Alicante, Idris, Tuesday Afternoon

[seveninchmotto]

Well, Isabelle knew this had been coming. She was packing an overnight bag in her room when her father happened to glance in on his way past the open door. He said he was on his way out, to anoher meeting, then asked, "Back to New York again?"

Isabelle flicked her hair over her shoulder as she straightened up, leaving the bag be for the moment. "I'm going to Fandom," she said, far more chirpy than necessary. "I'm teaching a workshop there for the next month and a half. Didn't I tell you?"

She knew she hadn't told him. He'd been busy with his work – the endless Clave meetings on how to rebuild their people after the war – and she hadn't felt like talking about it. Or arguing about it, which seemed like the case might have been.

Predictably, her father looked wary, at best. "Teaching? A workshop on what, exactly?"

"Oh, being fabulous while fighting." She was going to think of the twitch of his lips as a trick of the light. He couldn't have possibly wanted to smile at that. Not Robert Lightwood. "We're going to talk about feather boa care as well as the right outfits for the weapons you want to conceal. That kind of thing."

"And you think that's useful to teach to mundanes?"

One day Robert was going to understand the difference between Fandomites and people on the street back in NYC. But guess today wasn't that day. So Isabelle rolled her eyes. "They teach mundanes at the Academy, too." Like Flick, for instance.

"That's different."

"It's not, really."

At this response, her father huffed, quiet and exasperated. Then he shook his head. "I wouldn't have expected you to take an interest in teaching, Isabelle."

Isabelle shrugged as she went to pick up another dress she'd laid out on the bed. Sure, she wasn't intending to go to Fandom for many days at a time, but a girl needed options! "Well, I'm an expert in my field," she quipped, "so it seems only right that I should pass my knowledge on to some younger people. And besides..." She trailed off, seemingly considering the dress she was holding. Really, she was considering whether she wanted to say this next part out loud. To him. Their relationship, while slowly getting better, wasn't still anything you'd call good. She didn't really trust him.

And yet.

"I don't know, when I was at the hospital, I had time to think," she continued, trying for idle and just hitting softer, "it just came to me that I wanted to, I don't know. Do something useful?"

"Isabelle!" When she looked over at her father, he was –– did he look paler than he had just a moment ago? "When were you at the hospital?"

"Mom didn't tell you?"

"No, your mother did not tell me. So why were you at the hospital?"

"I had an allergic reaction to some tulips." She didn't need to be more specific than that. The last thing she needed was her father trying to accuse her boyfriend of trying to poison her. "I couldn't really breathe for a little bit there, so we went to the hospital and I had to stay over for observation for a bit. But it was no big deal."

Robert didn't look like it wasn't a big deal. "And when was this?"

She shrugged. "A couple of weeks ago. But it wasn't a big deal." Yes it had been. "It was just a surprise." And a surprise that would mean she'd be checking bouquets of flowers a little more carefully from now on. But there was a limit to what she was willing to reveal here. "Anyway, so, that's part of why I'm going." A beat, then she added for levity: "But mostly I just want to show off in front of the new kids."

Her father looked like he was going to do something. It looked sort of like he wanted to move closer.

But he didn't.

The moment passed. "Well," he said. "Then I suppose I'll see you whenever you come back, and you can tell me more about this teaching work. Now, I have to go."

And so he left.

[ooc: NFB but open for that guy that lives in this country, should he so wish.]

Comments

[flickofthewrist]

Flick really hoped her dad wasn't home when he knocked on the door. It wasn't that he didn't like the man but he wanted to avoid awkward conversations. Flick and Mrs. Lightwood had made a tentative sort of peace but there was nothing like that with her father.

So, he knocked and hoped that the elder male Lightwood did not answer the door.

[seveninchmotto]

He'd just missed her father. Too bad.

(No, it wasn't.)

Isabelle came to the door after a moment. It was a long way down from the second floor, especially for someone still mid-packing. But she looked delighted when she got there and opened the door. "Baby! Hi!"

[flickofthewrist]

"Hey," Flick said, leaning close to give her a kiss in greeting. "Miss me?"

[seveninchmotto]

"Always," Isabelle murmured against his lips, even curling the fingers of one hand into his shirt. It was still street-appropriate! "Miss me too?"

[flickofthewrist]

"Wouldn't have sneaked out of the Academy if I didn't," Flick said, smiling at her brightly. "So, if someone angrily comes knocking at your door in a few hours, just ignore them."

[seveninchmotto]

Isabelle snickered as she tried to usher him in the door. Or, you know, pull him in by his shirt.

"I like the sound of that."

[flickofthewrist]

"You like the sound of some angry old person knocking your door, trying to drag me away?" Flick asked, stumbling in after her and snickering. "Your kinks are strange."

[seveninchmotto]

Isabelle stuck her tongue out at him while closing the door. "My kinks are amazing and you know it." Intimately. "But it's the sneaking away for me that I like."

[flickofthewrist]

"Ah. Well, for a Shadowhunter Academy, the security is a little lax," Flick said, smiling lazily at her. "What have you been up to?"

[seveninchmotto]

"Packing."

No person should sound so thrilled about that. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, for the last half an hour, anyway."

[flickofthewrist]

"Packing for what?" Flick asked her, arching an eyebrow. "Going on a trip?"

[seveninchmotto]

"Kind of," she replied, smiling impishly.

She really couldn' hold out on telling him for too long. She was pretty excited – and with him, she could actually show it. "I'm going to go teach a workshop in Fandom!"

[flickofthewrist]

"You're going to teach?" Flick sounded momentarily surprised but that eventually gave way to a smile and a laugh. "What are you going to teach them? How to be beautiful and kill a man in the same breath?"

[seveninchmotto]

Isabelle's expression turned even more pleased (if that was even possible) at him getting so close with his guess.

"More or less!" she said. "I'm teaching them how to be fabulous while fighting."

[flickofthewrist]

"Really?" he asked, chuckling. "That's a perfect subject for you, Izzy. Hopefully you don't get someone too hopeless to teach. Might make it hard on the poor, new teacher."

[seveninchmotto]

"I think I can guide just about anyone to an appropriate level of fabulousity, no matter how hopeless," Isabelle mused, before stealing another quick kiss. "I believe in myself."

Of course she did.

[flickofthewrist]

"Uh huh," Flick said, amused. "I don't know if anyone should be giving you this type of power. It might go to your head, baby."

[seveninchmotto]

"Never."

Because she was already a smug bastard. She pulled away, trying to take his hand. "Come on. Let's go upstairs."

[flickofthewrist]

"What's upstairs?" he asked playfully. "You're not going to make me pack for you, are you?"

[seveninchmotto]

"Oh, I wouldn't trust you to fold things right," Isabelle teased back, pulling him along. "But maybe you can entertain me."

[flickofthewrist]

"I can fold things just fine!" Flick told her, laughing. "But, I can probably entertain you better."

[seveninchmotto]

"Please, you're much better at taking complicated clothing items off me than you are at packing them for me."

She was pretty sure she was right.

[flickofthewrist]

"A compliment and an insult all in one statement," Flick observed with a low whistle. "That's impressive. Exactly how much are you going to pack?"

[seveninchmotto]

"Not much," she said, pulling him up the big, sturdy stairs. "I don't intend to stay in Fandom for more than a couple of days at a time. So I'm only taking enough for that, including outfit options."

Because, of course.

"Honestly, I'm mostly packed already."

[flickofthewrist]

Once they were in her bedroom, Flick sat down on the bed and stretched his legs out in front of him.

"You told your parents this is something you're doing? I imagine they'll notice your absence so what'd they think about you teaching a bunch of...mundanes?"