famous last words (papa flint)

[Axelle Flint]

Now that it was getting colder outside Axelle had taken to slightly heavier sweaters in preparation for the cold that was to follow. She hated being cold. Luckily she didn't have to worry about freezing yet as it was towards the end of October but seriously, she was not looking forward to it. Today, however was not necessarily about the upcoming cold weather, it was about her and her father enjoying some quality time together outside of their garage. Since neither of them could be too fussed to leave the town today they had wound up at the mall. Her grandfather had driven off sometime that morning to go fishing and the father/daughter duo had enjoyed a late breakfast before getting dressed and taking a ride to the only viable place of interest at the moment. She wasn't sure if there was anything she needed, but there were certainly lots of things that she wanted. Nothing of which seemed all that appealing when she realized that if she kept her eyes open she might be able to afford the designer clothes at really cheap prices at the second hand store in about a month.

Not that Axelle was usually fussed about clothing. She tended to wear the same thing many times until it fell apart. Though, a nice pair of jeans without rips or stains on them might be nice. She did have a nice white pair that she was intending to use for a date at some point, but the thought of even getting them dirty tended to almost trigger hysterics...they were nice pants, in fact she might not even wear them for the date….she might never wear them at all. Maybe she’d just frame them and enjoy them behind glass. For some reason that made her think about where her dad was. He’d wandered off to look at something but since he’d left Axelle with a tray full of French fries (her one unhealthy favorite snack indulgence) and a milkshake, she was less inclined to care…except the fries and milkshake were gone and she was starting to wonder what the old man was up to. Not that her dad was old, by any stretch of the word there were some men his age just starting their lives, he’d been a father since he was a teenager (basically) and in any way, he’d always be old to her, at least in some ways that a father simply is old to his teenage daughter.

Sighing, she decided to at least throw her garbage away and when she went to return to her table, found it had been taken over by a large, not very nice looking family and she was too shocked to want to try and get her table back. She took up a casual stance near some potted plants and kept an eye out as best she could for her errant father.

[Christopher Flint]

Money was often tight for the Flint family. Working in a garage wasn’t the most glamorous life. He had always dreamed of something with more limelight and a career where his name would adorn concert halls. He didn’t resent what he did, of course, but he still dreamt of something more. He was given a bit of a chance these days to follow what he really wanted to to some small degree. His beautiful daughter had dove into the work at the garage, which gave Chris time to get out and perform. They were never grand performances of course. He mainly worked with Captain Morgan to put some relaxation into the busy lives of bar patrons. Thankfully after a few drinks people were willing to give more freely and he had received a helpful sum for his performances.

None of it would have been possible if it wasn’t for Axelle, though. While money was usually tight Chris found himself with enough extra coming into the later months that he could splurge some. Of course one of his first thoughts was to buy a new hat. He saw a stenson that he thought he could rock, even if it wasn’t his normal cover. He decided to push that urge aside, however, and spend a bit of money for an early christmas present. He knew how much his daughter hated the cold, and how much she loved his old leather jacket. It was about time to get her her own. While he didn’t know too much about fashion he knew a good deal about leather. The new jacket was gorgeous. Not the highest end, but a respectable brand, make, and look. It was tough. That was the main selling point for Chris. The seams would last and the skin would hold up to her active life. He had hoped. These jackets could hold up as a biker was dragged across the road, so he hoped it could handle what his teenage daughter would do.

He had dropped off the present into his truck before he was making his way back to the food court. He had parked it near the food court’s entrance (It was almost unavoidable that they’d stop there before the shopping was done with Axelle) and so the trek back wasn’t far.

Chris was a little lost at first when he made his way to where he -thought- the table was. Where he thought he left her a large family was filling up the seats. He could’ve sworn that he had sat where one of the younger kids was sitting with his foot tucked under his butt. It took Chris some time before he found his bearings and spotted the bright hair of his daughter situated near some potted plants. She looked like a bright rose sticking out of the plant itself, amid all of the chaos of people running about starting their holiday shopping and such.

“Hey Baby.” Chris said as he moved to Axelle’s side. He flung his arm around her, usually the one to initiate hugs, and gave her a firm squeeze before kissing the rose-like hair on his small daughter’s head. “You filled up?”

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle leaned into her father's hug as he put his arm around her, her own coming up carefully to come around his waist. There was a very quick, light hug and then she let go, pulling away after the kiss. "Yeah, the fries weren't bad," she informed him as they headed off in no particular direction. She was a bit embarrassed about him kissing her in public but also knew that complaining about it wouldn't change a damn thing. Her father was going to kiss her head whether she liked it or not and if she wanted to escape with dignity she'd let him do it with minimal fuss. She learned that lesson when she was twelve, it had been quite traumatizing to her pre-teen psyche.

She put her hands into her pockets, to keep from accidently touching things and breaking them, she had a very strict, personal “look with your eyes and not your hands” policy when it came to shopping. “Where did you go? You took like, forever…you didn’t like go off and make out with some chick didja?” she asked with a sidelong glance. Not that she would actually blame him, he needed love as much as the next person. Besides she KNEW he got some…occasionally. Just because he THOUGHT he was good at covering up his liaisons didn’t mean he was. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair and felt it. She would need to deep condition it here soon. She didn’t know why her dad always let her dye her hair this red, but she wasn’t going to complain any time soon. She thought wistfully about the really expensive conditioner she saw advertised in the hair salons, she wanted to try it sometime, but it was such a waste of money when it might not even be all that different. For now she made do with ridiculously cold water when it came time to wash her hair.

[Christopher Flint]

“They better have been… Hell if that was a ‘large’ fries, then the grand canyon’s just a ditch along the road… But heck, if they were good then it’s worth it.” He watched her as she pulled away and shoved her hands into her pockets. His smile faded some as he saw it. She needed to keep her hands away, but it still hurt that his baby girl wouldn’t feel comfortable touching what she wanted.

They walked alongside each other through the food court and into the main portion of the store by the time she had spoken up. Gone off and made out with someone? Heh, if only. He wouldn’t change what he had actually done for anything, though. He was proud of himself and thankful for everything that he was able to get that little gift. He just wished christmas could get there sooner.

“Well, you know how it is baby… I got a text from Halle asking if I could give her a little of your old man. And who am I to turn down Ms. Berry? I'll tell you what though, we made that lady by the Shoe Barn a little uncomfortable when we were blocking the opening. She’s crazy for tall bald men, you know.” Okay, maybe he would’ve given up the purchase if it meant he could go and make out with Halle Berry. The movie was awful, but the things he’d do to her in that Catwoman cat-suit…

“So where do you feel like going first, Baby? We can run over to that Build-a-bear place if you want, or we can go sit over by that Spencers place and watch the kinds of people who walk into it.” There was no denying that Chris loved his people watching, and it was one of his favorite activities with his little Rose.

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle laughed at her dad's jokes (which were horrible but also funny in that horrible dad way) and shook her head. When he mentioned making out with Halle Berry she had to nod in approval. "Alright, that's fair...if you're sweet enough on her maybe she'll propose and we can be one of those crazy dysfunctional Hollywood celebrity families that's actually super sane and grounded," she suggested brightly. "I have to get a nose job though, everyone will insist and then MTV will make a show about it and call it...I don't know, "The Mechanic and the Starlet", something super cheesy like that; and while they're following your romantic story I can pop in now and then for comedic relief!" she laughed.

She enjoyed teasing her father and she knew that he enjoyed teasing her, they had a really good relationship and she was thankful for it. She was especially thankful for it when they could spend time alone together and have fun. "Ooooo Build-a-Bear," she sighed enviously, thinking of all the cute stuffed animals and their clothes and how monumentally expensive it all was. Besides, they didn't have anything that could really stand up to HER cuddles, she'd flatted her fair share of regular, run of the mill pillows and stuffed animals before her guardians had figured out that the harder the stuffing was to begin with the better off it was. Probably why her latest stuffed animal was a piece of molded metal with a reinforced fabric covering. She still wasn't sure where her grandfather had gotten that but was convinced her dad had helped make the "stuffing". She tried not to tell people her stuffed rabbit was made of metal...it would be weird.

"Spencer's." she answered quickly despite the monologue of thoughts in her head. "You know they sell really weird stuff in there, but a lava lamp would be really cool," she said.

[Christopher Flint]

“Grease Monkeys… That’s what I’d call it, but it’s not like anyone would let us name it, you know? They’d probably come up with their own name, putting in a cheesy line about ‘They can fix a car, but can they fix their family’ or something. Good question though. I don’t know how I feel about you getting your nose done, though. I don’t care if Seacrest throws a fit about it… Wait, is he the MTV guy these days?” He gave her a sideways smile and bumped into her as they walked. “But heck, if Halle is willing to pay for whatever kinda jack-hammer they’ll need to work on your nose, then I guess I’ll be fine. But no paint job, and no coke, deal?”

He was surprised by her decision to go to spencers after she had that little coo of delight at the build a bear idea, but he was actually pretty happy with it. He wasn’t a fan of going to places where there were a bunch of kids and parents… other parents were the worst, and he felt like he needed to instruct them how to do their job better every time.

“Alright, Spencers it is. I’m not sure about a lava lamp though… You mean like in your room, or in the middle of the house? I could at least see one in your room.” Chris lead his daughter to Spencers and was pretty pleased to see that there was a bench that wasn’t occupied right in front of the store. He flopped down on the chair and put his arm across the back of the couch.

“Last time I went I saw one of those kids with the big holes in their ears… You know, the ones as big as a damned quarter? He had strung his headset through them… I mean, hell, if you’re going to do that to your body, best make good use of it.”

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle laughed. "Yeah, yeah deal. Besides, who'd want to snort soda anyway?" she wondered out loud, clearly teasing. Shoot, if Halle Berry ended up being her step-mother that meant that she could run elbows with some Hollywood elite...maybe even Chris Hemsworth...he was Thor after all. The thought was enough to make her very happy, she did like Thor after all. She thought about where she would put a lava lamp. She doubted that it would last long in her room. "We should get one for Grandpa. He'd totally keep it safe in his room since I'm not allowed to go in there, but I can look at it through the open door wistfully whenever he leaves it open," she laughed.

She sat down next to her father (more carefully) and leaned back. She looked over and saw her father's hand resting on the back of the bench and smiled. It was like sitting on the couch back home, but this time there was no popcorn to help enjoy the show. She snickered at his description of the earrings. “Gauges papa, they’re called gauges,” she informed him in that longsuffering way teenagers are wont to do when their parents totally butcher something that was supposed to be cool. “But they’re gross anyway, even if they were useful once you take the earring out you just have a loose flap of skin. I mean, tats are one thing ya know? Floppy ears aren’t cool. OH! Remember that one song from when I was a kid? ‘Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow’?” she sang the first part, nodding her head left and right to the beat. “I think it applies rather well in this situation."

She watched as a group of kids just a little older than her entered the shop. What would they buy? She supposed that they would wait to find out. "Did you ever have anything cool when you were a teenager?" she asked, completely spacing out about the fact that TECHNICALLY she could have been the cool thing he had when he was a teenager (late teen but still).