flora
Flora lets out a long, dramatic sigh, already half shaking her head before she even starts, fingers curling more firmly around her glass as she leans back into the chair. "Okay" she says, lifting a hand slightly like she’s about to disclaim a legal statement, "take this with a grain of salt, because obviously it’s coming through Kai’s POV." And gods, wouldn't it be nice to just be able to replay something that had happened? #Foreshadowing. She tips the glass back and takes a generous sip, like she’s bracing herself for the retelling before lowering it again.
"So, Zavien asked if Kai and I were dating," she begins, her brows lifting as she glances at Soh, quick to clarify, "which, to be clear, we’d only been dating for, like, a minute at that point." Her nose wrinkles faintly before she continues. "And Kai told him yes, but not to say anything, because obviously he wanted to tell Koa properly, given all the history there."
She exhales through her nose, already gearing up for the part that clearly annoys her. "And instead of just being like, ‘oh yeah, for sure, I totally get that,’ Zavien kind of...weirdly doubled down and was like, ‘well if Koa asks me about it, I’m not going to lie to him,’ which is honestly such a wild take." Her free hand lifts, palm up, incredulous. "Like, on the off chance Koa even did ask Zavien about it, the fact that he couldn’t just say ‘you should talk to Kai about that’ instead is—" she cuts herself off with a small, disbelieving shake of her head, "it’s just so unnecessary. Especially because Kai had been bending over backward to try and talk to Koa about it for weeks."
"But anyway," she continues, waving the point along as she shifts slightly in her seat, "at the same time, Kai had asked how Zavien and Lena were doing, and if they were planning on getting married anytime soon, and Zavien said no, so then when Zavien kept pushing the whole ‘well I’d have to tell Koa if it came up’ thing, Kai basically turned it back on him and said, ‘okay, well if Lena asked me, I’d have to tell her you didn’t want to marry her yet.’"
Flora pauses just long enough to take another sip, slower this time, before letting out another breath, her shoulders lifting faintly. "Which—yes, obviously, that was petty, but equally Kai was like..a literal teenager at the time, and I think he was just so shocked that Zavien's initial response was to say he'd tell Koa instead of letting it be handled by family." Flora explains, tilting her head with a small grimace. "Really I think he was just trying to show Zavien how ridiculous that whole line of thinking was. Like you can know something and not tell even when asked, without it being a lie or being disingenuous." Her fingers tap lightly against the side of her glass as she looks back at Soh. "And then when Zavien straight-up ignored him at the rodeo, when Kai thought everything was already in the past because it was just a whatever argument between friends almost a year before, I think bringing up Lena later with you was just—" she shrugs, searching for the shape of it, "it felt like, how could Zavien have moved on from Lena if he hadn’t even moved on from a stupid argument with a friend, you know?"
The tension lingers for a second before she lets it drop, like she refuses to let it settle too heavily between them, and her expression softens back into something warmer, easier.
Grinning, she leans forward and reaches for the bottle, topping up both of their glasses without asking, the motion casual and familiar. "Anyway," she says, brightness returning as she slides Soh’s glass back toward her, "I hope the shoe never drops," she adds, lifting her own in a small, hopeful toast. "I hope you and Zavien stay happily barefoot forever."
"So, Zavien asked if Kai and I were dating," she begins, her brows lifting as she glances at Soh, quick to clarify, "which, to be clear, we’d only been dating for, like, a minute at that point." Her nose wrinkles faintly before she continues. "And Kai told him yes, but not to say anything, because obviously he wanted to tell Koa properly, given all the history there."
She exhales through her nose, already gearing up for the part that clearly annoys her. "And instead of just being like, ‘oh yeah, for sure, I totally get that,’ Zavien kind of...weirdly doubled down and was like, ‘well if Koa asks me about it, I’m not going to lie to him,’ which is honestly such a wild take." Her free hand lifts, palm up, incredulous. "Like, on the off chance Koa even did ask Zavien about it, the fact that he couldn’t just say ‘you should talk to Kai about that’ instead is—" she cuts herself off with a small, disbelieving shake of her head, "it’s just so unnecessary. Especially because Kai had been bending over backward to try and talk to Koa about it for weeks."
"But anyway," she continues, waving the point along as she shifts slightly in her seat, "at the same time, Kai had asked how Zavien and Lena were doing, and if they were planning on getting married anytime soon, and Zavien said no, so then when Zavien kept pushing the whole ‘well I’d have to tell Koa if it came up’ thing, Kai basically turned it back on him and said, ‘okay, well if Lena asked me, I’d have to tell her you didn’t want to marry her yet.’"
Flora pauses just long enough to take another sip, slower this time, before letting out another breath, her shoulders lifting faintly. "Which—yes, obviously, that was petty, but equally Kai was like..a literal teenager at the time, and I think he was just so shocked that Zavien's initial response was to say he'd tell Koa instead of letting it be handled by family." Flora explains, tilting her head with a small grimace. "Really I think he was just trying to show Zavien how ridiculous that whole line of thinking was. Like you can know something and not tell even when asked, without it being a lie or being disingenuous." Her fingers tap lightly against the side of her glass as she looks back at Soh. "And then when Zavien straight-up ignored him at the rodeo, when Kai thought everything was already in the past because it was just a whatever argument between friends almost a year before, I think bringing up Lena later with you was just—" she shrugs, searching for the shape of it, "it felt like, how could Zavien have moved on from Lena if he hadn’t even moved on from a stupid argument with a friend, you know?"
The tension lingers for a second before she lets it drop, like she refuses to let it settle too heavily between them, and her expression softens back into something warmer, easier.
Grinning, she leans forward and reaches for the bottle, topping up both of their glasses without asking, the motion casual and familiar. "Anyway," she says, brightness returning as she slides Soh’s glass back toward her, "I hope the shoe never drops," she adds, lifting her own in a small, hopeful toast. "I hope you and Zavien stay happily barefoot forever."
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought it
You know that I bought it
