Meanwhile... With the Owner of the Couch (Gidget)

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would be sitting his happy ass down like he owned the place. Despite the fact that Gidget just kicked him out, he would hope his conviction wouldn't be challenged, especially after a very brazen display.

That was the hope at least...

[Gidget]

Gidget stared at DJ for a moment after the others left, obviously confused as to why he didn't head out with them. They barely knew each other after all.

Shrugging, she got up, moving to grab the cup that Drake had left for her on the counter top. She stayed over there, turning her attention back to the person on her couch (which she still wasn't entirely sure why it was in her apartment) with a raise of her eyebrow.

[Djoser Aneksi]

Feeling the pair of eyes burning into the back of his head, he would say.

"I had a little more I needed to discuss with you, in private." He would say with the serious, warm tone she was familiar with.

"Care to join me? It is your couch and I assure you we did not fuck on it."

[Gidget]

Gidget cradled the cup in both of her hands as DJ invited her over.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's Drake's couch. I asked him to watch my apartment for a couple of days, and when I got back, it had just magically appeared." She shrugged as she slowly sat on the arm of the couch, pulling her bare feet up to rest on the cushion. It was more comfortable for her that way, maintaining a bit of distance between herself and this person she hardly knew.

[Djoser Aneksi]

"I'm not surprised, it is a very him thing to do." He would say with a shaking head and a fond smile.

He would pause and look over to Gidget again. "Are you okay? I joke around a lot to cope but I know that exchange had to hurt."

[Gidget]

"Which one?"

Gidget stared into the cup of soda, not bothering to look up at DJ. She thought she was slick, but in actuality, it was pretty easy to see through the tough-kid persona she put on so often.

[Djoser Aneksi]

"The one where WR didn't communicate properly and you were clearly hurt."

He would answer again plainly. Using the buzzword to hopefully remind Gidget that he is aware of what happened without making her give up her persona.

Dj wanted her to feel in control right now. He wasn't going to kick her tough girl persona down right now. Now was a time for honest, compassionate talking.

[Gidget]

"Oh. That one." Gidget continued to refuse to look up at him, swirling the liquid around in her cup as if it would somehow hold all of the answers.

"Everyone has a right to their secrets." She shrugged, but even that was a bit lackluster. She cleared her throat slightly and took a drip of her soda. "If they don't want to tell me, it'd be kind of fucked up of me to try to force it out of them."

[Djoser Aneksi]

"I agree to an extent." He'd say with infinite sweetness, not meeting Gidget's eye to allow her to have personal space.

"Everyone is entitled to their secrets. In a relationship however, you give up some of that. You have privacy, but when something affects the one you love, or is about them, you have to share it to be in a healthy relationship."

If I was WR, I would have pulled you to the side and said "Hey. Drake and his friend are really grating on my nerves. I am having a rough time and I don't have a lot of patience for it. What do you think?"

Dj would say after a moment, "Assuming that was the problem, wouldn't that have felt a little better?"

[Gidget]

Gidget shrugged her shoulders, but used that time to actively think about the solution that DJ offered. Would she have felt better if they had done that? She certainly would have felt better knowing what was wrong, rather than being left to assume. She had her own insecurities that seemed to eat away at her psyche, the moment WR left her side. It was something she was actively working on, but it was still there.

"I think there is a lot of stuff that they haven't told me, and that it all sort of just... compiles. That's how lies and secrets are. You have one, and then you have to keep another one in order to keep that first one, and then another one in order to keep those two. It just keeps going."

In actuality, that was a large part of the reason she had told Drake and WR about her enhancements.

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would just nod.

"Yes, it is a very ineffective way of living. I personally favor living my life honestly as possible. Not that I'll ever be in a relationship that needs the transparency, but it feels good knowing nobody has any leverage on me. For WR, they just don't understand they can slow down. They can be open with you, but they are struggling."

He'd just let his thoughts flow out, hoping there was something Gidget could gain.

"You both are going to make a million mistakes..." he'd pause, "if you stay together is entirely dependent on if you understand each other enough to work for it."

[Gidget]

Gidget took a deep breath and glanced towards the flickering lights still playing across her TV. If she was being entirely honest, she wasn't sure when that got there, either... She assumed Drake brought it, when he noticed that the only screens she had were her computer monitors.

"I've been trying to communicate better. I think they are scared of losing me, or that I'm going to get myself into some ridiculous, bullshit trouble. I want to show them... and Drake too for that matter... that I can keep up. That I can fight beside them. I'm hoping they both learn to trust me more, then..."

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would give a more blank expression, akin to the one Gidget saw the first night they met.

"I understand the feeling of being drowned in coddling. People doing nice things and going way out of their way for you can feel patronizing."

He would pause, sigh, and continue. "It is important to understand that that's WR being protective and how Drake communicates love entirely. They don't know a better way, and I think it bothers you because you are insecure about your own abilities. It feels like they are treating you less than. Training will help. So will experiences and life skills. All of this will shape you to be more confident."

"In the meantime, understand that they both are trying to uplift you. They care about you deeply and neither of them really care for anyone else the same way. Don't feel like you have to tolerate it because your feelings are valid, and you deserve to be treated as an equal. There is something they see in you that's special and they want to help."

"Best advice I can give is to try and set boundaries while trying to understand that they both just want the best for you. Hell the reason I sat back down was because Drake wanted to make sure you were okay. That is something special."

He would trail off, a bit lost in thought.

[Gidget]

Gidget tilted her head. She knew, deep down, that they both cared about her... If they didn't, they wouldn't pester her so much. Drake wouldn't basically live in her apartment, and WR wouldn't jump at the opportunity to do something with her. But it was such a foreign concept to her.

She kept her gaze focused on the colorful images, but wasn't paying enough attention to them to even quite realize what they depicted. It just gave her something to stare at.

"There's just... so much shit going on. And they're trying to protect me. But I don't want to be some damsel they lock up in a tower... Thats kind a drag, you know? And neither of them deserve to have to take care of me. I want to... be able to help them. And not hold them back. I just... want to prove that I can... I don't know."

She sighed in frustration and took a drip of her soda.

[Djoser Aneksi]

"Putting it the simplest terms possible, let them know that you won't be."

He'd say giving a half smile over to Gidget.

"I'm not special like they are. I can't fight, no special lineage or legacy, no big fights or higher purpose." He'd chuckle weakly, "I am still useful though, and playing at my strengths is why they still call me to help."

"You are not a damsel in distress, you have areas where you could easily eclipse them both if you learned how. Just focus on being the best Gidget you can be instead of being like Drake or WR."