highfiving | (no subject)

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[ after their "date", leia really does take the time to think about everything that happened, from the tension, to the kiss, to the dream that she can only vaguely remember. she even talks to elize about it, since... well, the rest of their group is compromised of people who are probably too busy to play advisor for her (like rowen and gaius), or people it would be way too awkward to talk to about this with (like jude and alvin himself). she's even a little quieter than normal when it comes to contacting alvin, and she definitely doesn't try to drag him out as much— especially not when she finally admits to herself why she's been so weird around him lately.

she likes him. not as a friend, or even as a best friend, but as something more. she's been through this whole song and dance before, which makes it worse, in a way. trust her to fall for her best friend again, right? and that's not even touching on the issues they've had in the past, or the fact that he's... a lot older than her, or any of the other reasons that tell her that this is probably something that she should keep to herself for the moment.

quiet as she may be toward him, though, that doesn't stop her from calling him up and asking if he'd like to spend new years together, and when she gets an affirmative answer, she can't help but feel a small thrill even if she knows she probably shouldn't. unlike her birthday, this isn't being framed as a date. as far as anyone but her is concerned, this is just two friends casually spending a holiday together, but just knowing that they'll get to do something like that really does make her happy.

that doesn't stop her from putting a little extra effort into her appearance, either— when the big day rolls around, even if she doesn't get very dressed up, she does spend time in front of the mirror fussing over her appearance for one of the first times in her life. while she would normally toss her hair up into a quick bun and call it a day, she actually opts to wear it down for once, combed out carefully so that it falls around her shoulders. she picks out her cutest sweater and shorts combo, too, because even if the weather reports say it's going to be chilly and potentially a little rainy, a small part of her wants to impress him. for him to think that maybe she's actually pretty cute.

she even gets to their decided meeting spot a little early (surprisingly, probably), an umbrella in hand, just in case the reports were right and it starts to drizzle at some point— it's already a little cloudy, so it's a very real possibility. she's pretty antsy about this meeting, too, if the way she keeps checking her GHS is anything to go by. she's only been waiting for him for a few minutes and there's still plenty of time to walk to the area they talked about watching the fireworks from since it's not too far away, but still. she kind of can't help herself at this point. ]

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What, don't want to watch it together? I was actually kind of interested in it, too.

All right, all right. I'll stop by sometime soon and we can watch it together.

[ and she elbows him playfully. ]

Is that better?

Yes. [A grin before he looks back forward and they continue forward. It's getting more crowded despite the threat of rain, forcing Alvin to move closer to Leia.]

Man it's crowded. We might have to go higher up... Actually let's take that small alley up ahead. There's a side path that'll take us up to a higher terrace.

[ this is sort of shaping up to be like their trip to xian du, which means that as they head through the crowd and toward the alley, she's going to grab for his... hand? his arm? she's not really aiming for anything in particular, she just wants something to hold onto so they don't get separated. ]

That just means we'll have an even better view, right? No complaints here!

[Likely his arm since it's the inside hand holding the umbrella.]

Should be quieter, too.

[Or...... Full of couples. Because that's exactly what they'll find when they walk up the path, up the flights of stairs, and step onto the terrace. It's big and spacious with the beginnings of a small garden being made. There were a few lumen trees, obviously imported from Fennmont. But while it's not exactly crowded, there quite a few couples already situated on benches or by the railings.

This.......had not been what Alvin expected, though in hindsight, he probably should have.]

...Well...relatively quieter. [Speaking of quiet, he hadn't heard or felt much rain lately, so he tilts the umbrella slightly before shaking it off a bit to close it.] At least it's stopped raining.

[ of course there would be couples. of course. but the rain stopping is a good thing! so she's going to focus on that, releasing her hold on his arm. normally she might keep holding on because hanging off of him has become surprisingly natural, but now it's too weird for her. she folds her arms behind her back instead, looking around the terrace as she does. ]

Looks like it all worked out in the end!

[ no rain and a quieter, less crowded place to watch the fireworks from. if she tries her hardest to shove everything else from her mind (like the fact that she can see a couple getting kind of lovey-dovey out of the corner of her eye), then this really is a good spot. ]

Wanna find a place to sit before it starts?

[ they've probably got a little more time to kill, but snagging some spots early never hurt anyone, right? ]

Yeah, let's see...

[A place where couples aren't all over each other would be nice. After a little bit of scanning, he spots an open bench that seems like it would be a good enough view.]

Over there seems like a good enough candidate. [And already walking forward.

For a second he almost reached out for her hand, but all the couples around also makes him restrain himself.]

[ if he had taken her hand, she might have actually tried to pull it away on reflex, so it's probably better for both of them that he didn't.

but she follows close behind him either way, plopping down on the bench once they reach it and stretching her legs out as she does. then, she fishes out her GHS to check the time (and if he's close enough to see the screen, he might be able to see that she hasn't changed her wallpaper since their "date"). they blew a surprising amount of time walking, so midnight is just around the corner at this point. ]

So, how should we spend our last few minutes of the year?

[He does glance over, mostly curious about the time, and does notice the wallpaper. Funny thing...he actually hasn't changed his either. Whether that's a conscious decision, being lazy, or that it's still a hilarious shot that cracks him up every time he sees it, who knows. But she's asked a question and now he has to answer.]

Tradition would be to think about the past year and coming up with new year's resolutions, so we could start with that.

All right! I'll go first.

[ and now she's going to put her GHS away.

though she's not typically much of a thinker, a new year's resolution is something worth thinking long and hard about. it needs to be something good— something worth working toward. given leia's deeply rooted appreciation for hard work, it could probably be anything and she would still try her hardest to fulfill it, so that just makes it a little harder.

she goes quiet for a moment, considering and turning various options over in her head. ]

That deal we made about keeping up with my deadlines kinda covers my bases with work, so... [ what else can she resolve to see through to the very end in the coming year? none of the typical "be less lazy, get in shape, quit a bad habit" resolutions really fit her, so maybe it should be something more personal? if she thinks about it that way, one thing in particular comes to mind, but it's not something she can tell him. ]

Okay, I think I've got mine!

[ she's going to try to keep it a secret unless he manages to pry it out of her, though, so that's all she has to say on the matter for the time being. ]

[He watched her with mild curiosity, seeing her expression changing slightly as she thought, but not really able to tell what she's thinking. He could have easily guessed the work part, but when he expects her to continue and instead she ends it with that? Well his curiosity is piqued even more.]

Come on, you can start like that and leave me hanging. So not missing deadlines and...something else?

[ should she tell him? she has to think about that for a moment— mainly about how to word it so that things won't be weird between them— but apparently the answer to that question is yes. ]

I'm not sure how easy it'll be, but there's someone I want to make happy.

[ she means that genuinely, too. that's her personal, non-work related resolution, even if she's guilty of omitting the fact that the person in question is him. she's not sure when she'll be able to get up the nerve to tell him how she feels, but... working hard to keep his spirits up? that's something she can do. she's done it once already, back when jude was the object of her affections, after all. ]

[And once again, curiosity and interest piqued.]

Oh? [A grin forms as he leans in closer to her.] Someone, huh? Sounds like someone caught your eye.

[He's teasing of course. It didn't have to be a sign of some crush. Hell, it could be her editor. The guy seemed like he could loosen up a bit. Maybe even a co-worker. So he'll let her slide by not teasing her too badly.]

Well I'm sure you'll be able to do it. Can't imagine someone not getting cheered up with that positive personality of yours. [And then a small playful nudge with his elbow.] Just don't overdo it.

Hey, there's no such thing as overdoing it, especially not when it comes to cheering someone up!

[ she swats at his arm lightly, but hearing from him that she shouldn't have any problems? it makes her happy, honestly. so, she's smiling in spite of the sass she's giving him. ]

Feel like spilling the beans about your resolutions now?

[ since she shared her super secret™ resolution with him and all. he kind of owes her. ]

[A light chuckle as he moves just a little from the swat. But his own new year's resolutions huh...]

Let me see... Well there's obvious going to be the work related ones. Get more sales, make more connections—the boring stuff.

[He leans back a bit now, legs extending as both hands grip the edge of the bench as he looks up to the dark, starry sky thoughtfully. She had someone to work on, but does he? ...Not really. Not in that kind of way, anyway. Really, if he thinks about it... Thinking back on this past year, it's been pretty good to him. A year he can actually look back and have good memories. Of course, most of the memorable ones had been with her, but... Well there's no particular deep meaning to that (or so he tells himself, anyway).]

I guess continuing to better myself and make more good memories. [Like back in Xian Du, how he now has better memories to replace the bad. Though hearing himself say those words out loud... There's a small wry laugh as he sits back forward.] Guess mine aren't really as impressive.

You know, they don't have to be impressive.

[ hers aren't all that impressive, either, and even if it's not the new year quite yet, it's never too early to get started on making sure he's happy, right? ]

If being a good person and having a good time are what you wanna do, then that's good enough. [ she lightly bumps her shoulder against his before continuing. ] And I'll be here to help you with it every step of the way!

Is that right? [A light smile. Really, he could see her doing that, and as he said, it wouldn't be that hard. But that reminds him of her resolution, so he gives her another tap back.] Though you shouldn't spend too much attention to me if you're going to keep your own resolution.

Don't want to make the other person jealous now.

[Apparently he's going to be dense twice today.]

[ have some awkward laughter, because way to completely miss the mark. ]

Come on, don't worry about that. I dunno if he'd even get jealous over something like that, anyway.

[ which is actually true. is he the jealous type? would he feel jealous if she paid less attention to him and spent her time with someone else instead? it's pretty hard to tell, honestly, but she's got a feeling the answer to that would be no— whether or not he's a jealous person, her feelings are probably strictly one-sided, so of course he wouldn't be jealous if her resolution revolved around someone else. ]

[Wait.]

He?

[... ... Still could be anyone, but in his mind he had been imagining that editor or a female co-worker. Now his mind is starting to think of guy more her age and... ...It shouldn't bother him, but for some reason now he actually does want to know. And not know.

Leia, he might actually be experiencing small little pricks of jealousy. ~~Of himself.~~]

Hold on, this someone is a guy? Is it someone you're interested in?

[The questions come out naturally and innocent enough, the kind one would expect a close friend might ask out of interested curiosity. It's just for Alvin...it might be more than just interested curiosity even if he couldn't really place why exactly.]

[ he's catching into her, but since he doesn't seem to fully understand her side of this yet, there's no harm in being honest, right? she's a pretty bad liar, anyway. ]

You got it. [ she gives a quick nod. ] I wanna make him happy because I'm interested, and I'm not so sure he feels the same.

[ even if she's skirting around a very important piece of information, it actually feels... kind of good to say these things. to let him know, in a way, that she has feelings for him. to talk about this with someone other than elize. ]

I figure that even if he's not, that's the least I can do. You know what I mean?

Uh... [This is somehow more of a surprise to him than he thought it would be and for a moment he could only just look at her blankly before coming to his senses and quickly look away.] Yeah, right. [Well that came out stiffer and more awkward than he intended or even expected.

Come on, Alvin, stop acting like a dad who just learned his daughter is dating. Or. Something like that. Is that how he's acting? Or maybe like an older brother...no all of those analogies would fit more with Elize, and he definitely would be more caught up into it than he is right now, demanding all the details. Instead...strangely he's not sure he wants to know the details, and that's a very, very strange feeling.

But he just clears his throat a bit and grins as he looks back at her.]

Well I'm sure he's probably noticed you. I mean, kind of hard not to.

[Because she's cute—er, well no, not that's not what he should initially think even if the glow from the nearby lumen tree does wonders for her profile right now and he's starting to feel that he might prefer her hair down and—

Quit it, Alvin. Not the kind of thoughts you should be having.]

And even if he's not, I'm sure you can win him over if you try.

[He also knows about her feelings for Jude and how that played out, so he does want to support her this time. To get that win. Although...the idea of supporting her is somehow feeling a lot less than enthused than it should be.]

Edited 2015-01-26 09:29 (UTC)

[ she notices how stiff that sounds, having known him for as long as she has. typically, conversations like this go smoothly on his end and awkwardly on hers— hadn't he even teased her about having a fling with someone when they visited xian du together? but in the here and now, things are just... weird. if she didn't know any better, she'd think that this is something he doesn't feel comfortable talking about. and when she tries to think of why that's even a possibility...

if there were ever a perfect opportunity to drop the fibs she's been telling and give him the whole truth, this could possibly be it. the optimist in her especially thinks it could be a good idea, at least. she's almost sure he kissed her back, however faintly, under the mistletoe and he's been tossing compliments her way since they met up, too; first he had said she looked good, and now he's saying that it's hard not to notice her and that she could win this mystery guy of hers over if she tried. couple that with how he's not being his typical, teasing self, and... well, maybe there's a very small chance that he feels the same that she does, right? she's spent the time they've been apart since their "date" convincing herself that her feelings will probably never be realized, but what if she's wrong? she did this when she liked jude, too— she convinced herself not to say anything to him when they were young. then, when he finally came home from fennmont, he had milla. she had waited for too long, tried to shove her feelings down too much, and she lost her chance completely because of it.

after a pause that's probably a little longer than it ought to be, that thought is what drives her as she opens her mouth to respond. ]

Look, I—

[ she's about to spill the beans, to tell him that it's him that she's got her eye on, but the whistle and bang of the first firework of the night interrupts her, and she tears her eyes away from him to look up to the sky. after the first one, a series of fireworks start to go off, and there's no way she'll be able to talk to him with that going on, so... her confession will have to wait, apparently. ]

[He had been keeping his eyes not directly on her, still uncertain about his own behavior and feelings at the moment. Maybe he was partly realizing that if she was with someone else, their time hanging out would be a lot less and unconsciously he was realizing that it was a bit of a lonely thought, especially having been so used to knowing she would be around.

But these thoughts and realizations were only just starting to form when the fireworks started to go off, her words lost to the loud bangs and booms of the display. The sudden bursts of light also distract him, eyes moving upward to see. Leaning back a bit, his inside arm subconsciously moves behind her to support himself, though when he feels her back he does take a moment to glance back at her from the corner of his eye, careful to let her notice.

Should he still be doing things like this? The hand holding, the close presence. They had all been done as "friends," but... He can hear Elle's voice in the back of his mind again, momentarily muting the fireworks. Those small urges. Had...that really been all there was to it?

He returns his focus back to the lights coloring the sky. Well, no point in thinking about it now. Although, even though he tries to pay attention to the display, his mind is elsewhere and more acutely aware of the girl next to him.]

[ when she feels his arm behind her, it takes her out of the moment and the attention she had focused on the fireworks is drawn back to him. perhaps unconsciously, she leans back against the bench a little— so, in spite of how she was interrupted, she's not shying away from him. in fact, as she watches the fireworks, her thoughts stray back to what she almost told him.

the more she thinks about it, the more telling him feels like a good idea instead of an awful one. the more she thinks about it, the more it feels like maybe, even if he doesn't feel the same, it could be for the best. if he doesn't have feelings for her, then telling him could be part of the process of getting over him. if he does... that would be an entirely different can of worms. one she hasn't had much time to consider, and one she won't have much time to consider, either, since the fireworks are slowing to a stop. then there's a cheer in the distance, somewhere below them, signaling that the show is over and the new year is here. several of the couples around them are taking part in exchanging new years kisses, too, which gives her an idea. a potentially bad idea, but an idea nonetheless. ]

Hey, Alvin?

Hm?

[He's still half distracted by his thoughts, but he automatically turns back to face her.]