"Hey guys, Queen here! This is our first snippet preview thing we're making for you before the magical date of December 6th. Hope you enjoy it and ship ThadeaxOliver as hard as I do. c: "
"Hope you enjoy the fluff and there will be more to come soon! We start posting on December 6! Thanks for reading." -Birdie
Twenty Questions
“Okay, number eight! Hmm- let’s see …” Thadea wriggled her nose and puffed her cheeks in thought, holding onto her best friend’s cheeks with delighted giggles.
Oliver squirmed beneath her grasp, smiling all the while and feeling his heart quicken with each question the girl asked. The pair were playing a game. A game of twenty questions Thadea loved in order to get to know someone and feel closer. With lack of sight, her ways of bonding with others were thin unless she touched or conversed with them, as she so often loved to do.
With Oliver, who couldn't converse by the position of his selective mutism, settled to be the girl’s play doll. Well, if he thought of it that way, it didn't seem fair. But truly, he didn't mind being anything of the sort. He just loved the quiet afternoons they spent together; as quiet as they got when Thadea was not telling him various things she loved or experienced that day. Or the calm atmosphere of a ringing piano in Thadea’s livingroom. He loved that the most.
But what was really the boggling and sometimes mesmerizing thing about their friendship was the fact that Oliver had never felt this close to someone who could never know what he looked like; never know of his past without questioning. He had never felt this close to another person … at all, in fact.
“Alright. How about this one, then,” Thadea offered and scooted closer to Oliver on the floor of her bedroom, causing him to inch back in a fit of nervous flutters that instantly hit his stomach. She continued just the same, only telling him to hold still so she could tell if he was nodding or shaking his head.
Thadea paused for dramatic effect as Oliver sat in his silent trap. But he waited for her to go on, feeling he could handle whatever she asked. He started to glance at her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. It looked like a sun glow and he wanted to touch it.
“Have you ever …” Thadea began to whisper as if this were a secret message and giggled to herself. “Kissed someone? Like a girl? Or a boy too? No wait, that’s too many questions! Okay, have you ever kissed a girl, then?”
She waited for his response in a blissfully ignorant smile as Oliver’s cheeks started to heat up, his head rigidly shaking to indicate “No”. The only person he’s ever kissed was his Dad’s cheek. But that was long ago …
He looked down and wrapped his twiddling hands together as Thadea took in the information.
“That’s okay. Me neither. I mean both boys and girls. Not that I don’t think it’s wrong to kiss a girl, because it’s definitely okay if I wanted to. But, I just never wanted to. Besides, who has time for that, right?” She began to ramble on without a clear distinction of where she was going until Oliver tapped her shoulder, huffing out in bit of laughter.
Thadea smiled. “Right, sorry. Okay, number… nine? Yeah, number nine.”
Oliver could feel her fingers tap against his cheekbones as she thought. He tried not to blush from the contact and bit his lip.
“Do you like anyone, Oliver?” Thadea said this quietly after a minute, knowing this was a question people usually didn’t ask other people, but was curious nonetheless.
Oliver inwardly panicked. It took a while, and a fit of added impatience from Thadea, but he finally nodded his head. Very slowly.
“O-oh … “ She said and almost released her hold on him, but decided against it, since she still had questions and never left a game half finished. She couldn't help but feel, though, just a bit of …
No, she couldn't place her finger on it.
“Oh well,” she cleared her throat and gave that same vibrant smile, “That’s all good and nice, I mean … yeah, so number eleven? Ten! Ten sorry! Silly goose, didn't remind me.” She pinched his left cheek as he huffed back.
All the while, a knot tightened like a fist in his stomach and the urge to inch closer was still as strong as ever, even if he was too afraid to do so.
“Okay, so…” Thadea continued but was cut off by the whoosh of her door. Her face scrunched up. “Hello? Dad? We’re playing a game- oh, hey Cecil! I knew it was you, you breathe really nasally, do you know that?”
The man addressed widened his eyes as he saw the two teenagers cross legged in front of each other, inches apart, one flustered and beat red.
“Just … checking in. Oh, and Hot Pockets are ready … by the way,” He mumbled under his breath, taking the whole situation completely out of context, eyeing the two back and forth.
“Really? Thanks! Come on Ollie.” Thadea pushed past through the doorway as Cecil stood in shock, running a hand through his hair.
