Envy's Duplex, The Hegemony Compound, Ribeirao Preto, Tuesday Evening

[whenshewasnice]

Envy's bedroom looked like her closet had exploded. There were clothes everywhere: draped over anything possible, hanging on hangers, laid out on her bed. The only piece of furniture not currently covered in layers of fabric was her vanity table. And that had a bunch of Polaroids on it. All of Envy in different outfits.

Even right now, she was posing for another one in a sleek black-and-white dress in front of her full-length mirror. She snapped a photo and took it out before setting the camera aside for the time being. As she waited for the photo to develop, she kept looking at herself in the mirror, still judging the outfit. She felt like she was on to something, here. Getting closer, but not quite there yet.

But, she had an idea about what direction to take it.

So, she picked up her phone and texted Peter, the latest Polaroid still in her other hand.

Bring me one of your white button down shirts. I need to try something.

[ooc: NFB but open.]

Comments

[lockestheway]

"So we can both agree this was a deeply silly argument."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy shrugged a shoulder, unfussed.

"It was never meant to be anything more."

[lockestheway]

A corner of Peter's mouth quirked up.

"So will you be my date?" he said. "My palms are getting sweaty."

[whenshewasnice]

"I know you've started caring more over the years," Envy replied, with a hint of a drawl, amused though it was, "but not to the point of sweaty palms."

Your joking was unrealistic, Peter.

Anyway. Her smile was crooked, lopsided - a little Natalie. "Yes."

[lockestheway]

"I don't know," Peter said, holding out a decidedly unsweaty hand. "I felt a draft."

But he looked pleased.

[whenshewasnice]

Envy rolled her eyes, dramatically. "You're hopeless."

Notice how it didn't stop her taking his hand.

[lockestheway]

"Still got you to go out with me," Peter said. "What does that say about you?"

He squeezed her hand.

[whenshewasnice]

"That I'm continuing my streak of seeming like I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to who I choose to go out with."

Her track record was a mess, and he was one of the very few people to whom she'd even allude to that.

She gave his hand a squeeze back. And then a tug, towards the couch. "Come on, I'm getting tired of standing around. I could be sitting on your lap instead."

[lockestheway]

"If you're going to twist my arm about it," Peter sighed, and smiled at her, and followed, and sat down.

[whenshewasnice]

"Oh, I am," Envy replied, as she climbed onto the couch, to straddle him. "My home, my rules."

Or something.

She kissed him. She had something to say, but, his lips were just sort of there and it was as good a start as any.

[lockestheway]

Peter wasn't about to complain.

Partly because he was physically unable to, kissing her back with now somewhat practiced skill, his hands lingering over the small of her back.

[whenshewasnice]

Envy lingered with the kiss for a while. It was nice, and it was easy.

But eventually she pulled back - though not by much. Her forehead ended up against his. She exhaled a soft sigh. "Have you noticed there's kind of a wall?"

[lockestheway]

"We're in a room, there are four," Peter joked idly, but he was tilting his head. "But that's not what you're talking about."

[whenshewasnice]

"Honestly, I would headbutt you if you thought that's what it was." So no, it definitely wasn't that. "I mean between us."

[lockestheway]

"I guess so," Peter said, after a long pause.

[whenshewasnice]

Envy sighed, and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I guess I built it," she said. "When I left."

[lockestheway]

"You used to be easy to talk to," Peter said, and surprised himself with the honesty. "You were never transparent, don't get me wrong. But then it turned to mysteries, metaphors and mirrors."

[whenshewasnice]

And honesty merited honesty, she supposed. "I didn't want to give anyone a chance to hurt me, after Todd." There was a lot 'before Todd' and 'after Todd' to her life. "Not more of a chance than they had by virtue of being who they were, anyway."

She paused, then added, "You in particular."

[lockestheway]

"Me in particular?" Peter echoed.

[whenshewasnice]

"You were the last of my friends still left before I decided to say bye to sanity and hop on Rollercoaster Ingram," Envy replied, a little dryly. In retrospect, her life choices had been questionable, even in her own eyes. "That's left you with a lot of knives at your disposal."

[lockestheway]

"I'm not in the habit of stabbing people in the back if I don't need to," Peter said. "Not anymore."

[whenshewasnice]

She hadn't really even thought about it that way before.

"I'm more worried about getting stabbed from the front, anyway."

[lockestheway]

"Now that," Peter said lightly, "Was never my style at all."

He reached up to cup her cheek. "I'd like us to talk more, if it's all the same. I just didn't know if you were open to that."

And he was decent at playing the mystery-metaphor-mirror game, himself.

[whenshewasnice]

At one point, they'd been goood at a version of it together. Saying one thing and meaning another, except they'd both understood what was being said.

She missed that.

She tilted her face against his hand. "How I miss your ranting, do you miss my all-time lows?" She wasn't above quoting herself. Not when it was significant. Her voice was a soft murmur. "I'd like that."

[lockestheway]

And then she'd started speaking a strange dialect Peter'd known he had no ability to understand.

Now they just needed to relearn each other's dancing steps.

"I miss them," Peter said, just as softly.

And kissed her. Again.