noteasytobepink | The DINNER ~ Wheelsy AU

The DINNER ~ Wheelsy AU

She'd been working two days, a day to get a handle on the simple art of flower arranging (complicated stuff would come later) and to start learning delivery routes. It had been nice to be moving again, doing something, anything, constructive and today...

...today she actually teleported back to Bill's house with an armload of groceries and flailed. "I'M RUNNING LATE! DID THE ROAST IN THE CROCKPOT TURN OUT...wait. YOU"RE NOT HOME ARE YOU?!"

It probably wasn't time for him to be home. Meep. Talking to an empty house and running late on starting the meal still! Right! Dough! Dough first, for bread and a sweet dough for tarts. Those needed to rise, then she could start peeling potatoes...

Right. She could do this. She flipped on the radio, tossed her floral shop hat on the counter and stared COOKING. Dancing and cooking but hey who didn't need music to cook well? "Knife!" she called out, years of habit having the warning go out amidst the music so no one got hit by the knife headed toward the sink.

She tended to throw things when she was cooking. Yep.

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There was a loud whoop, and then June was laughing bright and ecstatic.

Bill sat by, the tips of his ears burning red and not looking at either one of them.

Clarice wrinkled her nose at Bill, then reached over to trace fingers along his cheek gently. "We're both stubborn people, sometimes we have to think outside the norm."

Despite himself, Bill smiled, though his features were still flush with embarrassment.

June calmed, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a napkin and shaking her head in mirth.

"Well, it was a good idea... " Looking up to see the touch and Bill's smile, June's voice faltered a moment before picking up again. "especially if it's workin'."

"Yeah, we seem to be managing alright," she noted with a grin before letting her fingers drop. "Well enough to invite his mom to dinner anyway! We should actually serve stuff up huh?"

"Whatever you've made smells delicious, so I'm certainly ready t'dig in," June replied.

"I'm starvin'," Bill put in. "Let's eat."

He turned to throw a grin at his mom and saw the thoughtful expression she was regarding him with. Her eyes on Bill, June spoke to Clarice.

"So, now, I never did get the whole story on you endin' up here. Just bits an' pieces of the gossip goin' around town, an' I hate t'put any stock in all that. You been here how long, now?"

Yep, see, this was the part she'd known was coming! Thankfully this one they had covered. Kinda. "Bill found me at the edge of town with a knife in my shoulder," she admitted easily enough. "I've been here going on a few month now? Enough to heal up properly." And a little bit more honestly.

"As for how I got there, well, that's a long story and I'm not suppose to tell all of it since I was found when I went into witness protection."

June's eyes widen, and her expression shifts to surprised concern.

"Oh my, that-- you poor dear. Are you safe?" She turns to Bill. "Bill, what's the department doin'? How long's she gonna have t'hide?"

"It's alright, we're handlin' it," he reassures her, feeling a small pang of guilt for the lie.

"I'm perfectly safe here ma'am," she noted. "I did a very good job of losing the man after me, even shook the handlers who were trying to help me, and they figure that staying here in a quiet little town is best." She was a little better at lying, honestly, came from world hopping.

"Besides, I'm living with the sheriff and now that I'm back on my feet I can pick up my self defense stuff again. As for how long..." she shrugged, at a complete loss for ideas. "Trial for the guy I testified against, then making sure he doesn't have any friends left outside...could be a while."

"That's good, I'm glad that you're gonna be alright." She honestly was, the whole situation sounded very scary.

Reassured of that, June turned back to her personal agenda with the situation.

"So, in the meantime you've been stayin' here with Bill. Don't think I need t'tell you the rumors floatin' around that." She gave Bill a pointed look, then turned a curious glance to Clarice.

Well, yes, the actual situation was a bit scary, but things were alright now. Clarice had settled into eating when she mentioned rumors. Oh.

Swallow.

"Well, they can't be worse than the truth I guess? Let's see, no I'm not intending to sell Bill's organs on the black market, I'm not a plant to strike at the heart of the town government, um, what other rumors are going around?"

Bill was very intently poking at his plate when his mom turned her gaze on him.

"Bill?"

Mmm, food. Yep, Bill was totally engrossed in the food...

"Bill."

The potatoes, and meat, and...

"Bill."

"Hm?" Lifting his head swiftly, Bill chewed on a mouthful of everything.

June set her fork down. Waiting.

Bill swallowed, choking down a hunk and a half of pot roast to clear his mouth to speak.

"Well... some of it uh, may not be all rumor." He glanced over at Clarice, but knew he was the one who had to answer. Turning back to June, he gave her a tilted smile. "Clarice an' I have started datin'."

"It doesn't happen to be the end of the world," Clarice noted to those faces. Yep. Wow. Dating was obviously BIG DEAL here.

Oops.

"And yeah, that's not a rumor, it's truth. 'Bout...a week now? When did you get the flat Bill?"

There were many factors making this a big deal for June, beyond it being her only son. Part of it was Clarice was a mystery woman (a pink mystery woman), who Bill had literally found on the side of the road. June didn't know anything about her or her background, and the stabbing witness protection thing wasn't painting the best picture.

Then there was the fact that they were already living together.

And finally, there was Bill, and his history with women. Bill was a good man, a sweet man, who was as easy to walk over as a bridge. Like everyone else in Wheelsy June had heard about what happened with Starla, and now, no more than a month later, this.

Wary didn't come close to describing how June felt right now.

"A week?" She looked at Bill, who nodded to concur.

"'Bout. Last week we kinda had our first date." Kind of in that it started out as a simple night away from town, and ended with them falling down drunk, but his mom didn't need to know that part of it.

He smiles, trying to reassure his mom.

"We had a nice time. An' Clarice has been great since she got here."

Clarice set her utensils down and held her hands up in 'harmless' gesture for June. "I didn't come from a bad life, ma'am, but I didn't leave anyone behind when I had to go into hiding either. People were killed in front of me." And that was a damn good reason to be in hiding now, yes.

"I'm not cheating, I won't run Bill around, and more if he decides I'm the rebound after Starla, and he wants to move on after me? I'm okay with that. This is at his pace."

"Clarice, you ain't-- " Bill began to interject, but June quieted him by touching his elbow.

"I appreciate your honesty, an' you two bringin' me here tonight to tell me. 'Least, I'm assumin' you did." She gave Bill a glance, and he ducked his head, sheepish because he knew he beat around the bush quite a bit before it came out.

"Yeah, that was the general idea," she admitted. "I didn't know when a mom should be told, I grew up with my daddy so..." No need to go into Mr. Creed with her. No, none at all.

"And it'd be really dumb to lie to you about your son."

"So your daddy raised you." She wanted to ask where Clarice was from, but held back the question, not wanting to make the girl feel cornered with something she maybe couldn't answer. "I reckon he did a good job, if you're smart enough t'know that."

She gave Clarice a smile, then took in a breath, exhaling slowly.

"Well, it's an... interestin' thing that's happened here, but you're both grown an' it ain't somethin' I'm gonna speak against."

Bill had been holding his breath, and finally took one.

"We're fine, mom, really."

"Yes ma'am, he did." Because that was the safest response really. "I kind of like the dating admission from this end. Less growling and threats." She'd been worried a little alright?

Granted, she'd have known how to hold her own with a Creed-like response to 'I'm dating your son'.

"We're doing our best. Figuring out the dating thing as we go along really but yeah, we're doing alright."

June chuckled, and nodding understandingly. "My daddy was the same way."

Bill was relieved, this was actually going over pretty well. Smiling at Clarice, he reached over to put his hand over hers.

"I'm sorry 'bout the rumors. It's why we thought we outta tell you right away, try an' head them off."

June sipped her tea and waved off the apology.

"This town lives an' breathes gossip. I heard all the other ones Clarice mentioned, too. I'm glad t'find you aren't a ninja, or alien, or whatever else they been sayin'."

"From what I hear 'alien' has become a catch-all for weird in this town," Clarice chuckled and turned her hand over to lace her fingers in Bill's. "And I'm not a ninja. That takes formal training in Japan. I am athletic, and know self-defense and such but not dressing up in black and running across water." Nope.

Not her power.

"Oh did you hear the one where I'm a fairy princess?! I got that one when I walked past the school today..."

June smiled, and finally began to tuck into her food.

"I haven't, but that's a sweet."

Since things were going okay Bill set to his own plate, not shoveling like before, but still with a certain gusto.

"I think I have my Halloween costume planned," she agreed cheerfully. Totally fairy princess. Cartoony fairy, not actual Fae. Kids didn't need to see that. And, well, Bill was getting a serving of salad as a matter of course when Clarice next dished things.

He'd deal. There was even salad dressing for it!

June was just about to speak up about the lack of green on Bill's plate when Clarice took care of it for her. Smiling at Bill's surprised expression, June gave Clarice a nod of approval.

"That sounds like it'd be fun. Maybe you could even get this ol' fuddy duddy t'put on at least a hat or somethin'."

Bill was bathing the salad on his plate in dressing, and paused to glance over at her.

"Y'all aren't gonna start dressin' me up, now. Besides, I got a great costume. Plenty of folks dress up as a cop for Halloween."

"If it's your actual job, Bill, it's not costume." Clarice laughed easily. "How about some kind of historic cop? There has to be someone you look up to, and the uniform would be different enough to be dressing up right?"

"No," he answered simply, not going to be swayed.

"Oh, you. He used t'love dressin' up," June said. "I remember one year I made him this cute scarecrow outfit. He had a straw hat an' overalls an' he-- "

"Mom."

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