1 hour ago
Oriena watched him with a surprisingly measured look. His vulnerability was clear, which was always a dangerous thing for her to witness. Not because she took any pleasure in crushing others when they were weak, but because she found it so fucking irritating. Comfort wasn’t natural to her, or at least it wasn’t something she often chose to share. Perhaps because she used up all her quota on her mother. People frequently interpreted that as a lack of empathy but it was just a lesson in resilience. The things you loved didn’t necessarily love you back.
Nox wanted the picket fence. That much was clear. And he lamented his sucky choice in men. So why bother to chase someone who made their boundaries clear? Either enjoy the sex for what it was, or protect yourself and move on. And that was to say nothing of the whole furore concerning Rafael. She sighed, and it perhaps came out like a hard, annoyed sound. She had nothing to say. Or at least nothing Nox was likely to want to hear. So far as she was concerned, her actions spoke louder. He was here wasn’t he? In her mother’s apartment, privy to the most human, vulnerable secret Ori contained. And it wasn’t because of the storm outside that she let him stay.
“Then Hayden’s a dick. But you’re the idiot who keeps picking unavailable men.”
He retreated. Despite her manner, Ori wasn’t unaware that he was depleted. He looked tired in a way she felt, albeit for different reasons. Yet when he started yammering through whatever zen he was trying to achieve, she shifted to shove him in the shoulder.
“You know, this reliance on other people to define your worth is fucking tiring,” she said. “So get over yourself already.”
Ori stood, and assumed he’d do the same – if not a couple of kicks ought to suffice to get him moving. She didn’t want an apology from him, or restitution. And neither was she going to be party to him practically begging for proof that she wanted him here. But she knew a job would sooth him better than she could. It was barely three steps back to the kitchen. She shoved the chair back under the table, and made a loose gesture towards the freezer and cupboards. If she seemed angry, it was only because that anger was an easier thing to sustain herself on. “Take a look, then tell me what we’re making.”
Nox wanted the picket fence. That much was clear. And he lamented his sucky choice in men. So why bother to chase someone who made their boundaries clear? Either enjoy the sex for what it was, or protect yourself and move on. And that was to say nothing of the whole furore concerning Rafael. She sighed, and it perhaps came out like a hard, annoyed sound. She had nothing to say. Or at least nothing Nox was likely to want to hear. So far as she was concerned, her actions spoke louder. He was here wasn’t he? In her mother’s apartment, privy to the most human, vulnerable secret Ori contained. And it wasn’t because of the storm outside that she let him stay.
“Then Hayden’s a dick. But you’re the idiot who keeps picking unavailable men.”
He retreated. Despite her manner, Ori wasn’t unaware that he was depleted. He looked tired in a way she felt, albeit for different reasons. Yet when he started yammering through whatever zen he was trying to achieve, she shifted to shove him in the shoulder.
“You know, this reliance on other people to define your worth is fucking tiring,” she said. “So get over yourself already.”
Ori stood, and assumed he’d do the same – if not a couple of kicks ought to suffice to get him moving. She didn’t want an apology from him, or restitution. And neither was she going to be party to him practically begging for proof that she wanted him here. But she knew a job would sooth him better than she could. It was barely three steps back to the kitchen. She shoved the chair back under the table, and made a loose gesture towards the freezer and cupboards. If she seemed angry, it was only because that anger was an easier thing to sustain herself on. “Take a look, then tell me what we’re making.”
![[Image: orianderis.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/orianderis.jpg)