Gretchen Wagner (indigogirl) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-08-19 19:25:00

Entry tags:

inactive - braddock lebeau, inactive - gretchen wagner

Boys on white horses don't know how to ride (Braddock)
Gretchen had very specifically not asked about the car.

This wasn't like sneaking into Old Town Strelsau to hide in dark labyrinthine alleys and watch him do card tricks. She knew that. It was hard to gauge precisely what sort of ride she was along for.

And that, considering how sideways the world was, was fine.

"So what happens now?"

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	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 12:34 am UTC (link)
	"Now, my beautiful blue Princess..." Braddock says, driving down the highway toward New Orleans with an aim to misbehave, "...you and I do what comes naturally. Oh, and I do awful, awful things to you until you relent and agree to let me be your prince. And by awful things, I mean really good stuff. Like dancin', eatin, and all other manner of craziness." Braddock says. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Her Serene Highness laughs. "Now if that's not an eminently sensible plan, I don't know what is," she says, leaning a little, around the seatbelt, to lightly kiss his cheek. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-08-20 01:12 am UTC (link)

"I'll tell you now, Gretchen; this whole trip was worth it just for that right there." he says.

"So, I had this idea to fleece the locals in poker for a good amount of money. I'd use this money to buy you a fancy dress or two, some pretty earrings, and a very nice suite at an expensive hotel." Braddock says.

"What do you think of that idea? Or should we keep it simple and stick to simple pick-pocketing?" he asks.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 01:20 am UTC (link)
	Thoughtful Gretchen is thoughtful. "I say we fleece, but keep the fanciness reasonably simple. And I will need a hat." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 01:26 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, can't forget the hat. We'll get the hat first so as not to forget it." Braddock says. He's silent a moment as the nighttime landscape passes them by, before he decides to speak again. "Hey, do those kisses you were handin' out come in other flavors?" he asks, a bit of his old Cajun accent slipping into his words. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 01:28 am UTC (link)
	There's a significant pause, and then she smiles. "Several." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 01:33 am UTC (link)
	Braddock chuckles to himself. "I intend to sample as many as you'll allow." he tells her, driving on for a bit. "I wonder if New Orleans here is the same as back home. My dad put a lot into making the city better than Vegas. I'm sort of hopin' the Guilds here have done the same." Brad ponders. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 01:36 am UTC (link)
	"I'll keep that in mind. Of course, we don't want to cause an accident." "I don't know. Here's hoping. It was weird, looking up Ruritania on the internet. Mom apparently still accomplished a lot of her sociopolitical reforms. She just doesn't smile in pictures as much." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 01:49 am UTC (link)
	"Your dad is a pretty cool guy...after you get past the part where he can cut you into a million pieces before you can blink." Brad says. "If you want, though...we can go see Ruritania soon. I mean, you're bein' nice enough to suffer New Orleans with me, so the least I can do is take you 'home', even if it's not really home." Brad offers. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 02:00 am UTC (link)
	"He's got that in common with your Mom, in a way," Gretchen says, smiling wryly. The Pirate King (aesthetically, anyway) and Ninja Queen would probably not instantly acknowledge that comparison. "Very sweet idea, Brad. And additionally, no one in Old Town Strelsau recognizes your face here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 02:08 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, Mom would probably crack a smile at that comparison, then kill everyone who saw her do it." Brad jokes...mostly. He winces a little at the mention of Old Town Strelsau, then chuckles. "I wonder if Brother Mortimer exists here. You think he'd still consider me the left hand of the Devil himself across dimensions?" Brad asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 02:13 am UTC (link)
	"I certainly wouldn't bet money against it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 02:38 am UTC (link)
	"I just think he was wrong in his assessment. I'm /definitely/ the /right/ hand of the devil himself. I mean, left hands are for wristwatches and crazy boxers." Brad proclaims. "Besides, I think he was just jealous that he had to stay in the church instead of getting to hang out with you." Brad says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 02:42 am UTC (link)
	"Technically, that'd make him envious," she says. "Envy is how you feel when somebody else gets what you'd like to. Jealousy is how you feel when somebody seems to be messing with what's yours. So not a lot of people can accurately feel jealous about me." Pause. A grin. "Although you can, if you want." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-08-20 02:47 am UTC (link)

Braddock grins, keeping his eyes on the road, which is hard to do considering the company.

"Chere, believe me, I've had to fight down jealous once or twice where it comes to you. It's a struggle against my baser nature when I have to watch princes from other places make veiled passes at you. Granted, I was never invited to any of those events, but bein' able to go where one wants through the shadows has its advantages." Brad says.

"That Russian baron almost didn't make it home after he planted that kiss on you during the Festival."

It was a kiss on the cheek, but it had taken three of his father's people to keep him from explaining that one does /not/ just kiss the Princess like that.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 03:02 am UTC (link)
	"Ah, the Russians. Well, I appreciate your not precipitating and international incident. You know Rose has a brother who's the Grand Duke of Russia here? Crazy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 03:39 am UTC (link)
	"I sense my ability to like this guy decreasin' by the moment, Princess. And you're right: Russian's are crazy." Braddock says. "But I will try my best to be a semi-perfect Southern Gentleman while we're in New Orleans. Anyone touches you, though, and I reserve the right to fix their breathin' problem." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 04:10 am UTC (link)
	"Hey. We do not badmouth Logans." She faux-scolds. "Your chivalry is noted, sir." She says, smiling. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-20 05:09 am UTC (link)
	"He's a Logan? All right, I suppose I can /try/ to be diplomatic, Princess." Brad says. He reaches over to touch her hand for a moment as they drive on down the road. "Gretchen, I'm glad you said yes to comin' with me. I can't think of anyone else I could have made this trip with and enjoyed it so much." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-20 05:11 am UTC (link)
	"Sweet talker. I'm glad I did, too." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-21 12:35 am UTC (link)
	"I only sweet-talk redheads." Brad says. A long while later, after multiple stops and car sing-alongs, the pair pull into a New Orleans that seems to lack something fundamental, in Braddock's estimation. It's dirty, rotting, and somehow...less than the New Orleans from home. "What happened here?" he asks, looking around. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-21 01:12 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know. I didn't think to look up New Orleans before we left." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2010-08-21 01:41 am UTC (link)
	"What y'mean 'what happened here?' man?" a voice says from behind. A disheveled young man steps into view looking at Braddock and then Gretchen with some surprise. "We still recoverin' from Katrina. Y'been livin' under a rock or sometin'? the boy asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-08-21 01:45 am UTC (link)

Braddock simply stared in shock. He remembered hearing about the "hurricane to end all hurricanes" touching down in New Orleans a few years ago, but Dad had listened to the engineers when they told him years before that that not fortifying the city would lead to disaster.

I may be a swamp rat, son o' mine, but no one can ever accuse da LeBeau family o' never keepin' a clean house. Y'hear? Remy told him.

And so, despite the objections from the Thieves' Guild, Remy had poured millions into upgrading levees, breaks and other items around the city. When Katrina hit, it was more like a few days of bad rain and some heavy wind, and then life went on.

Apparently, they hadn't listened here.

"Damn." was Braddock could manage, as he stood there in shock.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-21 01:49 am UTC (link)
	Gretchen leaned back into the shadows a little but smiled and let her accent show. "Sorry, we didn't mean to be insensitive about the difficulties of the recovery," she says politely to the passerby. Then she looks to Brad and reaches for his hand. It's a generally rotten situation, and she knows it's probably hard for him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-08-21 05:45 am UTC (link)

Brad takes Gretchen's hand, still in shock and kisses it gently, making sure that she's really still here. There have been several nights lately that he's awoken, wishing this twisted reflection of his world is a fever dream, and that he'll wake up at Xavier's back home with a everyone laughing at him.

Right now, he'd prefer that to everything but the feel of Gretchen's hand.

Suddenly, he turns to his princess and kisses her full on the lips. When the kiss breaks, Brad sighs aloud.

"I needed to know somethin' here was real, chere. Somethin' in my life is still good." Brad says.

"I suppose we should find a place where you can rest. Don't want you all frazzled tomorrow morning." he says, trying on a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-21 06:49 am UTC (link)
	And she'll kiss back enthusiastically. She understands the need for the tangibly familiar in this crazy situation. "Yeah. I'm not going anywhere." She smiles. "Sounds like a plan." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

princeofthieves
2010-08-22 01:50 am UTC (link)

The pair get back in the car and drive a few miles to the Silent Shore hotel, and he Brad purchases two rooms, as close to each other as he can get. Luckily, they have adjoining suites for the next week, which taps out all the money he'd managed to get.

"Well, chere I start work in the mornin'. You get to stay here and look pretty. Order room service and such while I find us a high-stakes game or two to get into. Then, we'll have some real fun." he smiles.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-22 02:31 am UTC (link)
	"That sounds like a plan. Good night, Brad." And she kisses him again. Thoroughly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	princeofthieves 2010-08-22 02:36 am UTC (link)
	Brad returns the kiss, memorizing the taste of her lips before letting go. "Good night, my princess. Dream sweet. I know I will." he grins, before he goes over to his room. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	indigogirl 2010-08-22 07:12 pm UTC (link)
	And so does she. ((Finis)) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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