[week three - wednesday]

[ceded]

[ Some way or another, Xion always manages to find Claire when she goes looking for him.

She doesn't start out her day with the specific thought in mind of seeking him out. But the direction of her idle thoughts ends up directing her feet, and she wanders through town checking the places she thinks he might be. Which ... will be the places she's run into him so far. ]

Hmmm... Pluto, where do you think Felix is?

[ Pluto perks up his ears. Find? Find a person? Is that his job right now?????????????

It's his job right now because off he goes, barking excitedly.

A dismayed Xion goes chasing after him, shouting his name along with cries of slow down!

Sorry about this duo when they inevitably accidentally slam into you, Felix. ]

Comments

SORRY THIS IS LATE

[generously]

[ If he can dodge a wrench, he can dodge two Disneys. In fact, not only does he scoop up the big dog, he also pulls back on Xion's hoodie when he narrowly avoids her just to prevent her from falling flat on her face. ]

Ah! Be careful.

yes how dare you not immediately tag me

[ceded]

[ Ack!

That's the noise Xion makes, if quiet, when Felix snags her like that. She ends up tilting her head back to blink up at him. ]

Felix!

[ Her look of curiosity blooms immediately into a warm smile and she'll twist around to face him properly. ]

Hi! I was looking for you. ... um, sorry about Pluto. [ eh heh. ]

[generously]

You were lookin' for me?

[ While he's still holding Pluto, he makes the dog face him as he holds it up. ]

And this dog-- this Pluto, he found me? That's an impressive nose, I gotta say.

[ceded]

[ Pluto doesn't seem to mind being manhandled, just grinning a puppy grin and panting happily. ]

Yeah! Pluto's really smart. He can do lots of things!

[ For what it's worth, Pluto seems to understand she's praising him and actually manages to look quite proud of himself. ]

There was something I wanted to ask you. Are you busy? [ Still with a smile. ]

[generously]

[ Claire sets Pluto down and lets him go free, turning his attention back to Xion. ]

A question for me? Alright, shoot.

[ His own smiling expression lets her know that he isn't really busy. In fact, the curious part of him now wants to know what kind of question she has for him specifically. ]

[ceded]

Um... [ Well. Xion looks a little flustered. Felix is always so direct, it's strange to her.

But she shakes it off quickly and clasps her hands behind her back. Pluto, now released, runs around in a circle yipping until he, uh, calms down and just kinda sits. ]

Well ... you mentioned once that you and Chane are married, right?

[ She tilts her head. She doesn't know what that means, still, but she knows by now it has something to do with love. ]

What do you ... feel for her? If you're married, that means you're in love, right?

[ ... for what it's worth, the question is asked with 100% innocence. ]

[generously]

[ HE'S THE WORST PERSON TO ASK THIS SORT OF THING... or maybe the best. Xion can be the judge of that. ]

Yup. I'm completely and utterly in love with her. [ It's said so plainly, even if he's also being genuine. ]

You wanna know what it's like to be in love? To be perfectly honest, I always thought I knew the answer myself until the day I met Chane. That's when I knew it for real! It's when my world opened up!

[ceded]

Actually... yeah, I do. [ She laughs, a little sheepishly. ] I have no idea what feeling like that is like. And ... it seems to make you so happy!

[generously]

Well, the love story between Chane and me is kinda complicated. I doubt yours will ever play out like mine did, heh.

[ huuugely complicated, but also bizarrely simple. ]

Have you ever wanted to do something for someone without asking for anything in return? -- No, that's not quite it. Hmm. -- Have you ever thought about someone non-stop? It's kinda like that.

[ceded]

M-mine? No, I--

[ Yikes. That flusters her, and she ends up going a little pink.

But she gives his question all due consideration. ]

Non-stop? .... I guess not. I think about my friends all the time, and I worry about them, but ... I don't think it's quite the same.

[generously]

Love gets you in the strangest ways, Xion. Chane and I started out as enemies, but then I asked her to marry me so that we wouldn't need to fight ever again. When she said no, I thought I was gonna move on... but that's when I realized how much I love her! Anyway, she still didn't wanna marry me at first, so we stayed as friends until one day she loved me back.

[ THE POINT BEING: ]

When you meet someone you really love, they'll be the first thing you think of every morning. Who knows, it could even be one of your friends someday!

[ceded]

You started out ... as enemies?

[ That just kind of makes her stare.

Whatever - or whoever? - that makes her think of gets her to ... flush, quite noticeably, looking both startled and kind of alarmed. She has to give her head a quick shake to try and drive the thought away before she can focus on what he's saying again. ]

That sounds ... weird. [ um ] When I wake up, I usually think about what I have to do that day.

[ is that really the

point of

okay ]

Mm, I love my friends, I really do, but ... it's hard to imagine being in love with them. It just seems so far away, somehow. Still, the way you and Chane fell in love... I guess it's not what I expected, but I still think it's nice.

[generously]

It is, yeah, but it ain't everything either. Despite the way I sound when I talk about her, I have a childhood friend and three brothers that I care about, too. Friends and family are just as important, y'know?

[ Pause. Then he asks tactlessly: ]

Do you have a family?

[ceded]

[ That gets a somewhat thoughtful look as she lowers her chin a bit. ]

Mm, no. I've never had a family. I don't mind, though. I had my best friends, after all. [ Abruptly she smiles, sunny and sweet. ] They were all I needed!