hackitude | ic contact (mask or menace)

[ His face flushes red and he waves a hand, as if to dismiss the impending topic. ]

It is late...

[ And oddly, he feels tired and wired all at once. Is that even humanly possible? He looks up at Skye, forcing a smile. It's a rather awkward one. ]

Thank you for having me over. I forgot my keys...

[ He stayed not too long ago at his old residence, but he doesn't want to pester Shade again for a place to rest for a few hours. ]

Hey, any time. It's seriously not a problem.

[She stands aside to let him in.]

Come on in. I put the kettle on-- do you want tea?

[ He starts to move inside, glancing back at her with somewhat of a bewildered expression. ]

You know how to? [ ... Because there are people who apparently can't brew tea.

... Kenzi. ] Ah, that would be fine, yes.

[She closes the door behind him and moves off to the kitchen, throwing back A LOOK at Gilbert as she goes.]

Of course I know how to make tea. I'm an American, not a neanderthal.

[ He flinches. ]

I wasn't implying anything of the sort...

... I'm teasing you, Gilbert. Relax.

[Once in the kitchen, she grabs a few boxes of teabags, sorting through them.]

What'll it be? Normal black? We also have lemon and peppermint.

[ He doesn't think his heart can endure any more teasing for the night. Maybe a week. He still can't shake off that queasy tension in his stomach, so tea sounds good right about now.

He follows her into the kitchen, lingering by the entrance as she goes through the teabags. ]

Black is fine. [ He rubs his neck, noting the sweat on the back of both it and his palm. The blush hasn't died down yet either. ] May... I use your bathroom? I should wash up before tea.

Of course. It's just down there and to the left. [Skye makes a vague hand-waving motion.]

[While Gilbert's busying himself in the bathroom, Skye makes two cups of black tea and sets two tiny pitchers of milk and sugar out so Gil can pour for himself. Then she grabs some shortbread cookies she'd purchased on a whim for good measure and puts them on the table. Perfect. She surveys her tableau with some amount of pride and self-satisfaction, congratulating herself on creating a scene that she thinks looks like it belongs on a TV mom's kitchen table. She can TOTALLY do this homey stuff.]

[ He runs cold water and rinses his face quickly, but it still doesn't do much to alleviate the burning sensation.

At least he's not covered in sweat anymore.

After drying off, he emerges from the bathroom to find a pleasant set-up waiting for him. He looks on, surprised Skye's doing this much for him in spite of the fact they barely know each other. He feels bad enough asking her for a place to rest, but after their first meeting he had felt she was trustworthy enough. ]

Thank you for all this, especially on such short notice.

Hey. I told you it's no problem. What are friends for, right?

[She pushes one of the mugs of tea towards him.]

[ He reaches for the tea, his gaze lowered at first. ]

Friends...

[ He suddenly jerks back, nearly knocking over the mug in the process. Luckily, he manages to lean forward and grab a hold of either side of the mug so nothing spills over. ]

W-Why did this all have to get so complicated?!

[Skye's eyebrows shoot right up.]

Whoa. Calm down there, buddy. Breathe. Take a biscuit.

S-Sorry...!

[ He means it earnestly.

The mug wavers as he lifts it toward his lips, taking a quick sip before he places it back down on the table. He doesn't reach for any biscuits yet, trapped in his own thoughts again. ]

... It's been a long night.

[She grabs a shortbread biscuit for herself, then.]

Do you... want to talk about it?

[ He glances up her momentarily, tugging his collar nervously. ]

I don't... I don't know?

[ He thinks about it for a second, wondering if Skye would have any advice on what to do. Her previous advice had actually worked, but no one could have expected baking vatrushka and then pressing about what was bothering Kenzi would have led into a confession.

His throat is dry, so he takes another sip of the tea. ]

I-I don't know where to even begin...

Hey, no pressure. You don't have. You can just... go to bed, if you want. But if you need an ear or anything... mine's available. ... Figuratively speaking.

[ Could he? Should he?

But Skye is so kind. Maybe she can help? He hasn't an idea what to do in these situations and Break's not around to exacerbate it or provide help in his own eccentric ways.

No, it's probably best Break isn't here. ]

D-Do you remember that f-friend of mine...?

[ Is the tea burning up his insides? He thinks he might combust any given moment. ]

You know that conversation wasn't even 24 hours ago, right? Yes, I remember.

... Did something happen?

Oh, right...

[ He swallows nervously. ]

W-Well, I took your advice... and it seemed to work...?

But then... then when I asked about... about what was wrong...

[ A shuddering breath. ]

She started talking too fast and acting strange and then she screamed and shestartedsayingmorestrangethings!

... Okay. First, I need you to take a deep breath for me. Or like. ... Five.

[ Alright, alright... he concedes and takes a deep breath.

And then another one. ]

Okay. Great. Are you... good? Not about to have a heart attack? 'Cause... I'm totally not qualified to deal with that.

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