Cela gave a little sniffle and grabbed his arm, quite automatically tucking it about herself like a blanket.

"You were happy before though, right? And... if you still want to be my friend... then... I can still be a little deal, right?" Probably he was happier than she was at that moment.

"Of course I was. I wasn't here. I didn't know you. I didn't know you to miss you." Plymouth gave her the briefest of little squeezes.

It was all sorts of ridiculous how much he'd needed that little bit of affection.


"We... can try. It's weird though." Cela probably didn't get the whole weirdness. But, it was weird to Plymouth not telling Cela all the random things he'd done in a day or calling her "GIRLFRIEND" from across the room or thoughtless handholding.

"Hmmm." Celandine agreed, sort of sighing into his arms a bit. "I don't want it to be weird, I mean... just... no more kissing and no more being girlfriend and boyfriend but other stuff can stay the same?" Cela offered a tentative air nuzzle and looked at her shoes.

"It'll never be the same," Plymouth told her, but not without a hint of hope in his voice. Maybe... just maybe, he could do this. Keep his CellBell. Maybe.

"But I can try. If that's what makes you happy." Plymouth carefully sort of snuggled Celandine. He slid her little folded body towards him with his arms and hugged her.

He wasn't quite ready for airnuzzles yet. Those had been special.

"Would it make you happy too?" Celandine relaxed into the lil' hug I wish for you to be happy."

You know, so that at least somebody was.

"I wish it were that easy, CellBell. I wish there was a happy switch to flip on and off for me.. us. I'd do that for you." Plymouth sighed, all his easy going happiness far from his eyes. "I can't promise, but I can try. Tell me what you want me to do, what makes you happy, and I'll do it. And that'll make me happy."

Or at least, he'd try his best to be happy. Fake it if necessary.

If there was one thing she could ask for...

"Be friends with Copernicus again. He misses you more than I do. Thats... a LOT if you didn't know."

It couldn't have been piggy back rides or sitting in the big chair together every Sunday. Not taffy in the morning or skipping down the halls together.


Of course it had to be that.


"I.. did try. I miss him, too, you know. He was my best friend. I... trusted him.. It's just... it's hard," Plymouth confessed without even an hint of insincerity. Plymouth was suffering the loss of them both. "It's going to take some time, I think? Is that okay? It's so hard to talk to him..."

"Yeah... I... don't want to rush you... um... Plymmy its just that I don't feel like you blame me at all? Only Copernicus and maybe if you didn't just blame him then it might be easier. I would take all the blame if t meant you could be friends again." Cela might have been nuzzling Plym a little, whether for her comfort or for his wasn't completely obvious.

"Why is it hard to talk to him? Can you tell me about that for now and I won't push you about it more. I just.. we haven't talked about it..." No, they both were very good at pretending like something didn't exist if you didn't acknowledge it and look where that had gotten them.

Celandine scuffed her foot on the step a bit and attempted to tug the bottom of her shirt dress down to mid thigh, listening earnestly for his answer.

Plymouth deflated in that way he did so well. Not that he had much air anyway at present. The nuzzles were probably the only thing keeping him from just falling into the floor and being sucked into new levels of low. "I can't blame you, CellBell. You ... blaming you means that you didn't like me enough and that hurts. And, I know I should and I guess that's a little selfish of me. It's just... easier this way. I know I'm ridiculous. I know it. I suppose you do, too." Plymouth turned his face from her to give her privacy in that whole skirt issue she had going on.


"He won't talk to me. I tried to tell him something important the other day - something not at all to do with you - and it just ... sucked. He's done with me and I suppose I'm done, too."

"It isn't about how much I like you Plym. I like you a whole lot. You know that I do..." Celandine trailed off and just nodded. He was allowed to be selfish, right? "Maybe you could try being angry at me about it?"

Maybe that was her being selfish since she felt so bad about hurting Plym?

"How can you be done with each other? You live together! You are brothers! Couldn't you... for Zahra?" Cela chewed on her lip and added, "I would listen if you wanted someone to tell things to."

"Do I?" Plymouth turned back to his CellBell. He simply shook his head at her offer to be mad at HER instead. He couldn't. Plymouth didn't get mad at anyone (but Copernicus), not really. Hurt, he got hurt, he got sad, but not really mad.

"It feels done. It feels like... we had our chance.. Maybe." Plymouth sighed and pulled Cela back in close to him again. "I can't tell you what I was going to tell him. That would be abandoning all hope and I'm not ready to do that just yet."

"I hope you do." Hmmm.

Cela just snuggled him a bit, there on the step and as the staircase creaked and moved she thought about it. "Um, not false hopes? About stuff? You could hope about new things..."

Plymouth made little sad noises at her, like the noises a puppy makes when he gets put outside when all he really wants is to stay. "Let me keep my hope a little while longer, Celandine Toussaint. False or not." Plymouth caught himself almost kissing her little temple, like he would have before. He stopped and sort of awkwardly sniffed at her. Still smelled good. Probably still perfectly nommable. Was that okay? Was that girlfriend stuff? Plymouth Morgan was NOT going to do things that Cela didn't want him to -- ever again.

"I suppose I owe you that much." And so much more really. Celandine wasn't done snuggling so she just clung to him for a bit. "I missed you."

"You don't have to miss me, CellBell. I'm always right here, all the time, for you. Always." Plymouth clasped his hands together with Cela in the middle of his arms. He wasn't ever going to be done snuggling her. "Are they false? Completely and forever false?"

Who cared that they were blocking up the stairway? Cela did not. The snuggles really took a huge weight off her shoulders and she sighed abit, giving his question real thought. "They are false right now? I... can't say forever..." That would depend more on Copernicus, Cela was sure.

Plymouth nuzzled her temple. That was definitely safe and he was feeling... so much better. Bad, but better. "Then I think I'll hold on to that for a while longer if you don't mind. Because you know, I DO like you so much." Plymouth smiled a real smile at her - he hadn't got to tell her that in soooo long. Used to be a daily thing.

"I missed your smile." Celandine pointed out, turning to grin at him. She let out a little sigh. "I guess... do you still want me to help you with that potion?"

"Oh. Um... well about that..." Plymouth unclasped his hands and pulled them back to sit in his lap. He was getting all together far too comfortable. "I lied about that. And I'm so sorry. I never, never, never would lie to you...But.." Plymouth "eeeped" and waited for her to wibble or do something equally upsetting.

"You lied? You? But you never lie unless you don't know you are lying." Celandine looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You don't need me to help you with a potion?" So the snuggling was over? Boo.

There might have been a little wibble.

Plymouth's head drooped. "It won't happen again. I can't believe you didn't know I was lying." Plymouth sneaked in a glance through his faaaaar too long hair over at Cela. "But that whole potion thing that you took...? that was all my fault anyway...? I talked Kazimeriz into maybe giving you those points back if I teach you how to make a Wit Sharpening potion correctly. I'll teach you. I'm not bad at Potions." Plymouth was actually pretty good at Potions if given adequate time and motivation. Celandine Toussaint spending time with him was all the motivation Plymouth ever needed.

"I'm sorry. I swear, it won't happen again. Unless you say no, then I'll have to come up with some other way to make it up to you."

"I... thought you were a bit odd? But then I thought it might have been because of stuff." Celandine admitted, her hand reaching out of its own accord and brushing his hair out of his eyes with her fingers.

Wait...

what?

"A Wit Sharpening potion. Professor Kazimeriz thinks that I need a Wit Sharpening potion?" Celandine was possibly a bit offended and quite hurt at the thought.

She chose not to inform Plymouth that her taking that potion wasn't at all his fault. She'd taken the delusting potion in an attempt to stop wanting to smooch Copernicus all the time.

"I'm not bad at potions either." Celandine folded her arms across her chest a bit huffily, "I just don't like potions all that much."

Plymouth's eyes followed her hand. The little hand reaching out to him probably wouldn't have meant so much to anyone else, but it was world to Plymouth. That smile was back, with the dazed eyes.

He didn't miss a second of the whole little show she put on. From the little hurt face, to the deeper thinking, then finally the defensive little arm folding. "I don't think you're bad at anything, CellBell. He probably just thinks I'm am idiot and is tricking me into teaching you so that you'll actually teach me." Wouldn't surprise Plymouth. "But what you did was pretty dumb." He nudged her a little with his elbow, then... crept an arm back around her.

"Maybe." Celandine was doubtful of this. For one thing, Plymouth was not an idiot, he was just differently smart and Kazimeriz would know that, right? Cel didn't really think she was bad at anything either... except maybe she didn't have all that much self control and she liked to indulge a little too much sometimes.

She swayed a bit as he nudged her and finally relaxed and smooshed herself into his arm.

"I... wasn't thinking. I couldn't think. He broke my brain or something."