I'm a little less than sold

ira

Her smile grows more and she gives him a gentle nudge in return, then nods in agreement that they'll make it work. "Thank you." She says with a small exhale of that relief. It isn't actually as much of a way of escaping her current place. She mainly just really wants to be able to stay around Uldren more after seeing that it has worked quite well living with him this past season and that she hasn't grown tired of his company at all. That she's getting away from her current place she sees mostly as a side bonus at this point, even if it has been a goal she has been trying to work towards for a long time.

"It's really nice to be up a bit from the floor and not having to worry about water. And it's a really nice bed too." She gives him a smirk with a soft chuckle. Uldren's bed wasn't too uncomfortable, but when she had her own to compare with, she just has to be biased towards her own. Still, she had gladly spent the season in his because it had him in it too. Didn't matter how soft her bed was if she had to spend the nights alone in it, especially with how things had been this Drenak with the illness and all that. Having had nice, supportive company for once had been, well, nice.

She reaches into the water and picks another plant at random as if she just remembered what they were doing before the talk of moving in, but then pauses again. "Guess I should probably be fair and give dad a little bit of a heads-up. Not that I've really kept it a secret that I'll be out as soon as I can. Just maybe give a warning before starting to clear out the room." She has no idea what opinions her father would have about this, and to be honest, she really doesn't care.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

It’s amazing what wonders can occur when one no longer has to live with the biggest source of stress. After all, while Uldren never really dealt with it, he’d seen the effect it had taken on his sister – just how much their parents didn’t want her to come here to pursue her own desires. It was the biggest reason why he’d offered to come with, to make sure nothing terrible happened to her. And so far? While his sister hadn’t quite gotten the dream job she’d wanted, she seemed happy enough. And that’s all that mattered to him in the long run.

“It is a really nice bed.” Uldren murmurs softly, looking away from her smirk to huff a soft hoarse laugh, plucking another green plant encased in a layer of red that he tries to wash off before dumping it into his container. He’s close to mentioning that it made it extra nice because she was in it, but refrains when she picks another plant and speaks again.

It’s a sensitive topic, he knows, but he can’t help but to offer her a gentle smile. “Would it help if I officially meet him? Try and make him see that I’m not some monster whisking his daughter away?” Perhaps it was an old fashioned thought that Uldren had been brought up with, but one that seemed to make the most sense.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

She think about his question while digging up another of the small plants, trying to figure out what would actually be the best option. "I mean, part of me doesn't care what he thinks, but..." Her brow pulls together in a small frown as she tries to sort out her thoughts about it a bit more. "Maybe it is a good idea, still. Of course he already knows of you, though he is still suspicious I've made some stupid choices again even if I've told him you're fine." A short huff leaves her and she shakes her head.

"Sometimes I'm not sure what he'll care and not care about. He swings between neglect and hovering in the most annoying way ever. Or going between ignoring to blaming me for getting ill or whatever else might happen to me." She rolls her eyes in annoyance, her voice coming close to bitter and drops the next plant into the container. "Buut, I guess I can still try to be the better person and not mess with him on purpose. Sometimes. But yes, this was a very rambling way of saying that you should probably meet."

She looks to Uldren again with a small smile, still not completely sure what the right way of doing things would be when it comes to her father. They are still like strangers to each other in a way, with how little they have actually interacted on a personal level during all these years. However, she has to make some sort of decision about it and then they will just have to see how it goes from there.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

Uldren hums a sound, nodding his understanding as she explains – and given the history she told him of her previous dates, he can’t blame her father for having some worry, though it’s a fact he doesn’t voice. He pretends to understand her side regardless, choosing to believe that regardless of what she said of her father that he might simply want what’s best for her. Which is what he wants too.

So he plucks a few more plants while she explains and when she finishes up her statement, he turns back to her and sees the small smile, returning it with his own gentle smile. “What’s the worst that happens? I mean… You’re an adult, we’ve been dating a while now, he doesn’t… Can’t control you.” He shrugs lightly and returns to the plants. “I don’t mind meeting him regardless.” He shrugs yet again and flashes her a reassuring smile before picking up his container to move it further down the water, sure that she'll follow.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

She does have some understanding of her father's worries as well, and it probably wouldn't bother her so much if he was consistent with it. Mostly giving her attention with some amount of blame and scolding, and overprotective hovering whenever something happened, but is other times quick to dismiss her when she wants to talk about something. Perhaps their years of clashing, arguments and constant tension also help to switch on that bitter annoyance very quickly as well. It could very well be that her father does care, but perhaps shows it in less ideal ways and she has no patience for it.

It takes her a brief moment to think over what really was the worst that could happen and she gives  Uldren a small shrug. "Suppose worst might be that he gets angry over something, which... Really isn't something I'm not used to so I guess it's not that bad. Just don't really like having to involve you in any family drama." Her smile turns a bit more apologetic. Uldren had so far mostly seen the usual happy, playful side of her. There had also been that moment of anxiety and fear when she had told him the news about their little accident, as well as that brief conversation she had had with her father from the other side of the door. But it had been nothing. He had yet seen her lose her cool properly with someone and that someone is more often than not her father.

She picks up her own container with the plants she's picked and falls in beside Uldren as he starts moving. "Suppose I won't show up covered in bruises this time, so that's a plus." She mutters before she can catch herself saying it out loud and exhales in a quiet sigh.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

He’s willing to bet that’s likely the issue – too much clashing and the inability to actually express the concern felt without being overbearing and annoying, wanting nothing more than to coddle her when she was rightfully independent and strong. It’s a balance that Uldren has learned how to deal with – thanks to experience with his sister’s own whims and his duty to protect her.

He still huffs a soft laugh at her comment and following apologetic smile. “Eh, that’s just another step in the relationship game, isn’t it?” He teases her lightly while he moves to get the container in a new spot to pluck some new plants, trying his best to wash off the red algae in the process. But as she makes her muttering comment, Uldren’s head whips to her in concern, brows pinched and every ounce of amusement fading like chalk under the rain.

But he doesn’t want to think about that, wishing to instead shift the conversation back to happier thoughts, and adds a soft little “not unless they’re ones you want.” with a relatively innocent shrug, dropping the next plant into the container.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

His reaction and the look he gives her after her muttering makes her instantly regret saying anything and she turns her gaze away from him, his comment barely sticking to her and she chews on her lip. "Sorry, I shouldn't bring any of that up..." She mumbles as some feelings of guilt gnaws on her for bringing up the past, understanding it being something others don't want to deal with as well.

Shaking her head mostly at herself, she puts down the container and starts searching for new plants to pick, keeping her eyes on the water and trying to focus on the task. However, the silence very quickly becomes too tense for her, at least from her side and she lets out another small sight. "I'll contact him later. Let him know what's up and see about meeting over there one of these days. I promise to try and play nice and all that." She finally throws Uldren a glance and a small, strained smile tugs at a corner of her mouth. Still cursing herself quietly for starting to talk about the heavier topics and she tries to shake it all off herself again to keep the mood up.

"Hey, maybe you two will get along just fine. That seems to be a thing with us. Him and I get along perfect with other people, just not each other." She continues just to keep any silence from drifting in again while placing down some more plants in the container after cleaning the red grime off them as much as possible, then looks back to Uldren and does her best to push away any lingering awkward tension.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

“Don’t be sorry.” He offers quietly, Uldren flashing her a soft smile to try and alleviate the guilt she feels. “I just can’t imagine someone doing that to you.” And he can’t. Despite his rough outer appearance, he’s certainly more gentle than people have given him credit for. He’s soft inside, prone to drifting more toward the niceties in life rather than brute force his way into anything.

He brightens at the idea of talking to her father even though it worries him still. He just wants to make sure that her father knows that he’ll take care of her, that he’s there for her, and if nothing else he wouldn’t have to worry when she was around him.

Hopefully she’s right when she says that he might even like him, a thought that has Uldren relaxing slightly in his shoulders as he plucks another few plants from the grimy water. “Sounds good to me.” He offers with that same soft smile. “I’ll happily be the buffer between ya both.” He snorts, letting a breathy laugh leave him.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

She nods slowly a couple of times, then gives Uldren a small shrug. A large part of her doesn't want to think about it anymore, at all, and most days nothing about it cross her mind even once. Another part wants to make her keep talking about it whenever it happens to be brought to the forefront of her mind. She's never really talked to anyone about anything concerning all of that, and sometimes certain things made it bubble up to the surface and spill over before she could catch up with it and keep it down.

"I just didn't see the warning flags soon enough..." She says quietly and bites her tongue before more can keep spilling out of her about it. Perhaps another time and place. She doesn't want to be the one drowning the mood completely right now.

Instead she shifts the conversation to the meeting with her father. Not that her father is a very happy topic for her either, but the possibility of him accepting Uldren does brighten things a little bit. Uldren's laugh even manages once again to bring a more proper smile back to her face and she shakes her head slowly. "Maybe that's needed. Neither of us wanting to start a shouting match for the sake of keeping things nice for the third person." A soft chuckle leaves her and washes away some more of the lingering tension.

"You're a really nice person, so hopefully he won't be too difficult about handing the watch of me over to you." Even if her father's controlling behaviour annoys her to no end, she shoots Uldren a teasing look with the comment.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

Uldren can’t blame her for missing the warning signs. Never in a million years would he blame her for any of it. The blame sits solely on the previous asshole’s decisions to the point where he hopes that he never crosses paths with him. For now, though, it’s the two of them and he’s content enough with that. She’s in one piece, she’s his and that’s more than enough to sate the quiet frustration that has locked in his chest.

It works with the laugh he gives, brightening the mood as he stands up a little straighter, adjusting his posture to hopefully pop his back a small amount when he regards her and the smile reflected there, finding it far more genuine this time around.

“See? The plan’s perfect.” He teases her back before she speaks again and Uldren can’t help the snort that leaves him, nodding. “Hopefully he has no issue with it. Dunno how else I can prove it to him.” Aside from the fact that he does manage to make lasti and has a place to live not in danger of getting kicked out, even if it wasn’t the greatest.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling