[Okay so he has some fresh thoughts about the door being sentient and oddly specific in its apparent perversion, but first:]
...Are you mad at me?
[The confusion there's genuine. He didn't think he'd said anything wrong, Is he supposed to find Millium charming or whatever?? He turns away from the door, giving her his full attention.]
I just keep forgettin' how dense you really are 'til things like this come up. And thinkin' that hey, after everything else, you oughta know by now that bein' a little snuggly isn't gonna kill you. I mean, nothing else did.
[Dense. Gah, that's so blunt on her part that the response is practically automatic, but he does force himself to drop the issue somewhat because there's a glimmer of a serious point embedded in what's been said. Even if it's brought up a bit facetiously, bringing up all the death and dying they've both had to deal with for the last few months is a pretty good way of getting him to be serious. .... More serious.
He walks away from the door to go stand closer to Millium.]
Not used to being real affectionate with people is all. I know it's not gonna kill me.
[He'll punctuate this by putting his hand on Millium's head.]
[Millium has never hidden or sugarcoated anything in her life, and she sure as heck is not about to start now. She is nothing if not brutally honest, even if she doesn't entirely intend to be brutal with it.]
Well! [Looks like she's brightened back up again, flashing him a confident little grin.] That's all right. We can work on that.
[And that's his hand moving off Millium's head, expression somewhere between incredulous and suddenly very tired.]
You're going to train me.
[He's going to state that in the most deadpan tone of voice. What's she even planning here? A strict daily regiment of 10 pats on the back and 10 hugs a day? It's definitely just a weird phrasing on her part right? Right.]
[Immediate regret sure is immediate. He didn't even agree to be trained, ok??]
"Cute."
[It's mounting disbelief and maybe just a pinch of stalling here. Stalling that, for the record, he would deny he is in any way doing because this isn't a big awkward deal or anything. Obviously. You can tell he's not stalling because he's looking at Millium's head and otherwise not moving. Baby steps.]
[He could've probably dodged this, but he lets her smack him. There's probably a bit of an inverse relationship in terms of their respective levels of happiness going on here because he's definitely grinning.]
Could've fooled me.
[DID YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN FORT.]
Kinda surprised you haven't caked Lammy in that stuff yet.
[Said with the sliiiiiightest of faces:] I appreciate art just fine.
[Spoilers: he most certainly does not. What is "aesthetic value" can you eat it.]
That wasn't art, it was a headache. Do you know how hard it was to keep Nat -- [Pumping the brakes hard mid-sentence.] ...Never mind. You can think whatever you want, just as long as you know that's not what I said.
[Sigh! But at least she's stopped bouncing now. Instead, she trots just a smidge closer to him, standing as upright as she can and trying to keep perfectly still.]
[There's a part of him that immediately thinks he'd rather be talking about the statue again or y;know have some inane conversation about what constitutes "fine art" since he's clearly an expert on the subject with his zero credentials, but he's realizing how goddamn contrary that is, so he shuts the hell up.]
Right.
[He looks down at the top of Millium's head. Her hair is so blue. Grass is green, obvious fact is obvious and all, but he's only just beginning to appreciate just how blinding that shade of electric blue is now that he's being forced to deal with it in a more personal capacity.
He really needs to learn how to turn off his internal monologue sometimes.]
...Right.
[Repeating this pointlessly. He starts bending down to reach her head. With his lips. And as long as he doesn't keep thinking about the "with his lips" part, it's fine. But you know, he can't. So he hovers a couple of inches away from her head like a robot that's run out of batteries.]
Do we even know if this is gonna work?
[Keith. Keith, the answer is no we don't know. You've already established this was still probably worth a shot a couple of minutes ago...]
[Millium is being as patient as she physically can, which is quite frankly impressive for someone with her amount of energy. She'd say she deserves a medal for this if medals didn't have horrible connotations now.
But her patience can only stretch so thin, and Keith's constant delaying tactics are stretching it as far as it can go. She peers up at him with lidded and judging golden eyes beneath those electric blue bangs, pouting a little.]
No, but s'not like we've got better options here. Also, you're stalling. C'mon, it's not like this is even hard.
I'm not stalling. I'm just .. wondering if we're maybe playing into someone's hands here, alright? Quit glaring at me already.
[Cuz you know nefarious plots involving innocent gestures of affection are totally afoot. He's not wrong.]
There.
[Said like she's the one who's been making a fuss out of this. Keith why. As for that door, no obvious signs that it's opened. Maybe they need to investigate it again.]
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Why would it matter who's kissing who's head -- that doesn't make any sense.
[...]
Do you have something in your eye?
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[. . .]
I'm trying to be cute. Not like I should even hafta try, but apparently my natural charms just aren't enough for ya.
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...Are you mad at me?
[The confusion there's genuine. He didn't think he'd said anything wrong, Is he supposed to find Millium charming or whatever?? He turns away from the door, giving her his full attention.]
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[That earns a bit of an owlish blink.]
I just keep forgettin' how dense you really are 'til things like this come up. And thinkin' that hey, after everything else, you oughta know by now that bein' a little snuggly isn't gonna kill you. I mean, nothing else did.
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[Dense. Gah, that's so blunt on her part that the response is practically automatic, but he does force himself to drop the issue somewhat because there's a glimmer of a serious point embedded in what's been said. Even if it's brought up a bit facetiously, bringing up all the death and dying they've both had to deal with for the last few months is a pretty good way of getting him to be serious. .... More serious.
He walks away from the door to go stand closer to Millium.]
Not used to being real affectionate with people is all. I know it's not gonna kill me.
[He'll punctuate this by putting his hand on Millium's head.]
Takes a little getting used to.
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Well! [Looks like she's brightened back up again, flashing him a confident little grin.] That's all right. We can work on that.
I'll train you up real good!
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You're going to train me.
[He's going to state that in the most deadpan tone of voice. What's she even planning here? A strict daily regiment of 10 pats on the back and 10 hugs a day? It's definitely just a weird phrasing on her part right? Right.]
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[Beam~.]
Startin' with one big ol' kiss right on this here cute lil' noggin! Hop to it, soldier~!
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"Cute."
[It's mounting disbelief and maybe just a pinch of stalling here. Stalling that, for the record, he would deny he is in any way doing because this isn't a big awkward deal or anything. Obviously. You can tell he's not stalling because he's looking at Millium's head and otherwise not moving. Baby steps.]
That word mean something else where you're from?
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I'll have you know I'm adorable, Keet. [So there] How would you describe me, then?
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A short blue-haired menace who loves glitter way too much.
[And with that said, he'll definitely not be making any moves to kiss her head because he doesn't want his face caught in any potential retaliation.]
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Heyyy!
[She throws herself at him, beating one hand against his chest with all of her pitiful strength.]
Don't be mean! I like glitter the exact right amount!
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Could've fooled me.
[DID YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN FORT.]
Kinda surprised you haven't caked Lammy in that stuff yet.
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Also, yes, she DID look at her own fort, thank you. It was a thing of beauty and also Olympia arms, don't be jealous.]
'Cause Lammy is perfect just as he is. You, on the other hand, definitely need more sparkle in your life.
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Pass. That statue was enough "sparkle" [Quotation marks audible.] for three lifetimes.
[But he'll add just a little more gently.]
Besides. You're the only one I know who could possibly make that much glitter look natural.
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[Sigh! But it looks like she accepts this subtle caring and that little bit of preening.]
Buuuut you're probably right about that. ...'Cause I'm adorable.
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[Spoilers: he most certainly does not. What is "aesthetic value" can you eat it.]
That wasn't art, it was a headache. Do you know how hard it was to keep Nat -- [Pumping the brakes hard mid-sentence.] ...Never mind. You can think whatever you want, just as long as you know that's not what I said.
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What did Natalie do? Tell me, tell me~!
[...It looks like getting out of this room is forgotten for now, because now Millium is all about this Hot Gossip™.]
And I know it's not what you said, but I also know you wanna say it but you just don't wanna let me win! It's okay, Keet, I won't hold it against you~
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Nothing happened. She didn't do anything. Let's just go back to thinking about how to get out of here.
[Loud sigh. How the heck did that become the more preferable option again?]
Just stay still and don't wriggle around.
[...you'd think he was about to perform some delicate surgical procedure or something.]
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Oooh~ she totally did do something! No way you'd be so cagey otherwise! So what was it, what was it~? Did she laugh at you~?
[No dice, Keet, because she's pulling away a little and bouncing on her toes excitedly.]
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[You know, after he practically dragged her away from the park.]
She probably laughed.
[Everyone else sure did. Grumpy grump. Why'd you make him think about this, Millium? Now he's just feeling slightly lousy.]
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[Sigh! But at least she's stopped bouncing now. Instead, she trots just a smidge closer to him, standing as upright as she can and trying to keep perfectly still.]
But okay, okay. I'm keepin' still for you!!
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Right.
[He looks down at the top of Millium's head. Her hair is so blue. Grass is green, obvious fact is obvious and all, but he's only just beginning to appreciate just how blinding that shade of electric blue is now that he's being forced to deal with it in a more personal capacity.
He really needs to learn how to turn off his internal monologue sometimes.]
...Right.
[Repeating this pointlessly. He starts bending down to reach her head. With his lips. And as long as he doesn't keep thinking about the "with his lips" part, it's fine. But you know, he can't. So he hovers a couple of inches away from her head like a robot that's run out of batteries.]
Do we even know if this is gonna work?
[Keith. Keith, the answer is no we don't know. You've already established this was still probably worth a shot a couple of minutes ago...]
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But her patience can only stretch so thin, and Keith's constant delaying tactics are stretching it as far as it can go. She peers up at him with lidded and judging golden eyes beneath those electric blue bangs, pouting a little.]
No, but s'not like we've got better options here. Also, you're stalling. C'mon, it's not like this is even hard.
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I'm not stalling. I'm just .. wondering if we're maybe playing into someone's hands here, alright? Quit glaring at me already.
[Cuz you know nefarious plots involving innocent gestures of affection are totally afoot.
He's not wrong.]There.
[Said like she's the one who's been making a fuss out of this. Keith why. As for that door, no obvious signs that it's opened. Maybe they need to investigate it again.]
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