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 Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:06 pm
He sat in the back of the canteen, silent and brooding, one leg over the other. A half drunk cup of cold tea sat beside him, one of his fingers absently rubbing along the rim as though he had quite forgotten the purpose of the drink itself.
Deus Ex Machina Headquarters were no longer in existence. Or rather, Gale amended, lost within his own thoughts, they no longer existed in the capacity that they had before. The phoenix had made certain of that, and now they were forced below ground, in an unpleasant, dark, dank base that made him feel slightly claustrophobic.
He did not like it here. And he could not seem to get his thoughts to settle. They seemed to be ricocheting back and forth, colliding in his mind until he felt dizzy and even more unhappy than he already was, his head throbbing painfully.
One name in his thoughts in particular kept appearing, even when he didn't want it to.
He tried not to think of her, his expression drawn and his face paler than usual, Gale's fingers still keeping the ministrations on his forgotten mug of tea. But that had proved impossible, of course, since it seemed every thought always went back to her. He had tried so hard to keep his heart impassive, his mind clear, his head free of any sort of unwanted feelings. He had put up walls, barriers, separated himself from the rest of the hunters, kept himself a certain distance away on purpose.
And it had all grown to nothing. Not that it was that hard to keep himself at bay, considering that at the beginning he had felt that way because of his own age. But he had grown surprisingly close to some of the hunters when he hadn't thought he would - Bix, for example, was the closest thing he had to a best mate here, but every now and then Gale still felt too young for him, too childish. And Bix had Before, after all.
Sometimes he wondered whether or not there would ever be anyone his age for him to relate to.
Gale had resigned himself to the fact that this would not happen - as well as the fact that he would be the youngest, but even he had not expected to fall quite so hard for someone as he had for Eva. Even as he thought it, her face swam into his line of vision again, and Gale pushed it aside, trying to get rid of these feelings.
They would - and already had - only lead to heartbreak, after all. But even as he thought it, he hated himself for allowing himself to get this far gone as it was. He was already too close to people, closer than he had intended -Candace's face appeared quickly in his mind, and Gale closed his eyes, exhaling slowly before opening them again, staring at some spot on the floor.
I don't want to be alone anymore.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:25 pm
It was most certainly fact, even if one didn’t know Molly for that long that she existed on a whole other realm from the other hunters. Otto would probably whole heartedly agree to the idea that she came from a different planet entirely. It seemed like a lot of Hunters around her were caught up in depression and morbid thoughts, but not Molly, no. Whether you wanted it or not, she was still an unavoidable ray of sunshine once she entered the room.
Sorry Gale.
That being said, Molly entered the canteen, smiling like usual, and headed straight for the station that contained the MREs and questionable coffee. Sadly, the first thing Gale would here come out of the red head’s mouth would be “I love chicken fajitas!” Molly just looked all too pleased at the station as she claimed a tray and the MRE, and then poured herself some coffee and prepared her cup. The Misty lifted her tray, and took a moment to sweep the room. It wasn’t exactly empty in there, but it wasn’t full either…and a sweep of the room told her there wasn’t anyone she knew here except for…Gale! Molly gasped in delight, her smile widening as she saw him all the way in the back sitting all by his lonesome.
Her feet immediately started to carry her in his direction, but she paused. Oh wait…he was sitting all by his lonesome…maybe…he wanted to be all by his lonesome? Molly hit her lip, nervous now and uncertain. W…well…it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? The worst thing he could say was ‘No, Molly, you can’t sit here.’ With that in mind, Molly picked her pace back up until she was close, and paused, looking down at the Death trainee.
“Hi Gale! I’m so happy to see you!” She greeted with a tilt of her head. “Um…is this seat taken? May I sit with you?” Oddly, this seemed just like their first official meeting that one time in a Deus classroom.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:31 pm
"I love chicken fajitas!"
What.
The cheerful voice broke into Gale's thoughts, whether he wanted it to or not, and Gale dragged himself abruptly from feeling sorry for himself to find himself looking over at a familiar redhead, her curls bobbing around her shoulders as she went through the line, grabbing an MRE from the station and what looked like a cup of coffee.
Or it might have been tar. One or the other. Either way, she was just getting her food, so Gale dropped his eyes and went back to his own, solidarity silence, absently running his finger along the rim of his cup again.
Except apparently he wasn't going to get much more time to himself, it seemed.
"Hi, Gale!"
Molly again. Gale blinked up at her in surprise, as if trying to figure out if she was some sort of figment of his imagination, and when it was determined that she was, in fact, not, and was very real indeed, he felt some of the tensions in his shoulders ease.
"Hey, Molly," he said, and then nodded to one of the many empty chairs that surrounded him - which was a little pathetic.
"Sure, have a seat."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:55 pm
Yay! Molly’s smile was almost face splitting now as she gently set her tray down and took the seat right across from Gale. Because she like to look at people while she talked to them. “Thank you so much! I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything!” Aside from alone time in the corner.
She took a moment, humming thoughtfully as she stared down between her MRE package and the cup of cream-tar…er…cream coffee. Coffee won out first, and the trainee picked up her cup, holding it in her hands as she nursed it. Who cares if it wasn’t the best. Coffee was coffee, and Molly was thankful for it regardless. After getting some sips in, she turned her gaze back to Gale over the rim of her cup. “I’m glad to see you’re up and about, Gale!” Because asking ‘how are you’ right now seemed to be a really stupid question.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:42 am
"No," said Gale, slightly taken aback by just how cheerful Molly was. He had forgotten how light her personality was, and for some reason, instead of irritating him, it somehow relaxed him a little.
He felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease just a bit more.
Reaching for the now mildly cold cup of tea, Gale pulled it towards him and took a sip, making a face. It hadn't been very good to begin with, but now it was just abominable, and he set it down, pushing it away from him and reaching up a hand to rub at his forehead.
"Hmm?" he said, almost missing what she had said, but then his brain worked faster and he nodded, dropping his hand.
"I've been better," he said, with a slight twitch of his lips, as though he might have smiled, but then he sighed, exhaling slowly as he stared out across the canteen. There were hunters this way and that, all of them looking a bit worse for the wear, and Gale's eyes flickered back to Molly.
"Can I ask you a question?" he blurted out abruptly - and somewhat stupidly.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:35 pm
“Oh, wonderful!” Molly was glad when she wasn’t interrupting anything. She took another sip of her coffee, watching as Gale tried his tea again and turned it away. The trainee giggled a bit, and nodded her head sympathetically. “No good, huh? You know, the next time we can go on leave, I really want to go to Starbucks…do they have tea at Starbucks?” She pondered this for a moment before nodding her head once more as Gale answered how he was doing. Molly’s brows furrowed. She didn’t have anything to say right off hand to try and make him feel better, because they’ve all been better, but once again, she was just happy he was sitting here in front of her and talking.
She was pulled from her train of thought though from Gale’s abrupt question, and eagerly the young woman nodded her head vigorously, curls bouncing this way and that. “Oh, of course! You can ask me anything!”
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:01 pm
"Starbucks is good," said Gale, a bit wistfully. "But I prefer the little coffee shops they have all over London. The green tea down the street from where I lived was delicious."
Thinking of his hometown made him feel a bit weird, so Gale quickly pushed those thoughts aside, instead looking back at Molly. She was so cheerful. How did she do that, manage to keep herself so upbeat all the time?
It was somewhat refreshing. Gale clenched his fists atop of the table and gave Molly a very serious look.
"Have you ever been in love before?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:41 pm
“Ooooh! London!” Molly sighed wistfully. “Is that were you lived? I always wanted to go there…” Molly paused, and then got wide eyed as she stared at Gale. “…Are there really a lot of double-decker buses there?” She asked in awe.
She sat back as the atmosphere suddenly got very serious. Molly gently placed her cup of coffee down, frowning a bit worriedly as Gale clenched his fists, but then froze as Gale asked the question. Uh…Wow. Molly felt horrible already. One, because she’d never been in love-love before, and two, since she had never been in love-love, she automatically counted herself out for being able to help him. She wasn’t going to lie though, no.
“…I…I haven’t…” Molly reached up to twirl a curl anxiously. “I’m really sorry! Um…even though I haven’t though, if there’s something you want to talk about, I’ll try my best! I’ll be an ear…talking it out helps sometimes…?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:24 pm
"Ah," said Gale. "Yeah, I'm from London originally, near Paddington Station. It's really a very lovely place...a bit rainy, though."
His lips quirked in a small smile. "And yes, there are."
He wasn't certain why he'd asked her outright about this sort of thing, but it was Molly and she was bright and cheerful and seemed as if she might know a lot. Gale waited, slightly tense, to hear her answer, but then his shoulders sorta slumped and he felt a bit disappointed.
But only a bit.
"...I was just curious," he said, with his face starting to grow red. "...I mean, I'm...sixteen, that's...that's a good age, isn't it? It's normal to...have those sorts of feelings at this age, isn't it?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:12 pm
“I like it when it rains…” Molly murmured, though this was more to herself if anything, but she clapped a bit in delight as Gale confirmed her question. “I think those buses are so neat!”
The young woman smiled nervously, still feeling rather bad she might not be of any help to Gale on this topic. She listened to him, and after a moment Molly’s eyes drifted upwards and she seemed deep in thought. After another moment, the young woman ended up pushing her tray to the side, further down the table away from them, and leaned forward to rest on her elbows as she looked at Gale. “You know I always wondered who sets the standard for what’s ‘normal’. You’re sixteen and feeling in love, and I’m twenty-one and I’ve never felt it before…so…according to this ‘normal’…who is the not-normal one here? I don’t like that. What works for some people doesn’t work for others…that’s what makes us all different and individuals, and I think that’s okay.”
Sometime during this spiel, Molly’s hands had reached out to rest on Gale’s clenched fists, where she rubbed her thumbs over the backs of his hands lightly. She them looked embarrassed. “Oh dear…I rambled again, didn’t I? I’m really sorry! Just tell me to shush if I need to, alright?” She paused. “…Are you happy, Gale? Because I think when it all comes down to it, that’s all that matters.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:31 pm
He felt somewhat stupid asking these sorts of things, especially to a girl, but Molly was...well, Molly. She wasn't Eva (who he absolutely could not talk to about this, considering that she was the whole source of the conversation), and she wasn't Candace (who he probably could have talked to, but she would probably have teased him profusely). With Molly, it was different. She was cheerful, she was...well, somewhat odd, but she was fun.
And she was definitely more interesting than a lot of people.
"Really?" he asked her, and there was a slight note of hope in his voice. "So...so it's not weird that I...might love someone?"
Her hands closed over his, and he flushed a little, but didn't move away. It was just a gesture of reassurance, after all.
"I'm..."
A slight pause.
"Well. A lot of things. I'm happy that I like her, if that's what you mean. I'm not unhappy that I like her, even if she rejected me already."
He was relaxing a bit, and now he gave Molly a genuine smile, wide and bright. "I'm happy. At least, for right now. I'm happy that I love her, even if she doesn't love me back."
Which was mostly the truth, even if his stomach still cringed unpleasantly at her rejection.
"Do you like anyone Molly? I don't mean love, since you said you haven't fallen in love before, but just...like? As in, as someone you could like more than a friend?"
There really was no underlying reason for Gale asking this, other than his own curiosity and because while his RPer ships Mixy forever Gale has no idea of this ship yet and he wanted to know that he wasn't alone in his feelings.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:32 pm
“Oh goodness, no!” Molly tried to assure Gale, waving one of her hands a bit before resting it back on his. “I don’t think that’s weird at all! What is weird, it showering for the first time with an entity in your head.” She smiled, but then it fell, and she gasped. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! That wasn’t appropriate at all, but I was just trying to make an example!” She squeezed his hands. “I think it’s very brave of you to feel in love with someone! That’s putting yourself out on the line.”
Molly just felt all warm and fuzzy inside as Gale described that he was happy for his feelings, and then her expression faltered as soon as he said he was rejected. Oh. Ouch. She squeezed his hands again reassuringly. “…Oh…I’m sorry, Gale.” She murmured. That really wasn’t pleasant at all. “…But…at least you tried? I mean…having regrets if you didn’t…that’s a heavy burden…” She trailed off, and at his question, well, Molly just exploded into a blossom of red cheeks. How funny Gale should ask that…since not too long again, she had just gotten back from a clearing patrol with a certain albino hunter who suggested a date or something.
“…Um…” One hand left Gale’s to cup her cheek, and her eyes darted to the side. She felt rather shy all of a sudden, but it wasn’t like she needed to hide it, right? After all, Gale had been rather open with her. “…I do…actually…” She laughed a bit nervously. “…Is…it weird that this might be the first time I really like someone?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:42 pm
He stared at her blankly for a minute, his face immediately coloring, but then he turned his head, giving a small snort of laughter.
"You're weird," he said, but it was said with amusement and affection, and Gale was shaking his head, lifting his hand to wipe at his eyes. "You're really weird. But you're really, you know? If that makes any sense. You're not...afraid to be who you are."
His smile faded a little, his face a bit pink. "...yeah, well..." he said quietly, and shook his head. "It's okay. I did try, and gave it my best, and I'm not going to just...stop what I'm doing, you know? I'll still support her and everything."
Gale's smile was soft now. "I'll still be by her side."
And now it wasn't only his face that was red, but Molly's as well. Gale blinked a little, tilting his head at her, and she was looking around nervously as though uncertain of what to answer.
His brows rose. "It's not weird," he told her seriously. "I just told you I love someone, after all."
A part of him wanted to ask, but then didn't, but then his curiosity won, and Gale leaned forward, dropping his voice.
"...who is it?"
Then he realized how presumptuous that sounded and leaned back quickly, waving a hand, his face crimson.
"Oh, but you don't have to tell me," he said hastily. "I'll understand if you don't want to, I mean, I'm just...well, who I am and all."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:05 pm
Gale laughed a bit, and Molly grinned. It seriously felt like a wonderful accomplishment when she could make people smile, but it was even better when she could make them laugh. At his statement, the trainee looked a bit surprised, but then laughed as well. “Oh, I know I am!” She replied. “I’m just a few fries short or a happy meal…or maybe I’m too many fries over a happy meal…” She rubbed her chin, but then nodded her head. “I really appreciate that Gale, thank you!” Molly beamed at him.
As Gale described his experiences though, Molly’s eyes were shining with admiration. She thought it was amazing what Gale was saying. So romantic too! Molly stared at him wide eyed for a long moment, and then squealed happily. “That’s just…so…so amazing!” She cried. “You’re amazing, Gale!” She gushed. “I mean it, really! Those words…those intentions…ahh, they make me so happy! She’s lucky to have you, even just as a friend. I know my life is richer with you in it, too!” She was back to grinning again. “I’m so inspired!”
Then back to her person that she liked. Molly was suddenly shy again and blushing. A lot. “Uhhh…” She laughed nervously. “…I mean…it’s not like it needs to be secret…” She paused, and then very gently teased. “That’s why you’re in the Death Divison…eh heh…” She scratched her cheek. “Ummmmmmmmm…” She blushed more and then leaned across the table so that she was closer to Gale as she whispered, “It’s Bix.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:14 pm
A few fries short of a Happy Meal, Gale repeated internally, giving Molly a slightly scrutinizing look.
Nope, you're definitely too many fries OVER a Happy Meal.
But he liked her, and she made him feel as though he weren't just some dumb kid, which was a major plus, at least in Gale's mind. He blushed brightly under her praise, dropping his gaze a bit embarrasedly - but really he was thoroughly pleased by her praise, and was now feeling quite a lot better than he had before.
He glanced up at her, then leaned closer to hear what she was going to say - the name of the person she liked.
"It's Bix."
Wat.
"It's Bix.""It's Bix.""It's Bix.""It's Bix.""It's Bix."Never in a million years had Gale expected that name to come out of Molly's mouth. For a few moments he stared at her, as though not quite comprehending it.
<< Well, this is certainly a plot twist. >> Jinhai remarked, sounding more than a little amused. << Whoda thunk? >>
"...oh," said Gale.
There was a pause. Then -
"Really?"
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