markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .056

Entry tags:

[ Action, Voice ] .056

[Okay, so waking up today was weird. She thought it was Saturday, but by the state of the house and where things were... it was actually Monday. Sokka was back - woke up in his own bed, and all, but when Katara went to check on Toph to see if she remembered what happened...

Her room was bare. There was nothing left. Toph was gone.

After stumbling to the wall and leaning on it a long moment to get herself together - is it going to hurt like this every time? - it was time to tell the household.

That accomplished, one of them had to let the town know... and Katara volunteered. She opened up her journal to find a mission summons from the Malnosso. She stared at it a long moment - now? When her housemates need her most they're calling for her now? She shut the journal. She needed a moment to process.

Eventually, she'll open up the journal again. Her voice is a little strained, but steady.]

I'm sorry I don't know any other way to say this but... Manliness Classes are going to have to be canceled again. Toph's gone home.

And... [hhhng, announcing this to the village is so weird, but...] Sokka's back. [There, that's better. Starting with him gives her someplace to stand on.] But I'll be leaving on a mission tomorrow, so... I'll see you all in a week or so.

[So after making this post mid-morning, Katara sets about doing what she needs to do. Sirry Crags, huh? She knows how to handle high altitudes and fighting in snow. She'll just... pop into the Item Shop to double check for a few things, and then hopefully bump into someone willing to help her carry groceries home. It looks like she's going to need to do a week's worth of cooking today.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She decides to take petty revenge by... not watching him in her kitchen. It's harder than she thought. She hates just sitting and doing nothing, and she's tired and so somehow she's ended up curled up on the corner of the couch with her back to him.]

[Katara that is the meanest punishment. He doesn't realize she has done it through, not at first. he finishes putting away all he needs to put away (except for the leftover rice in the cooker. Not sure what to do with that he sort of ponders it a moment. He could make rice balls but... no he's just going to leave it there. And then he turns to look for her- ...not there.

[So where is she? He considers calling but... not his house and people sleeping. So he just silently goes to look around for her. Hmmm...]

[She is curled up on the corner of the couch, her feet tucked up on it and one hand loosely around her legs as her knees press to her chest. The other hand is on the arm rest to her side, and folded up so that the back of her hand rests on her shoulder and her head rests on the palm of her hand. Her hair is loose, and as such it's at least partially covering her face until she hears him make his way over.

Then she straightens a little, turning her head to face him with a small smile.]

Hey. All done?

Mmhm. Other than the rice - there's some leftover, so I just left it in.

[He nods, leaning forward a bit. ....God she's pretty. But you know what, this couch looks like it has more space and he left his hoodie in the kitchen on the counter, so he's just going to shrug and before she can protest too much turn, and slide into sitting next to her (with a reasonable distance) on this couch]

[She shifts a little away from the side, redistributing her weight to her back more against the armrest so that she could face him more properly after he takes a seat. She speaks quietly, both in consideration of the rest of the house and because she's tired.]

That's good.

[...a little internal sigh as the fact that he sat down finally registers. She's really going to have to ask him to leave if she wants to get any sleep tonight, isn't she. Because he doesn't look at all tired. In fact, he looks... her gaze drifts to his wings before flickering up to smile at him.

He looks just like himself.]

[~~What you don't want him to be all Edward Cullen on you? You can fall asleep in his lap, promise it won't be weird.~~ But no, in any case he just smiles at her, leaning back on the other ledge of things. His feet go up onto the cushion as well, and he crosses his legs some, sitting on the couch. Very much making himself at home here, pushing the boundaries and the limits.

It's not that he isn't tired - he might a little - but... really, being here and being with her is filling him with energy. his heart is positively fluttering now, and it's possible that's making him lose sight, just a bit, of the fact that she needs rest.

...But he doesn't say anything here. He just sits, smiling at her]

[~~Katara would ice Edward Cullen to the wall. Vampires are bad, Buffy said so.~~

...he's just smiling at her. This is kind of weird.]

...what?

[Is something on her face, or something?

And some part of her is increasingly aware of how he settled on her couch, not so very far away from her. It's the same part that quite helpfully informed her of his nearness while they were fighting over a pan at the sink. She's just not sure what to do about it yet. He hasn't crossed any lines.]

I'm just admiring the view?

[Deftly. His head shifts to the side a bit as he says this, the portrait of innocence!]

[Pfff. She smiles a little at that, shaking her head. Despite the fact that she'd told him she'd try to believe him within reason - and that was certainly reasonable - dismissive disbelief is comfortable and old hat and exactly what she falls into.]

[And then she tries to change the subject.]

It's getting late.

Eeehh, I suppose it is at that. And you will have to be rested, moon's gift or not.

[But he makes. No move to well. Move]

[...

She lets out a noise which is somewhere between a laugh and a groan (and could probably be misconstrued as something very different in another circumstance, although she's certainly not thinking anything like that) as she very nearly says his name in an almost whine, her shoulders lowering a little with the force of it.]

Masaomi.

[Are you seriously going to make her kick you out?]

[He...

Well he blushes here. He also moves his legs a bit to lean in closer to her. He doesn't say anything just yet, sort of... amazed at her. Amazed at himself too. Just breathe]

Eeeh...

[...that is the exact opposite direction he's supposed to be going in and why did he just blush? Katara frowns, but leaning closer is a signal it's hard for even her to misread.

She's been trying to dance around and redirect it all night, and her first impulse is to continue in that vein, to stand up and say 'It's time to go,' and leave it. In fact, she shifts a little as if to start to do that before she makes a deliberate choice.

No, there need to be Lines here too, but he won't know them (apparently! they seem pretty obvious to HER!) unless she says them. And she promised to try not to hold back. So. She doesn't go anywhere.]

What are you doing?

[And she watches him with a wary awareness.}

No... nothing.

[He said, leaned in a bit close. Too close. flushed. His brain in all sorts of over-drive and his pulse moving way too fast. He knows she'll stop him (that's what she's doing now, really) but it's fun to imagine. Even if he's out of any good ways to redirect this right now]

[Her eyes narrow, but... for a moment, for a very brief moment, as he approaches her gaze drops to his lips. And it wouldn't be bad at all, if she let him kiss her. It would allow her to forget, for a little while. She'd forget this crushing pain of missing Toph, the dread of the mission and of the lives she'll have to take, this whole miserable situation, and be lost for a moment in sensation. She could even play off being confused about it afterwards, she could pretend that she was confused, or that she believed him when he said it was nothing. And it's tempting..

But his approach gives her more than enough time to choose.

And she chooses not to use him like that. Her gaze flickers back up to him, her face set firmly.

That's not what friends do.]

No.

[Friends don't use each other. Even if it seemed like the friend wouldn't mind.]

Edited 2012-02-05 08:16 (UTC)

[He wouldn't, he so, so would not mind if she did that. He might mind some of the results, he might mind some of the other things but a kiss in and of itself would be amazing, made even more amazing if she did or she allowed him to. Because, really, that's what he's thinking here, right? But then, no. He's still flushed.

But... his eyes widen with a minor recognition, leaned in close enough to her that he's barely a foot and a half from her face with his own face. If that]

[And his head falls. He sighs, dramatically, when he does this. This puts the top of his head in her line of vision, and under the relative protection of his hair his face... runs through a series of complicated expressions he would really rather remain invisible.

Just breathe.

He considers a moment... because. Well, that was a Katara-like answer, but he thinks back to his conversation with Shikamaru. And then to all the pineapple shit earlier today, and all he's just gone through now]

[And then he lifts his head slightly. It's still inclined, but it's for the benefit of her being able to see his face. The blush has mostly subsided, but he's in a more neutral expression now. he's still sort of on his knee on one side with the other planted on the ground to lean into her. He's not pulling back from that but... exhale.

Okay so- No. He's just got to give up on this and pull back. No. It's not like she's rejecting him or anything. No.]

[A look which then seems to have not decided if it's a smile or not plays up on his lips then. Fine, but if he can't get the kiss in-]

You know, I really like you, Katara.

[She doesn't move while he does this. In fact, she sits completely still. She'll stop him if he pushes through despite her saying no, but she will sit there and wait for him to respect her boundaries right up until the point where he crosses the line.

And then he looks up, and she's still watching him intently because he hasn't moved away and--

"You know, I really like you, Katara."

She blinks, blushes, and averts her eyes in very short order.]

Oh. [She says, because she has to say something, because the space between them suddenly seems very small and the silence like it could create diamonds. "Thank you," seems insulting so she just... offers up the pure honest truth.]

...I don't know how to respond to that.

[Still not looking at him.

And yes, respond in so many ways.]

I know.

[he breathes that out. He still doesn't... move back. For a moment. But then he bows his head and shoot back, taking a more comfortable position which still sees him on the same cushion, but takes him right up out of her space. His voice is. Weird. He can't decide if he's resigned? Sad? Just accepting?]

Ah... I know.

[And he leans his head to the side, leaning his whole upper body against the couch's back sideways, so he can still face her]

[She doesn't look back up at him until it's safe, until he's moved back completely and then - he's still looking at her. Awkward. So much awkward.

Why did he have to say that?

She can't really blame him for it. He'd said... he'd said he wanted her to want him back. So he's trying to make it different. He's trying to set his own lines.

...and she wonders if the rest of their time together will be wrestling over just where those lines should be.

She sighs and starts to move, sliding her legs towards the floor, but then she hesitates, glancing back up at him, her movement stopped before her legs hit the ground.]

Then you know I'm sorry too, right?

I do.

[Simply. But she's... making a move. to shift? to stand? leave? He might have blown the situation. He might have destroyed his chance. Both of those fill him with a sort of dread, but this is just the game, right? It's how love is played.

...Hah, love]

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

this is not a kiss icon okok

lol, of course it isn't

1/4

2/4

3/4

4/4

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2