Gaddiel Gladstone

He found himself at Radcliffe Records, browsing through the selection, always able to find something of interest, his prior trip had resulted in the purchase of an original pressed copy of Prince and the Revolution: Purple Rain record. A record he had actually spent the morning listening and dancing to in nothing but his underwear and robe around his house. 

“So what are you looking for?” he asked, as he flipped through a bin, feeling the presence of someone next to him. “Personally, I never come in here with a specific album to find. I just let my fingers find what they find. Life’s more interesting when it’s unplanned anyways.”

-

“That depends,” Daisy started, shaking her head at the bartender when they approached and gestured to the empty glass, as if silently asking if she wanted another. She wouldn’t have minded another, but even if she trusted the tipsy version of herself enough to think that she wouldn’t accidentally blurt something out that gave away her secret, it was better to be safe than sorry. She already considered it a minor miracle that Gaddiel hadn’t yet lucked out and found out about it. “Will you actually let me keep one?”

~

“It’s not my fault they want to make out with me” Gaddiel smirked “besides, don’t you think the one who doesn’t is the keeper? Feels like that would be a sure sign to me.” It was just that that hadn’t happened yet...at least not out of the ones he’d met so far. 

~

“No, if you refused to help I would have gotten someone else,” Tina insisted. “So none of that would have happened.“ She came to realise that this way of arguing her cause was not going to get her those chips she wanted, and hastily formed a new plan. Tina sighed to aid said plan. “Listen, please can I just have, like… One chip? It’s just one chip. And you can carry on your day knowing you’re a nice person.”

~

“and you’re sure about that?” he raised a brow, not sure if someone else would have liked just being grabbed and told to stick their hand up into a machine for something that wasn’t theirs. “Do you actually want a chip or do you just want a chip because I have the chips?”

“What? No way,” Tina replied, deciding she was going to get caught up in the pedantics of it all. “I don’t think that’s fair. I paid for this chocolate bar, so it’s mine. And if it wasn’t for that, you wouldn’t have those chips.”

“but you came and grabbed me to pull me over here to help you get it right? if I refused to help and you left, then whomever came along after would have gotten the chocolate bar along with whatever one dollar snack they wanted. So, you see, without me that chocolate bar stays in there and becomes a free bonus snack for the next person all because this machine just really really doesn’t like you.”

Tina huffed, wrinkling her nose at the defeat. It was infuriating her that Gaddiel wasn’t going to give up the chips, or a dollar, easily. She gazed longingly at the chips, no longer interested in her chocolate bar. “The least you could do is give me one chip as like a consolidation prize or something?” She thought maybe pouting would get her somewhere (it worked surprisingly often) so she tried it.

“If I give you a chip that means I get a piece of the chocolate. It is the least you could do for making sure you got it in the first place after all.” 

“Lucky you,” he grumbled, though after so many years of saying it the quip had lost any real malice or bark to it. Walking out with him, he turned to look at him quizzically swallowing another bite, “The hell happened to your car?” his eyes scanning his cousin even if he doubted he’d have any injuries from anything related to an accident. 

“Had to take it in for some maintenance, but there was some sort of mix up at the garage, so they’re having to keep it another day” for once he didn’t add on the fact that he was now getting everything on his car fixed free of charge. “so lucky for you I have no plans today, except now to hang out with my conditionally second favorite cousin” he smirked, moving to drape his arm around his taller cousin’s shoulders. 

Belle: Well I typically hang around after closing hours so anytime works for me.

“No, I just make stupid decisions in regards to you,” Daisy quipped back with a smirk, her gaze flitting between Gaddiel and the man who was currently treating an actual lottery winner to free drinks. Looking back at him, she downed the rest of her martini before continuing. “Remind me to never introduce you to one of my dates again.” Not that she actually cared anymore, but given the situation she had to at least pretend like she did.

“You can’t not introduce your best friend to your dates” he shook his head a little “I mean, how else I am supposed to tell you which ones are worth keeping?” Of course the scenario was one that, so far, had never actually occurred seeing as how eventually he’d wound up making out with them all. 

“Well, yeah, but– but that’s what a thank you and a pat on the back is for, not free chips,” Tina grumbled indignantly at the first clause, though she was seriously beginning to wonder if the machine was rigged against her. Her frown only grew as Gaddiel went on, and she folded her arms stubbornly across her chest. “I think your logic is bullshit, and the only way to find out if it is or not is if you lend me another dollar. Then we’ll see if it hates me.”

Gaddiel nodded along as he listened to her give her reasoning on how his logic was bullshit and then told him to lend her a dollar. “Uh huh uh huh or I could not do that and just eat these” he opened the bag and proceeded to pop a few of the chips in his mouth. “mmm yeah, I think my idea is the winner” he nodded again at the satisfying taste. 

Belle: Hey friend, I just thought I would check in on how you were doing? I have a few books here at the library that might be up your alley if you want to stop by?