#d.zarina02

[containatrocity]

"I'm headed t' the faire, daddy!" The Romero house had been alight with activity since early that morning, a blur of color, costumes, and energy as the denizens made haste to be prepared for the Renaissance Faire. It's Wren's voice carrying through the house that makes Mal appear again, his head sticking around the corner of his bedroom door, hands deftly working zippers and belts closed over a half-bared torso. "I'll see y'all there!"

"A'right darlin! Walk safe!" Duck insists, finishing up with his shirt, pulling the cape and armor on and into place over it, the hood tugged up over dark hair and the wicked visage of a wolf's skull grabbed from the dresser beside him. "Robin, buddy, you need help with anything?" He questions, stopping in the hallway until the young boy gives him a negative- that he's almost done, just finding the rest of his nerf darts. "Alright- remember, if you lose any a' them you're shit outta luck, kiddo." His next port of call is downstairs, towering frame appearing in the doorway of the bathroom- blacked out green eyes leveling on Z's gaze in the mirror. "And how're you comin' along there, darlin?"

@callofthxvoid

[containatrocity]

"A break from her brother for even a few hours during the summer is gift enough in her eyes, trust me, but I think you can probably sweeten the deal with some dessert or a new journal for her to write all her little plays and songs in." There's a slight sadness that creeps in at the acknowledgement of his daughter's favorite way to pass time. He knew she'd always wanted to escape Huntsville, the way most people did- That she'd wanted since she could talk to be on stage. He'd supported her- sat in the crowd for every single school play or recital, and he'd watched that want falter and fade, as she accepted her fate, that there was no Broadway or touring band in a small town- that there were more important things to get done, than have her head in the clouds about one day making music. He supposed he understood that better than most. He's thankful for the mask as he forces the slight fall of his features back into place. "Ah, come on, there's plenty of time to get me hot and bothered when it cools off a little- I do wanna grab somethin' t' drink." It's only a brief detour, a round of lemonades ordered and paid for, one handed to Robin with a warning to be careful about spilling it, the other passed to Z as the trio make their way to the archery booth.

He laughs, when she points out that he might feel a little cheated. "Whaaat? Of course not, But I am a little impressed y'managed to hustle me like that." He takes a sip of his drink, sitting it down beside him and taking off his mask, clipping it to his belt as her hand grazes up his chest. "So if anything, this'll let me feel better about the fact I was the one who got reeled into this instead a' vice versa. which... is becomin' a pattern." He pauses, Robin tugging his cape slightly. "What's up buddy?" He questions, Robin whispering to him for a moment. "Oh, sure, babybird." He hands him a few ration tickets, the boy breaking off to sign up to participate himself as Duck turns back to Z. "And I'm about to get shown up by an eight year old, so we'll start with your go, deal?"

Zarina laughed when she took his arm and the three started making their way toward the town centre. It didn't surprise her how effortlessly conversation flowed between them—it had since they first met at the last town event—but perhaps it did surprise her a little how natural it felt to be walking around with him and his little hellion of a son in broad daylight. She was almost grateful when his comments veered them closer to territory that felt much more familiar to her. "I'd offer to get you a cold drink, but I'd feel a little guilty about cooling you down only to get you all heated up again," she quipped back easily, not sounding like she would feel guilty about that at all. "But I should probably get Wren something for being the absolute MVP of the day."

She glanced around at the various booths and stalls when they reached the main street, but her gaze quickly wandered back to Mal, an amused smile playing on her lips at how giddy and excited he looked. His glee stood in stark contrast to the man she had first gotten to know, but she found she liked this side of him just as much as that one, if not more. "Aww, is someone feeling a little cheated out of getting to show off during our first shooting lesson?" Zarina asked with a teasing grin, before patting him on the chest. "Lucky for you, I'm a lot less experienced with archery than I am with guns, so I'm more than happy to let you teach me. For real, this time."

[containatrocity]

He chuckles as she flourishes in front of him, tapping his chin lightly. ”Mm, I think we make a pretty solid team, with my vision and your good looks? Unstoppable, really.“ He lifts the hood of his cape, settling the wolf mask into place- shifting it slightly until the magnets click into place, examining himself momentarily in the mirror before returning to Z. ”And I think you're probably gonna be the least likely of the two of us to die a' heat stroke this week.“ He straightens up from where he'd settled into the doorframe. It's hard to place when things started to change, really, if he thinks about it. This had been transactional, sex and drugs to benefit the both of them- last night had punctuated a shift, though- the kids were home, and the only 'business' they had was that Z was going to need at least a little help getting her costume settled.

”Oh, hold on.“ He steps forward slightly, green-gray eyes squinting slightly as he adjusts the way part of the dress sits against her waist- smooths it out with fingertips uncovered by the gloves covering his hands. He'd been pretty clever about this costume, it seems- parts of it things he'd had made for other reasons, with uses outside of any sort of costume for a faire, or salvaged from old halloween costumes- the sharp upper and lower teeth to match the rest of the 'tiefling' part of his costume proof enough of that- he'd never expected to need to use that werewolf costume's fake teeth ever again, really. ”Okay, there. I think you're good. Yer gonna be chasing gentleman callers off all week, actually.” He smirks, checking the time on the wall clock in the living room before calling out again. “Robin Constantine Romero- on God, boy, if you don't get yer ass down here, I'm leavin' without ya!” There's the sound of a toybox clattering shut, then scrambling, little feet on the stairs before the boy appears, his nerf gun in a holster and a bandolier of darts across his chest, a fake tail and set of horns to match his sister and dad perched atop his head.

“I'm ready!” He declares, Mal chuckling and glancing back over his shoulder at Zarina.

”I'm set to go too, you all good?“ He questions, then realizes something, scratching the barely-exposed patch of his burn scar on his jaw. ”Uh, by the way, I cannot be held responsible fer how excited I get about all a' this. I will actually appreciate it if'n you pretend I'm still cool, or whatever.“

Zarina wasn't a stranger to the main house on the Romero property, but there were a few things about about that morning and the night before that were new to her; and as much as she wanted to pretend that it wasn't a big deal, it did mark some kind of shift in the dynamic she had with Mal. For one, she had stayed over for a reason that didn't involve sex. And she had spent more than five minutes around his kids.

It felt like they were... Friends, for lack of a better word. If she really thought about it, Mal was perhaps the closest friend that she had in Huntsville, or had ever had before.

A small smile played on her lips when she caught his gaze in the mirror, putting the finishing touches to the make-up look she had MacGyvered together using some of Sandy's products and leaves, before turning around to face him. "All done," she said grabbing her dark green dress with one hand and spinning around on the spot for him before finishing with a flourish. "What do you think? Accurate to your vision?"

[containatrocity]

"Okay, in my defense, you were, as some might expect, the first woman in 41 years to say 'hey, you seem like you know things about medieval fantasy, and I need that specific skillset right now.' Also you were naked, 14 year old Mallard dreamed about that exact situation." Duck argues, whistling shortly to catch Robin's attention as the three of them finally made their way out of the house- the boy abandoning his detour to pet Brute to rejoin his father and Z. "Keep th' house in check, Brute- I'll bring ya back some turkey from th' food stalls fer dinner." He insists, the dog's tail thumping the ground happily. "Swear t' god he eats better than most people do." Duck chuckles, locking the house behind the three of them and offering Z his arm. "Well, I'll be real thankful fer the fact you're both not judgin' me for bein' a turbo nerd at my age, and yer gentlemen callers havin' to wait their turn. I'll make sure they take a number, keep th' line orderly." He jokes, Robin racing off the porch and down the driveway just slightly ahead of the pair- his gaze is watchful, hawkish, easily balancing the conversation at hand and ensuring his eight year old doesn't get too far ahead of him that he loses sight of the boy's bright red mop of hair.

"Yeah, already feelin' the more than one kind of hot, damn." He chuckles as they reach the center of town, Robin already zipping off to shoot foam darts at the townsfolk- and quickly called back with another sharp whistle. "This one's gonna wanna pester his sister at some point today, so with any luck, I'll be able to be the other kind a' hot without the rugrat for a bit later." He fluffs Robin's hair fondly anyway, taking in the booths and displays with an impressed hum. "Man, they really pulled out th' stops fer this one." He's a bundle of energy, in a way that's decidedly unsubtle- shifting excitedly from one foot to the other- barely restraining the urge to dart off not unlike Robin. "We've got a good few hours before I'm due to either do somethin' really cool or get my ass kicked in jousting, so at the very least, I am gonna insist we hit up the archery booth. And hope you were only hustlin' me about the firearms back when we met."

Zarina dropped her gaze to where he was adjusting her dress, wondering briefly if the casual domesticity of it should feel strange to her, before deciding to unpack that at a different time. Reaching up to smooth out a wrinkle in his cape, she put her hand on his shoulder and pulled herself up to press a kiss to the little bit of exposed cheek she could reach, before stepping back and laughing softly at his comment. "Well, you do look hot in more than one way," she teased easily, throwing in a sly wink for good measure. "And today I'm all yours, so any gentleman callers will have to get in line."

When she heard the commotion upstairs, she let out another laugh and turned toward the mirror again, checking over her appearance one last time before looking back out the door and nodding in the affirmative. "Yeah, let's get out of here," Zarina agreed, joining the double tieflings out in the living room while making sure to keep Mal between herself and Robin. It was more for Robin's sake than her own; for as much time as she'd spent there, she was still virtually a stranger to him. "But for the record, I've known what a nerd you are since you brought out the handbooks and the sketchpad in the middle of the night. Don't worry, I'm still quite fond of you."