Growin' Up [Alex, Inanna]

It was nice being out here in the City of Lights, by the ocean and away from all the heat in Vastime. 'Course, Alex sure as fuck would have preferred if it was under better circumstances, but you couldn't always have it perfect. Sitting outside under the late night sky, Alex put out his cigarette on his palm. He probably shouldn't be smoking too much when he was staying with other people, huh?

Ah, man. It was kind of weird staying with Inanna and her mom, even if the lady was nice as could be. He wasn't quite used to staying in someone else's house for this long, but hey, at least he got to see his girls again.

Girls, huh? Psh, who was Alex kidding? Inanna was pretty much another daughter to him. He'd have done anything for her just like he would for Alex.

"That's bad for you."

She chided from afar, she was trying to be quiet since she thought everyone was asleep but apparently not everyone. Inanna forgot that she shouldn't really be surprised, Alex's dad seemed to regularly stay up late too when she was living there in Vastime. It was cold with the wind off the ocean and the nighttime didn't help the fact she was dressed lightly.

"Um. What are you doin' still awake?"

Not really expecting to see anyone she stumbled through trying to make small talk. There was still a lot on her brain which made it awkward to try and be her bubbly normal self that didn't have a care in the world.

"Oughta be askin' you the same thing, kiddo."

Alex simply chuckled to himself, glancing back at the young girl he'd just been thinking about. He had to admit, they did always seem oo run into each other late at night, huh? Maybe that was just how the two of them were.

"Can't sleep some nights. No real reason, just don't get too tired. What about you? I'd've thought you'd be all tuckered out, hangin' out with Alex and your mom all day. Feelin' alright?"

He knew she probably wasn't, of course. She didn't have that same energy, the cheery spark that made her so endearing. But Alex wasn't going to say that aloud, he'd just see what she said.

"Um, I guess. I'm kinda bummed and I keep thinking about stuff so it's kinda hard to sleep."

She trekked over to him and sat on his lap, it wasn't like she had a towel or anything and she hated sitting in the sand so she hoped he didn't mind if she borrowed it. Plus she was cold and he was always nice and warm regardless of how cold it got so it was really comfy. With her spot, Inanna looked out at the ocean to watch and listen to the waves.

What did she say now? She wasn't really prepared to talk about what was on her head. It was pretty hypocritical of her, huh? Always telling other people that it was bad to bottle up feelings or talk about their problems freely yet she was ruminating on her thoughts quietly. Maybe she did get why adults did it a bit more now.

Inanna sitting in his lap was pretty much par for the course by now, and even if she'd gotten a little bigger and took up a little more space, he hardly minded. He could tell she was a little chilly, too, so he warmed himself up just a bit, making it nice and comfy.

"Yeah? Whatcha bummed out about? Probably tired of havin' to deal with me butting into your fun with Alex, eh?"

He was just teasing, of course, and his tone of voice made that much plenty clear. He'd never actually accuse Inanna of something like that, and he really doubted she was even capable of getting annoyed about it. Alex just didn't want to make it seem like he was prying right into her business without a little tact.

"No. I like having you and Nel around. You're both really fun."

She thought about it a bit more, it'd be bad to just spill her guts in one big go wouldn't it? So what thing was on her mind the most? The weird talk with her mum mostly but there was a lot of stuff in that talk which she felt uncomfortable about, should she even talk about this stuff with him? Well, she didn't mind that but would he mind since her mum seemed to struggle through the whole thing and it was super awkward.

"I guess er hmm. Am I weird?"

After a bit of thinking she felt like that was a good thing to say. She felt real insecure right about now, she thought she had everything figured out and was on top of everything. Super smart and knew what everything was about but apparently she didn't. Actually she felt like she didn't know anything anymore and like she was a big dummy 'cause of it.

Hm, now that wasn't the sort of question Alex would have expected out of her mouth. And, honestly, it was one he wasn't immediately sure how he ought to answer. Was she weird? Fuck yeah, she was weird as all hell. He'd never met a single kid that acted even a little bit like her. But that wasn't a bad thing, and he didn't want her to feel like it was.

"Weird? Nah. Not the way I see it, anyway. You're not the same as most people are, sure, but you're not weird. To me it's only weird when you're different in an annoying way, and you're definitely not that. You're adorable."

He gave her a pet behind the ears as he said that, wanting to reinforce the fact that he meant it very genuinely. She was a good kid, and Alex liked her being around.

"If you're weird, me n' Nel are weird too, so even if that's the case, I don't think it's so bad."

Well, that was nice to hear at least. She didn't want to be weird in a bad way, maybe she didn't mind being weird in a good way though. Despite his good words she remained in her slumped position in his lap and kept the ruby eyes on the ocean, the distracted girl's only reaction to his petting being a small shift in her spot and tensing of her back at the sensation before she settled back into her thoughts.

"Do you think me and Alex are weird?"

Her mum did ask her if she had felt different and then if she felt different about her best friend, should she be feeling different? Was it weird that they kissed that one time? She didn't think so but she felt like Alex thought it was weird and she didn't wanna tell her dad on her so she'd keep that to herself. At least her mum knew how to keep a secret despite the fact that Inanna hated that.

Now this was a much harder question, and one even Alex had to really think about. As a dad, he didn't really like the thought of his little girl growing up. He didn't necessarily like the way the two of them interacted, but he knew that was irrational, that he was being overprotective. For all his heated pacing, when Nel calmed him down, it always worked for a reason. He knew she was right.

"What, like as a pair? Nah, I don't think so. I'd say most girls probably aren't as close as you, but there's nothin' wrong with that."

Much as there was a voice in the back of his head wanting them to cut all that out, he wasn't going to ever say that. Alex was a dad at heart, and he wanted both of them to be happy.

"What brought this on, kiddo?"

"Well uhm..."

How did she word this exactly without it sounding weird. Why did she think it was weird anyway? Her mum said it was completely natural and normal but she was really weird about having that chat. Her mum's normal was very composed and certain in what she said but that chat didn't make her think confident and assured. It was weird.

"Ha.. ha. Hahaha. Nothin'. It's dumb, I'm dumb. Don't worry about it."

Her nerves got the better of her as she became flustered and tried to laugh it off it the worst possible way that she could and gloss over it.