perfectmatch | week two

Naturally. He and I will be enjoying tea together. I only wished to know for nosy old biddy reasons.

[ Edamura is her nephew now, in spirit, she's going to get into his shit. ]

I'm going out with a bunch of people. Makoto's a lot of fun, but I can't really say I'm prepared to sweep him off his feet or anything like that.

[ Aunt Odile, please. ]

[ Niece Maya, please. ]

Has anyone managed to sweep you off yours?

Not yet!

[ HELPFUL. ]

I wonder if this is how the older ladies in my neighborhood felt every time I disappointed them with news of my lacking love life. In other words, good. Let no one do so.

[ After all! It's not like she's planning on letting herself be swept away either! They do the sweeping here, Maya's right. ]

Outside of our own boring circumstances, have you caught word of any potential flames to fan?

Well, there's the...

[ Kind of a hand flap. ]

Nico-Verso-Aventurine thing. Have you noticed that?

[ Of course she's noticed. It's been best seen from afar, after all, and Odile fondues up a short line of bread cubes before she responds. ]

... It would be hard not to. They're quite... open about it. [ The pause is deliberate, and she waves her hand. ] In part because Nicodème is a man open with his affections even towards those he considers friends, and Aventurine can work with a spotlight. I wonder if either can make him show his hand.

[ Because Aventurine very much does not, and his nature reminds her of Siffrin. Better if he lets others in, but she understands the hesitance to. ]

I think it's possible. He just has to know that he's safe with them.

[ Which.

Understandably hard to do. ]

[ Looking at Odile's thread with Aventurine and laughs. ]

He is a master of half-cover, Maya. But if no one else-- those two, perhaps, without transaction. I rather like Aventurine myself.

[ She's got actual praise for him and insults Edamura, yeah. ]

What do you like about him?

[ A very sincere question. ]

[ ... A thoughtful hum, picking at the meat. ]

He... may be hiding much, but that does not make him dishonest. We've been rather open with one another in fact -- within reason, mind. No prying, no pushing, only exchanging one honest answer for another. I have yet to be dissatisfied with what he offers in return for my own.

[ That's important, to her. That it feels equal. Because she... is not good, with being open. Having someone who is the same, who understands that and replies in the same measure, is no small relief. He does not ask for what he isn't ready to give himself. ]

Aventurine reminds me of one of my companions, in fact. They're both flashy young fellows, [ with names not their own, with homes they can never return to, with families they shall never see again, ] but where they differ is the limelight. My companion shys from attention, while Aventurine redirects it. I find it intriguing to see in action, both in playing along and observing where and with whom he lets himself fault.

It's really interesting, isn't it? The moments of consideration where he lets himself reveal a little more and the moments he... it's like you said. Like redirecting a beam of light to illuminate something else entirely.

It feels like we've got a good mix of people who are open and those who require a little more time and care.

[ And they're all good dogs, Brent. ]

... Yes, we do, but that makes it all the harder.

[ Pairing them off appropriately. ]

Especially as you are one of those that aren't as open as you seem, Maya.

Well?

[ She tilts her head, dunking in more bread. ]

Ask me what you want, then.

Have you always been so positive, or do you need to be positive?

[ Positivity or bust, after all. And she has plenty of both. ]

Mm.

[ Good question. ]

I think I was always a pretty cheerful kid, but it was my dad who didn't want me to cry when he left to cover a war. I think after that, I sort of developed the mindset that I should always be smiling. It became easier to find the bright spots in anything, after that.

You don't neglect the rest of your emotions, do you? Pain and sadness are as much of us as the rest, and a sun that always shines bleaches that which it warms.

[ It isn't good, is what she means. ]

...

[ A sigh. ]

I told our final boss of sorts that I was very sad. Does that help?

[ Their final boss "of sorts"...? ]

Speaking manifests, so yes. It does. And have you sought to remedy your sadness, or simply cover it up so no one worries?

[ ... Listen, she knows from experience. Her tone says as much. She has two at home the same way. ]

Both. I hate to admit it, but it's not the easiest habit to break.

[ Even for a determinator like Maya. ]

No, it's not.

[ It's easier just to do what one's always done after all, especially if it works. Even if it isn't good for you. ]

You said your father left to cover a war. Is he why you became a journalist?

Partly. Mostly. I did end up following in his footsteps... I wonder what he'd think.

[ About his kid following him in that same line of work. About her reasons. ]

[ Hmm. So she doesn't know, whether by distance or... ]

You don't think he'd be proud of you?

He died when I was a little kid. So no. No idea.

[ Yes, indeed. The other "or". ]

Hm. It's certainly hard to say then, even imagining.

[ But they can hope he would. ]

I for one think it nice you did. It feels... as if you're carrying his spirit with you, in a way.

week two | dates

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