bakerstreet | (no subject)

[ His teasing works. She responds with a noise of exaggerated affront, scowling softly. ] Now you've got a problem with my shoes?

[ She shakes her head, letting her foot off the gas a bit so she can make a turn. There's no fire burning in her eyes to make it seem like she's seriously upset, so it appears she's going along with this for the time being. ] I think you're jealous you didn't think that up yourself.

[ That's a bit weak, but she also wants to get across that she's kidding. He can say what he likes about her clothing - it's hers and she likes it and that's all that matters. And, she supposes, that goes both ways. If Gansey feels the need to fill his whole closet, floor to ceiling, with tacky and expensive shoes, well.

That's a bit more judgment than she really had to mentally exercise. She glances down very briefly at his shoes. They're not that awful.

Maybe. ]

[ good clothes can get you far, that's something he's always been told and still abides. he may not want the life his parents lead, nor the one they want for him, but he does find comfort in his boat shoes and his colorful polos.

just like he knows that blue's choices are hers, and that's what makes her clothes special. she spells out who she is with them. he might not always understand said choices, but that's part of the charm. ]

I'm not sure two different pairs of my kind of shoe would make much of an impact.

[ gansey watches the road again, watches as they drive past homes that charmed him in the end, as surely as henrietta had, as surely as blue had. ]

[ There's a spot deep inside where Blue probably understands this. Most likely. She knows she's trying to say something with what she wears, so why can't he? He's certainly more than President Cell Phone and somehow she thinks his uniform isn't the same as President Cell Phone's either. Not precisely.

Still, boat shoes are just not practical in all situations. That will always be true and she'll keep saying it forever. For his sake. ]

Well. [ She inches forward, hands gripping the wheel more firmly. ] I don't know what to say to that. How disappointing.

Yours works better.

[ he says this while looking at her again, even if the combination of his words and his stare could be dangerous. hers works better because it's hers. her statement to make. there's a lot about blue that gansey appreciates but that he might not have if it came from anyone else. all of her parts make a person he doesn't want to turn away from, if he can help it.

returning his eyes to the road before he watches her for too long (her profile is nice to trace with his eyes, addictive), he taps his fingers against the nearly empty water bottle. ]

[ Blue is mystified by that. She knows she probably shouldn't be, that it says something interesting that she is, but there it is. She's once again been stumped by the magnificent puzzle that is Richard Campbell Gansey III. Under her hands, the leather of the steering wheel creaks slightly when she wrings her fingertips around its surface.

Looking over for just a second is long enough for her to spot the look in his eye. More mysteries. If only some sharp retort would come into her head. She rolls a few around in her mind, using another stop sign and a second turn to give herself some time to root about for the right reply. ]

You're basing this on what evidence? [ Finally, there it is. Something that feels like the acceptable thing to say. That's the best thing to say. ]

[ there are a lot of ways he could answer that. a lot of ways he could tease her again, or make a joke that would take the topic back to safer directions.

but it's just the two of them, and sometimes the temptation to indulge is too strong. gansey is still only a boy, a boy that holds a lot in his chest, blue being one of those.

so he gestures at her with his uninjured hand, like it's self evident. it is evidence. everything blue wears works on her. gansey can't imagine anyone else pulling it off, but that's because no one else is blue sargent. ]

Got evidence right here.

[ he might tease her about the eggplant dress. and a few of her choices. but it's out of affection, out of needing something to bounce off of when she's showing more of her legs than usual and he has to make a point not to look at them too long. ]

[ Blue hums skeptically, but then it occurs to her that he's been gesturing and that takes her on another track. ]

Were you just gesturing to all of me? [ Another thing occurs to her. She did not sound as agitated as she ought to have just then. Something will have to be done about that, she thinks. Maybe not now. In the distance, Monmouth looms. A little sigh of relief signals her feeling on that.

Beyond that, she doesn't make any further sound, nor does she take her eye off the road for a bit while she's navigating. It would be a shame to get relieved and then slip up at the last moment. She almost jinxes herself and destroys her own concentration from within when she starts to wonder if anyone else is there. Maybe not Adam, because why? But others, perhaps.

The thought spirals away into the air without any resolution. Did it matter?

She shifts her feet slightly, not directly over the pedals, but inside her shoes. Was that what he meant by evidence? ]

[ the trees part in that familiar way that points to home, and similar thoughts fill gansey's head. will ronan or noah be there? of course he'll be glad to see them, but minutes spent alone with blue are rare. he wouldn't mind extending these. ]

I was. It's your whole... look.

[ he's hoping that comes across right. he's unsettled by finding out their drive is almost over already. ]

[ Another skeptical humming sound to match the first, then Blue is making the final turn before the drive up to Monmouth. ]

My 'look.' [ She repeats this in a tone that's intended to helpfully illuminate what's wrong with that statement. However, the problem with doing so is that it does not actually provide any details to go along with the assumption. Briefly, she thinks she's being unfair to Gansey, but she also thinks he was unfair first.

Making her fall- no, helping her fall in love. That's hardly the type of thing to think about while driving, so she doesn't.

It is weird how her cheeks turn pink there. Maybe it can be taken as a sign of her indescribable upset about the commentary on her wardrobe. That could be an acceptable excuse for blushing. ]

[ he feels slightly like he's messing this up, which makes him fumble for the right words. he's fiddling with the water bottle, glancing at blue but not lingering. ]

Yes. It's... good.

[ quickly, he adds: ]

But I don't know if it would be good if it was anyone else?

[ it's not as eloquent as he would have liked, phrased like a question in his hesitance, but it should get the point across. hopefully. his thumb is picking at the water bottle label. monmouth looms ahead, but gansey doesn't feel relieved to see it. ]

[ Blue catches that from the corner of her eye and she's genuinely not sure if she's sad she brought this about or pleased. It's a tough tightrope to walk from time to time. Gansey is causing her emotions to get very mixed up. ]

Oh. [ Her eloquent response there sounds much more positive about the second statement. Perhaps her mixed-up feelings dictated she was allowed to be pleased about what is, to her mind, a compliment. Or complimentary at least.

Still mixed-up. ]

Are you saying I'm unique? [ She's asking because she's trying to act as a human thesaurus to his thoughts. The car slows a little. ]

[ this time he does face her, dropping his head back against the head rest to do so, smiling in her direction without mask or stifling. it's a little much to admit, again, but it's true. and friends think that of each other just as much, so it doesn't have to be something more.

even though it is. even though she'll know it is. ]

One of a kind.

[ The car very nearly comes to a halt, then Blue remembers that these things usually move faster if you depress the pedal a bit. ]

Oh, you're one to talk. [ It should sound sarcastic or disparaging or some emotion that's easy to use as a weapon, but instead it sounds almost reverent. She didn't know her voice could do that. And still, she has to focus on driving. Maybe she can conveniently forget that her voice ever did that while she turns in at Monmouth. Maybe. ]

[ gansey looks down at himself, as if surprised. ]

I don't dress particularly... uniquely. [ he winces a little at that sentence structure, but he couldn't think of any other way to finish it. he's never thought of his clothes as something that stands out, in fact. not until blue, who doesn't always spare him her thoughts on his choice of shirt color or shoe style.

either way, those thoughts are better than dealing with her returning the over all compliment: never has gansey met anyone like blue. she's one of them, but she's something of her own, too. a hurricane, the kind you don't stand a chance to withstand. it's a little how he feels around her sometimes. like the hurricane she is took the air right out of his lungs. ]

[ Blue, in a fit of flustered emotion that she should not have been capable of, huffs shyly. ]

I didn't mean your clothes.

[ She feels like a hurricane right now, that's for certain. Everything's getting tossed around inside. Once the car is parked, she looks over at Gansey, mouth open to speak again, but no words escape. She shuts it. She looks down at his hand.

She opens her mouth again. ] Are you going to let me take care of that?

[ It's the best she can do, with apologies to herself and especially to Gansey, to get them away from a place where things might be a little dangerous. ]

[ oh.

he's very glad for the topic change, but disappointed, as well. constantly torn between what he wants with blue and what he believes is right. letting this go further isn't right. not yet. not until they can talk to adam, and he has other priorities than his friend's romantic entanglements, at the moment.

they're bound to keep toeing the line, playing a sort of tug-o-war. gansey only hopes neither of them cross the line on the ground before they're sure it's safe to. it's all a bit depressing to think about, when it comes down to it, so gansey pushes it all back and raises an eyebrow at blue. ]

Are you giving me a choice?

[ It's easier to put it all on a shelf, though Blue has to constantly walk around with an expiration date in her head and that thought drives her nearly insane. So, she just won't think about it. Those thoughts are for another time. Instead, she gathers herself up - as much of her as there is to gather - and addresses Gansey in a stern voice. ]

I don't know if I trust you to be careful if I don't.

[ She deflates a little, then removes the keys from the car. ] Wait there.

[ With that, she climbs from the Pig and walks to his side, opening the passenger door. ] Let me help you, okay? [ For a moment, she looks quite vulnerable and, indeed, quite small. ]

[ looking up at her from his spot in the car, he can do nothing but nod. ]

Okay. [ he would have insisted that he's fine, if she hadn't looked that way when asking. as it is, he doesn't find it in him to argue. being taken care of, outside of his mother and father, is not something he's very used to. putting others first and reducing his own problems is an instinct, at this point, one that is difficult to kick.

with blue, though. with blue, things are different. they have the potential to be, at the very least.

gathering his things from his lap, he cradles them in the crook of his arm holding the bottle. does blue want to take some of this from him? he angles them out to ask, head tilted. ]

[ Silently, she nods as Gansey begins to collect items in his hands. She reaches for whatever he'll hand over, then steps back so he can stand up. She's aware now that she may have given something crucial away.

Being Blue is a strange thing. She knows she's tiptoed over a line somewhere, but having no experience of where the line is, it's sometimes hard to pinpoint the moment when she's slid past it. Right now, she feels she might have done so, but she can't put a finger on why.

Is there anything about what's just happened that she'd be nervous of anyone else seeing? That's uncertain, because she felt no urge to look around skittishly to see if someone had seen. But that could be innocence (or naivety) on her part. ]

I'm sorry. [ She says the words while looking at her feet and not really knowing why. Well, she knows why she's looking at her feet, it's the apology she's not 100% clear on. ] You said you had something frozen, right? [ Looking up again, her face is clear once more, or clear of whatever was there before. Standard issue feisty Blue is back. ]

[ wanting to point out she has nothing to apologize for, gansey opens his mouth. what stops him is not being sure of why the moment shifted for a second. actually, he knows. both of them have something they're holding back, when it's just the two of them. and sometimes they slip, a little. sometimes it's compliments and teasing that crosses the line of friendship in their weight, and sometimes it's just the size of this thing between them that neither of them allow themselves to properly face.

so he says this instead: ]

Peas. It should work.

[ then he stands from the car, closing the door behind him, standing straight and sure again as he strides toward the door. ]

[ Composed now, but feeling a bit stormy under the surface, Blue nods and walks beside Gansey toward the door. She does hurry ahead a little to get it for him, looking at him as she does, like she's daring him to make some kind of comment about chivalry or something. Well. A girl can hold the door for a prince every so often. Especially if he's injured. ]

I'm surprised you have frozen peas. [ She thinks about that statement while holding the door. ] Unless they're not meant to be eaten.

[ If their sole purpose is to have around in case of injury, then they certainly are in the right household for that. Which isn't to say she thinks Gansey is particularly prone to injury, it's just Ronan is prone to locating people's fists with his face and that would justify having multipurpose peas hanging around.

She really needs to focus on this. She really needs to not focus on Gansey.

Not that way.

What way? The way she's not focusing on. ]

[ blue is very right in her assumption. the peas were never intended for eating and have been serving as an ice pack for the results of ronan's fists meeting someone ronan doesn't like. he laughs that she's caught on, again getting that sense that she was always part of this, always with them since the start of the search.

at the door, he gives her a little bow of his head. ]

Thank you. [ he says it like gentleman should come right after, though, expression schooled into something neutral but clearly bursting with the joke he doesn't say. he glances over his shoulder as he climbs the stairs. ] You're right, by the way. The peas know Ronan's knuckles well.

[ blue has been doing a good job at keeping his mind off the ache in his hand, but he feels a twinge now, rubbing his hand at his arm to ease the pain without actually touching his thumb. ]

[ Well, in her mind, it's the only reasonable explanation for boys who seem to subsist on juice and pizza to have green things in their fridge (again, especially considering one of them is Ronan "if it has a Social Security number he's fought with it" Lynch, Ronan "someone, someday will fall on him and cut themselves" Lynch).

Unless the things were not always green. That thought combined with the location of the refrigeration unit is a little too ghastly to consider at this particular moment in time, so please assume she is not going to do that.

Blue acknowledge the little gesture and very carefully packages up that unspoken joke and puts it away somewhere in her mind so she doesn't compose a retort of some kind. ]

Well, I'm glad to hear they're all well-acquainted. [ She pauses, hand on the railing. ] Or am I?

[ She looks up in time to spot that movement and clomps up the stairs until she's right behind Gansey, placing a hand on his arm. There's very little electricity to it, because she's more concerned than anything. ] Let's get you some peas, mister.

[ ronan and blue are both such forces of nature that it's no wonder they clash the way they do. gansey wouldn't even go as far as saying they clash. it's become friendlier than that. biting, but without teeth. maybe it's because they have a similar fire burning inside them.

either way, sometimes their similarities are striking, so when blue expresses a sort of discontent, it's endearing more than anything.

then again, blue tends to make gansey feel that way in general. better not to linger there. ]

You'll have to get the door.

[ she has the keys, anyway, but he can't do the neat little trick of holding the handle in both hands and shifting the door in the frame to unlock it. he steps aside on the landing, even hold out an arm for his things so he can hold them for her. ]

[ Like a pair of rough and tumbling kittens, those two. Blue and Ronan make up two sides of a blade, one side more dangerous than it looks, one side less. It's up to the viewer to decide what the definition of "dangerous" is, however. ]

Let me by. [ It sounds like a question without a question mark at the end. She slides past him without ceremony, holding her breath cautiously the whole time. Forgetting to relinquish the items in her arms, she then has to turn and face him in order to carefully deposit them in his hand. Wrangling the door into submission takes just a moment, but then she can half-step back and gesture for him to enter, holding her hands out to accept the items he's carrying. ]

You better hurry in before I say something that sounds like someone's mother. [ She rolls her eyes, with absolutely no vitriol behind the gesture. In fact, in spite of herself, she thinks she hears some affection in it. Since she's mentioned a mother figure, it would be safe to assume that's where it originates, with her own mother.

Safe doesn't mean right. ]