[PRP] War Games (Maebe / Otto)

[Bittiface]

He could almost feel her retreat, in just the way her touch changed, the way her tone changed. He solemnly began to cut away at his meal once again.

"You weren't bothering me." He murmured quietly.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

For a moment, she took his words at face value, and rested her head gently on his back as he continued to eat. She didn't mind silence; she wasn't scared of it, like some people were. It was a sign of comfort, and a sign of respect.

After a minute, she kissed his back and untangled herself from him, letting him eat while she disappeared into his room. When she came out again, she had a brush and a comb in her hands - both of which were probably Cami's, judging by how girly they looked. She continued to walk, right past him, and sat down on the couch.

That poor couch.

"Come here when you're finished." She told him, her voice just as steady and demanding as always.

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

Otto ate in silence, Maebe's presence being silent itself. A quiet, and relaxed few minutes. Otto was nearly done eating when the girl returned from her brief leave, watching her move to the fabled couch.

"Mmm.." He replied, still working on breakfast. What time was it, anyway? He'd never really checked.

After a few minutes, he'd left the plate by the sink, shuffling over to the couch where Maebe waited. He looked down, blinking slowly.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

She thought it was obvious that she wanted him to sit down in front of her, but when he just stood there and stared at her, she slumped in exasperation.

"I know I look like an angel." She muttered out quietly as she stood up and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down to sit in front of her. "But I can't actually fly up and comb your hair from up there. So, down you go." She settled him between her legs on the couch, and then hitched herself up just enough to be able to comb his hair effectively. The comb and brush were left on the table, for now.

It didn't take long before her fingers were lost in his hair, running through it freely to get the easiest tangles out (and in truth, just to feel it.) This, she did in silence, just the same as she'd held him earlier.

But not for long.

"Otto." She whispered, very quietly. "Tell me more about your relationship with Nevada."

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

Otto sat once prompted, lazily enjoying hands through his hair. He'd gotten lulled into a sense of comfort. So, her question made that comfort shatter.

"What?" He turned a little, even though he couldn't really look at her. "Why?"

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

"Because." She prodded, her hands holding his head and turning it forcefully back away from her so she could get back to work. "I asked. And because she was important to you. And that makes her important to me." One of Maebe's hands disappeared, as she bent to pick up the comb.

"I really like you, Otto." She didn't sound uncomfortable admitting that, this time around. "And I think - " A little sarcasm slipped into her voice, "I think, you like me too." She snickered under her breath, and put the comb through his hair, using her fingers to do the rest. "But it's hard to accept why. So I want to know you, better." She held his roots between her fingers, and checked them with squinted eyes. "And that means knowing her better, too."

She stopped squinting, or combing, and turned her head to look over his shoulder. "Or are you saying she's not important, anymore?"

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

Maebe liked him. He meant something to her. So then.. it wasn't completely silly to think that maybe their relationship wasn't something he'd made up in his head. It made him relax just a little.

"Of course she is. Everyone who leaves is important.." He murmured quietly.

"She um... we were... soul mates. If there is such a thing." Otto spoke softly, timidly, his hands fidgeting with his shirt's hem. "She just understood me. We rarely had to explain much of anything. She was also the first girl on the island to see me differently. Everyone looked down on me, or treated me like a kid, or just a friend. But she didn't." Because she was the same age, really. Older only by a little less than a year.

"She had problems. She wasn't perfect. But I liked that. I tried going out with someone I felt was perfect, once. And the thing is? When you think the one you love is perfect, you're afraid to change it. You don't wanna touch them, because you're scared you'll ruin them." Eva had been that model of perfection. Pretty, smiling and kind.

"I don't really know how else to explain her. The more time goes by, the less I remember so clearly. I'm afraid once day I won't be able to picture her face in my mind. Or even her voice."

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

As he spoke, Maebe slowly, but methodically, combed his hair. Her hands knew how to style a boys hair without turning it into a slicked down creeper do, and they shook body into his locks every so often before returning to styling. Throughout the conversation, she did not interject once. She didn't make noises of understanding, or even gestures to indicate she was listening. He knew better. She did not need to baby him through a conversation.

"I wonder," Maebe finally murmured, as she put down the comb and picked up the brush. "If the way she looked at you, changed you. A lot of people say things like you just did, you know." Her hand waved idly in the air. "Everyone looks down on me, no one respects me, people treat me like I'm something I'm not. But a lot of the time, these people are just responding to what you're putting out. And whatever you put out, changed."

She hadn't used the comb yet. Her hands fell to his shoulders, and her lips were on his neck with a single, claiming kiss. "It's not others who see you for what you are. It's how you see yourself, that comes through. If you didn't love yourself, I wouldn't be able to - " Warning bells rang through her head. The comb was in his hair immediately, brushing through it. "You know."

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

He'd acted like a child half the time he'd spent on Deus. Taym even called him one, backhandedly, the last time they spoke. Maybe he was right. Maebe was right too. He didn't take on responsibility. Didn't care to think for himself. Essentially, maybe he really thought himself an incapable, unloveable child. Therefore, what other conclusion could others come to about him?

To think, that somewhere down the line he came to love himself enough to...

...Wait.

Otto turned around, staring up at Maebe in surprise. Did she just say that she... maybe... loved......no. He was reading too deep into it. She just liked him. It was Maebe, after all.

"You probably have a point.." He murmured, turning back away so she could continue her work. "I really don't think I've come to love myself like you said, though."

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

"Oh?" Her tone was light and airy, somewhat relieved that Otto hadn't pressed her on what you know had meant. She'd seen the look on his face, and might have stopped breathing until he turned away. But he'd just been surprised at her wisdom, which he shouldn't have, because she was amazing, thank you.

"If that's true, how did you manage to hook two girls like myself and Cami? Sheer dumb luck?" Her lips came close to his ear, whispering very breathlessly. "Spoiler. It's not luck."

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

"Then what is it?" He asked, a little less guarded. "How come I got so lucky to get to know you and Cami... Nevada, Eva... I just figured ya'll like complicated 'fixer uppers' as friends."

It couldn't be his charm. What charm did he even have?

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

"You can't ask me a question like that. I spent half the time that I was falling for you, convincing myself that I wasn't. I'm not the one with all of your answers." Her hands expertly brushed through his hair, softening and fluffing it until it shone with attention. "You've got to figure that one out for yourself. The only thing I do know, is that you are someone very special. And I know that Nevada helped you realize that, even a little bit. So, I owe her one."

Maebe put the comb down, and slid away from him. She showed up a moment later, sitting back down in front of him to style his hair from the front. Her eyes remained up on the hair, and away from him.

Then she realized something. A little belatedly, of course. Otto had called them friends. And she had not. Her eyes slit thin, as she very carefully, silently, considered ways to rectify the sudden imbalance in what she considered power, but was truly just emotional investment.

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

Falling for him?

Everything she said after that he spent mildly distracted. While yes, he'd learned that he kept putting way too much investment in what other's thought of him, hearing her say that rattled what he thought he knew about her. She'd softened considerably since the time they'd first met. She wasn't just hanging around to get him in bed, or whatever other plan she'd had for him.

She sat in front of him, and his gaze lifted from the spot on the floor he'd been staring at. She wasn't looking at him, but he was looking at her.

Lord help him, but he'd fixated on that one little thing she'd said.

"You're falling for me?"

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

Maebe looked vaguely irritated.

"No." She snapped out, putting the comb down on the table and abandoning his hair completely. He hadn't given her enough time to think of an escape route. A clever slide away from the topic that would alleviate her of having to answer, while at the same time never truly lying about it. He wouldn't give her enough time. She just needed time.

She stared at her now empty hands, and looked as though she wished they would shrivel up and fall away.

"Fell."

bittiface

 

[Bittiface]

"Fell." Like past tense. Like she fell and was.... or fell and is still?

A suffocating silence followed. What would he say? What should he say? Anything he said would have to be honest. It would have to mean something. He knew when Maebe was spouting bullshit, and she likely had that same power over him.

His smile was small, shy. His eyes couldn't meet hers, even if she were looking at him.

His fingers fidgeted ever more.

"How about.. we both fell. We fell together. Team effort... or some s**t."

"You and Cami make me learn something new all the time.. I'm.. I'm so bent about... rules as if their a barrier I can't break through. How things are supposed to be. And I just.. I was drowning before you busted me free."

"You teach me stuff, Maebe. No, more like.. you make me see a world I kept thinking was impossible. I dunno... I'm... not great at like.. explaining myself.."

Nio Love