originallutece | (no subject)

Tell me what it was.

[It's a command, because she thinks he needs a command, but it's a gentle one.]

[ At least he responds to that form of communication well...ish. Anxious as Noctis is, her request has him opening his mouth. ]

Him.

[. . . ah. A few thoughts line up, but she isn't going to say it, not yet.]

What about him?

[ This is when he starts to feel embarrassed. For reasons he doesn't quite get. Prompto's his friend, he doesn't exactly see him as more than that. Which is why he still can't quite put his finger on the issue. Or reason.

But his face colors a bit, enough for him to feel the need to put a hand at his face while the other just gestures around his body and clearing his throat. To suggest that he was staring at everything. ]

[Aha.]

Caught a sight of him, did we?

[ SIGH ]

Guess so.

You guess so. Pasty legs for days and freckles, were you not certain about it?

[ Noctis jolts, eyes widening as he stares off to the distance and presses his lips to a fine line.

Talk about pasty: Noctis' face is light enough for that red flush to look deadly. He says nothing to that. ]

Ah.

[She hides her smile behind her cocoa, at least for a few moments.]

So you saw him, and you're feeling something, and you don't know what to do with that feeling--

[A beat, and then she realizes:]

--because you're not certain if it's something you felt before. Is that about right?

[ His stomach is in knots. Noctis rubs the back of his neck and starts to, meekly, let his gaze flit towards Rosalind. ]

That about covers it.

[All right. That's an issue, certainly, but it isn't an unusual one. Rosalind's smile turns a little nicer.]

Well. Let's start with you telling me what you feel, hm?

[ Noctis rests his hands at his lap, just after leaning forward to set his mug down again. ]

Cliche as it might sound? Confused.

Confused because you've never felt that way about a boy before, or confused because you feel that about a friend?

I... Guess both.

[ Noctis tilts his head to the side, looking up in thought. ]

But Prompto's just a friend. I don't think I feel that kind of way about him.

[Hmm. To her credit, she isn't smiling anymore; she's taking this quite seriously.]

Have you tried, ah, thinking about other men in such a way?

[ He thinks on that. ]

No. I've actually been trying to avoid it up until now.

I'd recommend it. That's what I did when this sort of thing happened to me-- it helped me understand if what I felt was for women in general or this girl specifically.

[ That... Makes him nervous. Mostly because he truly doesn't think that's the case, but he's also not 100% certain either. Ever since he'd gotten out of the hospital, things have been strange. He doesn't want to risk a rift in what he and Prompto has.

But what Rosalind says still piques his interests. Particularly that last part. He raises a brow, looking at her. ]

You... Had a thing for another girl?

[She pauses for a few seconds, not so much reluctant to tell him as naturally private. But it's not a secret.]

Very much so. I was in love with my college roommate for the better part of a year.

[ Something shifts. Noctis relaxes just a bit in knowing that Rosalind has gone through something like this. Whether it's similar to his experience or not, he's not entirely sure yet. ]

How did that go?

[Another pause.]

Victoria was very . . . vivacious. Very bright. I was sixteen and she was twenty, and beautiful, and charismatic. It was hard for even the most experienced people not to be pulled in by her, and I wasn't particularly well socialized, so you can well imagine how dazzled I was. I was desperate to have her notice me, and each time she did I felt as though I was on top of the world.

But it was a one-sided affair, unfortunately.

[Though they'd at least made out once, one drunken night, but she won't say that, because there's some things you don't share with your son.]

That being said: I did have a girlfriend once, later on. And that worked out far better.

[ Noctis listens intently, paying close attention because, while it's not identical to his situation? There's still enough in the explanation here for him to make a connection to.

Still, the second he tries to even fit Prompto in there, it's like his brain puts up a wall in front of it. ]

I mean...

It only happened one time. I could just be overthinking the situation. Haven't exactly had a close friend like him before either?

[ He doesn't want to be in a one-sided situation like that. Suddenly, Noctis isn't taking much comfort from the story. ]

Then ask yourself: do you only want his attention? Or do you want him to kiss you?

[ He veers back from her so fast. ]

That's... A pretty loaded question, don't you think?

Not particularly. I'm not about to go and tell him no matter what your answer is, Noctis, and it's a reliable method of checking.

[She tips her head at him, entirely unperturbed.]

It's not unusual to want to be the center of someone's attention. But when you start craving their company above all others, when you start to think of them in all the idle moments of your day, when you're not certain . . . it's best to think of something firm and inarguable like that.