What a Beautiful View - tags Mae

[Dean Rexford]

"God, what a beautiful day." Dean closed his eyes against the warm glow of the sun against the cool brisk air. He tucked his scarf underneath his coat and stuck his gloved hands in his coat pocket as he walked across the courtyard, just enjoying the day.

There weren't a lot of people around and the ones who were were either hurrying to get inside or the staff tending to the compound.

One such individual caught his attention and Dean smiled.

Walking over to the gardener, Dean cleared his throat before speaking. "The day isn't the only beautiful view today it seems." It was awfully corny but the Englishman couldn't care less. People who knew him had to automatically understand how cheesy he actually was. Kateri had learned that the hard way, though.

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If it weren’t for the sun, it would probably be quite a cold day. Maebelle was grateful for the comforting glow that rested upon her while she tended to the flora. She definitely felt relaxed. Relaxed enough to even be startled by the man clearing his throat. And startled enough for one of the vines to react as caught off guard as she was.

It effortlessly tangled itself around Dean’s leg. Mae, however, was quick to relax as eyes fell on Dean and the softest of smiles appeared on her lips. The vine stopped all movements. “Oh, Dean, hi.” The gardener was quick to rise to her feet, smiling sheepishly while wiping dirty hands on her old jeans.

Anyone could catch her off guard, but Dean’s handsome looks and flattery pushed her even further down that edge. Soon it hit her that she hadn’t reacted to the compliment yet. “I kind of look like a mess.” She chuckled. “Unless you were talking about yourself.” If possible, that was even more cheesy.

[Dean Rexford]

Dean would have panicked at the sudden moving plants twining up against him had it never happened to him before, but much like being stuck in quicksand and devil's snare, he knew panicking would just make things worst. It did help that Mae's smiling face did a number on his abilities. It calmed him for some reason and that was definitely something he always looked forward to in any acquaintanceship.

"If you're the definition of mess, we really need to change the name to something a little less negative." Dean responded with a grin, blushing slightly at her compliment. Biology, what are you doing to the poor boy?

He walked over to where Mae was and looked down to see her work. "You're making great progress with these plants, Mae." He nodded, patting her shoulder and smiling widely. "I wish I had your talent. And energy."

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It soon dawned upon Mae that the vines had reacted when nervousness struck her. She would have been subtle about it, simply waving her hand to dismiss them… if it had not been for how awful she felt about their ‘attack’. “Oh God, I am so sorry.” For a second the young woman seemed to struggle, but eventually the flora retreated and a sheepish smile was shot at the recruiter. Smooth, Maebelle, smooth.

As for the compliments, two was enough to have her grow awkward and indecisive on how to react. Same went for the others that followed. “Suggestions?” The gardener eventually spoke with a little grin on her lips. Blue eyes observed him with each step taken, and the diminished distance made her feel slightly tense. In a good way, actually. Or, well, for a good reason.

Maybe him patting her shoulder brought her emotions across stronger than when they simply radiated. Dean definitely was an attractive guy whose words easily affected her. And so did that amazing smile. For a second she only faintly heard his words while too focused on his moving lips. Eventually she snapped back to reality.

“Oh. Yes. Thank you. Mother Nature is of course also helping a tiny bit.” The brunette attempted to joke before wondering just how ridiculous and egoistic that might have sounded. “It’s kind of what I live for.” A small pause snuck in. “All that I live for actually.” Social life? What was that? It sounded so foreign.

[Dean Rexford]

Dean waved a dismissive hand at Mae's panic. It hadn't hurt him so there wasn't really a need for her to worry. "It's not a big deal, love." The Englishman responded with a soft smile.

"God...I don't know." Dean laughed, shaking his head in mild embarrassment. He could feel the tension leave Mae slightly as he backed off. What was it with him always being around people who didn't like proximity lately? It was really giving him a complex.

Mae's response to his statement made his smile soften. It seemed to be a running joke with the people here. Not a bad one but it was like everywhere he went, people are married to their jobs so much that they had no time whatsoever for a social life. He wasn't any better, especially now with taking care of Meg, so he kept quiet about it.

"Well, it's definitely a good thing to live for, don't worry. You're making this place into a sort of wonderland and I personally would be devastated if you had a social life that kept you away from making all this possible."

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Mae was not opposed to proximity. She just failed at dealing with a handsome guy standing close enough to touch. And the young woman was even worse at controlling her emotions, even though it would have been welcomed around someone whose ability was empathy.

And the continuation of the compliments did not aid the inner turmoil either. Cheeks easily heat up and in turn that made Maebelle gaze down at the flowers. The fact that they seemed to be full about Dean’s appearance only fed it. At that point she wished she didn’t always put her hair together while working outside. It could have formed a perfect curtain.

“Maebelle in Wonderland.” The words effortlessly slipped past her lips… way before she realized how ridiculous that might sound. Come on, Mae. You don’t have to react to everything he says. At least the gardener’s expression soon enough softened again, and eyes actually dared to search for his again.

“But yes… I guess you’re right. I better cancel my date for tonight then. Wouldn’t want to disappoint you.” Not that Mae had a date though. Except maybe with her flowers at home. The little teasing tone to her voice might have given it away. Whenever the girl did allow herself to grow somewhat comfy, she failed even more at having a normal conversation.

[Dean Rexford]

The emotions coming from Mae were distorting his image of her but he couldn't help grinning at how intimate those emotions were. And they were most definitely directed at him. He said nothing of it to spare Mae some embarrassment. It never did work out well for him whenever he 'outed' a person's emotions without their consent.

Dean looked up at the girl when her words escaped her lips in a dream-like tone of voice. He smiled softly and shrugged, it probably made sense to her even if it didn't to him.

"Of course you have to cancel." He teased, though his face remained serious. "My happiness is at stake here." Dean continued before dropping his facade and waving a dismissive hand. "Don't leave the poor guy hanging. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to get up and ask such a wonderful girl like you out on a date."

[Deleted]

It didn’t exactly make a lot of sense to Maebelle. When Dean mentioned ‘wonderland’, it made her think of Alice. In turn she simply replaced her name with that one. First she had considered making a comment about painting the roses red… but that would have been even more ridiculous. She had simply blurted something out to maintain a conversation.

With a chuckle, soon followed by a tiny smirk, Mae shook her head. “If I was that wonderful, I wouldn’t have had to make that date up.” That, or guys really did not have any courage. The gardener figured it had been the former reason though. The fact that she distanced herself from others didn’t work in her benefit either.

“At least now I can justify having no social life: your ultimate happiness. It’s worth it.” Offering a gentle smile, the brunette squatted down before fingertips lovingly caressed some petals of nearby flowers. “And these are fangirling about your presence.” She grinned while looking up at Dean. Luckily the flowers couldn’t betray her being exactly like that… unless the man had caught on already.

[Dean Rexford]

Dean looked at Mae incredulously when she revealed that she had made the date up. "Are you serious?" He asked, his tone surprised. "I can't even...well, they're obviously intimidated by you." Dean shrugged, not knowing why anybody would pass up a chance to go on a date with her. Even if it started as a shallow reason.

"Well...yes. On the one hand, you could definitely do that but on the other...I don't want to be the reason people can't enjoy your company! I'd feel really bad for them!" He laughed lightly, shaking his head.

His eyes traveled down to the moving vines with a ghost of a smile. He was feeling some sort of reaction from Mae but he kept quiet, not sure if he should say anything that might offend the lady. He figured, unless she said something, he would remain oblivious to it.

"Let's see...what are your plans this Friday?"

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Mae chuckled softly while trying to keep the blushing limited. She could feel cheeks remain warm, but she had no clue just how obvious this would be. “I am a very intimidating person after all.” Or just an awkward one.

“Perhaps you’re doing them a favor by keeping me focused on the flowers though. Being the girl they don’t dare to approach actually sounds better than being the girl who makes awful company.” A little bitter smile followed. Dates had never been her strongest feat, mostly because those situations made her more prone to lying, not wanting them to look down on her. In the end she avoided the guys for lies often backfired.

When Dean informed about her plans for Friday, some surprise took over… but Mae wasn’t hopeful about the intention behind that question. Hope never got her anywhere. And he could probably detect it if she were to grow too excited. What kind of impression might that create?

Still, it stirred some nervous feelings. And maybe a tad bit butterflies. Both kept her from making up a lie. That would ruin a chance. “Friday? Oh, um… I don’t know. Maybe clean the apartment.” Features lit up for a second before Mae snuck in another attempt at a joke. “Or make up another date.”

[Dean Rexford]

Dean could most definitely feel what Mae was feeling right then but like the gentleman he was, he said nothing. Besides, he had to admit at least to himself that it felt good to be viewed as a crush. Even if there was nothing that could come out of this. Mae was like a little sister to him, really.

"Oh you can't say that." He shook his head, genuinely believing what he was saying. Nobody made awful company. Not really. Unless they were murderers. Or something akin to that, which Dean was absolutely sure Mae wasn't, clearly. "You're in my company and I hardly think you're awful." He shrugged.

The mix of emotions rushing through Mae at an increased speed surprised Dean but he quelled it by thinking of something else. The ocean, the breeze...anything to keep himself calm. It still surprised him, it seemed, whenever people experience many different emotions at the same time.

"Well, no need. You'll be going out with me and some of my mates. How does that sound?"

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Mae chuckled softly. “Hardly?” She put emphasis on the word that he had used in his reply. Her playful tone indicated that Dean should not worry about it too much; she knew to not interpret it literally as if he were saying that part of him did think that her company was awful. “Well, I hardly think you’re awful as well.”

Then again, maybe he was more awful than she anticipated… or perhaps her hopes had been up too high. At first Mae didn’t even hear the words that followed after ‘going out with me’. Eventually it dawned that his mates were included and she kind of felt disappointed. Kind of made her feel like one of the guys… but she nodded either way while try to keep those specific emotions hidden.

“That sounds good,” Maebelle replied with a nod and a soft smile. “What plans did you have?” She was glad to still be squatting down. It made avoiding eye contact easier. Mentally, she cursed at herself. Not getting any hopes up had not worked out.

“Do I know them? Your mates?” The young woman had accepted because it probably would have been rude not to, especially after he must have felt her excitement. A lot of social interaction, however, never really stood on her agenda. Eventually she slowly rose to stand up straight again, wiping dirty hands on the old jeans.

[Dean Rexford]

"You're got room to improve." Dean teased before shaking his head and hand to indicate he was definitely joking. "Why thank you! I've always wanted to hear those words coming from such a wonderful person like you." He chuckled.

Dean detected a slight change in Mae's emotions and he gulped inaudibly, wondering exactly what had made her change her tune. For someone who was supposed to be so in tune to people's emotions, Dean could be really thick.

Had he known exactly what Mae was thinking, he could have rectified it. He didn't know how but he would have bent over backwards trying to find a solution for sure.

As it were, Dean beamed when Mae finally agreed to going out. "We're definitely getting dinner. And then drinks. Are you comfortable with the clubbing scene?" Dean asked, aware at least that clubbing was not up everyone's alley. But it would help Mae broaden her social circle if she met people on the dance floor.

At least that was the hope!

"Uh...I should think so! Milan works here and he'll be joining us. A few of them I know from the local pub. But I'm sure you've seen them around?"

Leaning forward when she stood up, Dean asked. "Are you leaving already?"

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Maebelle had once more rolled her eyes in a playful manner. She knew she had room to improve, despite him joking about it, so even if he had been serious, the gardener would simply have accepted it. As for her shift of emotions… it was typical for her to stumble over high expectations.

“I don’t really know. It probably has been ages since I last went to a club. But it does sound fun.” Mae feared it wouldn’t be her thing though, based on the stories she heard when students passed her by in the garden. It could be a new experience though, and perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad thing to try and stir her social life some.

“Milan is a familiar face”, she decided. Maebelle would have to figure out how to get there though. She was not fond of the dark, but going by foot or bus always were the only solutions. With that, the young woman stood up straight and after having wiped hands on the old pants, looked at Dean again.

“Oh… no.” The brunette quickly shook her head, not exactly wanting to leave either. She liked talking to Dean, despite the disappointment that had hit a little bit earlier. “Just finished with this.” A hand motioned to the plants before a soft smile reappeared on her lips.

“Will you be bringing along Kateri?”