He found himself lightly resting his hands on his side of the counter, as if pressing them in place there could force him to stand his ground, or somehow express his honesty – that he had nothing to hide.
“I’ve seen her at a few events,” Elias admitted, wondering if Thistle had also been there to witness it for herself, or word had just trickled down through the family from whichever sisters had been. Had he – had he been that obvious about it? They hadn’t ever spent the whole evening together in each other’s company, and had not especially planned it, but if he did see Daffodil, he had never thought twice about going over to say hello. So he might have said something about merely bumping into her from time to time, but, well... he was here now, wasn’t he? So they were probably beyond that.
“I do step out of the workshop occasionally,” he said instead, with an awkward chuckle to better make light of it – Elias caught himself rubbing at the back of his neck and settled his hand back upon the counter. Thistle Potts still seemed perfectly pleasant about all this, but he couldn’t fathom why she would have started this line of questioning if she approved of it. Of him. He had known that kind of disapproval before; he did not want to know it again.
But he didn’t want to bristle about it, be unduly defiant – surely the Pottses were not that kind of family. Daffodil definitely wasn’t that kind of person. Somehow, thinking of her relaxed his shoulders, the corner of his mouth again. “And she’s always –” (but what could he say here, how could he explain it? really, it would have been more sensible not to say anything else about her, but too late –) “a breath of fresh air.”
“I’ve seen her at a few events,” Elias admitted, wondering if Thistle had also been there to witness it for herself, or word had just trickled down through the family from whichever sisters had been. Had he – had he been that obvious about it? They hadn’t ever spent the whole evening together in each other’s company, and had not especially planned it, but if he did see Daffodil, he had never thought twice about going over to say hello. So he might have said something about merely bumping into her from time to time, but, well... he was here now, wasn’t he? So they were probably beyond that.
“I do step out of the workshop occasionally,” he said instead, with an awkward chuckle to better make light of it – Elias caught himself rubbing at the back of his neck and settled his hand back upon the counter. Thistle Potts still seemed perfectly pleasant about all this, but he couldn’t fathom why she would have started this line of questioning if she approved of it. Of him. He had known that kind of disapproval before; he did not want to know it again.
But he didn’t want to bristle about it, be unduly defiant – surely the Pottses were not that kind of family. Daffodil definitely wasn’t that kind of person. Somehow, thinking of her relaxed his shoulders, the corner of his mouth again. “And she’s always –” (but what could he say here, how could he explain it? really, it would have been more sensible not to say anything else about her, but too late –) “a breath of fresh air.”
look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3