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[reproached]

@john.murphy | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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action!

[evocation]

[It's a slow enough shift that Kyna is spending more time in back than usual. She and Murphy don't have much to do, and so she's bugging him quite a bit, popping in to sneak food from the line. Their increased proximity means it's almost impossible not to notice how he looks at her when he thinks he's not paying attention. She's picked up on it before, but it was always so brief and inconsistent that she was able to brush it off. Now, it feels glaring.

So she slips behind the line, giving him a nudge with her elbow as she snatches a cherry tomato from one of the wells.]

What? Did I spill something on myself?

[reproached]

[ Oh, oops. Murphy ducks his head far too late to be convincing about it. He's cleaning up a bit while things are slow, and now he seems to especially focused on the task of wiping down the counter - a task which requires very little focus at all. ]

Nope. I'm just zoning out.

[evocation]

Liar.

[She says it cheerfully, apparently completely unbothered by the possibility of him staring.]

If you were zoning out, what were you zoning out about?

wow where did this tag go

[reproached]

[ His hand stills for a moment as he weighs the considerable benefits of lying. But as far as misunderstandings go, that runs the risk of seeming worse, not better. He'd hate for her to assume he's a creep. ]

I was just thinking you look like a friend of mine from back home. If she smiled more.

[evocation]

Yeah?

[Weirdly, as long as she's been here, she's never heard anything like that.]

What friend?

[reproached]

Her name's Raven.

[ Murphy surprises himself with the wistfulness in his own voice when he says that. He had thought he'd pretty much come to terms with the homesickness, settled back into the old familiarity of belonging nowhere. No point in dwelling on what's lost. ]

[evocation]

[Oh, cute. Kyna leans against the counter, snatching another little tomato.]

Cool name. You miss her, huh?

[reproached]

[ Murphy straightens his shoulders and shakes himself out of it. ]

Nope.

[ He's joking. The corner of his mouth twitches. ]

Maybe a little. It was kind of complicated between us.

[evocation]

[Kyna hums thoughtfully, raising her eyebrows.]

Like, good complicated or bad complicated? Were you pining after her?

[Okay, she's definitely teasing.]