Hanna had just been about to stalk away like a guilty cat might, ears back and everything, but then that look settled on him and he chewed his cheek, unable to look directly at her.
"You wanna tell me the truth or you want me to start assuming?" She narrowed her eyes and trained them on him like a spotlight. "Because I don't tend to assume the best of people."
That gets his attention. There was something about feigning innocence that made Hanna feel guilty, but direct aversion? Don't even give him the chance. His eyes finally meet hers, looking directly back at her as he stands up a little straighter.
"People never tend to assume the best of me, it's nothing new. I think I can handle it."
"Okay," said Meranda. So she started to assume. "You're spying on me!" She reached for his cranes and snatched one up, holding it so the beak faced his nose. "You're spying on me like Yubaba's twin sister! You don't trust me! You think I'm gonna stake your marshmallow peep in the dead of night! I invite you inta my house, let you use my wifi!"
The serious look on Hanna's face kind of melts and he can't help it. He snorts.
"The hell? I'm not a witch, I'm a Runeist. Like, there is a huge difference. That is the most ridiculous shit ever." And then, after a moment, he kind of chokes out another laugh, "Wait, did you just call Maurice 'Marshmallow Peep'? Can I steal that? He'd get so fucking angry."
"YOU USE MAGIC, IT'S THE SAME FUCKIN' THING!" She threw the crane at him but it swooped upward and fluttered harmlessly to the floor. In the face of his laughter she started spluttering. "I hate birds! Why the fuck is it birds? Why are there so many? WHY?"
"Nope, totally different." He shields his face but again, a helpless giggle slips out as it flutters to the floor.
"Don't you read? Like, a thousand paper cranes. It's kind of symbolism." He runs his hand through his hair, or at least tries. He hasn't brushed it yet and his fingers get caught, he untangles it slowly. "And if you really want to know, I don't fold them for me..."
Meranda had already picked up another empty can and was posing to lob it at him when the truth came out. She relaxed her arm but didn't let go. That's right. Some weird inter-dimensional things had happened, hadn't they? How else could they have grown so close in the short time since Maurice got booted from the Nest? Her brows furrowed and she tilted her head.
He's starting to feel uncomfortable again now that he's not putting on a front, and he kind of nods. Talking about feelings with him is always like attempting to get a stubborn mule to do what you want. "Twice now. I gotta hope it still means something when you don't even know if they exist where you are."
Before in Ruby it hadn't been so frustrating. His friend could have showed up any time, but here? It would be practically impossible.
Now she sort felt like an ass. She was still clearly in the right. She told this guy to stay out of her room. But while she'd been displaced from apartment to apartment, she'd never been displaced an entire dimension before. Much less twice.
"Look, Hanna, I get that. I get that you're dealin' wit some stuff..but you can't go doin' this leavin' spooky birds in peoples closets thing, it wigs people out." She moved to give him an almost gentle shoo-ing motion to usher him out of her room and back toward the breakfast chamber. "Have you thought about putting them around town instead?"
He can't help but laugh again, nodding. As he moves, he makes a minor detour, dropping his armful of birds in his room, and pops back out, "That was a no no on my part, I know. Sorry about that..." He wants to shove his hands in his pockets, but remembers he's still wearing boxers and kind of fidgets with his hands instead. He doesn't even have a marker to play with. Makes talking weird.
He sits down though, pulling the chair out to sit and leans against the table, "I guess I could. I don't have to worry about the rain killing them anyway..."
A dark part of Meranda liked watching him squirm. It reminded her that she was still the boss in a house with two grown men. Two physically grown men anyway. She plunked herself down on the side of the table where she could still see Hanna and poured herself some cereal.
"I remember rain. I remember the first time it rained since I moved down here, I thought it was some kinda sign from the heavens." She looked thoughtfully ahead. She wondered if Maurice had been dead then too.
"I miss it. I mean, east coast living and here? It's like a whole different world. I mean, in more than one way." He misses layers, misses wearing thick socks and wearing heavy jackets. It wasn't quite the same, thin clothes, he felt like one wrong move and something was going to rip and he'd have no more layers to hide what was under his shirt.
"Anyways, if you could...don't tell Maurice I'm kinda, yanno..." He trails off, glancing away from her and leaning back in his chair, two legs on the floor, "home sick. I don't want to get him all upset."
She shoved a heaping spoonful of Whatever Flakes into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, for the first time imagining what this strange tiny man must be feeling and missing. She'd already resigned herself to never seeing snow again. Or dirt that wasn't red.
"Chicago," she said. After another silence that didn't quite reach awkward lengths, she added, "Don't worry. I'll leave that up to you two...He really is like a peep, you know. Soft."
Maybe a road trip was in order. Hanna could maybe try to look up there, see if in this world there existed people who looked like his friends. Just maybe.
"Yeah, definitely not Texas. The south is...new." He smiles though, not feeling as uncomfortable. "I know...and he tries hard. To make people happy I mean, and I guess...most other things too. Though it's funny to push his buttons..." His fidgeting continued, smiling into his lap, "I called him reeces pieces and he got so mad, it was so funny..."
"Tell me about it. The first time someone called me ma'am I thought I was going to die." She rolled her eyes at the memory. Things had been so simple back then. Now there was all this magic bullshit. But at least it was fun magic bullshit.
Finally something like a smile crossed her face as she snorted. "Reeces Pieces, that's great." She shook her head and took a few more bites of breakfast before turning her gaze on him, this time with a slightly wolfish grin. Meranda was not a shy lady. "So. What's it like? You guys Buffy it up or what in there? Don't think I don't hear you."
"It's cute though, I mean. The...Southernisms. I sometimes thought Maurice was shitting me with some of the stuff he'd say and now I hear it all the time. It's kind of great."
But, just as he was about to attempt to mimic something he might hear on a daily basis his face turns bright red and he shuts up real quick, blinking at her owlishly. "Uh..." He'll blink some more. And then once more. And lean forward, eyebrow raised. Quietly, he'll just...put in, "Um. You know he's dead, right?"
"Yeah, and?" She fucking leaned forward, teeth still showing. His red face just made it worse. She couldn't help but be curious about that sort of thing! She was a SciFi nerd. It came with the territory.
God. He couldn't do it. He couldn't say it while she was staring him down like that. He's going to let those blue eyes wander everywhere but look at her.
"And, that means it's just me with my flag flying and he's not even at half mast, dude. He's got none of the stuff left to raise it, y-yanno?" God. He shouldn't be telling her this. Don't you dare bring it up with him Meranda. POOR MAURICE.
Meranda's face fell. Somehow she hadn't considered that, what with being submerged in a world of glitzy television vampires. She'd seen Maurice lift heavy objects, turn into animals, kill monsters with his bare hands. But he couldn't... "Oh...oh, no. That's-- I'm so sorry."
She actually put her hands over her mouth. It was her turn to change colors. "We-ell you seem creative, I'm sure you'll figure something out. Ahah."
"You can file that under 'do not tell Maurice' too just so you know." He adds, awkwardly running his fingers through his hair. He shrugs, not sure it really bothered him, though to be honest he felt a little guilty sometimes when a kiss and a cuddle woke up his sex drive. "Hey, can't really miss what you've never had, I guess it goes both ways."
He coughs, not sure why he's continuing this line of thought with her, "Well, it is nice to have a shower again. The truck was feeling pretty small after a while..."
Meranda just looks sadly into her bowl like she's just learned her best friend is dying from some terrible illness. Poor Maurice. She felt like dirt for making fun of him when he claimed a bunch of girls mugged him the night he got turned.
"I'll bet," she said distractedly before shaking herself out. She'd seen the way he fawned over Hanna, so he couldn't be that broken up about it could he? "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I got secrets of my own. But man, that does explain a lot of things."
"Hey, don't look like that. It's not like we're suffering. it's not like he's not got lips and I mean, there is a lot to hug too." Hanna tries to smile, and it works. It's not like he's broken up over it, just a little frustrated at times.
"And to be completely honest I don't want teeth or claws near my junk anyways, so maybe it's for the best, man. You've seen that shit right? Could cut anything clean off."
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wolfintheattic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
theattic2014-11-09 07:55 pm
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"What?"
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"People never tend to assume the best of me, it's nothing new. I think I can handle it."
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"The hell? I'm not a witch, I'm a Runeist. Like, there is a huge difference. That is the most ridiculous shit ever." And then, after a moment, he kind of chokes out another laugh, "Wait, did you just call Maurice 'Marshmallow Peep'? Can I steal that? He'd get so fucking angry."
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"Don't you read? Like, a thousand paper cranes. It's kind of symbolism." He runs his hand through his hair, or at least tries. He hasn't brushed it yet and his fingers get caught, he untangles it slowly. "And if you really want to know, I don't fold them for me..."
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"Well you aren't folding them for Maurice because he sure as hell aint commin' in here on some Easter egg hunt because he knows better!"
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He makes a face, "And every time I shift dimensions I have to start over."
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"You have to start ova a lot, huh?"
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Before in Ruby it hadn't been so frustrating. His friend could have showed up any time, but here? It would be practically impossible.
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Now she sort felt like an ass. She was still clearly in the right. She told this guy to stay out of her room. But while she'd been displaced from apartment to apartment, she'd never been displaced an entire dimension before. Much less twice.
"Look, Hanna, I get that. I get that you're dealin' wit some stuff..but you can't go doin' this leavin' spooky birds in peoples closets thing, it wigs people out." She moved to give him an almost gentle shoo-ing motion to usher him out of her room and back toward the breakfast chamber. "Have you thought about putting them around town instead?"
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He sits down though, pulling the chair out to sit and leans against the table, "I guess I could. I don't have to worry about the rain killing them anyway..."
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"I remember rain. I remember the first time it rained since I moved down here, I thought it was some kinda sign from the heavens." She looked thoughtfully ahead. She wondered if Maurice had been dead then too.
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"Anyways, if you could...don't tell Maurice I'm kinda, yanno..." He trails off, glancing away from her and leaning back in his chair, two legs on the floor, "home sick. I don't want to get him all upset."
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"Chicago," she said. After another silence that didn't quite reach awkward lengths, she added, "Don't worry. I'll leave that up to you two...He really is like a peep, you know. Soft."
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"Yeah, definitely not Texas. The south is...new." He smiles though, not feeling as uncomfortable. "I know...and he tries hard. To make people happy I mean, and I guess...most other things too. Though it's funny to push his buttons..." His fidgeting continued, smiling into his lap, "I called him reeces pieces and he got so mad, it was so funny..."
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Finally something like a smile crossed her face as she snorted. "Reeces Pieces, that's great." She shook her head and took a few more bites of breakfast before turning her gaze on him, this time with a slightly wolfish grin. Meranda was not a shy lady. "So. What's it like? You guys Buffy it up or what in there? Don't think I don't hear you."
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But, just as he was about to attempt to mimic something he might hear on a daily basis his face turns bright red and he shuts up real quick, blinking at her owlishly. "Uh..." He'll blink some more. And then once more. And lean forward, eyebrow raised. Quietly, he'll just...put in, "Um. You know he's dead, right?"
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"And, that means it's just me with my flag flying and he's not even at half mast, dude. He's got none of the stuff left to raise it, y-yanno?" God. He shouldn't be telling her this. Don't you dare bring it up with him Meranda. POOR MAURICE.
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She actually put her hands over her mouth. It was her turn to change colors. "We-ell you seem creative, I'm sure you'll figure something out. Ahah."
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He coughs, not sure why he's continuing this line of thought with her, "Well, it is nice to have a shower again. The truck was feeling pretty small after a while..."
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"I'll bet," she said distractedly before shaking herself out. She'd seen the way he fawned over Hanna, so he couldn't be that broken up about it could he? "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I got secrets of my own. But man, that does explain a lot of things."
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"And to be completely honest I don't want teeth or claws near my junk anyways, so maybe it's for the best, man. You've seen that shit right? Could cut anything clean off."
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