Little Dipper Campfire [Wednesday Evening]

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

Earlier in the day, Ned had decided he'd spent entirely too long holed up in his alcove. Of course, it took him several hours after that initial realization before getting up and out of bed, changing and heading outside, Digby at his heels.

The dog was, possibly, happier than anyone that Ned had decided to get out of his stupid funk. He lit a fire as best he could and took a seat.

He started contemplating baking sweets over an open fire. He decided that would only lead to tears.

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[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"It ain't, those wore off ages ago," she said easily. "So people who don't like you are stupid an' you got to ignore them."

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"I usually ignore everyone," he said quietly, peering over at the fire for a moment before looking back at her. "I like you too, you know."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee smiled, blushing a little. "That's just the clock talkin'," she teased.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"Clocks don't talk," he said, leaning a little closer to whisper that conspiratorially. "They tell time. And play music. And, on occasion, are good as emergency coasters."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee cast a careful eye over the clock. "That one ought to survive a spill, if you use it like a coaster. It's real insulated. 'Cept the bottom, so leave it alone."

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

Ned took a peek at the bottom of the clock and caught the new decoration to the clock and ended up staring again. This time, though, he stared and smiled.

"There's a flower on my clock," he said quietly.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"You said I could," she reminded him, grinning.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"I remember," he said, brushing one finger over the flower and letter. "You'll always be a part of my clock now."

That sounded weird. Ned decided to amend that. He tried with words and they failed.

So, he looked down, brushed some of the dirt at his feet around with his shoe before reaching down and drawing a smiley face, an arrow pointing to the smiley face and then his name at the end of the arrow.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee giggled, and reached down to draw a happy face with long hair, and her own name next to it.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

After she'd finished, he added a stick figure body and hands and feet to the original smiley face.

He drew a flower in one of the stick figure hands. It was supposed to be a sunflower but drawing in the dirt was hard and he was no artist.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee drew a little body for her stick figure, too.

And a wrench in her hand.

It didn't really look like one, though. It looked like a scribble in the dirt.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"I can't really draw action but if I could, he'd give yours the flower," Ned said, immediately blushing something fierce and averting his eyes back down to the dirt stick figures.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee's smile got really wide, and, after a moment's consideration, she extended her figure's arm so that her stick-hand was touching the other stick figure's.

"There. She's takin' it."

Or something.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

He could do that kind of touching. It was easy and didn't make any of those nasty emotions swirl around.

"He's the better for giving it to her," he said quietly.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"She wishes she had somethin' to give him," she said, smiling at him.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"She already did," he told her. "She gave him a cupcake and a clock with a flower on the bottom. He really liked both of those. She told him she liked him too."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"That was just her bein' truthsome," she said softly, nodding. "Just a fact. And 'sides, he said he likes her too."

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"He does," Ned said, peeking up at her. "He was being...truthsome too."

And, without really thinking about, he reached behind him and pulled out a stalk of grass, holding it loosely between two fingertips and offering it to her.

"It's the best he can do for now."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee carefully took the grass, and the color was rising up in her cheeks all over again.

"It's the best piece of grass she's ever gotten," she said honestly, and wondered why they were still talking about it like they were the stick figures.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"It's the first piece of grass he's ever given," Ned said, brushing his fingers together before tucking them back against his sides.

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"It's pretty much the first one she's ever gotten, too," she giggled. "Still the best, though."

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"Good." He smiled at her. "I'm glad. So's he but I am too. The Cupcake Captain deserves a nice blade of grass to start her collection with."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"I'm startin' a collection?" she asked, grinning widely.

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

"Well, I mean, no," he said quickly, shaking his head. "It was just...a figure if speech except it wasn't. It was more me just saying the first thing that came to my mind. You don't have to start a collection. That can be your collection."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

"I could start a collection," she replied, skimming right over that. "But that means you'd have to give me more to add to it, some time."