aef ic contact.

[rightfoot]

VIDEO. TEXT. AUDIO ENABLED.


"It's Louis, leave a message."

ACTION/OVERFLOW ALLOWED.

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[sylphid]

[There's a knock on his door.

His closet door.

From the inside.]

You free?

[rightfoot]

[ Okay. No. He won't make a joke. Instead - he'll just answer, flopped over on his couch after he hears the knock. ]

I am. Are you going to talk with me through the closet door or come out?

[sylphid]

[The door opens and Fie's just laying there, too. They can talk like this because why not.]

This is fine. [They can still see each other this way.] So I had lunch with Shinjiro the other day. You probably felt that.

[rightfoot]

[ He flops his head over the front of the couch, upside-down. He glances towards Fie. See, now they're almost eye-level. ]

I did. [ Stare. ] It went well, then? I assume. Or bad.

[sylphid]

Nah, it was fine. He was pretty hard on himself about the whole mist thing-- more so than usual I mean. It kinda sucked to see that.

[Now Fie turns on her side to sort of look at him... the right way? Whatever. Part of her wants to know if his antlers will damage the floor. Oh well.]

He wouldn't listen when I told him I didn't blame him. I got annoyed.

[rightfoot]

[ They're just barely off the ground. He knows how to manage his antlers. Yeah. That sounds about right. Shinjiro did seem pretty concerned when he texted him, and Louis did have to lie a little bit. Not that he minds.

Lying is easy if he wants to do it. ]

Yeah?

[ WHAT DOES IT MEAN> ]

I'm not that shocked.

[sylphid]

Neither am I, but it was still annoying. I'm gonna be fine, and how could I blame him? [Even now her tone's a little ruffled.]

So I had to get him to stop. [This is where she might look slightly unsure.]

[rightfoot]

[ Louis blinks. Listening. Okay, she's building this up an awful lot. It betterbe good. No, he couldn't blame Shinjiro, at all. He would have felt bad if he had actually hurt the either of them. ]

Yeah. Of course, I guess.

[ Long. Stare. ]

What did you do?

[sylphid]

The only thing I could think of at the time. [Now her uncertainty turns just a little bit sheepish.] I kissed him. Just to get him to shut up.

[She sighs, really aware how real saying it out loud makes it now. Welp.]

I mean it absolutely worked.

[rightfoot]

[ Oh.

Oh.

There's a little smirk right there on his face, and he sits up immediately. The next thing that comes out of his mouth is word vomit: ]

Finally.

[sylphid]

Right. [Fie sits up now.] I finally found a way to shut him up if he gets like this again.

[She is... not joking around this time. To her, Louis is also thrilled she found a way to get him to shut up if need be.]

[rightfoot]

[ Are you kidding me. ]

Oh. [ Couch flop ] So that's how it is with you, then. Well, it's good it worked, Fie.

[ He holds back a sigh. ] Good to know if I ever need Shinjiro to come to his senses planting one on him works.

[sylphid]

[Her eyes narrow in a squint.]

What's how it is with me? [Now she wants to know what he's talking about.]

[rightfoot]

You always seem so - um.

[ What's a good word? Is it how he felt with Haru? A little. With Juno? A bit. With other carnivores? Often. ]

Light with Shinjiro.

[sylphid]

Light? [Fie blinks, trying to decipher that. But slowly an idea comes to her.]

Like comfortable? I guess so. I am with you, too. Is it different?

[rightfoot]

It's different. It's how you are when you care about someone beyond friendship.

[ Like - he knows it's a feeling hard to describe. Maybe that's why it's easier for him to understand. ]

Maybe because it's through a bond I'm wrong. But I don't know that I am.

[sylphid]

[Fie's quiet. For a good bit of time, thinking on this. After what seems like a long time, she nods.]

You might not be wrong. I didn't really think about it seriously. [A sigh escapes her.]

It's kinda annoying.

[rightfoot]

[ There's a moment of consideration at her answer. He's not surprised at all by it, though. He tries to find a word for it. He cares - truly - about her. He cares about Shinji. They're his friends he's picked and he doesn't call people his friends lightly.

Or almost ever. ]

Is it? I guess having a crush is kind of annoying, huh.

[ What would he know about that, huh. ]

Are you going to do anything about it or just scare him with a sudden kiss?

[sylphid]

It can be, but I meant more him specifically. [She wants to continue, but this is encroaching on super emotional and vulnerable territory here, something she's only ever addressed with Class VII before. Fie lays back down on her side, still looking at Louis.]

I dunno. It might be nice, but I don't think he'd ever see me that way.

[What she doesn't say is that she might not really blame him for it.]

[rightfoot]

He's not too annoying. [ A little. He's thick, and he doesn't have good self-esteem. Louis likes him. He thinks he's pretty great, honestly, and that he deserves good things. Fie deserves good things. So naturally -- ]

Maybe he could. You never know, a couple months down the line.

[ Sigh. ]

But, I don't want to be rude and give you hope when I don't know.

[ He shifts on the couch, propping his chin on the arm of it, getting in a little closer to where she is on the floor. ]

I could see it, though. You both seem pretty happy when you're together. So I say - if you want something, you should try and get it. Even if that something is an annoying, clueless jerk.

[sylphid]

Not him exactly. Just... feeling that way about him.

[Her arm flops in front of her in an almost childish show of irritation, but it's the only visible sign of it. Aside from the eye roll she can't help.]

Maybe, maybe not. I still think maybe not. We're good as friends, but anything more... I dunno. I'm not exactly a person most people could see in anything resembling a relationship. [That's how she'll phrase it. Fie has a little faith in what Louis can extrapolate from that. Her knowledge she's an acquired taste and maybe even her own lack of confidence in this. Not enough to outright dismiss it, but certainly enough to question it.]

He's happy with you as well, so not sure if there's actually a difference there.

[rightfoot]

Ah. I wonder if girls back home ever felt that about me.

[ Since she said it, he's sure that's how it was. Oh well, he hopes he didn't cause too many much grief, even if he knows for sure he caused a couple problems. ]

Well - if you decide this is something you really want. [ He'll absolutely be your bro here, Fie. That's the implication from how he finished that. Yes, he will absolutely try and find out what's going on from Shinji's end, but he knows how awkward it is to be pushed into a relationship when it's not wanted from both parties. ]

Though, Fie, there's nothing wrong with you. You're pretty cute, I guess. [ He supposes. For a human. ] Fun, too. Strong.

Maybe it's different, maybe it's not. [ He's an acquired taste. ] Who knows what Shinjiro is into anyway.

[sylphid]

Hard to say. But I doubt you'd be nearly as frustrating.

[She does mean that, if only as a shot to Shinjiro.]

It's not something I'd say no to, if that's what you mean. [Because even if she "really wants it" as he puts it, it's not up to her alone. And right now, it's too far a leap for her to make comfortably.]

I'm not saying there is, but I'm not what most people would think about in a partner. [But awww.] Thanks, though. That does help.

[Oh, her grin now.] We do have an idea, remember?

[rightfoot]

I'm engaged anyway, Fie.

[ He realizes for a moment that they've joked about he and Shinji getting married, so he quickly fixes the comment so she knows it's not part of the joke that she's in on. ]

At home, I mean.

[ Oh - yeah, that. Smirk. ]

We do. I think he does enjoy being bossed around a bit. He lets you do it an awful lot, it looks like. [ Maybe that's a sign he likes her. Hmmm. ]

[sylphid]

[Okay, that news gets her attention. Fie blinks at him, moving to rest her head on her propped up hand.]

You never mentioned that before.

[Completely ignoring the bossing Shinjiro around thing. New focus, now.]