Room 308, Wednesday Evening - Chilling Out

[the_merriest]

So that Umbridge lady seemed kinda mean, and Hermione certainly hadn't liked her very much. That was bad.

But how much trouble could a principal be? Really. Seriously. Besides, she and her Jude-dude had made up and therefore, all was right with the world. Plus Deadpool hadn't come looking for her yet about the car. That was a bonus.

So Rikku was sprawled out on her bed, humming to herself and bopping a little. And maybe looking over a ... letter. 'Cause tomorrow was Thursday and, well, no reason. Just, you know. Couldn't hurt.

Her door was wide open.

Comments

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"She called you a what?"

Aravis didn't actually know that word, but she'd gotten the gist.

[the_merriest]

Rikku folded her arms, shaking. "She ... she made it sound like ... like he was calling them all to b-brag about what we ... you know, like 'hey, guess what, guys, heh heh' but h-hadn't told them ... that he l-loved me." Her voice was smaller now. "She made me think that ... th-that everything I'd thought was beautiful was ... ch-cheap and ... and she screamed at me to stop t-taking advantage of him b-because she knew what I was l-like and ..."

She closed her eyes. "I didn't bother asking him, 'cause I thought ... how else w-would she know? Why would she have my number? I mean ... I just ... left."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis's expression had darkened. "...did you kill her?" she asked quietly.

[the_merriest]

Rikku laughed bitterly. "No, it wasn't ... it wasn't like that. I didn't go near her. I didn't want to ... I don't know, I was more angry at him than anything, I mean, she's just some bitch, he's the one I trusted, yeah? I just ... Mel said, let's go blow things up, and I did. He didn't know where I was or anything."

She hugged her knees. "W-was he ... was he okay? I ... oh, wow, I was all, I hope he suffers and ... I'm so mean."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"You're not mean. Or, well, much kinder than I'd have been," Aravis said, as reassuringly as she knew how. "I'd have left, too, though I'd likely have taken my scimitar." She went over to tentatively sit down on the bed beside Rikku, and reached out to pat her arm. That was about as comforting as she knew how to be.

"He was...not well at all. Worrying. He asked me if I'd heard from you, and gave me a fraction of the story. Just that you'd left and Caitlin's name, and that he thought it was the end for you two. I take it that it wasn't."

[the_merriest]

Rikku smiled at Aravis wistfully. "It's ... thanks. I'm ... I'm okay, I just ... wow, for a couple days there, I thought it was the end, too, and all because this girl was nosy and didn't know what was going on anyway. I still kinda ..."

She bit her lip, fidgeting awkwardly. "I f-feel bad. He told them all off and isn't talking to them and ... and we're okay, now, we figured it out, we're ... we're great. We made up and next time I'll talk to him instead of being scared and crazy, I just ... he won't talk to them, and I feel like ... like it's my fault."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Maybe he shouldn't, if this...cow is going to act like that," Aravis replied scornfully.

[the_merriest]

Rikku made a face. "Maybe you're right. And ... and the heck with it. I'm gonna worry about us and ... and she can just kiss off."

She looked over uncertainly. "You, uh, you don't think she's, uh, right, do you? A-about ... beige stuff? Because I ... I'm kinda m-more beige, and ... and I like it," she admitted, almost defiantly.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis snorted. "If you're some sort of tainted woman, I wonder what that makes me," she remarked. "No, she's not right. If you enjoy it, and...it feels right, why should you wait for the approval of someone who matters so little?"

She raised her eyebrows. "So...how much more beige?"

[the_merriest]

"Yeah," she said softly. "It's ... it did feel right. It wasn't ... things just kinda happened, and ..."

Rikku looked at her hands. "You ... you know how they get, uh, oh, gotta get cold water? I said ... I didn't mind if we ... didn't, get ... cold water? A-and then he, uh, he was gonna go, to t-take care of, of things? And he ... uh ... I said that, you know, it'd be ... okay if ... and ... and he, uh ..." She facepalmed. "Hang on."

She flipped through the letter and handed the appropriate page to Aravis. "Second heading."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis, who was getting better at translating Rikku to English, had a good idea before looking at the letter. "Oh my. ...how was it?"

[the_merriest]

"It was ... incredible," she said softly. "I've never ... seen him like that. I felt beautiful and powerful and he ..."

She closed her eyes, blushing more as she smiled. "And then we snuggled in and he was just breathing and ... it was like it wasn't real, that we were just ... that he trusted me like that, and that I ... you know?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"I know," Aravis said softly, coloring slightly and smiling. "That's wonderful."

[the_merriest]

"S-sorry," Rikku said, blushing. "I, uh, I'm just still kinda ... you know? Trying to ... get my mind around it. And ... and tomorrow Mikey's gone all day and I want to do it again and I'm gonna be in his room wearing this skimpy little pink thing and if that makes me a h-hussy then maybe hussies are fun people to be, yeah?"

She noticed Aravis's own blush and grinned. "Ooooooh. You have news? You have news. You so have news. Yeah?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis blushed darker. "I might have news. You're surprising him in a skimpy...pink thing?"

[the_merriest]

"You do. You have awesome news and you don't get to hear about the pink thing unless you tell me." Rikku was bouncing excitedly.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis bit her lip. "We...I...." She laughed. "It's so odd to not have words for something. I almost don't want to say, because right now it's...just ours, but...my sand is...." She shrugged. "Very dark."

[the_merriest]

"If it's ... if it's yours you don't have to," Rikku said softly. "I, uh, you're the first person I ... I mean, I kinda said we'd had a nice morning or whatever, but ... yeah. It seems weird to say out loud, like, it's different, you can't find the words right. Even the page in the letter, it's ... Here Is Something People Do, not ... he breathed and I breathed and it was magic."

She smiled again, eyes dancing. "Are, uh, are we talking really, really dark, like a brownish, or ....... ?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis just smiled. "As dark as can be."

[the_merriest]

"No way," Rikku breathed, and then clapped her hands excitedly. "No way! Are you okay?! What was it like?!? Was it good? Are you okay? Did it, uh, you know? That's so ..."

There was a high-pitched squee sort of noise and a glompy sort of hug.

A quick one, 'cause Aravis wasn't usually the touchy-feely type, but whoa, news this big required one. "Dude."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis was only slightly taken aback by the hug, and carefully patted Rikku on the back. "It was...wonderful," she said, smiling in a way that was not entirely un-dorklike. "Perfect. It just felt like it was time."

[the_merriest]

"Yeah?" She bounced a little. "Whoa. Dude. I mean. Whoa. Yeah? That's ..."

She shook her head. "Was it? I mean. Do you think it was the right time? Did you have the happy snuggleglow of 'yay, now we cuddle and drift to sleep' and that's private, huh? And ..." She blushed a little. "W-was it ... w-were you nervous?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Yes," she said, nodding and beaming. "So was he. But it was just...perfect."

[the_merriest]

"It was ... you got it, then. The moment thing. Where it all comes together and ... remember, we were talking about it?" Rikku smiled. "You ... you had that. That's so awesome."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis looked stricken. "Well, I...suppose I had as close as I ever will," she said slowly. "But, yes. It was wonderful. And I'm happy. And it doesn't hurt, or it didn't for me, if you know about that. And it's terrifying but...worth it."