in which bella does not have long to think of something

[subtly_artistic]

There are more elves now. They're impatient. They ran off Bella's escort with private whispers Bella didn't hear, Bella's subtle arts are jammed again, and they're faster than she is.

Where is she -

Celo's there, there are more elves now but maybe there's someone with him or he can put Bella where he puts his stuff or something -

And this is how Bella runs headlong into the outdoor session of Mixed Melee with seventeen armed elves chasing her, and spots Callahan, and has an even better idea.

"MY WARRANTY," she screams at the top of her overtaxed lungs, "IS AT RISK!"

Comments

[pythbox]

"I - never mind, I guess," he says, shaking his head.

[subtly_artistic]

"But now I'm curious."

[pythbox]

"...I thought... I don't know," he says, crushing the orange slice in his hand and hugging his knees. "I'm just. Confused? Fuck." He opens his hand, looks at the crushed piece of candied orange, slurps it off his palm, and chews on it, wrapping his arms around his knees again.

[subtly_artistic]

"Well - what about, though? Are you okay?"

[pythbox]

"I'll be fine," he sighs.

[subtly_artistic]

"...You sure?"

[pythbox]

He nods.

[subtly_artistic]

"If you ever want to tell me you can. I'm your friend."

Are those truffles? Those are totally truffles. Nom.

[pythbox]

The truffle is delicious.

Celo smiles wryly.

"Yeah, that's kind of - okay," he says, "you remember when I was joking about you dating me...?"

[subtly_artistic]

"...Yes?"

[pythbox]

"If I... hypothetically started talking about it again," he says, "I would hypothetically not be joking."

[subtly_artistic]

"...Are you just... warning me not to take it as a joke if you hypothetically did that, or are those hypotheticallies for decoration?"

[pythbox]

"They're kind of for plausible deniability?" he says. "I get the impression that plays a pretty big part in the early stages of human courtship."

[subtly_artistic]

"Are you hoping to court me?"

[pythbox]

He squirms a little.

"Maybe," he says, in a way that clearly and obviously means yes.

[subtly_artistic]

"You can skip the plausible deniability. I'm a human, but ask me if I care."

[pythbox]

He laughs.

"Okay. Do you want to date me?"

[subtly_artistic]

She regards him, a little more openly than she has before.

"Yeah," she says. "We can give that a shot."

[pythbox]

Celo beams.

[subtly_artistic]

Bella giggles. "You're cute."

[pythbox]

"I know," he says, a little smugly.

"But okay, I kind of have no idea where to go from here. I mean - I know how to love, I know how to fuck, I don't really know how to date."

[subtly_artistic]

"We are having a picnic," she points out. "It's a date if we say it is."

[pythbox]

"Awesome!"

He pauses consideringly.

"...So am I going to have to do a lot of awkward guessing about when you want to do sex stuff, or do you just wanna tell me when you feel like trying something, or...?"

[subtly_artistic]

Bella considers this.

Then she says, "How about, I tell you verbally when you can unsquint at me?"

[pythbox]

"That works," he says, grinning.