IC Inbox for Asgard

[damselled]

"Oh, dear. It appears you have attempted to contact me while I am unavailable. Please do leave a message. Thank you."

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[damselled]

[Wrong move, Yosuke.]

Yosuke, do you think me an idiot?

[windbreak]

Wha? N-No! [Crap, what was it he said this time?] No, I'm serious, it was his name! I mean, I've never seen the bracelets glitch out before, but what else could it be...!?

[damselled]

Yosuke, I do wish to help you. Won't you talk to me?

[Hot and cold? Very Maribelle. Good luck with that, Yosuke.]

[windbreak]

[He's so glad he decided against a video message now. He feels like it would have melted the screen.]

But it's just like I said, nothing's really going on. It just messed up when I tried to call him... I mean, there's no way it'd just be because he's with you right now...

[Belatedly, he realises he's already going in circles, and lapses into another silence. It lasts for several eternal seconds.]

Um, I can explain...

[damselled]

[Rather than press him, she elects - for now - to simply hear what he has to say. Enjoy it while it lasts.]

Yes?

[windbreak]

Yeah... [He does intend to, but... jeez, this is weird.] Things got awkward the other day, and I'm just worried 'cause I didn't hear from him for a couple weeks now... That's the gist of it.

[Yup, and the yelling and the pitching people headfirst into walls and the kissing are all window dressing. ...Man, he wishes he believed that.]

[damselled]

Gracious. What happened, Yosuke?

[Because judging by his voice, it's worse than the usual "I made an arse of myself and I don't want to admit it," sort of tone Yosuke usually had.]

[windbreak]

W-Well... [... No, he could spin his mental wheels for the rest of time and it wouldn't get him any closer to a non-terrible starting point. He sighs.] I think maybe I went a little too far... again. Now I don't know how to make it up to him.

[damselled]

And how, pray tell, did you manage to do that?

[Because if there was anything Yosuke could do well on a regular basis, it was stick his foot in his mouth. Maribelle was rather fond of him, but there was no denying that.]

[windbreak]

I... [No doubt about it, he's gone from sounding uncertain to outright uncomfortable.] Is that the important part? [It's the part that runs the biggest risk if pissing her off, but that's hardly the same thing! ...Probably.]

[damselled]

Yosuke, you are hiding something. If you do not wish to tell me, then say so. But do not assume me to be an fool.

[windbreak]

It's not! I mean, I'm not. If he took it badly, it really doesn't matter what I was freaking out over for a second... Don't you think so too?

[It's embarrassingly clear that he has some answer in mind, and that he's mainly just waiting to hear it.]

[damselled]

And what exactly did you take badly, Yosuke? He is your dearest friend, is he not?

[Nope, you're not wiggling out of this one, Yosuke.]

I do not, as a matter of fact. If it did not matter, then surely you would not be so affected.

[windbreak]

You... don't think so? [An immense, unexplainable feeling of relief washes over him.] You don't think getting stuck on it is letting him down somehow...? A best friend is there to back you up when you need it, no matter what... That's what the word means.

[The way it immediately loosens his tongue might not be in his best interests, though.]

[damselled]

I believe so, yes. Everyone has things they don't do well with - but tell me, what has caused you to react in such a way?

[She notices. And don't think she won't take advantage of that, either.]

[windbreak]

[...

Ughhh, he's such a wuss. The best he can muster is a somewhat subdued mumble which involves the words "help" and "out the door", and is a total mystery beyond that. Even to him, if he's honest.]

[damselled]

Clearly, something is troubling you. I wish to help you in this, Yosuke. What is it?

[windbreak]

...I don't even know!

[And he doesn't mean to sound like he's snapping at her, but by the time he notices, it's a little late to stop blurting it.]

I can't say yes to him, I can't just say no... How am I supposed to know?

[damselled]

Well, what is he asking you to say yes to, exactly?

[windbreak]

[... Just as he'd been about to apologise for whining so much, he starts to feel a little less sorry. She's smarter than him, she can put two and two together...] Look, I don't really wanna say it... I'll get more confused than ever.

[damselled]

Yosuke, if you do not tell me, I shall figure it out anyway.

[Do you really want to play this game with her, Yosuke?]

[windbreak]

W-Well... Okay! You do that.

[Whoa, he never knew he could not want to say something fervently enough to stop them coming out. It hasn't exactly happened often before.]

...Then you might get it.

[damselled]

[A silence so thick you could cut it with a knife falls for a few moments. When she speaks again, however, Maribelle sounds hurt, rather than angry.]

Very well.

[And with that, she hangs up. Good luck with this one, Yosuke.]