perfectmatch | week two

[she doesn't have to clarify for him to know what kind of cookies they were!!]

[a slight grin should be all the answer she needs]

I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. He really was paying attention.

[ Their matching sets!!! ]

His manner was much the same as last week, outside of the addition. Though I don't mind it.

[ No more than she minds Edamura's, after all. ]

Did he call your week "eventful"? Or was I the only one to be complimented so?

[. . . a small puff!!]

He's way too smug.

[but he does not say that unkindly. maybe he too is warming up a bit to WWX now that he is settling into the show better]

He didn't call my week "eventful," but he did ask if I was feeling more grounded.

And are you?

[ He seems like it, but. ]

[. . . evenly]

Yeah. I am.

[the host pours the now tempered water into a small pot, before closing it with a lid to allow the leaves to steep properly. it smells quite nice!]

And what about you? How're you feeling after last week?

[ It does...! Nothing like steeping tea. ]

Evented.

[ From the eventful. ]

What is your opinion on those certain of their match?

[oh. . . ? a curious tilt of his head]

Are you asking me if I think they're right or not?

Yes and no. You may answer as to if you think them right, but I am more interested in your thoughts on their certainty.

[ The people who are certain, that is. ]

... Or, more precisely, how they can be as confident as they are give what little time we all have spent together. Even if I thought one could be my match, for example, I would rate it no higher than a 20%.

[. . . . . . . . oh]

[he immediately lapses into silence, neutrality washing over his features as he watches the pot where their tea steeps. the host picks up the pot a few moments later, pouring the piping hot liquid into two cups for them to enjoy]

[. . .]

[a breath. the moment of distance ends. he pulls up a wry smile]

I think some people are just more in tune with that kind of thing than others.

[fingers curl around his hot cup of tea while he waits for it to cool]

Maybe they can just sense something we can't?

... Perhaps.

[ Reluctant as she is to admit, watching him carefully. She's quiet a moment. Considering something. And then lifting her own cup not to drink, but simply to breathe in the fragrance, exhaling. ]

I presume I was not your first choice.

[ There's no offense in it, just something factual. ]

[ah. . . Edamura watches as she lifts her cup from the corners of his vision, before he too raises his, held in his right hand with left supporting the bottom. proper tea etiquette!]

No. [says that with a smile, something contrite on the edges] I wasn't yours either, was I?

[though if she asked him if he minded the way things ended up. . . he'd say no to that, too. he doesn't have much faith that they're a match-- by the production's standards, not any other standards-- but. . . she makes a good partner in all the ways that matter to him right now]

[ And she feels the same, really. He's fine for conversation and company, but she could hardly see him a match... at least, not compared to some of the others she has flicked through mind. Perhaps that will change. ]

Fourth, if anything. I was trying to avoid picking those within our team, since it is far more likely that ours lies outside it.

[ Not impossible for it to be within, but more likely to be outside. Probably. ]

Maya?

[a tiny!! smile!!]

Maya or Ieiri-san.

[and then he takes a slow sip of his tea, letting out a tiny exhale when he is done allowing the flavors to wash over his tongue]

. . . Maya's kind and determined, but she doesn't really take any lip from anyone else. And Ieiri-san is pretty cool. She checked in on me the other night, too. And we commiserated.

[over being BROKEN INDIVIDUALS]

I don't really mind that other people chose them first, though. [he means that genuinely; it didn't bother him in the slightest] . . . they just left the strongest first impression on me. That's all.

... I understand. Of those I listed to her, she and... Nicodème, I felt, suited what I believed best, at least of the other team. More on ours do as well.

[ Unfortunately. Grouped with the people she would have chosen given the chance. But she didn't even get a chance. ]

Both she and Shoko are fine company. Do you still want to kiss her?

[ It was that he wouldn't mind if the bottle landed on her not that he wanted the bottle to land on her, but Odile's wording it this way as she takes a slow sip of her own tea. ]

[. . . he sees what you're doing here, Odile!!!! contrary to what may be expected, he doesn't fluster; instead, he gives her a knowing side-eye and takes another slow sip of his tea]

You never told me who you wouldn't have minded kissing that night, Odile-san. That seems pretty unfair.

[he's wounded! hurt!!! (he didn't ask)]

You didn't ask.

[ Not that she would have answered, but still! He seems to have gotten an idea of her, which... is odd, but not uncomfortable. Not yet.

... Please wait while she either judges the kissability of their peers or just puts off answering. The tea is very good, very relaxing, though she wishes it was shochu now. ]

I suppose... I would not have minded if it had landed on... Verso.

[ He "looks good for his age" which indicates he's at least older than like, mostly everyone else, and so she isn't a cradle robber,

and other reasons. ]

[yeah this is the kind of conversation one has after a few hearty drinks, isn't it?]

Ruggedly handsome Verso-san. [nods in approval] I can see the appeal. He's nice to look at, but there's a lot more to him than that.

[an alluring depth that Odile herself had spoken of, back when she was giving her opinion on Nico and Verso as a match. even Edamura would admit to being taken in by it]

Indeed there is. A shame he's likely to find himself in the booth this week, and then departing soon after should our thoughts be confirmed. I would have liked to know him better.

[ ... Truly a shame, about them both...

She takes another sip, then sets the tea down with a flippant tone. ]

That aside, I have never kissed a man with facial hair, and so I find myself curious to its feel.

Hey now. . .

[he places his cup down and turns to face her, one hand curled into a fistpump]

Don't say it like that! We don't know for sure they're a match, so he might stick around for a while yet, you know? And even if they are, who says that's the end of things? Even if his heart does lie somewhere else, you'll still have the opportunity to get to know him as a person. As a friend! Isn't that just as good?

[DETERMINED. . . ENCOURAGEMENT?]

[. . .]

. . . and that's such a weirdly specific curiosity.

[says the man who also has not kissed a man with facial hair and keeps himself meticulously clean shaven]

[ No, sorry, hold on. ]

Are you implying something of me by speaking of his heart, Edamura?

No. . . not even a little bit.

[frowns!! he would never]

You sounded so defeated, so I'm just encouraging you to go for it. Shoot your shot! Whether he has found his match or not.

[in the case of the latter he just cannot encourage home-wrecking. . . (man who doesn't know poly exists)]

[ Edamura, every one of those words sound--

She shakes her head. ]

I plan to learn about him the same as any other. [ No "shooting shots" here!!!!!!! ] Have you taken a job as a journalist before, Edamura?

[let him be her biggest hype man 8(]

Good. [getting to know him is, in a way, shooting a shot, right??]

And no. . . I haven't. Why?

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