Room 317- Tuesday morning

[notconflicted]

Sia had been trying to study. Normally she was very good at staying focused, too. It was just that today, anytime she started to get anywhere, she'd hear an impatient throat-clearing noise that seemed to be coming from the strange sprig of green... thing that had appeared on the ceiling today.

"Hem, hem," it said.

"In case it's escaped your notice, I'm ignoring you," Sia said, not even looking up from her notebook, though she did wonder how she got to the point where she would reply to talking plants on her ceiling and not react.


[I will never not love the pushy mistletoe. Open door, open post.]

Comments

[notconflicted]

"A plant. And an extremely annoying one at that," she said, gesturing to it when it cleared its throat- or whatever it had- louder.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, I figured that part out," Atton said, stepping into the room. "No idea what it wants, though."

[notconflicted]

"Kiss her!" the mistletoe said, answering that question.

It was rare to actually see Sia facepalm, but that did it. That totally did it.

[suitably_heroic]

"...Well, I guess that answers my question," Atton said. He glanced up. "No, thanks." Beat. "No offense or anything."

[notconflicted]

Sia had to look at him funny for that. "Did you say no thanks</I?" Rude, Atton.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton held up his hands. "Hey, hey, no need to hit the throttle," he said. "It's not that you're not attractive, just... you know."

There was no acceptable way to mime you're a baby, was there?

[notconflicted]

Nope!

She didn't want to ask, but now she had to ask. "Just what?"

[suitably_heroic]

"You're fifteen?"

Sigh.

"Pretty sure there's a law against that, and I've broken enough of those recently."

[notconflicted]

Whatever answer she'd been expecting, that wasn't it. "It's not that flattering to know that's where you draw the line," she realized.

[suitably_heroic]

And also he didn't like it when people got too attached to him. Somehow he didn't see himself escaping that fate if he ever did get involved.

But mostly the baby thing.

Atton shrugged.

[notconflicted]

What Sia was discovering was that this was a lot easier when she could pass this sort of thing off on him being seventeen.

"You don't have to date her, just kiss her," said the mistletoe.

"You are not helping," Sia told it.

[suitably_heroic]

"Can we climb up there and muffle it?" Atton said. Look, if he spotted an out out of... whatever that conversation had started leaning towards, he was going to take it. "I'm sure I can find a box or something."

[notconflicted]

"Please do," she said. "It might be entertaining."

She'd make him do it, though, because dammit, now she was going to have thoughts, and that was payback.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rolled his eyes. "Yes, your highness," he muttered, poking around the room to see if there happened to be something square and boxlike in her room. "You got anything useful?"

[notconflicted]

"Besides a chair? Nothing at all," she replied.

Apparently she also felt like being difficult.

[suitably_heroic]

"Great," Atton said. "Thanks. Hey, remind me never to call you if I need a hand with anything."

And if that's how she was going to be, he'd... grab one of her pillows and strip off the pillowcase. "This'll do."

[notconflicted]

"You were the one that made things awkward," she pointed out. "And I was using that."

Or would be later, same thing.

"You know how you can shut me up?" the mistletoe asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, I did not make anything awkward," Atton retorted. "That thing did."

It was getting pointed at. Yeah, you, mistletoe. You.

"So I'm going to go shut it up with the means at my disposal."

Making a lot of noise dragging the chair over to the mistletoe? Damn right he was. Spite was Sithly.

[notconflicted]

"I would have been fine ignoring it if it wasn't for 'no thanks,'" she insisted.

She could feel rejected or she could feel insulted, but not both at the same time.

Or she just didn't like feeling rejected at all, especially when she hadn't even put herself out there to be rejected. That was much more likely.

[suitably_heroic]

"I said no offense," Atton argued.

He hopped up on the chair and shoved the pillowcase over the damn plant's head. There. Take that.

"There. Take that."

[notconflicted]

"Since when has 'no offense' ever helped anything?" Sia countered.

And from inside the pillowcase came a muffled "You know you want to..."

[suitably_heroic]

"Look, have you broken in the head or something?!"

That was to the pillowcase, all right? "Don't make me get a vibroblade and really make this interesting," he threatened, hopping off the chair.

To Sia, he added, "What's the problem? It's not like it's personal."

Well, a little personal, because seriously, he didn't need Sia getting attached to him or anything. But that was the part he wasn't going to bring up.

[notconflicted]

"The last time this subject came up was because you spent a few days hitting on me, and now I get a 'no thanks.' It's a little personal," Sia argued. Maybe this was a sign to just deal with things as they come up. She'd probably be handling this better if she'd done that.

...NFB

[suitably_heroic]

Atton eyeballed the door. Then he went on and shut it.

"Last time this subject came up, I was seventeen," he shot back. "And you blew me off, by the way."

Re: ...NFB

[notconflicted]

"Because I didn't think you thought anything like that now and I wasn't about to take advantage of that," she pointed out. "Not to mention being caught completely off guard."