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[evocation]

@kyna.medina | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[withmeinparadise]

You got good taste.

[ Please don't let that be hope coming through his hand, some stupid heartened sensation at the fact that she basically just described him. (Good thing she doesn't appear to care about modesty.) ]

[evocation]

Thanks.

[Kyna, a moron, is oblivious to the fact that she just described him.]

What about yours?

[withmeinparadise]

[ He sorta shrugs. ]

Eh, I'm not too picky. Helps if she's pretty, though.

[evocation]

[She wrinkles her nose, unimpressed.]

That's it?

[withmeinparadise]

Eh. [ what're you looking for, kyna, a novel here ] I mean, it'd be nice if we had a good conversation beforehand, but it ain't exactly...y'know, we used to move a lot.

[evocation]

What about, like... personality?

[withmeinparadise]

I like 'em feisty. [ That, at least, is an easy thing to call. ] Someone knows what she likes and goes for it? That's my kinda girl.

[evocation]

[Her head tilts, considering.]

Okay, better.

[withmeinparadise]

[ He laughs a little. ]

I don't do a lotta the dating thing, either. Not a lotta reason to get picky about someone I'm never gonna see again.

[evocation]

Yeah, I guess so. You moved around that much?

[withmeinparadise]

For a while, yeah.

[evocation]

Did you ever get sick of it?

[withmeinparadise]

Seeing new places, doing new things? Nah. That was the best. Now, when we were running from the law, eh--maybe not my favourite. But still better than sticking around.

[ A pause, and then, mildly curious: ]

If you coulda stayed in New York forever, you woulda, huh?

[evocation]

Maybe. I don't know. I never left the country or anything before coming here.

[So she's not sure.]

Why was moving so much better than sticking around?

[withmeinparadise]

What was there to stick around for? You had reasons to stay in the city. We, uh--we didn't, after a while.

[evocation]

Oh.

[That's kind of a bummer, actually.]

But, um... You have reasons to stick around here, right?

[withmeinparadise]

[ He shrugs. ]

I mean, we're kinda stuck.

[evocation]

Well, yeah, but I mean... You know...

[She's being so, so articulate.]

You'd warn me if you were gonna leave the city, right?

[withmeinparadise]

Like, forever? [ The answer to her question is "maybe." ] Seems like Nathan likes it here, so...

[ So he'll probably stay. ]

[evocation]

You're only staying because Nate likes it?

[withmeinparadise]

And all my stuff's here.

[evocation]

[There's no way to hide her confusion when they've got their hands tangled together like this. Is that maybe a bit of anxiety, too? Hm.]

I can't tell if you're fucking with me or not.

[withmeinparadise]

Why would I be fucking with you?

[ Okay, now he is. This is dangerous territory, but it's dangerous territory he thinks he can navigate pretty easily--it's just flirting, in the end. So, with a teasing smile (and a little amusement coming through to balance out that confusion)-- ]

You wanna know if I like you too much to leave.

[evocation]

No, that's not...

[She trails off awkwardly, and she's so instantly and obviously embarrassed that he wouldn't even need the empathy bond to realize he's got it right, at least mostly.]

I just— I mean, there has to be more keeping you here than Nate, right?

[The truth is, she's so used to her default state being to expect that people will leave at the earliest opportunity. She hadn't felt that way in the Aerie for years, and she misses it.]

[withmeinparadise]

[ He lets her dangle for a couple seconds, just long enough to get through everything she says. And then he relents, grinning at her. ]

Eh. I like you too much to leave.

[ Which is accompanied by such a mix of feelings: amusement, that overwhelming fondness and longing, and a little embarrassment of his own. All the things he can just talk around when no one's touching him, everything that belies the coolness he tries to project and reveals he's actually...you know, someone who feels things. Soft things, no less. ]