* forgive / forget

back, sender gives receiver a back hug.

beckon, sender beckons receiver closer with a finger.

blood, sender cleans blood off of receiver.

book, sender helps receiver get a book from a higher part of the shelf.

care, sender takes care of receiver when they're sick.

catch, sender catches receiver by the waist after they bump into each other.

choke, sender saves receiver from choking by giving them the heimlich.

cold, sender places their jacket over receiver's shoulders.

cry, sender wipes tears off receiver's face with their thumbs.

dance, sender sticks a hand out to receiver and invites them to dance.

dip, sender skinny dips in front of receiver and invites them to join.

dog, sender's dog pulls them in receiver's direction.

drive, sender drives receiver somewhere in their car.

drag, sender drags receiver into a room and closes the door behind them.

draw, sender draws receiver like one of their french girls.

face, sender turns receiver's face towards them.

flower, sender gives receiver a flower.

footsie, sender initiates footsie with receiver under the table.

forehead, sender presses their forehead against receiver's.

grab, sender grabs receiver's wrist to stop them from leaving.

jump, sender jumps onto receiver's back.

kiss, sender kisses receiver.

link, sender links arms with receiver while walking.

massage, sender offers receiver a massage.

patch, sender patches up receiver's wounds.

piano, sender teaches receiver how to play the piano.

pin, sender pins receiver's hands behind their back.

pluck, sender plucks something out of receiver's hair.

press, sender presses receiver against a wall.

propose, sender proposes to receiver.

quiet, sender gestures for receiver to be quiet.

rest, sender rests their head on receiver's shoulder.

serenade, sender serenades receiver with a song.

sign, sender walks into a sign and receiver sees.

size, sender measures the size of their hand against receiver's.

shoes, sender removes receiver's shoes for them.

sun, sender rubs sunblock onto receiver's back.

tattoo, sender gives receiver a tattoo.

tie, sender helps tie receiver's tie.

tuck, sender tucks receiver's hair behind their ear.

umbrella, sender lets receiver under their umbrella.

warning, sender presses a knife against receiver's neck as a warning.

Ah, good boy. Carlos was learning that the hands-on approach was better. She expected he'd learn that sooner than most of the other people she let in. The muscle-for-brains kind were useful, but they didn't make for great conversationalists. And, well... her mother was a master manipulator. It was only fitting that she be as well. She could talk her way around any random idiot, but someone with actual smarts... she still needed to work on that.

Carlos was a quick learner and even more observant than a mouse attending to Cinderella's dress. He knew how to be useful, and even if she scared him at first, Carlos knew that it was worth it to be useful to Mal. At some point, he realized he wanted to be more than just a henchman to her but he had yet to identify the word for their relationship. Maybe, he hoped, she would say it first.

Mal hesitated as she heard him ask for some time for them today, but she found herself nodding all the same. She craved time with him, as if he was one of those strawberries she's discovered were the best food ever... no matter how terrified she was of revealing to him that the wanting to be with him part came after the cookie, not before. Maybe he had already figured it out and was just waiting for her to admit it. Perhaps he thought all of what she said at his coronation was a lie. Gods, she hoped not.

Ben always had an inkling there was more to Mal than he would ever know. They came from lands that were polar opposites but that had nothing to do with the way he felt about her. He hoped that someday he could earn her trust, but he knew that would take a lot of time that he would have to fight for amongst his busy schedule as king.

Mal hesitated as she saw Ben approach her. While she had said at his coronation that Ben made her happy, she had been kind of avoiding him. Not that it made her feel better. No, she wanted to be hanging with him, but she was terrified of having to tell him the real reason she love potion cookied him. She didn't want to get the disappointed speech from him, after all. She was use to it from her mom, she couldn't bare the idea of getting it from Ben, of all people.

Things had been hectic since his coronation and Ben was slowly wearing down under the demands of being king. He wanted to find solace in the people he cared about, especially Mal, but something always seemed to demand his time before he could find her. If he was not so busy, he might think she was intentionally avoiding him. Not the kind of guy to make assumptions, Ben was ecstatic when he finally found her in a rare moment of freedom from his duties.

Mal stayed silent for several seconds as she heard Carlos go off about something that was way over her head in science. While she loved Carlos deeply, a sort of little brother that she never had, there were definitely some annoying traits. Fitting, she supposed. She didn't know a single sibling dynamic on the Isle that got along flawlessly.

Carlos paused, finally taking a much needed breath when Mal reminded him that not everyone worked with the same knowledge of physics and science as him. Not that he forgot entirely, call it lacking in self-esteem, he just never considered his talent for science to be all that special. Anyone could pick up a textbook and memorize the table of elements, right ??

" Ah, sorry. Let me start over or even better, I can show you in the treehouse. It's something that could help us in the market. "

" is there anything about yourself that you haven't told me ? "

" will you come back to visit me ? "

" what could it mean ? "

" this is not the correct way , and you know it . "

" this is truly a room worth admiring . "

" your obsession borders on creepy . "

" this reflects poorly on your overall personality . "

" maybe this is why everyone left you . "

" are you just sitting around waiting for more dialogue ? "

" no one gets to tell me what to do . "

" everyone thinks you are very powerful . "

" there is nothing in the broom closet . no reason to still be here . "

" you're not even doing anything ! "

" please offer me some explanation here ; i'm genuinely confused . "

" the broom closet ending is my favourite . "

" you're fat and ugly and really , really stupid . "

" you're addicted to drugs and hookers ! "

" that kind of anxiety isn't healthy . "

" i'm not your enemy . really , i'm not . "

" i think perhaps we've gotten off on the wrong foot here . "

" how i wish to destroy you . how i wish to control you . "

" investing your trust in someone is difficult . "

" please , stop trying to make every decision by yourself . "

" this is it . your chance to redeem yourself . "

" i can't believe i've been so mistaken . "

" you and i don't even know each other . we're like strangers . "

" i still don't know you . and you don't know me . "

" you like being alone , don't you ? "

" perhaps you'll see me again , if you can find me . "

" i've escaped from that dull office and pesky narrator . "

" what are you talking about ?! "

" this is so stupid . why are we even doing this ? "

" you've demonstrated such bravery here today . "

" do you have zero consideration for others ?! "

" oh , thank god . you are willing to listen to me . "

" i think i feel ... happy . i actually feel happy . "

" no , wait ... where are you going ? "

" promise me you won't go back there . just - just stay here . "

" you are going to stay here , aren't you ? "

" please , don't take this from me ! "

" nothing good can come from this . "

" we can't be happy if we leave this place . "

" comedic timing is so difficult . i wish i was better at it . "

" it's just a bucket ! it can't think , it can't talk ! "

" i suppose you don't need me anymore . "

" you believe i'm real , don't you ? "

" give it to me ! give me the bucket , i need it ! "

" it's nice to see you again . "

" i'm on your side . we're in this together . "

" obviously the bucket isn't talking to you and telling you to do things . "

" do you see that i really have wanted you to be happy all this time ? "

" are you that convinced i want something bad to happen to you ? "

" that wasn't supposed to be a choice . how did you do that ? "

" can you see ? can you see how much we need one another ? "

" in the vast infiniteness of space , your thoughts and problems are materially insignificant . "

" when every path you can walk has been created for you long in advance , death becomes meaningless , making life the same . "

" although this passageway has the word ' escape ' written on it , the truth is at the end of this hall , you'll meet your violent death . "