forum Hold me closer, tiny dancer (o/o) (Closed)

Started December 20, 2021 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

Eve seemed surprised that Rowan showed interest, but her face softened as she talked. "Oh, she's just lovely. Quite the opposite of me, let me tell you," she added with a quiet laugh.

Rowan laughed softly as he slipped the brace onto his wrist and tightened it. "How so? I've always wondered what it's like to have a sibling."

Eve smiled wistfully. "She's mild-mannered, polite, smart…" The smile seemed to fade a bit, but Eve quickly shook her head. "She's an angel, and I'm… me."

"Oh, come now. Give yourself a little more credit. You're not as bad as you think you are." Rowan hummed thoughtfully. "I think you're pretty cool."

Eve looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Oh?"

Rowan flushed and held up his hands. "I-I'm just saying you shouldn't be so down on yourself all the time! You've got a lot to be proud of. Agh, that doesn't help, um…"

Eve arched her eyebrows in amusement. "While I thank you and your efforts to make me feel better, I know that things such as not being good enough for med school and falling into "borderline alcoholic" territory aren't things my parents are necessarily proud of me for."

"But you're really good at what you do! You're good at all sorts of things, and it doesn't matter how your parents feel about it, right? You can't define yourself by only your negative traits." Rowan insisted.

"Right," Eve murmured, but it didn't take a genius to see she didn't believe him. "I'm going to jump in the shower if that's okay with you."

"Ah, right, yeah… that's fine." Rowan replied awkwardly. "I'll make some food or something, I dunno…"

Eve nodded. "Okay." She went into her room, shut the door, and reemerged moments later with only a towel wrapped around her and her clothes in her hand.

Rowan looked up when he heard the door, and flushed upon seeing Eve. He quickly averted his eyes and returned to making the food, his heart pounding hard in his chest.

Eve noticed his look and couldn't help but smirk. "Sorry. My robe is still in the washroom, I forgot it last time." However, she didn't plan on standing in the open much longer for him to stare, so she headed down the hall to the shower.

"S'fine…" Rowan mumbled dismissively in reply, keeping his eyes firmly on the food. After a while, he tried to take the pot off the head with his bad wrist. He hissed in pain and dropped the pot, which clattered loudly on the floor.

It only took a few seconds for the shower water to stop running, the door to open, and bare feet to hit the floor. Eve hurried into the kitchen – wrapped in a towel, hair wet, and a panicked look on her face. "What happened?" she demanded. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine! I'm fine, I'm just… stupid. Grabbed the pot with my sprained wrist and dropped it like an idiot." Rowan sighed, trembling a bit as he cradled his injured wrist with his good hand. He glanced over to Eve and flushed again, quickly looking away for her privacy as he had done before.

She let out a dramatic sigh of relief, clutching her heart as she did so. "All I heard was a loud crash, and my heart stopped beating for a moment. Are you positive you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… sorry for scaring you." Rowan leaned against the counter, still clutching his wrist close to his chest. He was clearly much more wary of using it for anything now. "Um… I should probably get this cleaned up."

"I think it would be best if you just went to your room and rested for a bit," Eve said decidedly. "When I'm finished with my shower, I can make dinner."

"But I really shouldn't leave all of this here… I'd feel bad making you clean it up. I'm the one who made the mess, after all." Rowan bent to start trying to clean up what he'd spilled.

Eve sighed and shook her head. "You know what would make me feel bad? Knowing you cleaned everything up and made me dinner when you're clearly – temporarily – injured. Please, go rest. I'll be out soon."

"Alright, alright, fine…" Rowan finally relented, although he had still picked up the pot to put back on the counter. "I'll go." He reluctantly turned and left the kitchen to go and rest in his room for a while.

"Thank you!" Eve chirped over her shoulder, hurrying back to the shower, and a few moments later, the water started again.

Rowan curled up on his bed, feeling exhausted from the events of the day. It didn't take him long to pass out on top of his covers, still in his clothes from the day.

Eve's shower was soon done, and she changed into a tank top and shorts before heading to the kitchen to pick up where Rowan left off.