gigadevilbreaker | OVERFLOW

[IT'S FINE!! Maki is now a cool experienced lady who does not get incredibly flustered by a quick kiss on the cheek from a boy she likes!!

This is a lie. Maki has never not been flustered by a kiss on the cheek from a boy she likes. She doesn't manage to say anything for a few seconds.]

...R-Right... good. That... should do it.

[They're

very cool people

Griffin is also kinda frozen for a moment, fumbling over what the hell to even say now, before the words trip out of his mouth, uhh]

Okay uh. Have... fun with your train thing!!

[Fortunately the tumult of feelings settle down after a little while. Unfortunately the most clear feeling she has left after she's calmed down somewhat is being very sure she wants to kiss him more, and her eyes follow his lips more than is especially natural. Maybe this was a bad idea, actually?

Well, she's definitely not going to kiss him more than he wants, regardless.]

...Mmm.

[She turns slightly on her heel to go and then pauses, suddenly anxious.]

Not that I have to—kiss and run? If you... wanted to talk more. I have a few things I want to do, but that's not a packed kiss schedule or anything, and I do enjoy...

[Her cheeks turn pink again.]

[He stops in his tracks. MAYBE THIS WAS A BAD IDEA, ACTUALLY??? Some kind of boundary might be crossed. Or feelings mixed up. Griffin had his girlfriends already and he still thought of Maki as a friend and...

...

but... all these lines drawn in the sand, he was overthinking them again. It was Maki herself who encouraged him to think openly about relationships. Without the pressure of everything else, what did he want?

He wanted to spend time with his friend.

Answering with a small, relieved smile,]

I wouldn't mind.

[Some visible tension goes out of her at his response. Okay, breathe. It's fine. Nothing was ruined. They can both approach this reasonably.

She exhales slowly as she tries to reset and come up with a topic of conversation.]

...I was talking to Shrike, the other day, and she told me I'd definitely be invited the next time avante has dinner, so I'll probably... come by. I meant to earlier, there's just... been a lot going on. As usual.

Is there anything people like that I could bring...?

[He relaxes, faced with a familiar topic.]

Nemesis likes Japanese food, for sure. I've tried making it, but I don't think it's quite there yet. And Kestrel'll inhale anything you put in front of her, so... having extra food's a good idea. I don't know where she puts it all, but you'll instantly be her favourite person.

Y'know, alongside every other favourite person who's ever fed her.

I don't think I've met her yet. Good to know she's not difficult to win over.

She didn't even realize she'd been kidnapped and held hostage once, 'cause they were giving her snacks...

...That could be pretty dangerous, in that case.

[The sigh of a worried parent]

Yeah. I worry 'bout her.

She's way too innocent for this place.

That's hard. There's only so much you can protect someone, here.

I tried t'explain how things go, that last Game. It's too easy to tell her not to worry 'bout it and it's all a bad dream, but that's just gonna get her hurt. Badly.

Yeah. She'll need to accept the reality and make her own decisions at some point. There's no room for naiveté in a place like this.

But it's good she has you to walk her through it.

I think it'll be good if she can meet you too. I think she could learn a lot.

Just bear with her thick-headedness, yeah? I swear she acts like a 6 year old.

I'm sure I'll manage.

And... I'll be happy if I can help any.

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