[Kevin's feeling pretty smug right now, obviously having cracked this case wide open. Cliff, on the other hand, is still flustered, and feels his heart jump into his throat as Coco says he'd been fighting for a good reason. Yelling at her to not say anything or that his family couldn't know about that stuff would only prompt more questions, but -- oh. Oh, good, she's...sensibly bending the truth, and not even being horribly obvious about it. Small mercies, during this terrible, terrible time.
Nora's face softens even more as Coco explains. It's nice to hear someone other than herself defending her son and confirming that the sweet boy she knows is in there still sees the light of day sometimes. Although for Clifford and Coco, it's night... Gotta love a good time difference.]
He is.
We're not mad! Cliff's always getting in fights. I don't know how he gets beat up, though, he's really strong! He doesn't think I'm heavy at all.
[Okay. He can...work with this. Even if his face still feels warm.]
That's because you aren't.
Nuh-uh! Dad thinks I'm too heavy to carry around.
Carl's old.
Clifford.
What?
[Instead of continuing, Nora just gives him A Look and shakes her head before picking up the basket again. She doesn't need to explain to him how disrespectful he is, he already knows. Coco, on the other hand, gets another smile.]
It was nice meeting you, Coco. You make sure he behaves, alright?
[Ughhh, BYE MOM. He drags a hand down his face, relieved at least that now there's only one family member to deal with. Unfortunately, it's the gremlin. Kevin takes on a bit of a know-it-allish tone.]
I think Cliff's a jerk. He's not nice to any of his friends, just me, but all of his friends just do bad stuff, too.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-09-15 01:55 pm (UTC)Nora's face softens even more as Coco explains. It's nice to hear someone other than herself defending her son and confirming that the sweet boy she knows is in there still sees the light of day sometimes. Although for Clifford and Coco, it's night... Gotta love a good time difference.]
He is.
We're not mad! Cliff's always getting in fights. I don't know how he gets beat up, though, he's really strong! He doesn't think I'm heavy at all.
[Okay. He can...work with this. Even if his face still feels warm.]
That's because you aren't.
Nuh-uh! Dad thinks I'm too heavy to carry around.
Carl's old.
Clifford.
What?
[Instead of continuing, Nora just gives him A Look and shakes her head before picking up the basket again. She doesn't need to explain to him how disrespectful he is, he already knows. Coco, on the other hand, gets another smile.]
It was nice meeting you, Coco. You make sure he behaves, alright?
[Ughhh, BYE MOM. He drags a hand down his face, relieved at least that now there's only one family member to deal with. Unfortunately, it's the gremlin. Kevin takes on a bit of a know-it-allish tone.]
I think Cliff's a jerk. He's not nice to any of his friends, just me, but all of his friends just do bad stuff, too.