[ glances at him sideways, like deciding how honest to be. then just shrugs, easy, popping an orange skittle in her mouth. ]
hopeless romantics.
. . .
well. hopeful, i always thought was the better word. hopeless makes it sound like a bad thing.
[ tilts head back against >
( on the screen, there is dialogue happening. cloud watches the way aerith chooses the orange skittles over all the other colors instead. notes that down, in a folder of his brain reserved only for her. )
what do you mean, 'for people like you'?
< little more unguarded slipping in: ]
itβs easier to be cynical. i know that. but i justβ
[ pauses, rolling an orange skittle betwixt fingers. ]
i like believing in it. even when itβs inconvenient. even when it doesnβt quite work out the way the movie says it should.
[ a >
[ looks down at his arm around hers, then back up at the screen, and the corner of mouth does something she doesnβt quite manage to hide. ]
now youβre just being nice because you feel bad.
[ says it lightly, but doesnβt move arm. if anything she leans into it a little >
doesn't get any funny ideas about turning the movie off or anything. cloud can be a bit of a killjoy, but he doesn't mean anything bad with it. )
and romantic, too. if it's a movie you like, then like it. don't gotta listen to me.
( cloud is by no means a romance expert here. )
< more. ]
β¦ i do like it. even the stupid speech.
maybe especially the stupid speech.
[ reaches into the skittles bag, picks out all the orange ones with quiet focus, holds them in palm like collecting something precious. ]
you know what your problem is, cloud >
< three times, cloud, thatβs not fair.
[ she throws a skittle at him. not hard. ]
iβm a romantic. iβm allowed to like the speech and also think heβs a bit of an idiot. both things can be true.
[ turns to look at him, and there is something genuinely pleased in it β like a cat that got exactly what it wanted without asking. ]
see, i knew you were paying attention.
[ steals the orange skittles from his handful without ceremony, pops one in her mouth. ]
most people >
why is he expectin' her to turn her life upside down for him? all for a big expression of love? if he loves her so much, he'd make sure his life fits around her. not the other way around.
< fighting herself a little. ]
but youβre not wrong about him, either. he does expect a lot from her withoutβ
[ a small noise of frustration, like cloud has personally ruined something for her. ]
ugh. you canβt just say things like that and make me rethink a movie iβve seen >
[ a small pause , like sheβs weighing whether to admit it . ]
. . . maybe three times .
[ pulls the blanket from lap and flicks it over both of them without asking , settling it around their shoulders like itβs just a natural extension of the conversation . ]
itβs a good >
and quiet, he finds it to not come as easy to him when pressed up against aerith like this.
like there is more he needs to know, details he wants, and this is an excellent opportunity to get them. )
< movie . some things are worth revisiting .
[ a beat , eyes still on the screen , thereβs a small smile playing at the corner of mouth like she knows exactly what heβs actually doing β asking questions instead of watching . ]
youβre not really watching , are you .α£
[ not >