[zapdragon555]

Cyril let out a breath as she looked at him, trying to fight down the panic that had spiked as she jumped in surprise near the railing. He seemed to relax a little, murmuring an apology in response, then blinked at her question. "Ah... well... a-a bit hectic," he laughed, his face seeming to want to alternate between pale and flushed as he rubbed the back of his head. "But it was alright... I'm sorry I couldn't come to lunch today. I needed to go to a study session sort of thing, and um..." he trailed off, realizing he was likely distracting from whatever Ava had wanted to tell him, and he straightened up a bit. "So... you wanted to speak with me?"

[Baconwizard]

Ava nodded along with Cyril's words, a small smile growing on her face. He looked so flustered... So that was what Erastus was talking about. Maybe both she and Cyril were lovesick. At his question, Ava stiffened, her face automatically flushing red. "Oh, um... yes, I did." Ava nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes slipping to look at one of the buttons on his coat. She couldn't look him in the eye, not now, when she was so nervous... "C-Cyril... I've thought about, um, what you said, a-and I want to apologize that I've hesitated so long in giving you an answer. It's... not fair to you, a-and it's just because I was––am––nervous. A-about being in a relationship, a-and really everything. I'm not... good with words," she finished, a little lamely, hiding her face in her hands. Her voice was coming fast and breathless, but now that she started talking, it seemed like she couldn't stop. "A-and I felt like I couldn't say anything right, and I was afraid that you would get the wrong idea, or something. B-because I... I like you, Cyril. I like you a lot, a-and I've thought about it... I want to be with you..." Ava peeked up at Cyril, her face a beet red, and she gave him an embarrassed look, a hint of a smile on her face. "I'm sorry it took so long."

[zapdragon555]

As Ava began to speak, Cyril could feel his heart doing about six different things in his chest at once. Beating faster, slowing down, rising up in his throat and dropping to his stomach, clenching and relaxing and swelling with affection as she hid her face... okay, seven things. When those words finally hit his ears, however, he could feel things even out, felt the white noise that had collected in his ears flatline into a soft, gentle clearness as he stared at her hunched form. He needed to say something in response. His voice felt lodged in his throat somewhere, and slowly, unable to do anything else, he walked up to her and offered his arms out slightly for a hug to warn her, and wrapped his arms around her small shoulders. "Thank you, Ava," he said softly, his voice freeing long enough to get at least that out, though it didn't cover all of the crashing waves of happiness and relief in his heart. "Thank you, that's... that makes me so happy, Ava..."

[Baconwizard]

Ava gasped as she felt Cyril's arms wrap around her, and she tensed up for a moment. Looking up at him with wide eyes, she took in his smile and the sincerity in his eyes. A smile rose up to return his, and she nodded, letting out a breath. "Mmhm," she murmured, bringing her hands up to wrap around his waist, hugging him back. She stayed there for a moment, then shifted a little closer to him, putting her head on his chest. Oh... she could hear his heart. It was going so fast. Ava grinned, then buried her face in his chest, taking in the feeling of Cyril holding her and Cyril's voice and smell around her. "I like you, Cyril," she mumbled, wanting to say it again.

[zapdragon555]

Cyril blinked softly in surprise at her quiet words, and he found a smile quickly worming over his face. "I... I like you, too, Ava," he whispered back, a small chuckle suddenly bubbling out of him as his face split into a grin. "I like you a lot..." He blinked, then tucked his face into her hair, stifling another soft peal of laughter. "Oh, th-that... that feels so nice to say," he mumbled, face pink as he straightened up again, looking goofier than one would think possible for a person like Cyril. His arms were a constant presence around her, not wanting to let go just yet, and he squeezed her gently. "Thank you for... for telling me, here."

[Baconwizard]

Ava's face split into a grin, and she beamed up at him, nodding her head. She let out a breath, beginning to chuckle. "I feel so much better now that I said it. Sorry that I took so long to give you a decent reply." Ava rested her chin on his chest, content to just say there forever. A sheepish look grew on her face, and she glanced up at Cyril. "Erastus said that you've been a little out of sorts the past few days..."

[zapdragon555]

Cyril's eyes softened as she rested her chin on his chest, a warm smile spreading over his face. "Aha, is that so..." Cyril murmured, then blinked, realizing what she'd said. "Wait--excuse me?" he stammered, his cheeks coloring red. "You mean... you said, Erastus... told you about me?" he asked, looking a little panicked, if not terribly embarrassed. "What... did he say?"

[Baconwizard]

Ava's eyes widened, and she tried her best, she really did, to not smile at Cyril's obvious panic. She gently let go of Cyril, reaching for his hands to steady him. "I talked with him during our history class. He just said that you were acting weirder than normal, a-and then he said he suspected that you were lovesick. B-but I think that was just to tease me, h-he could have probably guessed why I was asking about you..." Ava flushed, then hurried back to bury her red face in Cyril's chest. "Even though it was embarrassing, he did encourage me to do this."

[zapdragon555]

Cyril's expression seemed to flit through about three different expressions as Ava spoke. Panic slowly shifted to a kind of indignant frown, then finally to a look of surprise. "He... he did?" he asked, running a hand through his hair and laughing slightly, keeping one hand gently on her arm. He slid it down to hold her hand, lightly squeezing it as he glanced away almost bashfully. "That... well, I... guess I should thank him. Not really, though. He'd never let me hear the end of it," he added with a sheepish grin, glancing back at Ava. He winced, a smile spreading over his face. "I-I do wonder, was I really so obvious to him?"

[Baconwizard]

Ava looked up at Cyril with a smile, rolling her eyes. "I don't know! Half the time I'm wondering if you or Erastus are reading my mind." Ava squeezed his hand, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "Sometimes you give out this very... aloof exterior that makes it a little nerve-wracking to talk to you, but when we're alone, you're very open and nice." Ava looked up at Cyril, her cheeks turning pink. "Your brothers are kind of the same way. They're really intimidating until you get to know them, and then they aren't so bad."

[zapdragon555]

Cyril blinked at that, before a small, delighted laugh escaped him. "Oh, dear... I'm... afraid some of that might come from Samael," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Or genes. My father is a bit like that. Except he's still rather frightening when you get to know him," he added, dropping his voice to a whisper, his brows raised in a smile before his expression softened and he sighed through his nose. "So you've met my brothers... next thing I know, I'll have heard my mother got a hold of you," he laughed slightly, feeling giddy from before, wanting to keep talking, to keep smiling as long as the warm feeling in his chest lasted.

[Baconwizard]

"Oh no," Ava said softly, wrinkling her nose in sympathy and she smiled up at him, going to rest her chin on his chest again. She liked this, this closeness. Being able to feel Cyril's warmth and his hands on her hands... It was like Ava was bursting with energy but she just wanted to stay in place. "Yeah... somehow I ended up meeting both of them all at once. You have such a large family." Ava blinked up at him, a curious look in her eyes. "What's your mother like? I've never heard you talk about her before."

[zapdragon555]

Cyril's brows quirked slightly, before he let out a small, embarrassed breath, a smile spreading over his face. "Ah, my mother, she's... well, she's often away," he mused softly, tilting his chin up and glancing at the sky for a moment as he caught sight of an airplane going overhead. "She likes to go on vacation a lot. And sometimes we go with her. But as of right now she's been staying home more." He smiled, shrugging. "The house is a lot noisier with her around. She's... quite loud. And boisterous. But she means well," he finished with a small nod, chuckling. "She can be a bit overwhelming, I suppose."

[Baconwizard]

"Oh my," Ava leaned back on her heels, still holding on to Cyril's hands for balance. She grinned, because Cyril was smiling, then squeezed his hands. "She sounds very different than the rest of your family. Your brothers are so quiet." Ava kind of wanted to meet her. Oh, but she had never been over to Cyril's house before. The thought fluttered in her chest for a moment; that was an exciting prospect. It would be fun to hang out with his brothers, and with Cyril... But there was his father, too. Ava definitely didn't want to have to explain her presence to Cyril's father. Or her own father, for that matter. Ava blinked up at Cyril, then smiled, going back down on her feet. "Having a noisy house sounds kind of fun. It keeps things interesting."

[zapdragon555]

"Well, Erastus could be quieter," Cyril commented with a small smirk, grinning in spite of himself. "But... yes, she seems to balance the rest of us out. Her relationship with my father is... a bit strained, I suppose, so we don't usually do many things as a family. It's understandable," he added with a wry smile. "But I think you might like her. And she'd be ecstatic to know I had a girlfriend," he laughed slightly, then blinked, his face flushing. "Ah... um... that is..." Cyril dithered, his hands a bit tight on Ava's, eyes flicking everywhere but Ava's face. "Is... that okay? That... I mean, me using that..."