Ass You Wish : Building Our Own Families — Ch. 02
No... awkward pauses felt far more rigid and stale than this. This? It was an inviting pause; sure, they both stood there in silence, but the smile that had spread across their face was adorably infectious and had been quickly mirrored back on Ophelia’s.
Looking at her, taking her fully in as if they hadn’t just seen her a few hours prior, their eyes soon locked in with hers. It was getting close to midnight, but in her eyes Azuryn was able to see their own personal sunset. Two sunsets; each one unique thanks to her eyes’ nearly unnoticeable size difference. The slight asymmetry added another layer of captivating beauty to her glow. The light from inside was striking her pupils at just the right angle. Making it look like her honey dipped hues gave off golden beams of light. It made her amber encased, pocket-sized suns look as though they’d soon set past their horizons; and their light would slowly follow, continuing to fall deeper and deeper until it had all faded away into darkness.
Ophelia herself was briefly caught in Azuryn’s eyes. Their ever-shifting shade of light blue felt more akin to the soft ripples of a freshwater lake. She knew from experience that she could stare into those glistening pools for as long as they’d welcome her. She could softly sink down for a lifetime if she wasn’t careful enough; or maybe, if she was lucky enough? They were delicious and refreshing, but never fully thirst quenching. The first time she’d fallen headfirst into those waters felt like ages ago, but she could never stop herself from diving in since. With their help though, she became an experienced diver, intimately familiar with just how deep that sparkling surface could truly pull a person down. Despite how safe it’d always made her feel, and maybe always would, she felt a sudden jolt between their shared line of sight; as if those dangerous depths were both calling her home and pushing her away.
It looked as though Azuryn was caught in thought, ever searching for the right word to say. Well, at least she knew when and how to move things along when the need arose. Ophelia let out a snicker, which turned into a series of snorts; before Azuryn realized what was going on, she was full on laughing and they were unconsciously joining her.
“Sorry, sorry,” Ophelia said while wiping away the few tears of laughter “was that intentional? Like... knowing you, was that supposed to be a joke?”
“Actually, no. Well... maybe? Honestly, do you have any idea how many of my jokes are unintentional nowadays?”
“With you? Probably a pun of them.”
They looked like a deer caught in headlights before breaking out into laughter.
“You did not!”
“Yup, I did. So are you going to give me permission to come in, or are you gonna make me stay out here as your way of pun-ishing me?”
“STOP!” They responded in a fit of laughter “Yes, please. Come in, come in!” They said, waving her in.
They were caught off guard to say the least. Like a lost ship in the foggy night, afraid they’d crash into the rocky shores of her rage if they took one wrong turn. Unsure of what to say. What to even think. Had they known those rocky shores had long been eroded, they would’ve felt vastly more comfortable with the risk of getting beached on her now soft and soothing sandy shores.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
Well, at least they’d always make a great host; so much so that they often wondered if they were a butler in a past life.
“Uh, sure. Would you kindly fetch me a glass of water?” Ophelia said as she stepped inside then turned to face them. As soon as the words had left her mouth, their pupils had become fully dilated; what had shifted into a shade of lightning blue had become a fully shaded eclipse.
“Ass you wish.” ’Wait, WHAT!?’ They immediately followed that up with covering their mouth.
“Oh shit! I’m sorry; I forgot that was a trigger for you as well.”
“As well?” Azuryn raised their eyebrow in a quizzical stare.
“Oh... Yeah... We can talk about that later. Actually, would you kindly fetch that glass of water for me and forget about me saying that for now.” Growing less unsure of herself, she continued walking in and took survey of their quaint abode.
“Ass you wish.”
“And just say okay; I grew out of that phrase years ago.”
“Okay.”
It was cute; both the interior and them. It was definitely on the smaller side, but the furniture and fixtures were arranged to give an expansive facade. Cleaned up for the most part with a little bit or organized clutter here and there, she felt an emanating sense of home. ’That’s the second time since getting here; is it going to keep happening? I don’t know what I’m gonna do if it gets to the point that I—’
“Did you want ice?” Azuryn’s voice rang out from the kitchenette, upending her moment of concern and snapping her awareness back into focus.
“No thanks, I’m not a fan of it.” ’Fan of it? What!? Okay, get yourself together.’
“Same; it’s actually healthier to not have ice.” They said while sliding out of the small cove, handing the glass to her; their agreement oddly helped calm her previous bit of nerves.
“Oh?” She said while taking the glass from them. “So, you’re just as much the fountain of random knowledge as you always were, eh?” She said, finishing her question as she began to drink.
“To a degree; literally. Room temperature is supposedly better for you. I guess that’s just one of the many reasons I’ve got for abolishing ice.” They said with a slight chuckle.
Almost choking on her most recent mouthful, Ophelia let out a soft giggle as she resumed looking over the open space that was half dining and half living area.
“This place is cute. The furniture is nicely done; did it come pre-furnished?”
“Partly. I actually made a few of the chairs and that desk in the corner. I’m trying to decide what to make next.”
“Wait, you made these!?” She said while looking at the handful of chairs that stood out from the uniform lot. She walked closer and pulled one out to get a better look at them.
“Yeah; I’d always wanted to make my own furniture. Plus, this table was way too big to only have four chairs, so I figured ‘why not?’”
“Makes sense; puts a new twist on ‘when you’ve got more than you need, build a bigger table’. They look really nice, and this one’s really smooth.” She said while running her hands along the wooden leg and cushioned seat.
“Yeah, I’ve always found sanding to be relaxing, so I got a bit carried away with that one. The others are good, but that one, well—“
“It’s practically velvety! Like holy fuck, it’s nice and sturdy with a good bit of width to it, but it also just feels really nice to hold.” Ophelia interrupted them as she was pleasantly surprised by the texture of the parts her hands were wrapped around.
“Like I said, I got carried away and did a lot more stroking than need be. Did you want to sit on it?” ’Why is she being so playful? She wasn’t necessarily frigid at the dance, but this feels like an entire climate change. Well... here’s hoping it’s not the kind that causes catastrophes.’
“Sure! I definitely want to see how it feels, but I’ll just leave it pulled out for now. Since you mentioned it, I wanna see your desk too. You made all of it?”
“A couple parts I ordered, some other parts I copied the designs from books, but the remaining stuff I did myself, yeah!” They explained while leading her across to the far side of the room. ’Honestly, at this point, I should just accept it and see where things lead. It’s not at all how I would’ve expected this to have gone, but why not enjoy it for the moment, right?’
Their desk was angled against the corner between the north wall’s door and east wall’s windows. It was a stained dark red desk with three stacked drawers on the right side and a sensible computer chair pushed in so as to allow them to sit comfortably on the left. Sitting above the drawers was a desktop and a couple video game consoles, with dual monitors pushed to the back of the desk on the left side. In front of the monitors sat the expected keyboard and mouse; although the mouse had way more buttons than Ophelia thought necessary. In front of those sat a couple journals and a thin mug of ballpoint pens. Farther on the left sat a surprisingly ornate metal box with a three-dial combination lock. On top of it sat a small picture frame. Oddly enough, instead of a picture, it contained a hand drawn rose. But what really drew her attention was how the rose was a myriad of colours. Primarily cast in yellow, the colours flowed into swirls of reds and oranges, all of different intensities due to its hand-colouring. The swirling colours had immediately captivated her, and she could’ve sworn for a moment she’d smelt a faint yet pleasant floral aroma. As if chasing the softly sweet scent, she instinctively reached for the small frame; she half expected the petals to bloom outwards from their glass confinement. Too entranced to be bothered with consciously listening to Azuryn’s spiel of constructing the desk, she held the small frame in her hand. Looking at it, she began to turn towards Azuryn in mesmerized wonderment.
“Oh! Yeah, I keep meaning to put that frame back on the mantel.” They tried to explain without embarrassing themself. They were irrationally afraid that she was going to mercilessly critique it; they didn’t know where the thought had even come from. ’What is she gonna say, “at least I know you downgraded your art skills,” or something? Come on Ryn, that’s ridiculous and you know it! She didn’t even mean it the last time she said it back in—’
“It’s beautiful!” Ophelia said with a blooming smile, immediately reinforcing the positive thoughts they were trying to convince themself. She knew she couldn’t smell it, it was a piece of paper after all, but she still could’ve sworn that a lightly lingering scent was wafting through the air as she held it and talked to them. ’Wait, are they in—’
“Wait, what? You really think so?” Azuryn responded in bewildered excitement; it was their turn to cut the other’s thoughts off entirely. A small blush was starting to settle across their already slightly rosy cheeks.
“Yeah!” Ophelia said as she finally looked away from the frame and gazed up at Azuryn. “You obviously put a good bit of work into it, and sure it isn’t a masterpiece, but it has its own flare. The colours come together chaotically yet calmly, as if they were natural. And so the rose itself almost looks like a—“
“A sunset?”
“Yes!” Ophelia responded with glee in her voice as she looked back at the frame for a moment before returning her eyes to Azuryn’s.
“Do you remember a few years ago when I had messaged you asking for ideas on what to paint?”
“You mean when you had drunk texted me?”
“I was tipsy and high, I wasn’t —”
“You drunk texted me asking for ideas of what to paint. Just leave it at that, Ryn.”
“Hey, can you blame me? That was when you finally started talking to me again. Plus, I was hanging out with a friend I hadn’t seen in years. So yeah, maybe I drank a little more than I should have plus I had a good few hits from their pen, so —”
“Look, you drunk texted me asking for things to paint; it’s okay, it’s cute.” Ophelia said, cutting them off so that they wouldn’t ramble like she knew they could. A matching blush had begun to spread across her face.
“Yeah, you know me, really fucking gay and theatrical.” They laughed while rubbing the back of their neck. Again. They briefly wondered what she would’ve thought of the little spectacle they performed after getting off the bus. The blush continued to deepen.
“Redundant but not untrue; yeah, just like you. When people drunk text their exes, it’s usually for something ridiculous like trying to land a booty-call. You wanted my opinion on something to make; not because you were trying to win me over or whatever, just because you thought highly of my opinion. If you ask me, it’s a relief because it clues me in on what you think of me. The kinds of things you want from me.” For the first time in forever, part of Ophelia’s icy but understandably protective shell was slowly melting as each warm smile spread across her face. Azuryn met her in tandem as the pair smiled at each other again. It felt odd, but in a good way; like it hadn’t been years since they’d last seen each other. Like tonight was just another night of running into an old friend per usual. Just like their smiles, they each felt their stomachs turn over in tandem; as if a butterfly had hatched from its long dormant cocoon.
“I still do; it’s among the highest. That said, I feel like you’re putting too much thought into this; but you’re not wrong. Throwing ideas back and forth at one another was always one of my favorite parts about talking to you.”
“Yeah, I —”
“And don’t get me wrong! I was always more than happy to carry a conversation, or even humor your attempts at dominating our discussions from time to time. But I always enjoyed —”
“You don’t have to explain yourself. You’re more than welcome to, but I think I know what you mean. It’s taken a while to get back into the swing of things, but it feels like I’m finally knowing you again. Er, I mean, that it feels —”
“No, I understand. And speaking of ‘the swing of things.’ My offer still stands if you wanted to dance. We’ve got plenty of room to go wild,” they chuckled while waving their arm around; as if they could somehow emphasize the open space of their living room even more. “It doesn’t have to be tonight, but —”
“How about right before midnight!?” Ophelia said, popping off a bubbly smile that they’d almost forgotten about; they never could though, it was one of the reasons they’d fallen so hard for her all those years ago.
“Oh. Well, uh, sure... I mean yes! That sounds great!” They responded while letting out a jovial titter.
“Great!” Ophelia said as she laid the picture frame on top of the desk. Taking a few more sips of water, she took one more glance at the sunset rose; the meaning behind each of the individual colours, as well as the combined meaning of their interwoven hues, wasn’t lost on her. ’That dork... I really appreciate it, Ryn.’ she thought, as she smiled to herself. “So I know it’s none of my business, but what’s with the box?” She asked, having grabbed it mid-sentence.
“Choice words there.”
“I’m kinda interested in what combination you chose.”
“Try pi.”
“But there are only numbers.”
“No, not pie the food, pi the number.”
“Ooooooohhhhhhh; gotcha.” Ophelia responded as she tried to enter the digits, but failed. “That didn’t work.” ’Wait, maybe if I try it in this order... and, nope!’ Azuryn could see the minute tell tales of her frustration growing, and continued giving hints.
“Try entering it like it was your birthday.”
“What?” She asked as she again failed to unlock the box. “What does that even mean? Wait. You don’t mean —”
Azuryn’s cocky, yet devilishly handsome, trademark smirk was all they needed to do to interrupt her.
“You didn’t.” Ophelia said as she tried a different arrangement of numbers. As she did, the lock flipped open. “You did. Why!?”
“Well, you did ask about the box. See for yourself.”
And so she did. Opening the box’s lid, Ophelia was greeted by folded sheet after sheet after sheet of paper, all looking like they came from the journals sitting at the front of their desk.
“I don’t know whether to feel flattered or creeped out right now.” She said in a bemused state of curiosity; arguably her most natural state.
“Just go through it; or rather, try and find some good ones.” Azuryn said with an even bigger smirk than before. ’Please be a good one. Please be a good one. Please be a good one...’ They continuously repeated as she proceeded.
Ophelia began to flip through the folded papers until something stood out and grabbed her attention. Taking hold of it, it was an envelope. A sealed red-letter envelope. On it was inscribed a stylized ‘Thank you, Ophelia.’
“Good choice; makes me wonder if you chose it or it chose you.”
“Right,” she said as she began to repeatedly turn it over physically and mentally, “well, I’d rather be chosen by an envelope written by a dork than by a hat written by a bigot.” Azuryn let out a soft snicker in appreciation of her humor. “If you even believe in that sort of thing.”
“Okay, now you’re just rowling out jokes,” they said while briefly slow clapping.
Her only response was a signature eye roll and a second-long snicker. Finally, her hands came to a rest; with a deep breath, she tore open the envelope.