Buffet de l'Anquitaire, Québec City, Québec, Tuesday Evening

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden had stupidly had the jitters all day Tuesday, thinking of the plan with Cal to have one last paintball dinner while here in Québec. Did it mean something? Something more than friends? Surely he wasn't trying to drop a hint or anything...right?

Which meant that she couldn't help but inwardly (and ruefully) laugh at herself when they ended up deciding to end up at the Buffet de l'Anquitaire. The food looked amazing, don't get her wrong, but the chill diner atmosphere didn't really give off 'confessions of a secret crush' vibes. She was definitely glad she'd stuck with a cute but nothing fancy outfit. This was firmly 'two friends having dinner post-paintball' territory.

Once again proving that the only one harboring a secret crush was Arden. She really needed to stomp that out. She'd been making good progress, but Parents' Weekend had derailed that. But hey, if she could kill a crush during a trip where there was only one bed, then there was probably no bringing it back, right? Of course right. She was just gonna...get on doing that, then.

"Let me guess," she teased, snagging a seat in one of the bright red booths, "you wanna get the hot dog and sausage poutine. And, hey! We'll have to try some of these pies so I can report back to Graham."

Comments

[moreofaponchoguy]

This place might not have been fancy, but that actually made Cal feel a lot more comfortable. The diner atmosphere felt like the inside of the Mantis, and let Cal pretend like this was just a normal dinner between two friends.

"I was actually looking at the cipaille. Look at how many layers that thing has! Just because I like hot dogs doesn't mean I don't have taste," Cal teased. "Pie is always a good idea though, I agree."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Oh no, the diner itself was awesome! Perfect for a normal dinner between two friends! It was Arden's fault for, ever-so-briefly, wondering if it was supposed to be anything else.

Don't worry, Cal. She was working on getting rid of this dumb crush as hard as possible. Just be patient with her a little longer, okay?

"That does look awesome," Arden said. "And the potatoes are so fancy in the picture! I'm thinking of getting the spaghetti. And now Cal, important question."

She closed her menu to look at him, so he would understand the gravity of what she was asking. "Are we sharing?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal snickered for a moment before shutting his menu and giving her an equally serious look. "I don't know. I don't share with just anyone," he said. "But you have good taste, and I know I can trust you... I'm willing to share if you are," he said.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"The country of Finchtopia is willing to enter into sharing negotiations with Calsberg," she said pompously. "So long as our skilled ambassadors are able to come to some kind of fair and equitable arrangements. And we get an order of poutine au smoked meats for the table."

She wondered if her being a total dork contributed to Cal not having a crush on her. Ah well. C'est la vie.

[moreofaponchoguy]

Oh yes, her being a dork was definitely a downside and not making Cal's heart pound harder. "The ambassador is willing to accept your request if a representative from Finchtopia can explain what poutine actually is, because the picture isn't helping and there's too many accents on this menu."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Okay but there are sooooo many accents! And they look at you if you don't get them right" Arden wailed before resuming her fancy ambassadorial voice, like she was one of our hardworking and yet undervalued members of the State Department. "Ah, yes, poutine. A mix of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. There's also some rule about the cheese curds squeaking, but I have yet to figure out what it means."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I'm so glad I'm not the only one getting yelled at. Even with a translator I'm still apparently saying things wrong, and the dirty looks are too much," Cal said with a laugh. "If poutine is French fries and cheese, it can't be that bad, and both parties can figure out the squeaking part together."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It's also a completely different kind of French from Remy's which I know a tiny smattering of," Arden sighed. "So it's not that I know nothing, which is bad, I apparently know only wrong things, which is worse!"

She laughed, face lighting up a bit, because it really was ridiculous. Who stopped somebody to harangue them about their accent?!

"Maybe I'll just go full Southern and make them deal with that on top of my lousy French," she decided, looking through their collection of beverages to figure out what she should order to drink.

[moreofaponchoguy]

"The great nation of Calsberg thinks you should go full Southern whenever you like," Cal said. "If they're going to be cranky, you should butcher their language harder." Glancing at the menu, he lit up a little. "Are we also splitting a milkshake, or is that for pie time?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Suuuuure. The great nation of Narrationstan totally believes that Calsberg's reasoning for supporting Finchtopia's use of the Southern accent was because of the the French. #SureJan

"Hmmm, the proud people of Finchtopia see the wisdom in Calsberg's counsel," she said with another laugh. "And, I mean, we did agree to split everything, which I believe includes milkshakes." Not that Arden's head was full of any cute notions of 50s era milkshake dates. Because that went against her vow to get over Cal as quickly as possible. "Though if we get two, that is two different flavors to share."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Hey, Narrationstan should remember that the French were always fair game for blame, it was what they got for being French.

"If we're going to share two meals, sharing two milkshakes makes just as much sense," Cal agreed. "For as much exploration as possible for our two nations." He didn't need to know the 50s to know that sharing a drink with Arden was a pleasant idea. "This is turning into an even better idea than I planned."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Narrationstan concedes the point.

"You're just excited you get to try double the food," she teased, reaching over to poke him in the forearm. You know. Friendly-like.

Her smile softened slightly. "Planned, huh?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

Oops, there he went saying too much too quickly. "Well, yeah. I mean, I know we only actually scheduled this yesterday, but I've been hoping we'd have a chance to do this for a little while now, since, you know, everything." He didn't want to say since you almost died out loud, because neither of them had to acknowledge that, but he hoped it still came across. "We haven't had much of a chance to hang out as just the two of us. Which is totally fine," he added quickly. "You have a lot of friends and a lot of people looking out for you but... I kind of wanted to have some time away from the rest of our friends, if that makes sense."

It was fine if it didn't make sense, because he was getting a little rambley there.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"No, no, I completely understand," Arden assured him. "Things got...really crazy..." You know, what with the almost dying and all "...and sometimes it's nice just to have a few hours of quiet after all that. Where we don't have to yell to be heard or fight for conversation, right?"

Her finger stopped poking him, slid down to his hand and squeezed. Again, friendly-like. "I'm honestly grateful that you want to hang out more one-on-one. After spending two weeks trapped up on a roof with me, you'd have every reason to want to escape me."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal gave Arden's hand a squeeze, trying to figure out how to say he wouldn't want to escape her without making it sound weird. Thankfully, he was interrupted by the waiter coming over to take their orders, and the attempt to order his food and a vanilla milkshake was probably enough to knock Arden's crush down at least one level. He was so hot stumbling over words and pointing to the menu!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Well, from the mischievous glance she was giving him, it seemed like she'd taken it as a challenge. Because she was absolutely playing up her drawl a bit while ordering, too. She did get points for not pronouncing the 'g' in champignons, but that was entirely thanks to familiarity with Creole cooking.

Also, Cal, if the argument about wearing clothing to bed hadn't killed it off properly, failing to order from a menu probably wasn't going to either.

(But also, goddess, no outside clothes in the bed. Just like no shoes on the bed. How was this confusing for people?)

But soon enough her order with a chocolate milkshake was in and she was turning back to Cal, clearly trying not to laugh at the server's pained expression through that. "You were saying?" she asked, eyes dancing.

[moreofaponchoguy]

There were many things Cal was learning from Arden--shampoo and conditioner should be separate things, clothes didn't all go in the wash together, for the love of everything you have to wash both the top and bottom parts of your body because the soap running down your body wasn't enough--but the concept of outside clothes and inside clothes was still a little new, so he hadn't had much time to buy new inside clothes on the trip (which might not even count because they hadn't been washed?) but there would be time to argue about that later. For now, he was just going to bask in the accent for a moment.

"These folks are going to be so glad when we're gone," he said, snickering. "But as for escaping you, that was never on my mind. Being around you is never a situation of being trapped." Cal took Arden's hand again and gave it a squeeze. "I always like spending time with you, and I hope you feel the same?"

Cal's backpack started vibrating, and he gave it a nudge to encourage BD to stay cool.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Was it BD vibrating or was it his phone reacting to the sudden barrage of texts that were being sent between him and a certain superhero?

Stay cool, Finch. Stay cool. Stay chilly. Stay Arctic. Stay sub-zero. Stay zero Kelvin. Do not get distracted thinking of how many different ways you can think of to tell yourself to stay cool.

She squeezed his hand back. "I do," she said softly. "You've been one of my very favorite people to hang out with since we met. My life's better because you're in it." Shit. Wait. Was that too much? Maybe that was too much. Be cool, Finch. "I know you've got BD and I've got Kamala, but you're still one of my very best and dearest friends."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Okay, so he wasn't in the same category as Kamala, that was a good start.

"Same. I mean, BD's amazing, but I've never had a friend like you before," Cal said, looking hesitant for a second. "That's why I dropped everything to take care of you, because you mean so much to me. Do you... I mean, did I spend too much time with you lately? Did you wish you could escape me?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Of course not!" Arden said, sounding almost indignant, like how dare he suggest something so ridiculous.

And then suddenly looked worried. "I mean, there were times I wanted to pitch you off the roof, but also Kams, and honestly anybody. It wasn't about you at all, it was just me being grumpy and miserable and in pain."

Her brows came together. "Oh Cal," she said softly. "Is that what this is about? Did you catch one of those times and think it was real?" She squeezed his hand again. "We're good, I swear we are. It was just because I was feeling awful, I swear. You and Kams were both perfect."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"No, it wasn't that," Cal said quickly, wincing inwardly at not being able to communicate clearly. "I know you were uncomfortable and tired of having to rely on us, and it's adorable that you thought you could pitch me anywhere in the state you were in." Yes Cal, that was definitely a wise thing to point out right now. "I've just been thinking. A lot. Since your 'family' was here."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden cut her eyes at him for that little comment, it's true.

"I'm going to start working out more, just so I can throw you off a roof," she grumbled. And then stuck her tongue out at him. Because he deserved it.

But then her face settled slightly. "They're not my family," she said. "Grimm and Duke are kinda kin? Because my mom was a djinn? But I don't think they really knew each other. And Callista is legally my guardian, but that doesn't make her family."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"No, I wouldn't consider them your family either. The people in Fandom, on the other hand... they're better for you than anyone in your family could be." Cal trailed off, giving her hand another squeeze. "That's why I didn't go back with Cere and Greez."

Then, before he could stop himself, he said, "You're why I didn't go back with Cere and Greez."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden looked surprised again. And then softened again, this time looking guilty. "Because you were so worried," she guessed. "You didn't want to leave without knowing if I'd be okay. Oh, Cal, I'm sorry."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Well, yeah, of course I was worried. You almost died, and there was nothing I could do to help," Cal said. "And I couldn't heal you, and I couldn't go after Callista, and--"

He stopped as their waiter awkwardly came over with the milkshakes and then quickly departed, and BD-1 peeked out of the backpack to nudge him. "Keep. Going."

"I've been thinking about things I maybe shouldn't have waited to say until I nearly didn't get a chance to say them."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden had tucked her straw into her glass, and had taken a long sip of her chocolate shake when Cal started talking again. And inhaled wrong, trying not to cough as the mouthful of ice cream went down the wrong pipe.

Be cool, Finch. Be chilly. It's not what it sounds like. Like how this isn't a date. This is something else. Maybe a friend thing? Like a thank you? Yeah. Probably like a thank you. Be cool.

"O-oh?" she asked, still fighting down the cough. "Like what?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal was suddenly terrified that he was going about this all wrong. If she knew what he was going to say and looked nervous, maybe he was going to mess everything up while they still had multiple days together and had to sleep in the same room. Maybe Anakin would let him switch rooms? Maybe he could sleep in the hallway?

Or maybe she had no idea what he was going to say and he was going to take her totally by surprise and she'd hate him for even thinking about liking her as more than a friend and he'd still end up in the hallway.

He'd probably been quiet for too long because BD nudged him again. "Like how much I like you. Which is a lot." Boy, was that milkshake interesting.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

STAY COOL, FINCH.

"You mean like...because we're good friends?" Arden asked, because he couldn't be saying what it sounded like. He couldn't. "Because I like you, too. A lot."

So much. Just so very much.

"More than I should."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal's shoulders sagged like a huge weight was lifted as he broke into a grin. "I like you more than I should too. I mean, I like you a lot," he said quickly, so it didn't sound like something inherently bad, because he was really hoping it wasn't. Force lightning hadn't struck him yet, at least!

"Like, more than a friend. Which is weird, and new, and I have no idea what I'm doing. But when I thought you might not wake up... I don't want to ruin our friendship, because being friends with you is amazing. But the longer I go not telling you how I feel, the more I feel like I'm lying. Does that make sense?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden was sputtering now, eyes wide. "Wait. What? Wait. What? I thought--you didn't--you like people?! I didn't think you like people--like that. Wait."

She was trying to settle her brain down, but even so she couldn't stop smiling.

"Are you serious? You...like me? Because, like. I've had a crush on you almost from the beginning. And I've been trying to fight it down, because I didn't think that you liked people like that. And I didn't want to ruin our friendship and make you uncomfortable or go against your Code."

A beat.

"Oh no, your Code. Did I...how are you...what do you mean? Like...how do you..."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I wish I had a solid answer for that. I had a talk with Cere and I still need to think about it but... the Order is gone. The Code is guidelines for an Order that doesn't exist anymore, and I don't think following the same rules will help us get an Order back that can withstand the Empire. I don't know how I'm supposed to care about what happens to others without caring about them as people." Cere's words had been ringing in his head for weeks now--what was the point of saving the galaxy if it wasn't filled with people they cared about.

"Like I said, I have no idea what I'm doing. But I know I care about you, a lot, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather figure this stuff out with than you." His own rambling aside, something finally clicked for Cal. "Wait, you've had a crush on me? The whole time?"

It was a good thing he was cute.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden just looked at him for a few heartbeats. And then buried her face in her hands. "Yes," she groaned. "Like. The whole time. It's been very, very obvious, I'm pretty sure. Why do you think I blamed myself when we got the hallucination? Because it was my fault! Why else would we think we were getting married--" Her face flushed again "--except my crush on you?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Because the island is mean and keeps making you be attached to me even though we're only friends and you'd never want more than that because I have no experience dating and you could be with someone who knows what they're doing instead?"

It made sense at the time!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Now she was just giving him that look that she gave him sometimes, like when he tried explaining that washcloths weren't important.

"How much experience dating do you think I have?" she asked. "Goddess, Cal! I don't care about any of that! I've been half in love with you from the get-go and stressing out because there was no way to do that without hurting you and forcing you to do something that you don't want, because you don't like people like that, or...didn't like me like that...or...you don't like things like...kissing or...stuff. I mean! Not saying that that's a thing that has to happen! We're not agreeing to anything or anything! But just...I didn't think...you wanted anything like that. Or would allow it. Because of the Code...Anyway, it wasn't because I was saving it for somebody who knew 'what they were doing.'"

She rolled her eyes at him, suddenly realized she'd said the words 'half-in-love-with' and started trying to calculate the distance between the diner and the sea.

[moreofaponchoguy]

It was a good thing Cal hadn't let go of her hand so he could keep her from flinging herself into the sea, because there was no reason for that when this was clearly his fault.

"I didn't tell you about the Code to make it seem like we couldn't be more than friends. Or maybe I was trying to protect myself," he admitted. "My intention was never to push you away or stress you out. I was so busy stressing out about my own feelings that I never considered you might have worries too. I'm so sorry." He laughed softly at the idea that he didn't like people at all. "I like people and I like kissing, I think. I don't know what it's okay to feel, to be honest. I've been too afraid of myself to think about it too hard."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

It was very rude of him to not allow her to go walking into the sea, but the handholding was pretty great and it meant he wasn't recoiling away from her and calling her clingy and emotionally unbalanced or something, which also helped.

"If it helps, I never thought you were trying to push me away or make me back off? I just thought I was being a really bad friend for continuing to have a crush on you when you'd - I thought anyway - made it clear that that kinda stuff was something you weren't interested in or allowed to do. Like if someone kept trying to get me to eat wings after I told them I didn't eat chicken, you know? I just...never wanted to pressure you or make you feel uncomfortable or even make you doubt that your Code was a good thing for you, or whatever."

She might have a lot of questions and reservations about the Order, but that was different than respecting that he'd chosen to hold to the Code.

"But, um. You said you like kissing?" She has to clear her throat there a second. No reason. "That's interesting--wait, you've been kissing people?"

Wait no! That sounded bad! "You don't have to answer that!" she said quickly. "Like, you're a free person, you can be kissing people and it's not my business...I just was surprised and curious, not like... demanding you explain yourself."

The tables near them didn't need to be wiped down, but this was way too interesting to not eavesdrop on, or so thought several of the waitstaff.

[moreofaponchoguy]

Honestly, Cal couldn't blame them, he would have listened to the tea as well if he was them.

"I think I like kissing. You're the only person I've kissed, and I liked that, so either I like it, or I just like kissing you." Ignore the way his stomach twisted at that attempt to be smooth. That sounded smooth in his head, at least?

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Almost made up for the terrible French!

"Oh." Again, Arden looked down, flushing slightly. And trying not to smile. "You're also the only person I've kissed, so, umm...same. With you know. Liking it. Or liking it with you."

Wow, Arden, way to make Cal Kestis look smooth.

"So..." She peeked up at him again. "We've admitted we like each other as more than friends, but that doesn't have to mean anything. Like, you said this was new, and you're still figuring things out, and that's okay. Were you mostly just telling me because you didn't wanna feel like you were lying still, or...?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Well, I wanted to tell you because not telling you has been awful. And I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't tell you," he said. "But if we both like each other as more than friends, that has to mean something, right? Unless you don't want it to."

There was some distraught beeping coming from under the table, because how could Cal come so far and still fall short?

"Would you like to be more than friends with me?" Cal asked.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It doesn't have do," Arden said, firmly. "We could just agree that we'd rather stay friends the way we are. I don't...like? The idea that it's something that has to happen, like...automatically? Or because there are weird rules about it?" He could probably guess where some of that came from. "I want to be more than friends with you. But because we're both choosing to do that, not because we feel like we have to? Does that make sense?"

She squeezed his hand. "But also? I'd understand if you're not sure? Or you wanted to go slow? Cause like you said you're still trying to figure things out. And I don't want you to feel pressured to do something because you think it's what I want or the expectation is there for something specific?" She bit her lip. "Can I ask possibly a bad question?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I think that all makes sense," Cal said. "And yeah, you can ask me anything. I know I kinda threw a lot at you with no warning here." Once the words started falling out, it was hard to make them stop.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"You said it was new," she said softly, "from when I got hurt. Are you sure that it's not because you were just...scared to lost me? I really like you, and I just...I don't want you to question your whole world view and everything because it was one thing, but you thought it was another."

Look, she had a lot of experience of people saying they wanted her and then changing their minds and...

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Ooh. No," Cal said, short and simple. "My feelings aren't new. My feelings have been here for a while. What's new is my willingness to admit it, both to you and to myself. You're not the only one who's been worried that this is wrong. I've been so worried about hurting you, or asking for too much, but after everything that happened I wanted to make sure you knew how important you are to me."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I don't think this is wrong," she said softly. "I worry that you might. I don't want to put you in a position to regret anything. I care too much about you for that, you know? But if it were just me...I don't think it's wrong at all. I would--" Goddess, her face was practically on fire. "However we could be together, I'd be happy. But like. I really liked kissing you."

So about walking into the sea...

[moreofaponchoguy]

Okay, but like, how could she walk into the sea if Cal was kissing her? Which is what was happening as he leaned across the table because really, it was a miracle he'd held off this long.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

He felt her startle briefly and then she was kissing him back, hand sliding to the back of his head to hold him close.

This was much better than walking into the sea.

[moreofaponchoguy]

BD-1 had some pretty amazing days in his life - meeting Cal, getting his memories back, getting his first upgrades - but watching his two favorite idiots finally kiss for real was going to rank up there pretty well.

Cal kept going until he needed some air, his cheeks turning as red as his hair. "I... yeah, I still like that. That's really nice," he said. "No regrets here."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden's eyes slowly opened, a dreamy smile on her face. "Yeah. That's a thing I'd like to keep doing. If you would, I mean. I don't mean right now--" But not also not not now, her expression suggested. "--but in general."

[moreofaponchoguy]

Cal definitely thought about going in for another kiss, but the waiter came over with their food, looking almost embarrassed for interrupting. "I'd like to keep doing it too. Whatever this ends up being, I think we can figure it out together."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden also looked embarrassed. Sorry, waitstaff, but also you're welcome for the show.

"...Is this gonna make our rooming situation awkward?" Look, she had to ask.

[moreofaponchoguy]

"No more awkward than it's already been with us feeling these feelings and just not saying them out loud," Cal pointed out. "Maybe we can get the pillow wall to work, we'll see."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Look at you, ever the optimist," Arden snickered, since it hadn't worked yet.

Though whether it was something about them or a tiny droid stealing the pillows in the night, who could say?

"Is there anything else that you think we should do different?" she asked. "I have no experience with this and you don't, so it's kinda like you said, we're gonna make it up as we go along. But other than kissing and admitting that we have feelings more than friendship, I don't really know what separates being together from just how we've always been."

A pause.

"Okay, also I get to be stupid about your arms in front of you now. That's a change."

Another change? Arden was pushing her plate and milkshake over to his side of the table. Not to share, but because she was getting up to slide into the booth next to him. This seemed like an excellent time for some non-platonic cuddling.

[moreofaponchoguy]

Pushing the plate first instead of moving and then pulling the plate over was a mistake, because Cal was getting a full bite of that spaghetti before she sat down. "You like my arms?" he said. "Does this mean I get to be stupid about how you look in dresses?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Please. There was no way that Arden thought Cal 'I'll Remember To Ask You If You Want Something A Good 10 Seconds After I Say I'm Getting Food' Kestis wasn't going to take bites of her spaghetti. She'd met him. It was possible they would have had this talk sooner if she'd just started using fry oil as a perfume.

She was just going to huff a laugh, shake her head, and then lean against him anyway.

"You have very good arms," she told him, and then added, "They make me want to bite them." No she would not be explaining. "Kamala makes fun of me because I forget where I am in sentences sometimes when you're in a tanktop."

Very good arms.

"...You get stupid about how I look in dresses?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"I'm assuming the biting is a compliment?" Cal asked. "And not hurting me for taking too long to be honest with you?"

Was he going to be freezing in the fall weather when they got back to the island? Yes, but it would be worth it.

"You just always look so beautiful and fancy, and then you put on a dress and you get even fancier. Also, dresses make your butt look nice." He smirked as he took a sip of his milkshake, because getting to say these things out loud instead of just to BD was amazing.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Don't bother with sleeves sometime and you'll find out," Arden sassed. With a fair bit of drawl.

And then she was staring at him, open-mouthed, before bursting out laughing. "Oh goddess," she said. "I've been arguing with Kamala for months that I was pretty sure you were aro or ace or just not into me...and now I find out you've been checking out my ass this whole time?"

She tossed her head, curls bouncing. "My butt always looks nice. I've got a great butt. Dresses just makes it look better."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"In my defense, you can't see me looking at your butt because it's behind you," Cal said. "Also, if I ever got caught looking at someone in an inappropriate way, Master Tapal would have my head, so I know not to get caught. I'll have to get some more tanktops, just in time for winter."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I mean, it's warm in Midnight," Arden pointed out. "Also, a tank top and sweatpants make for perfectly good pjs, so long as you don't wear them outside."

That was basically her pajama sets, though hers were jersey sleep shorts and tank tops. Though surely Cal hadn't noticed her pjs and certainly not how short they were.

"Well now, at least, it's not the action that's inappropriate, just potentially our location," she teased, since he probably shouldn't be (obviously) checking out her butt in class or whatever. "But you gotta tell me when you do so I feel good about it." She gave it another moment of thought. "Does this mean you actually noticed me in bikinis?"

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Oh, absolutely," Cal said. "The skin and the fabric just..." He made little pinching motions, lacking the words to describe how tight, tiny clothing was just perfect for her. "Beach parties are fun but I've been dying a little on the inside keeping everything to myself."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"You never gave a single sign," Arden accused, though considering she was leaning against him now, she probably wasn't terribly angry. "So...it seemed really obvious that you weren't interested in me at all. I was prancing around in bikinis and you reacted like I was wearing a full-body burlap sack."

[moreofaponchoguy]

"Isn't that rude though? Staring at women's bodies and objectifying them?" Cal didn't spend a lot of time on the internet, but his algorithms had picked up that he was a green flag guy, so his view of Earth's culture was skewed in that direction. "Guys shouldn't be staring or whistling or ogling you even if you're nearly naked."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Well...true," Arden said, stumbling a bit. "But like...there's a difference between ogling and appreciation! Like...objectifying literally means making someone into a thing right? If you ever made me feel like not a person, like a things because I was in a bikini, that would be bad. Subtracting the stuff that makes me me and only caring about the parts of me that you want to use is bad." She looked up at him. "But I don't think you'll ever do that."