forum Next Steps [Private RP — Closed]

Started January 16, 2019 by @Imperfect_Autumn group

tune

"May eighth," I answered with as level a voice as I could manage, trying to play along.

"When's yours?"

Gray’s POV:

“September 14th,” I answered, clearing my throat. “Your turn.”

"Right… Uh, happy super late birthday." Cringing at how awkward I sounded, I scrambled to find another question to ask. "Have you ever had a pet? If not, do you want one?"

Gray’s POV:

I laughed, shaking my head. When I stopped, I thought over her question.

“If my memory isn’t betraying me… I think we used to have a pet,” I furrowed my eyebrows. “A parrot named Gem. He was my mother’s.”

"Aw, cute name."

I was extremely proud of myself for delivering this short sentence without any stammering or blushing whatsoever.

"How old were you?"

Gray’s POV:

“My mother used to have a knack for naming things like that. I remember her singing me to sleep vividly,” I smiled fondly, thinking of my mother even though all I got was a blurry figure. “How old was I when we had Gem?”

"That's adorable…." I murmured, risking a glance up and absolutely melting at the soft look on his face. "Yeah, do you remember?"

Gray’s POV:

“Three,” I answered immediately. “I was three. Mom found him on our lawn. His wing had been hurt and he couldn’t fly, so mom took him in and patched him up. He refused to leave afterwards. Stuck to my mom like glue.”

The memories were painful, especially what followed two years later. I forced a smile on my face, shaking my head.

“Mom thought he was a girl at first. Dad said otherwise. It was funny—they used to bicker uselessly about things like that.”

I reached for his hand, trying to provide a source of comfort, before realizing that he was too far away to physically reach.
"That's… That's really heart-warming."

Gray’s POV:

I grinned at her, steering the topic away.

“What about you?”

I tapped my fingers against my knee, biting my lip and looking away again. "Used to have a little beagle puppy when I was in middle school."

Gray’s POV:

“What was its name?” I quirked an eyebrow, sitting back down.

"His name was Biscuit." I smiled in remembrance, a little sadly. "His ears were enormous, it was so cute…"

Gray’s POV:

“Well, guess I wasn’t the only one who had a cute name for a pet,” I teased, not liking the sad look that took over her features. “How long were you together?”

"Six months. What about you and Gem?" I asked, trying to skip around the answer.

Gray’s POV:

“Two years,” I answered. “We weren’t that close, anyway, as kids. He liked to peck me a lot.”

I gave a small chuckle at this, running a hand through my tangled mass of hair. "Ouch."

Gray’s POV:

I laughed alongside her.

“Tell me about it,” I winced. “But he never really hurt me? I guess it was just affectionate pecking.

Anyway, tell me more about Biscuit.”

It still hurt a bit to talk about the puppy who'd been hit by a car, but I did it anyways. "He was always really.. clumsy. Clumsier than I was back then. But really sweet, really sensitive. You know?"

Gray’s POV:

I nodded at her, understand what she meant.

“So… what was your dream as a child?”

I smiled wistfully down at my hands. "I actually only got really into art around late Grade 8. Before that… I wanted to be a dancer. Ballet. I wanted to be graceful, and also since my mother taught ballet. I, uh, gave up that dream in middle school. You?"

Gray’s POV:

“To be honest, I don’t really know,” I shrugged. “I don’t have any dreams or goals I want to reach. Anything that gets me through in life, I’ll take it.”

I shifted into a cross-legged position, tilting my head. “No aspirations or hopes whatsoever?”

Gray’s POV:

“Well, up til now, all I wanted was to make sure Aria was happy and satisfied,” I shrugged. “But now I have another person I want to keep happy.”

For a moment, my brain short-circuited—I completely forgot about our relationship. “That’s really sweet of you, the thing with your sister. Who’s the other person?”

Gray’s POV:

I admit, I laughed whole heartedly at that. Was she trying to crack a joke?

“You’re joking, right?” I gave her a grin. “It’s you, of course. Who else would it be?”

I blinked rapidly, my expression clearing to make way for a huge smile.
"I'm so stupid…… I'm really touched, though. Thanks, Gray."

Gray’s POV:

“You’re not stupid,” I grinned wider at her. “And you’re welcome.”

(I don’t know what else to do. Should we skip?)