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(She can picture Gwen as she says this: her waiting for water to boil and reaching for her crystal at the same time to send Abby a message, being excited to tell her everything. That makes her feel really good; she realises she's smiling, and hooks a hand around the back of her neck.)
Wow. Just like that, huh?
(Her, Stephen Strange and the bearskin — she bursts out laughing.) You left it on the bed??
Wow. Just like that, huh?
(Her, Stephen Strange and the bearskin — she bursts out laughing.) You left it on the bed??
( the kitchen on the boat is far enough away from the bath that stephen is not going to hear her dissolving into giggles (again), )
We were both incredibly romantic, fuck you, ( through her laughter, )
I don't know how to fucking act when people are being romantic at me, ( more of a sigh, ) it undoes me, you know, sincerity. He said being in love with me is the easy part.
( like, has he met her, even. )
We were both incredibly romantic, fuck you, ( through her laughter, )
I don't know how to fucking act when people are being romantic at me, ( more of a sigh, ) it undoes me, you know, sincerity. He said being in love with me is the easy part.
( like, has he met her, even. )
I said it first and he said thank you,
( but she sounds smug, so it might not have been the only thing she said that shorted out his brain at the time, )
I fucked him about it when he said it, so. No, I mean—
( an exhale. she sounds lighter than she has done; happy. )
He said— that when I died at Granitefell it was unbearable. That he decided not to bear it. We've... he's been essential to me. Before I blew him.
( but don't worry, she got to that. )
( but she sounds smug, so it might not have been the only thing she said that shorted out his brain at the time, )
I fucked him about it when he said it, so. No, I mean—
( an exhale. she sounds lighter than she has done; happy. )
He said— that when I died at Granitefell it was unbearable. That he decided not to bear it. We've... he's been essential to me. Before I blew him.
( but don't worry, she got to that. )
(Abby is trying to construct the timeline in her head, but only for a moment. She gives up quickly. The Granitefell thing... that is actual romance. Just hearing it makes her feel kinda funny, it's so private, like something out of a book. She doesn't know what to say for a moment; before she was reacting to something almost insubstantial and now, suddenly, it's a whole thing. It's I love you and it was unbearable when you died at Granitefell, what the hell.)
So — a spring wedding?
(this is what you get)
So — a spring wedding?
(this is what you get)
( it makes her laugh again, which probably at least means they're not going to dwell on that time they died. )
Lexie had to keep me drunk enough not to run and not so drunk I fell over at the last one.
( had to tell her she's allowed to let her heart stop hurting, too; that she's allowed this. )
Lexie had to keep me drunk enough not to run and not so drunk I fell over at the last one.
( had to tell her she's allowed to let her heart stop hurting, too; that she's allowed this. )
Edited (everything doesn't need an emdash) 2024-03-21 09:58 (UTC)
(Abby so wants to know more about all of that, but she is savvy enough to know it isn't the right time to be asking about it. Maybe later, maybe never, doesn't really matter. She's started walking again as she talks, by the way, to keep her muscles warm.)
Are you guys gonna go public?
Are you guys gonna go public?
It's not a secret, ( thoughtfully, ) though I'm not planning a grand crystal announcement.
Bit much.
I wanted to tell you. Lexie. Loxley, so he can tell me he told me so for all the times he's told me to stop being dramatic and unkind to myself.
Maybe not Loxley, ( mostly a joke. )
Bit much.
I wanted to tell you. Lexie. Loxley, so he can tell me he told me so for all the times he's told me to stop being dramatic and unkind to myself.
Maybe not Loxley, ( mostly a joke. )
[ He waits a day or two, and then he waits until he sees her without working very hard to seek her out—though he didn't have to walk past the training yard, to get where he's going. ]
Hello.
[ She doesn't have to stop what she's doing, unless she wants to. He's going to sit on a barrel a safe distance away regardless. ]
Hello.
[ She doesn't have to stop what she's doing, unless she wants to. He's going to sit on a barrel a safe distance away regardless. ]
(Abby pauses with a practice weapon held high over her head, some sort of hatchet; she brings it down hard into the target and leaves it there, stuck halfway in. Her hands go to her hips. Bastien is sitting on the barrel and seemingly waiting for something so she wipes her mouth on her arm and calls to him.) Is it your turn next?
(Ha ha
Anyway. She pauses to put her boot on the target and yank the hatchet out; for all that it was buried deep in there, this poses very little problem. She joins him at the barrel, trailing the weapon at her side, catching her breath. Hopefully he won't mind a sweaty conversation. Despite the joke, she can tell why he's here.)
You good?
(Ha ha
Anyway. She pauses to put her boot on the target and yank the hatchet out; for all that it was buried deep in there, this poses very little problem. She joins him at the barrel, trailing the weapon at her side, catching her breath. Hopefully he won't mind a sweaty conversation. Despite the joke, she can tell why he's here.)
You good?
[ Bastien nods, a grin still lingering from the first question but beginning to fade. Not all the way. Just to a fainter smile, friendly instead of entertained. ]
Always.
[ He doesn't mind sweaty conversation. He has his bag with him, a slingy leather thing meant to carry books and papers from home to the Gallows and back, and he ducks out of it to let it drop to the ground beside him. ]
Are you? [ And to head off a similar answer to his own— ] Last night, it seemed to get your skin a little.
Always.
[ He doesn't mind sweaty conversation. He has his bag with him, a slingy leather thing meant to carry books and papers from home to the Gallows and back, and he ducks out of it to let it drop to the ground beside him. ]
Are you? [ And to head off a similar answer to his own— ] Last night, it seemed to get your skin a little.
Yeah, (Abby sighs, pressing her hand into her neck and rubbing there, making a face at the slick of sweat against her palm. She's visiting the baths right after this, pronto, her usual routine. Good to have one, as always. What's also good is being honest here.) It kinda did.
(How to explain this. She's looking at a point over his head when she starts, hedging her way.) I've — it's not the first time somebody has begged me to kill them because they thought they were about to become a monster. Doesn't exactly get easier.
(She doesn't seem upset talking about it, though. Only matter-of-fact, nearly calm.)
(How to explain this. She's looking at a point over his head when she starts, hedging her way.) I've — it's not the first time somebody has begged me to kill them because they thought they were about to become a monster. Doesn't exactly get easier.
(She doesn't seem upset talking about it, though. Only matter-of-fact, nearly calm.)
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