who'm I kidding but me

[mycrosstobear]

WHO: Wolfwood and Cecelia
WHERE: basically right between Heropa #2 and #3
WHEN: August
WHAT: local shonen manga character caught in a shojo act
WARNINGS: embarrassment. probably yelling.


[It has, over the course of the last month, become clear that Red (sorry not sorry Cecelia) does not actually know much about how to take care of the flowers that she or someone else put in those boxes attached to the new balcony. Well, no matter, Curly (sorry not sorry Fuu) knows about gardening, doesn't she? She'll probably help out.

But some of the flowers just keep looking worse and worse. He doesn't know what's wrong with them, of course. Could be too little water or sun, or too much of either. But it's kinda depressing to look out and see that every day.

And today, as he glances through his open window, Wolfwood decides he's fed up with it. If no one else is going to do anything, well, he can fix it. That's a (ridiculous) power he has here, after all. At least he can keep them alive until he can tell someone else to actually take proper care of them.

He glances around as he starts to lean out the window. Reaching over towards someone's balcony might look like he's trying to break in, and he'd rather avoid trying to explain that he was just healing some plants. But it looks like the coast is clear. He doesn't hear anyone either. So he leans further out the window, stretching a long arm towards the nearest dying flowers. A touch, a bit of concentration, and they perk right back up.

(He is, perhaps, not fully accounting for how much even his hearing can be thrown off by the general noise of the neighborhood. Or just how much the ornate architecture of the balcony blocks his view.)]

Comments

[adamantlyardent]

[of course Wolfwood didn't hear anyone: Darin soundproofed the bedroom's interior! with the door to the balcony closed, there'd be no knowing if anyone was stirring in there or not. and at the hour of day that it was? it would be easy to assume she was still sleeping before starting her day!

except she's definitely not, because she's half-elf, and elves don't sleep so much as meditate for maybe four hours and then it's back to existing in the waking world. which is what she's doing. granted, she makes up for those hours she could be sleeping by filling them up with grooming, and it's why, even with the sun still just getting started on its lap over the humid, Florida sky, she does open that door and come out looking fairly put-together. just not...go-out-and-be-around-people put-together: no shawl or gloves to hide galaxies of freckles, hair clipped back lazily to keep it out of her face, and makeup at a minimum...why would she put in more effort if she's just going to keep to herself on the swing and read?

she didn't account for weirdos reaching over to her balcony, clearly, because she only gets partway through a deep breath of fresh air before nearly choking on a yelp when she sees his spindly man-hand looming over the flowers. her book gets dropped loudly on the floor, which makes her squeak again as she hugs her arms with alarm.]

Dear gods! Wolfwood! What are you doing?!

[mycrosstobear]

[Fuck. He jerks back as if he'd burned himself.

What is she doing there, anyway? Aren't most people asleep right now? She's not supposed to be out there! On her...own balcony...

Look this is her fault in the first place.] What you should have been doing. You know some of those are dying, right?

[adamantlyardent]

What?

[she's utterly baffled. what things? those things? she looks down at the planter, ear twitching.]

You... [she squints back over at him. hard. with her half-elf eyes. what do your half-elf eyes see, Cecelia.

could it possibly be...]

...Garden...?

[a smelly jerk...with a soft spot for...flowers?

ooohhh myyyy gooooodddds...]

[mycrosstobear]

[Her skepticism, oddly enough, makes this a little less embarrassing. At least they can both recognize that it's entirely ridiculous.

He runs a hand through his hair as he sighs.] ...Not...exactly. It's one of the powers this place gave me. [He waves towards the flowers.] I can heal plants.

[He'd...like to learn about gardening, actually. He's been meaning to ask Fuu about it more. But his interest is more in growing things that are edible, not decorative.]

[adamantlyardent]

[her expression pinches with scrutiny, one ear twitching. so he, what? moonlights the salvation of starved begonias and marigolds the city over? or is she just special because they have been fated to be window neighbors, and the balcony just about clears most of that space outright? maybe she should've said something to Darin about that before he got to work on this -- with Wolfwood's mile-long legs, he could just climb straight over! creepy! he better not be a creep!!]

...My plants aren't ill. [she may as well get defensive about that, too, but...as she crinkles her nose at the sight of them, she can't really...say they look their best.

reddening:] I mean, I...I water them! [like, once every other day. with a kitchen glass of water.] What more are you supposed to do?

[mycrosstobear]

[An asshole Wolfwood may be, but a creep he is not.]

I don't know. I just know how to do- [He waves a hand at the revived flowers.] this. [He sounds aggravated by it. He is aggravated by it. There are so many other powers!

...And honestly he should know more by now. He's been too focused on the power and not enough on the plants themselves.]

[adamantlyardent]

[she draws out a length of scrutinizing silence to a point where it might actually be considered torture by the Geneva conventions.]

And...and you decided to just...lean over and...do so now. Instead of. I, I don't know. Asking? Perhaps at ground-level? If testing your abilities is what you meant to do?

You know this looks...peculiar, right? [gods help her if he lacks self-awareness the way Darin does.]

[mycrosstobear]

[How hard can he press his face into his hand? Let's find out.] Yes.

[Though he feels compelled to point out-] I've tested it before. I knew it'd work.

[adamantlyardent]

[with slowly increasing irritation:] And...I'm just a poor enough caretaker of flowers that you deem to, to trespass on the threshold between our buildings to take matters into your own hands?

What if I had thought you a burglar? I could've killed you.

[mycrosstobear]

[This is why you don't try to do something helpful! It just causes more trouble! See, Vash, Wolfwood really was right all along!

Also, who talks like that? Trespass on the threshold. Why is she like this?

He leans back and crosses his arms, matching her irritation.] Yes. [What can she do to him, he's already dead.] And if you're worried about burglars you should have thought of that before you had Darin build a balcony.

[adamantlyardent]

I didn't have him do anything! Do you know the man at all? He does whatever he wants! And that's beside the point! You're the one with the weird, invasive tendencies!

[gods, if he's going to be defensive about it, he may as well be artful about it! but no, just fling blame over on her side, huh?? two can tango that way!]

[mycrosstobear]

[Okay that's...a fair point about Darin. The guy just seems to decide to build or fix things according to some kind of whim. Wolfwood's not going to concede that, though, because it's on.]

So you prefer your flowers dying, got it.

[adamantlyardent]

[hotly, jabbing an accusing finger at him:] Don't you put words in my mouth like that! I prefer having some fair warning before opening my door to find a man just...just oozing right over the railing, thank you very much! Gods, have you any sense of awareness of what you looked like?! Like some creepy pervert!

[mycrosstobear]

[He probably did look like that.

He is absolutely not conceding a point, though.] Oozing? I looked like someone trying to fix something!

[adamantlyardent]

No you didn't! [exasperated, her hands fly up and flop to her sides.] Oh my gaaaaaaawds just admit you were being a weirdo and get over yourself!