Sitting On Ice (Open)

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They were supposed to have been there five minutes ago. Of course, five minutes wasn't very long, but if you're going to be late to an arranged outing then the least you could do is call or text ahead to let the other party know. That way you could prevent your partner's time from being wasted sitting around waiting for you for who knows how long. At this point, Sera had no way of knowing if her party was going to show up in the next minute, five minutes, or twenty minutes. For all she knew, they would not show up at all and she would never know it because they didn't bother to spend the five seconds it would take to inform the impatient girl. If her companions were going to be more than 10 minutes late, then Sera could have planned to use that time for some idle browsing of her own. Instead, she was seated by herself, on a bench, in the middle of the mall, glaring at an illuminated advertisement that switched between a bigger and better toothbrush, and a "your ad here" ad.

Did people actually pay attention to those kind of things? Most of the time, the ads weren't of things particularly useful at all.

Seraphine crossed her arms over her torso in her irritation, her icy stare only getting colder with every second that passed without a notification on her phone or a shout out from amongst the noisy crowd surrounding her.

Of course, her irritation was causing her powers to activate unconsciously, bringing the temperature of everything she was touching at that moment to a "delightful" chill. It hadn't dropped to the point of there being any visual indication, however, making it so the next person to sit next to her on that bench would have a very cold surprise waiting for them.

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa had never been to the mall with this much money before.

As she walked around, part of her was paranoid that someone would somehow detect the large sum of cash located in her cream coloured bag, and steal it from off of her shoulder. She knew it was a ridiculous train of thought, but the Hispanic girl couldn't help it. Kai had handed her the money and told her to have a fun time at the mall without second thoughts. After Vanessa counted the bills, her jaw had dropped to the ground but... but he didn't even bat an eyelash! And it was all to spend on herself!

It wasn't something she was use to. Even as she roamed around the mall, Christian in tow in the stroller, Vanessa hadn't bought much. There'd been a few articles that caught her attention and now lay in shopping bags stowed underneath in the stroller. Although she hated to admit it... she really had let herself go during the pregnancy and afterwards. It was nice to treat herself, but still.

After wandering the mall for a bit, Vanessa noticed that Christian seemed to be getting fussy. Probably hungry. She packed him some plain Cheerios to munch on, and decided that now would be a good time to take a break and let him eat. She spotted a girl sitting on a bench, not drawn to her cold expression or the way she was holding herself. The Hispanic girl approached the bench, sitting down for the briefest of seconds before jumping up with a yelp. The seat felt uncharacteristically cold against the back of her thighs. It was summer, and even in Vermont, there was no way that the bench should feel like ice against her skin.

Eyeing the bench, Vanessa shrugged it off and began digging through the compartment for the Tupperware container full of Cheerios.

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Sera didn’t feel the cold when it came. The cold itself had no effect on her, she was more than comfortable in it. It was in temperatures above refrigerated temperatures(that is about 45 deg Fahrenheit) that she started to easily become overheated. It was for this reason that she had a tendency to wear shorts and mini-skirts in the months of summer and spring. Since she didn’t feel it herself, Sera had little way of knowing when her powers were causing the environment immediately around her to drop in temperature, nor could she sympathize with how others would feel in such chilled temperatures.

Therefore, when the woman who tried to sit down next to her sat up with a yelp, Sera didn’t immediately connect it as being related to her power spazzing out again. She simply thought that the person was being weird. And annoying. In fact, Sera wanted the woman to just leave and if she didn’t soon, then Sera would simply do that herself and let her so-called friends look for her themselves whenever it was when they arrived.

In the briefest of moments, Sera finally tore her eyes away from the advertisement display and flicked them over to the woman who had strolled in with her child. Then her eyes fell to the child. A smile crept over her lips. He was clearly a boy, and definitely reminded Sera of her older brother. Sera leaned forward, staring at the child with a much warmer smile. “How old is he?” she asked the woman suddenly. As her mood started to improve, the cold emanating from her body began to dissipate, bringing the bench back to room temperature.

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa's gaze darted from the bench to the pretty girl, confused on how she could be sitting on such a cold bench. Maybe someone had set down a cooler in that spot recently. It was the only reasonable explanation she could come up with. Shrugging it off, Vanessa continued on her search for the Cheerios, squatting down near the bench to dig through the stroller's compartment. Shopping bags... Christian's diaper bag... a few toys... ah! She found the small Tupperware container that had the snack in them.

Coming around from the back of the stroller, Vanessa popped open the lid and placed a few cheerios on the table in front of Christian. She smiled down at him, endearingly, as the little boy made happy gurgling sounds. His small fists took ahold of a few cheerios, proceeding to shove them into his mouth. Exactly why the Hispanic girl didn't give him all of them at once. Chuckling to herself, Vanessa realized that the girl was speaking out loud now. She assumed it was directed to her, as there was nobody else around with a child. Her gaze landed on her face, smiling. "Oh... he's a little over one year." Vanessa wasn't one of those parents who obsessed with the months, weeks, and even days. He was... about 15 months. Not that it made much of a difference.

As Vanessa eyed the stranger, she tilted her head to the side, with curiosity. Not that the girl was a striking, similar image but... it was enough to make her wonder. She looked between the girl and her son, lips pursed in thought. "He... his name is Christian. He's super friendly." Vanessa assured her, spinning the stroller so that her son was facing the stranger straight on, a cheerio hanging loosely from his grinning lips.

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The little boy, such a beautiful child, Sera thought, was the picture of her elder brother, exactly how she remembered him from their family albums. She’d spend a great deal of time looking at them over the years. It was a small album, however. Her parents weren’t much for sentiment, she’d come to realize, and had stopped taking pictures as soon as the new, novelty and excitement of having children started to fade and they became absorbed in their hardworking lives all over again. Sera would have continued it herself, if she had thought to back then.

“A year old,” she echoed softly. Her smile remained faint, though didn’t once cease as he continued to look over the baby boy in the stroller, munching away at those little oat morsels. “Christian?” Sera’s voice raised in inquiry as she confirmed his name, her eyes also raising to look upon the mother briefly before resettling on the boy. “He’s precious.”

When the woman turned the stroller to heighten Sera’s viewpoint, she once again thought that he looked vastly similar to her brother, Malachai….no, upon closer inspection, there were still some distinct features that clearly belonged to the mother beside them. A more olive skin tone, perhaps. Some small, subtle features of the face that Sera couldn’t quite place. But the boy did have the same shape in his eyes, the rectangular face, those pouty-like lips. If she didn’t know any better…. “His father must’ve been very handsome, for him to come out as beautiful as this.” Sera could watch this boy all day. She reached forward, her finger extended to brush lightly against the child’s cheek.

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa nodded, affirming her son's age to the other girl. Though her smile was faint, it was still enough to make Vanessa smile in return. She sympathized with the other parents who couldn't stop raving about their children and every major milestone. Affectionately, she began running her fingers through the strands of Christian's hair, nodding when the girl repeated his name. "Yup. Christian." Her smile widened. "Thank you. He's... he's something alright." She chuckled, her fingers twirling his dark locks. He smiled in response, giggling as he looked over with interest to the pretty Asian.

Meanwhile, Vanessa's gaze continued to eye Christian and the girl. In conclusion, she assumed that she was seeing things, and nobody could look like her son if they weren't related to her and Kai. As far as she knew, he had no siblings. It wasn't like they knew each other or spent a lot of time getting to know each other...

She dropped the train of thought, watching the interaction between the two. "He... was... is." Vanessa corrected, a flush of colour on her cheeks. "He, Christian.. he's the spitting image of his father. Place the two together and it's seeing double." It was easier to find similarities between him and Kai than herself and Christian. "Would... would you like to hold him?" She asked, before placing a few more Cheerios in front of him. "He's a sweetheart. And loves meeting new people. " The offer was there if she wanted to.

"I'm Vanessa, by the way." She introduced herself, so they could at least be on a name to name basis.

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Sera liked children. Was it too sad to say that she one day dreamed of being a mommy with someone she was madly in love with? Too girlish of her? To much fantasy dreaming? It would never happen though, after all, Sera couldn’t even get regular people to like her. Even her “closest” friends, Sera knew they didn’t really like her.

“He has a lot of hair for someone so young.” And very thick, like someone else she knew and admired. Sera almost didn’t hear the offer the woman gave to hold the baby boy. She perked her head up, her eyes widened in amazement for such generosity towards a complete stranger. “Is…is that okay?” Surely she would want something in return, for sparing such intimate contact and time from her very own flesh and blood.

The small smile was just that, small, but it was constant on the face of the young asian girl, reflective of her demeanor having been calmed from something so frigid before. Sera rose her arm gently, as if to offer it for Vanessa to shake. If Vanessa did happen to reciprocate, she would get a gentle, yet firm wrap of the girl’s fingers over her own as she offered her own introduction. “Seraphine. My friends call me Sera.” She would retract her own hand and settle it in her lap on top of the back of her other hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

At one point in her life, Vanessa too had fantasized about the day where she would have children and live a happily, married life once she established herself in the workforce and had a fair amount of money saved up. Unfortunately, life had a different idea, and here the Hispanic girl had a child at twenty three, lived in a cramped apartment with her one year old son. Not exactly the dream she had been hoping for, but... Vanessa brushed aside the negative thoughts to engage in the conversation again.

She chuckled, running her hands through the dark locks of Christian's hair again. "Yeah, he does have a lot doesn't he? Don't know where it came from." Probably from Kai's side. Vanessa noticed the girl perking up at the thought, her own smile widening with generosity. "Of course. So long as you don't drop my son, it's okay." She joked with a snort, but was of course 100% serious. If the pretty stranger did anything to her son... Vanessa could feel the anger boiling inside at the mere thought. Reaching down, she unbuckled Christian from the stroller and gestured with open arms to her son. "Feel free if you'd like to."

Assuming the girl was giving her the hand to shake, the Hispanic girl took the cold, frail feeling hand in her own. She shivered at the lingering coolness, opposite to her hot hand. Shaking her hand, Vanessa nodded thoughtfully. "Sera it is then. It's such a pretty and unique name." Fitting for the girl. "You as well."

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Sera honestly couldn’t stop looking at the child, he was far to beautiful for the girl to take her eyes off of. She wanted one….too bad she couldn’t have this one. Besides, it wasn’t like it was the son of the person she admired most.

The girl pursed her lips into a coyly offended smile and chuckled lightly. “I would never drop such a precious gem.” Mmmm…yes he was a gem, she thought as she took up Vanessa’s invitation and reached down to wrap her thin arms around the little bundle. Were this her child she would would name him…Pieter. Yes, that would do much more nicely than Christian.

Sera held the boy like he was the most fragile thing on earth, but also the most darling thing she’d ever laid eyes on. “Thank you,” she commented at the other woman’s compliment. “I always thought so too.” Her smile faded into something more shy and a tint of pink appeared on her white cheeks. “It comes from Seraphinite, the gemstone.” She paused, giving a little coo to the boy in her arms before continuing. “Our parents, my brother and I, did the same thing with both our names.” It was really quite clever of them, she thought. If they’d never given her anything else, then they at least gave her a name that she loved.

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

"Not that I was saying you would." Vanessa quickly added, not wanting to sound accusatory... but it was already too late for that. She brushed aside the fact that she probably offended Sera and continued on. Beaming proudly, Vanessa watched with a careful eye, relieved to see the way the other girl was holding her son. Her arms cradled him gently, and all of the Hispanic girl's fears melted away.

Christian took a moment to adjust, happily gurgling quietly to himself. Though he had yet to say 'real' words, the boy frequently yelled and made a lot of noise. His lips bubbled, happy to be held by someone. Vanessa hadn't heard of the gemstone before, but it was fitting. Sera had a certain elegance and beauty of a jewel. "Oh, you're both named after gemstones? That's a good idea." She mused to herself. Vanessa didn't know where the name Christian came from; it had no special significance. She remembered reading the name online and it was the one that had stuck with her. "Who's your brother?" She asked, out of curiosity. Vanessa watched the interaction between the two, pleased to see that Christian seemed to be taking well to Sera.

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Such an interaction only further proved how unsuited Sera was social interactions. The quiet girl attempted to further a joke, but had somehow come across as being much more offended than she really was. Those kind of silly “mean” jokes that she saw people throw out at each other as a sign of friendliness were something that she was only allowed to get away with with her brother. That likely had something to do with the fact that they were siblings and had grown up together and knew each other better than anybody else could ever hope. Though even then, Malachai knew that Sera was an incredibly serious person; therefore it was hard to tell when she was joking. Not that Sera realized how that came across to other people.

Sera simply brushed the topic aside and concentrated more on the baby boy in her arms. Oh….Sera had just so utterly and completely fallen in love with this child’s face. It wouldn’t be proper for her to just borrow the boy for a day or two, right? Let Sera live out her dream just a little bit? She’d give him back!

Maybe.

“Mmm…” she agreed softly to the hispanic woman as she continued to dote on the little boy. Sera barely had enough attention to spare to the real mother of the child. But then the topic of her brother came up and Sera’s eyes seemed to spark up with a renewed interest. “Oh, I doubt you’ve heard of him unless you went to our high school or come from a…” Sera glanced down at Vanessa briefly, taking in her obviously disadvantaged visage, “…a less average background.” Sera didn’t care if that was offensive. It was true. “But his name is Malachai Roen. He’s just finishing up his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Vermont.”

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa couldn't help but to feel smug as she watched the stunning stranger fall for her son. Just like everyone else. The way her eyes completely focused on the little boy, in a world where the mother didn't exist. It was okay, though. Vanessa was use to that sort of behaviour. Christian stole the show, no matter where he went. Just like his father, Malachai. The two had a certain way of enrapturing one's attention.

She thought back to vague and fuzzy night, where her eyes had first landed on him a couple years back. A party, somewhere. The room had shifted, and it was like there was a dazzling spotlight on Kai. The Hispanic girl had falling into the trance, and one thing led to another. After giving birth to Christian, the exact same thing had happened, except she was still in the trance and fell more in love with her son everyday. Now she understood the phrase 'a mother's love.'

The interaction between Christian and Sera continued, until Vanessa had brought up the subject of her brother. She shifted, visibly uncomfortable, as the Asian girl pointed out the state of her clothes. A pair of cropped yoga pants that fit a little too tightly around the thighs and a thin purple tank top. Maybe her attire would change, thanks to the spending allowance that...

Holy shit.

The Hispanic girl's eyes widened, unable to contain the shock. It really was a small world, afterall. Her heart started to race, as she wondered what to do. Did she tell Sera that her older brother was the father to her kid, the boy she now held in her arms. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. The anger that Vanessa felt from Sera pointing out her lack of wealth quickly dissipated, unable to process the rest of her sentence.

"I... I know him. He uh, we... we went to school together." She said, her eyebrows furrowed together with a frown on her face. "University, I should say." Her eyes landed on Christian. "He... uh... we... you know." She nodded towards her son, gesturing in what Vanessa hoped was her blatantly implying that it was his son, as well as hers.

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There seemed to be something wrong with the other woman after Sera had mentioned her brother. Sera didn’t notice it at first, she was easily distracted by the baby Christian, but when she saw Vanessa sitting there with her mouth gaping open like a trout, she tilted her head in slight curiosity.

Oh? So she did know him?

That was mildly surprising, though not implausible. Malachai did happen to meet a lot of women in his time, either at his workplace or around school. Sera just didn’t expect him to have befriended a mother…

Though as the woman spoke, the wheels started spinning, slowly but surely. Mother. Who knew Malachai. And had a baby. Who…looked…like Malachai….

Along with the suggestive gestures and unfinished sentence, Sera would have been a fool to not figure it out. She stared at Vanessa, then switched her gaze back to Christian. “Oh…” she said shortly. Sera didn’t know what to say. “He didn’t…that can’t be, he didn’t tell me…he would’ve told me…” There was surprise in her voice, but more than that, there was…pain.

Malachai didn’t—why didn’t he tell her? Something this important, he would have! Should have! Sera turned her head back to Vanessa, her face clearly upset. “You mean all this time he’s had a…and he’s been hiding it?” Why would he hide it from Sera? (Gee, I wonder?)

It just…wasn’t fair.

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa wasn't surprised to see the shock and the 'really?' look on Sera's face after she told her that her and Kai knew each other. That sounded... better then what was actually the case. At the time, it had been a hookup, an attraction between two strangers which lead to this. To reconciling and reconnecting, all for the good of Christian.

She held her breath as it dawned on Sera. Oh. The simple word that said so much more. Her eyes landed on Christian, flickering to Sera, a sad expression on her face. How was it possible that her son looked more like the baby's aunt? Even the emotionally inept Vanessa could hear the pain in Sera's voice. "Oh... uhm, well..." The Hispanic girl trailed off, fidgeting with her fingers. Part of her wanted to take Christian pack, to hold him and breathe in his smell. Her little bundle of joy provided much needed comfort, especially in the now awkward situation.

She didn't know how to handle it. Her own face fell, shaking her head. "No... no, you see... it's... it's not his fault." Vanessa hesitated, before reaching out and touching the younger girl on the shoulder. "We..." There was no easy way to say it except to be blunt. "It was a hookup. One night stand, sort of thing." She mumbled, looking to the ground in shame. "And... I got pregnant. And I was so scared. I didn't tell him. I moved back home, where my family is. Recently, I have been thinking and... and it wasn't fair what I did. I should have told him, and I realize my mistake now. I only came back a few months ago." The Hispanic girl pulled her arm back from Sera. "I didn't know if he was even still around. But it wasn't fair what I did." She repeated, feeling her eyes water up. "He... Christian deserves to have a fatherly figure in his life and it was a mistake, running away. It was me hiding it from him. I'm sure he would have told you had he known."

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Of….of all the things that this penniless spic could be, she just had to be the mother of Malachai’s child??

And Malachai…had a child…at all??

This was….Sera had no idea how she was supposed to take this news. It couldn’t be true! But the similarities between the child and her brother were unmistakable. The kid didn’t even look like his own mother. It figured, the poor girl’s genes weren’t even strong enough to match up with Malachai’s superior—

That wasn’t the point! The point was that this…was her brother’s son.

Her brother’s son…

Malachai’s son….

He was…beautiful…

Sera barely heard any of the explanation that Vanessa was rattling off as she continued to gaze upon the beautiful child. Something about a one-night stand…which was unsurprising, but Malachai was usually more careful than this. “It’s okay,” she said softly, not taking her eyes from Christian. “You’re right. He does deserve to be with his father.” Sera pulled the boy closer in for a tight embrace, turning slightly to Vanessa with a small smile. “I can’t believe how perfect he is.” There was a faint glisten in her eyes as she looked at the Hispanic woman. “I…I can watch him. If you ever need a break from it. Raising a child must be tiresome, however rewarding.” Sera might’ve just been looking for an excuse to stay with the boy longer, before Vanessa decided to take him away to continue her trip around the mall. Or even worse, take him home. Who knows when Sera might be able to see little Christian again?