006 | Dictated/Spam

[hellofist]

Ever since we moved, don't come here as often. To the castle. Mostly to see people, or use gym. Glad I did, today.

[Seriously, she's never seen Christmas decorations quite like this before, and that tree? It's kind of amazing.]

Decorations look really nice. Some are weird, though. Pretty sure dolls... shouldn't be that creepy.

[She's not a big fan of the Nutcrackers, okay. But, she can be found in the Castle today, whether it's in the library trying to practice her reading skills or in the gym punching the crap out of a punching bag. By the time she's made it to the gym she's snagged a mistletoe from one of the doorways with the intention of taking it back home to decorate the Bathaus, because what's a little vandalism in the name of the holiday spirit, right?]


((ooc: Plotting post is a here if you'd like to work stuff out but otherwise, bring on the smooches!))

Comments

[secondchances]

[Steph catches her in one of the halls. Of course Cass knows she's coming, but that doesn't stop her from covering her friend's eyes for a surprise!]

Guess who?

[She's not even disguising her voice. How many times have they done this?]

[hellofist]

[It's got to be reaching the thousands by now, but it never gets old. Footsteps and the way the hands cover her eyes are enough to tell her it's Steph even before she speaks, but still she pretends she doesn't know.]

Connor? You shrunk.

[secondchances]

That's not fair, I can't make fun of Connor.

[She huffs and lets Cass go. Low blow, playing the babyAssassin card.]

[hellofist]

Picking Ezio... seemed like obvious choice.

[She turns to smile at Steph, a bit surprised to see her here.]

Came to see decorations?

[secondchances]

Hey, after Florence my Italian accent is pretty much perfect.

[She stretches her arms behind her back and glances around. She's always loved Christmas in Paradisa. It's the prettiest.]

Yeah, and to bug you. What are you up to?

[hellofist]

[Way to make that smile go all soft and almost dopey, Steph.]

Came to train. Wanted to, uh... [Why is it always so hard to admit this part?] To look at books, too. Can later, though.

[secondchances]

Don't let me deter your plans. I don't mind tagging along on either of these adventures.

Hello

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler only comes to the castle now to grab supplies, before heading back to the safety of the mansion. The nameplates might have changed again, but he's in no mood to remain in such close quarters with the other residents.

And he had to pick this day, of all days. He's sure the castle does it on purpose. He's so busy looking suspiciously at all the decorations that he doesn't notice Cass at first]

Maybe it's the tinsel this year?

Yes. Yes perfect.

[hellofist]

[It's kind of funny, that he has no idea she's even there right now. She could scare him maybe, see how loud he'd shriek. That would definitely be funny, but maybe after everything, after how upset he's been, not exactly the best move.

So she wanders closer instead, to see what he's poking at. He'll figure out it's her eventually, she's sure.]

Maybe what is?

[whichwayyoulean]

[He shrieks anyway, and then realises who it is and looks genuinely afraid this time. No no no, anyone but HER. Memories of last year and Ino and the feeling of having his heart crushed, albeit innocently come flooding back. He's done his darndest to keep his feelings hidden from Cass, but this could ruin everything.

He quickly scuttles back, to get some space between them, until his back rests on a wall. Realising prematurely this makes him look like a crazy person, he gives a nervous laugh]

Oh, you know, wondering what's going to be the evil kissing decoration. Remember me telling you about those?

[hellofist]

[Well, that kind of hurts. She's never seen Once be afraid of her before, so seeing it now, seeing him basically run away from her? Ouch. She stays where she is, frowning faintly as she looks him over.]

I remember. You're safe, though.

[She'll even take a little step back, putting more space between them. See? Safe.]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He notices the frown and feels awful for it. He realises he's stuck between a rock and a hard place, protecting his own feelings or protecting hers. Of course, hers win out, they always do. So he offers her a small smile, at least stepping forward from the wall]

Sorry. I didn't mean to act like a crazy person. I just... [What? Wanted a kiss with her to mean something and not be magically induced? He doesn't know. He hasn't got the courage to word it out loud anyway]

It's a crazy time of year y'know? [He should go, staying here is just leading to the inevitable. He doesn't though, he just stands there, not wanting to just abandon her in the hallway. To make her feel like some undesirable blob. Or something. He didn't know how girls worked. Unable to find the right words to explain this, he resorts to babbling]

And it's awkward and ...uh stuff. Not saying that I wouldn't want to...err. Because only a crazy person wouldn't want to, because you're really pretty and more, but it'll get- [No this is terrible why did he decide to talk] I'm really bad at this.

[hellofist]

[If only he realized none of this was actually news, to Cass. Still, nothing has changed, he's still afraid and unwilling to look at his own feelings and she doesn't want to force it, things like that never end up going well when you force them.

So she smiles back at him and just shrugs.]

It's okay. You warned me, you don't... like this part. The Christmas thing. I understand.

[She understands all of it, so it's kind of impossible to hold his reaction against him, really. It makes sense.]

Action!

[putuporshutup]

[Meg is lounging at a table in the library not far from the door when Cass walks in. She vaguely recognizes her from being there for the takedown of the Gentlemen, though they've never really spoken.

She nods in greeting. In the moments following, she intends on returning her attention to her book, but she's suddenly compelled to cross the room and give her a proper hello.

The paperback drops to the floor, forgotten, and Meg strides over, casually threading a hand through the other woman's hair and pulling her in for a fairly sensual kiss considering they're complete strangers. Even for Meg, that's a little strange... but whatever. Kissing is fun.]

Ah... hi.

[She's not sure what the hell just happened, but if this is the latest castle fuckery? Sign her up.]

I laughed so hard

[hellofist]

[The woman is coming over to say hello, her body language says. And Cass is all for that, she's always looking to make new friends, meet more people.

But then, kissing. Which is a way to say hello, and Cass finds herself automatically kissing back, fond of the fingers in her hair and for a moment forgetting why she even came in to the library. When Meg pulls back Cass is a little red, but she smiles nonetheless.]

Hi.

[It's a little breathless, followed up by a little laugh. Right, the castle does kissing things around Christmas. She'd forgotten that, actually.]

I'm Cassandra. [Because that seems important, to introduce yourself to someone you've kissed.] Guess the castle got us.

I barely got through writing it

[putuporshutup]

[Meg's a little breathless herself, and finding herself in a very rare moment of being totally caught off guard.

It's kind of great. Which means there's probably a catch. But... kissing.]

I'm Meg. [She laughs a little, too.] Guess so. I wonder how long this is gonna last?

Best way to meet ever

[hellofist]

[At least they're both on the same page here, even ground of not actually expecting that to happen. That kind of makes the whole thing easier to just roll with.

Plus it's just kissing, it's not like they're married now.]

Not sure. Things like this... are a week, usually. I think.

Beginning of a beautiful friendship

[putuporshutup]

[Being on the same page is always a good thing, and Meg is pro at just going with the flow.

Nope! Funny enough, if Meg was married, it'd be to a whole different Cas anyway! This surely won't ever get confusing.]

Yeah, that sounds about right. Should be a fun week.

best friends for life

[hellofist]

[If only someone had told Cass nope, the mistletoe thing actually goes on until Christmas had passed. Should prove interesting for both of them if they're expecting it to be just a one week kind of thing.

She looks around them, trying to find something that looks out of place.]

It's a decoration, that does it. Makes people... want to kiss.

[focusrighthere]

[He's on his way out of the gym when Cass first enters, towel slung over his shoulder. Joel doesn't recognize her yet and intends to wordlessly allow this complete stranger through the door before he goes, but for some reason he reaches out to grab onto her shoulder in passing and plant a kiss on her cheek.

Wait, what?

Joel startles as if he touched fire, taking many steps back and shaking his head like he's lost his damn mind. Did he?]

I, uh. [What the hell, what the hell? He just stammers.] Egh...

[hellofist]

[As she's passing him, she knows it's Joel. She knows, she's seen him and his body language before, placing him again isn't hard even if just walking straight past instead of saying hello is. She'd like to greet him, but he knows Batgirl. Best not to mix those things up just yet.

But then he grabs her, presses a slightly scratchy kiss to her cheek, and she forgets. It could be Bruce, she could be home for the holidays, it's something that's almost familiar and something she wants so badly. It ends just as quick though and she's left looking up at him in surprise, there's no cowl there, it's just Joel.

His shocked, very unsure face is almost funny. She opens her mouth to say something, tell him it's fine, but nothing quite comes out at first.]

Um. It's Christmas.

[There, that was descriptive.]

[focusrighthere]

[What's that feeling at the back of his neck? Heat, crawling up to his face and irritating the hell out of him. For a second Joel narrows his eyes without meeting her gaze, flustered and shoehorned into a state of temporary shock by his own actions. Christmas, this is the stupid Castle's fault.

He's obviously still sorta new. He doesn't know this person in the slightest - what is he supposed to say?]

Right. Goddamn Castle. I'm - [So he just speaks his thoughts, mumbling angrily, but he pauses to scrutinize her with a look before he gets a chance to apologize.] Wait a minute.

[That voice is familiar, on second thought. Shit. This just got worse.]

Ain't you that kid I met out in the city?

[hellofist]

[That's actually refreshing, seeing what a body has to say and hearing the same thing come out of someone's mouth. It really doesn't happen all that often, not with this level of honesty. She feels bad for him, for all his embarrassment.

And then she just feels annoyed. She frowns up at him, chin raised defiantly.]

I'll be nineteen, next month.

[focusrighthere]

[Meaning she's eighteen as of now. Joel does not look impressed.]

I- I heard you ran into Ellie. [But there's leftover embarrassment lingering, so he changes the topic. She doesn't seem too upset, taking the awkward moment in stride better than Joel managed to. Then again, she'd also managed to get over him pointing a gun at her.] The same night?

[hellofist]

[She'll be nice to him, won't make him feel worse over it, but it still doesn't really matter to her. It's just kissing, and only on the cheek, too. You're such a prude Joel.]

Right before you. [There's no real point lying about it, secret identities have never meant as much to Cass as they should. She's always been the one most likely to yank her cowl off after a fight in broad daylight.] I liked her.

[... Okay maybe she'll be a little mean.]

Like you too.