ic contact;

[psycholawgy]

You've reached Athena Cykes. I'm currently unavailable, but leave a message and I'll get back to you pronto. Danke! (voice/call → text → video → action)

Comments

[psycholawgy]

[ she already links the omamori to her bag, and she smiles at rei as if she's never smiled so brightly before. ]

A lot of things happened, ehehe... [ rei might feel that athena is far too Happy right now. not that she needs to sense anything. she shows it with her giant smile, too. ]

[faithfulflame]

[Well, Rei remembers this smile. It was like that time with Simon. And...uh-oh...]

Such as? [She bites back her initial response of 'Who are they' ?]

[psycholawgy]

You know Merlin, right?

[ she starts brushing her fingers through her hair. ]

[faithfulflame]

Yes...

[Oh boy, she can already see where this is going. She's reminded of, well, you know who. and a little bit of how Athena was about Ryuko. And Ai. And herself. And...look the list of people Athena's crushed on is pretty long.]

What about him?

[psycholawgy]

[ GOSH!!! she's never crushed on ryuko and ai!!! ]

He happened. That's- [ she looks down at her feet. ] it.

[faithfulflame]

[Lies.]

Let me guess.

[Rei takes a patient breath.]

You might be wanting a love fortune, is that it?

[psycholawgy]

[ truths :'( she only liked kissing ryuko but that's it... ]

A love fortune? What for?

[faithfulflame]

[Rei's smile turns...amused.]

To learn about the possible future of your crush, obviously.

[psycholawgy]

The thing is... I don't need it!

[ she says it so proudly, but she looks absolutely embarrassed. ]

[faithfulflame]

Oh. So you're dating him now, then?

[...]

[psycholawgy]

It's not dating!

[ she probably says it a bit too loudly.... ah . . . ]

I- I mean, it's... um, he's courting me?

[faithfulflame]

Ah.

[Her face sets into a line.]

How long has this been going on?

[psycholawgy]

A few days now?

[faithfulflame]

I'm not sure if I should be annoyed with you for not telling me sooner or not.

[She's half scowling, half smiling. This isn't ordinarily news she'd even care about, but it's strange that it's Merlin of all people.]

[psycholawgy]

Why?

I don't want a lot of people to know...

[faithfulflame]

Because I'm your friend, for one. I'm his friend, for another. And because I've been wondering why you've been about to fly away with happiness since I walked into the cafe.

[Rei exhales slowly. Tiredly, even. Her heart remains steady, and she's obviously not angry, if Athena's listening. She's trying something else out, breathing exercises to contain her own emotion, seeing how long she can fool Athena.

She takes a step closer...]

[psycholawgy]

[ she is listening, but it still makes her feel uneasy. ]

Yes?

[faithfulflame]

[Oh good. It worked. Athena seems totally off her game.

So, Rei's hand whips out like a snake and grabs the orange-haired goof by the arm, pulling her into a tight hug. And she stops with her breath exercise, releasing a bundle of sunshine.]

I'm glad for you.

[psycholawgy]

[ heh... heh...!!!

athena starts to cry, but she returns the hug. ]

I miss Simon a lot, but Merlin makes me really happy, you know? It's like- I wish I could hear what my heart sounds like when he's around...

[faithfulflame]

[Jesus Fucking Christ, Athena stop crying wow...

Rei pulls her closer, patting her back a little bit.]

It's not your heart I hear. I just feel your emotions. I think you could probably stop a charging rhinoceros with your goodwill alone. It's almost like being in a room with Usagi-chan.

[psycholawgy]

[ oh god, that description. she can't help but snort at it. ]

Seriously?

[faithfulflame]

[Pat pat.]

Seriously. You've got an incredibly force of personality.

[psycholawgy]

[ she lets go as she fixes her hair, brushing her fingers through her hair. ]

I guess I can be pretty intense.

[ "pretty" ]

[faithfulflame]

Are you preening?

[Athena...]

[psycholawgy]

I'm making a joke about myself, gosh.