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A Couple Days Later.
Rebecca has spent the days after their awkward dinner trying to keep a more business-like demeanor with Courtney, acting almost like she did the first week, afraid to push Courtney away any further.
But as things don't seem to get any better after a few days, she eventually decides she needs to talk to Courtney...
She sighs, searching through the house, poking her head into the smaller quarters as she doesn't just want to call out to 'summon' her like a servant.
At last, she pokes her head into one of the storage rooms, "Courtney? Are you in here?"
A soft, barely audible sigh can be heard, before the goth replies. "Yeah, I am in here. Just sorting stuff out." She walks into view, brushing dust off of her maid dress and to her credit at least attempts a smile. "What, er, what is on your mind, mistress?" The maid has moves back to using the dragon's title in an attempt to distance her more from the... distracting feelings and thoughts.
Rebecca frowns at hearing the title once again. Her head rests downward in the door, this room is clearly human-scaled, meaning Rebecca isn't coming in any farther, "I uh, hi. Hi... I just... I wanted to make sure you were okay, and... to apologize if I was too excitable the other night. I didn't mean to hurt you, and if there's anything I can do to help you... I uh..." She trails off, really unsure how to proceed with this beyond the apology, if Courtney doesn't want to open up about things.
Courtney looks at the dragon and her heart breaks a bit again. She swallows as she steps closer and looks up at Rebecca.
"I-it's okay. Wasn't anything you said or did. I was just being a dumb." She offers a timid, apologetic smile.
Rebecca tilts her head, "...it wasn't anything I said...? Then... what was it? You didn't say anything that I thought was dumb..."
Courtney feels her mouth go dry. Well, now she's done it. Time to... Say something, at least.
"Um... O-okay. But you gotta promise me you won't be, er, offended. It was kinda very dumb."
Rebecca: "Oh, um... well, I promise then... I... I guess if it's something hurtful... I..." She swallows, tensing up as if preparing for bad news. "I promise I won't take offense."
Courtney swallows, then takes a breath. "Okay. It's... Well it's probably not that. A-and I have no idea how dragons usually deal with this or if it's ever even happened, could be that I'm uniquely weird..." She trails off, swallows again and looks at Rebecca. "I, um... Think that... You are..." She mutter-whispers the last word: "B-beautiful."
Rebecca cringes, before hearing Courtney's words and slowly relaxing, "Wait... that's... all? Why is that dumb? That's a wonderful compliment."
Courtney hesitates, tapping her fingers together. "Well, um... N-not just beautiful. Attractive." She's blushing now, and not just slightly.
Rebecca takes a moment to consider that word... "You're... attracted to me? Like... attracted attracted? O-oh... oh gosh..."
Courtney raises her hands: "S-sorry! I shouldn't and it's probably all kinds of weird and strange and odd and I'm just a freak and please don't f-fire me I promise it won't be a p-problem!" She winces in preparation to how many hidden dragon protocol rules or something she's just broken.
Rebecca pauses, thinking. "Well, you're definitely not a freak, and you shouldn't say something like that. I mean, it's unexpected. But it's definitely not something I'd fire you over. I guess it might be kinda strange, but I don't really feel like it's wrong. That... probably doesn't make much sense either, does it?"
Courtney blinks: "Er, um... W-well, then, we can sort of... Forget I said anything? Like, just... Say, I just complimented you normally and nothing else to it?" She doesn't entirely sound convinced this would work.
Rebecca looks down at Courtney more carefully, "We could... Would that make you feel better? We both just pretend we don't find one another pretty?"
Courtney starts to nod, then abruptly stops. "Wait. Wait wait wait. Hold on. 'We both'? 'One another'? You don't say you..." She trails off as she looks at Rebecca questioningly, almost afraid of the answer.
Rebecca's eyes glance away, "Err... well... the thought had crossed my mind when I look at you. I mean, we've only known each other a couple weeks, but... there's something there... even if it's just a really strong friendship, I can't say. I've never really felt like this about anyone... why do you think I've been so worried?"
Courtney opens her mouth to say something, but nothing quite triggers enough to form into words. She swallows as she looks up at Rebecca for a long moment. Finally, she whispers: "So... we have been both scared we might... turn away the other..."
Rebecca glances down at Courtney again and quietly nods. "Y-yeah... I've been fretting over what I said or did the past few days trying to work up the courage to just ask you. Which is what I'm doing now, so uh, I got there! But it was hard... But I guess nothing worth doing is easy, right?" She tries to chuckle at her own lame joke, awkwardly.
Courtney blinks at the dragon: "Yeah, huh..." She sits down on her knees, lifting a hand to her face: "I just... I was a-afraid of breaking something... I don't know, some ancient dragon rule by even being... this close to you, like..." She looks up: "T-that's not a thing, I guess?"
Rebecca shrugs, "If it is, no one ever told me about it."
Courtney nods, feeling at least a smidge relieved: "O-okay. So no... nothing immediately wrong about what I said... or felt. Just weird, then." She considers: "...well, at least some sort of weird I guess."
Rebecca smiles, "Not a bad weird, though. Just... weird? I think it's alright though. My family has always said I've been weird."
Courtney smiles finally: "...yeah, same here." She lets out a big breath before looking up at the dragon. "So... still friends?"
Rebecca lets out a sigh of relief as well, "Of course we are. ...And we've got time to figure out anything else. If... that's alright."
Courtney considers, then nods slowly. "I think it is." She reaches her hand up: "Help me up. We have a dinner to figure out, I think."
Rebecca blinks, glancing back at the door frame that blocks most of her. She shifts back to slip her wing in, folded up to seem like one long clawed finger that approaches Courtney to help her up.
Courtney hesitates for the briefest of moments before accepting Rebecca's help with a smile. She gets up and steps close to the dragon, looking up: "...thank you. I think. If, um... if we are both a bit disastrous, at least we have each other to maybe figure this stuff out?"
Rebecca pulls her wing back gently and smiles, "Oh, I can definitely do that... err... be a disaster, I mean... but you do make me want to be less of one. I will try my best to help you and me both to figure stuff out. That's a promise."
Courtney smiles a bit warmer. "One, er, step at a time, then. Whatever we come across." She idly touches at the scales on Rebecca's side, giving a small hum.
Rebecca nuzzles her snout gently against Courtney, then pulls back from the door, back into the hallway, letting Rebecca stay at her side. "I think we can manage that, hm?"
Courtney is a bit surprised at the nuzzle, but... Not exactly in a bad way, she reckons. Instead, she just smiles at her friend. "We should definitely try, at least. But for now... Chicken dinner?"
Rebecca's stomach growls at the thought of dinner, and she chuckles, "I'll help!"
Courtney giggles softly as the pair make their way towards a more amenable evening and delicious, delicious chicken.
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