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[evocation]

@kyna.medina | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[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. ]

[evocation]

[She bursts out laughing, and while the embarrassment doesn't leave, it's at least tempered by a little fondness.]

You are so full of shit.

[withmeinparadise]

Breaking my heart over here, Kyna. Since when am I fulla shit?

[evocation]

Since I said so. And since you said you were a liar a couple of minutes ago.

[withmeinparadise]

[ He holds up their hands, still twined up together. ]

You got a lie detector right here, don'tcha?

[evocation]

I've never used it like that. Tell me a lie. I wanna test it.

[withmeinparadise]

Uh...

[ Gotta think of a lie, hm. ]

The sky's orange.

[evocation]

[She's laughing again, rolling her eyes playfully.]

Wow, great one.

[withmeinparadise]

What? You wanted a lie.

[ For things that matter, he bets it'd work--if only because he might feel mildly uncomfortable somewhere that's normally not visible. ]

What'm I supposed to lie about?

[evocation]

I don't know.

[There's a small, fleeting thought that she instantly dismisses—she could ask him if he's okay, really, and know for sure. But that seems almost like a betrayal, and so she doesn't.]

Maybe we should test out the lie detector thing later.

[withmeinparadise]

If you don't got any questions I can lie about--

[ probably a good thing, don't press your luck here ]

--guess we'll have to.

[evocation]

Do you really want to prove that you're betraying me?

[withmeinparadise]

What can I say? I live dangerously.

[evocation]

Yeah, I know. You've got the crooked nose to prove it.

[withmeinparadise]

[ He snorts. ]

Every year, a little crookeder.

[evocation]

Do you pick fights, or do you just have really shitty luck?

[withmeinparadise]

Six of one, half-dozen of the other.

[evocation]

God. Well, can you take a vacation from that? I'm stressed enough already.