* Eames's hand falls back to the tense set of Arthur's shoulders and he can only imagine what its going to take to get the taut line of protective anger from them. He isn't angry at Geraldine, Eames knows that without asking; he's just afraid and threatened by the people outside, who could harm their lovely, beautiful daughter if she wasn't careful. She made a mistake, and now they would just have to talk it out.
Looking at their daughter, Eames buts in. * Yes, Geraldine, if you had asked and let me talk your father into letting me take you there, you could have gone to this party. And I most likely would have done something terribly sneaky on your father's orders, but the point is you wouldn't have known I was snooping and you could have still had a good time with your friends.
* Eames' hand makes a soothing once over on Arthur's back, his voice turning apologetic and stern at the same time. * But your father is right. We * He makes sure to emphasize the part where this isn't Arthur vs Geraldine-- this is her parents caring about her wellbeing, no versus anywhere in the equation. * Aren't here to make your life miserable. We're here to keep you safe and we can't do that if you're sneaking out without a note or anything.
* Not that he's condoning sneaking out so long as she leaves a note.... nope. Not at all. *
[ The worst part about this part of it is that she's still angry and annoyed but now she's guilty too, because they have a point. As defensive as she is about it all this is her parents being worried about her and that's not something she can get angry about. Not logically anyway.
She'd jumped out of her chair to her feet when Arthur spoke, opening her mouth to argue right back at him, but Eames' cuts in at the right time and it makes her snap her mouth shut, crossing her arms in front of herself.
The 'hah, you just said you would follow me!' Doesn't make a good response to what Eames said either. Dina looks down at her feet again. ]
I get- I get that you're just worried, okay? [ The words tumble out quick and guilty. ] And I'm sorry for worrying you it's just. [ It sounds so stupid now, ] I really wanted to go and I know you would have been there or told me no so I wouldn't have been able to have fun.
[ She reaches up to run an hand through her hair. ] And leaving a note would have meant Dad crashing the party and everyone all but shits themselves when he does that and you know it.
But I get it, I was still being stupid. [ It's said in that half sincere half embarassed tone teenagers get. ]
[ Arthur was ready for a [verbal] fight when she got up but, Eames' hands on his shoulders and then words - far calmer than his own but still maintaining that stern tone that needed to be present - did much to prevent the inevitable shouting match that would have ensued.
And he takes her stance and nervousness in - as well as embarrassment and he can feel his own temper easing off.
He takes another deep breath and lets it out before talking, his voice easier in tone and more neutral, lacking accusation. ]
You could learn to give us the benefit of a doubt, you know. If you had just asked us, talked about it with us, we could have reached a point where everyone agreed with what was going to happen.
I know it's been a while since we were your age but it's not like we forget how it was completely...
It's not like we want to deprive you of pleasurable experiences, either, Dina. Maybe we just want to be apart of them with you - even if it's just for you to get permission to go. No matter how old you get, you'll always be our daughter.
* At Dina's use of the word 'shit' Eames gives a quick Language young lady, but it's ruined by the way he smiles when he says it. The tension in the room- generated mostly by his husband and his daughter, both ready to argue their case till they're blue in the face and no one is happy- eases out of the room like a blister that's been pricked.
He wants holds out his hand for Geraldine, beckoning her to him if she wants to come closer and let her papa (and, inevitably, her daddy) give her a hug. * You need to think about your actions before you do them; be smart, like your daddy.
* And crafty, like your papa is left unsaid. He can see the way she's embarrassed, down to the droop of her artfully teased hair, and he wants to say she can still go, that he'll take her to go see her crush and let her show off her pretty face and prettier mind and hope that the girl she's been writing notes to (and subsequently stuffing in between pages of her paperbacks, never to be passed on) will notice her and say something sweet for her troubles. But that's not presenting a united front on the ever-shifting sands of Parentdom, and in order to stand any chance of Arthur agreeing to her going (saving punishment for later, because there is no way she's going to get away without punishment) he would have to understand why she wanted to go. Eames isn't sure it's his place to tell that story. *
[ At Eames' outstretched and beckoned arm, Dina shuffles her feet for a moment before she moves forward - cool teenage indifference be damned, they're her parents and moments after fights like this she likes hugging them; as physical a being as her papa is.
She wraps her arms around him and feels an arm around her shoulders in return, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. ]
M'sorry, [ She says after a few moments. ] I should have just explained where and why I wanted to go. [ Why isn't entirely to socialize, nothing to do with the alcohol, and everything to do with the pretty girl who is hosting it and hoping to just get the chance to talk to her. Teenagers do stupid things for things like that. As soon as she's shifted from Eames' arms to Arthur she tells him about Megan and wanting to go. ]
[ As Arthur hugs his daughter to him and listens, cheek pressed to the top of her head, he gets an almost nostalgic expression across his face. He's remembering how his best friend from the age of ten to fifteen, a girl named Lily, had talked him into going to a party purely because it was the last of the summer, two weeks before she was to move out of the state, and she wanted to, at the very least, score a drunken kiss from the girl she had been crushing for a whole year.
She had been able to and it had made her so happy. She had told Arthur that while nothing came of it, just being able to experience that was something she would be able to treasure as she would be going somewhere new and pretty much on her own.
Arthur could see some parallels and it made his heart ache slightly. For his dear friend - and for his daughter feeling so strongly for another person that she'd risk punishment from them for it.
He felt himself sigh heavily, knowing that he would be saying 'yes' but he would make it a point not to exempt the punishment from what he was about to propose. ]
Well. You will be punished and you will accept these terms I am about to propose but -
[ Pulling away from the embrace enough to look at her, pushing some of her hair behind her ears with long but gentle fingers. Voice soft, almost wistful. ]
You will be going to that party because I don't want you to miss out on the chance to talk to her, either.
* Under his arm, he can feel Geraldine perk up at Arthur's pause; can see the way she looks at him with hopeful eyes when he brushes her hair behind her ear, and Eames might fall in love with his husband all over again. He really doesn't deserve to play bad cop all the time, and Eames is proud of them both. Geraldine for bucking up and telling her father the truth, laying her cards on the table (even if it took getting caught to catalyze that reaction) and Arthur for listening and making the effort to meet their daughter halfway. *
[ Geraldine does indeed perk up when her father pauses, looking hopeful. When he brushes her hair behind her ear she grins wide and escapes Eames' arm to hug him. ]
Yes! [ And, sobering, ] and I know I'm still in trouble, I know, but - thank you so much.
[ Yes, she knows her papa is (when compared to Arthur) softer on things, but she has never really viewed them in a good cop bad cop light. Mostly because they've always been united in their fronts; sure, they bicker like an old married couple does, but any fights they have in front of her are paired with a visible making up.
And even if she has to let one of them stalk the party or she has to do yard work for weeks or stay home forever, she knows its so worth it. ]
Looking at their daughter, Eames buts in. * Yes, Geraldine, if you had asked and let me talk your father into letting me take you there, you could have gone to this party. And I most likely would have done something terribly sneaky on your father's orders, but the point is you wouldn't have known I was snooping and you could have still had a good time with your friends.
* Eames' hand makes a soothing once over on Arthur's back, his voice turning apologetic and stern at the same time. * But your father is right. We * He makes sure to emphasize the part where this isn't Arthur vs Geraldine-- this is her parents caring about her wellbeing, no versus anywhere in the equation. * Aren't here to make your life miserable. We're here to keep you safe and we can't do that if you're sneaking out without a note or anything.
* Not that he's condoning sneaking out so long as she leaves a note.... nope. Not at all. *
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She'd jumped out of her chair to her feet when Arthur spoke, opening her mouth to argue right back at him, but Eames' cuts in at the right time and it makes her snap her mouth shut, crossing her arms in front of herself.
The 'hah, you just said you would follow me!' Doesn't make a good response to what Eames said either. Dina looks down at her feet again. ]
I get- I get that you're just worried, okay? [ The words tumble out quick and guilty. ] And I'm sorry for worrying you it's just. [ It sounds so stupid now, ] I really wanted to go and I know you would have been there or told me no so I wouldn't have been able to have fun.
[ She reaches up to run an hand through her hair. ] And leaving a note would have meant Dad crashing the party and everyone all but shits themselves when he does that and you know it.
But I get it, I was still being stupid. [ It's said in that half sincere half embarassed tone teenagers get. ]
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And he takes her stance and nervousness in - as well as embarrassment and he can feel his own temper easing off.
He takes another deep breath and lets it out before talking, his voice easier in tone and more neutral, lacking accusation. ]
You could learn to give us the benefit of a doubt, you know. If you had just asked us, talked about it with us, we could have reached a point where everyone agreed with what was going to happen.
I know it's been a while since we were your age but it's not like we forget how it was completely...
It's not like we want to deprive you of pleasurable experiences, either, Dina. Maybe we just want to be apart of them with you - even if it's just for you to get permission to go. No matter how old you get, you'll always be our daughter.
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He wants holds out his hand for Geraldine, beckoning her to him if she wants to come closer and let her papa (and, inevitably, her daddy) give her a hug. * You need to think about your actions before you do them; be smart, like your daddy.
* And crafty, like your papa is left unsaid. He can see the way she's embarrassed, down to the droop of her artfully teased hair, and he wants to say she can still go, that he'll take her to go see her crush and let her show off her pretty face and prettier mind and hope that the girl she's been writing notes to (and subsequently stuffing in between pages of her paperbacks, never to be passed on) will notice her and say something sweet for her troubles. But that's not presenting a united front on the ever-shifting sands of Parentdom, and in order to stand any chance of Arthur agreeing to her going (saving punishment for later, because there is no way she's going to get away without punishment) he would have to understand why she wanted to go. Eames isn't sure it's his place to tell that story. *
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She wraps her arms around him and feels an arm around her shoulders in return, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. ]
M'sorry, [ She says after a few moments. ] I should have just explained where and why I wanted to go. [ Why isn't entirely to socialize, nothing to do with the alcohol, and everything to do with the pretty girl who is hosting it and hoping to just get the chance to talk to her. Teenagers do stupid things for things like that. As soon as she's shifted from Eames' arms to Arthur she tells him about Megan and wanting to go. ]
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She had been able to and it had made her so happy. She had told Arthur that while nothing came of it, just being able to experience that was something she would be able to treasure as she would be going somewhere new and pretty much on her own.
Arthur could see some parallels and it made his heart ache slightly. For his dear friend - and for his daughter feeling so strongly for another person that she'd risk punishment from them for it.
He felt himself sigh heavily, knowing that he would be saying 'yes' but he would make it a point not to exempt the punishment from what he was about to propose. ]
Well. You will be punished and you will accept these terms I am about to propose but -
[ Pulling away from the embrace enough to look at her, pushing some of her hair behind her ears with long but gentle fingers. Voice soft, almost wistful. ]
You will be going to that party because I don't want you to miss out on the chance to talk to her, either.
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Yes! [ And, sobering, ] and I know I'm still in trouble, I know, but - thank you so much.
[ Yes, she knows her papa is (when compared to Arthur) softer on things, but she has never really viewed them in a good cop bad cop light. Mostly because they've always been united in their fronts; sure, they bicker like an old married couple does, but any fights they have in front of her are paired with a visible making up.
And even if she has to let one of them stalk the party or she has to do yard work for weeks or stay home forever, she knows its so worth it. ]
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