[IC] Unconventional Attraction [Sanguine Rose & Vornal]

[v o r n a l]

Olivia wasn't expecting anyone to be awake at this early hour of the morning, so when Steve approached her and spoke, she nearly jumped out of her skin. "You scared the hell out of me," She said in a hushed tone, her hand flying up to her chest as if she could steady her heartbeat externally. "N-no, I mean, I woke up about a half-hour ago on my own accord. I slept." She babbled as Steve offered her a soft smile, which made him look rather cute seeing as he already had the whole "sleepy" look going for him. Olivia gave him a shy smile in return, looking away from him, not able to keep his gaze but instead, her eyes fell to the tea he had taken down from the cabinet.

So he was a tea drinker himself. Her brows raised at his offer, "Yeah, actually that's what I was looking for, tea uh... helps in any occasion for me." Olivia closed one of the cabinets that she had opened in her search then stepped out of Steve's way from the cabinets and the stove, only to lean against the edge of the countertop. "So, why are you awake?" Olivia asked as she slipped her phone into her hoodie's front pocket. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, the motion allowing her to relax into the comfort of the large sweater as if she had a blanket over her shoulders. If Olivia recalled correctly, this was the most she'd spoken to Steve in the past twenty-four hours than she had since Ethan and he had become close friends. She guessed that was normal considering her brother and Steve were college friends, it would've been more of an oddity had Steve been Ethan's childhood friend.

[Sanguine Rose]

The water set to heat, Steve offered her an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He turned his attention to the cabinets as he opened one and fetched down a set of coffee mugs. “Truth be told, I forgot who you were for a second.”

Setting them on the counter, he turned back to her. His hands folded behind his lower back as he leaned against the counter. It shortened the shrug he had to go with his response to her question. “I got a call from one of the night shift IT guys at work. He was having trouble with his system and needed upper level support.” He chuckled softly. “So while he’s all set to work the rest of the night, now I get to try to shut my brain down again.”

It was weird to think that before yesterday they’d pretty much only said, like, ‘hi’ and maybe a polite ‘bye’. Weird, but he didn’t feel awkward about it. If he were more awake, he figured maybe. But then that’d make the whole thing more awkward, and...

He chuckled softly when he realized he was starting to overthink it. “Sorry, it’s just - it just occurred to me that we barely spoke before yesterday. Now the bulk of us talking has been while I’m half asleep.” It was probably better this way, though. Half-asleep meant his brain wasn’t awake enough for him to be self-conscious about how the interaction was going - not because she was a girl or his friend’s sister or anything like that but just the simple fact she was a person he was talking to in a non-work setting. Even office parties were nerve wracking for him, and most of those people he interacted with on a daily basis.

His attention turned to the pot when he saw it start steaming. Turning the burner off and moving the pot to a different spot, he popped open the lid and tapped in some of the leaves. “It just needs to steep for a few minutes,” he said as he put the tin away. “I don’t know if you’ve tried this blend before, but it’s a blend of tea leaves, some herbs and flowers, and some fruit peels. It’s light and sweet by itself in my opinion, but I can take out the sugar or honey if you like to sweeten your tea with either.”

[v o r n a l]

Olivia couldn't help the soft snort that came from her, a sardonic smile replacing it quickly. He'd forgotten who she'd been for a moment, it was unfortunate she didn't get to see his reaction to seeing her rummaging in the kitchen because she was curious about what he would have done if she had been a complete stranger in his home. Had it been Eugene he would've been yelling waking the whole apartment complex up, that being said, thankfully Steve was quiet.

The way Steve shrugged off being woken up due to something work-related made Olivia frown. Why would someone be so nonchalant about being relied on so much to the point they were woken up in the middle of the night for assistance? Surely it had to be irritating, but then again, if the money was good, surely his lack of sleep was compensated in that way? Olivia wasn't sure, she had yet to have a job of her own as her parents pushed for her to focus on her academics and club activities or sports. "Oh, I'm sorry." She offered, trying to be sympathetic to his situation.

When Steve had fallen silent, Olivia took that time to observe him, to really take in his presence. He was taller than her, but she was sure that if she were to stand face to face with him she'd be eye level with his chin. That was normal though, considering she was a few inches taller than the average height for women. His posture was normal, he didn't seem as weighted down as he had been the previous evening when he'd returned home from work. Yet the spacey expression in his eyes made her think otherwise. He was either tired or thinking about something. His chuckle gave an affirmation to the latter. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Olivia smiled, it was strained but amused none the less as she looked away from Steve to look down at her crossed arms. " But, it is preferable over simple hellos and goodbyes. At least now I have a chance to get to know more about the person who my brother has been attached at the hip to since college." When Steve's attention was off of herself she'd brought her eyes back to him at the stove. Taking a few steps away from the kitchen, Olivia took her hair down from the towel she had it meticulously wrapped in to shake her hair out. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders now, resting her still damp hair over it as she stepped back into the kitchen.

Having her hair wrapped up so tightly was starting to irritate her and she felt it was necessary for her to unwrap her hair now rather than later when trying to get comfortable on the couch where she'd perch herself until she finished her tea. "Okay." Olivia said, coming to stand next to Steve, watching the steam rise from their mugs as the tea steeped. "I haven't but it smells amazing." She commented, hazel eyes looking over at him, she was right, she did come eye level to his chin.

"No that's alright," Olivia shook her head softly, "I don't like my tea to be too overly sweet." Her nose crinkled in response to the thought of a tea that was meant to be naturally sweet being sweeter. "But thank you."