separate themselves from their work when they didn't have to protect each and every street at all times of the day.

With a little click, he hit the turn signal. The slow traffic was almost at an end.]

Yeah. Can't say I can tell the difference aside from some of the haircuts guys get when they're fresh. You can kinda tell by the crew cuts.