(2022-03-24) Being a Rocketman For You

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Author:	Athena
Summary:	Nish and Jo sit down to chat about what the future might hold for Nish, the relationship between Jo and Nish, and Nish's philosophy on the way she dates people.
Rating:	T for Teen

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romantic themes, innuendo

Logging started on 03/24/2022

Jocoza wanders into the room, and smiles when she sees Nish. She walks up beside her, expecting her to wake up.

Nish is clearly relaxing on a collection of pillows in her room. When she hears Jo, she smiles. She is not asleep, and it's clear she was gonna try to pretend to be asleep, but she loses the ruse by giggling.

Jocoza giggles, and reaches over to kiss her on the cheek.
“Hi, sweetie,” Nish kisses Jo back, and plops down onto a pillow very close by. "You're looking extra cute today."

“I was thinking of how you might like to be woken up, but… hi.” Jo grins.

"Oh, there's lots of good ways, but. No, I was just resting my eyes. The rain makes me feel sleepy, here, you know?"

"I do like the sound, when I'm inside. Nice, even, breaks the silence." Jo looks down at her own clothes, "And am I, really? Oh! You haven't seen my hat." Jo pulls out a big red hat.

"Oh my gooooosh." Nish giggles and reaches out to smoosh Jo's face. "You are just the CUTEST. I love it."

"It's soooo good, in the rain! It's like an umbrella spell, without the effort!"

"You know me. I never mind getting a little wet, but here it's like, wow, it does not stop, huh? Maybe I should see about getting a matching one." She smiles and wiggles her shoulders.

Jo giggles. “I would recommend it. Maybe a pink one, to match your hair."

"Although, I guess that's a little…couple-y, huh? Matching outfits, I mean." She smiles and flicks her hair back. "I could do pink, if I can find one!"

Jo blinks. “I didn't mean… Um… friends sometimes match, right?”

Nish reaches over and pats Jo's hand a little, and if she uses the opportunity to run her thumb gently over Jo's hand, who can blame her. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. I'm not like, trying to say anything, okay?" She leans back, and tilts her head. "I mean, you don't want anything more from me, do you? I feel like you like where we are."

"I…" Jo pauses, looking up at the ceiling, too. Maybe there's a mushroom up there. "I kind of thought that went both ways, right? Just… fun times. And whenever that stops, it stops. What's brought this… did something change…? With Gerhold? Or somebody new?"

Nish shrugs. "I mean, things always change. That's not always bad, and with me, that's usually good." She waves a hand in the general direction of things. "But, yeah, things might change with Ger Bear soon. Because of the whole, wedding thing? He's always really liked that one girl, Cress? And it used to be just, you know, nothing gonna happen there officially because, like, engaged. She's not anymore."

Jo looks down at Nish sharply, and then sighs as she continues. "For a second there I thought you meant like… a wedding thing. Not, the one we just went to."

Nish giggles. "No, not Ger Bear wedding. Wow, can you even imagine?" She shakes her head. "No, just the whole…like, those Aspens are like, real nobility. If Ger Bear goes that way, it's like, I can't do that whole…whatever-they-do thing, with the like, affair dirty secret thing. You know, like, everyone knows but you're supposed to not say? That's just so…yiiiikes."

Jo shifts to sit next to Nish, bumping against her shoulder gently. She tilts her head to look at Nish. "That really does not sound like a thing you'd like, no. But… are they actually a thing, Gerhold and Cress? I hadn't even noticed. She's so self-contained. And he's so.. not."

"Oh, no. It's just a thing that might happen. He's never pursued her seriously, because, you know. Dead end." She smiles at Jo. "Ger Bear's a lot of things. When he wants to be serious, he really is. And when he wants to be fun, he's all in. Kinda like you, actually. It's why I love you both. All fun and dumb is boring. All business, no fun is like….also boring, but worse."

"But you think he wants that? A noble marriage?" Jo says this a little incredulously, like, humans, you know.

Nish nods. "I mean, noble marriage would mean, like, money, easy access into places, and you know, the girl. He wears her cape every time she might even possibly be somewhere, you know."

"Does that… bother you?" Jo bites her lip, watching Nish's expression.

Nish pouts. "You mean, that he likes her? Oh gosh, no. Like, I know some people do that weird thing that just feels so…I don't know. It's always felt really goblin-y to me? The whole, the only way love is worth anything is if it's scarce? And like, I know some people go all, oh my gosh, you think everyone's hot and you fall a little in love with everyone, that's like the same as not loving anyone. But, like, it's never bothered me at all if someone I love loves someone else."

Jo nods. "Or if I get all of it. But a lot of people feel like that."

"It's just like…usually, you know, I feel it when it's like, the relationship is getting to that end point? And it doesn't feel like Ger Bear and I are there, but that is a weird line in the sand I didn't even know I had until it was like a real possibility. I've never dated someone who could actually possibly marry a noble."

Jo shakes her head. "I have nothing for you on that count. All I know is from novels. And, well, I guess this whole Aspenwood thing."

"Oh, it's okay, sweetie. I'm not…you don't have to solve it. It's just weird, and I wanna make sure it's like…you know, that also if you were gonna change, marry that one Kerlo guy, or something, you'd let me know things were gonna change? Because I love you, Jo, but like, I don't think we're a forever? I don't think I…do that. Forever, you know? Like the whole marry death do we part thing."

Jo hesitates, maybe a little too long. When she speaks, she seems to be trying to feel her way with words. "I… you know I care about you, right?… and I like being with you, and even if there was no… even if we stopped being together like that…I'd still want to be your friend, right?"

Nish turns and smiles sweetly at Jo. "For sure! You know what I'm like, sweetie. I'm always friends with my exes. And, you know, it doesn't bother me that you don't love me. Not at all, ok? That's one of those things…I know it bothers people, but I don't really get it? Like, feel it. I mean, it's the same when I find someone super hot and would totally bang them, but they're not interested. Like, so what?"

Jo lets out a breath. "Oh good. Because… I was going to say, I don't think this is an in-love thing, for me. I… I suppose I do love you. But I'm not in love… and there is a difference, there."

Nish leans back into her pillow, and blows a bit of her hair off her face. "Oh, no. I'm like…gosh, how do I explain it. Like, for me, everyone's kinda…a bomb? And everyone's a different kind of bomb. And you make them, and hold onto them, and then. Eventually, you know, it blows up. It doesn't mean it's bad or wrong or it failed. It did what it was supposed to do. And that's good. For me, that's people. It always ends eventually, I just love the making and the explosion, and knowing it was as good as it was gonna be, okay?""

Jo giggles. "Well, I'm not planning to explode anytime soon."

Nish grins at Jo. "Oh, you're not? Really??" She scoots closer and puts her hand on Jo's knee. "That is such a shame. And here I was thinking I couldn't surprise you any more." Nish flutters her fake lashes shamelessly.

Jo grins mischievously, and leans toward Nish. "Maybe a different kind of explosion?"

Nish giggles. "Hey, I think I even said in my interview, I love a good explosion." She blows Jo a little kiss. "And in the end, that's what I want to make sure we get, okay? Like, the metaphor kind. That we go out on a high note. Because that was what did it for me and Tad. Why it took so long to get back to friendship. I let it go too long. I didn't walk away when I should have."

Jo shrinks back, just a little, and says. "I can try to warn you, if I see it coming. But that's not really something I plan. Like Kerlo? I did think about that. I have no idea what he thinks about all.. if he were interested in me, if he's the sort who wants all of me. Or if I want him. But then, it's been months, for all I know he's met and married somebody else by now.”

Nish shakes her head. "I mean, like…it's just months, sweetie. We're not, you know…human, for all that we hang around them so often. You could spend another five years dancing around each other and like, what would it even matter? But, yeah. I don't know either. And normally, that wouldn't matter much, but like….ever since Tad, I've always been the one to leave, and I gotta time it right. So that we're still good, and not in a sad place when it happens."

Jo shrugs. "I guess you're right. It's hard to time, though. At what point do I need to have that talk with somebody? The whole, how much of me do you want, talk? Like…” Jo giggles “… I guess I did sort of put that off till now, with you."

Nish makes a little mmmm? sound and tilts her head back and forth, swinging her hair. "I'm really good at judging it, sweetie. Like, I've been with so many people, in so many different ways. After a while, you know how to read it." She smiles at Jo. “Did you date around much, back in Gnomer? Crazy Wild Oats Youth Jo?" She giggles at the thought.

"Crazy Wild Oats Youth Jo," Jo says, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know if you'd say.. well, I did date, but that was a -long- time ago."

"I didn't date as much back then, actually. I mean, I slept with people as soon as I was, like, legal, but it was just…I dunno. It was always harder with gnomes, for me, then. I mean, I'm hardly like…the gnomey gnome? Or whatever." Nish doesn't look like this bothers her in the slightest.

"I didn't really… go after people?" Jo shifts slightly, uncomfortably. "Maybe that's a weird thing to say. But it was always on the other side, first. Even with Tula and Rix."

"Oh yeah. That's…is that like with the Kerlo thing? Because you don't wanna…go after him first?" She scoots a little closer. She's practically in Jo's lap at this point.

"I can imagine you, though" Jo runs a hand gently down the side of her face. "I bet you took them by storm, in Gnomeregan."

"It's really vulnerable sometimes, being that person chasing. You gotta be able to be able to take that moment when they look at you and go, 'oh, no thank you.' You know?"

"Mm," Jo acknowledges. "Maybe I didn't want that? Vulnerability. It's not always a good thing. Then again, I think half the time I just didn't even notice. Even with Tadget…"

"Oh, yeah. Gosh, but Tad…she's…you know. You feel like if you're gonna try for that and she looks at you with those eyes, you're gonna like…melt on the spot and not in a good way?" Nish giggles. "For real, I don't even remember which one of us did the approach. I just remember making out with her going, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I did it?"

"Oh, on my side, it was her, I think. She was making a game out of flirting, and… well. Don't mention it, whenever you do see her. I think she still feels kind of bad about it. And I do love her, now. I'm also not in love with her."

Nish shakes her head. "Oh, no, for sure, sweetie. Look, I know people can think I'm like…dumb or a blabber mouth, but like that's just…" She pouts. "That's on purpose. I say what I'm thinking because I don't see the point of pretending anymore? But, I have a lot of secrets. And I don't tell people things that would be their story, I promise. I just…don't like playing the Can I Get You To Tell Me You Like Me First game."

"It's not a game," Jo says, leaning back against a pillow. "It's just… how things work out sometimes. Maybe, I don't see a person and think, "Oh, a bomb for me to enjoy! Maybe when I see a person, it's just like, 'Oh, that's nice. Now about that schematic…" Unless something makes me notice. I went for you, didn't I?" Jo sits up and points out. "With the gliders?"

Nish giggles and flops down next to Jo, already reaching to work on undoing one of Jo's buns. "I think I might have made that a pretty obvious option, but yeah. You did."

"And sometimes it might just be… a particular hairstyle, or the way they laugh… but I have to notice…"

"Yeah. Well, I'm flashy enough for the both of us," Nish says with a little giggle.

Jo grins, rolling over so her half-down hair falls down next to Nish's face. "You would definitely be hard not to notice."

Nish preens a little, and flutters her lashes. "And hey, I even come with schematics. Remind me to show you the one I'm working on from their weird rocks out here. But first. I think I owe you an explosion personally."

In answer, Jo leans down for a kiss.