Father-daughter chat

It was almost weird  to becoming home so early after school, and alone, but to be honest it was also a bit of a nice break.  Everything was so busy and crazy all the time these days that it was hard to  find time for herself.  Sure it was fun to meet up and do homework together, but there were some things Lil needed to be able to concentrate one better - especially since Mr. Winters' offer.

She pushed through the door, finding her aunt Rachel parked on the sofa with her laptop, Max curled up by her feet, and some mindless netflix show chattering quietly in the background. Lil waved, and her aunt looked up with a smile.

"Hey Lil - you're home!  How's things?"

"Things are things."  Lil dumped her school bag and leaned down to scratch the dog behind his ears as he hopped down to come greet her.  "Classes are....stupid."  Rachel had chided her the other day on being more mindful about her language, but it was proving hard to lose the habit of calling things 'lame.'  She was iffy about 'dumb'....  Still, it was cool having her aunt around - they didn't get to talk much but when they did it was always about cool things, like intersectional feminism. It made interesting thoughts bubble in the back of her mind about queerness, and magic, and the role of women in society, and in the magical world... It felt a little out of her grasp at the moment, but that was no reason not to reach.  "Did you get your article done?"

Rachel made a face.

"Is dad home?"  Maybe, if they all were, they could order pizza or something for dinner, but her dad's schedule had been irregular in the past few months, and it was hard to say.

Rachel made a different face - a somewhat thoughtful or considering one that instantly made Lil suspicious that something was up.  "Oh, yeah, he was home a little early today. Actually he wanted to talk to you about something, since you're home."

"Oh...really..."

"Mmhmm."  Rachel flashed her a quick, maybe slightly knowing, smile, then pointedly returned her attention to her computer screen.  

Well.  Lil had no idea what might be up, but there was clearly something, and now it would keep bugging her until she knew what it was.  She turned, heading for the door that led to the little studio loft that her dad had set up over the garage and knocked loudly to be heard through the headphones her dad was very likely wearing.

"Dad!" she yelled through the door, "Rachel said you were looking for me?"

Nathan looked up from his guitar, fairly certain he'd heard his daughter at the door. He hadn't expected her home quite this early, but it at least meant she wasn't out doing...the types of things she was doing these days. Shaking his head to disperse the ever-present worry, he called out.

"Lil? Come on in, sweetie!"

Lil pushed her way inside and flopped down in the empty chair, pleased to see her dad had been playing - whether cause of effect, it was usually a sign that he was doing okay.

"Hey dad - Rachel said you were looking for me?"

"Uh, yeah, sweetie, just wanted a chance to talk to you," Nathan said, seeming a little nervous. "Everything going okay?"

Lil frowned, that vague sense of suspicion returning. "Uh, as far I know, yeah. What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Nathan offered vaguely. "I had been wondering, uh, how you would feel about me seeing someone. Ah, socially, I mean, or..."

"Oh." It was literally the last thing she had expected, and it took a moment for her reaction to process. Lil managed not to scowl, but setting aside her reservations was harder. her dad had been going through a lot, and yes he was doing a lot better than he had been at the beginning of the year, but... But. "Look, dad.... I know I've been a total bitch about it before.... But I want you to be happy. And it's not really any of my business, right?" Lil paused briefly, then added, "Well, unless they're, like, some kind of man eating monster. Then all bets are off."

"Well, it is somewhat your business, Lil," Nathan answered. "I know that things have been difficult for a while, and you're going through a lot right now, and I don't want to pile on. I'm perfectly happy now; this is just something I've been thinking about lately."

"And I think she'd object to the term 'monster'," he continued, trying to make a joke of it, "and I'm fairly certain she's never eaten anyone. Have you met Dr. Teller?"

Lil's brow furrowed as her dad answered, considering at the least that their definitions of 'perfectly happy' were pretty far off, but she blinked when he came to the point of it, caught totally off guard for a second time. "Wait - Noah's mom? ...You're dating Noah's mom?" Noah's mom - a werewolf. Well, at least she didn't have to worry that his new interest was *secretly* some kind of supernatural creature. But she wasn't sure what she thought of that at all.

"No, Lil, we're not dating," Nathan explained hastily. "We've just had coffee a couple of times. I took Max to her when you brought him home, and we got to talking, and she's been very helpful in...helping...me wrap my brain about all this supernatural stuff."

Lil perked up at that. "Oh?" But she realized that wondering exactly what kind of insights Mrs - no, her dad was right, Dr. Teller - might have to share was maybe on the verge of missing the point. "I mean... that's cool? I mean, she's cool. I'm glad you have someone to talk to about it." She wasn't sure it was really a solid foundation for a relationship, but she reminded herself that it wasn't her call. "I don't know what you want from me though - I'm not going to freak out, or anything." Even if it was weird... Not *bad* weird, necessarily, but definitely weird. Was Noah's mom having the same conversation with him? Were they that close? She wasn't completely sure.

"I guess I just wanted to talk to you about it," Nathan said, still unsure of his conversational footing. "I don't want to blindside you with something like this, though I guess I have a little. It's a bit of a change, or at least kind of the possibility of some change, and I know that can be difficult."

Lil made a face. "Uh, after everything that's happened in the last year, I think I can handle some change." It had been the whole point of moving to Ashland, even if it hadn't been changes they'd anticipated. "And I want you to be happy dad - really. Just...Look out for yourself, okay?"

Nathan resisted the urge to give a skeptical look at Lil's assessment of her tolerance for change, going instead with a placid smile.

"I'll be fine, sweetie. It's just a date; I'm not in any danger."

He tried to play the last bit off as a joke, but his delivery betrayed some of his omnipresent concern.

"What about you? What's going on with...Den, right?"

Nathan's attempt to change the subject might be transparent, but he felt it worth a try.

Lil rolled her eyes, sighing in dramatic annoyance at the obvious topic change. Still though - it was probably fair. "We've gone out a few times... We're supposed to go to see some play this weekend that one of his friends is in." She shrugged. She really had no idea what she was doing, with this whole 'dating' thing. She hadn't really had friends before they'd moved here. Having a boyfriend - if that was how things could be qualified - was a totally alien notion.

"That's good," Nathan replied. Den had seemed like a decent guy, though his being in college still worried Nathan a little. "It's good to see you branching out a little."

Nathan smiled, knowing Lil probably wouldn't appreciate the sentiment. Still, dating was probably a healthy sign.

Lil rolled her eyes. "Whatever, dad.... Oh, hey - can we order pizza?"