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 Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 6:42 pm
Lissie hesitated, blushed, and looked at him for a long moment. She seemed to be trying to memorize his features. "You're going to go away soon," she said. "Back to America."
"My favorites..." she considered the question. "I love the yellow and pink roses, and the bluebells in the fields nearby. If they're still there. I used to play there, as a girl."
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 6:47 pm
Michael could only smile when she insisted he was leaving. She was smart, and perhaps he wasn't so guarded as he liked to think he was. In life, people had said that he was too easy to read. Maybe death hadn't changed him. Luckily, his going back to America would mean that Lissie had crossed over. At least she changed the subject too quickly to really have to breach it.
"Do you?" he asked. With an unnecessary flourish of his free hand, he spawned a pink-and-yellow rose bug devoid of thorns. He reached up and tucked it behind Lissie's ear. "Did flowers have specific meanings in Wales? They did in England. These are very particular." He smirked, but it quickly morphed into a somewhat mischievous, pleased smile.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 11:31 pm
Lissie paused and held still so he put the flower in her hair, and then smiled prettily at him. "They mean love, don't they?" She guessed. She had gone pink, almost the same color as the rose now in her hair.
She smiled at him, and went to pick a rose of identical color, offering it to him. "I'm glad I get to share my garden with you."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 7:54 am
"Hmm. Well, almost," Michael teased, "These are more specific; friendship, but falling in love." He arched a brow and smiled when she offered him a similar flower, took it, and paused, giving her the option to back out from it if she wanted.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:07 am
So, were the flowers accurate? Lissie couldn't be sure. She'd certainly never felt like this for anyone, not while she'd been alive. But was love supposed to happen so quickly? So beautifully? Was that what this swell in her chest was? This wonderful feeling?
"What's falling in love like?" She asked. "Is it warm?" Or was that warmth inside her part of the illusion. "I never got the chance to experience it," she added--he was going to be leaving soon, she had to remind herself. There was no time for love. But still... She doubted she'd ever meet anyone like Michael in her existence.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:40 am
Michael's opposite brow rose up to meet the other as Lissie handed over the flower. He turned his head ever so slightly, giving her another smirking Look. It was a big too large to stick in his button hole and he didn't want to be quite so silly as to put it in his hair, so he simply held it.
"I couldn't say for certain," he admitted, "They said that you will know when it happens, but in life I'd never fallen in love." Lust, affection, sure. Family or friendly love, absolutely. Not actual romance. He didn't dare ask if Lissie thought that she was feeling it now. Could it be? They had just met. Oh, he hoped it wasn't true for both of their sakes. He felt so warm himself, a bit fluttery, pleased, but love would complicate everything. His friends and his books both told him so, and it rarely ended well.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:47 am
Oh... but maybe one of Michael's living friends knew how to explain it? "I remember family love," for some reason, Lissie's smile had dropped. She unlooped her arm and reached for his hand.
"Maybe your blonde friend, the married one, can explain it," she said. "I'm curious to know everything about life."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:51 am
"He likely could," Michael agreed. He slipped his fingers into her hand and held it. "He denied it as long as he could, but love trumps all, does it not? At least, that's what I read. He would discuss it with you, I'm certain."
Denial was not always a bad thing. It hurt, but if it was for the best, it was worth it.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:05 pm
"Love must be hard to keep secret, then," she said. She was doomed, if that was the case. Michael would be leaving soon--but maybe she could go with him?
Lissie was quiet for a while, looking at their hands. "Can I do something not quite proper?" She asked, and looked up at Michael.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:07 pm
Not quite proper? Modern times said that it might be a rather dramatic act, but in the Victorian age, even holding hands like this would be improper. If nothing else, he was curious what she meant.
"Certainly."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:14 pm
Lissie released his hand and hesitantly moved in front of him before putting her arms around him. She released him after a few moments, turning pink.
"I apologize if I was too bold, there," she said.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:24 pm
A hug was nothing any more. Even a brush of the shoulder had been improper in life, but he had learned through Maia and even some of the others that hugs were just fine. In fact, he'd grown to like them. As such, Lissie's hug was welcome, and he accepted her after a moment to hug her back, though loosely.
He was smiling when she stepped back. "Not at all. Well. I'm sure that my mother wouldn't approve, but the house rules don't quite apply to us any more."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:29 pm
Oh, he wasn't upset. Lissie relaxed, and returned his smile, though her cheeks remained pink. "What are your favorite flowers, Michael?" She asked. "If I had seeds, we could plant some together."
Or was that too couple-y? Had romance really changed all that much? How did one flirt, even?
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:34 pm
"Mm, to choose a favorite would be difficult," Michael said. "I enjoy catmint quite a bit. I haven't seen much. I'm unsure if it ever grew wildly where I'm from, but I also was never far from the city." He held out his elbow, rethought it, and took Lissie's hand again of his own accord.
"I have to say, I've done very little garden work myself. My 'help' was mostly as an assistant, running back and forth with bulbs and stems."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:42 pm
"Those are the tall, purple ones?" She asked, before conjuring a patch nearby. "They'd be nice," she said, then, and smiled at him. "Now you have a piece of the garden too."
"Did you have a cat?" Lissie asked. She'd always wanted one, but her father had had the misfortune to become ill when they were near.
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