[ It's true, he'd probably be more comfortable if he stretched out on the bed. But then that would interrupt his current drowsiness. He'd just be lying there, mind spinning again. Here he has the sounds of the movie floating in and out.
Most importantly, Inej is here, leaning against him as a counterbalance. The familiarity of it puts him at too much peace to want to disturb. She tugs on his hand and he lets her. In fact, he follows the tug and carefully lays sideways, head on her lap. ]
Long hours, lately. [ Partially his fault. And partially the workload. He hadn't wanted to think too much about things to be done while he was here in Ravka. Curling his fingers around hers, he gives them a squeeze, eyes half open as he stares at the screen. ]
[ he tips a bit too far over and rests himself in her lap. her lips twitch into a faint smile as she settles one hand on his shoulder, smoothing a wrinkle in his shirt while letting her other hand be held by him.
long hours isn't surprising. he has always worked too hard, and needed more sleep, but when inej moved into the apartment, she at least was a form of accountability. someone who would disapprove that he was working himself half to death. old habits die hard, it seems. and inej idly wonders how he's really doing, by himself.
kaz sort of answers her silent concern, when he quietly says that he missed her. it causes an odd tug in her chest (guilt, maybe?), before she runs her thumb over his knuckles, murmuring: ]
I have missed you, too. A lot.
[ and she gently squeezes his shoulder. ]
But I am here now, so you can rest.
[ and maybe release some of the tension that she feels in his shoulders, underneath her fingertips. ]
[ Truthfully, he's doing—well, he's not doing terrible. Sorta. At the very least, there's usually an effort to come home and enjoy some time with Lizabeta, so she isn't just stuck in her cage all day. It's nice to let her roam free and listen to her chirp excitedly as she went from room to room.
He definitely isn't coming home as early (or perhaps...on time) as he usually was when Inej was there. But he hasn't totally backslid. Mostly. Maybe.
She squeezes his shoulder and he sighs, trying to release more of the tension he's been holding onto. It works, because he blearily wakes up enough to get ready for bed at her gentle urging. The jet lag has fully caught up. His short nap barely made a dent and he crashes almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Even stranger, he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night like he was worried he would. Instead, he sleeps through until an early hour of the morning, right around dawn, the pale light from the sun starting to creep in around the edges of her curtains. He's used to this hour but only from the side where he's usually stayed up until now, not waking with it. Unlike Inej, who typically gets up with the birds.
Rubbing some sleep from his eyes, he glances over at her, met with the sight of her still sleeping peacefully. Her mouth's dropped open a bit, soft breaths making some of her undone hair flutter near her cheek. He has the strongest urge to reach over and tuck that lock behind her ear. It fights with how much he wants to roll closer and curl an arm around her middle.
Fuck.
He really shouldn't have argued about sharing the bed. Because he can't unsee her like this, completely relaxed and so beautiful it almost hurts to look. ]
[ inej spends some time reading and catching up on her studies before she elects to go to bed relatively early. she chanes into her pajamas quickly in the corner as kaz all-but passes out. she's not even sure he's fully aware she changed, to be honest. he seems to be out the moment his face hits the pillow. but once she slides into bed and settles into the comfortable sheets, she's out fairly quickly, too.
she sleeps peacefully. eased, for some reason, by kaz next to her. something she never really thought she would ever like. she loathed when the men from the menagerie paid extra to stay the night. it typically only resulted in more abuse, more violation. so she treasures her solitude, being able to lay in her bed and have it be her own. but kaz is definitely different, warm and comfortable. gentle, in his own weird way.
at any rate, inej definitely doesn't mind him sleeping next to her.
she's stirred to light wakefulness at the movement of kaz sitting up, and she blinks her eyes open a little -- not wholly awake, before she yawns, her eyes dropping closed again before she tucks her face into her hands a little, to get herself comfortable, easily falling back asleep, mumbling something mildly incoherent in what sounds like suli. ]
[ She stirs a bit and he freezes, wondering if he's woken her up with his movement. Part of him wants her to be up so he can at least be distracted by conversation. Or by her getting to her usual morning routine. Which is...distracting in its own way. Those stretches.
Okay, he needs to not be thinking about that right now, when she's so close. Already, he can feel his pulse speeding up a little. So he glances over one last time, catching her quiet mumble, before he carefully flops back and turns over to look at the wall instead. The wall is safe. It's not his roommate and best friend who he's finding way too attractive lately. ]
[ dreams are bizarre things. she's not entirely certain what she's experiencing in the dream she's having, but she knows that she's cold. and truthfully, it is a little chilly in the early morning air, blown in by the sea.
so she shifts a little bit once kaz rolls over onto his side, still in the depths of sleep. and after a moment or two, she curls a bit closer, tucking her face into his back, exhaling in her sleep as she seems to gain comfort from the warmth.
[ There's a brief respite, when he turns over. The blank of her wall makes it easier for him to focus. Or rather, not focus so intensely.
Except it doesn't last long, because he hears her sigh and then feels her move around. Which wouldn't be a problem, normally. But her bed is smaller than his and any turn puts them closer together. She's turned towards him, curled up close, her forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. He freezes, feeling that vague skin crawling shiver go through him. She's real and alive and not a horror of his past. It takes a few tries before he gets over that mental hurdle, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
Then he's more concerned with the fact that she's so close. It almost feels wrong. Maybe he's just making something out of nothing though. It isn't like she did it on purpose, she's just sleeping. They're friends. Just yesterday, he took a nap on her lap. So he really needs to ignore the heat that's spiked through his gut over this. And also that whole urge to turn over and hold her. That's definitely not a platonic thing. Nor does he think he could even do it, not when he doesn't even have a shirt on.
Honestly, it might be a good idea to just get up. Then again, he doesn't want to wake her up just yet. He isn't exactly keen to get up either, warm under the covers and away from the chill of the sea air.
So he's stuck here. Until she wakes. Or until he can miraculously fall back asleep enough to ignore everything. Doubtful. ]
[ she manages another twenty minutes or so of sleeping before she begins to shift to wakefulness, blinking her eyes open sleepily and realizing that she has her face tucked against his back. and inej rolls away a bit, rubbing at her face, her eyes roving along the defined muscles of his back for a brief moment before she decides to
just not look at that, okay. ]
Good morning.
[ she says, her voice still tinged with sleep as she rests back into her pillow, offering him a sleepy smile. ]
[ He spends the better part of twenty minutes trying to decide whether he should just get up or not. It's alongside the same urge to roll over and hold her, to really cuddle up. There's another niggle of disgust, at possibly having her skin touching his. But there's also a strange desire for it.
A cyclical argument back and forth. The only thing that solves it is he feels Inej move, drawing in a louder breath as she wakes up. Turning, he sits up and glances at her. Which is sort of a mistake, because she's laid back on her pillow, hair a tangle and streaming all across it.
[ his hair is a little messed up, with causes the corners of her mouth to lift a little bit into a faint smile. amused. he looks younger in the morning, before he has time to train his face into its perpetual frown. though that seems to be quasi-permanent. he's going to have frown lines by the time he's thirty. ]
I did.
[ she says, still remaining soundly lying in bed, really not intending on getting up anytime soon, clearly. ]
[ Well, at least she hadn't been bothered by any of his sleeping habits. Either she really did sleep soundly or she was better at lying than he thought. Which seems unlikely—she's always been very straightforward with him. Something he appreciates. ]
Went to bed too early. [ He shrugs a shoulder. It's still surprising he managed to sleep in until now. This last week at work must've taken more out of him than he thought. ]
Yeah, didn't wake up in the middle. [ Which could happen pretty often. He traces a pattern on her comforter to stop himself from reaching out to her and curling her hair around his finger. ] Didn't mean to sleep that long.
It's probably for the best that you slept as long as you did. You needed it.
[ he really does have nice arms, and her eyes wander for a moment before she catches him drawing patterns on the comforter. likely time to move, then, if he's fidgeting.
so she pushes herself up, moving a hand to shove the hair out of her face with half a laugh. it's always so untameable in the morning. ]
Do you want to take a shower first?
[ she asks, glancing over at him, arching her eyebrows. ]
[ He stops tracing the patterns and mirrors her motion in his own way, raking a hand through his hair. Which probably looks like a disaster. But it's one she's used to seeing, sort of. And one he's used to letting her see without the sense of self-consciousness that usually plagues him when he relaxes in front of someone. ]
Yeah, probably. I was trying to clear as much as possible before I came over. [ So: a lot of work, as he knows she'll read between the lines. He has to admit she's right...he did need the rest. He feels way less strung out and on edge than he usually does. ]
I'll be quick.
[ Really, he never takes super long in showers. He doesn't like being in water for long periods of time, generally. Peeling away the blanket, he gets up and gathers his clothes to change into.
And he doesn't exactly...rush to the bathroom but he definitely doesn't waste time in stepping into the shower after he flips the water on, holding in the hiss at the freezing cold spray. Any strange excitement gets washed away, the chill taking his thoughts from how cute she looked.
He steps out feeling more composed, thoughts reined in again. Drying off and changing helps him focus and by the time he buttons his shirt up, he feels much like his usual self. Which will hopefully hold up when he has to see her in her pajamas. ]
All yours. [ He pokes his head back into the room, adjusting his shirt cuff. ]
Edited (Whoops hit enter too soon ) Date: 2020-10-23 01:13 am (UTC)
[ by the time kaz comes back to the room, inej is up and getting her clothes arranged for the day. and she looks up with a warm smile as he ducks his head into the room, her arms full of a towel and the clothes she's picked out for their adventure. wherever that may be. ]
Thanks.
[ easily enough, as she makes her way toward the door, though she pauses to reach up and adjust the collar of his shirt a little, so it lays a bit more flat, adding: ]
Nice shirt.
[ as if kaz ever wears anything else but nice shirts, but inej brushes past him to head to the bathroom, idly noticing that it's not very warm and steamed. hm. but she pushes that aside to close the door, and start the process of detangling and washing her hair. which is always a process.
but, in roughly half an hour, she gets out of the shower to begin towel drying her hair, and she calls out through the door: ]
Is having lunch with my parents okay?
[ her mother has about four messages sitting on read on her phone, asking the same question. ]
[ He tries not to freeze up too much when she comes over and spends a few moments adjusting the collar of his shirt. She's done it before, plenty of times. But there's a different charge to it on his end, since he's still shaking off the strangeness from earlier. Just like earlier, he's torn between wanting to lean into it and wanting to step away.
Instead, he just lets her flatten his collar and head off to the bathroom. ]
Thanks.
[ If he sounds bewildered, well, he can say he's still waking up. She knows how he can be without coffee.
Which is what he busies himself with while she washes up. So by the time she comes out, there's a fresh pot of coffee waiting, as well as some eggs and toast. ]
That's fine. [ Even if it fills him with anxiety. He'd already delayed it once (by mistake) since he'd fallen asleep yesterday. May as well get it over with. ]
[ she comes out with her hair still damp, but brushed, wearing a loose sweater and jeans, her feet still bare. she'll track down a pair of shoes later, but she offers him a proper grin at the sight of breakfast. ]
Thanks.
[ he's been busy, apparently, and she soon pulls up a chair to her small eat-in kitchen, taking a sip of her coffee with a soft hum. made precisely how she likes it. ]
My father is excited to meet you.
[ she says after a moment, eyes bright as she sips her coffee, watching him. ]
[ She comes out with her hair still damp—not unusual by any means—and looking particularly comfy in her sweater. It's cute on her. Which...most things are. Or maybe he's become completely biased.
All that pales in comparison to the bright grin she gives him before she sits down to breakfast. He's partway through his coffee, phone opened to the financial news back home. ]
Is he? [ Someone being excited to meet him is a weird occurrence. Then again, his reputation usually precedes him. Or he's being introduced by Jesper. It sort of amounts to the same effect. ]
What's he like?
[ She's told him a little bit, because how could she not, but he's still learning about them. Just as much as she is, really. ]
[ the sound is thoughtful as she mulls over her coffee, trying to think about how to describe her father. ]
Gentle, and kind. Warm. He speaks when he has something to say, and it's always with a lot of thought.
[ the opposite of her mother, she thinks, who is more prone to telling people exactly how she feels at that given moment. it's probably why they're such a good match. ]
He used to tell me that having six sons to carry on his family name couldn't replace a single day with having me as his daughter. [ amused, as she sips her coffee once more before turning her attention to her toast, setting the mug down on the table. ] He's never really had much patience for expectations.
[ Her father sounds very patient and level headed, something that appears to have gotten passed to her. Sure, she could be stubborn, but she's not prone to moods or outbursts. Not like he can be.
He gives her a small smile when she repeats what her father had told her, about being more important than sons to carry on the name. Frankly, he feels like he can agree there, though less from an expectation of bloodlines being carried forward and more the underlying sentiment: she's important. Special. He's glad to have met her.
True to form though, he doesn't know how to echo the sentiment without feeling like he's intruding or trying to one-up her father. So he sips his coffee instead. ]
Expectations are boring. [ Especially the ones they're talking about. Outdated nonsense. ]
[ a bit wryly, as she continues to munch on her toast. though after she swallows her last bite, she says, with half a laugh. ]
She is fiery, and passionate, and says what she thinks without caring about how you feel about it. She loves to cook and be around family, when she can be.
[ asena frequently rolls her eyes whenever jardani tells her to wait her turn or be patient. inej is fairly certain that part, that frustration, that need to keep moving, she gets from her mother. ]
She had a feud once, with a neighbor who disliked how many flowers my mother planted around the fence. So instead of moving her garden, my mother decided to plant more flowers in different colors, to give the neighbor some variety to look at.
[ and inej shrugs, with a slight grin in his direction. ]
[ The personality difference between her parents seems so stark. It's amusing. Not just because of how she describes her mother as opposed to her father, but how he can pick out how she's developed their traits.
Though she definitely seems more like her father, even-keeled, there's the occasional peek of her mother's qualities. The refusal to back down, the passion with which she chases after what she wants.
He's getting a good picture now but he knows it'll be compounded when they finally meet in person. They'll undeniably be family. ]
Probably. [ He huffs a laugh as he agrees, amused by her mother's silent feud with the neighbor. It sounds like something he'd do, honestly. ]
I'm glad they were still here.
[ And despite how upset he is by her being so far, he's happy she came here to study. Really, he tries not to think about the distance and he knows he'll have a difficult time adjusting once he gets back. He'd never thought it was possible to miss the presence of someone so much. ]
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no subject
Date: 2020-10-21 10:41 pm (UTC)[ It's true, he'd probably be more comfortable if he stretched out on the bed. But then that would interrupt his current drowsiness. He'd just be lying there, mind spinning again. Here he has the sounds of the movie floating in and out.
Most importantly, Inej is here, leaning against him as a counterbalance. The familiarity of it puts him at too much peace to want to disturb. She tugs on his hand and he lets her. In fact, he follows the tug and carefully lays sideways, head on her lap. ]
Long hours, lately. [ Partially his fault. And partially the workload. He hadn't wanted to think too much about things to be done while he was here in Ravka. Curling his fingers around hers, he gives them a squeeze, eyes half open as he stares at the screen. ]
Missed you, Inej.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-21 11:40 pm (UTC)long hours isn't surprising. he has always worked too hard, and needed more sleep, but when inej moved into the apartment, she at least was a form of accountability. someone who would disapprove that he was working himself half to death. old habits die hard, it seems. and inej idly wonders how he's really doing, by himself.
kaz sort of answers her silent concern, when he quietly says that he missed her. it causes an odd tug in her chest (guilt, maybe?), before she runs her thumb over his knuckles, murmuring: ]
I have missed you, too. A lot.
[ and she gently squeezes his shoulder. ]
But I am here now, so you can rest.
[ and maybe release some of the tension that she feels in his shoulders, underneath her fingertips. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 12:21 am (UTC)He definitely isn't coming home as early (or perhaps...on time) as he usually was when Inej was there. But he hasn't totally backslid. Mostly. Maybe.
She squeezes his shoulder and he sighs, trying to release more of the tension he's been holding onto. It works, because he blearily wakes up enough to get ready for bed at her gentle urging. The jet lag has fully caught up. His short nap barely made a dent and he crashes almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Even stranger, he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night like he was worried he would. Instead, he sleeps through until an early hour of the morning, right around dawn, the pale light from the sun starting to creep in around the edges of her curtains. He's used to this hour but only from the side where he's usually stayed up until now, not waking with it. Unlike Inej, who typically gets up with the birds.
Rubbing some sleep from his eyes, he glances over at her, met with the sight of her still sleeping peacefully. Her mouth's dropped open a bit, soft breaths making some of her undone hair flutter near her cheek. He has the strongest urge to reach over and tuck that lock behind her ear. It fights with how much he wants to roll closer and curl an arm around her middle.
Fuck.
He really shouldn't have argued about sharing the bed. Because he can't unsee her like this, completely relaxed and so beautiful it almost hurts to look. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 12:54 am (UTC)she sleeps peacefully. eased, for some reason, by kaz next to her. something she never really thought she would ever like. she loathed when the men from the menagerie paid extra to stay the night. it typically only resulted in more abuse, more violation. so she treasures her solitude, being able to lay in her bed and have it be her own. but kaz is definitely different, warm and comfortable. gentle, in his own weird way.
at any rate, inej definitely doesn't mind him sleeping next to her.
she's stirred to light wakefulness at the movement of kaz sitting up, and she blinks her eyes open a little -- not wholly awake, before she yawns, her eyes dropping closed again before she tucks her face into her hands a little, to get herself comfortable, easily falling back asleep, mumbling something mildly incoherent in what sounds like suli. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 01:25 am (UTC)Okay, he needs to not be thinking about that right now, when she's so close. Already, he can feel his pulse speeding up a little. So he glances over one last time, catching her quiet mumble, before he carefully flops back and turns over to look at the wall instead. The wall is safe. It's not his roommate and best friend who he's finding way too attractive lately. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 03:17 pm (UTC)so she shifts a little bit once kaz rolls over onto his side, still in the depths of sleep. and after a moment or two, she curls a bit closer, tucking her face into his back, exhaling in her sleep as she seems to gain comfort from the warmth.
still sleeping, for now. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 03:47 pm (UTC)Except it doesn't last long, because he hears her sigh and then feels her move around. Which wouldn't be a problem, normally. But her bed is smaller than his and any turn puts them closer together. She's turned towards him, curled up close, her forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. He freezes, feeling that vague skin crawling shiver go through him. She's real and alive and not a horror of his past. It takes a few tries before he gets over that mental hurdle, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
Then he's more concerned with the fact that she's so close. It almost feels wrong. Maybe he's just making something out of nothing though. It isn't like she did it on purpose, she's just sleeping. They're friends. Just yesterday, he took a nap on her lap. So he really needs to ignore the heat that's spiked through his gut over this. And also that whole urge to turn over and hold her. That's definitely not a platonic thing. Nor does he think he could even do it, not when he doesn't even have a shirt on.
Honestly, it might be a good idea to just get up. Then again, he doesn't want to wake her up just yet. He isn't exactly keen to get up either, warm under the covers and away from the chill of the sea air.
So he's stuck here. Until she wakes. Or until he can miraculously fall back asleep enough to ignore everything. Doubtful. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 07:55 pm (UTC)just not look at that, okay. ]
Good morning.
[ she says, her voice still tinged with sleep as she rests back into her pillow, offering him a sleepy smile. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 08:17 pm (UTC)A cyclical argument back and forth. The only thing that solves it is he feels Inej move, drawing in a louder breath as she wakes up. Turning, he sits up and glances at her. Which is sort of a mistake, because she's laid back on her pillow, hair a tangle and streaming all across it.
What if he just kissed her? ]
Morning. [ Stop thinking about it. ] Sleep well?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 08:35 pm (UTC)I did.
[ she says, still remaining soundly lying in bed, really not intending on getting up anytime soon, clearly. ]
I'm surprised you are awake so early.
[ she notes, arching her eyebrows a little. ]
Did you sleep well?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 09:14 pm (UTC)Went to bed too early. [ He shrugs a shoulder. It's still surprising he managed to sleep in until now. This last week at work must've taken more out of him than he thought. ]
Yeah, didn't wake up in the middle. [ Which could happen pretty often. He traces a pattern on her comforter to stop himself from reaching out to her and curling her hair around his finger. ] Didn't mean to sleep that long.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-22 10:20 pm (UTC)[ he really does have nice arms, and her eyes wander for a moment before she catches him drawing patterns on the comforter. likely time to move, then, if he's fidgeting.
so she pushes herself up, moving a hand to shove the hair out of her face with half a laugh. it's always so untameable in the morning. ]
Do you want to take a shower first?
[ she asks, glancing over at him, arching her eyebrows. ]
You are the guest.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 12:49 am (UTC)Yeah, probably. I was trying to clear as much as possible before I came over. [ So: a lot of work, as he knows she'll read between the lines. He has to admit she's right...he did need the rest. He feels way less strung out and on edge than he usually does. ]
I'll be quick.
[ Really, he never takes super long in showers. He doesn't like being in water for long periods of time, generally. Peeling away the blanket, he gets up and gathers his clothes to change into.
And he doesn't exactly...rush to the bathroom but he definitely doesn't waste time in stepping into the shower after he flips the water on, holding in the hiss at the freezing cold spray. Any strange excitement gets washed away, the chill taking his thoughts from how cute she looked.
He steps out feeling more composed, thoughts reined in again. Drying off and changing helps him focus and by the time he buttons his shirt up, he feels much like his usual self. Which will hopefully hold up when he has to see her in her pajamas. ]
All yours. [ He pokes his head back into the room, adjusting his shirt cuff. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 01:34 pm (UTC)Thanks.
[ easily enough, as she makes her way toward the door, though she pauses to reach up and adjust the collar of his shirt a little, so it lays a bit more flat, adding: ]
Nice shirt.
[ as if kaz ever wears anything else but nice shirts, but inej brushes past him to head to the bathroom, idly noticing that it's not very warm and steamed. hm. but she pushes that aside to close the door, and start the process of detangling and washing her hair. which is always a process.
but, in roughly half an hour, she gets out of the shower to begin towel drying her hair, and she calls out through the door: ]
Is having lunch with my parents okay?
[ her mother has about four messages sitting on read on her phone, asking the same question. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 04:39 pm (UTC)Instead, he just lets her flatten his collar and head off to the bathroom. ]
Thanks.
[ If he sounds bewildered, well, he can say he's still waking up. She knows how he can be without coffee.
Which is what he busies himself with while she washes up. So by the time she comes out, there's a fresh pot of coffee waiting, as well as some eggs and toast. ]
That's fine. [ Even if it fills him with anxiety. He'd already delayed it once (by mistake) since he'd fallen asleep yesterday. May as well get it over with. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 06:49 pm (UTC)Thanks.
[ he's been busy, apparently, and she soon pulls up a chair to her small eat-in kitchen, taking a sip of her coffee with a soft hum. made precisely how she likes it. ]
My father is excited to meet you.
[ she says after a moment, eyes bright as she sips her coffee, watching him. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 07:23 pm (UTC)All that pales in comparison to the bright grin she gives him before she sits down to breakfast. He's partway through his coffee, phone opened to the financial news back home. ]
Is he? [ Someone being excited to meet him is a weird occurrence. Then again, his reputation usually precedes him. Or he's being introduced by Jesper. It sort of amounts to the same effect. ]
What's he like?
[ She's told him a little bit, because how could she not, but he's still learning about them. Just as much as she is, really. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 07:36 pm (UTC)[ the sound is thoughtful as she mulls over her coffee, trying to think about how to describe her father. ]
Gentle, and kind. Warm. He speaks when he has something to say, and it's always with a lot of thought.
[ the opposite of her mother, she thinks, who is more prone to telling people exactly how she feels at that given moment. it's probably why they're such a good match. ]
He used to tell me that having six sons to carry on his family name couldn't replace a single day with having me as his daughter. [ amused, as she sips her coffee once more before turning her attention to her toast, setting the mug down on the table. ] He's never really had much patience for expectations.
[ as she takes a bite of her toast. ]
I think you will like him a lot.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 09:09 pm (UTC)He gives her a small smile when she repeats what her father had told her, about being more important than sons to carry on the name. Frankly, he feels like he can agree there, though less from an expectation of bloodlines being carried forward and more the underlying sentiment: she's important. Special. He's glad to have met her.
True to form though, he doesn't know how to echo the sentiment without feeling like he's intruding or trying to one-up her father. So he sips his coffee instead. ]
Expectations are boring. [ Especially the ones they're talking about. Outdated nonsense. ]
Seems so. What's your mother like?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-23 11:45 pm (UTC)[ a bit wryly, as she continues to munch on her toast. though after she swallows her last bite, she says, with half a laugh. ]
She is fiery, and passionate, and says what she thinks without caring about how you feel about it. She loves to cook and be around family, when she can be.
[ asena frequently rolls her eyes whenever jardani tells her to wait her turn or be patient. inej is fairly certain that part, that frustration, that need to keep moving, she gets from her mother. ]
She had a feud once, with a neighbor who disliked how many flowers my mother planted around the fence. So instead of moving her garden, my mother decided to plant more flowers in different colors, to give the neighbor some variety to look at.
[ and inej shrugs, with a slight grin in his direction. ]
You will probably like her, too.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-24 02:37 pm (UTC)Though she definitely seems more like her father, even-keeled, there's the occasional peek of her mother's qualities. The refusal to back down, the passion with which she chases after what she wants.
He's getting a good picture now but he knows it'll be compounded when they finally meet in person. They'll undeniably be family. ]
Probably. [ He huffs a laugh as he agrees, amused by her mother's silent feud with the neighbor. It sounds like something he'd do, honestly. ]
I'm glad they were still here.
[ And despite how upset he is by her being so far, he's happy she came here to study. Really, he tries not to think about the distance and he knows he'll have a difficult time adjusting once he gets back. He'd never thought it was possible to miss the presence of someone so much. ]