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Bastion, to his credit, had not been nervous about the reunion all the way until he'd arrived. He'd spent the previous night sketching designs for his cousin's newest piece of jewelry, and he'd gotten a little meltwork done, and picked out what gems seemed flawless enough for it. Then he'd gotten distracted with a design idea that had him sketching again, and soon he was working on a new piece, but only the barest bones of it. Neither piece had been completed in a day - but he never finished his work that quickly. He took his time, and tried different things, before a piece was ever completed by his hand. Quality was not determined by speed.

Then he'd spent just a little time fiddling with the phone. He had hoped that he might have had the skills to figure out how to work it without Sophie's aid, simply because it would have been clever of him to do so. But he'd failed. So everything went back in it's box, and he'd bedded down for the night.

When the next morning came, he'd spent just a little more time in the design process of his work, before grabbing the bag with all of his phone supplies and yet another rose, and heading to Sophie's dorm. There was no fussing. No nervous jitters. He very much looked forward to seeing Sophie again, and working out the mechanics of this skellyphone his cousin had purchased from him.

But it was the moment he'd reached the door and rose his hand up to knock, that a wave of anxiety overtook him, and froze him to the core.

In the end, Sophie would hear a knock, but when she opened the door, no one would be there. But on the floor, another crystal red rose had been left for her. It was all he could do for the moment, because he'd run off to be sick in the boil's room.

Approximately four minutes later, Bastion returned to the door, feeling dizzy, but less anxious. He knocked on it, and then almost started to run again, but he planted his feet on the floor and refused to budge.

"Sophie?" He asked the door. "My apologies for disappearing. Please forgive me. May I come in?"

The rose was gone. Was that a good sign, or a bad one? Whether the rose was still intact or not was probably the only way to tell.. which meant he had to get inside. He turned his head and checked his breath - odorless, thank Medea. That could have been unfortunate.

Bastion took in a breath when she opened the door, but he held it, stunned when she pulled him inside. She seemed happy to see him, which meant he needn't worry about her being upset. So he followed, gentle as a lamb, and sat down exactly where she led him, flopping easily into the cushions of the sofa. It was at this point that he finally exhaled, his face flushing with the sudden need for oxygen.

And then he looked at the spookies.

"You baked?" He leaned in, staring at them with absolute confusion. On his lips the rest of the question died; he couldn't bear to actually ask if she'd made them for him. It was far more likely that she'd just wanted spookies. Still, it was kind to offer, and he took one instantly. "They're not ugly. And trust me, nothing can make me sick right-"

It had taken him a while - perhaps it was just the nervousness of returning to her room. But Bastion hadn't looked at Sophie properly until that moment, and his words died in his throat. He put the cookie down, and stood up, wiping his fingers against his pants while striding over urgently to stand in front of her. His fingertips cupped under her chin and tugged her face up close to his, and his eyes stared intently. "Sophie." He whispered carefully. "Have you been crying?"

Allergies. Bastion kept his eyes trained on her, with very obvious disbelief. When she caved in and admitted the truth, his lips turned up in a smile, for only a brief moment. The smile died away almost instantly as the words sunk in, and he realized he was at fault.

More importantly..

"I don't understand." He whispered, tilting his head in confusion. "You were sad?" He swallowed, hard. "Because you thought I wasn't coming?"

He'd been wrong, before. Apparently his stomach could still churn dangerously.

He didn't know what to say. He absolutely did not know what to do. It was a situation he'd never been in, in his entire life, and he felt guilty for how his heart stuttered with happiness that someone was that affected by him. He was at a loss for how to handle the situation - and he realized he'd put himself in a position where he was going to be at a loss for how to handle.. many things.

And poor Sophie would be the one to suffer.

"I'm so sorry.." He whispered hoarsely, brushing his thumbs against her cheeks. "I didn't realize I would upset you. I didn't realize I could upset you. I'm not.. not used to this."

It was embarrassing to admit that.

"Will you forgive me?"

It was a silly game of turnaround, and he thought he just might enjoy playing it.

"I do many things for your sake, my rose." Bastion murmured slyly. "But I stay for my sake. So no more tears." He let his hands fall away from her face, and sat back down on the couch. "So. Let us see about these spookies you have baked. And then, you shall have to help me with a purchase I have acquired." He held up the bag in his hand. "Skellyphone!"

He was just so proud of it.

"I have not managed to figure out what to do with it. You are my only hope." The spookie went in his mouth, and he crunched down on it - it was crisp, from being just the slightest bit overdone, but it tasted just fine to him. "Absolutely marvelous. You are a craftswoman and a cook - ah, what a lucky man would your husband make."

"Three batches? You must have really been in the mood for spookies to have tried that hard. But these are delicious, worth all of the attempts. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that practice makes perfect." He took another cookie, and bit down on it happily. "I go through several attempts at metalwork before I'm happy with a frame for a gem. And don't get me started on actually finding flawless gems nowadays.." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

Finally, the mysteries of the skellyphone were being revealed to him. He saw the tiny green button she was pointing to, and made note that it all begins there. Just a touch from her fingertips made the screen light up, and he looked on with excitement, craning to see what the screen showed. But she seemed to realize his trouble, and moved closer. His body straightened as rigid as a board when she settled beside him, and he stared down at her in shock. The phones kept her attention, and gave him just enough time to collect his thoughts.

She had such pretty hair.

No, those were the wrong thoughts to collect.

"Sorry, could you go over that again? I didn't catch that.."

He tried to pay attention, this time. He really did. Every time he felt the distraction pulling him to look upwards, at the strands of hair curling in the pigtails, his face pinched in focus and he looked back down at the phone.

"Slowly.. until I adjust.." His fingers did not want to find the keys fast enough, but he managed to get it all in eventually.

And then she told him to smile, but all she got was a deer-in-headlights look, slightly flushed and just a little confused. His lips managed to turn up in the tiniest of smirks just in time for the flash, but as soon as the light burst out, he saw stars and dots of blackness in his vision.

"What.. just.." He closed his eyes and rubbed them hard until they all went away.

"So you've taken my picture?" He held his phone out, and carefully found the button she mentioned. When he pushed it, her face showed up on the screen, and he paused there. This way, without infringing on anything awkward, he could just look at her.

"Sophie, I'm sure I've said this before," He murmured as he held the phone up. "But, you're very pretty."

Click.