Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaunt coudln't help but to feel a little bit accomplished when he heard the giggle. For all this time up until now, she had been red-faced and tight-lipped. Now she was starting to talk to him, and apparently enjoying herself. It felt like he just climbed over a huge hurdle.

He nods slowly as he listens to Serenity speak and he smiles gently to her. "That's kind of hard for me to imagine, personally. I grew up around technology." He chuckles lightly and he shrugs his shoulders a little. "I've even said I was born with a game controller in my hands. I've always had gadgets around, and because of that It's hard for me to imagine what it's like to grow up and live without it." He approaches the front counter of the cafe. There was a clear-glass section next to the register, where various desert toppings were held. Some of the tables and booths were already taken, people enjoying some hot lunch as well as some cold treats. The cafe buzzed softly with conversation. Gaunt quickened his step to approach the counter and, trying to cut off any protest from Serenity, ordered four parfaits. Two regular, and two small for their Surprises.

The Prince stuck his tongue out back at Ian and then he grinned at the other Surprise's suggestion. He giggled softly and he tilts his head, whispering back. "And I thought we were getting in trouble for making trouble for them. Lets do it!" He grinned at the other second, Gaunt completely unaware of the whispered conversation going on behind him.

Gaunt smiles softly and he shakes his head, waving a hand and smiling warmly when Serenity offered her money. "No, no. I got this." He shrugs a little and he smiles a little more warmly. "Think of this as you being my guest." This wasn't a date. Though in some ways some people might try to call it one. He smiles softly and he shrugs. "I've been here a time or two. It's.. one of those hole-in-the-wall places that is really good." He smiles softly at her as he pays out of his own money and moves down the line a bit, looking over the selection of toppings. "Well, Prince? What do you want?"

Prince glances at Ian as he whispered at him and he shrugs a little bit, still whispering. "Ah.. well maybe if we could just.. make sure they have a good time? If they really enjoy themselves, they'd want to be together. Like friends!" Poor Prince was essentially a newborn. He didn't have a clue how romance worked. But Gaunt's voice dragged him out of the conversation and he blinked a few times as he crawled up onto Gaunt's shoulder and peered down at the selection. "I... want.. Strawberries and nuts please!"

He smiles softly as she blushed lightly. It was cute to see that coloring of her cheeks still. It was so endearing! He smiles as he picks out his topping. Butterscotch, that was it. So the man behind the counter assembles their sundaes, and hands them over when it was done. Gaunt collects his and the Prince's, waits for Serenity to collect hers and Ian's. As they walk toward the booth, he glances over his shoulder and he looks a little ponderous. "Hey, Serenity. Would you be interested in meeting up every now and then? I mean. You seem like a really good person. I'd like it if we could just hang out every now and then."

Prince threw a glance over his shoulder toward Ian, then hides a giggle behind a hand. They were trying to see if they can get Gaunt and Serenity on a date, but maybe Gaunt was the one taking the initiative. Though if they could make things more interesting.. The Prince reached down and dipped a hand into his ice cream and threw it at Ian. "Take that!"

Of course, the toss likely missed its mark and hit Serenity. Gaunt frowned as he sat the sundaes on the table and got some knapkins and starts to try to clean Serenity up. "Oh.. geeze.. I'm so sorry about that.. I don't know what's gotten into Prince.."

He smiles some as he works on cleaning her up. "Well, I'm glad that you'd like that." He bites his lip softly as he tries to get Serenity cleaned up. He was blushing a little too. A little of the ice cream was getting close to a sensitive area after all, and he was trying to take care of the mess without doing anything inappropriate. And he hasn't done anything like that before, so it was a difficult spot for him. But eventually he coudln't do anything else without entering the danger zone, so he settles for leaving the napkin with her while he rescues her sundaes and sets them on the table as well. "I.. I still can't applogize enough, Serenity. If I can do something to make it up, anything, just let me know!"

Prince grinned when Ian came over to him and returned the high five. "Yeah! This is fun!" He giggled.

"Hey now, did you plan this?" Hands on his hips, he leaned over toward the two Surprises.

"Oh.. uh.. of course not!" The Prince lied, unable to meet Gaunt's eyes. Gaunt shakes his head and he sighs softly. "Oh, Prince.. You're in big trouble when we get home."

He nodded at first when he heard Ian's innocence. He was right, for as far as he could tell. Ian didn't do anything, it was Prince in his newborn lack of knowledge of boundaries and appropriateness who did the deed.

But that all went down the sink when Prince turned in Ian. "Hey! It was your idea to find a way to get Serenity and Gaunt together! It's not all my fault!" He folded his arms and pouted.

Gaunt blinks a little and he shakes his head as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. So was that what it was all about? Ian and Prince conspired to try to get Gaunt and Serenity in some romance. He shakes his head and he slowly slips into his seat. "Look. I appreciate you wanting me and Serenity to go out on a date or something, but these things take time. Me and Serenity have to get to know each other first, to see if we would actually be good together."

"But that sounds so BORING!" The Prince huffed, his arms tightening over his chest and trying to look sulky and pouty. And doing a very good job, but it didn't seem to be helping Gaunt change his mind on how things are supposed to go.

Gaunt blinked. He really coudln't wrap his head around what Ian was saying. Serenity woudln't die and Ian would never grow up? But Serenity told him that she had gotten the size of a 16-17 year old in just two years. It didn't make an ounce of sense.

Aside from that, though, was Ian was suddenly talking like he was older. He really hadn't expected that kind of talk from him. He shakes his head and he shrugs a little as he starts to idly pick at his butterscotch ice cream. "Well, if Serenity wants to know about me, then she can ask me when she gets back." He shrugs and he smiles a little. "And dating is.. to me, the process of a man getting to know a woman, and a woman getting to know a man. Getting to know each other with the goal of trying to decide if they want to be together for the rest of their lives." He shrugs and he scratches his chin, trying to decide to what extent he wanted to spell things out. "Though dating means different things to different people."

Prince didn't follow the conversation, and he didn't seem to want to. He was setting into the ice cream, making happy little noises as he munched on the sweet dish.

This conversation was making his mind go in a million different directions. Could a Second and a human actually work? And he was a perfectly healthy young man! He didn't know if a second needed and wanted the same things. And this conversation was just making it apparent that he didn't know nearly as much as he would have liked.

He nods and he smiles, merely picking at the ice cream still as he waited for Serenity to come back. "Mmn. So yeah, I guess today and maybe a couple more meetings that we'll get to know each other to see if we want to start dating. Usually it'll take several months to years for two people who are dating to decide if they want to get married." And if Serenity got this big in just a couple years, what would she be like in a couple more? Would she end up looking like some 40-something cougar dating a young man? Oh dear, what in the world was he getting himself in to?!