opened up a book for culinary survival

[motioned]

Who: Joe and Ahiru!
When: RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. No but seriously it was earlier this afternoon.
Where: The Apartment That Never Was.
Summary: Joe promised to teach Ahiru how to make spaghetti for her birthday! Confessions happen.
Warnings: Diabetes.

After leaving a note saying she'd be out for a few hours but back before sirens, she heads out of the mansion towards Joe's apartment. She'd decided hours before departing that today would be the day she told him. Though the idea makes her nervous, she's certain she trusts him enough to know he wouldn't overreact.

As she approaches his door, she takes a deep breath before knocking, making sure she looks presentable.

"Joe, it's me!"

Comments

[motioned]

There's nervousness, certainly, but she's sure that someone as kind as Joe would accept her appearance, especially since he'd seemed fine as she described her identity.

"Just put me in the bathroom with my clothes once we're done, okay?" Lately, she's been keeping a small vial of water in her pocket for this reason. She reaches up behind her neck to unfasten the pendant.

[madeinoblivion]

Okay. Okay, for that, he's....gonna try really hard not to laugh. Or smile. Oops, too late, the grin is twitching with a mischievous, boyish sort of immature curiosity.

"Your...clothes'll all fall off?"

But this is gonna be good- he's staring. What kind of duck will she be? Like the big white ones, at the lake? Or the brown ones?

"Sure. I'll put your clothes in the bathroom for you."

[motioned]

She can hardly help the immediate blush that spreads across her face, or the way her fingers begin to fumble as she unhooks the pendant.

"D-Don't say it like that, that makes it sound weird!" Finally, she finishes removing the pendant, and holds it out, expecting him to take it. She doesn't let go yet, however.

"Are you sure about this? It might be kind of weird."

[madeinoblivion]

Its a really stupid part of this whole thing to get stuck in his head (she's a duck, and when she turns back into a girl she's naked), a really stupid thing to fixate on, since he lives with two girls and he dates one of them, and they're both naked in that bathroom at least once a day.

Still, he blushes brightly when she blushes, and nods that yes, she still should show him, even if its weird.

"Just so I know its you, if there's ever suddenly a duck following me around I'll um.... know to find you clothes? It'll be a few more minutes till the water's ready for spaghetti anyway... I'll keep an eye on it while you change back"

[motioned]

"Okay. Thank you, Joe."

At that, she lets go of the chain, letting the pendant drop down into his hand. Immediately after, her skin begins to glow, and then she starts to shrink away; it's not long until she's hidden underneath the (now mostly empty) pile of clothes that fall to the floor.

After a few seconds, she crawls out of the fabric, looking up at him.

[madeinoblivion]

He grasps it carefully, a warmth still lingering in the pendant from where it sat against her neck. The glowing is like that same brightness he's sensed behind him before, facing a witch, in the moments when she turned into Princess Tutu.

But this time- His eyes widen as he watches her shrink down into something quite small, and then emerges.

Joe has to bite down in his lower lip to keep his grin from splitting into an enchanted laugh. Oh gosh, she really is-

"Oh!" He exclaims brightly, crouching down to balance hands on his knees and stoop a bit closer to her eye level. She really does make a cute duck, and one of her feathers looks just like her hair. "You're like a bath duck!"

[motioned]

She stares hard at him, because the last thing she wants to be compared to is a bath toy. She even opens her mouth (or, well, bill) to protect, but predictably, all that comes out is...

"Quack!"

[madeinoblivion]

"Don't look so sad!" He smiles, a fingertip reaching for the underside of her bill in a gentle 'chin up!' gesture. "You're a really cute duck!"

[motioned]

She looks up, blinking up in surprise at him. Though she's drastically different in appearance, there's something undeniably her about the way she acts, even without words.

"Quack..."

[madeinoblivion]

"I don't mean it in a bad way-" He assures her, cautious about if it would be weird or not to try and...pet her, or anything.

"Just that you're yellow. I guess those leg warmers I got you for Christmas really do match you perfect, huh?"

[motioned]

She nods. If she could speak, she would agree and thank him, too, but this will have to suffice for now. Sensing his hesitance, though, she tilts her head slightly at him. Some mannerisms never change, even between species.

[madeinoblivion]

"Riku's friend, Sora, also has a duck friend, named Donald. But he's a mage, and he can say more than 'quack', too. So... you're a little bit different than I expected." He explains, but keeping a good-natured smile.

"...you really are kind of cute, like that. But I can see why you don't want to eat meat."

He's not sure what else there is to say, or how much longer he can smile before it turns into too embarrassingly endearing of a simper because- gosh, he's not such a sap for little animals, okay! Let alone little animals that turn back into one of his closest friends!

"Your secret's safe with me." He nods, clasping his hand around the pendant. "Promise."

"Are you ready to change back now?"

[motioned]

Throughout all his words, she's amazed by how kindhearted he is. She'll never know just what she did to deserve so many friends who accepted her without a second thought.

She shakes her head up and down, signaling a yes. She didn't mind him seeing, but being without the ability to speak for too long became a little frustrating.

[madeinoblivion]

"Okay."

He reaches for her clothes, careful not to really touch her underthings so much as scoop the whole pile of them into his arms, leading her to the bathroom where he sets them on the sink, flicking on the light with a sheepish smile.

"I'll go keep an eye on the water."

...because this isn't the awkward part of this at all.

[motioned]

Once he leaves, it only takes her a few moments to change back. Once she's in her human body and fully dressed again, she walks into the kitchen area, smiling faintly.

"Thanks for helping."

[madeinoblivion]

"No problem." His smile is a little bit embarrassed, and while it feels like he knows a whole new side of her now, it's good to see immediately that she'll still always be Ahiru at heart, no matter what she is, duck or human.

"I didn't have to see to believe you, but...thanks for showing me anyway." Joe glances at the pasta water, which is nearly boiling now. Just a little bit more...

And a few more questions maybe, too. "How long did you live like that, as a duck, before you became a girl?"

[motioned]

"I know you would have believed me! And you don't have to thank me for that." She says, letting out a little laugh as she brushes a stray hair back self consciously. The question makes her stop, though.

"I... don't know."

[madeinoblivion]

"A guess they don't really give ducks birthdays, huh."

A sympathetic smile. But then, he didn't have a birthday till he came here too.

"C'mon. It's time to put in the pasta."

[motioned]

"I don't think so, but I don't remember much from before I got to be human."

She walks towards the box, picking it up and opening it.

"Do I put all of it in the pot, or just some of it?"

[madeinoblivion]

"There's a lot of my memories which are kinda fuzzy too" It's funny, admitting these things openly to someone- but it's suddenly easier to share with Ahiru. They were suddenly so much more alike! (Well. Except for the duck part.)

"About half should be good for just the two of us." He shrugs. "We do a whole box when all of us are home."

[motioned]

"Fuzzy? What do you mean?"

Without looking away from him, she starts to pour some of the pasta into the pot. Of course, she nearly misses, and only corrects it in the last second, fumbling as she aims the falling spaghetti towards the water. It's hard to focus on cooking when you're hearing intimate details about a friend's life.

[madeinoblivion]

"Well, like..." it was hard to describe what it was like to have a combination of data-memory and false memories, knowing they had shattered once, scrapped back together in a hurry. There were blank points in between, and parts he knew were copies, and sentiments tied to them which still felt real, to his heart.

"Like someone drew them out, scenes of your life, with colored powder," he explains with a shrug, plucking up one fallen strand of spaghetti from beside the pot.

[motioned]

"Drew them with colored powder?" On the one hand, she doesn't want to pry if he's uncomfortable with the subject. On the other hand, though, she doesn't want to misunderstand if he's trying to tell her something important. She sets the box back down on the counter.

"I don't think I get it.

[madeinoblivion]

"It's okay." Joe shakes his head, setting a small egg timer on the countertop for eight minutes. "You don't really have to get it. What's important is that we're both here and we're both making real memories now, together."

"You'll wanna kind of squish the tops of the pasta that are still sticking up in, as soon as it gets soft enough to bend."

[motioned]

"Yeah. All the memories I have here in the Port are really important to me. I'm glad I have memories of you, too." She smiles, pushing at the end of the spaghetti experimentally and leaving it alone when it doesn't fold into the water.