forum "You DO like me!" "I don't think 'like' is the right word." "You tolerate me." "Maybe." one on one

Started January 29, 2021 by @cryptic-glitch

tune

"Alright, alright…" He was quiet for a bit. "We should probably get jobs too."

“I know,” she sighed. “I’ll work on it.”

"Where could I even work?" He asked curiously. "I don't exactly have a lot of exploitable skills."

“You’re smart and friendly and you seem to be able to think on your feet. At the very least, I’m sure a department store will hire you.”

Lin flushed a bit and looked away. "Uh… y-yeah, I guess. I dunno, maybe I can be a bodyguard or something. I'm probably strong enough."

“Why are you blushing?” Orion asked. “It’s a compliment.”

"Well, I dunno… I'm not super used to compliments, I guess. I can't exactly control whether or not I blush."

“True enough,” she said. “Where do you want to work? If you could work anywhere.”

Lin shrugged a bit. "Dunno. I'm fine with pretty much anything. I guess I'd prefer something more hands on, though… I get antsy if I'm still for too long."

“Really? You seem relatively calm.”

"By antsy I mean… fidgety, I guess." Lin sighed and looked down at his hands. "But you get mad when I fidget, so I've been trying really hard not to."

“If you feel better when you fidget, then don’t let me stop you,” she said gently. “It just makes me worry about you.”

"Oh… well, I-I don't want to worry you." He said softly, toying with his sleeves a bit. "It does help settle my mind a bit, though. Keeps me occupied so I don't get so… distracted."

"You can't do a whole lot about my worrying," Orion said wryly. "Don't worry about my worrying."

"But I don't want you to worry…" Lin sighed softly, looking away. "And I don't wanna bother you."

"I always worry. You aren't bothering me. I only worry about you because I like you, Lin." Orion shrugged.

Lin tugged at his sleeves a bit more, still seeming unsure. "Is there any way to make you feel better about it?"

"I don't know. I don't think we should try, anyway. Based on what happened in the warehouse, I need to worry about you."

Lin sighed again. "I'm fine. Just a bit of lung damage. It's really no big deal. Breathing under normal circumstances isn't really all that difficult."

"See! This type of disregard is exactly why I need to worry about you."

"Why is that so worrying?" Lin asked, confused. "I see no reason why to be so paranoid about it all the time. I can breathe fine most of the time."

"Most of the time. The lesser amount of time, I do need to worry about you."

Lin shook his head a bit and closed his eyes. "I'm sure I'll be okay. I'm only really bothered if it's super dusty or smoky or something."

"I'm going to worry about you regardless."

"You really don't have to, though. You shouldn't have to worry about me all the time."