996/Next Daze

Next Daze
Date of Scene:	05 April 2020
Location:	New York
Synopsis:	Mary meets Joan and Jay Garrick, and fun wholesome times are had!
Cast of Characters:	Bart Allen, Mary Bromfield

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Bart Allen has posed:
It was the day after Bart and Mary's excellent first date! Though that was at the homefront, Bart decides to give Mary a bit more time before he introduces her to the Garricks, just so Jay doesn't embarass him right off the bat.

How much time is that, you might ask? Well....

Probably about three hours. He had taken Mary to see 'The Invisible Man' movie that was in theaters, and now he is walking the short distance between there to his house, smiling at Mary a little bit. He was dressed a little bit more relaxed today. This time a red jacket with a white shirt and deep blue jeans. Of course, running shoes are a must.

"Okay, so...my family is a liiiitttle bit strange to the outside eye, not unlike yours, and the Garricks are a little older. Jay and Joan are their names and well....Jay is fine, Joan might rib you a bit." He squeezes Mary's hand. "Think you're up for it?"

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins over at Bart, wearing jeans and her Owlbear Preservation Society T-shirt, as well as a denim jacket since it's still a bit cool outside. She's not used to having a boy be interested in her, let alone this interested...

But honestly, she likes it. "Okay, I'll be on my best behavior, Bart." She pauses, and then grins over at him, "That was an interesting movie to suggest for a first... well, second date. Though I guess we watched demons try and murder humanity for the first, so that's all right."

A pause, and then she roars out, "MANCUBUS!!!" before giggling a bit. Apparently she enjoyed the previous night a lot.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart smiles at her then and leans in to kiss her cheek. "Crash." He smiles at her then, before he shrugs. "Well, I thought it would be exciting. Nothing like a good thriller to put you in a mood to meet the foster parents, right?" Bart looks uncertain about that, and is in fact now seriously questioning his previous decision.

But! He chuckles. "We did, and it was awesome. Nothing like watching people slay demons en masse, am I right?'

THe pause is shared. And then, as if reading her mind, Bart shouts with her.

"MANCUBUS!!!"

He even throws his free hand into the air and he starts laughing a little bit. "Ah man, best night in a long time." Then they are at the door and Bart unlocks it with his keys. "Here's hoping..." he mutters to Mary. "Jay? Joan? I got company over!" There silence for a moment, before an older-looking woman walks to the door. "Ah, Bart! You finally brought a significant other over! Oh I'm so proud of you, she looks so pretty!" she offers her hand to Mary. "I'm Joan Garrick, Nice to meet you sweetheart."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary laughs as Bart chimes in with her, "Yeah, well, that was definitely a cool one-shot, for sure..." She grins over at him, and blushes a bit at the kiss on her cheek. She does, however, lean back and return the gesture, her lips soft and smelling faintly of strawberries.

Then they arrive! And Joan gets a warm smile from Mary as Mary accepts the offered hand, "Mary Bromfield. It's nice to meet you."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart turns beat red when Mary leans back in to kiss him on the cheek like he did for her, and he looks back over to her...and he really thinks about kissing her properly. But then there's mom! Dangit, threw off his groove.

He does squeeze Mary's hand a little tighter as a display of affection, before he's moving a bit closer to her so that they are side to side.

"Mary? Oh what a beautiful name." Joan says, before Jay makes his appearance. "Bart? Who'd ya bring with ya this time, kid?" His old eyes widen. "Oooohhh Hi there little lady." Joan leans over to Jay. "This is my husband, Jason, but everybody just calls him Jay. Jay, this is Bart's lovely girlfriend Mary."

Jay seems to extend his hand for Mary as well. "Nice to meet ya." Then he asides to Bart. "She's a keeper Bart, nice and respectful. I knew you had it in ya!"

Bart seems to wince internally and groans. "Jaaayy, don't embarass me in front of the lady..." Bart seems slightly embarassed at his foster dads antics, but he looks at Mary with a smile anyway.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary blushes a little bit, then grins, taking Jay's hand. I mean, she doesn't think she's Bart's girlfriend just yet... they just started dating! But you don't need the Wisdom of Solomon to know that protesting that is the last thing you want to do.

Besides, Bart is pretty nice, so there's worse things to be called, "Well, thank you. I mean, we only just started going out, but so far it's been going pretty well." She flashes Bart a reassuring grin. I mean, he did survive Darla and Victor, so this isn't really too bad.

Of course, at some point he might meet the other brothers...

Bart Allen has posed:
Oh God, wait until Bart meets Fred. Won't that be a fun time? He should survive Billy with very few issues...but you can never know for certain some days.

This is one of those days.

Nevertgeless, Jay gives a firm handshake and then he's putting a hand on Bart's head, messing up his hair. "Hey!" He calls out, but Jay laughs.

"Hah! that explains a lot. Maybe Bart hasn't scared ya away yet, but give it time." His wink suggests that he's kidding.

Meanwhile, Joan. gives the man a sharp elbow to the side in a nudge. "Oh you leave them alone." Then to Mary. "Can I get you something to drink sweetheart?"

Bart meantime gives a playful nudge of his own to Mary, smiling at her. We?re the official? Probably not yet. But maybe soon. "So far so crash." Bart confirms.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "Well, what do you have?" She grins a bit at Jay's teasing, rolling with it as she says, "Well, I have five younger siblings, so I don't scare that easy. And really, Bart and I do have a lot in common." She chuckles a bit, then looks curiously at Bart, "Crash?" Apparently she's not used to that word in the context, anyway...

Bart Allen has posed:
"Well, I just made some fresh lemonade?" Joan offers to Mary and starts wandering off towards the kitchen, while Bart looks at Mary with a nervous smile.

"Oh! Hah, Hah! right, Crash. See, my wordplay ain't like yours and there?s, so think of crash liiiike awesome. So Breaking the Mode for example would be pretty crash." He smiles.

Does it make sense?

Meanwhile, Jay chuckles. "So! tell us a bit of yourself Mary?"

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary ahs, and smiles at Joan, "Lemonade would be perfect, thank you." She then looks over at Jay, "Well, I started college this semester, so that's been keeping me pretty busy. But I'm still living at home, since... well, dorms are pretty expensive... and there's also my siblings to look after too. I mean, my foster parents are there, but there's five more besides me, so." A bit of a shrug, as she apparently has a pretty full plate.

And that's not even counting secret identities.

She then adds, "Though, right now, I'm also working as a barista at the Coffee Bean. It's actually where Bart and I met."

Bart Allen has posed:
"Coming right up!" Says Joan, who walks into the kitchen to pull stuff out and prepare.

Meanwhile, Jay gestures for Bart and Mary to follow, which Bart does as he leads Mary along. "Best day ever by the way." Says Bart with a smile in Mary's direction.

"College kid huh? nice. Bart goes over to that Happy Harbor place. He's a good kid."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary gives Bart a curious look at that, "Oh, Happy Harbor? That seems like it'd be pretty interesting... I know a friend of mine was trying to get in, but she couldn't make it. Julie Power." She smiles at Jay, "And Bart has been a perfect gentleman." She follows long with Bart, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze as she lets him lead for the moment.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart smiles a little bit at Mary. "Yeah, I go there. I heard a little bit about Julie and I felt really bad. Place is really strict though, so sometimes its fun...and sometimes its just plain not." He shakes his head a little sadly.

But of course, Jay pitches in. "But he's a smart kid, Straight A student over there. If you're the type of gal who likes smart boys, well, you didn't exactly pick the wrong one." He smirks.

Meanwhile, Joan brings Mary the cup of lemonade before she asks. "So, how long have you two been going out? Bart talks the world about ya-"

"Jooooan?!" Bart groans a little bit, like she just spoiled that he was already head over heels, but Joan just smiles and winks at Bart before she continues.

"-and he says you're an amazing young woman."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary blushes a bit, "Well, um... we've been going out, like, two days?" She grins at Bart when Joan outs him, then laughs very softly, "Though the future looks fairly promising from what I can tell." She does look impressed at the mention of straight As, her grin quirking just a bit higher as she looks pretty pleased that the Jay and Joan are talking him up like this.

"And well, he's a pretty amazing guy, I think. It's definitely fun to hang out together, that's for sure. Especially when lemonade is involved." She sips the lemonade, smiling a bit at Joan, "Thanks, this is perfect."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart seems ro rub the back of his neck a little bit before Mary starts to talk, and then he's looking at her in the eyes as she implies that the future is very promising from the current standpoint. "Aww, shucks." Bart smiles and gives Mary's hand an appreciative squeeze. "I mean, if you ask me, I think this is going to be great, I really do. Especially since you're that amazing."

Joan visibly awws, but Jay kinda gives Bart a look that says 'really kid? Thats what you got?'

There's always two kinds of people, folks.

All the same, Joan continues to speak. "Oh I'm so glad it is, honey. To be honest, I'm rooting for you." Both parents seem very approving of Mary, and its only confirmed when Jay speaks next. "Personally, I agree. I can tell that you're a good girl for Bart and well, I know Bart mainly brought ya here for our approval in that regard and well, I think you've got it kid."

Bart seems to visibly smile. After all, he doesn't want to date someone his parents despise. But Mary is such a likeable and lovely person! So he knew it was gonna be a success.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Well, thanks. I really appreciate it, and you both seem really nice. I can see where Bart gets a lot of his good character." She blushes pretty brightly under all the praise, then coughs a bit, "And well, my little brothers weren't around last night to terrorize Bart, so here's hoping they don't scare him off. There's four of them you see."

But she gives Bart a wry look, "But they aren't as scary as Darla, and you handled her just fine." With that, Bart gets a reassuring wink.

Bart Allen has posed:
The parents smile then at the pair, before Jay starts to get up out of his chair. "Hah, he was already a good kid when we picked him up. Bart's just like that." He smiles at Mary then. "All we did was make sure he grew up right and safe."

Right, yes. Safe, no. Of course, the Garricks are in the know about Kid Flash, but thankfully they are extremely tight-lipped about it. Bart keepsh is attention almost completely on Mary though as he ponders for a moment. "Well, Thats pretty true. Though, personally I'm not worried. I survived the scariest of the tykes I think. That little girl looks like she could bench press the world." Of course, he's talking Darla up, but honestly, Bart really enjoyed Darla's company and just found it endearing that Darla was so protective of her adopted sister.

"So, I can definitely handle anything."

But, all the same, Joan gets up too. "Alright, I better get Jay his meds so he can rest today. He keeps doin' too much and his age keeps getting upset with him. We'll talk with you kids later, okay?"

The Garricks seem to retreat upstairs...even though Joan is totally trying to eavesdrop.

"So...yeah, thems my parents." He smiles.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "Well, they seem really nice, Bart... I definitely see where you get some of your behavior." She tilts her head, looking around the house, "Just seems... well, kinda quiet here. But then I'm used to horde of brothers running amok in the house that this is, relaxing." She pauses, then chuckles a bit ruefully, "Not something I'm used to in a home. Well, home is relaxing, but it's also //bustling//."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart gives Mary a warm smile as he shifts so that he's more facing her rather than being side-by-side. "Heh, yeah. They're a fun crowd, definitely. Though they're a little older, they haven't lost use of the mouth at all, really." Bart shrugs. "But I understand your thing with the lack of peace and quiet. I don't know if its uncomfortable for you, could invite some others when we're here."

Bart is apparently a fixer. If there's a possible problem, lets fix it! But also, he knows its a little quirky, this place.

"Or you know, if its comfortable for you, we can definitely do it more often." He smiles at her. "I mean, considering the last time we had qulity time? Pretty awesome." He's tempted to shout Mancubus at the top of his lungs, buuuut...don't want to kill the joke.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Yeah, that was pretty good, and I don't mind the quiet... guess I'm just not really used to it. I almost feel like doing something noisy just to compensate." She chuckles, "I would not be a good librarian."

She then hmms, and places her hand on his, looking at Bart with a fond expression, "And I definitely like us having quality time. Though with my schedule, I hope you don't mind it being sometimes intermittent?" She shrugs, since... well, yeah, working, school, and um...

There is that whole superhero thing she does too, but hasn't mentioned. For reasons!

Bart Allen has posed:
The sudden warmth of a soft hand over his own makes Bart's cheeks glow a faint red as he blushes, though he suddenly chuckles. "I mean, neither would I. I'm too energetic, I'd make noise for the sake of making noise if I was ever a librarian. Plus while I like to read, sometimes it just feels so quiet that its awkward in a library." He chuckles a bit.

He looks her in the eyes though finally, his fingers starting to curl around her own. "Me too. Actually, quality time is starting to become my favorite time and-" She speaks about the intermittency of them spending private time together, and he chuckles. "Was just about to tell you that. School and family and...well, more school may get in the way of things."

Of course he's not telling her about his superhero life quite yet either. He thinks she's a keeper, but he doesn't know how she'll end up feeling about it. For reasons!

There's a noticeable pause. "Sorry, I got lost for a second." Like he got lost in her eyes.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary laughs a little, "I still can't get over that you do that... I don't think anyone really has." She smiles, "I mean, I thought there was a boy, he seemed nice, but well... I wasn't quite good enough for him, apparently. Story of my life in dating, honestly."

She pauses, then flashes Bart a warm grin, "Well, until now, anyway. You're definitely way better than he was, that's for sure." Hey, being appreciated for who you are? That counts for a lot!

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart looks Mary in the eyes. "What do you mean? Do you know how amazing you are? I've only known you for a very short amount of time, but if anyone else was dumb enough to not notice, then thats their mistake. Well, then I applaud that man in gratitude, because of his failure, I was able to meet and date you." Bart smiles at Mary then, lifting his free hand to shift some hair behind one of her ears so he could see more of her face.

If he's permitted, anyway.

Her compliment to him makes Bart blush a much brighter shade. "I certainly hope so...I never want you to think you're less than or not good enough. I think your perfect."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, blushing a bit, though she does tilt her head a bit, leaning into that hand as she says, "Oh, I'm not perfect... you haven't seen my love of really //bad// disaster movies yet. Like, San Andreas/2012 levels of bad."

She chuckles, "But you... you're doing a pretty good job of making me feel better about myself, Bart. And I really do appreciate it. Even if I have hidden my love of really bad movies from you this entire... um, two days or so."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart smiles at Mary's own action, before he chuckles. "But Mary...I'm a devout follower of the horrible Godzilla movies. Even the one with Ferris Bueller in it." Bart smiles, using his finger to caress her cheek as he looks her in the eyes.

"And...if you ask me?" He pauses like he's going to say something profound. "I really liked San Andreas. I also liked Skyscraper, but that wasn't really a disaster movie." He chuckles.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary chuckles, "You mean, aside from the fact that it was made?" She grins, "Billy and Freddy love Godzilla movies. I think they're okay, but not exactly my thing. Though the thought of wrecking a cityscape while wearing a rubber monster suit does have a certain appeal."

Mary hmms, "Also, while we're making shameful confessions..." She pauses, then looks both ways a bit melodramatically before leaning in, softly whispering to Bart as her eyes lock with his...

"I... love... pineapple on pizza."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart chuckles to Mary as he starts to lean in with her, perhaps wondering if she's about to do something bold, though it may very well still go that far. When she whispers that she likes Pineapple on pizza, Bart pretends to gasp. "You monster." He whispers to her.

"....I also like Pineapple. Though I prefer something more meaty like sausage. Not a big pepperoni fan." He continues to whisper, likely ruining any secretive, shameful confession mood that they happen to be in.

Though Bart's eyes look into her own as he smiles. "...But Godzilla versus King Ghidorah though..."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Well, I admit I kinda like King Ghidorah, if only because it's fun to sometimes root for the bad guy. Plus my brothers would always make me be the big evil boss, since... well, I am." She laughs softly, "But yeah, give me bacon and pineapple on pizza and I'm a very happy camper."

Bart Allen has posed:
"I mean, me too. Even if you know the villain isn't going to win or don't think they will...and they totally lose anyway." He chuckles.

Bart smiles though as he leans to give her nose a playful touch with his own. "Then I think I know what our third date is going to be, if you're interested?" He asks her curiously. "Though I probably eat too much pizza...next thing you know, I'm going to be fat." He tries to joke.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins and does the nose boop back, then laughs softly, leaning back a little bit, "Going out for pizza? I'd like that. Maybe even do a movie? I know there's the new Godzilla movie that came out a while ago. Would be nice to see it without the brothers all fanboying about it." Though, well, if Bart fanboys about it?

Eh, she can deal with that.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart is the exception?!

Well, there's a first for everything, one might surmise. When she boops him with her nose in return, Bart smiles wonderfully at her. "I think that would be a lot of fun. Pizza and a show? Its like the date made in heaven." An uptick of his lips lead into a full-fledged chesire-like grin, like this was the best news he'd heard all day long.

"....if I fanboy, are you gonna leave me in the theater?" Bart laughs. 'Granted, I'm not going to be like 'Its Ghidorah! He was made in 19-something something and was first potrayed by 'insert actors name here'." He chuckles a bit, understanding that it might not be a distinct possibility, but warning her in advance anyway.

"...but I might cheer if I see someone I think is super cool. So...be prepared to be cheered for." He winks, but stays leaning in, mainly out of interest in the conversation, not so much an implication.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Bart gets a wry grin, "Yeah, cheering is cool. Monologuing like you're a super villain describing their latest scheme while I hang in a death trap... not so much." She then pauses at the mention of the theater, "Is it still in theaters? I think the boys were watching it on video the other day..."

She then hmmms, "Though, my other dirty confession... I'm not a fan of Brooklyn style pizza. I like deep dish. Don't tell anyone or else they might exile me to Jersey." She shifts position, moving back to sit next to Bart, which allows her to lean on him instead. Also maybe removing a little bit of temptation. Maybe. Possibly.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart seems to look at Mary for a moment as she continues on the villain monologue idea. "Faaaair enough! But listen, what if it?s a death trap you know how to get out of? Wiggle room?" Bart seems to go with the flow in that regard.

"Ah! its on DVD isn't it? Sorry, I flub up my words sometimes. My brain moves like Mach 5 a second sometimes." He's....not exactly wrong. But he does visibly relax when Mary is suddenly leaning on him. Does it remove temptation for Bart?

Not really. Does it remove temptation for Mary?

Up for debate.

But Bart does get a wry expression on his face as he wraps his arms around her if she allows. "I mean, I like stuffed crust? To me this is all just stuff that makes you plenty more unique. But don't worry." He starts to whisper. "Secrets Safe with me under lock and key."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "It better be, because I'll know who ratted me out, Bart." She winks, leaning into the embrace as she slides her own arm around him, enjoying the closeness as she sighs, resting her head on his shoulder.

She does grin, "Well, yes, it's on DVD. I'm going to warn you that if we watch it at my place the boys will be there, and they will give you a pretty solid interrogation." Her lips quirk a bit, "But you survived Darla, so you'll be okay."

Bart Allen has posed:
"Hey hey! I ain't no snitch." Bart smiles to Mary then. "Uhm....cross my heart and hope not to die?" Bart smiles then as he enjoys her warmth when they settle in the embrace.

"This just tempts me to have this happen at your place." Bart chuckles. "I will survive, don't you worry." He smiles happily then before he leans his head down to give her forehead a little kiss.

"So....does this mean we're changing social media statuses?" he jokes.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary mmms, and smiles a little, "Well... I don't really do too much on social media, but if you want to..." She glances up at Bart, and chuckles a bit, "I... guess I never really thought about it too much. I mean, there was the other guy, but I didn't think I'd meet someone quite that soon." Her lips quirk into a bit of a broader smile at the kiss on her forehead.

Bart Allen has posed:
"True...but I might help keep guys off of you and gals off of me." Bart chuckles. "I personally don't have the patience for social media. Too much craziness happens on it and coming from me, that?s saying something!"

He smirks a little bit at her in a dreamy kind of way when she smiles at him like that. So he just enjoys the moment.

"I didn?t expect to meet someone well....ever. so you are already blowing away all of my expectations." He smiles at Mary...and uses his finger to tilt her chin up a little bit if she allows him to. "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Oh, come on... in a world full of superheroes, you're saying that's me?" She chuckles, tilting her head up a little as she looks at Bart, "I mean, I didn't really expect to ever meet anyone... honestly, in a world full of people like that, who has time for a normal woman?" She's not really running herself down, so much as maybe had way too high of expectations.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart laughs a little bit to Mary. "There's more to beauty than what meets the eyes, Mary. But yes, you outclass them pretty easily actually." Of course, Bart hasn't seen her Lady Marvel version of herself, but he would likely still prefer Mary as she is and how she presents herself.

He chuckles a little bit. "I have all the time in the world, but you Mary are anything but normal." He smiles wonderfully to her. "Besides, if you were normal, we probably wouldn't get much along, because I know I am extremely quirky."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary laughs a bit, "Yeah, well, you got me there. I'm very much not normal, but then... I'm the oldest of six foster sibs and I have foster parents that are way better than my actual parents, so..." She grins, "Feeling pretty good. But I have to tell you something..."

She leans in really close, and whispers into Bart's ear...

"Mancubus!"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart chuckles a little bit. "Very true and very true." He tilts his head hwen she says she has to tell him something, and he leans in as if to listen to what she has to say. "What is it?"

Then comes the whisper.

Bart erupts in laughter, showering kisses on Mary's neck and cheek in playful fashion. "The Mancubus!!" He shouts then with laughter. If anything, their relationship will be one of laughter, and hopefully full of happiness as they bond with each passing moment they spend in each other's company.