She shook her head no, and he let out a bit of an overdramatic sigh, despite having been certain she would refuse. “Breaking my heart…” He trailed off sadly, clutching his heart as if it were literally breaking, a wince on his freckled face as his jaw tensed up. “I don’t believe you.” She squinted, then laughed-it was more of a scoff. Ivan began to sweat-his hands felt clammy. She had to be joking, right? Her face didn’t betray much of a humorous vibe, but that didn’t have to be the case for what Aidene had said to have no real meaning whatsoever. He felt his body untense, though he did this slowly so Aidene couldn’t tell how tense she had made him. The remaining beads of sweat must’ve been from the layered clothing… “You never do, kitten. Even though I’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve such distrust.” He continued to speak dramatically, though he was completely joking. He stopped his act seconds afterwards, a small, teasing smile playing at one corner of his mouth to show he was just kidding. “They definitely won’t.” Aidene corrected. He nodded at this, accepting the correction, still looking satisfied with himself.
“What? You don’t want to get in your steps today?” She joked, mocking disappointment. He shook his head, “I just think it would be a bit too much for you, kiddo.” He made another teasing remark, looking down at her just to flaunt the fact he was taller. Honestly, it wouldn’t be close to “too much” for Ivan. He’d walked a dozen times yesterday’s walk before. But did he want to? Gosh, this whole mission really was making him slack off. Later. He told himself. Later, he’d go to the gym. Later, he’d make up for the time he sat on the bench, for the time he sat on the rumbling bus. He pouted to himself when Aidene didn’t take the seat next to him, opting to sand in the sun. Though, perhaps it felt nice, the warm rays on the daughter of a fire god. Or maybe it just felt better than sitting next to Ivan. “Anyplace in mind or are we playing Dora the Explorer today?” Aidene asked from her place next to him. Ivan shrugged casually, pulling his baseball cap further down his head. “I figure we just see where intuition takes us. That seemed to work well yesterday.” He offered a genuine smile, fondly recalling the day before again.
There was silence, and then there was the chugging of a white bus, about as beat up as the bench Ivan sat on. The paint was mostly there, though some parts were scraped off. The tires were covered in a fine layer of sand and it seemed to bounce up and down slightly as it moved closer and closer to the two. The door slid open, though Ivan had already stood up, stretching his legs before following behind Aidene towards the back of the bus. Their only other passenger was an elderly woman in the front. Ivan flashed a grin at her as they passed by. Ivan took the seat right next to Aidene, also looking in the direction of the window. Even though she hadn’t taken the seat next to him at the bus stop, he didn’t return the favor. “Do you want to ask where the bus driver learned magic?” Aidene teased him as he glanced in her direction. He laughed sarcastically, despite thinking it was funny. “Ha ha. No, I’m good-they probably don’t even know any magic.” He said, looking towards the front even though he couldn’t see the bus driver from there. All he could see was a sea of swirly blue seats.
@katabasis - aidene : SJDDKDK omg pleaseeee do your idea! let me know if i need to change anything-I’m still so salty I forgot but I bet your idea is wayyyy better!! and lol no i get it! and omg no it actually is the best!! i plan to react i’m just taking a break from reactions to catch up on replies! and omg not godmoddy at all! no worries, beautiful, and enjoy~