behemoth, meet the opposition

[mrglam]

Sadde doesn't seem quite able to focus on homework at the moment. He's fidgeting, and sometimes stares off into space for long periods of time before James has to snap him out of it.

Comments

[mrglam]

"Okay."

He returns to his room, and does the flying equivalent of pacing for a while before getting bored and deciding to read. Then he decides he's too antsy to read, and browses. Then some more pacing, and more browsing.

[thinkering]

A little before seven, he gets an email: She's having dinner.

[mrglam]

And in less than a minute he's at the door.

[thinkering]

The bots let him in. Lorica's having a pita, with her helmet slightly flipped up but not off as usual. "Hi?"

[mrglam]

"Your dad is on the team," he moans.

[thinkering]

"...Yeah?"

[mrglam]

"How am I going to look him in the eye, oh god, he's going to know, what will I say, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

[thinkering]

"...You're going to not look him in the eye because he, like me, goes around in a souped-up motorcycle helmet all the time and the fact that he has eyes won't come up unless I bring you home for dinner; and I certainly hope you were not planning to say how many square inches of me you've now put your mouth on, say something other than that, but what are you imagining you have to say at all?"

[mrglam]

His mouth opens and closes a few times, like it had earlier. "Nothing, I guess. It's just, I think usually when you kiss a girl you don't already know her father. Or work with him." Pause. Breeeeathe. "Not freaking out. I'm not freaking out. I'm cool. Cool."

[thinkering]

"When we do get around to having the vocabulary conversation I think he's entitled to know if I have a boyfriend," she mentions. "At which time he may see fit to take you aside, note that if you hurt me and he doesn't manage to make you regret it the first time the Birdcage couldn't hold him, and then proceed to probably not mention it unless I express dissatisfaction of some kind."

[mrglam]

"...okay. That's strangely comforting." Pause. "Um. Do you wanna have the vocabulary conversation? I mean, I didn't think it significant after the expectation conversation, but?"

[thinkering]

"It's significant to the extent that Dad's entitled to know if I have a boyfriend and I don't really want to tell him if what I have is this person I kiss and boss around sometimes." Pause. "Oh, also, if it helps or something I'm not allergic to the word girlfriend or whatever gender-neutral version, the variety of straight I am doesn't care."

[mrglam]

"...partner? Genderfriend? Enbyfriend? I'm cool with boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever really, mostly 'cause if you started calling me any of those I'd... be very happy, actually. That's an interesting fact about myself that I did not know until now."

[thinkering]

"So, should I inform my dad I have a boyfriend?"

[mrglam]

The grin that spreads on his face should make the answer obvious, but in case it's not: "Yeeeesss."

[thinkering]

"He really may come be threatening at you," she says, "but for whatever it's worth as long as I don't require medical care of any kind after the fact I doubt that he'd follow through."

[mrglam]

"Noted," he says, but any worry over it seems to have been utterly and completely replaced by bliss.

[thinkering]

"I'd ask if you were going to up and float away, but since that's something you sometimes literally do..."

[mrglam]

"Hmm, that's actually a good idea," he says, and floats up to the ceiling to hug it.

[thinkering]

"You're a very silly person. Anyway. My dad will probably cooperate if we don't elect to tell literally everyone else we know; I am admittedly less tempted to go the stealth route than I would be if Boots were around but it still has some simplicity advantages."

[mrglam]

He flinches slightly when Boots is mentioned, but doesn't let that affect his mood. "Do you want me to stooooop being a silly person?" Pause. "Or doing any other thing?"

[thinkering]

"It is fine that you are a silly person, although if you could tone it down during significant conversations that would be convenient."

[mrglam]

He floats back down and sits cross-legged in the air. "Alright. Can do."

[thinkering]

"And do you have opinions on whether to tell everybody?"

[mrglam]

"Hmm. Well. I'm... a flashy person. And a bit vain. And I'm kiiiiiinda bursting with joy and pride that about two minutes ago you called me boyfriend. So if I were to listen to that part of me, it would go, well... toning the silliness down, that part would shout something like 'I am Lorica's boyfriend' from the rooftops. I do not usually indulge that part to that extent. It's not even a very insistent part of me, there is zero loss in wellbeing from completely ignoring it. There's even a certain appeal to being hush hush secret, too."