ax_main | Pike and Gilmore, backdated to Gilmore's birthday

Pike and Gilmore have cake and conversation by the poolside.

The sun was just starting to wander its way toward setting when the party, semi-exhausted from rowdy pool games and cannonball contests, had settled down enough to tuck into some cake and work its way into a second sugar high. The birthday boy himself had made a valiant effort to stay out of the pool and keep from getting splashed, if only to preserve the glorious black locks of hair that he'd worked so carefully to perfect for the day. He hadn't been completely successful, but a quick glance in the enormous glass windows of Nolan's beach-side house confirmed that his hair was still looking on point, so Gilmore was pleased.

He had a plate of cake in each hand -- especially made in several light layers of purple -- as he came padding barefoot around the corner of the pool, where a small figure sat completely enshrouded in fluffy white pool towels. Gilmore, who had had a couple of drinks and was feeling especially buoyant and effervescent, gave an exaggerated glance around with a wondering expression. "Pike... ? Pike? I could swear she was just here. And I have this glorious slice of cake I cut just for her, too."

"Cake?" Pike wriggled, dislodging the towel that was soaking up excess water from the thick braid she had decided to wear today. It was great at keeping hair out of her face, but was ridiculously waterlogged after her time in the pool. "Cake delivered by the birthday boy? Must've done something good to got the special treatment."

Chuckling, Gilmore handed over the plate, and sat himself down in one of the deck chairs next to Pike (which, despite Nolan's worried face, had absolutely survived its momentary transformation into a trebuchet). "You were just our sweet, smiley Pike," he assured her in the rich, warm voice that could charm almost anyone. "And... well, sitting nearer you seemed like I might be safer from being dunked, splashed, or otherwise squirted for a few minutes. Someone is going to throw me in the pool. I know it. I just hope to finish this glorious cake first."

He grinned over at her and picked up his fork. "Having fun, I hope?"

Pike was, of course, appropriately charmed by his voice. It was practically musical, and she was a big fan of music. "This looks so good," she said, accepting the cake. "Definitely worth saving from pool water " she added very seriously, and then moaned as she took a bite. "Oh wow," she slurred around her mouthful of cake.

"Right?" Gilmore agreed, sighing over the rich buttercream and dense cake. "We found a bakery up in Montauk, the town nearby. It's handmade, of course. Nolan's been spoiling me," he added, glancing down with a small, fond smile. Nolan had been introduced to everyone when they arrived, but he was rather quiet in comparison the rowdiness of Vox Machina, and had been spending time out of the main fray, with Kitty. Gilmore gravitated back toward him every half hour or so.

Pike swallowed her mouthful this time before saying, "Nolan seems like a good guy."

"The vey best of guys," confirmed Gilmore with a note of sincerity that his bold, boisterous manner didn't usually hold. "And absolutely the best for me." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "You've been at school for a little while now. You got your eye on anyone special?"

"All the best guys are already dating each other," Pike hedged. Though it was also true.

"That does tend to happen," said Gilmore thoughtfully. However, he knew of some notable exceptions. "Molly's single," he pointed out, gesturing with a fork toward his violet-horned roommate, who was clearly living it up and completely comfortable in his own skin.

Then, after a pause that he thought sounded completely casual, he asked, "So's Scanlan, isn't he?"

Pike's bite of cake as she considered Molly was interrupted by a guffaw at Gilmore's second example. "Scanlan?" She asked skeptically, though there was no judgement behind it. "He just loves flirting with all the girls. I can't imagine him actually dating anyone."

Gilmore had the very strong suspicion he'd seen something else in the ways Scanlan paid attention to people, and in the way he paid attention to Pike, but he couldn't be sure. It was also none of his business -- except that he was deliriously happy in love, and he thought everyone should get to experience that. "Well, you know him best," said Gilmore, but he took great pains to say it enigmatically.

Pike, getting exactly the wrong idea from his leading tone, leaned forward with wide eyes, voice filled with conspiracy and curiosity. "Oh, is he interested in someone?" She swept her gaze over the party, finally landing on him. She felt a kind of... weirdness in her chest, at the thought of him actually settling down with someone. Maybe at the idea of losing him? To an outsider, that was. It wasn't like he was hers. Or belonged to anyone. Obviously. She pursed her lips; whatever she was feeling, it probably wasn't fair to him. Or his potential love interest.

"Well, I don't know, my dear, but there is one way to know absolutely for sure." Gilmore leaned one elbow on his leg, leaning in like he might impart the great secrets of the world, the things he had learned as a young man who had fallen in love. With very serious eyes, he intoned, "You could ask him."

Pike, having mirrored his lean unconsciously, snorted and leaned back again. "That's true. I will!" She scooped up a large piece of cake and brought it to her mouth. "After cake, though."

“After cake,” Shaun agreed, deciding to let the question of Scanlan rest right there. “Vex’ahlia assured me that she’s brought some of her very special herbal snacks for later. I haven’t tried before, but I think the occasion of my seventeenth year of gracing this earth with my presence is a good time to experiment.”

"Oh yeah!" Pike had mostly forgotten about the 'special brownies.' "They turned out good, too! I may have tried a little already." She didn't indulge a lot, but sometimes it was nice, when she didn't have anything else to do. "They're real relaxing.

Shaun couldn't help but grin. "Somehow, despite growing up in San Francisco, I've never tried pot. You'd think I'd just wander down to Haight-Ashbury and soak it in by osmosis, but, no. There's a Ben and Jerry's on that corner and a Whole Foods down the street," he confided. "The counterculture is a commodity, now -- one which I fully admit I benefit from." He paused himself before he rambled off talking about trade, business, selling, and money -- a topic he could wax rhapsodic about for hours.

Squinting, Pike asked, "Is that, like, how hipsters are cool now?" She honestly hadn't given it much thought before. Though, most of her style choices were limited to what she could find that actually fit her, which probably resulted in an unintentional hipster/eclectic look.

"Something like that," Shaun agreed. "Authenticity is always cool, but authenticity is also completely for sale. I just happen to put a very affordable price on it." His smile quirked, craftily. "But if some kid just wants to show up his friends at Burning Man with the cost of a bespoke piece, I'm happy to quote him something extremely impressive."

"Burning Man?" Pike asked, shaking her shoulders to let the towels fall down a little more now that she was partially dry. "That sounds dangerous." Probably some American thing, hopefully not something that actually involved burning, er, men.

"It's a festival... event... thing, in the desert, near California where I'm from," Gilmore tried to explain, though having only a vague concept of the event wasn't very helpful. "It's about art and self-expression and that would sound a lot better if it weren't in the middle of the blasted desert?" Gilmore shook his head, and fluffed his fingers through his hair, which was somehow still curly and stylish despite several dunks in the pool. "I'm much too much a city boy to get it."

"Dunno," Pike perked up. "Could be brill! Never been to a desert before. Do they do booths or something? We could all go, help you 'sell your authenticity' during the day, go wild at night!"

Gilmore thought about it briefly and realized he wasn't fully certain of what the event was all about. Nevertheless, he grinned, because very little could keep him from enthusiasm. "If I had to spend a week in the desert, there's no tribe of wild ruffians I'd rather spend it with."

Laughing, Pike raised a cake-filled fork in lieu of a drink. "Cheers!" She lowered the fork to give him a softer look. "We love hanging out with you, no matter where. I had no idea what to expect from the guy all my friends were praising, but I can totally see it now. And I'm so glad to know you."

Gilmore saluted here with an extremely frosting-laden forkful of cake, grinning. "You all are my family now, so I'm pleased to know you're all right being stuck with me forever." He paused, and arched a brow, attaining a crafty look. "Soooo... all your friends are praising me?" he asked leadingly, dark eyes glittering with amusement.

Pike squinted at him. This felt like a trap, though she couldn't figure out how. "I mean, Vox Machina, yeah. I think?" Her squint transformed into one of contemplation. "I didn't grill each of 'em about you or anything, but I certainly haven't heard anything bad. Why?" Maybe there was some intrigue she didn't know about.

It wasn't a trap; Gilmore just liked having his ego fed. Preferably spoon-fed with direct and lavish compliments, but he'd take second-hand praise, too. "Because," he explained, lacing his fingers and resting his chin in them, "I want details. Tell me everything," he encouraged, grinning and entirely focused on Pike. He didn't actually expect that she would, but hey, he had a reputation to consider here.

"Bah, you know you're clever and charming," Pike relaxed back in her seat. "But it's your birthday, so if you really want me to tell you how I raved about your hair to the girls, I can do that." She gave him an exaggerated wink.