Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cassirin
"Yeah," Mo sat back up again and gave Alice that silly, puppy-dog face of his, shaking his head to wipe the grin away. Girlfriend was a particularly dumb word, and it didn't seem to apply at all to an Alice. She was her very own thing, and he wanted to be part of that thing... whatever it was. Boyfriend was worse, because it had some sort of specific meaning that was well beyond Mo's comprehension.
"It doesn't sound very Alice, but we could call you something else. Made-up word or some word you like better. Doesn't really matter, 'cause the meaning is the same." Mo lifted her hand up to eye level and studied the way her fingers fit around his. "You have good hands, you know? Maybe as good as your teeth. Strong and useful. Little bit scary what you can do with them. Pretty, though. Suits you."
"It's okay. I like it just fine." Girlfriend.
Girlfriend. Girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend. Alice mouthed the word to herself again and again, overturning his hand and spelling the letters out onto his palm. G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D. That's what she was now, wasn't she?
"Boyfriend, though. Cacti aren't boyfriends. Most people would want something more pleasant and non-prickly for a companion. Maybe we should we rename you."
Her hands? She studied her own, too, because she'd been looking at his for a very long time and had already mostly memorized the way they felt and how fit into hers.
"They're okay, I guess. Very capable of doing scary things. But I like yours better." Because his ones could hold hers and touch her cheek and make jelly slug jewelry. Better, see?