The movie- Mulan- played on in the background, forgotten. Lilah and Maggie had more important matters to attend to; though it provided nice 'background noise' for the blonde. Something Lilah was still trying to understand.
Why would you have 'background noise'? You should enjoy every little sound to the fullest and be thankful that you can hear, right? But she never voiced her question to her friend. Lilah didn't want to come off as irritated or seeking sympathy or pity when she was only confused at the way Maggie did things.
Lilah mentally shook it off and refocused with a wry grin.
"So, you and Bluestreak, huh?" Maggie's smile was so sly, it reminded the black haired woman of a cat. Unable to sign her reply as her nails were being painted at the moment, Lilah instead shot her a confused expression, honestly uncertain as to what the blonde was inquiring about, exactly. The Aussie seemed to huff as she rolled her eyes with a playful little grin on her face, as though Lilah were simply playing coy with her.
"You know! You two have been getting close, huh?" Maggie finally finished one of Lilah's hands and drew back to admire her work- though only for a moment,
'It's not like that! We've only known each other for a week!' Amber eyes wide, she flew into a storm of signing, trying to defend herself.
"Alright, alright, calm down." Laughing, Maggie caught Lilah's other hand and began working to carefully paint the nails on that one as well.
They were quiet for a moment, allowing the red that lined the brunette's cheeks to slowly dissipate. Averting her gaze from Maggie, Lilah focused on Mocha's small body that was pressed against her thigh and the couch arm. The puppy's body heaved in a soft sigh as she slumped even further- if that was possible- and snuggled down into the little crevice she had made for herself.
Lilah couldn't help the smile that curled onto her face. It wouldn't be long now until she would have to take her baby to the vet. Mocha had grown since she had first got her at six months old. Now, she was almost fully grown; though was still unusually small for her breed. Then again, Lilah wouldn't put it past the breeders to lie to her on exactly what kind of wiener dog Mocha was. Or, perhaps they simply didn't know.
The deaf woman wasn't one to jump to conclusions.
Deciding she had had ample time to avoid Maggie and that it was time to redirect her attention, Lilah at last looked back at her friend, who was smirking like the cat that got a hold of its owner's canary. Wary, Lilah cocked an eyebrow at her, silently inviting her to share her thoughts. Maggie took a long moment as she began finishing up the last of Lilah's fingers, her smirk changing into a thoughtful, softened look.
Lilah couldn't tell if that was better or worse, to be honest.
"Listen, even if you're still deciding if you like Blue or not…" Maggie trailed off for a moment, seeming to think more on her words, "You two are good for each other, you know? I can see it. If nothing else… maybe you could get to know him more and consider it? He's sweet, considerate, kind… definitely boyfriend material."
Lilah choked on her own saliva as the red returned to her face full force. She couldn't reply as she simply grabbed a pillow- mindful of her just finished nails- and promptly hid her face in it, thankful that Maggie had finished with her other hand. As such, she remained unaware of the blonde's laughter at her friend's expense.
The computer analyst was just too cute.
"Oh, you're such a cinnamon bun." Maggie giggled aloud, despite the fact that Lilah would most certainly not hear it. Honestly, half the time the Aussie just wanted to squeeze the crap out of the deaf woman for being so adorable.
Huffing, Lilah resurfaced from the pillow and flew through a series of signs with a pout,
'What about that Russian man, huh? You two seemed pretty close.'
"O-Oh, Vladimir?" Maggie's cheeks took on a pink tinge, "We're, um… we're dating. Of sorts. It's strange- I think he referred to it as… him courting me?" she trailed off, and seemed to giggle nervously, "Honestly, I thought he was crazy at first."
'How did you meet?' Interested, Lilah shifted her weight, sitting up straighter as she gathered the needed supplies to do Maggie's nails in turn.
"Well, I'd seen him around base here and there… but then he started following me around like a lost puppy." The dirty blonde shook her head as Lilah got to work on her nails, "I kinda confronted him, I guess? From there it turned to a relationship."
Lilah's eyebrows raised up together, and it was only due to having known her for so long that Maggie picked up on the subtle cue.
"This would have to be… about three or so years ago?" The blonde seemed to laugh, "It's been awhile."
Lilah nodded slowly as she worked. That would explain why she hadn't known. She had only been at N.E.S.T. for a little over a year now.
'You have guts, Maggie.' Lilah finished up on one of Maggie's hands and took a moment to sign, 'I mean, he's huge. Confronting him over that? I would rather hide and pretend like he's not there.' shaking her head, she started on the blonde's other hand.
"I did. At first, I mean. But… I couldn't let it continue, you know?" Lilah nodded slowly at Maggie's words. She, herself didn't know; but she knew that the Australian could only go so long without doing something about a problem. It was something she admired her for. It was something Lilah couldn't do herself.
She would much rather hide and not come out at all; just wait for it to blow over.
Did that make her a coward?
Lilah didn't have time to question it as she started closing and putting away the nail polish, and Maggie launched into another sentence while gathering up the face mask gel. The deaf woman barely withheld a shudder.
It always felt so weird.
"Okay, yeah, but what about you and Blue? I mean, you two seems to be friends, at least, right?" Maggie prodded, clearly not wanting to leave it along, "C'mon! Tell me about him!" grinning wide, the blonde began applying the mask to Lilah's face. The brunette sighed as she allowed it, thankful her hair was pulled back out of the way and a bit miffed that she had already put away all of the nail polish supplies.
All she could do now was answer.
'I don't know Maggie, really, what do you want me to say?' Lilah was honestly confused; another reason she had hoped to busy herself and have an excuse not to answer,
"Tell me about him from your point of view! What's he like?" Maggie rolled her eyes, grinning, and the brunette flushed. Honestly, what was she, a gossip hound?
Now Lilah had the mental image of Hound dressed in sassy, pink, glittery human clothes and accessories.
No. Just no.
'He's incredibly kind and thoughtful.' Lilah trailed off for a moment, trying to find where to start exactly, 'He's always so careful when he picks me up, and helps me not to panic despite my fear of heights.' it was the first thing that came to mind.
It was the little things that counted the most, right? The little things that had you tripping and falling head first into lo-
No. Stop right there.
Maggie didn't seem to notice her small stutter in movement; the Aussie was grinning while continuing to apply the green, funky smelling face mask. Lilah took a moment to gather herself together before proceeding, knowing the blonde wouldn't be happy with just that.
Time to dig herself a bigger hole, Lilah supposed.
'When we talk, Bluestreak really listens to me, you know? And he's seems so happy when he sees me- he just lights up like I'm the highlight of his day. Not to mention how pleased he seems when I listen to him. Blue's just so delighted to just be around me. And then he was so worried that one day, when he thought zombies of all things were real- he came running to make sure I was safe." Lilah halted in her rambling, seeing Maggie start to shake with laughter,
'What?' she pouted a tad bit,
"Nothin', nothin'. So, the perfect gentleman, huh?" The blonde's eyes sparkled,
'Yes.' Lilah couldn't contain her wide smile, nor the soft breathy laugh that left her- that seemed to please the Australian to no end, judging by the widening grin.
The deaf woman was honestly too elated by the talk of the sniper to be worried. At least for the moment.
"You met his family yet?" Maggie's question failed to raise red flags for Lilah; though it should have.
'I think? I mean, I think Prowl is his caretaker, right? And I keep hearing Smokescreen is another Praxian but I haven't met him yet, I don't think.' The brunette mused,
"Damn girl, you're moving up through the ranks! Already met his mama and everything!" Maggie laughed, and Lilah's cheeks instantly darkened,
'It's not like that!'
"Sure hun, sure." The blonde grinned widely, amused, then abruptly switched angles, "So what's his holoform look like?" now she was just honestly curious. At least, as far as Lilah could tell anyway. Sometimes Maggie laid traps for her.
'I've only seen it a handful of times.' Lilah shook her head, but continued, 'Its tall. Maybe just under six feet? Gray hair with a blue coloring hint, long and pulled into a ponytail, and glowing blue eyes.'
It was only a tool for the Autobots to use, Lilah understood this much. It wasn't really Bluestreak. More of an… extension of him, from what she knew. And she addressed it as such. Just like she would describe a car or a house. But now if Maggie had asked her to describe him as a person… Lilah tried not to show her sudden fluster.
Not that it was much good; she was a terrible actor and an even worse liar. Thankfully, Maggie had just finished her face mask and had drawn back to clean off her hands before handing her the bottle; giving Lilah ample time to calm back down.
"So, on a scale of one to ten, how hot was his holoform?" The blonde was grinning widely even as Lilah began applying the face mask to her friend. Going scarlet at the brass Maggie had, the brunette shook her head with a huff, ignoring the question outright.
Honestly, how did you ask something like that? How did you answer?
"Okay, okay, I get it." Maggie laughed, letting it go, and they were quiet for a moment, simply enjoying each other's company as Lilah finished up the mask. Not a word was spoken until after the mask was in place and she began to clean off her fingers and put the bottle away, grimacing a bit at the unclean feeling the mask provided her with. It was just so…
Ugh.
"Hey… so, holoforms mimic humans, right?"
'I guess so?' Hand clean, Lilah found herself free to sign back with no small amount of confusion,
"Red Alert says they can't ingest food, only liquids; but physically they're supposed to be a perfect 'human' replica of themselves." Maggie trailed off, thoughtful, and Lilah's eyes narrowed, sensing something terrible coming her way.
'Okay?' She tried to prompt her friend, but Maggie took her time, musing on this new information and seeming to turn it over in her mind. Finally, she looked up at her friend and asked a question with a expression of innocence and sin all at once; making Lilah choke, scream, and throw a pillow at her- delighting Maggie to no end.
"You think his holoform has a dick?"
(AN: Omg Maggie, you got balls o' steel girl friend, lol!
Next chapter is Bluestreak and Smokescreen, ya'll ready? :D Review please~)