The Magic Box, Wednesday

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

With Parents' Weekend a few days past, Elsa was finally starting to get back into the usual rhythm of her Fandom routine. Today, there was work, interspersed with Lady Ghanima's class, and she'd even decided to bow to the fact that Terrain class involved physical activity. She'd brought a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt along with her to work, to change into before class.

Of course, she'd be changing right back out of them again once class was through and she came back to work to put out a new shipment of meditation CDs that they'd gotten in, but she couldn't help but steal little glances toward the bag that the change of clothes was in, silently wondering if she'd completely lost her mind.

The Magic Box is open! And meditative.

[Open, OCD-free, and SP warning in effect for the rest of the day.]

Comments

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Annnnnnd that would be Elsa's phone letting her know that she just received a text.

Just a warning: You probably don't want to be dropping by the fourth floor common room.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

It took Elsa a minute to figure out how to check it, but when she did...

I didn't have any plans to. Why, what's in the fourth floor common room?

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

There was quite an internal debate on Barry's end on how to phrase the next message. In the end he went with just being blunt about it.

Porn. Gwen decided to extend yesterday's class debate into an open forum. Kinda thought that this wouldn't be your cup of tea.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. Elsa stared at her phone for a minute before she started typing out her reply.

In that case, I might avoid the dorms entirely until they're finished in there. Is it educational, at least?

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

I thought you would appreciate the heads up. And... yeah there's really nothing educational about this. At least not in my humble opinion.

Or at least it wasn't for Barry.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

You're in there watching?

It was really, really hard to convey the emotions that Elsa was feeling in that text. Curiosity? Jealousy?

Self-consciousness, maybe. Maybe that one.

Who else is there?

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Not watching so much as mocking. Gwen, Eleanor, Celia, Kathy, Ed, Sparkle, Alana and Travis so far. There's also pizza but it doesn't appear to be interested.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh...

Elsa chewed her bottom lip for a moment before deciding that maybe now, over texts, was not the best time to discuss whatever that nebulous feeling in her guts might be.

Save me some pizza?

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Huh. Trailing periods. Those aren't particularly a good sign in a text conversation.

Sure thing. Everything okay?

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

I think so? I'm still getting used to the idea of that particular form of entertainment being something so casually enjoyed, I suppose.

There, that was a nice, politic way of putting it.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Hang on.

About ten minutes later, Barry appeared at the door with a covered plate in his hand.

"Hey," he said cheerfully. "I brought you pizza."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Barry, how was it that you were so smart?

... Not even the genius sort of smart. More the sort of smart that could actually puzzle out when Elsa needed a visit. She set down the CDs that she had been sorting to put on the shelf, and gave him a little smile.

"Hey," she replied, and if she looked a little more thankful than some pizza strictly warranted, well... "Thank you. You... didn't have to, I mean."

She knew he'd been busy, after all.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"You thought I had better places to be?" he asked with a little amusement. "You're right. I did."

And here he was.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Okay, Elsa couldn't help but smile and duck her head a little at that.

"I'm sorry if my messages seemed... a little strange," she offered, coming out from around the desk to greet him. "I think there are just some things about this century that still throw me off-guard more than others..."

Like people casually gathering for a group showing of various pornos.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"You want to talk about it?" Barry asked slowly. "Because if you'd like an awkward conversation I'm okay with that."

In an awkward sort of way.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Why not? This seems to be an excellent week for awkward talks, doesn't it?"

Elsa sighed and shook her head a little, slowly.

"I'm probably looking into it too much," she hedged, "but I... Just want to make sure you know that... Oh, how do I put this? I... Whatever it is those girls were doing in those videos... I mean, I'm not..."

When you offered awkward, Barry, Elsa was going to embrace that.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Well, fuck. Do you think I'm one of those guys in those videos?" Barry asked. "Shit. I mean... Do you think I've done any of this before? You're the first girl I've ever fucking kissed before. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing here."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa seemed, if not relieved, at least slightly less awkward, at that.

"We're both new at this, then," she replied, "and you've been excellent about not pressuring me into doing things I'm absolutely not ready for, and I don't think that this is that. I know you wouldn't expect anything that those people do in those videos of me."

She took a deep breath and held it for a moment.

"I guess... I just... If that was something you wanted... Isn't that why people watch it? And I don't want this to be... if I'm... holding you back or something..."

It was probably pretty clear by this point that Elsa had no clue what she was doing, either.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Nope!"

Barry held up his hands for further emphasis. "No. Nope. And No fucking way."

"Unless I was unclear this weekend: I love you. I like where we are and I have no fucking complaints. Let's not get sucked into some debate about porn. Porn is fake. It's fiction. What we have going on is fucking reality and that's all I want. You're not holding me back. Okay?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa hadn't been expecting such an enthusiastic response, and yet somehow it was so perfectly Barry that it was a wonder she'd worried at all. She stood there with her mouth open for a moment, and then shut it again and smiled, looking down at her toes.

"I love you too, and... If you say so, I feel better about it. I know the whole point of yesterday's class was about how unrealistic it is to compare ourselves to something like that in the first place. It's probably even more ridiculous to compare myself to something I only have spoken accounts of, from class."

Self-esteem and Elsa still had to sit down sometime and have a nice long chat. Maybe get acquainted a little, one of these days.

"You're happy with the pace we're taking things?"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Very happy," Barry said leaning over to give her a peck on her forehead. "Forget the fucking porn. I'm good. Really. Okay?"