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 Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:43 pm
Toby's breath caught for just a moment. It'd been a long, long time since he'd been this close to any woman. He swallowed and nodded.
"Yeah, just like that." He leaned back a bit. "Oh, man, I'm sorry. I got you all wet." You pretty little thing, you. He swallowed again and went back to buffing, leaning over to conceal some potentially interesting biology.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:49 pm
"It's fine," Maia turned to look at him. It wasn't as if it was a chilly day. She flashed him a smile. "Come on, we're almost done," she said, encouragingly. Was he tired? "Then we can watch for the northern lights later, I heard they might be visible tonight."
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:13 pm
"Oh, really? That'd be cool," Toby agreed. Pretty lady, slightly damp, waxing his car. Just ignore it, eh? Yeah, he'd ignored it. His posture became easier and easier with every moment that passed. It'd been years. He was good at this by now.
"I don't think I've ever looked for them."
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:18 pm
"I thought it'd be nice to see," she said, turning to look at him. She finished buffing, and paused a moment. Did she tell him now? Later? Tomorrow? She didn't want to ruin tonight, if they were able to see it. "Do you want more lemonade?" she asked.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:37 pm
"Not right now," Toby said, "Thank you."
The next day Toby was in unusually good spirits. His dreams had been oddly pleasantly-gilded and the day at the lake had been brilliant. He had been close to Maia, close enough to feel her warmth and entirely able to ignore it as he lifted and threw her, or captured her, whatever he felt at the moment. The best part was that she let him. He loved to hear her laugh.
At the moment he was preparing dinner. Dari had gone off somewhere, he wasn't sure where or why but he knew better than to wander around undisguised so it didn't really matter.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:41 pm
Maia caught Toby in the kitchen. For once, she didn't offer to help with dinner. Instead, she seemed rather hesitant. Was this the right time? What if Dari was wrong, and he reacted in a drastic fashion? "Hey," she said, "I thought maybe, we could talk?"
She had to be careful not to use the L word, Dari had warned her. "Dari told me he thought I'd be able to tell you soon... So. Want to sit down?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:49 pm
Talk? Toby had no idea what there was to talk about, but he was more than willing. Coming into a human existence could be hard in thousands of ways. Why he was the target conversation partner he wasn't sure, but Maia wanted him so she could have him.
"Sure," he said, wiping his hands on a cloth and starting toward the dining room. "Tell me what?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:54 pm
Maia was losing her nerve. Maybe it would be better if she didn't mention it at all. They could be happy, friends forever, without his knowing her feelings. After a moment of silence though, she looked back at him. "Well. Uh. I thought we might talk because I've got feelings for you?" Was that the right way to put it?
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:59 pm
Toby's head tilted slowly. His expression didn't change. It was still open and softly smiling. Feelings? Why was she saying it like a question? His brain was a step behind.
"...feelings?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:08 pm
"Yeah, feelings," still determined to be careful, Maia sat down at the table and watched for a reaction. He wasn't upset. Not yet at least, should she elaborate? Maybe he didn't understand. "Um. Romantic feelings. They're recent. Well. Not that recent..." She fell silent, watching him.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:27 pm
Toby inhaled for an unusually long time while his head reset. Romantic feelings. Great. He... well, he had them too, but there was so much wrong with all of this. He swallowed hard and sighed.
"I, um."
Yep, this was going to be hard. He looked away, sighed, and looked back to the selkie. His voice was quiet.
"Maia, have you talked to Lori about selkie love?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:29 pm
Maia had been expecting that. "Yes," she said. "I have, and I--" she studied him, frowning slightly. "I don't think that's what this is. I've talked to Niamh. I've talked to Lori, I've talked to Dari about it at length." She didn't think it was.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:36 pm
Toby's lips twisted. His brow furrowed and released. She'd talked to Niamh? So she knew, then. He bit his lip and let it go.
"I'm... really sorry, Maia. I don't know what to say." No more hugs, then. No more holding hands. They'd had the carnival. That had been nice, and the lake earlier. Would he have done it differently if he knew it'd be the last time he'd get to be so close? He breathed as if it was meant to be a word but just gave a gesture with a hand and ended up leaning his forehead into it, hair pushed back.
s**t.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:41 pm
"So...You don't have feelings for me?" Maia prompted, hesitantly. Had Dari been wrong? He'd said he thought Toby had feelings for her. But then he'd said Toby might deny it. "At all?" She thought about earlier. Was that just what Toby did with anyone?
Maybe. But she'd certainly felt special. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 6:51 pm
Toby opened his mouth to respond, totally unsure what was even going to come out. Maia solved the problem for him. She panicked. She apologized. He relaxed.
"No, no, it's fine. I just." He didn't know if it was selkie love. He didn't want her getting hurt most of all. "I don't know. Do you want to help with dinner?" God, he didn't want to be in the same room as her right now, let alone cook with her. That had sort of been their special thing. Now it was just awkward, but he didn't know what to say.
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