Room 303, Wednesday Afternoon

[fewer_explosions]

Most people spent this week exercising, taking showers, or, ahem, engaging in other activities. Liara? Liara was just doing what she always did, with about ten times as much focus. It was hardly new for her to channel emotion into learning, and if that learning was especially dedicated this week... it could be a lot worse.

Right now she had several books scattered around the room - a couple on the theorized workings of the multiverse, a couple about human history, a couple about human archaeological findings, one particularly engrossing tome about the architectural roots of this island. She had already read most of them, but there were still several left. And so she sat there on her bed, bent over the book in her lap, scrutinizing each word with intense focus.

All in all, she was not much different this week than she had been the last, or the one before that.

[[ open door, open post! ]]

Comments

[solarhippie]

Karolina kind of twitched, surprised. But not too long, and she curled her hand around Liara's. That seemed like it might be okay. And she wanted to.

Although it was a touch, and okay, her mind seemed to want to think about other ways of touching, and wow, it was almost surprising she didn't blush.

"Well, mostly it's just... distracting."

[fewer_explosions]

"I actually found a great deal of focus," Liara said. "As you can tell by all the books."

She was trying to make a silly joke about herself here. Please bear with her.

[solarhippie]

Well, Karolina chuckled a bit, and even managed a glance up. "I guess not being a big reader is really letting me down here."

[fewer_explosions]

Liara's mouth curved into a smile. "Not everyone has as intimate a relationship with books as I do," she said. "This is a fact of life I have been forced to accept."

[solarhippie]

"... That sounded a little dirty." Look at her braving a blush and making a joke! "Well, it would have if I didn't know the kinds of books you read."

[fewer_explosions]

Dirty jokes and Liara were not something that mixed, per se, but she let go of a soft laugh anyway - it relieved some of the tension. "I did not mean that. My passion for archaeology is entirely platonic."

A few months ago and she wouldn't have been able to handle that joke. Progress.

[solarhippie]

A few months ago and Karolina probably wouldn't have made that joke, either.

"Good," she chuckled, nodding. "Otherwise things would be a little weird."

[fewer_explosions]

"I believe they are already a little weird," Liara felt the need to add. "That would simply push it into being... a lot... weird."

A pause.

"Sorry, that was terrible phrasing."

[solarhippie]

"It was fine," Karolina assured her with a lopsided smile. And gave her hand a subtle little squeeze. "Things are definitely a little weird right now. But not... inappropriately loving archaeology weird."

[fewer_explosions]

"Goddess," Liara sighed. After a moment, she gave Karolina's fingers a squeeze back. "I will be happy when this passes."

[solarhippie]

"Yeah." Even if this also wasn't awful. Entirely. "Maybe it's only for a few days."

[fewer_explosions]

"Hopefully."

Liara scooted a little closer because... well, just because. She sighed.

"I may have reread this one book thrice."

[solarhippie]

Karolina had to take a second longer than usual to process what she'd heard. She was suddenly feeling a little more distracted, see.

She glanced over again, and managed to look amused. "At least you can sit still long enough to read. Repeatedly."

[fewer_explosions]

"Sitting still is not the issue," Liara sighed.

Especially right now...

"I..."

She was trying to sort through her short list of relevant human television moments to deal with this.

[solarhippie]

Karolina had lived human moments for seventeen years and she didn't know how to deal with this. So, good luck with that, Liara!

She just raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was an encouraging manner. "Yes?"

[fewer_explosions]

"...Believe it's customary to ask you to a meal?" she settled on, plucking that out of her memory. "Sometime... not right now."

Because concentration and okay more reading was necessary.

[solarhippie]

Karolina nodded, quickly, and smiled a bit. "I eat!"

Wow.

"I mean, um. That would be really nice, yeah. I'd like to."

[fewer_explosions]

"Okay."

Liara withdrew her hand from Karolina's with... some difficulty. "When we will have some actual peace of mind."

It occurred to her it would likely be a good idea if they did not continue to sit here like this, or one of them might do something ridiculous and the resulting flailing fit would not be pretty.

[solarhippie]

She was so smart and sensible. It was good one of them was.

"Oh, yes, definitely," Karolina said, nodding. A second or two of hesitation, and she actually started getting up. "I should probably get going, anyway."

She actually had nowhere to go, but maybe she'd just go back to her room and flail in private.

[fewer_explosions]

Liara nodded with almost overblown agreement. "I... will come see you over the weekend, if this is done," she promised.

She tried to be sensible, at least.

[solarhippie]

"Okay."

Karlina fidgeted a little bit again, hesitating. Then she settled on a little wave. "Well, see you later."

[fewer_explosions]

"See you," Liara agreed - earnest again. Sadly she was not yet hip enough with social conduct to think of something like an encouraging smile or anything, really, that wasn't just nodding at Karolina with her eyes big and honest.

She was compartimentalising so she could parse what just happened in private.