[016] action (open to everyone)

[hoooly_ship]

[Guess who's birthday it was? This guy. Guess who didn't care? THIS GUY

Comments

[outcastinparis]

[ Okay, she'll bite. Every time she's seen him, he's been in a terrible mood, and the gypsy hoped she'd find some sort of way to cheer him up. Thing was? She was terrible in the kitchen, and had no idea what the man wanted for such an occasion, at least something in her price range. For now, she could only give him company.

Esme caught him on his way to the station, and was a very sneaky gypsy as she followed him there. She watched how he carried himself, and she just couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. ]

Doing alright?

[hoooly_ship]

[Oh, it's that beauty again. She seemed to show up a lot, which he couldn't really complain about.]

Hey um, yeah. Fine. [Pfft. What. No. What a forced smile.]

i'm pretty sure she's stalking him. pretty sure.

[outcastinparis]

[ Another knowing smile. She knows he isn't, but, she'll just play it safe, and let it go for now. ]

Getting away for your birthday?

Oh bb.

[hoooly_ship]

...

[Time for the incredulous stare.]

H-How did you know...?

[First Flynn, now her?]

[outcastinparis]

Lucky guess?

Why else would you be trudging out of here?

[hoooly_ship]

... three-hundred and fifty six days in a year, and a million reasons I could be out here. I'm not buying it. [In other words: He's sensitive about his birthday and even more sensitive about people lying to him about it.]

[outcastinparis]

If you were smiling, I would've just thought it were Cinco de Mayo.

[ Give the gypsy a chance here, Tulio. At least she doesn't know how old you are! Or maybe she does. ]

And I make it a point to know all my friend's birthdays.

The school records aren't exactly locked up.

[hoooly_ship]

Fr-- oh. Yeah. We were friends. [His shoulders visibly relaxed. School records, that made sense. It was obvious by his body language that Tulio didn't enjoy people knowing personal information about him, probably due to a life of protecting himself. He wasn't used to how open the school was.]

Sorry I just... I don't like to think about it.

[outcastinparis]

[ Visibly, she looked shot at the realization. He still didn't remember anything. ]

I can leave you alone about it, if you'd like.

[hoooly_ship]

No, no. My birthday. I don't like to think about my birthday. Not... you and me. I'd like to think about you and me.

[outcastinparis]

That's what I meant.

[ A beat. ]

You know you can ask me about anything, right?

I'll give you the best answer that I can give.

[hoooly_ship]

Anything, huh? So tell me how I let a beautiful woman like you go?

[outcastinparis]

I think my exact words were, "When you're back on the market, we'll see about it." But otherwise, you didn't.

That's why I'm here, don't you think?

[hoooly_ship]

Hmmmm. Well it looks like I'm back on the market. What do you say? You, me, the dance tomorrow?

[outcastinparis]

[ Well, forgive her for hesitating a moment. She knows this is thin ice she's dancing on. But with Clopin gone out of nowhere, and---

Thin ice and her never got along, it seems. ]

Sounds like a plan I can work with.

[hoooly_ship]

[Something about this entire situation felt wrong. He had a clear attraction for her, he wanted to dance with her, he felt like there was some sort of chemistry between them -- but there was still something wrong. Something that nagged in the back of his brain and made his chest tighten. Feelings he forced himself to ignore.]

I'll meet you in the gardens tomorrow, then?