If that's not familiar. Maelle feels like all she does lately is worry, mostly about Gustave, thinking he'll disappear when she's not looking or Renoir will do something or any other number of terrible things. It's so difficult to be away from him. It hurts.
“I do worry,” she says. Probably far less than she probably should, but she hasn’t overcorrected, either. Mostly. “I just know how to soothe myself now, so it doesn’t make me spiral or panic or act out.”
"What's that like?" Maelle jokes, squeezing her. A dry joke. Sciel is admirable. One day, maybe Maelle will have her head better on her shoulders, or at least not feel like she's constantly drowning in worry.
“So peaceful,” she says, and guessing what Maelle is angling at: “You’ll get there someday. I’m sure you can already see the difference between yourself now and when you were a little girl.”
"Thanks to Gustave," she's quick to supply. "And likely more thanks to Gustave, moving forward. I don't think I'd see a positive difference if not for him."
"Most of the credit. I did some of it, definitely." Gustave and his patience. Maelle, as far as she's concerned, simply lucked out with someone who didn't get easily overwhelmed by her oddities.
“Oh, you’re all my favourites for different reasons.” She exhales comfortably, leaning her cheek into the wild tangle of Maelle’s bangs. The longer she sits, the more worn down she feels. “You’re my favourite for cuddling.”
"She and I are a contradiction," she murmurs. "We are so different in so many ways... but so perfectly that we can move together without even thinking. Like two people in a mirror."
"Your favorite... most painful drinking buddy," Maelle says, a laugh in her voice. Getting drunk now and then is needed, she supposes. "Maybe Lune will want to get drunk with you when we get you to her. She can be your drunken contradiction."
"I would so love to get to know Lune when she's drunk better." She can't wait, honestly. Sounds like it could be a lot of fun. "And I think she needs to unwind with it, too."
"Yeah? Well, should you all decide to get drunk when we're back at the apartment, please keep the noise down. Some of us are respectable and try to sleep at a normal time," she jokes. More like the teenage girl has a bedtime she's typically made to adhere to so that she doesn't sleep in past noon.
They will most certainly be getting drunk at the apartment at least semi-regularly, but Sciel doesn't particularly feel like making that thought a guarantee just now.
"Oh, you need your beauty sleep, I completely understand," she says, and she pulls off Maelle a little just to look at her, a curve to her mouth despite her sad eyes. "We'll be responsible adults, I promise you."
"Responsible adults that didn't drain Esquie dry before we faced the Paintress," she says, and she hopes it's an unspoken rule that Gustave never hears about that.
"I'm still sad you missed Gustave getting sprayed," she says. Truly. "He's the better target, anyway. Less likely to get mad and less likely to use the elements on us."
She sways Sciel back and forth a little as she thinks.
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"Now it's like you don't worry at all."
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“Don’t give him all the credit. You did plenty.”
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Sober cuddling, anyway, but that’s different.
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"I'll take it," she says after her deliberation. "What's Lune your favorite for?"
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"She and I are a contradiction," she murmurs. "We are so different in so many ways... but so perfectly that we can move together without even thinking. Like two people in a mirror."
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When she thinks about it, Gustave feels like the perfect balance of Sciel's optimism and Lune's smarts.
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"Gustave is my favourite to get drunk with," she says. "And for the most painful conversations that still manage to end with both of us smiling."
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"Oh, you need your beauty sleep, I completely understand," she says, and she pulls off Maelle a little just to look at her, a curve to her mouth despite her sad eyes. "We'll be responsible adults, I promise you."
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"Responsible adults that didn't drain Esquie dry before we faced the Paintress," she says, and she hopes it's an unspoken rule that Gustave never hears about that.
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"I have no idea what you're talking about."
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"That's why you're my favorite partner in crime."
So what if that centers on bullying Gustave?
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"I'm still sad you missed Gustave getting sprayed," she says. Truly. "He's the better target, anyway. Less likely to get mad and less likely to use the elements on us."
She sways Sciel back and forth a little as she thinks.
"He might not expect the same trick twice..."
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