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"Between working two jobs, you can't hardly expect me to have the energy to do more." She laughed. Still, it was a question people seemed to expect there to be an answer to: As if she was expected to do more. She'd used to do a lot. She'd used to have plenty of hobbies. She'd used to be interesting - or so she'd thought, anyway.
Still, the brunette pondered the question: Of course, she didn't spend her off days staring at the ceiling, but with her ability and its repercussions, she was fairly limited in certain areas. "I've always liked cooking." She offered a shrug at that. It was such a mundane thing, but she enjoyed it. Trying and failing at making new dishes. "And you've seen my furby collection."
That alone was enough, wasn't it? "They can't be compared to being a painter, but they're pretty cool."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
It was hard for most to talk about themselves when asked. If the situation had been turned, Carter wasn't sure what he'd list as his own hobbies. A lot changed in years since their school days, and as he matured, so did his interests.
"Does a furby collection count as a hobby?" Carter had to ask, and when he briefly considered it, he supposed collecting anything made for something of a hobby. She was so wonderfully weird like that, "But cooking? I didn't know that counted either. I'm good at that, so perhaps that's one of mine, too."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Of course." She replied with ease. "If only you knew how much blood I've had to shed to get my hands on some of the special edition versions." She couldn't help but grin at that. Most people found her collection odd - and in truth, she could hardly blame them. It was weird. That was what was so wonderful about it.
She couldn't really picture him cooking. Or cleaning. Or doing any form of mundane housework. "Only if you enjoy it." She pointed out, but smiled. "Though, are you sure you're good at it? You didn't pay someone to tell you that, right?" She never considered herself a particularly bold person, but she'd come to realize she actually enjoyed poking fun at him. Perhaps it was the sense of danger that often followed when she did: As if she could never truly expect what would happen next.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Shrugging his shoulders, Carter considered how he really felt about he mundane chores she couldn't imagine him doing. "Its okay." He admitted. Cooking was just a means to an end, and he couldn't see it as anything but a chore.
"No one's ever died from my cooking. Not to my knowledge anyway. But then, the list of recipients is low, so I couldn't really say." He added, laughing at the thought. "Care to try it sometime?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
The idea of him not being excellent at something surprised her more than she cared to admit. But then she supposed it was only fair. While he carried himself with something most would claim to be superiority, he was only human, after all.
"I'd love to." She beamed at him. Though, she supposed he'd be lucky that way. Even if his cooking turned out to be terrible, she didn't think she'd have it in her to tell him that. "When?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Luxanna had always been nice. She always smiled and it always looked similar, from memory. But the look she gave him when he offered to cook for her felt different. More genuine, if nothing else. It was an enthralling thought alone.
"That depends on how you define it." Carter started then, shrugging his shoulders in his own consideration; "Is that a second date? Or is it two friends... Hanging out."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She considered that for a moment; She wondered if he was asking out of curiosity or if this was his way of testing the waters. Though, she supposed it didn't really matter. If she'd learned anything throughout her short life, it was that overthinking things never lead to anything good.
"I'd say that'd depend on whether or not you'd want it to be a second date - or just friends hanging out." She offered, matching his own shrug.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
"Oh, you play so well, Luxanna." Carter quipped instantly. For someone who had little to no experience in this field, she was awfully good at urging the other party to play their hand first.
"As far as first one's go, this is pretty unconventional. I mean..." Now wasn't the time to point out how many of these ended back at his dorm room or apartment when he was a little younger, "I shouldn't have expected any less of you." Nothing about her had ever met the standard, and perhaps that was what he liked most about their interactions. She was always different.
"But I'm not some friend you can leave in that little zone of indescribable awkwardness." He continued on, "Nor am I someone looking to sleep with you for the sake of it and never see you again."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She had to bite down on her lower lip to stop the smirk from splaying over her lips. While she was glad she was able to counter him, she wasn't about to start underestimating him, either. She knew better than to think of them as equals when it came to such things.
To her, doing something like this seemed more interesting. As opposed to being at a restaurant, surrounded by other people. She spent most of her days around crowds of people. It was nice to have at least one night away from all of it. And it kind of took away some of the pressure, too.
"Quite the bold statement." Still, it was proof of how much he'd changed. How much he'd matured. While she didn't know everything about his past, even she had caught onto some of the rumors. Most of which she wouldn't have doubted were true. "So, what are you then?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
At her notion of his words being bold, Carter simply shrugged against the frame of the door. The weight of his own statements wasn't lost on him; he knew it was a stark cry from who she remembered, and that didn't seem to bother him at all.
"I don't know yet." He admitted. "I just know that while I'm happy to be a friend to you, to an extent. I just don't want to be left there forever."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She supposed she could understand that and while there was plenty of things she should have told him right then, she didn't. While she knew it was the right thing to do, she wanted to be selfish - if only for just a little while longer.
"Okay." She said instead. "Then let's leave it at that for now then." For now, she could be selfish. For now she wanted him to keep looking at her like she wouldn't break apart.
She looked up at him then, considering. "What do you usually do when you're alone?" She asked. "At home, I mean."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter watched the difference, however subtle. He could tell without much reason that there was something she wanted to say, but she didn't. That was fine, he supposed; there were a lot of people in this world wishing to hold cards close to their chest. He had always been like that.
"I read." He replied quickly, doing his best to both answer and dismiss her change of subject in a single swing.
"Leave it at what?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A pout, followed by a sigh fell from the brunette. Nothing was ever easy with him. Though, was that really such a bad thing? Wasn't that was she'd always wanted? Leaning against the opposite side of the door and tilted her head.
"At not knowing." She replied simply. That was fine with her, really. She wouldn't have been able to answer the question herself if it had been directed at her instead. She was perfectly comfortable simply staying in the gray zone for now.
"You have to do more than just read." She pressed on.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Challenging was the ultimate word to describe just about every encounter with Luxanna. At least, it was that way when it got a little more serious. Carter had previously been very good at keeping things light and free, but this was different. And it was his fault.
"I do this, too. Obviously." He added quickly, gesturing towards the half-finished nature of just about every canvas in that room.
"You didn't even tell me what you think, or how you feel." Carter gracelessly continued, "You didn't reciprocate my level of sharing. Is this what it used to be like to deal with me?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A small smile formed on the brunette's lips. "You never asked." Then the smile grew. Perhaps Carter wasn't the only one who held his cards tightly to his chest. While she didn't think she'd always been like that, perhaps it was something that had come to her naturally over the years. Then, most rarely, if ever, asked her how she felt. "But yes, I suppose it is." She said, shrugging.
Still, it wasn't as if she was unwilling to share. If he could, so could she.
"What do you want to know?" She already knew to some degree, but it was easier for her to work with specifics than simply assuming. She looked up at him, green eyes slightly amused.
