toulouse bonfamille

my favorite french phrase is probably ‘ après moi, le déluge ’, which means ‘ after me, the flood ’. i used to say it all the time growing up to my family, as a joke, of course. but it’s a saying that means i can cause all the trouble i want and i won’t really care about the consequences because they’ll only follow after i’m long gone and/or won’t have to deal with them. it’s no secret to my family that i’ve always been a troublemaker, and as long as i can get that blame to go anywhere but on myself, i don’t care much what happens- within reason, of course. 

oh, i’d love to tell, but a magician never shares his secrets, so why would i? 

“Oh,” Marie paused, taking in the person in front of her. “I think you meant ‘Excuse Me’ “

“uh, i think you meant excuse moi.” toulouse teased his sister, rolling his eyes. “don’t forget where you came from, lil sis.”

“Oh, sure.” She shrugged, a warm smile spread across her face. She hadn’t expected to be talking about flowers, or art, or watching some guy throw petals on the ground for that matter, yet here she was, and she was enjoying it. “Believe it or not, my friend is actually a florist. She doesn’t bring me bouquets, but I get a flower from time to time.” So, it was art. She thought an act of romance would have been nice too, although she definitely didn’t think of herself as someone who knew too much about what would or wouldn’t be considered romantic. A majority of her time was spent with animals, so sometimes the ways of other people could be lost on her. “Anything I can do to help?” She questioned, still not too confident on what he was trying to do here. “I could drop them on the ground for you? I could even drop them out of a tree if you’d like. Anything to support the arts!”

toulouse returned her sweet smile, along with the shrug. unsure of what else to say on the matter. after all, he didn’t know fawn all too well yet. “your friend is a florist and she doesn’t give you bouquets? sounds like you need better friends.” he joked, “tell me, how do you feel about flowers? not just receiving them... but just, overall?” toulouse always had a question in his mind. whether it made sense to the conversation or not. he was always asking people things, because he loved trying to understand people as whole, and individually, as well. “i don’t know if height would make a difference, but i do appreciate the offer. i’ve just been rather stumped lately. usually my mind just comes up with ideas, but the past few days i just feel... uncreative. maybe that’s the wrong word. i want to draw, and i want to paint, but there’s just nothing there to create. it’s dumb.” he sighed, like a frustrated child. i thought if i drew something simple it could help me to get myself back to normal but this just feels stupid.”

Miles didn’t know any amount of French but he imagined that what he was just told was the French equivalent to what he was drinking. His Mami had made sure her son was bilingual but Miles had felt no need to go for another language after that. “This does that for me too, I’m missing Brooklyn right about now.” Sure, all cities had those traffic noises but NYC just seemed… extra loud in comparison to the quaint Carthay. “Today it was a bit of both. I’m trying to get some work done so I needed the caffeine but I also needed a taste of home so.. here I am. I’m guessing your story’s about the same?”

“brooklyn’s your home, huh? i went there once. new york city is a beautiful place.” toulouse would be silly to say it wasn’t. although he wasn’t there for long, the bright lights and the hundreds of thousands of people bustling through the busy streets were enough to capture his artistic heart for quite a long amount of time. “taste of home, certainly. caffeine, usually not but today, yes. i’m a night owl but i think i took it a little too late into the early morning hours yesterday- or well, i guess... today? ah, i don’t know, time works in mysterious ways.” 

“I most certainly hope that they weren’t for me.” Jane remarked, as she gazed down at the banquet of flowers the young man held. “Not to say that the flowers aren’t beautiful because they are, but it would have been both a waste of money and flowers in general for me to turn both you and them down if you had intended to give them to me.” She then added. There hadn’t been a single indication in which she assumed he was going to give her those flowers. But now that he mentioned how they weren’t for her and that he was planning on doing something else with them, the journalist couldn’t help but tilt her head in curiosity. “By all means, do whatever it is that you plan on doings. Don’t mind me, I simply just want to watch now that you mentioned it… that is, if you don’t mind me being here doing so?”

“you hope not?” toulouse knew that he didn’t know jane very well, and perhaps he had a bit too big of an ego. maybe it was for the best that jane put him back in his place. “oh, you’d turn me down, would you?” he laughed, running a hand through his long locks. “i can’t figure out a single reason why, but hey, a chacun son goût- to each their own.” to be honest, toulouse often slipped into french to, well, to impress the ladies. not that he was pursuing jane in any way, it was just hard for him to think that someone didn’t like him. he was the whole package! well, maybe not, but he tried to be. “typically i like to be the one who observes, but as a master of the arts, i’ll allow you to watch the process this time.” 

“those flowers,” she hummed, she knew instantly that they weren’t for her, who in this town would give her flowers? “so you got flowers, plucked them from the ground, ending their growth cycle just to put them… back on the ground?” tilting her head, she couldn’t help but offer a laugh. “what are you even doing?” 

toulouse stared at her. he just stared, one eyebrow slowly raising. “no.” he said simply, shaking his head at her. “i said ‘oh i’d like to paint some petals today’. then, i went to the grocery store and i picked out the cheapest bouquet. i brought them here, and now, i am doing art. please, don’t question me.” he wasn’t being rude, he even let out a light laugh at the end of his statement. he was just focused and he wasn’t sure why he was being questioned. 

Cara laughed as the other’s rambling, not moving just yet but still wondering what the hell was happening. She was quietly working in her notebook before the other had approached, and usually she would snap at the random stranger interrupting her train of thought. “Are you okay? Like.. is this normal? Should I be watching out for attack by flower for the rest of my life now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

toulouse had a way of intruding. he could be nosey, although usually he was subtle about that specific quality. he could be thoughtless, stumbling into other people’s space as he wanted to. toulouse was certainly a boy who could find great improvements in thinking things through. he’d barely noticed the girl was working, and hadn’t stopped to think to find his own spot for his late minute art project. the tall boy nodded, “i’m fine.” he said casually, not giving a second thought to her first question. it wasn’t until she continued that he played along with her joke, “flower attacks are rare for me, but paint attacks? much more common and much messier.” he teased, knowing some of his clothes certainly reflected that statement to be true. 

“I didn’t” Is all she says halfway through his speech– a half smile in place. Then she goes quiet and stands still as she watches him move about and give some half sized explanations. She’s familiar with such behavior, but she can’t say she’s not specially curious since it comes from him. She doesn’t nod as he proceeds– she doesn’t think she needs to given he probably wouldn’t care anyways. Instead her eyes follow his hands and drift down to where the flowers are now displayed… and she smiles, though she’s still trying to understand where exactly he’s trying to get to. “What’s the verdict?”

toulouse stares intently at the flower petals, as if at any second they’re going to give him the answer he’s looking for. his head turns quickly a second later, a delayed response to dinah’s question. “verdict? of what?” he questions, eyes narrowing before his mind keeps on moving forward without getting an answer from her. “verdict is i have artist’s block and i read somewhere that doing some stupid figurative type, still-life bullshit might help somehow. but uh, here i am, staring at flower petals, and nothing. absolutely nothing.” toulouse chuckled, “whatever.” he mumbled, hand wrapped tightly around the journal in his hand. 

“If it makes you feel better, I really didn’t think the flowers were for me.” She couldn’t help but laugh, not taking the somewhat rude accusation to heart. “You know, seeing as you’re a stranger, and what not.” She took a few steps back in order to give him the space he needed to do.. whatever it was that he was trying to accomplish. Fawn had to give him the benefit of the doubt though, she couldn’t begin to count all the times she had run around town involving people in her daily schemes, so she really was in no position to judge. She sat back with her eyebrows raised slightly, as he made a hand gesture towards the ground “So,” She began again, curiosity getting the best of her. “Is this science, art, or an act of romance?”

“no?” toulouse asked, laughing with her. “and why not? i’m sure you’ve received many bouquets much nicer than this one in your lifetime.” toulouse said simply, with a shrug. “well, it’s art, but what isn’t art?” he turned to her, a slight tilt of his head. “an act of romance... see, thtat would be quite nice, but no, these petals aren’t for anyone in particular.” toulouse considered himself quite the romanticist, despite rarely ever having another to romance. he quite preferred to keep to himself, and people rarely got to know the real, true toulouse. he wasn’t too good at letting people in, even though he could barely even see that flaw within himself. 

Maybe becoming Spider-Man had made Miles more paranoid than he used to be because he shuffled in his seat despite the insistence that the other didn’t need something from him. He made a note that this place seemed a lot less populated by animal-themed supervillains than his home but that didn’t mean that people were trustworthy yet. “Cafe con leche.” He decided not to note that it wasn’t as good as the coffee shop a block from his school, nor that he wasn’t supposed to drink a lot of coffee anyway. He wondered what his father would think. “How about you?”

“cafe con leche,” toulouse repeated, a sturdy nod of his head. “mine’s similar.” he said with a smile, glancing down at his own cup. “it’s cafe au lait, and it reminds me of home.” he was mostly joking, but the boy certainly did love france, and if you combine that with a warm cup of beautifully brewed coffee and a touch of milk, well, toulouse couldn’t help but mark that down as his favorite drink of all time. “do you drink coffee for the flavor or the caffeine?” he questioned, knowing that some fall in the middle, but most go to one side or the other. 

     She had to admit, it would indeed be a very romantic gesture of someone was so fond of a stranger, they gifted them. She remained still as she just stood there and watch him lose himself in the moment. “It just seems so generous of someone to do something like that, thinking you’re worthy enough and all.” She pursed her lips to the side, pondering for a moment. The more thought she put into it, the more appealing it became to the princess. She averted her gaze towards the ground and focused on the petals that contrasted with the green grass. “What are you trying to get down? Maybe I could help you.”

toulouse lifted his focused eyes to settle on jasmine, “it would be, wouldn’t it? maybe a tad bit creepy- some guy you don’t know getting you something so touching, but hey, maybe not. what do i know?” he chuckled with a shrug, he wasn’t social enough to do too well in the romance department, and a large part of him was unsure he had the time anyways. he devoted so much time and energy to his artwork, and of course, his job at the art gallery. “you wouldn’t mind?” he asked, laying a few more petals down, this time, gently, by hand. “what if... you be my judge? but you have to swear you’ll be perfectly honest. tell me if it’s garbage.” he glanced up at her before focusing in on his journal, trying to sketch the petals and properly record their smooth lines, angles. and shadows. 

❝  OH  ? ❞  her  voice  perks  with  curiosity  ,  but  she  knows  that  her  response  is  not  one  of  interest  to  him  (  not  that  it  even  mattered  )  .  moana watches  him  in  silence  for a  bit  ,  observing  the  methods  to  his  madness  with  much  interest  .  She  enjoys  the  quiet  ,  but  not  so  much  the  feeling  of  intrusion  in  his  process  .  For  a  moment  she  wonders  if  she  should  just  walk  away  ,  or  if  her  silent  exit  would  be  even  worse  than  her  talking  again  .  She  decides  on  the  latter  .   ❝   and  how  is  that  going  for  you  now   ?  ❞

“not great.” he sighed, plopping down on the ground and pulling out his journal. “i always try to draw them the same way but that’s not how they are. they land different ways, some upright, some upside down. sometimes my brain just has to see it, you know? at least when i’m trying to make it figurative. if it was abstract then, well, you know, who gives a shit?” toulouse shrugged, his words tumbling out of his mouth carelessly, his pen busy scratching down the different forms of the petals in front of him. he stopped for a second, fearing he might’ve been rude. what would his mother have said? “and what brings you outside on this splendid day, miss?” he asked, not wanting to bombard into this poor girl’s day without even asking a simple ‘how are you’. 

There are simply days when all one can do is go grab a coffee and pretend as though copious amounts of caffeine will fix your problems. Thanks to Honey, Miles knew the best spot in town to grab a cup and hide away in the corners. He’d brought with a notebook and several pens, working through calculation after calculation. He had to admit quantum physics was certainly not his subject of choice, being more of a calculus and chemistry guy himself.

He had gotten up a few times for refills, not looking at the clock since he didn’t exactly have anywhere else to be beside Go Go and Honey’s couch, but had otherwise remained stationary. It wasn’t until he felt eyes upon him that he looked up from his work and blinked.

“Um, h-hi? Can I help you?”

toulouse hadn’t even registered that he was staring, or as the romanticist in him liked to say, gazing at the boy across from him. he’d been looking for a subject to draw and he just couldn’t stop examining the facial structure of miles. he had his journal open, a loose sketch drawn of the outer edges of a human-like figure, all details lacking. “no, sir.” toulouse replied quickly and calmly, as if he hadn’t been staring at a random guy for the past five minutes. “i was just wondering what kind of coffee you got. it looks exquisite.” he said with a shrug. he also thought that the type of coffee someone ordered typically said a lot about them, and he couldn’t help but be curious. whenever he drew someone- not that he was going to draw miles- he liked to get to know them at all if he could. it helped with the details, he thought.

Rainie was skating down the sidewalk, weaving her way through the crowds of people. She had her AirPods in, and hummed along to Paul Simon. Suddenly, she felt the board slip out from under her. She gave a small shriek of surprise as she fell. She watched the board continue to slide until it reached the feet of someone, who picked it up. She got up and brushed herself off before walking over to the person, taking an earbud out. “Hey.” She smiled slightly, hoping to go for a casual look. “Can I have my board back?”

toulouse has nearly stumbled himself as the board rolled up to him. it pulled him back to reality and out of his own mind. he’d been swept away by his thoughts and the music playing through his ear buds he’d never even seen the girl coming- or falling. “oh.” he paused, slowly picking up the board as he raised his eyes to see her brushing herself off. “uh, yeah, here you go.” toulouse handed rainie the board, giving her a quick look up and down as he did a quick check for cuts or bruises. “are you okay?” he wanted to make sure, after all, she could be someone’s little sister too, and if marie had fallen he knew he’d act the same way.