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[icyspicy]

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TENTACLE

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CHARACTER NAME

Winter

CIVILIAN NAME

Kai Blue

TEAM

Everlight

HOUSING NUMBER

017

↪ overflow

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Comments

[icyspicy]

Oh.

[ A beat. ]

Oh. March, he's had it bad for you for a while now.

[bowtography]

[ She's just staring at him. ]

...

[ And then she just stares some more, just to make sure he's not actively messing with her.

And then, slowly, dropping her face into her palms, muffled-- ]

Am I blind??

[ WHAT DO YOU MEAN "FOR A WHILE"?????? ]

[icyspicy]

[ Gently pats her back. There, there. ]

In some fairness to you, I got the sense from our brief interaction that he's not the best at expressing that sort of thing.

[bowtography]

But you figured it out after a "brief interaction"??

[ Can she slump sideways against him, she's gonna. ]

This is so embarrassing...

[icyspicy]

I... ah. He was sort of polling all of us at the onsen on what would be a good gift to give you.

[ What a way to find out... (Also yes she can slump and I can definitely read.) ]

He was also, perhaps, a wee bit drunk.

[bowtography]

[ Wow Ramey maybe you should sleep soon ]

... I was gonna say, that doesn't sound like him. But I guess he does let his guard down a lot when he's drunk.

[ She sure found that out fairly early on! ]

I didn't know he was that worried about it... I told him he didn't have to repay me.

[icyspicy]

[ NO. ]

That's the thing about caring for someone. You'll want to do something nice for them regardless. Clearly he thought you were worth it.

[bowtography]

[ Izou's really been thinking of her far more than she thought, and she's still not sure how to feel about that. ]

I... wish I could say it was easier to start viewing him an entirely different way after spending all this time as his friend, but it really isn't. It sort of feels scary to try all over again, even though it isn't exactly "all over again".

[icyspicy]

I’m going to put a pin in that first part. For now, why does it scare you?

[ Offers more pocky! It feels like she’s going to need it while they work through this. ]

[bowtography]

[ He's so right. She's going to chew on it intermittently. ]

I know how to be a friend. That's easy. [ Mostly. ] But... I don't remember really having any romantic experience. Maybe a crush or two, but it wasn't really anything serious. I've read and watched more of it than I've experienced it.

So it feels like there's a lot more I could mess up.

[icyspicy]

To circle back to that pin: I don't think romance and friendship are really that different. Your partner is, in many ways, your best friend.

[ He motions at her with his stick of pocky. ]

There are risks inherent in any type of relationship. People are complicated and nuanced, after all. If fear is part of what's holding you back, don't let it.

[bowtography]

This from a guy who probably went into a relationship with full confidence... [ it's a half-hearted grumble. ]

I bet you dipped him and everything.

[icyspicy]

Actually, I slipped on some ice and landed on top of him.

[ True story. ]

[bowtography]

... You slipped??

[icyspicy]

Being gorgeous and confident and charming doesn't make me immune to ice, March.

[bowtography]

Yeah, I guess you didn't include "graceful" in any part of that. You're right.

[icyspicy]

Hm. Fuck you.

[ Affectionately. ]

[bowtography]

I was agreeing with you, you jerk!

[ she's laughing, though. ]

[icyspicy]

[ He breathes out a laugh as well, bumping her with his shoulder. ]

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that there's no perfect way to go about it.

[bowtography]

Right... Well, if it comes to that, I do feel a little better about it.

[ At the very least she hasn't fallen on Izou yet. Been pinned against the wall by Izou two different times in the earlier stages of friendship, yes, but that's different. ]

[icyspicy]

[ March??? THAT'S NOT A NORMAL PART OF FRIENDSHIP. ]

As for the rest, I can't tell you how to feel. Only help you work it out for yourself. I do think your friendship needn't change, and your relationship does not need to "start over." You just need to ask yourself if you'd be okay with your friendship growing in a romantic direction instead.

For instance, if he'd asked you on a date before kissing you, what would you have said?

[bowtography]

[ Oh, the look of utter perplexity on her face. ]

I... guess I would have said yes? It's not that I don't like him or that he isn't good-looking, even if I wouldn't have called him my type when I first met him... [ Wow. ]

But I like spending time with him. Romantically, though...

[ This would maybe be easier if she'd let herself think of it before now. ]

[icyspicy]

[ Wow indeed. No wonder she and Malkuth are best friends. ]

I don't get it. If you would have gone out with him if he'd asked, why the hesitation now?

[bowtography]

Because I don't actually know if I would have! I really just--was happy to have him as a friend a-and--

[ Well, he's dead. But Winter doesn't know that, maybe. And March is the kind of girl who would still take what time she can get, so that's actually not a big deal in the larger scheme of things. The problem is...

... A note of distress enters her breathing, shallow but present, and March lowers her hands to grip at her skirt. ]

If I... if I really like him, I...!

[icyspicy]

[ He frowns. It's certainly not his intention to give her some sort of panic attack, but clearly she's got some things she needs to work out for herself, too.

He reaches down, resting a hand over hers where it clenches at her clothes. ]

It's okay. Just come out with it. You what?