The Streets and Rooftops of Fandom, Sunday Afternoon

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was surveying the town from a slightly higher vantage point than usual. Not unheard of, but she'd only been up here once before. Twice if you counted the her that hadn't really been her after all.

Yes, what had started out as a walk through town had turned into climbing onto a welcoming roof and sitting there with her feet dangling over the edge. Might as well do it while she still could – she wasn't sure she'd be feeling like climbing up here once the weather turned colder and rain became a more frequent visitor. But who knew? Maybe she would. She preferred fall over summer, and was looking forward to winter as well. It had made her feel a little more at home on the island last year. Maybe it'd work the same way this year as well.

It was too soon to tell.

She was smoking a cigarette as she watched the street below. It was that kind of a day. Contemplation and smoke.

[ooc: Open place in town is open, naturally!]

Comments

[necroslacker]

Sam hadn't planned on coming to the island but he'd had a bad night and he didn't want to stick around Seattle after that. So, the island it was.

"Since when did you start smoking?" Sam asked after he'd spotted her on a roof, smoking. He'd been winding his way from the causeway and hadn't expected to see her there.

[whenshewasnice]

"Since before you met me," Natalie called down to him. It was just that the smoking kind of came and went with her moods, and she tended to do it on her own. "I wasn't expecting to see you in Fandom."

She didn't mean it was bad, though.

[necroslacker]

"Thought I'd try and surprise you," he said, shrugging and looking up. "Why're you up there smoking?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Because I can."

Really, did she need a reason?

[necroslacker]

"Just not something I've seen or heard about before," Sam shrugged. "Thought maybe you were enjoying the scenery or keeping your secondhand smoke away from everyone."

[whenshewasnice]

"Those both work." Better than most of the reasons she did have. "Do you want to come up?"

[necroslacker]

Sam hesitated for a second and then said, "I don't really like smoking. It makes me cough. Sorry."

[whenshewasnice]

"Sorry," Natalie echoed, flicking ash off the end of her cigarette. It was getting pretty short already. "Guess that means makeouts will be out of the question as well."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah," he said, looking slightly uncomfortable with the admission and having possibly made her feel bad about that. "I don't mind that you smoke or anything. I'm just not a fan of the smoke and the smell."

[whenshewasnice]

"You don't mind it, you just don't want to be close to me because of it." She wasn't blaming him. She didn't really like being around smokers when she wasn't in the mood for a cigarette herself. "Let that be a lesson in calling before you show up."

[necroslacker]

"...okey dokey," Sam said, not really regretting being honest about smoking. "I can go, Natalie. Next time, I'll call and hold the surprises."

[whenshewasnice]

"Seems like a long trip to have made for just five minutes of craning your neck."

That was probably as close to asking him to stay that she was going to get, because... What did she have to offer for staying right now? A building's height in safe distance?

[necroslacker]

"I came to see you but you seem to have made up your mind about what I want for me," Sam replied, shrugging a shoulder. "I wasn't gonna leave the island, though. Just take a walk, maybe go see Toby."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie put out her cigarette as she exhaled one last puff of smoke.

"I haven't decided anything for you, Samhain."

[necroslacker]

"You decided I didn't want to be around you," Sam reminded her. "I said I didn't like smoke and didn't wanna come up with you when you're smoking. That's all."

[whenshewasnice]

"You said you didn't like the smell," Natalie reminded him in return. "And guess what, it sticks."

[necroslacker]

"I don't like the smell," he confirmed because he wasn't gonna go back on that. It was true. He wasn't a fan of smoking and cigarettes. "But, I love you. Which one do you think outranks the other, Natalie?"

[whenshewasnice]

"It didn't when I asked you if you wanted to come up," Natalie shrugged. "And I wouldn't hold resistance to the effects of smoking as a measure of love, anyway."

[necroslacker]

"Okay, wow, I shouldn't have come today," he said, shaking his head. "I'll call next time. Sorry I was honest with you."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie rolled her eyes, mostly because she was sure he coudn't actually make that out from that far away.

"Can you stop taking my words the wrong way?" she asked. Though it could have helped if she'd phrased things in ways easier to understand. "It's not conducive to me believing you want to stay, either."

[necroslacker]

He might not have been able to see it but he could sense it because he knew her.

"Can you stop saying things that are above my intelligence?" Sam returned, hating that he had to admit that but really now. "I said I didn't like the smell of smoke and you turned it into me not wanting to be around you at all."

[whenshewasnice]

"Because you didn't want to come up because of the smell. Like I said, the smell sticks for a while. It was a logical conclusion. Sorry." She actually kind of was, as flat as that word sounded. "What was I supposed to assume? That you wanted to hang out down there while I'm up here?"

[necroslacker]

"Yeah," Sam said because he would because he'd come to see her. "That's what you should have assumed."

[whenshewasnice]

"Why?"

Because if things had been reversed, she didn't think she'd have hung around getting a crick in her neck. She'd have come back later once the smoke had cleared instead.

[necroslacker]

"Because I love you and I came to see you and if that means standing down here while you're up there, I'll do it."

Hadn't he proven he'd do things like this before?

[whenshewasnice]

Probably. That didn't mean it didn't keep surprising her.

"You're weird."

That sounded... softer, vaguely, than the things before it. Even if she still felt a little like she'd been quarantined on the roof, which was not what she'd come up there for.

[necroslacker]

"I know that," Sam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking back up at her. "But, I can come back later if you want me to. I didn't mean to surprise you."

[whenshewasnice]

"You can do whatever you prefer," Natalie replied. Probably not the best thing to say but it was honest. "I'll probably be here a good long while."

Meaning she'd still be there if he chose to go away and then come back. It was quiet and calmly and she could see the town a little differently.

[necroslacker]

"Okay," he breathed, turning to glance towards town. "I guess...I guess that's what I'll do."

He didn't know what he'd expected but it hadn't really been this. He hadn't been gone that long, had he?

"Guess I'll see you later."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave him a little wave.

Then she went back to watching the town, resolutely not feeling sorry for herself. The view was still nice and interesting, she'd focus on that.