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You available? Could use some company after a shower.
She didn't want to say 'because I nearly had a meltdown in a public location' on the text. She had no idea if some hacker or something could read these, and she wasn't ok with having that out there. She ran to her room, grabbed spare clothes, and then to bathrooms.
Pao - Last Sunday at 5:12 PM
A little notice popped up just as he was rolling out of bed from a nap, and he blearily read who it was from, ready to ignore it if it was something Twitter-related. He really had to turn those push notifications off. When he saw that it was from Seren, though, he opened it and let out a nice big yawn before reading the text itself.
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I'll leave the door unlocked.
With that he actually rolled out of bed, grabbed his bathroom stuff, and headed out to get himself at least a little cleaned up. He was back in roughly ten minutes, and he spent the rest of the time lounging in bed, waiting.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 5:15 PM
She was showered, her hair pulled into a single tight braid, still wet but out of the way, and fully dressed in half an hour. She'd thrown her clothes on while still damp, causing them to cling, because she wanted to get somewhere she could just relax. His response made her smile a small, tight smile.
Quote:
Be there in a moment.
She wouldn't risk startling him again. Once was way more then enough. She dropped her dirty stuff in her hamper, then gently trotted down the stairs to his room, and slid inside. "Hey..." She was clearly tense.
Pao - Last Sunday at 5:23 PM
He was still lounging when she came in and pulled his attention away from the foot of his bed. The weak greeting felt like a bad sign, but she looked...alright. Tense, maybe, but that was it. "Hey," he greeted as he turned and leaned his back against the wall, indian style. "Life too boring without me?" There was a grin that came with that joke, and he patted the spot beside him.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 5:30 PM
She shut the door behind her, and, remembering his habit of locking it, did so out of respect for what she assumed was his preferences. She walked over, slower now that she was no longer feeling driven to get her. "Sure. You keep everything exciting all the time, wild child." She said, teasing but quietly, and she slipped up to sit besides him, legs hanging over the edge of the bed, crossed at the ankles. "Seriously, though, I needed to unwind. That dude Al scared the crap outa me."
Pao - Last Sunday at 5:35 PM
It was refreshing to finally have someone to have these little exchanges with, so when she returned with a quip of her own his grin only got wider as he watched her make her way over and get comfortable. On a more serious note he raised a brow, curious and maybe a little irritated, but also feeling a twinge of something else after she said that. "What'd he do?"
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 5:38 PM
She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall, a drop of water sliding down her neck to her shirt. "Decided that the best way to greet a potential sparring partner, who's back was turned and focused on the dummy they were smacking around, was to start the battle with no actual warning." She shook her head, slowly. "He kicked my a**, too. I'm pretty sure he's an Intermediate, if my understanding of how the coats work means anything?"
She sighed again, and just shrugged. "He explained his logic, after, but... ******** me if my nerves weren't shot to hell by this."
Pao - Last Sunday at 5:44 PM
His eyes were on her while she explained, though they moved from her face to random dripping water droplets now and again because they happened to be in his line of sight. He scowled when she finished, then reached over to give her a pat on the shoulder. Clearly touching wasn't much of an issue anymore, especially if even he noticed that it didn't bother him so much when it was her.
"a*****e move, explanation or not," he said with a very final nod. And then he seemed to narrow his eyes to reconsider. "Yep, a*****e move no matter how I look at it."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 5:46 PM
She sighed and nodded. "Can't argue. I mean. I get what he was thinking. Need to be prepared for just about anything, when I'm out on the line." She smiled at him when he patted her shoulder, a quiet smile of gratitude. "But... no. I can't agree with him on it." She reached up, and brushed some water off her forehead, giving it an annoyed look, and wiped it on the edge of her shirt. "I kind of, from how he talked to me after, think he's maybe not one for much introspection. More do then think."
Pao - Last Sunday at 5:50 PM
"That's true, but," and he noted how damp she really was so he got up and went to his closet while talking. "Out on the field you're already more alert 'cause you're..." he squinted as he pulled out a small, clean towel, and tossed it to her before going back to where he was sitting earlier. "On the field."
Further explanation on this Al guy who he really wanted to kick around right then made it make a little more sense, but he was still a little irritated for her.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 5:55 PM
She blinked, startled, and then blushed and accepted the towel. Obviously he didn't want his mattress or sheets soaked, and she wrapped it around her hair, which was wear all the water was coming from. "Sorry, my hair holds water the way a loving mom holds her baby... Afraid to let go." She closed her eyes, leaning her head back again, just tired from the emotional drag this had put on her.
"And yeah... I figured. And I didn't really want to sit in my room, trying to unwind. I'd have probably been spiralling, and missed dinner or something. I appreciate you letting me come and whine."
Pao - Last Sunday at 6:02 PM
He waved off the apology, though her description for it got a little amused huff out of him. He couldn't really relate to the 'not being let go' part of it, so the smile that followed may have had a shadow of confusion, but since her eyes were closed he doubted she would notice. "You looked uncomfortable, don't worry about it."
"And I told you, you can swing by whenever. Meant it, but thanks for the head's up."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 6:06 PM
"Yeah the water dripping can get annoying, not even gonna lie." She sighed softly, and shrugged at the next part of his words. "Yeah, I know. Didn't know if you were sleeping, though, or anything. Didn't want to startle you." The word 'again' was unspoken, but perhaps present, because it wasn't exactly something she was going to forget soon. "Besides, you might not have been decent, either." Her eyes opened at that, and she gave him a teasing grin.
Pao - Last Sunday at 6:08 PM
He was nodding along again, sort of just taking in whatever she had to say. When the teasing came he looked over at her, eyes narrowed and and that brow raised again as he considered a comeback.
"As if you haven't already seen me in not decent..." he said slowly.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 6:11 PM
She managed to control the urge to blush, and even put on a lightly flippant face. "Only mostly not decent. You had your underwear on." Her ears were a little pink, but otherwise, blush hidden. She found herself thinking that her instinct to come here was the right one. He had the weirdest calming effect on her, most of the time.
Well, mostly calming. Occasionally there was other reactions. But once again, she'd deal with it later. "And more to the point, I don't want to make you uncomfortable by walking in on you unexpectedly while changing or whatever." Innocently spoken, innocently meant, and her brain didn't even think about other implications that sentence could imply.
Pao - Last Sunday at 6:17 PM
"So you saw missed some details but it was probably a 98% view." The blush maybe was a little too subtle for him to notice, but the reaction was good enough for him and he grinned like he still had the upper hand here. A feeling only reinforced by what she said immediately after. "And I appreciate the thought, but what exactly do you think I'd be doin' in here naked other than changing clothes?"(edited)
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 6:27 PM
She gave him a slow, long look at the first statement, and then the second one received an arched brow, and a surprised blush. Ohhhhhh he was going to go there, when she hadn't even meant that? Oh it was on now. He was going to get it. "Weeeeeeeeeeell I mean sure, but that 2% can be pretty important, if you know what I mean." She just quirked her lips at him, and then added, in a falsely innocent voice, said "I don't knoooooooooow... It wouldn't have anything to do with that surprising stash I found on your laptop while looking for movie ideas, now, would it?"
Pao - Last Sunday at 6:48 PM
Now it was his ears that felt like they were gradually catching fire as soon as she said that. Admittedly he had seen every video in that particular folder, and they were all legal but of varying levels of...extreme. How much of the details she had, though, he wasn't sure. So he just shot right back.
"Fine, but would that even be something you'd be mad about seeing?"
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 6:50 PM
She couldn't help it, inside, she was enjoying his blush. It was nice to know she COULD get him to do it, that one other time hadn't been a fluke. She just arched her brows at him, slowly, and shrugged her shoulders at him. "Rhys, it isn't my mad or not that matters here. The point of what I was saying was I would rather not do it because I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want me to walk in on you doing... anything like that."
Pao - Last Sunday at 6:53 PM
The plain (and reasonable) argument shoved back at him got him to look over at his door again and just shrug. "You notice that I lock my door all the time, right?" he said with a nod. "There's a reason for that, and that's one of them. I don't leave it unlocked unless I know someone left and is comin' right back."(edited)
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 6:57 PM
"Mmm well enough." She shrugged. "I suspect lack of warning could lead to awkwardness, even if you have time to deal with... Things." She sighed and closed her eyes again, head leaning back. "And I respect you too much to want to risk making things that kind of awkward for you." She reached up, and took her glasses off, feeling oddly drained after that exchange, like she wasn't up to teasing him for awhile, now. It was the weirdest feeling, and she was avoiding thinking about how close it came to him basically saying she'd enjoy seeing him like that. It was too close to the truth for one thing.
Pao - Last Sunday at 7:05 PM
The word "awkward" brought up the very, incredibly recent memory of waking up one morning...but he thought bringing that up would just be plain stupid so he kept his mouth shut. There was some silence as he stared off into space, lost in that memory and the rest of that morning's abrupt thoughts and non-conclusions (because he basically ignored it whenever it came up). The teasing was fun but something about it sometimes felt like a line he shouldn't be crossing. Or didn't want to cross. Or...something.
He let out a yawn as he shoved that aside, as well.
"If it's more comfortable for you to give me a head's up so that doesn't happen that's cool with me. If I don't reply just knock. If that doesn't work I'm probably on a mission. If it isn't that, then..." and he trailed off from there, not entirely sure he wanted to keep on that line of thinking.(edited)
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 7:11 PM
She was carefully examing her words today, suddenly, wondering if maybe the teasing sometimes got too close to things she was scared of dealing with, scared to admit to. She kicked those thoughts into her little locked box of maybe never, and sighed. She opened her eyes again, when he spoke, watching him curiously.
"I'll try to keep that in mind, then." She didn't know what to say, either, trying to dance around this verbal cliff ledge they were trapped on.
Pao - Last Sunday at 7:13 PM
It was more silence, like they were both trapped in their own heads, each for their own reasons. Rhys sighed and eventually nudged her with his elbow.
"So you said someone kicked your a** today? Not sure how we got off that topic."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 7:15 PM
She blinked and started when he nudged her, jerking and thunking her head a little against the wall. "Ack! wha...?" She blinked, startled, rubbing her head more out of reflex then pain, given the shield. "OH. Um. Yeah. I mean. I thought I covered it all?" She tried to remember where they'd gotten sidetracked, confused now.
Pao - Last Sunday at 7:19 PM
"Did you?"
He tried to think back but mostly drew a blank except for the part, so he sighed leaned his head back against the wall. This was a lot more confusing to deal with than when she sort of broke down during movie night. At least he knew how to deal with that, but this?
Rhys ran a hand through his hair, inadvertently mussing it up a little before gently hitting his head against the wall, thinking.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 7:21 PM
She nodded, slowly, and said "Yeah. I'm pretty sure... Only thing I can think of on that topic, really, that I might say is that I'll be keeping half an eye on Al from here on out. He might be a decent person, might not... But he's clearly not exactly well wrapped around 'logical choices' when it comes to other people on the sparring field." She gave a half shrug, clearly a lot calmer now, despite the awkwardness they'd traversed.
Pao - Last Sunday at 7:26 PM
He wasn't entirely sure they were out of the awkward field yet so still didn't have a lot to say. There was just a lot of nodding, a little bit of "hmm"-ing, and the occasional sigh.
"Guess I could keep an eye out for my own sake, too. Honestly might straigt up punch the guy if he tries that s**t on me." He grumbled, mood a little soured at the thought that he had even more reason to look over his shoulder on what was supposed to be a relatively safe place to live. Minus the golems.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 7:29 PM
She sighed, seeing his mood going down hill, and she just reached over, and patted his shoulder. She wanted to hug him, or put an arm around his shoulders like did to her sometimes, but it felt like a bad idea, a trip straight back into '******** awkwardville.' "Well, as we've said before, ain't no one here that's not crazy." She slipped her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, her eyes lost in thought
Pao - Last Sunday at 7:39 PM
Rhys was mildly fascinated by a speck on one of the cardboard boxes he'd been boring a hole into with his eyes as the silence between them stretched on, and on....and on. This was probably the first time he'd actually run out of something to say around, not counting that time when she randomly checked up on him during hell's weekend. He sighed again.
"So..." he started, squinting at the effort to try and find something to just talk about. "I mean, that was all you wanted to talk about?"
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 7:44 PM
She blinked, startled, and said "Kinda, I guess? I just..."
Oh gods, her needing a friend and to not be alone was going to make things be more awkward, wasn't it? How would she say this?
Finally, she said "I needed to not be alone, because that was going to be a disaster where I spent hours thinking and thinking about it. I wanted to be around some one I know doesn't judge me when I get in a stupid headspace... You're pretty much the only person I know that I don't worry about that with." She was practically boring a hole into her knees with her eyes, as she spoke. "You're the only one I know who seems to get it, to any degree."
Pao - Last Sunday at 8:12 PM
That seemed to get his attention, and he finally looked over at her again once she was done talking, an even expression on his face as he processed things. Much like the last time, she looked particularly small to him. A vulnerable side that you would never guess that she had on any given day. Being able to get it might have been because they were more similar than he would ever admit; he preferred to believe that he didn't have a vulnerable side.
"I guess I do get that," he eventually said with a little nod before turning his eyes to that speck on the box again. "But now what?"
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 8:20 PM
She sighed. "******** if I know. I've never had a friend I could talk to like this before." She paused, reviewed that sentence, and began mentally swearing at herself for going and stepping off another ledge, once they'd finally dragged themselves off the other one.
Now the ******** was she going to say?
Pao - Last Sunday at 8:29 PM
He snorted, amused. "Get that, too." Though again with that word.
He felt a little more relaxed after noting some parallels between them. Parallels that went beyond just the surface stuff like working out or any of that. It was more the blood and guts of anything real, and maybe there was a little bit of hope in knowing that they could actually talk about this kind of stuff.
Reading too much further into it at this point was probably not gonna happen, but it made it a little easier knowing that, if maybe one day he could comfortably use that word with her, or anyone really, that she would get him, too.(edited)
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 8:48 PM
She smiled at him, and sighed softly. "********' confusing, trying to work people out." She shook her head and made a slight face. "Some people are easier then others but man does it get weird and complicated." She stretched her feet a little as she sat there, her stress slowly draining from her despite her words.
It was strange, to her, how safe she felt with Rhys, and how relaxed simply sitting with him made her feel. Part of her wondered what it would be like to properly cuddle with him, and she immediately began shoving that thought away, closing her eyes in frustration at her brain's ability to turn things down a path she was avoiding
Pao - Last Sunday at 9:09 PM
Amused again and he managed a smile. "S'why I don't bother with that s**t half the time." Basically all the time. For the longest time he viewed people as typically a means to an end. Get a spar, get a training course in, have back-up, etc. How Seren cracked that mold was a mystery to him, though part of it was maybe the fact that she was feeding him. He wouldn't deny that, but it definitely wasn't the only thing...
Right?
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 9:12 PM
She laughed, wistfully. "Wish I was as tough as you, on that one. You're a freakin' rock when it comes to that." She had no idea of his internal confusion, she just knew she couldn't keep people out like he did. She still didn't really understand why he seemed to put up with her, when she kept pushing into his space.
Still, he let her, and that's what mattered. She wasn't going to question it.
Pao - Last Sunday at 9:17 PM
It was probably because she'd had so many chances to push into his space that he just wound up letting her do it, and in the process found that he didn't actually hate it. Maybe even liked it Maybe even a lot. But that didn't mean she'd gotten completely through and in the furthest corner of his mind he knew there was a chance that she'd never break past a particular wall. One he'd reinforced a thousand times over growing up, let-down after let-down after let-down. He had his doubts about ever letting any past that.
"It's easy," he said with a shrug before glancing over with a weak smile. "Try really, really hard not to give a s**t. After a while you'll do it without even thinking."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 9:20 PM
She looked away from him at that, at the walls. She knew she couldn't do that. She desperately, desperately craved people who accepted her, approved of her... loved her. And knowing it didn't make it any easier to deal with. "Not for me..." Her voice was soft, just barely audible. "I never was able to do that, even when I needed to." She shrugged, and looked back at him. "Your strength is... impressive, to me."
Pao - Last Sunday at 9:37 PM
"It's not always a strength," he said after a beat, quiet and almost entirely to himself much like her words had been. He knew she would hear him, but he said it quietly despite that. Maybe in part because he didn't really want to make the comment in the first place, but there was another part that wanted to reach out and tell her that he didn't consider himself strong in that sense, at all.
His eyes were still on her for the moment, watching simply for the sake of watching. It was odd to see her without her glasses on but he could see her features a little bit better. It was the small things he noticed in that moment; the color of her eyes, for one, kind of drew him in.
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 9:40 PM
She couldn't make out details very well, without her glasses, which is why he always saw her with them on. Indeed, it was an unusual admission of how much she trusted him that she took them off. She was vulnerable without them, unable to see well enough to properly fight or defend herself.
"Maybe, but... sometimes I wish I wasn't... able to feel." She sighed, softly, still looking at him, even if he was a soft blur to her at the moment. Her hands slid down her legs, fingers running along the seam of her pants, to rest on the top of her feet.
Pao - Last Sunday at 10:00 PM
He wasn't really sure how to take that. Did she mean he was good at not feeling things? Rhys gave the statement a lopsided smile as he turned it over in his head and tucked it away for dealing with later. And for the first time in what felt like his entire life he asked the question that he hated getting asked the most.
"Why's that?"
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 10:03 PM
Her eyes just went distant. "Because no one could hurt me? I'd never have to worry about being hurt again." She paused, and turned the statement over in her mind, then added "But everyone feels, no matter what. Even if they claim they don't, if they try to hide it away deep inside, they have feelings, of some nature." She refocused on him again. "But I do, just like all of us, and I have to accept it. It's a part of me. You found ways to deal with the hurt, and I admire that. I hope someday I can too."
Pao - Last Sunday at 10:12 PM
"I did," he said quietly and with a little nod. "Though my old therapist might argue that I'm not dealing with anything at all."
Rhys heaved another sigh and folded his legs, Indian style, resting his hands on his knees. "Not that she knew anything about me either. I mean she pretended to and gave it her best damn shot, but nah. Nothin', or at least nothin' that mattered."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 10:18 PM
She blinked some, watching her friend's blurry form moving as he shifted. "What would a therapist who probably sees tons of kids every day, given what you said about her being the school therapist, actually know about you? They can't possibly spend much time with every damn kid they have to deal with, I'm sure."
She was kind of guessing, really, having no real concept of the kinds of numbers these people dealt with, but she had a feeling. "And unless there's some damn good reason for you to change how you handle emotions, I don't see why you should. It's not like you're hurting anyone." She stepped around any thoughts that could follow that one with comparative mental ease.
Pao - Last Sunday at 10:22 PM
There might be in the future and he'd already considered that possibility, but right now she was on the nose about not having to change how to dealt with things. Unfortunately that also sort of applied to their relationship...whatever it was. She called it friends, he didn't really call it anything and that probably says a lot on its own.
"Yeah, I still pretty much say '******** it' when I don't wanna deal."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 10:25 PM
"Yeah." She said, quietly. "Your life, your right to do it." She stretched a little, and picked up her glasses, fiddling with them just a bit. She gave them an odd look, for a moment, then pushed them away from her, to where they were in reach, but she wasn't able to easily play with them. "And ******** anyone who demands otherwise."
She shoved the thought that this might include her someday far far away
Pao - Last Sunday at 10:38 PM
He couldn't really help but wonder if she'd be one of those people eventually, and if that were the case how ironic her saying that would be. And then he realized he had that thought and sighed again as he buried it with the rest of those just like it.
"Yeah. Goes for you, too, though."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 10:41 PM
"Heh. I guess." She gave a shrug, listless but yet more energetic then she'd have given when she walked in the door. Despite all the awkwardness, the weirdly deep discussion, and so on, she was feeling better. "I'll do my best." Would she change how she acted if some one asked her? She had a sinking feeling it would depend on the some one, and how they asked it. She pushed that thought away, closing her eyes tight for a moment as she locked it down, hard.
Pao - Last Sunday at 10:53 PM
"You always do," he said, mood a little blah still but already better than earlier. It was good enough that he scooted a little bit and leaned over, gently bumping into her shoulder. "So far so good, I'd say."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 10:55 PM
She blinked up at him, and gave him a real smile, warm and sweet and full of gratitude for his encouragement. "As long as I keep doing that, then I'm doing all I can, right?" She said, quietly, bumping him back with a soft laugh. For whatever reason, this seemed to have broken the last of her dour mood.
Pao - Last Sunday at 11:04 PM
It was his turn to smile, slightly brighter but still somehow subdued. He was glad she at least looked a lot better than earlier, which was why she showed up at his door in the first place. To not be alone, to not sink into thoughts that would inevitably spiral into some kind of internal abyss that seemed impossible to claw your way out of once you were there.
He swayed with the contact and let the momentum carry him a bit before moving to return the shoulder bump. "Pretty much all you can do, yep."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 11:14 PM
"Indeed." She laughed, surprised, when he bumped her again, and shook her head at him. "You're a goof, just so you know." She sighed, and then glowered at her pocket when her phone started to buzz her alarm at her. She yanked it out, squinted at it, then swore. "******** GODDAMN SON OF A b***h how the ******** did it get to be that ******** time already? ******** ******** ********." She reach over and grabbed her glasses.
"Sorry to just... ditch on you, suddenly, but it's later then I thought and I have ********' kitchen duty." She paused, then eyed the towel on h er head. "I'll wash this and get it back to you." She gave him a bright, if frustrated by the suddenness, smile and waved, then darted out the door.
Pao - Last Sunday at 11:24 PM
The sudden swearing on top of the yelling was hilarious; it caught him off guard and before he knew it he was laughing even as he got up and walked her to the door. The suddenness of it was unfortunate but that was work. Before she could leave though, he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back, holding her by the door for a second and wanting to slow her down just enough so she really heard him. The laughing expression already faded away to something a lot softer. Meek, almost, like he wasn't sure about anything he was about to say.
"Hey," he started, "anytime, you hear me? I'm right here."
AriaStarstone - Last Sunday at 11:28 PM
He startled her. He startled her pretty seriously and almost scared her. But this was Rhys and he didn't grab her hard. Just stopped her. She turned to face him, surprised. His expression confused her so much, she didn't know how to handle it, but she saved it for later, to process. His words... His words earned him one of her sweet smiles. "I wont forget... and it's always the same, you know." Her eyes glittered behind her glasses for a moment, and then she gently tugged her hand free. "Thank you." She smiled again, then slid out his door, and was running down the hall.
