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Pao - Yesterday at 6:53 PM
There was always something about coming back to the island after seeing the rest of the world go on perfectly fine without him. Like a strange notion of being separated from all of it while still existing...it freaked him out when he thought about it, but his life now was loads better than before so he wasn't complaining. And he'd only taken his last day of leave to give the delivery people an earful (with lots of swearing and demanding) and then promptly pick up the right box this time.



Rhys thought to text her while he was still heading from the portal to the dorms, figuring she wouldn't want him to randomly just show up in case she wasn't...presentable. He squinted awkwardly at the thought.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 6:56 PM
She had literately just finished changing into pjs when she got the text. She stared at it, then her knee length nightshirt and shrugged. She'd seen him in PJs. And less. Whatever.



She pulled her loose hair into a ponytail while waiting.
Pao - Yesterday at 6:59 PM
The walk wasn't long considering his longer strides, so pretty soon he was coming up on her door, carrying a not-so-beat-up box this time. The tape looked like it had been replaced very recently, much to his irritation, but as long as it made it to the island and into the right hands, he wasn't about to complain.

He knocked as soon as he was at her door, then waited patiently while holding the box behind him.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:01 PM
She walked over and opened the door enough to let him in. "Hey, what's up?" She didn't look tired, despite her outfit, more like she just had been planning on lounging around for a bit.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:03 PM
As soon as the door opened he gave that bright smile of his (that, though he wasn't aware of it, he only ever gave to her) and presented her the box. "It's the right one this time," he said, and then after a beat added, "I swear."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:06 PM
She blinked a little, surprised, and then beamed up at him. "Come in in!" She took the box, cradling it like it was a precious thing and moved out of the doorway to go find a pair of scissors on her desk.

She waited for him to come in, however, gesturing that he could take a seat anywhere.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:09 PM
He followed her in and closed the door behind him, happy to see that beaming face again. It was refreshing to see, in all honesty, given that he'd been dealing with people very angrily for most of the day just to straighten everything out. And all that anger sort of melted away when he saw that the work had been worth it.

Rhys took a seat just by the window, eyes on her. He wanted to see her reaction again. For sure it wouldn't be an awkward one so he wasn't too worried.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:19 PM
She smiled at him again, and then took the scissors, and very carefully slit the tape on the box, all the way around. She wasn't, perhaps, quite as child-like in her excitement this time, but she was still excited, eager, and focused. As soon as it popped open, she set the tape aside, and reached in to pull out another box, the kind used for jewelry.

She stared at it, eyes huge, then very slowly opened the lid. When the insides were revealed, her lips parted and formed a shocked O. Her eyes were huge, and her hands trembled, just a little. She stared for a long moment at it, then she slowly set the box on her desk, her eyes focusing on him. There was a long moment of stillness, then suddenly she moved over to him and hugged him, while saying "Thankyouthankyouthankyou" over and over, very fast.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:29 PM
He was a little on edge too, mostly because of just wanting to see how she would like it, but given the look on her face once she opened it he relaxed quite a bit, even chuckled a bit. The hug though, was unexpected. They were so foreign to him, at least beyond the bro-hug shared between athletes, that when she first wrapped her arms around him he didn't quite know where to put his hands.

Eventually though he just did what he felt was normal and returned the hug as best he could, trying not to focus on how nice he felt sitting like that for a moment.

"Slow down," he said with a little huff, smiling. "And you're welcome. All the food you've been feeding me and probably keep on feeding me, doesn't feel like it does the favor any justice. But I thought you'd like 'em."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:41 PM
She pulled back and out of the hug, because the other option was sitting in his lap and that just didn't seem like the best plan right now.

She carefully moved so that she wasn't above him, then settled down on the ground next to him, her eyes bright with a mishmash of complicated emotions. "Rhys that's... Like the sixth present I've ever received in my life. You have no idea how much that means to me... And that it's something so beautiful?" She looked a little overwhelmed but so very happy.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:51 PM
The admission surprised him, but given what she'd shown him a little while back he could believe it. Even if she hadn't shown him, he would have believed her; she'd never given him reason to doubt her, after all. He glanced over, a mix of sadness, because of that truth, and relief that she'd been pulled out of that and life.

"Well, we're gonna keep adding to that number then," he said, again reminding her that he had every intention of changing just that little fact about her life thus far.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:57 PM
She had no words, she really was overwhelmed by her gratitude to her friend. She did the only thing she could do in this moment to express her gratitude. Well, the only thing that wouldn't make things go really ******** awkward. She reached over and rested her hand on his arm, and gently squeezed, biting her lip to keep the mess of emotions in her from boiling over.
Pao - Yesterday at 8:06 PM
He looked down at her hand, and then over at her before gently placing his hand over hers and pulled on as comforting a smile as he could manage. It surprised him how emotional a person could get about getting a present, but then given that she could count on her hands the number of presents she'd gotten in her life he could understand it somewhat.

As for him, presents weren't really things he received but more favors, not unlike her cooking or the training he got from his high school coach or the buddies he had at the gym.(edited)
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:10 PM
She smiled then, soft, sweet and full of perhaps more caring then she'd intended to display to him, unable to hide herself as well as she normally did. She then closed her eyes, and lowered her head, taking a few slow breaths, trying to steady herself.

The emotional rush was fighting her, though.
Pao - Yesterday at 8:17 PM
It was hard to tell what was going on with her after she lowered her head. He took a few guesses in his head but didn't say anything about it. Instead he just gave her hand a little squeeze to remind her that he was still there, and he hoped she would remember that he wouldn't judge her for whatever emotions might wind up spilling over.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:21 PM
Finally she seemed to calm herself fully, and she looked back up. There might be a tear or two that had leaked glinting on her cheek, but other then that, she seemed back to the Seren he'd be used to. "Thank you, again. I needed that moment." She gently pulled free, and stood, turning to go look at his gifts again. She reached in, and pulled them out of their box, one by one, and put them on, her fingers gently caressing each piece as she did.
Pao - Yesterday at 8:32 PM
He didn't comment on the few tears that might have slipped down her cheeks and just let her go without a word, watching and waiting for more proof that she was doing okay now. When she put on the hair clips he felt a little swell of self-satisfaction in that he had guessed right that she would like them, but he couldn't exactly see from where he sat so he got up and moved just a bit closer.

From behind he leand to the side a bit curled around her again, his eyes focused first on the clips before he leaned just a bit further forward to get a view that included her face. "Looks good," he said with a little nod of approval. "And by good I mean..." and there was a pause as he tried to use a different word to describe her for once.

"Pretty."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:38 PM
His sudden presence right there made her look up, surprised. It felt strange to have him leaning around her like this. It had been strange the first time, but... she had been fully dressed last time. This time? It felt very strange, and she felt oddly vulnerable, though none of that showed on her face. She just seemed to be watching him, quietly, as he studied her.

His choice of words earned wide eyes and a startled blush. "Ah... thank you..." She breathed out, unable to do more because he said that about her. "I love them." She added, her fingers dropping to her desktop, unsure what to do. She couldn't exactly move, he was right there. But... for all of her nerves, her desire to.. gods she wanted to kiss him ever more right now and no she would not that was a terrible idea but it sounded so good... She refused to give in to the hint of internal panic. He would never hurt her, after all.
Pao - Yesterday at 8:45 PM
He caught the blush but didn't process it entirely. If anything it made the picture a little nicer, so he maneuvered himself so he was leaning against her desk and looking at her from an easier and less invasion-of-personal-space angle. "'Good' didn't sound it was the right word this time around," he said, still smiling. His eyes were still on her face, not really staring but more...admiring, in a way. Now that he'd said it he couldn't quite shake the thought of how true it would still be even if she wasn't wearing those clips.

"And I'm glad you like 'em."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:54 PM
She smiled back, feeling a little shy with him saying that. She wasn't used to people complimenting her like that. "Yeah..." She whispered, quietly, wondering what he was thinking. It felt strange, the way he was looking at her, but kind of nice. Part of her, predictably, wanted to back away, widen the space between them in this moment, because it was too close to being something she wanted and didn't dare acknowledge when awake and sober.

The rest of her won, though. She wasn't going to back off until she could be comfortable with his... whatever it was he was doing... or he stopped. Either way, she was conquering that fear that was trying to make her flee.
Pao - Yesterday at 9:31 PM
How long he watched her didn't really register, just that when he snapped out of it for a second she hadn't backed away or done anything to indicate that she was uncomfortable. Which was a good sign, and one he wasn't entirely sure how to process just yet. So he stayed put for just a bit longer, as though taking some time to memorize her features as his eyes didn't stay completely locked on hers. They traced lines and followed curves and noted when wisps of her hair had slipped out of the loose tie that was holding them back.

Without really thinking he reached over and tucked them away for her, and then blinked and snapped out of it again, only this time he lowered his hand and shifted his gaze.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 9:36 PM
She wondered how long they were going to stand there, watching each other, when he moved. She didn't flinch away... this was Rhys, she trusted him... But she was startled, her eyes going wide once more at the way he did that. It... felt comfortable. Right, even. And that terrified her deep inside, because she was afraid she was going to loose this. Everything that had been right in her life before had been lost.

She gripped the desk, a little hard, fighting off the urge to panic over what hadn't happened yet. She refused to ruin this by panicking. His hand dropping away, and his averted gaze helped some, because she could breath just a little more... It was no longer so very intense.(edited)
Pao - Yesterday at 9:50 PM
It took a moment to process some things. Where he was because he actually forgot for a second, who he'd been looking at for who knows how long, how close they actually were, what he just did...and what she was wearing. His eyes had shifted down by habit and only now registered that he was seeing more of her than he was used to, and suddenly he felt his ears start to burn a little.

Though he didn't make any effort to really look away entirely. After a beat (admittedly a long one) he just looked back up to meet her eye, his gaze a little curious, a little questioning about what exactly he was supposed to say right now that wouldn't be the most awkward transition that would ruin the current good vibes.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 9:57 PM
She saw the way his gaze dropped, a slight sense of wonder filling her. He... did like how she looked? Had she just missed it before? Or was Joy right, normally you shouldn't catch them looking? She didn't know, but it actually was a powerful sort of relief to know this. Sure, he'd said she looked pretty, but there was a difference between pretty and... well. She was getting lost in it, but it was no bad thing, in her eyes.

She bit her lip when he looked back up, with the curious gaze. She didn't know what to say either, but... she smiled, sweet and slow, and for once, there was some shyness in it, in her expression. Nothing that said she was offended, or bothered. Just shy. She reached up, a little, to adjust her glasses, and finally said "Would you like some cookies? I made some yesterday, and have some left overs..." It was... the best she could think of. Their relationship, whatever this strange thing was, had often involved food and it felt weirdly natural to offer.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:02 PM
Well the shyness was new, subtle but he caught just a hint of it in her smile. When she offered the cookies nodded slowly, blinking as she adjusted her glasses in a way that suggested that he had to force himself to stop looking so intently. Even with the effort though, he just wound up with his eyes on hers again. "Sure," he said a little quietly, and then he realized he said it too quietly and cleared his throat.

"I mean, yeah. Sure."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:11 PM
She blushed, unable to help it. He really was staring intensely, and it felt... so strange. Good, but strange. She walked over to her bookcase, and pulled out what looked like a book, but turned out to be one of these secret stash boxes, and brought it back to the desk. With the way he'd been watching her, she felt strangly like she was on display the whole walk.

It was a weird experience. Kind of nice, but not entirely comfortable either. She opened the book, and inside was the promised cookies. Snickerdoodles, this time, but still quite fresh, in a plastic baggy to keep them from making a mess. She just presented them to him, not even thinking to set the box down.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:17 PM
( false post whyyy )(edited)
Pao - Yesterday at 11:14 PM
He did try not to follow her when she walked away, so she might have gotten some reprieve now and again but maybe not a whole lot. He still needed to snap out of it, and food was probably the best way to do that. When she presented the cookies he looked first, then took the box from her and set it down so he could get at the little bag. He opened it and fished a cookie out, taking a gigantic bite. The brunette looked pretty satisfied but he munched quietly this time, and his eyes were on the cookie as he ********' tasty, as always," he said before taking another bite. "At this rate you're gonna spoil me with all this food. Not a bad thing, but." And Rhys cut the thought there with a shrug and another bite.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:17 PM
She relaxed, just a little, when he focused on the cookies, and smiled a bit. "Terribly sorry, I just like sharing with you." She grabbed a single cookie, and then went back to her bed, nibbling carefully to prevent crumbs. She carefully climbed onto it, making sure that he'd see nothing more then he'd already done. Most of her legs were on display but it was a little too late to do anything about that. She could put pants on, she supposed, but that would risk flashing him with her panties. This was easier. She hoped.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:27 PM
If she had stayed put it would have been easier to just focus on his cookie, but she moved and caught his eye again and he looked up, then back at his cookie, and then back up. This repeated at least once more before he grabbed another cookie, resolving to snap himself out of it for good this time.

"Nah, I just mean that it'll suck a whole lot more if I get assigned to some outpost again." He moved his eyes to the wall as he worked on this second cookie, pondering perhaps if that meant that he would miss her if he was gone. Or she was gone. He had to admit that she was his default contact when he wanted to hang out these days, and when they didn't there were times that his day felt...empty. Or lacking.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:30 PM
She was nibbling her cookie when he said that, and her face went blank. Outpost duty. She knew it could happen, potentially. She also know that the idea of him disappearing on her to go to outpost duty was... distressing. Given he didn't feel the need to warn people before he went on a mission, she might never know if he was gone until he was.

She shifted on the bed, trying not to think about this, but her expression was that careful mask she wore when trying to hide thoughts she didn't want to expose to the world. "Ah.. I see... yes. I can get why that... might be distressing."
Pao - Yesterday at 11:35 PM
Her lack of words caught his attention and he glanced her way again, though this time he didn't feel as though he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of her. He blinked and nodded, taking another little bite out of the cookie as he turned the thought over in his head some more. "Or, I mean, if you get sent to an outpost."

He finished off the cookie he was working on and dusted the crumbs off of his fingers. "Either way, those assignments can last a while so no you to chill with and no food. I'd be doubly s**t outta luck for however long it's supposed to be."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:39 PM
"Yeah that would... seriously suck." She leaned her head back against the wall, trying to push the thought of how much she'd ******** miss him if he was gone for awhile. "But like. If you get advance notice, and tell me... I'll at least try to make you a good meal before you leave? Since I can't do much else in those situations."

She was so ********, so very ********. Some day in the near future, one of them would have to go to outpost duty, and leave the other one behind, she was so sure of it. While she had other friends... Rhys was something else. She didn't want to think about what. It was complicated and strange and she knew that there was a word in the back of her mind for how she felt but she was not ready to deal with it yet. But once whichever one of them were gone, she knew she'd probably have to face it, the hard way.

Or maybe if it was her who had to go, she'd be too busy to face it.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:44 PM
It was a not a great topic to jump to after all the good vibes from earlier, but it was definitely a reality everybody on the island had to face. If this...whatever it was...had happened before he got shoved off to Mexico he wasn't sure that year and a half would have passed as quickly as it did. And now here he was, faced with the prospect of not just having to deal with extended time away if it happened, but when the death and dying issue came up (because it did happen) he promptly squashed the thoughts into the ground.

"Will do. Not sure what I could do for you, but let me know, too, if you can?"
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:51 PM
"I will." Her eyes focused back on him, and she let a small smile out, one that trembled just a little, but other then that she kept what she was thinking about under lock and key. "But that's life on this damn island, I guess."

She paused, then said "But I can't hate it. I'd never have had the chance to meet you if it wasn't for this place. It may be a ********' insane stupid place, but..." She let another smile, this one a little sweeter, out.
September 13, 2017
Pao - Today at 12:00 AM
"True," he said with an agreeable nod. "You're like a drop of sanity all of a sudden, and I mean..."

The thought faded in and out, how she'd changed things on the island for hiim quite a bit. It was like all at once he suddenly had someone to do just about everything with, including talk about the worst part of their lives (though that may have been accidental, but still). He couldn't imagine going back to not having that, too, which was bizarre for him. And it freaked him out and made him wonder and doubt and realize why he'd always just kept people away in the first place. He'd never really experienced losing anyone before, and now that the prospect of it was in his face it just...

He sighed, slow and heavy. "Well. Let's just forget about it 'til we gotta deal with it, I guess. No point in thinkin' about it now since we're both still here."
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:04 AM
She smiled a little, glad to know she could help him as he'd helped her. It meant a great deal to her to be able to do that. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

She sighed, and nodded at that. "When it comes, it comes. Meanwhile life goes on." She didn't know what else to say, though part of her worried about how things seemed to go from bright and happy to... intense in someway or another... to this so fast lately. What if he decided her company wasn't worth all of that? Once again, the thought that she was ******** screwed passed through her head. She didn't say anything, just grabbed her pillow and hugged it hard against her body.
Pao - Today at 12:23 AM
Rhys stared at the far wall for a little while, his thoughts on the matter gradually dwindling. He knew it would come up again in the future, the mission stuff in particular. Some were more dangerous, others less so, not that that was a comforting thought at all. If she wound up in the infirmary he probably would wind up a wreck in some way or another...

There was a part of him that was warning him, telling him to back out now. Time invested here would not be too much of a loss in the long run if something does happen, and it'd be easier to swallow that pill if he just stopped whatever was going on here.

He rolled that thought around for a little while, glancing over at Seren now and again as he tried to think through all the potential good and bad ends. In the end he sighed and, spying the empty space beside her, pointed right at it. "Mind if I sit there?" he asked, defying just about everything that part of him was saying. He could sift through more of the details later, but for the moment, at least, he knew that he wanted to stay.
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:27 AM
She looked up at him, and nodded. "Of course." She let go of her pillow for a moment, and patted the empty space, watching him quietly, wondering how she'd let someone in again, and silently praying it really wasn't a mistake.

Nope. That thought wasn't allowed. It wasn't a mistake. Even if he decided to drop her tomorrow, and every fragile thing she'd been building shattered... It wasn't a mistake. That much she'd swear to. Whatever he gave her, it was worth it.
Pao - Today at 12:32 AM
The invite got a little smile out of him and, after he sealed the baggie and closed up the box he casually made his way over and flopped down next to her, scooting closer than he probably would have if he wasn't thinking about suddenly not having her around anymore. His arms brushed very casually next to hers as he settled in quietly.
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:37 AM
She smiled a little, shyly, but glad he was there. She wanted to lean against him. She didn't have the courage to do so, but she rested her hand on the bed beside him. All the solid things she had thought she had made were feeling fragile now, but she refused to give up, give up hope. Hope was the reason she wasn't dead yet, after all. The silence between them should have felt strained, awkward. It felt more like a holding point, and she accepted it as it wasn't an executioner's ax.

An image that she was trying not to call to mind, honestly.
Pao - Today at 12:45 AM
Rhys had lowered his gaze to where her hand was on the bed, wondering very briefly what it would be like to hold it for whatever reason. He settled on just letting his hand rest just beside hers, their pinkies barely touching. The silence, to him, was comforting in a way. It didn't confirm or deny anything between them, just that they were there in that moment and everything was still fine. Whether that changed as soon as he walked out the door, he had no way of knowing...

And not knowing was what bothered him the most. It was why he'd always kept people out, because he preferred the security of knowing that having no one meant no one would ever hurt him again. It was a little different now, whether he realized it or not. And he was slowly realizing it, too, and it worried him.

"So." he started, voice quiet as he tried to think of ways to crawl out of his current state of mind. "Is there a reason you're in a nightshirt in the middle of the day?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:49 AM
The slight touch of his finger was comforting, small as it was. It reminded her he was there, here and now, no matter what else happened. And that was what mattered. In this moment, he was with her.

His question surprised her, and she blinked at him for a long moment. It certainly was a change from the mood up to this point. "Ah... I had been thinking about doing some reading and then I thought maybe I'd take a nap after. I didn't feel like wrinkling my clothing, though, so I decided to change." It seemed logical to get at least.
Pao - Today at 12:52 AM
He nodded a little at how logical it all sounded, and then he playfully flicked her pinky with his. "You're really into books, huh?" he thought to ask, letting his brain just grasp at whatever straws showed up. Anything to lighten the mood a little bit.

"Tell me about it. We kinda talked a little at the Lighthouse, but you only mentioned that one author. Uh..." and he honestly couldn't remember so he just powered along. "Anyway, so besides that lady what else are you into?"(edited)
AriaStarstone - Today at 8:46 AM
She let herself laugh at the playful flick, surprised by it but glad he was changing the subject. "Yeah. They're a great escape when you just want to not think or something." She shrugged, and nodded.

His next question earned him a soft smile, and she talked about books for awhile with him, until he had to leave. She walked him to the door, and gave him the smile she unintentionally reserved for him as he left, hoping in her heart things were still ok.