sword_chocobro | A Home Improvement Store on the Mainland; Wednesday Afternoon [07/24].

With Nell being busy with her plants this time of year and her beekeeping, and with everything going on with Iggy and life in general lately, Gladio figured they were a little overdue for carving out some time to just sort of do something together, maybe not one of their big getaways into the woods or anything, but just a nice date night, in their own low-key sort of way.

Which he decided meant getting some ice cream on the mainland and hanging out in a park for a while, as a callback to what was really probably their first date, and probably grabbing something to eat at a nice (but not too nice!) place before heading back home. And, in the middle, a little bit of a....he'll call it surprise field trip.

To a home improvement store.

But not just because he was absolutely that kind of guy! He also had another mission here, but he was going to get to it soon enough, as they sauntered up into the big, sprawling store. He sort of wanted to see if Nell could guess the reason he'd brought her here before they got to that section or not.

He'd have to stay pretty focused, though, because the temptation to go poking around for stuff for other projects was pretty strong, too.

[[ for that Bossy Lady, and NFB for distance! ]]

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Nell was happily full of a delicious raspberry ripple ice cream cone. Plus, she was with Gladio and they'd had a lovely walk through the park, teasing each other about one thing or another and even stealing a kiss or two when they found a more secluded spot.

THe promise of dinner was ahead of them, but neither was in a hurry to get there, so when Gladio suggested a trip through a home improvement store, Nell was happy to go along, if a little unsure of what he wanted to pick up there.

"Oooh," she said, tugging at his arm, "Look at that light! That would be perfect on that side table in the living room."

No, no it would not. Ever.

Gladio was always glad to have his arm tugged by Nell, and so his attention shifted easily over to what she was pointing out to him, and then he looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"You know," he said, to really emphasize his agreement there, on how that fit their current rustic and cozy aesthetic, "I think we had a chandelier just like that in one of the dining rooms back home...

"But, come on," he jerked his head toward a different section of the store, "let's not get too distracted. I came here as a man on a mission."

Nell laughed and linked her arm through his. "Lead on then," she said. "I would not want to come between a man and his mission!"

"Well, I plan on you being right dead center of the mission," Gladio ~~warned~~ told her pointedly. "That's why I dragged you here with me, you know. I'd've just surprised you, but I really wanted your opinion on the matter."

That, and it wasn't exactly something he could pull off on the sly very easily, anyway.

Nell stopped and glanced around the huge store, considering. "Okay, now you've got me thinking," she said. "I figured you had some project you were thinking of, maybe for class, but now .."

She scanned what signs she could see. "Carpeting... Windows... Paint... We already crossed off lamps... Appliances?"

"Kitchen renovation," Gladio offered, with a snort of a laugh. "Gotta convince you on putting in a whole new Cup Noodle^TM-specific pantry."

But they were getting to the section of the store that had what he'd come here for, just past all the pool maintenance and cleaning supplies, a bunch of stands for catalogs of products that they didn't have the space to put out on display, and then the tell-tale sign that would have likely given up the gig if Nell hadn't started figuring it out yet, a little showroom of various models of jacuzzis and hot tubs.

And a very smug and proud look on Gladio's face as he grinned down toward her, jerked his head toward them. "Why don't you take a look around? See if there's anything you like."

Nell's eyes had widened as they approached and she took in an audible quick breath of air and let it out again in a long contented sigh. "Ohhhhh... Gladio! A hot tub! For the roof?!"

Gladio couldn't help chuckling a little at that reaction, as he nodded an affirmative. "A hot tub," he confirmed. "For the roof. We keep talking about it, and I just decided, you know what? Enough talk, let's actually do this thing."

He reached back to pull a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and started unfolding it.

"Already got the measurement and everything," he said. "We just really gotta decide on what we want and what we'll need. Figured if everything goes smoothly, might even get started on the preliminary set-up this weekend."

Nell's eyes went huge at that. "Oh, yes!" she said, "Why wait? Oh Gladio! I can already imagine us up on the roof watching the stars as we soak in our very own hot tub!"

Maybe even under lightly falling snow, followed by a rush downstairs by the fire, followed by...

Possibly the happy blush on her face told that part of the story.

Even if Gladio didn't recognize that blush, the clear happiness on Nell's face at this surprise was more than enough for him and his smug, proud grin. He was just going to take a moment to soak that up before his attention shifted back to the business at hand.

"Well," he said, "the idea's that you won't have to imagine much longer. Alright." He clapped his hands together a moment before rubbing them together eagerly, then grinning down at Nell. "Let's find one of these that's going to manage to fit me and still fit on the roof."

Nell laughed and began wandering through the options. "Not sure we need a waterfall," she mused. "Oh, colored lights might be fun.. Do we want one with one of these ultra massage lounge seats?"

She smiled up at him. "I have a better massage person already."

And here Gladio was just about to say something, but, instead, his words transformed into a grin right back at Nell. "I was going to say that exact same thing," he said. "Well, not exact. I was going to say that seems like a waste when you got these hands," naturally, he lifted them up for extra demonstration and threw a wink her way along with it, "for that. I am starting to wonder, though, what kind of exteriors they got for these things. You know, can you do a wrap on 'em, like you can with a car? And, if so, how hard would it be to find a Cup Noodle^TM one?"

Nell laughed. "We can simmer ourselves into soup," she said. "Wouldn't that be something for someone to look up and see."

"Sounds perfect," said Gladio, a little dreamy rumble in his voice as he looked up a little bit himself as if picturing it. "There's nothing I like more than a nice, hot helping of delicious Cup NoodleTM inside of me, but to be inside that nice, hot helping delicious Cup NoodleTM instead?"

He looked back at Nell, with a grin that made it hard to tell if he was actually joking or not. "Just about heaven right there."

"Maybe we can just make sure we have a kettle and a bunch of Cup Noodle by the hot tub so we can eat it there instead of becoming it," Nell suggested with a grin."Can you imagine being out there with a gentle snow falling... Cozy together in the hot tub, eating Cup Noodle..."

A Home Improvement Store on the Mainland; Wednesday Afternoon [07/24].

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