Lauren's work day

"Oh, venting sounds so nice..." Lauren groaned. "See, this is why I never want to go back to my place. Just me and the random assortment of dragons all over the place."

"Dragons?" Viola snickered. "Next you're going to tell me you just keep dragon bones in the chest upstairs, and don't just dump them on the floor."

"I like to keep my virtual houses as neat as my real ones, thanks." Lauren teased at a particularly sensitive spot right behind Viola's left ear, and she stretched her head towards the contact. "Seriously, one of those things nobody at work gets."

"Uh... mind if I bail on this one, dad? I hate hearing about the hotel, nothing personal, Lauren." Miranda asked apologetically, and was instantly relieved when her father merely pointed towards her empty plate with an arched eyebrow. "After I get the dishes?"

"Since Titania did some of the cooking, I figure that's fair." Robin nodded. "When we're done, ok? I'll let you know."

Miranda nodded happily and with a quick wave at everyone darted up the stairs with a joyful sound of tromping.

"Where was I?" Lauren asked, before she seemed to remember. "Oh right, the hotel, so..." She pressed again against Viola's ear, right below the earlobe. Damn that felt good, Viola thought. Felt like the chill headache was almost gone. Combined with the ticking from the ancient furnace followed by the occasional blast of warm air through the house, the feeling of home was delightful.

Lauren vented. There was no other word for it. It ran the gamut, all over the place, and ranged from discussions on co-workers not doing their job, to labor violations, to poor police response time. Viola was a bit shocked at the vitriol that Lauren espoused, including some extremely choice words about her boss, his ethnicity, his attitude towards his staff, how he probably spent his time at family reunions, her speculation on what he could do with the maintenance of his marital aids, and proper improvised weapon usage of the remaining detritus. But not in so many words.

"Ok, damn, tell me how you really feel, Hon." Robin remarked after a moment. "Feel better?"

"Much! Thank you. " Lauren nodded happily. "And thus endeth the bitching."

"Golf clap?" Titania asked her father with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Golf clap." Robin Grinned. Been too long since they did this joke.

Robin and Titania both held their hands out and each applauded nearly silently, a mere soft patter running through the house. Titania smiled a bit brighter, noting the amused reaction that Viola had to the action.

"Shall I stand and take a bow?" Lauren grinned, her fingers running through Viola's hair. "Totally honest, just like I promised."

"No judgement. I'm still willing to sit out in the lobby if you want me to." Robin commented, shrugging his shoulders. "If it gets too scary, you promise to tell me, right?"

"I promise." Lauren ran her fingers along Viola's back, and she did so snatched away one of the remaining fries from Viola's plate. "Oh, I should have warned you, this whole family is a bunch of fry thieves."

"If everybody is always stealing everybody else's fries, it all works out in the end." Robin shrugged. "It's the jerks who don't accept a fairly stolen fry. When somebody steals your fry, don't complain about it, steal theirs back while they're munching. Or talking, you learn fast."

Robin's last was in response to Viola's fingers snaking out and snatching another of the home fries from his plate.