It was amazing how much work was necessary for a small get together, but also how quickly and easily it went with the help of another person. Especially when that person happened to be on staff
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Kairi wasn't really watching where she was going. She was smiling, laughing, calling back over her shoulder and at times, closer to facing backwards than she was forwards.
Had she been watching, she would have seen Xanth, would have probably taken a moment to think about it and then maybe even avoided him until she was ready to talk about how silly she'd been and the things he'd said.
But she wasn't
And so instead, still laughing at whatever lay behind her, she went to walk right into him.
Fate had blessed the both of them with poor luck and terrible awareness. Xanth had turned away, surveying the party as he ate, and so he hadn't seen Kairi coming.
She walked straight into his back, shoving him forward and giving him a face full of cake. (And not even the pleasant kind, either.) Having stumbled a step, Xanth turned to see who it was who knocked him over.
Kairi. Naturally.
Flustered, Xanth hid his cake-covered face behind one hand. "Ah-- uh. H. Hi."
"Whoa! I'm sor-," Mid-turn, Kairi saw who it was that she'd stumbled into and heard his clumsy greeting.
Immediately. colour flooded her face.
"Oh, heh, hello."
She should say something else. She should apologize for the way she behaved. She shouldn't ask him about what he'd said. She should stop standing in silence like a stunned seagull.
"Are you having fun?" Immediately, she ducked her head, daring only to peer up at him. She was usually so much better at talking to people than this.
"Sure! Heh, I like a bonfire," She eyes the cupcakes some more, "And I don't think any of the food is magic this time."
She glanced away. There wasn't a lot of music. That meant no dancing. That was fine. She wasn't sure she wanted to try that again after what had happened in the last week. It would be too strange. She didn't even know what to say to Xanth.
"Oh, but I did like those rainbows. Heh, if the cupcakes gave us rainbows, I suppose it'd be okay."
"Ha-- y-- yeah. Th-those were... they... th-they were f--fun."
His face now free of the sweet mess, Xanth crumpled the napkin. He glanced around for a trash bin or bag or somewhere to toss it, but he saw no such place, so he set it on the table instead.
"Y-Yeah, um. One-- o-one time, the, th-the cookies... a-after you a--ate one, you'd, y-you'd get-- s-some animal th-thing." Xanth scratched the back of his head. He still remembered how they felt. "S-Some people got-- b-beaks, other-- o-other people got t-tails, a-and I... I-I got these... b-big, fox ear, th-things."
At least, he thought they were fox ears. They were white, like his hair, and awfully large.
"Heh," she grinned, all ungainly sheepishness. She had only said the first thing that had occurred to her, but it had been a silly question. And silly questions weren't the best idea when she was trying to make up for being very silly, "Well, I don't think I'd like suddenly having animal ears. It'd be strange."
Strange like the entire conversation. Gathering up her resolve and pursing her lips, Kairi made a decision.
"I'm sorry about last week." Colour was rising in her face again but she couldn't stop there. She couldn't have helped the way she acted, but that didn't mean it wasn't silly or that Xanth wasn't affected by it, "I didn't mean to..."
What hadn't she meant to do? Force him to talk about something that made him uncomfortable? Make him admit to something that only made things more awkward between them? Inconvenience him? All of those things were true, but none of them seemed like a good thing to say.
And yet part of her, the part she'd been trying to ignore since then, wanted to ask him more, to know what he might have said if Riku hadn't interrupted. She wanted to understand.
She stared up at him for a moment, ignoring her own embarrassment in favour of trying to communicate all of those mixed up feelings through her expression.
Even as Kairi trailed off, Xanth knew the exact incident she meant. But it wasn't her fault that she was so loopy on the drugs she'd been given. It wasn't her fault that she said some things, and that he said some things.
Xanth smiled and shook his head. "H-Hey, don't-- d-don't-- don't worry. The-- the doctor, she-- sh-she gave you some r--really strong s-stuff, I, I-I don't... know what."
"A-And..." he continued, shifting nervously where he stood, "it... y-you know, just, d-don't-- don't worry. It's... i-it's fine."
It stung, but it was fine; old wounds ached, but the pain was dull.
"What you said before," He had said it was fine. Did that mean she could ask about it? Or did it mean that he didn't want to talk about it, "Are you sure you're okay?"
It wasn't what she meant. She wanted to know if they were okay, if it would stop them from being friends, if the only reason he'd wanted to be her friend in the first place was because of a connection she couldn't remember.
Xanth's smile faltered. That hadn't been an answer to Kairi's underlying question, but he wasn't sure just how much of that day she remembered. Obviously, she remembered enough. Whatever mirth Xanth had ebbed away and he looked down.
"L-Listen," he began, "it-- i-it's-- okay, r-really. It's... b-been a-- a few months, y-you know, and I-- I'm-- I'm alright. It's-- s-something you just... you get u-used to it. I-I mean, it's-- i-it's not the first time I-I've had s-some-- weird, a-alternate world, p--paradox things h-happen." And it wasn't the first time he'd had some heart-breaking, unfortunate, romance things happen.
Xanth looked back to Kairi, another hint of a smile touching the corners of his lips.
Had she been watching, she would have seen Xanth, would have probably taken a moment to think about it and then maybe even avoided him until she was ready to talk about how silly she'd been and the things he'd said.
But she wasn't
And so instead, still laughing at whatever lay behind her, she went to walk right into him.
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She walked straight into his back, shoving him forward and giving him a face full of cake. (And not even the pleasant kind, either.) Having stumbled a step, Xanth turned to see who it was who knocked him over.
Kairi. Naturally.
Flustered, Xanth hid his cake-covered face behind one hand. "Ah-- uh. H. Hi."
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Immediately. colour flooded her face.
"Oh, heh, hello."
She should say something else. She should apologize for the way she behaved. She shouldn't ask him about what he'd said. She should stop standing in silence like a stunned seagull.
"Are you having fun?" Immediately, she ducked her head, daring only to peer up at him. She was usually so much better at talking to people than this.
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And he turned away to grab a napkin. Wiping his face, he turned back to Kairi.
"H--How... how a-about you?"
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She glanced away. There wasn't a lot of music. That meant no dancing. That was fine. She wasn't sure she wanted to try that again after what had happened in the last week. It would be too strange. She didn't even know what to say to Xanth.
"Oh, but I did like those rainbows. Heh, if the cupcakes gave us rainbows, I suppose it'd be okay."
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His face now free of the sweet mess, Xanth crumpled the napkin. He glanced around for a trash bin or bag or somewhere to toss it, but he saw no such place, so he set it on the table instead.
"B-Better than-- a--animal e-ears."
An excellent attempt to fill the empty silence.
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"Heh, animal ears?"
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At least, he thought they were fox ears. They were white, like his hair, and awfully large.
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She grinned.
"Oh? Were they cute?"
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Strange like the entire conversation. Gathering up her resolve and pursing her lips, Kairi made a decision.
"Hey, Xanth?"
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His smile fading, Xanth bit his lip. "U-Um. Yeah?"
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What hadn't she meant to do? Force him to talk about something that made him uncomfortable? Make him admit to something that only made things more awkward between them? Inconvenience him? All of those things were true, but none of them seemed like a good thing to say.
And yet part of her, the part she'd been trying to ignore since then, wanted to ask him more, to know what he might have said if Riku hadn't interrupted. She wanted to understand.
She stared up at him for a moment, ignoring her own embarrassment in favour of trying to communicate all of those mixed up feelings through her expression.
It probably wasn't working very well.
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Xanth smiled and shook his head. "H-Hey, don't-- d-don't-- don't worry. The-- the doctor, she-- sh-she gave you some r--really strong s-stuff, I, I-I don't... know what."
"A-And..." he continued, shifting nervously where he stood, "it... y-you know, just, d-don't-- don't worry. It's... i-it's fine."
It stung, but it was fine; old wounds ached, but the pain was dull.
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It wasn't what she meant. She wanted to know if they were okay, if it would stop them from being friends, if the only reason he'd wanted to be her friend in the first place was because of a connection she couldn't remember.
But did any of that even matter?
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"L-Listen," he began, "it-- i-it's-- okay, r-really. It's... b-been a-- a few months, y-you know, and I-- I'm-- I'm alright. It's-- s-something you just... you get u-used to it. I-I mean, it's-- i-it's not the first time I-I've had s-some-- weird, a-alternate world, p--paradox things h-happen." And it wasn't the first time he'd had some heart-breaking, unfortunate, romance things happen.
Xanth looked back to Kairi, another hint of a smile touching the corners of his lips.
"S-So... it's-- i-it's okay. We're... o-okay."
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