[closed] I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited

[hyanaimne]

Date & Time: December 12
Location: Winter wonderland of snow and fun
Characters: Tempest and Charlie Dyer
Summary: Someone was missing for a few days. Someone else wants to shake her.
Warnings: None!

[milling around just inside the doors leading to the transporter room, Tempest finds her attention drawn to the floor; idly drawing designs in the slush with the toe of her boot, pushing it around. Not quite a nervous gesture, but almost.

It's been over a year since she's been here, and yet only a few days passed. She honestly does feel cheated; that she spent months wondering if she would ever be brought back, or if she had been kicked out for some reason, and just when Exsilium was no longer on her mind, a blink and she's there. She almost wanted to laugh at the irony.

She pauses moving slush around to glance down at her hand, flexing the fingers with a frown. The cold was making it ache again - nothing new, for her nowadays, but still annoying. She'd have to pick up another pair of gloves at some point. She sighs, and leans back against the wall and forces her attention to the door instead]

Comments

[hyanaimne]

[and in return, Tempest takes a bold step forward, leaning in a bit]

You cannot say that and then tell me it is none of my business, Charlie.

[falla]

[ So Charlie is looking like she's about to cry more and more by the second.

Two steps back. ]

I d-don't k-kno-I don't know.

[hyanaimne]

[okay crying is a bad thing, and Tempest immediately backs off, holding up a hand]

Okay - okay, forget it.

[falla]

[ Funny thing, Charlie takes a few more steps back, hits a wall and stays there, face still red.

Cue awkward silence for a moment. ]

I'm j-just- just bad w-with people.

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest's lips twist, wry]

I remember. So am I.

[falla]

A-and you are- you are great. You m-make me feel g-great, and I n-never, ever feel like that.

[ Too late to pull back? ]

I'm ju-just a n-nuisance.

[hyanaimne]

[it's way too late. Tempest knows she's staring incredulously, but she can't help it. Who even says that? To her of all people?

But she latches onto the last part and runs with that first - it's easier]

Oh, for—you are not a nuisance. Anything but.

[falla]

[ Well, if Charlie wasn't an emotional mess she would tell her that we seldom have much of a say in the way we affect others. We can try, but ultimately? It's a lot like the lottery. ]

I d-don't know. I'm bothering you ri-right now.

[ She sinks a bit against the wall. ]

Y-you don't need to deal with m-my issues. Sorry.

[hyanaimne]

You are not bothering me!

[it comes out a little louder than she intended, but no less genuine. She'd spent a year and change away from the only place she'd ever had people she cared about, and even if this reunion wasn't going how she pictured it, it was still important to her. Moreso than she thought it would be]

Honestly, why would I agree to anything if I did not want to see you or deal with - [she cuts off and just frees a hand to wave it] It is fine, okay?

[falla]

[ Silence.

A minute later, Charlie snorts softly, eyes glued to the floor. ]

W-went better than ex-expected.

[hyanaimne]

[. . . now she's confused]

What did?

[falla]

Us, t-talking. I thought I wo-would screw it up w-worse. Hug you o-or something.

[ She sighs. ]

I'm j-just not used to this. To ca-care. I barely had to th-think about that b-back home.

[hyanaimne]

[she still sounds confused, but there's some understanding, as well]

No, I . . . I understand. I did not care about much back home, either. [it's a little different now, but family is also another topic entirely]

I did not know hugging would be considered worse, though . . .

[falla]

I'm just-

[ And she honestly has no idea of how to finish that sentence for a moment. She looks up slowly. ]

I know p-people, a-and emotions and relationships but it n-never applies to m-me. So you're- you're confusing, in a good w-way.

[ She blushes a bit again. ]

I don't w-want to touch you without per-permission.

[hyanaimne]

[now it's Tempest's turn to duck her head, idly picking at an visible piece of dust on her cloak]

I do not know any of that, and the only relationships I've known have been a bit terrible. [Maias, always the sore spot] So I guess I . . . am confused by you as well. Also in a good way.

[she snorts, though]

You have permission.

[falla]

Y-you are?

[ Charlie looks at herself and then around, as if to make sure they're the only ones in the room and she's not transparent or something. Then she blushes some more.

A moment later she finally unsticks from the wall and takes a couple of steps towards her. ]

You c-could stick a-around, help me f-figure it out?

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest doesn't move, even if she wants to step back, more out of habit than anything else]

I was . . . not planning on going anywhere?

[falla]

But y-you don't need to do it, to fig-figure things if y-you don't want to. I w-won't force you. M-maybe confusion is b-better?

[ She takes a couple more of steps and now they're more or less how they were in the beginning. ]

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest doesn't move, save for her hand dropping from it's distracted picking. She frowns a bit]

I do not like being confused. I would much rather figure things out.

[falla]

W-well...

[ She finally gets close enough to pass her arms over Tempest's shoulders and hug her. It's a surprisingly normal by for someone who was freaking out so much a moment ago. A bit rigid, but still. ]

I'm good at f-figuring stuff out.

[hyanaimne]

[even if she tenses up a little, she lets her arms wrap around Charlie in return, hugging back. A bit awkwardly, with the armor, but she's trying.

She mutters into Charlie's shoulder]

Good, because I am terrible at it.

[falla]

[ She smiles, and her whole body reacts to that, releasing some tension. ]

We m-make a good team then.

Oh, a-also, Temp?

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest lifts her head to look up at her (she'll never get used to that)]

What?

[falla]

Welcome back.

[ And then she passes one single finger through her hairline, tucking a bit of it behind her ear before taking a step back and heading out. ]

[hyanaimne]

[it takes a moment to process that, and it's unfortunate that Charlie turned, because Tempest just went bright red]

A-Ah . . . thank you.

[she reaches back quickly to tug up her hood (safety!), then moves to follow Charlie out]