[dated 10/3] // don't stop me now

[fionnuisce]

Characters: Waver and open
Setting: dorm floors, floor 3, closed prompt on floor 4
Format: Either
Summary: Birthday? What birthday? Waver doesn't know what you're talking about.
Warnings: None yet.

[dormitory floors]

[Birthdays weren't of any particular importance to Waver Velvet. He noted his age like any other normal person, but thought little of it. October third was just a day, same as the second or the fourth. There was no point in calling attention to it or informing people who would in turn make the entire thing some elaborate production.]

[Even though the date was of no consequence to him, the magus had to wonder if the timing of the new item appearing in his trunk was more than mere coincidence. It was simple in appearance, just a metal case small enough to just barely fit in one's hand. The more he looked at it, the more Waver noticed it seemed just faintly charred in places. Whatever it was and whatever the reason it looked damaged in that way, Waver wasn't too pleased about it. He slipped the case into his coat pocket, walking out of his dormitory room and going to walk the halls aimlessly with a clear scowl on his face. Maybe if he wandered the Tower for long enough, he'd forget what kind of miserable day this was shaping up to be.]

[floor 3]

[When someone like Waver was in a particularly unpleasant mood, the coping mechanism was usually the same; head to the library with a cup of tea and occupy oneself with a collection of books. A small amount of various fiction was piled neatly on the table Waver had claimed today; seeming to be mostly leaning towards classical fiction. What he focused on specifically seemed to be a copy of the Iliad; Waver remembered his alternate self mentioning some odd fondness for it. There had been an odd sense of something like nostalgia when that particular text caught his eye, and so he'd decided 'why the hell not'.]

[While he seemed in less miserable spirits than he was upon leaving his room earlier, it was anyone's guess whether he'd stay that way if interrupted. Try your luck?]

[floor 4; closed to oathshackledbird]

[It had occurred to Waver several hundred times already that he probably should have been working. There was a lot to do back in the laboratory, but at the same time he doubted anyone, himself included, would be in a condition to do much at all after the recent unpleasantness. One day of being a useless mess likely wouldn't cause catastrophe.]

[Eventually he found his way to a relatively isolated corner of the lounge floor, taking a small notebook and pen from his pocket. It was far too long since he'd had any time to update the mess of theories he'd had about the Tower, and most of it was vastly outdated. If he wasn't going to work on anything else, that at least seemed like a reasonable way to waste time.]

Comments

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid takes a sip of his wine and then shakes his head.]

Does that mean you will call me a liar if I say I think you're fascinating?

[fionnuisce]

Liar, no. Possessing terrible judgment, yes.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid rolls his eyes.]

Humor this possessor of terrible judgment then? Tell me something about you I don't know already.

[fionnuisce]

[Sighing heavily as though it was some great inconvenience, Waver shrugged and took a drink from the glass he held.]

Most of what could be called remotely worth knowing about me, you likely know already.

[oathshackledbird]

I didn't ask for something interesting, Waver. I just asked for something. How about you tell me the first thing that comes into your mind no matter how interesting or not you think it is? Let me decide what I think of it on my own.

[fionnuisce]

...I used to be mistaken for a girl when I was younger.

And if you ever tell anyone that I swear to god you'll regret it.

[oathshackledbird]

Really?

[Diarmuid seems surprised at this.]

I was never mistake for a girl, but some of the men in the house got upset when Caer showed me how to sew and embroider. I asked her how, though. She made such pretty things. I wanted to make pretty things too.

[fionnuisce]

W...well, you know what I looked like as a teenager. It was even worse than that when I was a little kid.

[embarrassed? naaaaah not at all]

[oathshackledbird]

Ouch...I'm sorry.

[Diarmuid winces slightly.]

Did anyone ever try to get you to dress up like a girl?

[fionnuisce]

Thankfully, no. I might have simply exploded with rage on the spot if they tried.

[oathshackledbird]

You know, if you had done that they might have realized you weren't a girl...

...or they just might have thought you cute. That probably would have just made things worse...

[fionnuisce]

...You're not helping, you know.

[oathshackledbird]

Sorry...

[Not that the amusement in Diarmuid's voice makes it sound that way or the smile that he tries to hide by taking a drink of his wine.]

This might seem like an odd question, but if you didn't like them mistaking you for a girl, why did you let your hair grow out? Or had they pretty much stopped doing it by then?

[It's true Waver's face is more severe than it once was, but...]

[fionnuisce]

I don't really have a reason. I just like it this way.

[logic 101 with waver velvet]

[oathshackledbird]

There is nothing wrong with that you know. I was just curious.

[Diarmuid leans forward and flips a piece of Waver's hair.]

I think you know I like it that way too.

[fionnuisce]

It wouldn't have taken a genius to determine that.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid laughs a little self-consciously.]

No, I don't hide it very well, do I? Do you think you will ever go back to wearing it short?

[fionnuisce]

Unlikely. I'd probably look like an idiot after keeping it like this for so long.

...Relax. If it bothered me at all, I'd say as much.

[oathshackledbird]

I know, I know...

[He shakes his head.]

It's just something I always found odd. When most guys talk about things they like in that vein, it's not someone's hair they talk about, but that is something that has always caught my attention.

[fionnuisce]

I never gave it all that much thought, myself.

[oathshackledbird]

You don't have something that usually catches your ey--

[Diarmuid cuts himself off and then gives Waver an apologetic look.]

Actually, you might not considering how much time you've had to spend alone. Sorry...

[fionnuisce]

Don't apologize. What were you going to ask?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid shakes his head.]

It was nothing important. I was just going to ask if there was something that catches your eye about a person. Like how I like hair.

[fionnuisce]

I don't have much attraction to people in general, actually. There's nothing I find all that intriguing about any specific individual.

[you're so weird, waver]

[oathshackledbird]

So...you would say there is nothing you find intriguing about me then?

[Oh, that feels like an unfair question for some reason...]