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 Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2024 4:09 am
”Come on in,” Mel said as she opened the door to her condo and led the way inside. She didn’t usually have guests over anymore–between school and work and knight life, there just wasn’t as much time to socialize. She did when she could but it was often dinner or hangouts outside, which…honestly, suited her just fine. She still tried to keep her place neat and presentable at all times for her own sanity–she had trouble relaxing when there was clutter around, and this was supposed to be her little sanctuary from the bustle of the world outside.
The space was bright and open, primarily done up in neutral tones. There were pops of color everywhere though–spread out between throw pillows, blankets, plushies, or potted plants–that currently gave off a very summery vibe. There were photographs throughout, primarily of family, but quite a few with friends as well. Aiden might even find himself in a photo or two on the refrigerator, or at her work desk in one corner of the living room. It currently wasn’t clutter-free–the sink wasn’t empty, there were work or school related things spread out in the living room, and Lulu’s toys were strewn about–but that didn’t take away too much from it. It looked...cozy and lived-in, and somehow seemed a reflection of Mel's personality.
Closing the door behind them, Mel slipped out of her shoes before letting Lulu out of her harness and giving her a little treat for a job well done on their walk. The pup took the treat and wandered off to wherever she pleased.
“Sorry, it’s a little messy right now, but make yourself at home.” There was a light blush on her cheeks, clearly she was a little shy and embarrassed about the state of her place. “Can I get you a drink? I have…water, coffee, tea, and…oh! There’s a pitcher of fresh lemonade I made this morning.”
She was already headed to the refrigerator when she turned suddenly, and said, “Going back to your question, though. Isn’t the knight stuff supposed to be a secret?” The blush hadn’t gone, but she was smiling wide, clearly amused by the sudden discovery of more common ground between them. She'd been itching to talk about it the entire walk to her building–which was a whole five-ish minutes from where they were–and now that they were here she could hardly wait to get started.
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Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2024 4:33 pm
Aiden followed Mel curiously. He’d never been to her home but as soon as he stepped inside it felt like her. He tried to take in as much as he could without just outright staring. She had so many photographs of her and the people important to her.
Mel’s smile was contagious so he couldn’t help but grin at how much joy she’d managed to capture.
“This is your idea of messy? I’m glad you haven’t come over to my place,” he mused. “Your home looks lovely, Mel. It’s really cute. Feels like coming home. I’d love some lemonade, if you don’t mind.”
Water would have been fine, but fresh lemonade? He felt like he could use something a little sweet to get himself going again.
“I was just teasing you about the Knight stuff, though. I haven’t actually told many people who I am, either. I could probably count the number of people who know about me on one hand. What about you?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2024 3:53 am
His compliments caused her blush to darken however slightly. While she didn’t normally struggle with compliments, being that this was her home and a particularly huge extension of her self-expression, not to mention that it was more like a private sanctuary for her these days, the compliment hit her a bit differently.
“One lemonade, coming up!” With that she turned back and actually changed trajectory, heading for one of the cupboards now instead.
Thankfully grabbing some refreshments was enough to get her mind off of the compliment, so the blush did eventually fade while she bustled about in the kitchen. She quickly loaded up a small tray with two tall glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies, then led the way to the living room. Granted, her things were all over the place there, but there was still some space on the coffee table for the tray, and at least one side of the sectional couch was wide open.
“Same, I think,” she said, pausing to give it a bit more thought as she settled onto the couch, scooting to make sure there was room for him to get comfy, too. Once she had it figured, she flashed him a little smile. “Including you makes six, though, so I guess that’s two hands for me. I’ve been at it for a year and I’ve only made that many connections.”
She sighed at that, wondering if it was a good or bad thing that her two lives were still relatively separate.
“How long has it been for you?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:19 pm
Aiden sucked in a breath and ‘hmm’d thoughtfully. “I guess about four years now. Don’t judge me harshly! When I awakened, the first thing I did was run into this Jupiter Knight who had a lot of advice for me.”
He took a seat on the couch and made himself comfortable as he leaned back into it.
“He was really emphasizing how important it was to be safe. So I promised I’d be careful,” which wasn’t really his strong suit, “and I took up some self defense classes.”
The lemonade looked delicious, and he could smell the cookies from here. He hadn’t been hungry before, but Mel was really a perfect host–bolstered even more by the fact that he was unexpected company, anyway.
“I kind of had a rough start to all of this. My introduction was a Negaverse agent plucking out my starseed, before I was even a page. I was in the hospital for a while. I don’t know what happened or who helped me, but I guess I got it back or I wouldn’t be here. It feels like I’ve been piecing together a puzzle this whole time and I still don’t have all the pieces. But I’m better than ever. Although, you’re definitely beating me with the connections. I’m going to have to up my game. I’ve been a Squire forever, you’re going to beat me to Knight at this rate. I’m not a good Jupiter representative!”
He laughed, but he wasn’t taking it seriously. From what he’d gathered, this whole thing was sort of an ‘at your own pace’ and ‘luck based’ thing anyway. You couldn’t force more power, and once you had it, there was more responsibility–and more trouble–anyway.
Mel had been impressive earlier; he wouldn’t have guessed she’d only been at this for a year.
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Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2024 9:00 pm
”I wouldn’t judge anyone harshly when it comes to this,” she said, eyes on him as he settled down beside her. Mel sat in such a way that she was facing him while still leaning comfortably against the couch.
And she was soon grinning when he mentioned that someone told him to be careful, but bit her tongue as she didn’t want to interrupt. Being careful didn’t seem to come naturally to Aiden, but she was relieved to hear that he took that bit of advice seriously. As he was speaking, she reached over and grabbed one of the glasses, offering it to him first before going to grab the other glass for herself. She got the cookies, too, and set the tray in the space between them for easier reach.
Mel kept her eyes steady on him as he recounted his introduction to this life. It was…much rougher than hers, that was for sure, and the grimace on her face when he said someone plucked his starseed… Based on her own experience of someone merely holding onto her starseed, that couldn’t possibly have been pleasant, though she was curious if he felt it at all in the moment…
Not that she could bring herself to ask. She wasn’t one to try and dredge up unpleasant memories if she could avoid it.
He was laughing by the end, at least, and it sounded like things had been going up since then so she looked plenty relieved about that. “Wow…seems like you got sent through the wringer right from the start. Things haven’t been that bad for me. A few close calls, maybe, but nothing like that. I can definitely relate to the puzzle thing, though.” She paused to take a sip of her lemonade, in part to fight down the little blush that again crept into her cheeks because of his compliments.
“And I mean…the connections are nice, but I’m not comfortable enough with anyone to use them, if that makes sense? The two younger knights from the night I awakened feel like younger brothers to me, and they for sure know more about all this and could probably run circles around me in the field but I still worry about them. The others I haven’t really reached out to since I first met them. Even my coworker, I haven’t really gotten to spend too much time with since learning about her being a part of this, too.”
Another sip of her drink, and then she reached for a cookie and offered it to him, her expression one of pure excitement at the prospect of having such a good friend of hers be someone she can share this part of her life with. “So finding out about you is actually kind of amazing, because I feel like I can just reach out to you about whatever, and I know I can rely on you and stuff. So hey! Maybe we can help each other out and make it to Knight together.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2024 6:16 pm
When the drink was offered, Aiden wasted no time in taking a sip. He nodded approvingly and offered a soft word of thanks, which he did again after he took the first bite of the offered cookie. His eyes widened in obvious appreciation and he again nodded while chewing.
He was glad to indulge while he listened to her; he got the best of both worlds–good conversation and good treats.
“Do it,” he encouraged, so eager to speak that he did so around half a mouthful. He waited until he swallowed before insisting, “Anytime you want company, let me know. It’ll be easy to coordinate a schedule, especially if we’re running into each other on campus, too. We’ll have plenty of time to figure things out. I don’t think you know anyone I know or I’d invite you to call on them too but we’ll figure it out. There’s plenty of time to meet new people and get a good group going if we need it. But, I think it would be an honor to follow the path of Knighthood with you.”
He hadn’t been rushing before, and maybe he still didn’t really plan to, but he was happy to know that he didn’t have to go out and make a new friend, he already had her.
“What do we have to do to make you more confident in reaching out to the connections you do have? No pressure, but I’ve seen some things that made me really glad to know I had people watching my back. Maybe we’ll run into them if we’re out patrolling together?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2024 7:35 pm
Mel beamed when she saw that Aiden seemed to be enjoying the snacks. As someone who enjoyed cooking, it was always extra rewarding when people appreciated what she made. She took a sip of her own drink as he spoke in turn, and then she bobbled her head enthusiastically. It was an exciting prospect, to not have to go out on patrols alone.
“We can start with the two of us and go from there,” she echoed with a little nod. It was more encouraging, as least for her, to set small goals and accomplish them on the way to bigger goals. “That sounds good to me!”
She took another cookie and nibbled on it thoughtfully, considering his question for a moment and ultimately coming up with no real answer. “Mm…not sure? But I can definitely try harder moving forward! Patrolling alone hasn’t been the greatest thing for me, to be honest.”
From there, Mel recounted the multiple encounters with corrupted senshi–there were six specific ones that stuck out to her: one fake fight; one tag team against a hoard of weird trees; two extremely unpleasant starseed manhandling experiences; and, quite possibly the worst, being saved from a swarm of acid bugs; and a subsequent meeting where she was made to repay the favor by being the lookout while they drained civilians for an evening.
Going over the last one wiped the smile off her face and dulled the shine in her eyes, and Mel lowered her gaze. It was the first time she’d mentioned it to anyone, now that she thought about it.
“I…still have a hard time with that last one, actually. It’s funny, I actually told them right before they asked me to do that, that one of the things I was most proud to contribute was stopping Chaos from draining civilians, and then…” her voice dropped off there, and she heaved a sigh.
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Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2024 2:06 pm
Mel’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Aiden couldn’t help but smile as he enjoyed the snacks she’d brought over. It was short lived, though. Mel was easy to read sometimes. It felt wrong to stay optimistic when her smile faded, and when she seemed to draw in on herself.
He leaned forward a bit, a slight ever to be closer to her and offer a silent support.
“Patrolling alone can be really dangerous. And you’re against an enemy that can not only teleport, but can summon backup with the snap of a finger. I wish there was an easier way to find people to make rounds with, even if it was just to make sure everyone gets home safe.”
Whatever she was thinking about, he could tell it was something that was weighing heavily on her. He didn’t want to pry, but it wasn’t in his nature to just shy away from worrying about his friends. “...It sounds like you had a rough time, Mel. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2024 11:00 pm
Aiden was one of those friends that Mel had naturally drifted toward. She found him easy to be around, not to mention reliable, smart, fun, and just overall a good person. He’d always been a good friend to her, and maybe that was why she was comfortable enough to open up to him about this kind of thing. Since becoming a knight, she’d found it harder to let herself be vulnerable.
Actually, she often fought it, tooth and nail, now.
She had to be strong, she found, in order to stomach a lot of what she came across as a knight. Which maybe wasn’t much by comparison to others, but it was a lot for her. So she did her best to not let things get to her, but there was nothing she could do to keep that night from being a constant, and very painful, memory.
Her lip trembled, and she bit it to keep from crying, but the tears welled all the same.
Mel shook her head to answer his question, and took a sip of her lemonade to try and get the lump out of her throat. “Not a whole lot beyond that, if I’m being honest. She found her own targets and all, I just had to keep anyone from disturbing her. Still, it felt like helping her with even just that much erased every good thing I’ve done as a knight up to that point. I’ve been trying to make up for it, but nothing I do feels like enough…”
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Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2024 4:36 pm
There would have been little signs of her distress even if he hadn’t seen the tears, and though Aiden felt a pang of guilt for asking, he just scooted closer so he could rest against her and offer whatever support that might bring.
“Hey…don’t be so hard on yourself, Mel. It sounds like you were in a really tough spot.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm gently.
“Better to get out of their debt before they find some way to cash in on something really seedy, right? And–look, draining energy isn’t the end of the world. It’s the starseed pulling that’s the worst of it. A little food, a little rest…people can bounce back from the energy draining.”
She hadn’t been bullied into helping steal starseeds.
“It sucks. I’m sorry you were in that position. But something like that doesn’t take away from all the good you’ve done. You don’t have to ‘make up for it’--and even if you were trying, you know I just watched you save a bunch of people out there, right? You were really brave, and who knows what that youma could have done to those people out there? I bet it’s easy to look back at all the things you’d change if you could, all the things you wish you’d done better. Do you ever stop and think about how much good you’ve done, too?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2024 6:07 pm
Mel leaned toward his offered comfort, swiping hastily at the tears that slipped past her guard as she rested against him and listened. It was weird to feel both horrible, as she always did when she thought about that night, and lighter at the same time because she was finally telling someone and more openly sharing her struggles for once.
She was incredibly grateful, though, that he was here and willing to listen and all. It was more than she could have asked for, and it definitely helped.
Going over his questions in her mind, ultimately she gave a little shake of her head. “Not usually?” she answered weakly. “I don’t know, I guess I might just be the type to dwell on mistakes more. Can’t imagine this’ll be the last, and that…sucks to admit to, but I can only keep trying my best, keep putting my best foot forward…” Her voice trailed off as she made a little gesture to mean “yadda yadda” with her hand.
He said it earlier, too, just before the youma–maybe she was being a bit hard on herself. That didn’t change the fact that what happened that night was something she knew she would constantly go back to, but hearing someone say that that night didn’t actually undo anything and she didn’t have to make up for it either, was reassuring. It went a long way to bolstering her mood, and she managed to smile again.
“Honestly, I thought you were more impressive today,” she went on to say as she playfully elbowed him in the side. “I mean, weather control–come on.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 9:51 am
Though Aiden laughed, he shrugged a bit dismissively. “I didn’t earn those powers, I just inherited them. I got lucky to have good magic. But don’t discount your own, you looked really cool out there. Your magic’s nothing to turn your nose up at.”
She must have known that. Or, maybe she was just being modest.
He couldn’t believe that she didn’t really see all the good that could come of it, even if he did understand seeing your own shortcomings and feeling their weight more.
“You did really well today, Mel. And I’ll bet you’ve done really well so many other times, too. If you’re thinking about times you’ve not done your best, that’s okay. Think about what you’d have done differently if you could change something, but don’t let it consume you. You’ve gotta stop and think about all the things you did right, too. And you know, if you’re having a hard time doing that, call me. Don’t dwell on any mistakes too much. Failing once is hard enough, don’t punish yourself, too. Nobody wins every time, but the important thing is trying your best, and putting your best food forward. And you’re doing that, you’ve already said! So you’re doing a good job.”
He gave her a squeeze, a good hug.
“Tell yourself that once in a while too, won’t you? Be proud of yourself. You’re doing great, Mel. But I’m sorry you had to go through all of that with the agent. I wonder if she was trying to get into your head by asking you to do something like that.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 6:17 pm
It wasn’t that she couldn’t see the good that she’d done and could continue to do, but it was just sometimes hard to see past the bad. It helped to have someone remind her that she shouldn’t hyperfocus on it, and in fact should probably shift her focus to noticing all the good things, too.
Mel sank into the hug, shifting so she could return it with a little squeeze of her own.
“Thanks, Aiden,” she said just before taking a deep breath, wanting to internalize everything he’d just said. It was great advice, and with a little smile she added, “I hope you realize how often I might end up having to call you. Between planning patrols and the occasional need for a pick-me-up reminder.” Hopefully she wouldn’t need the latter too often, but if he was offering a listening ear for knight-related things she wasn’t going to turn him down. It’d become enough a part of her life that she was quickly realizing there was no way she could keep going at things all on her own.
“I’ll pay you back in free food, though,” Mel giggled as she let him go, “and good company?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2024 10:49 am
Aiden wore a gentle expression, with a kind smile and amused eyes.
“Well, that sounds like a good deal to me. I look forward to it.”
Not just the free food, but it sounded like a good perk.
Mel was good company and maybe that, in part, was why it was so easy to offer and unlimited amount of time to offer reassurances or kindness to her. Mel was admirable, and honorable, and too hard on herself. She was always working too hard, of course she’d hone in on the things she hadn’t been so proud of.
She’d wear herself down to burnout, or worse, if that was all she did.
He nodded to her cookies and sipped at the lemonade.
“Trust me, I think I’m getting the better end of that deal already,” he teased, and gave her another playful squeeze.
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Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2024 6:24 am
A light blush crept onto her cheeks as she smiled and leaned into him again for the hug, deciding that she’d stay there for now. It was comfortable, and while she was mostly recovered from the conversation about her recent struggles, it was still nice to be in a comfortable space.
“Great!” she beamed at him, and then reached for and started to nibble on another cookie. “You’re gonna wind up as my recipe guinea pig once in a while, full disclosure. I can throw in a couple of your favorite things, though, if you tell me what you like or point me at a good recipe.”
From there, the conversation turned to food next and went from there for a good while longer. There was plenty of time for knight things in the future with this new arrangement, but for the moment it was just as nice to have someone to talk about the everyday, average, mundane civilian things, too.
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