Girls' Day Out [Alex, Nelliel]

She kept her relaxed posture and gentle smile the whole way through Alex trying to think about how she wanted to vocalise what was on her mind and the answer did linger for her a moment. How best to answer that? It took her a moment to come to a conclusion which was paired with the arrancar's hand taking her daughter's own in her's.

"It's hard to say things. You know when your dad was the same when he shared his feelings to me for the first time. We get scared of rejection, the end that could come with the rift or the fear of taking that extra step and losing what you love. Maybe it wasn't the smoothest how we came together and I had my own worries like you do now but I am glad and thankful for every moment we spend together because he had that courage."

Maybe it was underselling to use her husband and not herself for this example but he did initiate it and if she was going to give Alex something to think about then she should provide it from that perspective.

"You're a strong girl, Alex and if you're worried about your words then don't say it. There's more than one way to share feelings, the cards you wrote each other for Valentine's day were just the sweetest thing for example. Sometimes actions speak a lot louder than words."

The hardest thing of her own internal debate was about conveying how sometimes it doesn't work out, she didn't want to fill Alex with false hope of success that could be squashed by the reality of the situation. She wanted to raise her daughter to be confident in herself, not sheltered and develop insecurities as a result.

That all made sense to Alex, and she stuck her tongue out again as she clearly really considered what her mom had said. Rejection was definitely scary, and she didn't think she'd be able to say it quite right, but...

"That makes sense. I don't think I want to write another card, it's not Valentine's and I want to show her myself instead of it being on paper. Um...hm...what do you think I could do instead?"

There wasn't just curiosity in Alex's voice as she asked that, but a bit of hope, obviously having at least a somewhat positive expectation of how this all might go down. The reality was that she hadn't even considered the possibility that Inanna might say no. Not out of any overconfidence, of course, but because it simply hadn't crossed her mind.

"Hmm. What can you do instead? Oh! I know, how about you take her on a date? You could get her a gift or even better, you could make her a gift to help tell her how you feel."

She ran through a couple of ideas but many of them would probably be a bit difficult for Alex. She didn't imagine that if Alex was having trouble with saying it that a poem would make it any easier, they were also quite close already so would a date even carry the same connotation? This was a bit hard.

"You know Inanna, what do you think she'd like?"

"Oh, I think making her a present might be a good idea..."

Alex's thoughts moved from what she ought to say to what she could make, but she wasn't very good with her hands, so that might be hard. What did Nanna like, though... All at once, however, her eyes seemed to light up, her smile practically exploding outward as she looked to her mother with excitement in her eyes.

"She really really likes sweet things. Could you help me make her something? Like a cake or a chocolate or something like that? Yours are really good and I'd want it to be really good for her!"

"I think you're onto something, you clever girl."

She said to Alex as milkshakes arrived and she took a sip of the watermelon flavoured one. Baking something was easy enough but she did wonder if Alex had any ideas of how to distinguish it from a regular cake, maybe they could write a message on it or something to that effect.

"I'd love to help you bake something, Alex."

Once she had taken a sip of her own, Nelliel offered it for Alex to try. It was good to share after all.

"I think it'll be perfect! Oh, I think it'd be really good if I made her something special, we can maybe write something on it, or, um... We could maybe make it in a heart shape..."

Alex's blush returned in full force as she said that, taking a long sip of her milkshake until she visibly got a brain freeze and had to stop for a moment. Of course, then she saw Nel's and simply traded milkshakes with her to take a sip of that one, too, seemingly unfazed by her pain not a few seconds prior.

"Do you think that'd be a good idea?"

"I think it'll be splendid."

Nel pouted at the sight of Alex's brain freeze but if she was anything it was as hardy and persistent as her father while tasting the watermelon. Nel's took a small sip just to taste the peach before handing it back, she didn't want to steal any great amount of her daughter's treat.

"We might need to get a few things for the cake though and you're going to need to think about what you want to write on it."

"Hm...what I wanna write, huh..."

Alex tried to think of what would be a good way to say what she wanted to say, but nothing she came up with quite sounded right. It either sounded too embarrassing, or just didn't sound like it was really the right thing to say, like it wouldn't tell Nanna what she really meant all the way.

"What would you put on a cake for dad?"

That made sense to Alex, at least. She didn't really know about this kind of stuff, but her mom did, right?

What would she put on a cake for her Alex? A problematic questions that had no actual answer helpful to the girl in front of her. She could say 'I love you' and he would know but she'd heard Alex and her friend use that far too many times for it to convey the same weight. She couldn't make it too complicated either since Alex and Inanna might not understand it.

"I would say..."

She paused as she thought and finalised her answer. Concluding it by finishing off the sentence.

"I love you more than a best friend."

Nel said which definitely was not something she'd put on a cake for her dad. Maybe if she tried to hypothetically make one for Abalia and had these feelings but it was all pure speculation and grasping.

"More than a best friend... Okay, that makes sense!"

Alex smiled to herself at that, perfectly cheerful at that idea of a cake with such a long message on it. The idea that it might be too long didn't actually cross her mind, and she lolled her head from side to side as she sipped her milkshake, clearly quite pleased at the situation.

"Thanks, mom. I see why dad loves you so much, you know he talks about how cool you are all the time when you're not around."