[And because she is used to Dave's miraculous feats of time and skill, thanks to his little refrigerator magnet trick, the door opens almost immediately after he knocks because she's been waiting for him.
She may just have on a party hat over her regular one because it's likely to make him laugh.]
I'm an art theft detective. Naturally, I have to make everything a mystery if I can help it.
[She closes the door behind him, mostly to keep Bustopher Jones from making a break for the outdoors than anything else, and then proceeds to lead him through the halls of her extremely unnecessary house until she ends up at a little corridor that ends in a set of French doors that let out onto a side terrace, and which boasts before those doors a pair of rooms, one on either side of the hallway.
From the looks of things, the entrance to that short corridor can be closed off from the rest of the house by a set of wooden doors that they have to pass through to get into it; quite possibly it was once some sort of mud room or small wing of the house, designed to be its own unit of space or a part of the house proper, depending on whether the interior doors were left open or sealed closed.
So she takes him in, and proceeds to retrieve a small palm-sized box from her pocket, about the size of a garage door opener and wrapped in shiny red paper.]
Here we are. And here you are, Dave.
[Which, when he opens it, he will find...a pair of keys.]
[ until they get to the box point, he's been looking around curiously but not asking anything, really; it's interesting to see the too-big house but it isn't totally his business. when he opens the box, though, he's curious and not sure what he thinks the keys go to, exactly.
[She half-turns, motioning to the double doors that lead out onto the terrace.]
One of them goes to those doors. It's a different lock from the rest of the doors in the house, so it's the only one you'll be able to get in through. Well, get in through legitimately, that is.
[Anyway. She steps over to the door on the left of the corridor, and leans easily against the doorjamb.]
The other one goes to this room. It's the only key to it; even I don't have one. I thought if I were giving you the room, I also ought to give you exclusivity to it.
[Because, of course, there's a darkroom waiting behind the door, just as John had suggested. Feliz cumpleaños, indeed.]
[She's smiling, though, and there's no real reprimand in it, because half the fun of being her is doing extravagant things that are wholly unnecessary and getting to see the results of it.
Coincidentally, the room across the hall from the darkroom is a small bathroom, because it would suck to have to navigate out of the whole monolith of her house and off the property entirely just to find one in the middle of working in the darkroom.]
A little bird told me you might find it useful to have one.
[ he can't think of anyone else he's mentioned the lack to, except that aside a few times when they were discussing why houses might be cool. what the fuck, john.
what the fuck, carmen? dave's expressions are always pretty mild and slanting neutral, but he's at least a little visibly thrown. ]
Jesus - [ she just said language, but okay. surprise transitions into a tentative smile. ] - thank you.
He talked me out of my first idea, which I'm not going to elaborate on but rest assured, he was probably right that it wasn't the best of solutions.
[She's smiling, though, and clearly pleased with his reaction. That's the fun of doing extravagant things; whatever time and effort and money she might spend on it, the reactions that they elicit are easily equivalent in worth in exchange.]
...Besides. Now you have a key to the house — or at least part of it. For those times when you need a place to go, whether or not I'm around to let you in.
[ he said "thanks" already but he kind of wants to say it again.
maybe if he remixes it, though. ]
This...really means a lot. [ he doesn't know if he can explain why a place to run away to is so important even if he doesn't use it, and he doesn't try, but he does grip the keys a little tightly. ]
[ he'll have to look that spanish phrase up and then he'll have Feelings. not that he isn't having feelings now, but Even More Feelings Than That ]
...Thanks. I will for a bit before I loop back, I think? John said he'd kill me if I looped on my birthday. [ but what john doesn't know won't! hurt him! ]
[ he doesn't usually? hug people? not often, anyway. john gets a portion of affection and anya hugs him but he and rose aren't always that touchy with one another and dirk isn't around. dave's kind of awkward about hugs and clings a little too tight even though he usually makes them pretty short, but it feels lie a thing he wants to do in that moment and so he does.
he's also a little too angular a person to be comfortable. but he tries. ]
[One of the nice things about having everything you could ever dream of at your fingertips is, as it turns out, the fact that it really makes you develop an appreciation for imperfection. The human nuances take things down from the pedestals people try to put them on, make them more real and tangible from how they're colored with affection instead of perfection.
It's the reason she uses a terrible handmade mug for her tea every day, when she could have any number of pricey high-quality ones at her disposal. It's the reason Dave's hug is just right, despite and because of all of the ways that it's just a little bit wrong.
And maybe this is as much a birthday gift to him as the darkroom is, but he gets hold of her and she lets him and there's a hint of a hug in return, but mostly she just lets him guide the flow of how it goes between them, and enjoys it every step of the way.]
[ it's a brief awkward thing and he lets go, ducking his head in embarrassment even if his expression seems mostly neutral - it's not quite, but it takes a while to learn to read his tells - and he crosses his arms and seems at least at ease if embarrassed? ]
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She may just have on a party hat over her regular one because it's likely to make him laugh.]
And there he is. Feliz cumpleaños, Dave.
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Gracias? [ that definitely sounded spanish to him. THANKS IS ONE OF HIS SPANISH WORDS, LOOK AT HIM GO. ]
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De nada. Come on inside, and follow me. Your unwrappable gift is going to take a little bit of explaining, first.
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[ that sounded so vague but he automatically adjusts the party hat and follows along? ]
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[She closes the door behind him, mostly to keep Bustopher Jones from making a break for the outdoors than anything else, and then proceeds to lead him through the halls of her extremely unnecessary house until she ends up at a little corridor that ends in a set of French doors that let out onto a side terrace, and which boasts before those doors a pair of rooms, one on either side of the hallway.
From the looks of things, the entrance to that short corridor can be closed off from the rest of the house by a set of wooden doors that they have to pass through to get into it; quite possibly it was once some sort of mud room or small wing of the house, designed to be its own unit of space or a part of the house proper, depending on whether the interior doors were left open or sealed closed.
So she takes him in, and proceeds to retrieve a small palm-sized box from her pocket, about the size of a garage door opener and wrapped in shiny red paper.]
Here we are. And here you are, Dave.
[Which, when he opens it, he will find...a pair of keys.]
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clearly an airplane ]
Do I get to try 'em on every lock in town?
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[She half-turns, motioning to the double doors that lead out onto the terrace.]
One of them goes to those doors. It's a different lock from the rest of the doors in the house, so it's the only one you'll be able to get in through. Well, get in through legitimately, that is.
[Anyway. She steps over to the door on the left of the corridor, and leans easily against the doorjamb.]
The other one goes to this room. It's the only key to it; even I don't have one. I thought if I were giving you the room, I also ought to give you exclusivity to it.
[Because, of course, there's a darkroom waiting behind the door, just as John had suggested. Feliz cumpleaños, indeed.]
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so dave is curious enough to go and put the key in the mysterious room. ]
You got me a room? [ and when it opens it should be pretty visibly - ] A dark room. Holy shit.
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[She's smiling, though, and there's no real reprimand in it, because half the fun of being her is doing extravagant things that are wholly unnecessary and getting to see the results of it.
Coincidentally, the room across the hall from the darkroom is a small bathroom, because it would suck to have to navigate out of the whole monolith of her house and off the property entirely just to find one in the middle of working in the darkroom.]
A little bird told me you might find it useful to have one.
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[ he can't think of anyone else he's mentioned the lack to, except that aside a few times when they were discussing why houses might be cool. what the fuck, john.
what the fuck, carmen? dave's expressions are always pretty mild and slanting neutral, but he's at least a little visibly thrown. ]
Jesus - [ she just said language, but okay. surprise transitions into a tentative smile. ] - thank you.
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[She's smiling, though, and clearly pleased with his reaction. That's the fun of doing extravagant things; whatever time and effort and money she might spend on it, the reactions that they elicit are easily equivalent in worth in exchange.]
...Besides. Now you have a key to the house — or at least part of it. For those times when you need a place to go, whether or not I'm around to let you in.
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maybe if he remixes it, though. ]
This...really means a lot. [ he doesn't know if he can explain why a place to run away to is so important even if he doesn't use it, and he doesn't try, but he does grip the keys a little tightly. ]
It's a lot. And it means it.
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[Which is a little nonsensical, but the meaning is there in the context clues, so in the grand scheme of things it's fine.]
Estoy orgulloso de ti. Go ahead, go and play if you like. I think there's everything you need — and there's space for anything there isn't.
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...Thanks. I will for a bit before I loop back, I think? John said he'd kill me if I looped on my birthday. [ but what john doesn't know won't! hurt him! ]
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[She grins, stepping back and out of the way for him.]
I'll leave you to it. Just remember to lock up when you're done, won't you?
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1/2
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[!!!]
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he's also a little too angular a person to be comfortable. but he tries. ]
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It's the reason she uses a terrible handmade mug for her tea every day, when she could have any number of pricey high-quality ones at her disposal. It's the reason Dave's hug is just right, despite and because of all of the ways that it's just a little bit wrong.
And maybe this is as much a birthday gift to him as the darkroom is, but he gets hold of her and she lets him and there's a hint of a hug in return, but mostly she just lets him guide the flow of how it goes between them, and enjoys it every step of the way.]
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So...thanks.