She said that she warded the store and if a man in a suit comes by and asks for her to stay inside. She seemed pretty rattled, so I didn't want to press for details. Maybe she'll tell you more if you ask.
No, Blue, you already know that I'd prefer to be around you pretty much all of the time.
( maybe she shouldn't be so surprised, after she's worked so hard to get exactly this response. but part of her was starting to worry that she wouldn't be able to convince henry at all — she'd told ronan about her unsuccessful efforts for a reason, after all.
but it works. 'you have me', he says, and she's...happy. more so than she'd expected, really. )
If I'm very annoying to live with, I'm sorry. I honestly don't know, I've never been in a house with less than....at least 6 people usually, until now.
It's not because I'm no match for you and Lynch teaming up on me. I'm just choosing my battles.
[ that sounds perfectly believable. ]
I haven't either for a while, actually- you've seen it. You can't possibly be a worse roommate than Sicksteve. I can be neater than that though, I promise.
Jeez Sargent. Not even together and you're already asking for a prenup? Is there anything that seems standard? Not being able to travel freely is annoying and... I don't want you actually responsible for supporting me, even though I would make an excellent trophy husband.
( she should ask him, really. ronan seems to think that they're...dating, and she should ask, before they commit to whatever this is.
naturally, she doesn't ask. )
I wouldn't let you sign anything if you didn't have to, to stay. The whole thing is disgusting, you shouldn't have to ask anyone for things like this. Spending your own money? It's horrendous.
Yes. But we're being pragmatic right now, are we not?
[ if henry spends too long thinking about how awful the entire system is, he won't be able to stay objective enough to make sure they don't miss anything. and if he were dwelling on his feelings that would make the rest of this much more complicated. ]
And of course it should allow for... seeing other people.
[ he can accept that blue wants him nearby, but he has no delusions that wanting him around and... wanting him were the same thing. ]
( its hardly shocking that blue despises the whole system, but there's a personal level of loathing that she saves specifically for the fact that it's forced henry into this situation. that it's forced her to be making these decisions at all.
exclusivity is another thing entirely, something she's maybe pointedly not thought about before now. quota looms ever large and blue continues to ignore it, but she reads his message a few times and feels-
complicated. very complicated indeed. )
Of course. I wouldn't expect you to, you know. Any of that.
( there's a delay, where the typing bubble appears and disappears a number of times, before she sends something else. )
[ henry stares at his screen, chewing lightly at his lip and grateful that this conversation is happening over text rather than in person. since it must happen at all.
it's one of the reasons he was hesitant to agree to contract with her in the first place. if he fails to- to meet the city's expectations, would it force consequences onto her? is that something they can avoid if outlined ahead of time?
he can honestly say this is a subject he never anticipated coming up between them. he tries typing a few things - not to worry, that he can figure something out - but in the end he figures he should just. answer her question. ]
( she has, of course, something resembling a lecture lined up. and a rant, but neither of them are particularly helpful. she can't very well tell henry to get a move on when she's practically doing everything that she can to avoid it just as much.
blue would very much like to not have this conversation at all, because sticking her head in the sand has worked out very well for her so far. but it's easier, to worry about henry's consequences than consider her own. )
I've been talking to someone, who missed the requirements. They explained what happens afterwards, not the way Noah and the guys do. Not freaking out, just like the facts.
[ yeah. scaring her is exactly what he was afraid of.
he would never let anything like that, whatever it was, happen on purpose. he could easily tell her that he has it under control, but that would be a lie. she'd probably know it was a lie, considering she's one of the only people he's ever remarked about his sexuality to at all.
but something else sticks out to him and he's definitely going to use that as a detour from the topic if he can get away with it. ]
...who's Noah?
[ she types the name like it should be obvious, but he's drawing a blank. ]
( it makes sense that he doesn't know noah, once she actually thinks about it. it's just that the idea is unthinkable that they're any less than a complete unit, until his confusion brings that to startling attention.
it's a very effective diversion, because she immediately needs to rectify that. )
Noah Czerny. He's our friend, it's...complicated. But he's fantastic, you should meet him. I think you would get along pretty well.
Like I said, it's complicated. But yes, we're friends.
( its a long and involved story, and honestly blue isn't sure how much of it is even hers to tell. she's very sure that they have to meet, though. have to be friends, actually. anything less just...doesn't make sense. they're all a package deal, now. )
Maybe when we get you up here, he could come around? It's not like we can sit around watching movies, but I'm sure we could find something fun for us all to do.
[ well. henry supposes it's not the strangest thing that has happened, they do have a mutual friend who has so far died twice. that's not what bothers him.
why didn't he know about this? true, it's not really business related, but it was still sort of his job to know. and he doesn't even have the excuse of declan hiding it on purpose, as far as he knows. ]
Oh. Yes of course. And by "something fun for us all to do" you mean... board games or...
[ after all, movies are already off the table and considering the topic of conversation they were previously talking around... he had to ask, right? ]
she reads her message again, reads his again, reads her previous ones, and his. again.
two weeks and a whole sex city kidnapping ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about the comment. a little crass for her usual style maybe, but flippant enough to fit in well with her usual retorts. now...who knows. )
That was a joke. I meant dinner or board games or something. Maybe poking fun at the weird TV shows they have here if we really run out of things to do.
[ henry types "haha" and then deletes it. his face is embarrassingly warm. he knew that. he knows that. the whole point of texting was to make it not awkward. great job, cheng. he rolls his eyes at himself. ]
Disappointing, Aquamarine. Threesome with a zombie could have been on my bucket list, you don't know.
Also... I can't really cook so I hope that's not part of the deal.
I'll reserve judgement until you tell me if the bucket list was written before or after you got here.
( the beauty of not having a phone is that you can't reread messages until you've dissected every shred of meaning out of them. maybe blue should tell everyone it's broken — a conversation like this would have played out very differently in person. but it would be weird to backtrack so significantly now, when they're talking about dinner plans.
but she wants to ask. she wants to know if he meant 'no' here or 'no' ever. she wants to know if 'disappointing' is a joke, too. she wants to know if ronan is right about them.
this is going to kill her. )
I can cook. Well, I can make some meals. Well, I can make two meals, but they're very edible from what I remember. How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Why don't you come and stay up here for a few days? You're allowed to do that.
If you hate it I'm not going to force you to stay.
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It's not... I'm not going to hate it.
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It seems a little bit like you think you're going to hate it.
Someone less self-assured might start taking it personally.
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No, Blue, you already know that I'd prefer to be around you pretty much all of the time.
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Okay? So move in then.
( checkmate )
I don't even know what to do with this place, it looks like a hospital room.
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Are you offering partial control of the interior design as inventive.
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I would like it, if you were here. There's that too.
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[ but what she writes next works better? ]
Well then. You have me.
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( maybe she shouldn't be so surprised, after she's worked so hard to get exactly this response. but part of her was starting to worry that she wouldn't be able to convince henry at all — she'd told ronan about her unsuccessful efforts for a reason, after all.
but it works. 'you have me', he says, and she's...happy. more so than she'd expected, really. )
If I'm very annoying to live with, I'm sorry. I honestly don't know, I've never been in a house with less than....at least 6 people usually, until now.
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[ that sounds perfectly believable. ]
I haven't either for a while, actually- you've seen it. You can't possibly be a worse roommate than Sicksteve. I can be neater than that though, I promise.
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( not that she would fell particularly bad if he'd done so anyway. it did, apparently, get results. )
I think it'll be fine. You don't annoy me.
You need to help me with the contract though, I don't know anything about this stuff. I don't want it to be unfair, as much as we can help anyway.
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[ he could. absolutely. ]
Jeez Sargent. Not even together and you're already asking for a prenup? Is there anything that seems standard? Not being able to travel freely is annoying and... I don't want you actually responsible for supporting me, even though I would make an excellent trophy husband.
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naturally, she doesn't ask. )
I wouldn't let you sign anything if you didn't have to, to stay. The whole thing is disgusting, you shouldn't have to ask anyone for things like this. Spending your own money? It's horrendous.
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[ if henry spends too long thinking about how awful the entire system is, he won't be able to stay objective enough to make sure they don't miss anything. and if he were dwelling on his feelings that would make the rest of this much more complicated. ]
And of course it should allow for... seeing other people.
[ he can accept that blue wants him nearby, but he has no delusions that wanting him around and... wanting him were the same thing. ]
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( its hardly shocking that blue despises the whole system, but there's a personal level of loathing that she saves specifically for the fact that it's forced henry into this situation. that it's forced her to be making these decisions at all.
exclusivity is another thing entirely, something she's maybe pointedly not thought about before now. quota looms ever large and blue continues to ignore it, but she reads his message a few times and feels-
complicated. very complicated indeed. )
Of course. I wouldn't expect you to, you know. Any of that.
( there's a delay, where the typing bubble appears and disappears a number of times, before she sends something else. )
Have you been?
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it's one of the reasons he was hesitant to agree to contract with her in the first place. if he fails to- to meet the city's expectations, would it force consequences onto her? is that something they can avoid if outlined ahead of time?
he can honestly say this is a subject he never anticipated coming up between them. he tries typing a few things - not to worry, that he can figure something out - but in the end he figures he should just. answer her question. ]
No.
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( she has, of course, something resembling a lecture lined up. and a rant, but neither of them are particularly helpful. she can't very well tell henry to get a move on when she's practically doing everything that she can to avoid it just as much.
blue would very much like to not have this conversation at all, because sticking her head in the sand has worked out very well for her so far. but it's easier, to worry about henry's consequences than consider her own. )
I've been talking to someone, who missed the requirements. They explained what happens afterwards, not the way Noah and the guys do. Not freaking out, just like the facts.
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he would never let anything like that, whatever it was, happen on purpose. he could easily tell her that he has it under control, but that would be a lie. she'd probably know it was a lie, considering she's one of the only people he's ever remarked about his sexuality to at all.
but something else sticks out to him and he's definitely going to use that as a detour from the topic if he can get away with it. ]
...who's Noah?
[ she types the name like it should be obvious, but he's drawing a blank. ]
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it's a very effective diversion, because she immediately needs to rectify that. )
Noah Czerny. He's our friend, it's...complicated. But he's fantastic, you should meet him. I think you would get along pretty well.
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[ henry knows that name. where does he know that name from. his thinks about it for a few more seconds until it clicks. ]
Wait. Noah Czerny died eight years ago. And he's... your friend? Am I thinking of someone else?
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( its a long and involved story, and honestly blue isn't sure how much of it is even hers to tell. she's very sure that they have to meet, though. have to be friends, actually. anything less just...doesn't make sense. they're all a package deal, now. )
Maybe when we get you up here, he could come around? It's not like we can sit around watching movies, but I'm sure we could find something fun for us all to do.
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why didn't he know about this? true, it's not really business related, but it was still sort of his job to know. and he doesn't even have the excuse of declan hiding it on purpose, as far as he knows. ]
Oh. Yes of course. And by "something fun for us all to do" you mean... board games or...
[ after all, movies are already off the table and considering the topic of conversation they were previously talking around... he had to ask, right? ]
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( it's obviously sarcasm.
right?
she reads her message again, reads his again, reads her previous ones, and his. again.
two weeks and a whole sex city kidnapping ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about the comment. a little crass for her usual style maybe, but flippant enough to fit in well with her usual retorts. now...who knows. )
That was a joke. I meant dinner or board games or something. Maybe poking fun at the weird TV shows they have here if we really run out of things to do.
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Disappointing, Aquamarine. Threesome with a zombie could have been on my bucket list, you don't know.
Also... I can't really cook so I hope that's not part of the deal.
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( the beauty of not having a phone is that you can't reread messages until you've dissected every shred of meaning out of them. maybe blue should tell everyone it's broken — a conversation like this would have played out very differently in person. but it would be weird to backtrack so significantly now, when they're talking about dinner plans.
but she wants to ask. she wants to know if he meant 'no' here or 'no' ever. she wants to know if 'disappointing' is a joke, too. she wants to know if ronan is right about them.
this is going to kill her. )
I can cook. Well, I can make some meals. Well, I can make two meals, but they're very edible from what I remember. How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?
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