Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maybe Syn had hoped to scare her. Hoped to make her run, as she always had. It was a fair gamble, after all - she was prone to it. When she came closer, Maebe focused on all of her features, exploring the chimera's face with curious eyes. She saw the anger, now. The protectiveness. A very slight smile perked on her features for just a brief second.

Then it was gone.

Because telling Maebe that Dawson would have married her, all that time ago, had her heart exploding with the kind of delight she'd never felt before. As much as she'd worried over never being what he wanted, what he deserved, to know that he felt that way, even then, even at her worst-

The smile returned, now. It turned into a grin. She was blushing. Syn had just told her that she could have had Dawson all this time, if not for her, and somehow that knowledge didn't hurt her the way she could only assume Syn hoped it would.

Because he wanted her. Even when she wasn't worth wanting.

"Then you probably did us both a favor." Maebe admitted, biting her lower lip to try and squelch the smile. "Making us wait this long, all this time being just friends, being there for each other, suffering in ineptitude and chastity.."

The lip dropped from her teeth. She looked at the wall, her thoughts drifting pleasantly. "It's going to make our future all the sweeter."

She loved playing pretend with Dawson. It was, perhaps, why she was so drawn to him. The real world could go to hell, as far as she was concerned. She was ready to make her own.

"Is that really the worst thing in the world? That he makes himself feel better by caring about me? If he never loves me, at the very least I'll consider my time with him well spent if it brings a smile to his face. He deserves that. He deserves every ounce of happiness this piece of s**t world can bring him, even if it comes at the cost of someone else."

She'd gone a little red in the face. She didn't want to be used again. She didn't want to think about it like that. But if it was Dawson, using her..

It still hurt, but he did deserve it.

"Syn, I'm getting mixed signals out of you. Because I feel like you're super protective of our boy here, which is awesome, but also kind of a b***h about him? Like, Jesus, girl, he's naive, but he's not an idiot. Give him a little more credit than that."

"I won't forgive you." She pointed out, a little coldly. "But I won't try to argue the point."

After all, no matter how much Maebe loved the man, no one knew their Hunter better than their weapon. She knew that fact.. a little too well.

And she was suddenly so relieved that Thaw had gone off to be with Dawson, and not stayed with them, that day. Mental note: Thaw never gets to meet Syn.

"Humans are inherently selfish. Even Dawson, the most unselfish man of all, probably gets a little greedy about things sometimes. But I know I'm worse. I know it, and I'm trying to be better. At the very least, for him. That's all I can offer, Syn. I really don't care if it isn't good enough for you. It's good enough for him. That's all I care about."

Maebe bent inward, her hands folded against her knee. She stared at them for a moment; the perfectly manicured nails, filed to deadly perfection. The soft skin, now somewhat marred by actual work. The faint scar that ran down between her thumb and pointer finger on her left hand, white and almost invisible unless the light hit it just right.

She had a similar scar, across her eyes. That one was well hidden by makeup, but this one, she didn't mind.

She stared at her own two hands now, her expression dropping in contemplation. And perhaps, just a touch of fear.

He deserves better than good enough, Maebe Grace.

"I understand." She mutters, even if she doesn't really believe that could ever be her.

"Yeah, actually." Because like hell was she going to dare ask Dawson this.

"What changed?" She looked up, met Syns eyes. "Why suddenly now? What did I do.. right? I guess."

"He thought about me."

Despite how sharp and pointed Syns words were, Maebe had stopped listening right about there. Her feet tucked under her body and she rested her head on the sofa armrest, drifting with distraction. There was a silly little smile on her face that betrayed how her heart was fluttering like mad.

Was this really real? Not just some pity relationship? God, she wanted to believe that.

"He worries about other people so damn much. Even people he doesn't know. How do you even manage to feel something for people you don't know? I think about that a lot, when I see him in action. I think about what it must be like.. having a heart that big."

Her eyes unfocus as she thinks about all the times she's seen Dawson be unselfish with his time and energy. "I wonder if it makes him feel really good inside, when he does something like that. It's that why he does it? Is it like a high?"

Very slowly, the blood drains from Maebes face. She refuses to look in Syns eyes.

Because that's what she is isn't it. Something to take care of. Just like America. A fixer upper.

Change the subject, change the subject.

"Is there anything else you wanted to do, while you're out?"