sortileges |

Of course it was. [ Well she certainly is shining now in comparison to before. It's a bit of a worry that she goes toppling over though, but out of... ~~embarrassment~~ kindness his eyes shoot up to the sky to avoid seeing... anything awkward. She's wearing shorts (THANK GOD??? NIKKI???) but you never know.

He glances down only to take his carefully, but then he's reaching for a bit of the popcorn. ]

What would a popcorn constellation even look like?

Edited (html......) 2016-03-02 12:14 (UTC)

[ she hums in thought as she grabs some popcorn, too. she's finding all kinds of things in the stars now, like a briefcase, a cupcake, a cloud-- hey. wait. ]

There, there! [ she immediately points up with her free hand. ] It's like a flufffy circle, see?

[ He tries to twist to see where she's looking, but thankfully it doesn't take too long to spot that one. ]

I can see it. [ Though it looks like a cluster of a hot mess. Shooting off from there though he spots a shape to the side that she should recognise all too well. ]

Look down, a little to the right--isn't that like that thing I won for you that time?

[ a dolphin..... ]

Wait- really? [ her tone gets much more excited, and she squints her eyes to see the stars better. and the smile she makes when she does see what looks like a dolphin is so genuine. she's so happy like this, just doing fun things with him and not worrying about what else is happening.

though they probably should worry about the situation in cerealia.

maybe later. ]

It's called a dolphin.

[ Eh Cerealia, smerealia... Really he should be acting more worried than he is, but things like that come when he's alone, when he has time to sit down and study spells that might help in the long run. Some are too powerful for him at the moment, but it doesn't mean he isn't trying when no one else is around.

He just doesn't want to ruin times like this when they're happy. ]

Is it your favourite or something? [ Because he never asked her before. ]

[ she nods excitedly, literally beaming with joy. it might be late at night now, but it sure feels like the sun's rays are still out. ]

Yes. They're so pretty to look at, and calming, too! [ she folds her knees and embraces them, the glass of wine still in her hand, and then she lets out a dreamy sigh. ] They're so beautiful when you see them in the water.

[ It's probably later than he thinks it is, too. Time flies like this, just relaxing, looking up at the sky. Thinking back on it, except for the first night he arrived in Camelot he never really took the time to just stare out at the city or to look at the sky.

It's been on thing after another. ]

I've never seen one. [ itsamystery.png ] But they sound nice.

[ she has to down her entire glass again to be able to say what she's going to blurt out next. this time, it's for courage, and not for the adrenaline rush.

though before she speaks, her eyes dart across the rooftop before her vision begins to get clear again. ]

W- Well, you should go to the aquarium, then! It's got a lot of sea creatures on display, maybe there are dolphins there, too.

[ wait, no, that's not what she wants to say. ]

I mean, we could go there some time? I mean. Only if you want to.

[ It's a sad fact of life that Melin's luck is definitely in the minuses. He's just taking a sip when she downs hers again, and he wonders if this is a normal thing for her when she starts talking--

--and he chokes on his own wine. Really, how is this even a real situation. Thankfully he manages to catch himself before he spits the wine out and it's more like a slight gagging noise as he tries to swallow the goddamn wine so she doesn't think he's laughing at her.

He really isn't, it just seemed to come from no where. ]

I'd-- [ Ow. He clears his throat, lowers the cup as he glances at her. ] --like that.

[ well, that sure did backfire on her. the gagging noise gives her the impression that he doesn't want to, but that's cool. that's cool. it doesn't bother her in the slightest-- who are we kidding, this is going to bother her her entire life. ]

If you don't want to, just say so?

[ she just wants to show him the dolphins... ]

[ ATHENA... ]

That-- [ Why is this happening??? ] --really wasn't it. Really. You just caught me off guard and with the wine this is really strong isn't it?

I want to.

[ she isn't fully convinced; maybe it's the alcohol, or maybe it's just her trying her best not to read into things... still, her eyes narrow and she gives him a dry look. ]

If you say so. [ and it's then that she remembers that this was supposed to be an activity to pay him back, and yet, she hasn't heard his heart make noises the same way a choir of angels would.

that's strange.

she's doing a bad job at this. ]

It'll be better than tonight, at least.

[ He doesn't get it? He said yes, so why is she giving him... that look? He opens his mouth to protest again because she still doesn't believe him but then she says the rest and

Now he's just Confused. ]

What are you talking about?

[ well, now you know that girls can be utterly confusing, merlin. good job. ]

Nothing? Just. I dunno. [ no, no, she won't say what she's thinking exactly. she'll phrase it differently. ] Are you having fun?

[ Gwen is clearly too good for any world... she doesn't put him through this. ]

Is that what you're worried about? [ He can't help it, he smiles. Genuinely smiles because well if it's something like that it can be easily rectified. ] I'm at peace. Content.

Were you expecting to hear something else? [ Now he's just teasing her. ]

[ okay, okay, okay. that's better. truly better. she can't hear it that well for some odd reason, but she'll believe his words. one's words are very important, after all. she should know; she's a lawyer. ]

I just don't want to mess things up again!

[ To be fair, being content wouldn't be as loud, it's probably more like soft waves lapping against the shore of a beach. Calm. Easy. His free hand reaches for hers, gives it a gentle squeeze. ]

Stop thinking about it and just be yourself. [ Nevermind that he jumped like 10 minutes ago because he thought she was going to smack him. ] That's all I want.

[ just be yourself, he says... as if that's actually easy.

still, she tries to get the idea out of her head. she looks at the hand that's on hers and just concentrates. ]

You know, I feel better this way. [ he's just so warm... it makes everything so much better. ]

[ Look if she stops worrying about what is or isn't there it's a lot easier. His hand shifts, fingers dragging over her skin until he can twist his palm to gently hold her hand instead. ]

Which way? [ He asks quietly, focused on the way their hands fit together. It's nice. It's definitely warm. The content feeling in his heart is definitely buzzing louder now. Like he's finally home. ]

Wheeeeeeeeen. . . [ she starts of strong. the enunciation is powerful enough to grab his attention, but then she trails off and her voice grows lower and softer.

her face is even a redder shade now than it was earlier. ]

Your hand is on mine.

[ her eyes dart around before she coughs loudly to clear her throat. ]

Don't laugh!

[ His eyes do flicker up at the drawn out "when" and now she'll feel his heart rate picking up in anticipation, a mix of nervous and joyful because he doesn't know what to expect.

Joyful definitely wins out when she finishes, and he hadn't planned on laughing at her, but his mouth twitches and his brow furrows a bit when she yells Don't laugh. ]

I wasn't going to. [ He squeezes her hand gently, draws it up until he can lightly press his mouth there. It's more of a brush than anything, while his own eyes close at the feeling of the contact.

Quietly, he adds: ] Then I won't let go.

[ "good", she thinks... and it really is good news for her, becauss if there's anything that could make her feel better about herself, it's this. it's unreal how someone can be so warm -- to give off that much light to someone, it's just something to look up to. and maybe that's why athena's grown so fond of him. she's so drawn to him like how the planets revolve around the sun.

so drawn to him... that she goes so far as to let his hand go and dive in for a hug, instead.

sorry, merlin. ]

[ It's unreal that someone who threatened to set something on fire, strike it with lightning with such conviction can also be like this, yes. Thankfully magic, Merlin, has more than one side to him and definitely has way more potential with things like this.

One day Kilgharrah will tell him that his determination to see goodness in people will be his undoing, and it isn't wrong. If anything, he'd rather believe. Believe in the people he meets and grows to like. Believe in the people they know, simply through stories.

Believe in her. She may have practically smothered him with a pillow but he's seen enough of her by now to know what's an accident and what isn't.

...This definitely isn't.

It's like the force of a tornado (and he can fucking make a tornado if he wants, he knows) crashes into him when she dives in for a hug. He doesn't know whether he needs to steady her or himself more, so he goes for her.

His head smacks against the floor, and even if pain is registering he's half laughing and half wincing because ow. ]

[ that bump was definitely loud enough for athena to hear. and she still hasn't let go of him as he (and she, subsequently) fell. half of her body is resting on his chest now, but she pushes herself up enough that her palms are flat on the blankets, merlin's head in between.

this is probably the closest they've been in a while, but maybe that will sink in later. she's more worried now than anything.

she leans on one hand as she uses the other to cup the back of his head. ]

That was loud! I'm so sorry -- are you alright?

[ He's starting to expect pain at the way things are going here. It seems like nearly every time they're together he gets injured in some way. Really, he's lucky there are blankets there to cushion his head a little against the concrete.

Dazed, he looks up at her, hands still pressed against her back and -- he stops laughing pretty quickly. He even swallows tight.

She can probably feel a slight bump on the back of his head, but it's nothing terrible, not like the way his heart rate is getting close to palpitation stages with how fast it's beating. His hands curve against her back, fingers moving to clutch at her shirt. It's a way of grounding himself when all he can see is her and his head is spinning from the wine and then getting smacked by concrete.

Is it really any wonder that rather drunkenly (from only that much wine? from the impact? from her?) he softly breathes, barely audibly: ] Beautiful.

[ It's when it registers in his head what he's said he lets go of her with one hand, reaching for the back of his head too. He's definitely a little more flushed than normal now as he tries to joke: ] Maybe I hit it harder than I thought...

wow?!

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