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[bloodandblunder]

"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

voicemail; action ; video

Comments

( 10/16 ) action, after That Voicemail

[willbreak]

[ Thinking of entering the apartments this afternoon/evening/night, Noire?

Too bad.

There'll be a strong hand yanking hers as she reaches the door, pulling her back around a corner, at which point a pair of arms will wrap her waist from behind. Surprise? ]

Re: ( 10/16 ) action, after That Voicemail

[bloodandblunder]

[ oh, surprise!

So much surprise that she's choking on a scream and trying to elbow her "attacker" instinctively. It's pretty easy to subdue her, though; she hadn't seen that coming at all.

GIVE A GIRL SOME WARNING. ]

[willbreak]

[ WARNINGS ARE FOR FAILURES, oh wait. Nevermind.

He was expecting that kind of reaction anyway, so there's no startled yelping on his end for once. Hold still, Noire. ]

Hey.

[bloodandblunder]

Wh-- [ and she stops immediately, glancing over her shoulder. ] Eugeo?

[willbreak]

... Long time no see.

[ It was a long almost-week okay. ]

[bloodandblunder]

... [ well, yes it was, but-- ]

H-hello.

[ except she looks like he's going to bite her head off if she says anything else. ]

[willbreak]

... [ okay, he has a whole speech planned out, it's fine— ]

I got your message.

[ BUT first things first, clearly. ]

[bloodandblunder]

... I'm sorry I had to... um, do it like that. Instead of to your face, I mean.

[willbreak]

[ He'll chuckle ever so slightly at that. ]

You apologize too much.

[ Then, before he can rethink what he's doing, he'll let go and walk round her so she's facing him, and then pull something out of a small bag at his waist — and offer the object to her. ]

Friends?

[ She should be used to him offering her cans by now... ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ she is, but it still makes her blink-- before she slowly reaches out to take it. She's not sure how much of this was actually resolved, how he still viewed things, and how she should feel about it in general (also, why he was giving her a can). But the important part is that he's here right now, and if nothing else, she has him as a friend.

Which is more than enough. ]

Friends.

[willbreak]

[ if they were four years old, that would have been it — argue and make up, done and dusted (then again, who gets crushes at four years old—). but they're not, so as much as he doesn't want to ruin the moment — and he really doesn't — he has to. ]

Noire, I... thought a lot, too. And I, um —

[ awkward shifting ]

The last thing I want is for you to have to pretend. I still don't understand why you... feel the way you do, even though you've told me — but I do know that suppressing your feelings for the sake of another person is really... tiring.

[ does he speak from experience? who knows!! ]

I was wrong to tell you that the way you felt was wrong. So if you can... please forgive me for that?

[bloodandblunder]

I wasn't really-- [ and it's safe to begin like that, to reassure him as always, but this time, Noire stops. And thinks, before she speaks again. ]

No, it... actually really hurt to hear that. [ and she can admit that now, glancing down at the can she holds before she looks up at him once more. ] But I'm not angry about it. So... I forgive you, Eugeo.

[willbreak]

[ and that gets the first genuine smile out of him in a long time. not the teasing grin he shows her every so often — no, this one comes "from the heart", for want of a better description. ]

Thank you.

[ but he's not done ruining the moment. ]

Honestly, I don't know how I feel when it comes to... liking someone as «more than a friend». You were already more than a friend to me a long time ago, but... at the moment, I'm not sure if what you mean and if what I mean are the same.

Though I am sure that... I really do love you. People tell me I shouldn't say that so easily, and they're probably right in a lot of respects — but to me, loving someone doesn't mean you have to marry them... and I still can't imagine marrying anyone anytime soon, if at all —

[ contrary to her phone call, he's been speeding up since he started talking — but he slows back down now. ]

That said... for as long as you want to stay with me, I'll stay with you, too. Because I want to.

... Is that okay with you?

[bloodandblunder]

[ Eugeo is probably the only boy she knows who can say he loves somebody without turning red or stammering; even Owain wasn't brave enough to discuss it without dropping his phone and running off. And of course there's different kinds of love: the kind between friends, the one shared with family. There was no need to even think about marriage, especially in a place like this. Noire had already known that he cared. He'd talked about love once before, but when she can actually get past the flustered part and listen, she thinks she might be able to understand.

Love is a heavy word to her. Her parents loved her, of course, though she'd only had that recently confirmed from her mother of the past. Some of the other kids loved her, likely in the way they'd love a sister who caused her fair share of trouble. They'd all had years to know and accept her.

The people here hadn't had that opportunity. Eugeo didn't have years on his side, or a childhood with her. So to hear him now, and to remember the boy who had trained alone in the tunnels, and who had run away from her while he was turning into a monster, who had tried to push her away for her own sake-- to hear him say that he loved her and wanted to stay with her isn't something she can disregard or take lightly. It's a deep form of acceptance she hadn't actually expected to encounter here.

She has to duck her head as her answering smile warms her face. ]

Yes. That's more than enough.

[willbreak]

[ Yeah, seeing her smile like that makes her happier than he's been in longer than he can remember, and for now — just for now — things seem like they'll be okay. ]

I'm glad.

[ He means it.

... Even though his expression suddenly turns sheepish. ]

Um... are you afraid of heights?

[bloodandblunder]

... I'm afraid of a lot of things. I guess as long as I'm not about to fall from it...

[willbreak]

..........

[ at least she's honest!!

insert throat clearing and fidgeting, you know the drill. ]

I... can make wings now, so once I get better at flying — not soon or anything, but eventually — do you want to, er...

[bloodandblunder]

[ ... he can make wings now.

he can make wings now?!?!?!?! ]

You can make wings now??

[ hold on let her get past that first. ]

[willbreak]

[ nodding... ]

[bloodandblunder]

You're this amazing and you still want to stay beside someone like me...

[ HE CAN MAKE WINGS.... ]

[willbreak]

[ NOIRE WHAT DID THEY JUST TALK ABOUT ]

I only started making them by accident!

[ because that changes everything... ]

A-and they don't work all the time, they fade if I lose concentration and a lot of people can fly much better and faster — I'm really slow, you know...

[bloodandblunder]

... Still, that's amazing, Eugeo. [ and she'll smile tentatively, even if she doesn't like the idea of him suddenly dropping from the sky if something distracts him. ]

Um... but you're asking if I'd go up there, then?

[willbreak]

Only if you want to! —And like I said, not before I get a lot better...

[bloodandblunder]

M-maybe if it's not too high...

[willbreak]

Don't let me force you, really...