highfiving | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ it's a few days after their trip to the hot springs, and leia has come down with a cold— it's nothing serious, just sniffling and sneezing, the occasional headache, and a slightly-higher-than-normal temperature— but considering all of the good things that the trip brought, it's a small price to pay. resolving the problems she had with alvin and taking the first (admittedly really big) step toward having a relationship together was probably worth a few days of feeling less than stellar.

especially since she can bug him without feeling too terribly guilty, since she's not just his friend anymore. that's still a really novel idea, given that this is her first real relationship, and she... may or may not have been taking advantage of that by talking to him a little more than usual. it's nothing too ridiculous— since she's sick and she can't drop by his place and bother him in-person, she's just been sending more texts and calls than usual his way— but still. considering how bad things had been between them before the trip, being able to talk to him freely feels pretty nice.

it's also something she does when she's starting to feel a little stir crazy from being cooped up inside. it's only day two of her cold, but calling into work sick and not having anything to do gets old fast for someone like her; she's quick to get restless. she's already jotted down some ideas for her next big article and talked to all of their friends about her new relationship (elize and elle wanted details, specifically). she's watched all of the shows she's behind on, done some light cleaning— which was probably a mistake, since it leaves her feeling worse than before— and now she's lounging around in bed, wrapped up in blankets and surrounded by a small army of pillows and stuffed animals.

so, naturally, she texts alvin. she'd call him, but it's closer to the middle of the day than the evening, and she's not sure if he's busy with work, so... it's probably better to play it safe. ]

hey!!! ☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ im still sick and i could use a little company |･ω･｀) its getting pretty lonely around here! (シ_ _)シ feel like dropping by?? ♡(*´∀｀*)人(*´∀｀*)♡

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ she goes a little tense when he presses his forehead to hers. it's partially because he catches her off guard— she really wasn't expecting that, especially after he checked her temperature with the back of his hand— but their relationship is still new, so that doesn't help, either. sometimes she can't help but feel a little more aware of him, since she's still settling into the fact that they're together, and even though she couldn't tell if her temperature was high before, she can definitely feel some warmth in her face now. ]

The food and the medicine, right? [ cue some fidgeting. ] Are we gonna eat soon?

[ that's the priority here, especially since she's not taking any medicine (especially not medicine that tastes bad) on an empty stomach. ]

[He's pulling back when he sees the faint blush, and unlike most cliché tropes, he's not mistaking it for the fever. Even back when they were just friends, he wouldn't have thought twice about doing the forehead method since it really is the most effective, but now he's seeing how more aware she is of him. He half wonders what she would have done if he had done this when it all had just been a (sort of) one-sided crush on her end.

Of course, on his side he's also become more aware of her, but his reactions are on a different spectrum. Rather than be awkward about it, if anything he's just more attracted toward her, which is probably why she's getting more teasing from than usual. Not that he won't ever feel that awkwardness (he certainly had before he had his feeling sorted out), and there will certainly be those moments, but now that he's more or less accepted this, he's gone back to just going with the flow. Pretty easy to do for a guy like him. It also helps that it's Leia, someone he had already felt very comfortable around. ...And teasing her is always amusing and he's a bully.

So there is a small smile playing on his lips as he eyes her a moment before answering.]

Give me a few minutes and I'll make you some porridge. You can be a good little patient and wait here in bed, can't you?

[ see, if he smiles at her when she's already feeling a little flustered, that doesn't help matters much. neither does the fact that she can appreciate his looks without feeling guilty for it.

there's a very small break in the conversation between his question and her answer where she's doing just that, and then: ]

Yeah, totally! I'll be the best patient you've ever had, just watch me!

[ has he ever even had to play doctor for someone before? she doesn't really know, but still. ]

[Has he ever had to play doctor—you take that question back right now!

There's a light chuckle as he stands.]

Then just take it easy and I'll be back.

[ his mom doesn't count! the question stays. ]

All right, all right. Just try not to take too long, okay?

[ she's going to take this opportunity to sink deeper under the covers. she might be a little tempted to follow after him once he leaves, but she's starting to feel the wooziness that sometimes goes along with having a cold thanks to how energetic she was being before, so she'll stay put.

and if he takes more than a minute or two, she can always entertain herself with her GHS, anyway. maybe send a few vaguely braggy messages to a coworker about how her boyfriend is nursing her back to health, play a couple games, bother jude— that kind of thing. ]

[Totally does. Though that's a good question of what if Presa had gotten sick...]

Now you make me want to take an hour.

[But he just grins as he leaves to go to her kitchen. It will definitely take more than a minute since he has to do this from scratch, but he'll do the quick version. Some oats, egg, veggies—he'll even warm up and reheat some of that leftover chicken (it has been determined she has chicken sssh), chop it up, and add it in. Throw in a few spices and flavoring, and voila. A simple yet surely to be tasty porridge for one sick girlfriend. Normally he'd have used rice, but since he wasn't sure if she had any on hand, he went with oats instead. Easier and faster to make.

After pouring it in a bowl, he carries it back to her.]

Careful—[He sets it on whatever bedside table she might have.]—it's still hot. I'll be back with some water and that medicine.

[ she's still fiddling with her GHS when he comes back, but she's quick to flip it closed and set it aside so that she can reach over and bring the bowl into her lap. ]

Jeez, took you long enough!

[ she's smiling as she says that, though, so she's probably just kidding around.

she only waits a moment before she takes a bite, but she does have the sense to blow on it first, so she won't be burning her mouth up too badly. that bite makes her realize how hungry she really is— she hasn't eaten much all day, and what she has eaten has just been reheated leftovers— but she at least tries to pace herself. that's probably a sign that she likes it, though, so when he brings the water and medicine, she'll still be happily (albeit carefully) digging into the porridge. ]

I could have taken longer you know. [He quipped as he left. But when he returns, he is pleased to see that she has a healthy appetite.]

So, what do you think? Not bad, right?

[ as if she would ever not have a healthy appetite. ]

It's better than just "not bad"! It's totally awesome!

[ that distinction is important to her, clearly.

once she finishes chewing her next bite, she scoots over to make more room for him, since she gravitated toward the middle while he was gone. her bed isn't that big (all the more reason for them to hang out at his place, really) but that's also an excuse to get cozied up. so, she pats the spot beside her, carefully holding onto her bowl with her free hand. ]

C'mon, come sit.

[If that ever happened, he'd have to take her to the hospital, huh.]

Now I'm starting to feel like a stuffed animal. [But he says that in good humor as he obliges, settling in next to her. Her bed really is small, at least from what he's used to. Definitely getting cozy here, but he's not minding it.

He also takes a moment to lean back and glance around her room for a bit.]

I've never really been in here, have I? I expected more posters of boy bands or something hanging on the walls. [Or maybe not, but he's teasing her, so.]

Hey, I'm not a kid anymore! I stopped doing stuff like that when I left Rieze Maxia.

[ so her room back in leronde? that's a different story. she'll have to do a lot of redecorating before she lets him see that, because it pretty much screams "teenager". ]

When I first moved in here, I tried to make this place look a little more mature. You know, like an adult lives here!

[ and she's mostly succeeded. she has a few too many stuffed animals and colorful knickknacks for her apartment to look classy, but it doesn't look like a child decorated it, either. ]

Mature, huh? [He has that teasing tone in his voice as glances over at her.] I guess you have a start.

[He also makes a mental note to visit Leronde without her knowing.]

Edited 2015-03-11 08:01 (UTC)

[ there are probably no less than one million pictures of her and jude. would he be prepared for that? ]

Just a start, huh? [ she takes another bite of the porridge, chews, and swallows before she adds: ] What would you change about it?

[He's a big boy, he can handle it. Probably would use them as more teasing fodder...for both of them.]

Get rid of all the plushies for one. [He even reaches over for the frog and tosses it up into the air before catching it.]

And the decor...colors are all right but there's a distinct sense of "cute." Just a little more than what a true "mature adult woman" would have.

[ she'll let him have the frog, but only because her hands are still full between the bowl and her spoon (so she can't snatch it back), and because he doesn't seem like he's going to hurt it. ]

I like the stuffed animals! [ so there. ] It's not like you're gonna be here all the time, so I've gotta have something to keep me company.

[ he's right about it being a little too cute, though, so she'll leave that point be. ]

Do you really feel that lonely? You could always come over to my place for the real thing, you know.

Not all the time! [ and not before she started liking him, either. before that, she liked having company, sure, but she didn't feel as drawn to having him around.

she takes another mouthful of porridge and takes her time in chewing and swallowing, because she may or may not feel just a little self-conscious about the turn the conversation has taken. the relationship is still pretty new, and she doesn't want to be too clingy toward him. ]

Are you sure it's not gonna bug you if I start dropping by whenever I feel like it?

You could give me a heads up first. You know, to make sure I'm even there.

Maybe I should get a key made for you.

[And he says this rather nonchalant.]

Would make things easier.

Seriously? You don't think it's too soon?

[ she doesn't sound quite so casual about it. but, then again, it really isn't a bad idea. ]

[He just looks at her in slight surprise.]

Too soon? I just thought it would be more practical.

We've known each other for years already and it makes sense if we're in a relationship. I would have given it to you even if we weren't dating if I thought you might need it.

[So his reasoning is surprisingly simple if also...different than what Leia is likely thinking. For one, he's already the kind of guy who doesn't think "too much" about the nuances of a relationship. After all, he and Presa started living together within days of hooking up (whether there had been some ulterior motive is up to debate).

Secondly...it's Leia. As he said, even if they weren't dating, if he thought Leia might need to crash at his place, he'd let her. And if he thought it would be a common occurrence, he'd just give her a key and call it a day. Simple, efficient, and no strings attached. So if he's already thinking that for if they were friends, the fact that they're not in a relationship just makes it that much easier. He'd probably be less open to it if it were during their first year of knowing each other, but as he said, it's been a couple and they've been through a lot that would make those three years seem like double.

And beneath it all, she's also someone he trusts a lot. He knows she won't bring random people to his place, again further cemented by the fact that they're dating.

So all of this, especially the fact that he's known her for a few years (which, if you think about it, is already a new thing for him since he's never kept any "deep" relationships longer than a few weeks to a few months), really doesn't make him think about the "too soon" problem, let alone the implications behind it. If anything, because it is something he's already done before with Presa, he might think it natural.]

[ should she be happy he trusts her, or annoyed because he isn't suggesting it for a deeper reason? she's torn between both, but in the end she decides to focus on the positive.

if he had ever needed it, she wouldn't have thought twice about handing a key over to him even before they were dating, anyway. coming home and finding him in her house wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen, at least. even if it's hard for her to be as nonchalant about the situation as him, when she looks at it like that, it's a little easier to keep her cool. ]

Then maybe you should take my spare home with you when you leave! You know, just in case.

You sure you won't need it?

[Again he's not thinking deeper into it (just wait until someone in their circle tells him and he starts rethinking things a bit), but now it's again a practical matter of whether she might need it.] I mean, I know where it is... Then again it probably would look weird to any of your neighbors if they caught me pulling it out from there all the time.

[ it's okay, she'll try to enlighten him a little. ]

C'mon, when a girl tries you give you a key to her place, you're supposed to take it! [ her bowl is about half-empty at this point, so she sets it aside and turns so that she can see him a little better. ]

Besides, you've got that right. My neighbors would totally start thinking you're up to something if they saw you snooping around for my spare key every time you wanted to stop by.

All right, all right. [There's a light smile.] Just be sure to get another spare, then. I don't want you stranded because I have it.

[When she no longer has the bowl, his body seems to naturally and unconsciously lean a little more against her.]

Anyway, ready to take that medicine?

[ she almost makes a comment about how she could always swing by his place if she got locked out, but. medicine. ]

You bet! Lemme at it.

[ except she doesn't sound as excited as she normally might, saying something like that. she's really not looking forward to this. ]