#and yes i have been keeping track of the birthdays of guilty gear characters

[missionel]

happy birthday to my favorite 5 year old

[cmlopezofficial]

hello again // cleo + allister + ellie discord thread

WHERE: Kingsboro, New York

WHEN: May 30th, 2020

TIME: Early evening

WARNINGS: None that I can think of. Awkwardness, maybe? IDK lmaooo

CHARACTER FEATURES: Cleo Lopez, Allister Jackson ( @allisterjacksonn ), Ellie Robertson ( @ellicfm )

CHARACTER MENTIONS: Cordelia Lopez (NPC)

PROMPT: A date night at Amphitrite’s Cove for Allister and Ellie results in them meeting the owner of the restaurant, with two exes reuniting and an appearance from a little girl with very familiar eyes.

ellie

ELLIE was very excited to check out amphitrites cove. since a couple of her friends were performing at the place and the reviews were pretty favorable, it seemed like a good place to celebrate finally becoming official with allister. the situation deserved to be celebrated somewhere special and this seemed like a great place. “dinner was really great, wasn’t it?” she asked al, holding his hand and smiling at him — a big, happy smile. the young girl scooted closer to him on the booth, wrapping her arms around his waist. “but i mean — the best part of the evening has no doubt been the company.” she pulled him a little closer and pressed her lips against his, one of her hands stroking his cheekbone.

allister

Allister was, as always, completely unaware of what was going on in town. He just...didn’t do the whole gossip thing, or really looking into stuff about town in great detail. He trusted Ellie to make choices for the both of them, which some people would see as a giant pushover, but Allister just found it easier that way. He had his own inner anxieties, and this was just one of his ways of coping. When Ellie told him about this place, he thought it sounded interesting enough, and thank god it turned out to be even better. He was always skeptical when it came to new things, and he’d definitely never experienced anything like this before. “Yeah, he was.” He smirked right back at the blonde, squeezing her hand while he scrunched his nose at her. (god, he’d never do that with anyone else, disgusting). Al had never really considered himself to be a romantic guy. He just didn’t really know how to be honest, but El made it easy. He gladly returned her kiss, thinking more about the fact that they were celebrating becoming official more than the fact they were in public, full on making out. He just assumed no one would really notice for now.

cleo

Cleo was very much so proud of her restaurant and all that she has accomplished with it over the past eight years. Amphitrite's Cove was truly her second greatest achievement- right after her daughter, obviously. The businesswoman had been sitting in her office and helping Cordelia with her homework when one of her servers came in asking for her help. The woman couldn't help but to laugh hearing about the couple, shaking her head. "So we finally got our first PDA at AC: Kingsboro. Wondering when that was going to happen... I'll take care of this. I'll be right back, Minnow." Kissing the top of her daughter's head before brushing off her slick black dress and making sure she looked presentable (some nights, she also was dressed in pirate gear with her staff; some nights, she was dressed in a pantsuit or a dress; some nights, she was working in the kitchen in jeans and a simple shirt: she was very hands-on with her business). Making sure to check on a few customers, she soon made her way to the booth and shook her head slightly with a smirk seeing the couple making out. "I see you folks are enjoying my 'little' establishment?" she called out in a joke as she came up from behind them, soon leaning against the empty booth from before them with a bright warm grin. "Cleo Lopez: creator and owner of Amphitrite's Cove. I certainly hope you two are saving room for dessert; Is this for any special occasion? Birthday, anniversary, engagement, or just a nice evening out?" She couldn't see the man's face, his long hair and beard making him unrecognizable- along with the fact he was basically devouring the blonde's face. But... there was something familiar about him... She couldn't put her finger on it.

ellie

ELLIE admittedly got carried away easily when it came to allister. what started as a simple kiss soon became a full on makeout, but she was just so happy. ellie kept kissing him, her arms tightly wrapped around him — and she must’ve lost track of time because the next thing she knew, there was a woman talking to them. she smiled, giggling as she pulled away from her boyfriend. “baby, baby...” she hummed into his lips, pressing one last quick peck on his lips. “someone’s here.” the young woman said, pulling away  but keeping her arms around him, her embrace a little looser. “it’s a special occasion, yeah. sorry for... that, by the way. we got a little carried away there.” the blonde admitted with a chuckle. “but uh, everything’s great, congratulations.” she said with an honest smile, leaning her head against al’s shoulder. “we’ll, uh, behave from this point on. right, baby?”

allister

Allister was admittedly embarrassed when he heard the owner call them out, but what was even more terrifying than that, was that he quickly realized he knew that fucking name, and the voice along with it. He’d practically grown up with Cleo, and they dated for years. She was the last official girlfriend he’d had, as well as one of the first, and he didn’t consider himself a super religious person, but he was praying harder than he ever had in his life as he turned his head. He was hoping by some struck of weird ass dumb luck, that this was some other Cleo Lopez, who just happened to have the same fucking voice. Of course though, as his ocean blues landed on her form, the color seemingly drained from his face, and the idea of being anywhere near food made his stomach turn. For several seconds he just sat there, staring at his ex like maybe he’d wake up at any moment now, but when he realized that wasn’t gonna happen, he remembered he needed to talk. “Hi.” Wow, that was...a thing to say. He also had no idea his voice could go that high. Interesting. Suddenly his southern hospitality, and manners kicked in, and he found himself standing up to properly greet her, hugging her like he would any other old friend, politeness flooding out of him as if nothing had ever happened. He had to, because the other choice would have been awkward, and embarrassing for everyone, and he didn’t want to put any of them in that position. “Dang, long time no see, wow. What a small world. Ellie, this is an old friend of mine from home. We grew up together.” He looked back at his girlfriend, giving a tight lipped grin. “Cleo, this is Ellie. My girlfriend.” Did he feel weird and slightly guilty saying that, yeah. Only because he knew how they had left things, and he had a lot of amends to make for that, but he wasn’t going to act like he was ashamed of Ellie either, because he wasn’t.

cleo

Those ocean blue eyes. Those gods damn blue eyes that have been haunting her for nearly ten years now. Cleo froze suddenly, forgetting everything else in that moment. "H-Hey," she breathed out, her face paling at the sight of Allister Jackson. She forget everything that the tiny blonde said, her attention completely focused on her ex. Her heart raced fast when she remembered that a couple of feet away in her office, was her young daughter. Their daughter. Oh fuck... Fuck, fuck, fuck, what does she do? What does she say? Why is he getting up? Oh no... No, Allister Daniel Jackson, do not hug her. Ignore your Southern hospitality and do not-... He's hugging her. He's hugging her and she's in his arms again for the first time in ten years. Yet her body instantly responded and she wrapped her arms around him, one hand on the small of his back while the other held the back of his head. She hasn't hugged him like this in so long and it was hard keeping composure, so she quickly pulled back and brushed her hair out of her face. "That's... quite an understatement," the blonde mused, forcing out a little laugh. Her brows instantly raised, 'old friend' practically a stab in the heart. "Old friend? Another understatement." Girlfriend?! Looking back at the girl, Cleo was honestly shocked. She didn't look more than eighteen. "Pleasure to meet you," she mused, forcing a warm smile. Clearing her throat, she went back into boss mode and being professional. Pretending that these two were just any other customers. "But, yes, please keep the PDA down a notch? Some of the customers were complaining and some staff members felt uncomfortable as well; I'd like to keep this environment pleasant for everyone. With that being said, you both should check out our dessert selection and our wine list! Both have a large variety with selections from around the globe and I'm sure you'll find something you enjoy." Run. Just run, Cleo.

ellie

ellie could tell something was going on — the way that al’s demeanor changed and how his face had gone pale, and the way that she looked at him told her that they already knew each other and probably very well. she tucked some strands of hair behind her ear and watched the interaction between the two unfold, eyebrows lightly raised as the woman wrapped her arms around her boyfriend in such a specific way. was that a friend hug? ellie wasn’t sure. still, she was determined to stay calm, maybe they really were old friends and her gut feeling was just an overreaction. she stood up as allister introduced them, smoothing over the skirt of her dress as she walked over to them. “hey, nice to meet you. i’m ellie.” she said, stretching out a hand for her to shake and putting her other hand on al’s back. she didn’t know what the fuck was really happening but she wanted him to know she was right there by his side. “yes, yes, i’m very sorry. we got a little carried away.” the young blonde explained with a soft laugh and a shrug, cheeks flushed and a friendly smile still on her face. “oh — yeah, we definitely had that planned, thank you very much for the hospitality.” though allister certainly didn’t look like he was in the mood for any more food, ellie wanted to make a good impression on this old friend of his. she stood there for a second, looking at both of them and sliding her hand down al’s back to loosely wrap her arm around his waist, waiting for someone else to speak.

allister

Allister knew he’d messed up the second he went to hug her, the sound of what seemed to be offence in her voice, making him feel even worse. He didn’t want this to be awkward, or unpleasant for anyone, but it was clear that they couldn’t avoid that. Leave it to Allister to at least try though. “I’m sorry, Cleo. We didn’t mean anythin’ by it.” He looked at her apologetically, as if he was saying sorry for a lot more than just PDA. They hadn’t ended on the best of terms, clearly with the way she just up and moved across the country. This wasn’t how he’d planned on meeting again, but it seemed this was as fate would have it. “Well uh...it’s good to see you. I’d love to catch up sometime, and see what ya’ve been into. Nice place.” He gestured around them, once again trying to be polite in a less than ideal situation.

cleo

"Ellie. Lovely name," she mused politely, firmly shaking her hand while trying to ignore them standing so close together. She clasp her hands together behind her back, wanting to make this as fast as possible. "Don't apologize, it's alright. It's really nothing knew- you should've seen Valentine's Day with our other locations. Really made sure to up my staff's paychecks that night," the blonde tried to joke. However, the way she tensed at Al's words proved it to be joking to remain polite and hospitable. She was usually more charming when it came to visiting her customers. However, seeing your ex for the first time in a decade and especially with their new partner, truly would make anyone want to scream and hide under a rock. Especially when considering her biggest secret was hiding in her office. Cleo gave a closed lip smile as she looked up at him. "That would be... nice. I'm very busy, but maybe we can try. And thank you. It was good to see you, but as I mentioned: I'm rather bus-oof!" Cleo stumbled backwards slightly into the booth behind her, her look of shock turning into a bright smile as she laughed. "Minnow! I told you to stay in the office, baby," the woman spoke and signed in Spanish and Spanish Sign Language before hugging her daughter. Her demeanor changed entirely as she rested her cheek upon the tall nine year old's head, completely forgetting the two before her as she stared adoringly at her daughter. The server she asked to keep an eye on the little girl quickly came running over to Cleo, apologizing profusely. The woman shook her head and smiled softly. "It's alright- she's rather adventurous. Going to give me gray hairs soon, but it's alright." With Cleo's attention occupied, Cordelia turned her head to look around before landing on the couple before her. She smiled brightly and waved, staring up at the man she shared her eyes with. I'm Cordelia! she signed, leaning her head against her mother's stomach with a smile.

ellie

ellie couldn’t wait for this interaction to be over so they could at least try to go on with their night. she didn’t understand much what was happening, since al hadn’t told her the story of his last breakup — something she was perfectly happy with, seeing as she wasn’t exactly dying to tell him about her last breakup. ellie smiled at the other as she complimented her name. “thank you, i like it. yours is nice, too.” she replied with a nod. the younger woman chuckled at cleo’s joke, though restauranteur humor was a little beyond her taste. as the two started to talk about meeting to catch up, ellie tried not to get jealous — but it was hard not to let her insecurities act up when his gorgeous, successful old friend was standing right there in front of them and al had barely looked at her since he started talking to cleo. she had been so caught up in the interaction happening between the two of them that she had entirely missed the little girl suddenly standing next to cleo, but she smiled at her once she saw her. as cleo’s attention shifted elsewhere, ellie took advantage of the moment to press a tender kiss on al’s cheek. “are you okay, honey ?” she asked, voice gentle and only loud enough for him to hear, looking up at him. she’d learned that sometimes his southern gentlemanliness could get the better of him, and she figured she’d check up on him — reunions like this one could he tricky. the blonde turned her attention back to the people standing in front of them just as the waiter left, and she finally got a good look at the girl — and her familiar blue eyes. still, ellie didn’t really think anything of it, the thought of her being her boyfriend’s daughter not even crossing her mind. she smiled back at the little girl, waving at her with her free hand, keeping the other on al’s waist. “she’s adorable! is she your daughter?” ellie asked, feeling a little more in her element now that there was a more neutral topic to make small talk about.

allister

The small talk that was going on right now was the most goddamn uncomfortable situation Allister could ever think of being in. That was sad. But wow, far from an exaggeration. Al wasn’t surprised to see a little girl come up to Cleo, after all, he’d heard through the grapevine of mutual friends and their families that Cleo had a kid. It had hurt at first, especially since he assumed she had hooked up with someone immediately after they broke up. But, he’d learned to push that to the back of his mind, though he still found it hard to look at the little girl. He smirked when Ellie asked him if he was okay, nodding to her insistently as he reached for her hand. His breath caught in his throat when he finally got a good look at Cordelia, noticing that she was signing, and that made him feel a lot of things that he didn’t know how to explain. “She’s beautiful.” Al managed to speak finally, smirking at the little girl, and waving. He wasn’t always the best with kids, but there was something different about this girl.

cleo

She went completely still the moment she heard Ellie mention her daughter. With the server leaving, she finally gave them her attention. She attempted to smile at first, Al's words and that look on his face feeling like a stab to the heart.  "Thank you," she finally managed, looking down at Cordelia and then back at Al. The little girl looked almost identical to Cleo when she was younger, wavy medium brown hair and sun-kissed freckles that splattered across her nose and cheeks. Only difference was her taller height (something the child was proud of) and her ocean blue eyes. Those she inherited from her father. And now seeing them stand so close together, she soon began to notice other similarities between them. She soon began to feel her heart ache that ever same ache she had every once in awhile, where she found herself drifting off and thinking about her ex. Thinking about how different things could've been had she told him about Dela and if he'd been in her life sooner. Of course, she'd always shook those thoughts off; It was doubtful that they'd ever meet. Well... Here they are. "Yes, she is. And we still need to finish her homework, so... We better be off. Thank you for dining here tonight, have a good evening." Looking back at Allister again, she opened her mouth as if to say something, guilt flashing in her eyes for a moment. Closing it, she gave a tight lipped smile before taking her daughter's hand and leading her away. "We need to head home, Minnow," she signed as they walked, unable to look back. That wasn't the case for the ten year old, though. Ever the friendly child, she grinned brightly, one of her front teeth missing. She waved goodbye at the couple before hugging her mother as they walked, the two conversing and Cleo laughing. Gods... Please, please, please, don't let him guess. Please don't let him guess. Please.

ellie

ellie squeezed al’s hand, happy to hear that he was doing okay with the interaction. the more ellie looked at the little girl, the more familiar she looked. it was a little bit freaky, since she couldn’t quite put the finger where she’d seen her before or why she looked familiar — but she figured that maybe she’d seen her at des’ school when she went to pick her up. oh, if only she knew. the young blonde smiled at cleo. “yeah, she’s gorgeous.” ellie said, agreeing with al. “oh, well, then we’ll see you two later.” she replied. children mellowed her out so easily. but even in her mellowed state she couldn’t help but notice the older woman’s shift in behavior towards allister, but again, ellie chose to not over analyze it. she gave a warm smile to the girl and waved goodbye back as they left, looking at them go. she wanted what they had, both of them — a loving mother and a loving child, but life had granted her neither. hopefully someday i’ll get one out of the two. still, ellie shook it off and turned to look at her boyfriend. “you wanna head home now, or do you want to grab some desert?”