afraid_of_marshmallows: Nathalie Emmanuel (Eating - Smile)
[personal profile] 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."

Date: 2024-10-22 07:33 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] embarrassed)
From: [personal profile] 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!

Date: 2024-10-22 08:40 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] scar smile)
From: [personal profile] 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.

Date: 2024-10-22 11:07 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] embarrassed)
From: [personal profile] 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?"

Date: 2024-10-23 12:10 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: (Default)
From: [personal profile] 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."

Date: 2024-10-23 12:42 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] embarrassed)
From: [personal profile] 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."

Date: 2024-10-23 01:20 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([neg] sad boy is sad)
From: [personal profile] 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."

Date: 2024-10-23 01:55 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] listening hopeful)
From: [personal profile] 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.

Date: 2024-10-23 02:14 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([neg] pleading)
From: [personal profile] 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?"

Date: 2024-10-23 03:04 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] big smile)
From: [personal profile] 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.

Date: 2024-10-23 03:24 am (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([neu] confused)
From: [personal profile] 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!

Date: 2024-10-23 12:49 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] embarrassed)
From: [personal profile] 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."

Date: 2024-10-23 05:35 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] pleased)
From: [personal profile] 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?

Date: 2024-10-23 06:30 pm (UTC)
moreofaponchoguy: ([pos] embarrassed)
From: [personal profile] 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.

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