[AU:BR]Great With Kids

[Devyn Solway]

Vera had only just walked away to take Landon to the bathroom a moment ago, and literally a second later Ava decided to lose it. At first it was a simple cry, one to let her mom know that she was in some kind of distress over something, but then it quickly became a scream. Devyn already knew what the problem was, her little one had gone to the bathroom and it was another stink bomb. Powerful enough that it made Devyn feel a little light headed due to her sensitive nose. Her plan had been to try and get Ava to wait for Vera to get back and handle it, but her baby girl was not having it.

This time she wanted the poopy dipper off now and didn't have a little show on to distract her. "Shhh, Ava, shhh. I'm getting to it now. Settle down." Devyn spoke in a calming voice, trying to get Ava to at least stop screaming like Devyn was doing something outright evil to her. It also didn't help that Devyn had sensitive ears and was holding Ava over her shoulder while she adjusted the stroller to try and change her daughter in it. A baby on one arm and trying to work with the dipper bag in the other was less than fun. Add the fact that Ava decided to grab her mom's hair and pull on it as if she were removing weeds from the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow. Ava. Please let go of mom's hair. Ouch-awww shiiizzzz." Devyn said as she tried to gets her daughter’s fist to free her hair and ended up causing some of the supplies in the dipper bag to spill out onto the grass. Dev would swear up and down that she was good with kids and that this was just one of those freak moments, but this happened from time to time. Especially when Ava would catch on that mommy was gone and that just mom was with her. "Mommy will be back with your big brother soon, work with mom for now." Devyn said as she struggled to lay Ava down in the strolled since the little girl was grabbing and holding tightly onto her hair again.

S.O.S. Devyn thought to herself.

[Cade Carson]

Cade laughed to himself as he watched the spectacle from a ways away. He walked towards them, taking a quick swig from the silver flask in his inside jacket pocket, tucking it back there after a while. His former crush was having quite the time.

"Ironic. I'm the one who was worried about an okay parent, and I'm not one. And you are currently struggling to change a child." He looked at the little girl and smiled goofily.

"You don't know me and presumably you might be a little hesitant to scream when I'm busy looking at you, right?" Hey, he could say pretty much anything in a cooing sort of voice.

"You're pretty cute. Quite the lungs too, screaming in her ears." Okay, he'd gotten over Devyn. That didn't mean it wasn't just a little fun to see her in a little bit of trouble. It would've been funny to him to see anyone he knew from his past dealing with this.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn could hear someone approaching, could even smell them thanks to the little side bonus of her power but she was a bit too busy with her offspring to pay it too much mind. She figured it was just someone else coming back for the reunion and was going to pass her by to deal with her screaming child. Yet, the voice was speaking to her and it was a familiar one. Devyn could not help but to give a half smile as she turned to look at Cade. Ava calmed down only a little bit because some stranger was talking to her mom and she was watching him closely.

"Hey, it's a poppy dipper. My nose makes it difficult." Devyn said in her defense as she worked on keeping a good hold of her daughter with one hand as she worked on getting her daughter's tiny fist to let go of her hair. Ava looked very much like both of her parents, with her dark hair and light colored eyes; she got more of Vera's overall looks but ended up with green eyes like her mother. Little Ava didn't really know how to speak; she knew a few words but not enough to actually be able to respond to this strange man.

"Ava, this is Cade. A friend of mine from my days at this school." Devyn introduce the two of them, but Ava of course just blinked before she started to cry again. Devyn rolled her eyes a little but chuckled at Cade's next words as she moved to lay Ava down in the stroller so she could work on changing her. "I think she has most of her mother's looks. Now help me out by picking up the stuff that fell out of the dipper bag and hand me a dipper and some wipes." Devyn said as she managed to get her hair free of her daughter's grip but that just caused Ava to start to cry louder again.

[Cade Carson]

Cade looked down at the stuff that had dropped out and crouched to pick them up.

"I don't really get why I should help. You didn't even say please. But because I'm such a nice guy, and I have a little alcohol in my system to make me more amiable, I will help." He shrugged, brushing some dust off the diaper and wipes and handing them to Devyn.

"So how have you been? How's life?"

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn rolled her eyes when Cade spoke of how he was not sure why he should help her. Well, that was a big put off but she supposed she was not supposed to be turned on around Cade. Still, she had expected that he would still have a bit of his gentlemen side or something, but time did change people. He even seemed to be more of a drinker, or at least was open about it by the fact that he admitted it. "Well, you should do it out of the kindness of your heart. You know, someone struggling who you were pretty good friends with in the past. Should help them out." Devyn said as she laid Ava down in the stroller as he daughter kept crying.

"Thanks, and I'll make sure to say please next time." Devyn said as she gave a small smile at Cade and took what he handed over to her. She then moved quickly to change her daughter and no to end up passing out from the smell. For normal people it probably was not that big of a deal, but for Devyn she felt like she might as well stick her head into the garbage can. Ava did stop crying then as soon as her mom got rid of the dirty dipper and was cleaning her up. Apparently being in a good enough moods that she started to babble again.

"I've been good. Own a bar, married, and with two kids. Vera is off talking our son Landon to the bathroom at the moment." Devyn informed Cade as she put on the clean dipper of Ava and picked up her daughter again. Making sure she was fully settled down and cleaned up her face that still had some tears and snot on it. Babies. "How about you? What has Cade been up to?" Devyn asked as she looked at the guy she almost banged back when she was in high school.

[Cade Carson]

So she'd actually married Vera. Well, it was kind of soothing to his ego that at least he'd been rejected for the woman who became Devyn's wife eventually. That kind of felt better, even if Cade had been over it for quite some time.

"A bar, huh? So instead of getting drunk off your ass, you help other people with it." He laughed. Then she asked what he'd been up to and he sighed.

"Wrote a book about a superhero kid without powers who battled criminals with his wits. Didn't sell well. I competed in Mixed Martial Arts for a while, won the championship in my division a couple times. Opened a dojo of sorts to teach. And my students keep trying to get me into alcoholics anonymous but I tell them their efforts could be better spent trying to match make." He smirked, shrugging.

[Devyn Solway]

"Yup, pretty much. While I mean I first started off as just working at them but worked my way up and now running mu own place. Allows me to have a bit more flexible hours like I like and helps out a lot when it comes to having to take care of the kids." Devyn admitted as she finished up changing her baby girl. Dev put the stinky diaper in one of those special trash bags that locked in the odor and spelled like baby powder on the outside.

She then made sure that Ava's close were on properly before she picked up her daughter and looked to Cade as he was speaking. Ava kept babbling to herself as she plaid with Devyn's hair a little and looked around from over Devyn shoulder with the occasional looks towards the man that was speaking to her mom. So he wrote a book, competed in that passion of his, and now owned a dojo. Devyn smiled at hearing all of that, only for the smile to fade at hearing that Cade was basically an alcoholic or that he at least drank a lot.

That explained the scent on his breath that Devyn had picked up before she had even smelled him as a person. "That all sounds great. Happy to hear that you are putting your skills to good use to help others. Not happy to hear that you have a drinking problem. You know that stuff kills you if you are consuming it too much, right?" Devyn asked as she adjusted her daughter on her side, splitting her attention between Ava and Cade to make sure Ava was okay and for Cade to know she was concerned.

[Cade Carson]

He laughed.

"You're a fine one to point the finger Devyn. I seem to remember a not so sober version of yourself in high school. Besides which, you own a bar now so I'm just contributing to the business in general." He shrugged.

"Besides, I only have a few sips." Granted, it was of stronger stuff and he was kind of playing it down for Devyn's sake. Still though.

"It relaxes me. About the only thing that manages to do so. Running a business that depends on how well I am physically doesn't always do well." Money was tight for him to begin with.

"After all, I'm not piggybacking on my parents' money anymore. They cut me off for behaviour." He laughed dryly.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn rolled her eyes at that response. Yeah, she did drink a lot back when he first met her in high school but she had a valid reason for that. "I was depressed, in a really bad way. It was my way to cope with it all." Devyn pointed out. She figured Cade would have remembered that or maybe he never fully connected the dots all those years ago. "Plus, while I own a bar, does not mean I endorse people to be alcoholics. Drinking is fine for leisure and one and a while but it’s gotten to the point where it’s a problem, even I bam people from my place." Devyn pointed out.

She was slightly defensive; never liking someone thinking that just because she supported drinking and drank herself meant that she was also cool with the negative things that came along with it. Something must have happened to Cade that made him that way, or was it only a matter of time until he ended up like that anyways? Devyn was starting to wonder as she let out a low growl when Cade spoke of only having a few sips. "You are lucky my little girl is here or I would have some choice language for you right now. Did you forget my power? I can smell what kind you have been drinking on your breath." Devyn pointed out.

He might have been saying it for her benefit, but to her it just seemed like he was lying since she was seeing through it all. Dev, did not like lying. Devyn settled down a little when Ava started to get that look on her face like she was scared or about to cry again. That and because Cade spoke up about how it relaxed him. She didn't care for the excuse about the business, but the bit about his parents made some sense to her. "What happened to you dude?" Devyn asked, some concern in her voice as she looked at Cade confused. What had happened in a span of ten years to make him end up like...this?

[Cade Carson]

She said she was depressed. Like she was the only one who could drink because she was depressed. He sighed.

"Glad to hear you're so responsible now. Just lay off." And then she ripped into him, all without swearing because her kid was there. She cited her power and he groaned.

"I did forget. But honestly, I can handle it. I'm thirty for crying out loud. If I can't handle myself now when I was a responsible stick in the mud at twenty, I don't see the problem. And I'm not used to people being worried. I was trying to shrug it off so this could be a pleasant conversation. So much for that." Then Devyn just asked right out what had happened and he gave a dry laugh.

"Well I couldn't get a date at all. I didn't exactly try. Basically I went back to the way I was living romantically before I became friends with you. Only without the wannabe playboy ways. Finally my parents had had enough and decided to matchmake me with a 'nice girl' they knew. I liked her. Unfortunately for me, when I proposed after a couple years, she decided that she had other priorities in life rather than dating someone her parents had set her up with." He put his palm on his forehead and shook his head.

"Why she couldn't have figured that out before I proposed I don't know. All I know is me asking girls big questions just doesn't go over well at all." Cade chuckled.

"Anyways, I started drinking. I might have a kid by a bored party girl somewhere. I don't know. My parents finally decided they weren't going to put up with my BS and cut me off. So now I have to budget like normal people, huh?" He shrugged.

"This can't possibly be interesting for you."

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn knew she was not the only one who was depressed and drowned herself in drinks, and she was not going to be the last. Didn't mean she was not going to try and change those who were doing it as well, trying to help out those who she could relate to in terms of the whole drinking to numb the pain. She really did understand how it helped but she also now understood how it had hurt and was thankful that Vera had been so strict on her about drinking and smoking. Now Dev didn't smoke at all and while she had a drink here and there it was never to deal with her problems.

"I'll lay off when you actually start to get better and understand that people are on your case because they care about you." Devyn responded, letting out a low growl. Ava let out a small wine at that and Devyn was quickly giving her daughter a hug and whispering that she was sorry and didn't mean to scare her daughter or to make her think that her mother was upset with her at all. He admitted that he did forget and that he could handle it because he was thirty now. Age meant nothing in terms of what a person could and could not handle when it came to being depressed.

"Well obviously if people are pushing you to do something, it’s because they are worried and see that you are not doing so well handling it on your own." Devyn pointed out, doing her best to keep her tone at least a little on the light side. Where was Vera when she needed her to come get their little girl so she could give Cade a good quick to wake up. He explained all that happened and Devyn could fully understand why he was drinking and just being the way he was now. That didn't mean she was just going to accept it as it was. "I don't want to sound like a...you know what but I told you that you should have stayed yourself. Going back to how you were before was probably your main problem. As for what the girl did to you, it was messed up, and I get it hurts...trust me. Still, you got to work on sucking it up eventually and don't be afraid to rely on those around you for help." Devyn said.

She gave Cade the advice that she had been given a lot of times and it just took a while before she actually started to use it herself. "It's not that it does not interest me, it more of I'm disappointed and sad for a guy I concerned a friend. You could have called or anything to help you get through this. You still can now. Can't live off your parents forever anyways and it’s high time you grew up, no?" Devyn asked. She was still younger then he was but he had before tried to help her out and she had let him a little bit. Now she was going to try and help him without punching him in the face because her little girl was still in her arms.

[Cade Carson]

"Get better? You're implying I'm sick Devyn. I'm perfectly fine." He shook his head and laughed. She growled at him. Nope still didn't scare him in the least. He took in everything that was happening and sighed.

"You're scaring your little girl Devyn. I hate to disappoint you but...this IS me. It's too late for me to go back to the way I was before. I said I'd gone back to the way I was, but that was just referring to my dating habits." He shrugged.

"Devyn, I don't need help. I'm dealing with it. Besides, why should you care? I'm just a guy you met in high school." It wasn't like he was addicted to alcohol or anything. Granted, hearing her worry about him made him want to take another swig but that was an unrelated note.

"No, I didn't just mean the money. Reputation means too much to them. I'm one step away from being disowned. I don't care. There's a reason I was screwed up when you met me.  Don't suppose you want to actually sit down and talk somewhere?"  It wasn't that he was reaching out.  It wasn't.  Devyn was just someone he always felt like he could talk to.  Even after all this time, he felt the same...comfortable feeling he had when he'd been friends with her ten years ago.

[Devyn Solway]

"If you are an alcoholic then you are sick, in a way. Or something like that." Devyn said as she shrugged her shoulder a little. She didn't know the whole details behind those who had drinking problems other than that they would deny that they had one. So since he was denying it with the strong set of alcohol on his breath and what he had told her about his student, she felt like he was in denial. The growl was not meant to scare, it honestly was just a way that Devyn communicated how she was feeling and most of the time it was out of her control. Right now she was feeling frustrated and angry and that was why the growl came out more of a threatening way.

Devyn moved to put Ava back in her stroller, that way she didn't end up getting really pissed off at Cade with her daughter in her hands. She would never hear the end of it if she ended up accidentally dropping her daughter and Vera found out. And Vera would of course find out, because she found out that sort of thing and Dev was not good at keeping secretes from her wife. "You are still young; you know you can change if you want to. If you want something to be different in your life you have to work for it, try and change. Nothing is going to be handed to you. Figured you would have at least remembered that from the times we hung out with one another." Devyn said as another low growl slipped out.

She didn't feel like doing this, she was just here to catch up with people and see how they were doing. Dev didn't want to do that if it meant she was just going to get pissed off at someone and want to get in a fight with them. She did care about Cade, and worried about him but she didn't know how long she was going to tolerate the way he was currently acting. Damn, was I like this at all? Devyn thought to herself as she tried to think back when she was just really depressed. "You do need fucking help if people around you are saying you need it and believe it or not we were friends Cade, so I would obviously care about you. Just because we didn't end up being with one another does not mean I suddenly done with you when we were both done with college." Devyn said, half snapping.

She covered her mouth after, realizing that she cursed and looked to her daughter who was staring at her but not crying so things were still safe. Unless she repeated that word back, then Devyn was in deep. Dev still heard him out, but was still not sure if she got it. So he was cut off from his parents completely, what of it? That just meant he had to do things how he wanted and be good enough for himself. Dev could not fully relate since that was how it had been with her for years after she was done with college and her mother no longer had to give her any money. "We can, if you are actually going to reflect on what we talk about." Devyn said as she handed Ava a bottle to keep her daughter content.

[Cade Carson]

"No need to get all worked up Devyn. And...I know that being out of college doesn't make us...not friends. But we haven't talked for a while now. I just kind of assumed we weren't the kind of friends who talked that much, never mind about what my dojo students were bugging me about." He shrugged.

"I know things aren't going to get handed to me. Everything I have now I've earned. My dojo, my home and my reputation, good or bad. I own up to all that. I just don't see the problem with having some drinks. They make me able to not be so damn nervous about things. Is that so bad?" He sighed. He didn't know why she was so worked up about this. It wasn't like he was. He was still calm. Cade didn't see why Devyn was concerned. It was just a few drinks. It wasn't like he was going off the deep end, right?

"I wanted to catch up and talk with you. If I wanted a lecture about my behaviour, I could go to my parents and ask to talk Devyn." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"It's nice that you're concerned though." He reached up and scratched the stubbly beard on his chin. He liked to leave it at this stage. It looked good on him after all.

"It isn't like I can drink and drive besides, heh?" He laughed goodnaturedly. His powers still prevented that.

"That's one of the reasons why I founded my dojo. If I have my own business, I can control where it is. I can walk to work every morning because of that. So it makes my power weakness more manageable, you know? What about you? How's it going with your powers?"

[Devyn Solway]

"I get worked up when a situation is a big deal to me." Devyn responded letting out another low growl. She didn't say anything more on the matter. It was not her fault that she had not kept in contact with Cade, because he had not done so with her. Everyone that knew Devyn knew that she was not so good at keeping in touch by the phone. So Cade had not messaged her so it should not have come as a surprise that she didn't contact him back. It was easier when she went to school with him because then she could just pop over for a visit but once away from all that was BA things just slipped past and without a reminder she didn't think of things all the time.

Devyn didn't say anything as Cade pointed out that he knew that things were not just going to be handed to him and that he had earned that he had now. So then what was he complaining about? Devyn didn't understand and just shook her head to calm herself down so she didn't do something in front of her daughter or what she could end up regretting. Sometimes she really didn't get people and this was one of those situations that she was not sure what the problem was if there was in fact no problem according to what he was saying.

"It's not a problem to have drinks here and there but you said that your students complained about your drinking and then you were not fully honest about just having little sips. Or if you are having little sips its some strong stuff." Devyn pointed out, followed by another deep breath. "Whatever, then I'm done talking about it." Devyn said as she dropped the subject now. So long as he didn't keep talking about it she was not going to. She was already pissed off about it so she didn't want to keep talking about it anyways. Dev still didn't say anything as Cade went for what she assumed his way of trying to lighten the situation.

He was then talking about his dojo but Devyn was not saying anything about it because part of it involved the subject that they were supposed to be done talking about. There was talk about his power and then a question. It would have been rude to not answer so she knew she had to say something. "No problems really. I've gained a lot of control over my ability to the point that I can make my shadows stretch out from my form like my tails do. Can make my fur as sharp as my teeth and just in general more control over the way my beast form looks." Devyn informed him with a small nod.